Tag: Islam
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The Chain of Authenticity: Understanding the Ijazah and Its Traditions, Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَبَعْد An ijāza (إجازة) is a formal certification or authorization in Islamic scholarship, granting a person permission to transmit specific Islamic knowledge, such as Quranic recitation, Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ), or other religious texts. It serves as a chain of authenticated…
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Al‑Mawardi, Governance, and the Role of Ahl al‑Ḥall wa‑l‑ʿAqd: A Scholarly Rationale for Governance Amongst Philadelphia Muslims, by Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَبَعْد I. Introduction: Why Governance Is a Sharʿi Necessity From the earliest period of Islam, governance (al‑ḥukm) was not treated as a sociological convenience but as a Shar’i obligation necessary for the preservation of religion, justice, and social order. Imam Abu Hasan…
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When Knowledge Grows, the Label Fades: Why Modern Salafism Rarely Survives Maturity in Black Muslim America, Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَبَعْد Modern-day Salafism in Black Muslim America has always had a paradox at its core: it attracts people with the promise of “pure Islam,” yet the deeper a person actually studies Islam, the more likely they are to outgrow the movement. It is a…
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From Crisis to Covenant: The Case for an Independent Muslim Marital Infrastructure, Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَبَعْد One thing that is certain. There exists Black Muslim America, a critical gap between the spiritual aspirations of our community and the legal mechanisms used to govern and manage our most important and intimate institutions, marriage and divorce. For decades, a familiar refrain has echoed through the hallways of…
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The Evolution of Leadership: Why the Next Generation of Black American Muslim Imams Will Lead Differently in sha Allah, Imam Luqman Ahmad
The dream of a unified front, where Imams sit across from one another to solve the pressing issues of Black American Muslims and national governance, remains elusive for now, largely a dream. While the need for collaboration amongst Imams is high, the current landscape of leadership is often defined by fragmentation rather than cooperation. To understand why this generation struggles with unity, and why…
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Same People, Different Labels: The Inevitable Convergence of Black American Islam, Imam Luqman Ahmad
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَبَعْد We are not quite there yet. In fact, we are still a long way off, and Allah knows best. But sometime in the near or perhaps distant future, a mindset will emerge, in sha’ Allah, in which Black American Muslims, descendants of the enslaved, from the W.D. Muhammad community,…
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How Black American Muslims Can Build Civil Governance Across Communities, Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَبَعْد For many Black American Muslims, the idea of building civil governance across communities feels new, overwhelming, unprecedented, or unreachable. But in truth, Muslims have always created order out of disorder. Across every region and every era, Muslim communities, large or small, powerful or marginalized, have organized…
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Iran, Israel, the Second Coming of Jesus (AS), and Judeo‑Christian Zionism
By Imam Luqman Ahmad The phrase “Judeo‑Christian” entered English usage in the nineteenth century and became a distinct political and cultural idiom in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. Early adopters—liberal Protestant and Catholic intellectuals—sought to emphasize common moral and historical ground between Judaism and Christianity as a bulwark against rising fascism and domestic antisemitism. During…
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Imam al-Shafi’i and the Synthesis of Traditions, Explaining the Shaafi’i Madhhab, by Imam Luqman Ahmad
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَبَعْد The Shafi’i school occupies a distinctive place in the history of Islamic jurisprudence, representing a synthesis of the two major legal traditions that preceded it: the Medinan tradition of Malik and the Iraqi tradition of Abū Ḥanīfa. Its founder, Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shāfiʿī (150-204 AH/767-820 CE), was uniquely positioned to achieve this synthesis through his training…
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THE URGENT NEED FOR BLACK AMERICAN MUSLIM COMMUNITIES TO ESTABLISH COMPREHENSIVE CIVIL GOVERNANCE, by Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَبَعْد Black American Muslim communities have maintained vibrant masjid life for decades—establishing places of worship, appointing Imams, collecting zakat, and organizing Jumuʿah and Eid prayers. Yet despite this long-standing presence, we still lack a unified, comprehensive system of civil governance that addresses…
Imam Luqman Ahmad Mosque Without Borders 