Theatre Night


Theatre Night

The Islamic College is proud to announce and present their first ever theatrical performance “Tales of Wisdom from Muslim Heritage” by the Khayaal Theatre Company

You will be transported in the world of Muslim wisdom through the voice of Eleanor Martin, a professional actress and stage director with 15 years’ experience. She is a founding Associate Director at Khayaal Theatre Company.

The acts performed are:

Quest for Knowledge

A young man applies to become an adept of a sage in pursuit of sacred knowledge only to find himself summarily charged with a seemingly simple task. The task becomes a toilsome trial of initiation that profoundly alters his perception of what it means to learn and know. A tale on the theme of orientation, charity and service by Khwaja Sammasi of Uzbekistan.

Worth of a Pearl

King Mahmud devises a test of loyalty and devotion for select high-ranking officials of his royal court involving a lustrous pearl. A tale by Rumi.

The Thornseller

Down and out on the margins of society, our thorn seller and his wife live in abject poverty until the appearance of a heavenly bird sets off a chain of events that sends their fortunes soaring and plummeting in equal measure. The alchemy of character and intention lie at the heart of this tumultuous story from Iran.

 

The Indian Tree

An emissary is dispatched to India to seek out the tree of eternal life only to have his efforts frustrated and his assumptions challenged by initial failure before being rightly directed to his goal at the 11th hour.

Join us, for what is going to be memorable night filled with wisdom.

Date: Friday 16th December 2022
Time:  6pm – 9pm
Location: Allameh Tabataba’i Hall (old building), The Islamic College, 133 High Road, Willesden, London NW10 2SW
Ticket Price: £5  (includes free complimentary light refreshments)

Terms & Conditions:

  • Tickets can be purchased via PayPal: https://paypal.me/ahmadbawab1?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB (reference: Theatre Night). Alternatively, you can purchase your ticket via cash, credit card or bank transfer. For further enquiries contact Fatema Muraj.
  • Tickets cannot be exchanged, or money refunded unless the performance for which the ticket is purchased is cancelled.
  • Attendees must have a valid ticket to gain entry to the hall.
  • Only 1 admission per ticket.
  • Additional Guest (aged 16+) are welcome, subject to purchase of a valid ticket.
  • The doors of the hall will open at 6:45pm and the performance will start at 7:15pm(sharp).
  • Refreshments will be served before the performance from 6pm onwards.
  • Food and Drink will not be allowed inside the Allameh Tabataba’i Hall.

Meet the Author: Dr Muhammad Kamal


Meet the Author

Dr Muhammad Kamal

 A Universe in Constant Change

(Mulla Sadra and Transubstantial Change)

Friday 8th of July 2022

on Zoom

Zoom ID: 818 8858 9685

Passcode 642831

Link:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88205129425?pwd=VDVWUnJtMDJQTC84WTVhcHZTOUxDUT09

11:30 am – 1:00 pm (UK Time)

Meet the Author Programme

Organised by

The Islamic College

A Universe in Constant Change:

Mulla Sadra and Transubstantial Change

Friday 8th of July the online session (at 11:30 am UK Time)

Author: Dr Muhammad Kamal

Dr Zoheir Esmail will serve as the discussant

Meet the Author


Meet the Author

Prof. Mashal Saif

 The ‘Ulama in Contemporary Pakistan: Contesting and Cultivating an Islamic Republic

Friday 4th of March 2022

on Zoom

Zoom ID: 882 0512 9425

Passcode  386449

Link:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88205129425?pwd=VDVWUnJtMDJQTC84WTVhcHZTOUxDUT09

7 pm – 8:30 pm (UK Time)

In this book, Mashal Saif explores how contemporary ‘ulama, the guardians of religious knowledge and law, engage with the world’s most populated Islamic nation-state: Pakistan. In mapping these engagements, she weds rigorous textual analysis with fieldwork and offers insight into some of the most significant and politically charged issues in recent Pakistani history. These include debates over the rights of women; the country’s notorious blasphemy laws; the legitimacy of religiously mandated insurrection against the state; sectarian violence; and the place of Shi’as within the Sunni majority nation. These diverse case studies are knit together by the project’s most significant contribution: a theoretical framework that understands the ‘ulama’s complex engagements with their state as a process of both contestation and cultivation of the Islamic Republic by citizen-subjects. This framework provides a new way of assessing state – ‘ulama relations not only in contemporary Pakistan but also across the Muslim world.

3rd Online Webinar: Vistas to the East


Vistas to the East 
Friday 28th of January 2022
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm (UK Time) 
on Zoom
(3rd Online Webinar)

Mulla Sadra’s Philosophy: Continuity and Novelty

Prof. Mohammad Fanaei
Prof. David B. Burrell

Professor Mohammad Fanaei Eshkevari studied both at the Qom seminary in Iran as well as McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where he received his PhD in philosophy. For the past two decades, he has been lecturing on comparative philosophy, mysticism and theology in Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom. He has published more than fifty books and articles in Persian on different areas of Islamic thought.

Publications in English:

Mohammad Fanaei Eshkevari, An Introduction to Contemporary Islamic Philosophy, translated by Mostafa Hoda’i, London: MIU Press, 2012.

  1. “Mysticism and Religion: A Shi’i View, ” in On Spirituality, ed. M. D. Bryant S. K. Harrison and A. J. Reimer, (Kitchener, Ontario: Pandora Press, 2010), pp. 87-97.

 

  1. “Self-Knowledge and Soul,” in Soul: A Comparative Approach. Eds. Christian Kanzian & Muhammad Lagenhausen, Germany: Ontos Verlag, 2010, pp. 17-24.

 

  1. “Reflection on Prayer: A Muslim Perspective,” reprinted in Spiritual Message of Islam, Ed. M.A. Shomali (London: Islamic Centre of England, 2009), pp. 103-112.

 

  1. “God in Islamic Mysticism,” in Proofs for the Existence of God, eds. Christian Kanzian & Muhammad Legenhausen (Innsbruck: Innsbruck University Press, 2008), pp. 91-98.

 

  1. “Mulla Sadra’s Theory of Substantial Motion,” in Substance and Attribute: Western and Islamic Traditions in Dialogue, eds. Christian Kanzian & Muhammad Legenhausen (Germany: Ontos Verlag, 2007), pp. 25-43.

 

  1. “Sohravardi and the Question of Knowledge,” in Plato and Sohravardi (Athens: Hellenic Society for Philosophical Studies, 2007), pp. 48-62.

 

  1. “Faith and Morality in Islam and Christianity,” in A Catholic-Shi’a Engagement: Faith and Reason in Theory and Practice, eds. Anthony O’Mahony and others, (London: Melisende, 2006), pp. 170-180.

 

  1. “Prayer and Contemplation in Islamic Spirituality,” in Catholics and Shi’a in Dialogue: Studies in Theology and Spirituality, eds. Anthony O’Mahony and others, (London: Melisende, 2004), pp. 256-262.

 

  1. “Mysticism and Dialogue among Cultures,” in Peace Office Newsletter, Vol. 36, No. 1, January-March 2006.

 

  1. “God’s Inclusive Mercy,” in Peace and Justice: Essays from the Fourth Shi’I Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue, Winnipeg: 2011, pp. 120-124.

 

  1. “Islamic Philosophy in Contemporary Iran,” in Al-Mustafa Journal of Islamic Studies, Vol. 1, Nu. 1, (Winter 2012), pp. 89-123.H

 

Professor David Bakewell Burrell is an American educator, theologian, writer and translator. He is the Theodore Hesburgh Professor emeritus in Philosophy and Theology at University of Notre Dame, USA. He has written and published extensively on Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions.

Here is a selected list of Prof. Burrell’s publications:

 

Books

Burrell, David (1973). Analogy and Philosophical Language. Yale University Press..

—— (1974). Exercises in Religious Understanding. University of Notre Dame Press.

—— (1979). Aquinas: God and Action. University of Notre Dame Press..

—— (1986). Knowing the Unknowable God: Ibn-Sina, Maimonides, Aquinas. University of Notre Dame Press.

—— (1993). Freedom and Creation in Three Traditions. University of Notre Dame Press.

——; Elena Malits (1997). Original Peace: Restoring God’s Creations. Paulist.

—— (2000). Friendship and Ways to Truth. University of Notre Dame Press.

—— (2004). Faith and Freedom: An Interfaith Perspective. Blackwell.

—— (2008). Deconstructing Theodicy: A Philosophical Commentary on Job. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos..

—— (2009). When Faith and Reason Meet: The Legacy of John Zahm CSC. Notre Dame, IN: Corby Publishing.

—— (2010). Learning to Trust in Freedom: Signs from Jewish, Christian and Muslim Traditions. University of Scranton Press.

—— (2011). Towards a Jewish-Christian-Muslim Theology. Wiley-Blackwell.

Translations

Al-Ghazali on the Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God (translation from Arabic with Nazih Daher) (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1992; Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 1998)

Al-Ghazali on Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in Divine Providence (translation of Bk. 35 of Ihya’ Ulum ad-Din) (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2000)

Roger Arnaldez’s Three Messengers for one God (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1998) – with Mary Louise Gude, C.S.C. and Gerald Schlabach.

Avital Wohlman’s Al-Ghazali, Averroes and the Interpretation of the Qur’an: Common Sense and Philosophy in Islam (London: Routledge, 2009) – translated from Contrepoint entre le sens commun et la philosophy en Islam: Ghazali et Averroès (Paris: Editions du Cerf, 2008)

2nd Online Webinar: Vistas to the East


Vistas to the East 
Saturday 4th of December 2021
5:00 pm – 7:30 pm (UK Time) 
on Zoom
(2nd Online Webinar)
Fiqh and Expedience
Ayatollah Abolghasem Alidoust
Prof. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im

Ayatollah Abolghasem Alidoust (Qom Seminary, Iran)

A senior Iranian cleric and legal scholar and professor of Fiqh at the Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought. He is a recipient of the Iranian Book of the Year Award for his book entitled Fiqh and Maslaha.

Prof. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im (Emory University, USA)

An internationally recognized scholar of Islam and human rights, Prof. An-Na’im teaches courses in international law, comparative law, human rights, and Islamic law. He is the author of Islam and the Secular State (Harvard University Press, 2008)

Milad al-Nabi


The Islamic College cordially invites you to join us for our annual Milad-al -Nabi celebration to mark the birth anniversary of Muhammad (s).  This joyous occasion cherished by Muslims worldwide provides us with the opportunity to stop and reflect on the life and legacy of our blessed Prophet as a revered symbol of Islamic piety and devotion and bask in the light of his graceful personality. This noble fully realized human being, a teacher of mankind and a mercy to the whole world is an integral focal point of devotion, admiration, and love but also a source of solace, inspiration, and fountainhead of unity for the Muslims all over the world.

Every year the Islamic College selects a thematic focus for the celebration, be it one of the Prophet’s noble character traits, his unique place in the hearts of Muslims, the exemplary life he led, or the astonishing legacy he left us with. This year we have decided to focus on the concept of The Prophet of rationality and morality.

We hope that you will grant us the pleasure of your company and join us for an evening of joyous celebration, reflective scholarly sessions, Qur’anic recitations, Nasheeds, and student-led Quiz as we celebrate the life of Allah’s Beloved – Muhammad His Servant, His Prophet, and His Messenger.

The event will be held at The Islamic College, 133 High Road, Willesden, London, NW10 2SW on Tuesday 26th October 2021 at 6 pm

1st Online Webinar: Vistas to the East


Vistas to the East 
Saturday 10th of April 2021
5:00 pm – 7:30 pm (London Time) 8:30 – 11:00 (Iran Time)
on Zoom
(1st Online Webinar)
Biobibliographical Analysis (taḥlīl-i fihristī):
Reconstructing Early Works of Shiʿi Hadith
Ayatollah Sayyid Ahmad al-Madadi (Presenter)
Prof. Andrew Newman (Discussant)
Prof. Robert Gleave (Discussant)

Arabic Language Course


Arabic Language Course

Starting From 21st January 2021

Tuesdays & Thursdays – 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Course Fee: £50/Semester

The Islamic College has organized an Arabic Course for those who want to learn the language of the Islamic revelation. Classical Arabic refers to both the language of the Qur’an and of the various works produced during the early Islamic period.

Read more…