ImanWire Podcast

Dr. Celene Ibrahim, author of "Women and Gender in the Qur'an", joins the podcast to discuss her analysis of the rich and wide-ranging portrayals of female figures in the Qur'anic sacred history. Using the women around Prophet Musa to anchor the discussion, she offers insights on how their stories exemplify the spiritual truths of the Qur'anic message. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 1:50 - Analyzing the Female Figures in the Qur'an 8:26 - The Mother of Prophet Musa: Faith and Resilience 17:32 - The Sister of Prophet Musa: Watchfulness & Wit 21:03 - The Sisters of Madyan: Multiculturalism, Marriage and Modesty 29:54 - The Wife of Pharoah and Tyranny at Home 40:06 - Women's Speech and Agency in the Qur'an

Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui emphasizes the need to focus on internal transformation and seeking closeness to Allah. He highlights the stagnancy of hearts despite outward actions, urging individuals to rectify their intentions and break free from the confinement of their own existence. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction to Tazkiyah 1:17 - Tazkiyah Essentials: Himmah & Qurb 2:34 - Al-Hakim Al-Tirmidhi Biography 6:21 - Himmah's Goal: Achieving Qurb 14:56 - Spiritual Steps: Understanding Qurb 23:20 - Exploring the Heart's Spiritual Path 25:25 - Analyzing the Heart in Worship 35:50 - Improving Heart's Worship: First Step 43:10 - Metaphor for the Seeker's Journey 44:30 - Heart's Liberation: Escaping the Egg 46:20 - Heart's Liberation: Breaking Barriers

Alex Kronemer and Michael Wolfe, co-founders of Unity Productions Foundation, join the podcast to reflect on lessons learned from over 20 years at UPF, sharing the stories of Muslims in the media, and tackling Rumi and the refugee crisis onscreen in Lamya's Poem. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 4:48 - Hajj: Bringing the Recipe of Islam Together 9:35 - Working to Create Understanding of Islam and Muslims 14:18 - Framing in the Context of Stories 19:43 - Islam Requires People 21:43 - The Prophetic Legacy of Communication 24:57 - Emergence of UPF 32:30 - Telling the American Muslim Story 41:11 - Adapting to Changing Times 49:07 - Rumi, Refugees and Lamya's Poem 59:24 - Muslims in the Media: The Artist and the Audience

In part 1 of this double episode, Dr. Denise Spellberg, author of "Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders" discusses how conceptions of Muslims played a crucial role in the religious pluralism in the early republic, anxieties over a Muslim president, and the clash between principles and prejudice that continues today. In part 2, the ImanWire hosts get together for a round table discussion on Muslims and the 2024 election. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 2:50 - Conceptions of Islam at the Time of the Founders 11:16 - Jefferson's Qur'an 15:55 - John Locke, Jefferson and Religious Freedom 23:51 - A Muslim President? 30:48 - Imaginary Vs Real Muslims 32:22 - Slavery and Racial Hypocrisy 37:06 - Omar bin Said and the Legacy of Islam in the United States 41:19 - Participating in a Flawed Political System 48:40 - A Critique of the Judeo-Christian Construct 52:20 - Retelling Islam in American History 58:30 - Round Table Discussion on Muslims and the 2024 Election 1:05:18 - The Moral Obligation of American Muslims 1:09:50 - Weakening Religiosity and Liberalism 1:13:38 - Returning to the Source of Peace and Community 1:16:26 - Conceptualizing a Spiritual Framework 1:29:27 - Political Differences 1:41:05 - Anchoring in the Divine Reality 1:45:26 - American Muslims Mattering

"Those whom your right hands possess", a Qur'anic descriptor for female slaves, can evoke a number of charged emotions and thoughts that can be difficult to reconcile with our modern sensibilities today. What does slave-concubinage mean? How was it understood in the formative years of Islam? In the final part of our series on slavery, Ustadha Zaynab Ansari, a resident scholar and instructor at Tayseer Seminary, reflects on this challenging topic. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 1:44 - A Review Culture: Framing the Discussion 3:44 - An Overview of Slavery and Islam 6:50 - Those Whom Your Right Hands Possess: An Ethical Framework 23:52 - Insights Into the Qur'anic Pairing of Wives and Slave-Concubines 25:42 - On the Context of Surah Nisaa 33:34 - Was Slave-Concubinage Discouraged? 49:18 - The Issue of Consent 54:56 - The Battle of Hunain and Conduct of Armies 1:04:38 - A Moral Imperative For Consent? 1:12:28 - Legal Applications of Harm Vs Modern Notions of Consent 1:19:14 - On Coercive Relations 1:22:07 - The Prophet and Maria 1:32:35 - Moving Forward as a Community

In part 3 of our series on slavery, Imam Dawud Walid considers the aftereffects of slavery on our current condition, its historical role in contributing to anti-blackness in the community today, and how it affects our understanding of Qur'anic language and theological concepts such as 'ubudiyyah (being a slave to God). Imam Dawud Walid is the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) and member of the Imams Council of Michigan. He is the author of several books, including Blackness and Islam, Towards Sacred Activism, and Centering Black Narrative: Black Muslim Nobles Among the Early Pious Muslims. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 5:39 - The Conflation of Slavery and Anti-Blackness 11:50 - Racialization in Language During the Abbasids & The Zanj Rebellion 16:20 - The Fabrication of Anti-Black Narrations 17:50 - Deployment of Racially-Specific Language 21:00 - Blackness and Arabness 21:56 - A Story of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Rida 24:54 - Effects of Slavery on Fomenting Anti-Blackness 26:44 - Anti-Blackness and Representation 36:26 - Scholars Fighting Anti-Blackness and Race-Based Slavery 46:17 - Revisiting the "Arab Slave Trade" 1:00:13 - Slavery to God and Freedom 1:10:52 - Qur'anic Parables of the Slave and Free 1:16:06 - Egalitarianism Vs. Social Hierarchy in the Qur'an 1:20:31 - Modern-Day Slaves

Our series on slavery continues as Dr. Bilal Ware joins the podcast to explore the Islamic tradition and the abolition of slavery, debunk the myths of the "Arab-Islamic" slave trade and reflect on how these histories impact our lives today. Dr. Bilal Ware is a historian of Africa and Islam and is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at UC-Santa Barbara. He is the author of several books including, "The Walking Qur'an: Islamic Education, Embodied Knowledge & History in West Africa", which details the intellectual and spiritual tradition in West Africa and tells the story of African Muslims in the 18th century abolishing slavery and monarchy. Link to previous episode with Dr. Ware: https://www.almadina.org/studio/podcasts/ep-9-walking-qurans-of-africa-scholarship-liberty-the-abolition-of-slavery-dr-rudolph-ware CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 5:54 - Was Slavery Uncontested in Islamic Law? 6:50 - The Single Most Misunderstood Aspect of the Sunnah 12:30 - Freedom: The Fundamental Principle of Humanity 16:00 - West African Scholars and Abolitionism 19:22 - Challenging Every Element of Slavery 27:00 - Orientalist Aims of Normalizing an Islamic Legacy of Slavery 32:22 - An Intellectual Geneology of Abolition in West Africa 37:44 - The Lead-Up to Revolutionary Emanicipation 45:44 - 1776: The End of Monarchy and Slavery in Senegambia 48:22 - Expanding Identity to Free, Not Enslave 50:18 - Scholarship Independent From Political Authority 53:37 - Was Senegambian Abolition A Blip in History? 56:06 - Sokoto and Uthman Dan Fodio 59:33 - Exporting the Revolution: The Spirit of Muslim Slave Revolt 1:01:12 - Savannah, Georgia: "A Believer Cannot Own Another Believer" 1:04:59 - The Link Between West African Abolitionists and Frederick Douglass 1:06:52 - Written Out of History: The Legacy of Abdulqadir Kan 1:07:59 - Prophetic Examples Against Slavery 1:10:48 - The Intellectual Dishonesty of the "Arab-Islamic Slave Trade" 1:30:33 - The Imprint of History on Our Engagement With Islam

Slavery might be considered a thing of the past, but the position of slavery in Islam continues to be an issue that many Muslims grapple with today. In this special four-part series of the ImanWire podcast, we approach this complex topic from several perspectives, beginning with a discussion with Dr. Jonathan Brown on the moral question of slavery, its place in Islamic law, and the diverse practices of it in Muslim history. Dr. Jonathan Brown is the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and author of several books, including "Slavery and Islam". CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 4:51 - Why Discuss Slavery Now? 14:35 - Challenges in Defining Slavery 18:06 - The Problem of Talking About Slavery in World History 21:59 - Projecting Assumptions On Others 27:53 - The Ubiquity of Slavery in the Pre-Modern World 31:32 - Slavery in 7th Century Arabia 34:40 - Closing the Doors to Enslavement 37:31 - The Emphasis on Emancipation 40:50 - Female Slaves and Legitimacy of Children 44:11 - Ethical Treatment of Slaves 46:53 - The Zeal to Emancipate 47:42 - Slaves of God, Slaves of Men? 49:58 - The Legal Handicap of Slavery 52:35 - Slavery is Harm 56:16 - An Obsession to Free Slaves 1:00:10 - Slavery in Muslim Civilization 1:05:28 - Racialization and Slavery in Muslim History 1:07:59 - Important Distinctions in Slave Populations Between the United States and the Muslim World 1:14:26 - The Slavery Conundrum and the Moral Wrongness of Slavery 1:27:14 - Horrors of Trans-Atlantic American Slavery 1:33:07 - History of Abolitionism 1:41:57 - Abolition in the Muslim World 1:44:08 - Muslim Arguments Against Slavery 1:53:40 - The Abolition of Slavery 1:55:59 - Reconciling Tradition and Abolition

Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui discusses the importance of freeing oneself from attachments and dedicating the heart to worshiping Allah. This episode delves into the art of cleansing one's soul in pursuit of divine love. CHAPTERS: 23:28 - Divine Connection: Ultimate Relationship 25:20 - Divine Edicts: Understanding The Command 29:40 - Spiritual Conditions: The Conditional Clause 32:40 - Inner Freedom: Liberated Heart vs Life's Challenges

Shaykh Hatem El Haj and Imam Dawud Walid join the ImanWire podcast to offer words of encouragement and advice in staying true to Prophetic etiquettes for Muslims engaged in protests and activism for the Palestinian cause. Link to article discussed in the podcast: https://muslimmatters.org/2024/05/30/holding-onto-prophetic-etiquettes-when-protesting-encouragement-and-advice-for-muslim-human-rights-advocates/