حديث أُمرت أن أقاتل الناس حتى يشهدوا: دراسة في حرية الاعتقاد والفعل

One of the greatest epistemological accomplishments that Muslims have achieved is the establishment of an accurate system of deriving rulings from Sharia texts, which is known as ‘principles of jurisprudence’ or Usūl ul Fiq. Among the significant contents of these subject is dealing with the text which apparently contradicts to other basic principles of Islam or objectives of Sharī’ah. The job of a jurist becomes more significant and difficult in devising the judgments and interpreting the texts as reported by the fundamentalists: inquiring the validity of the texts, finding its weakness with respect to strong argument, and comparing them in terms of authenticity. Other times, he tries to reconcile between the contradictions by keeping in view a meaning consistent with Sharī’ah. The application of these principles gave birth to the variety and diversity of opinions on account of Ijtihād. Keeping in view the above preamble, the author addressed one of the famous Ahadith of Holy Prophet PBUH: “I have been ordered to fight against the people until they testify.”. This saying of Holy Prophet PBUH attracted Muslim thinkers in past and present to address its meanings and application. Likewise some related debate has emerged in the modern period as regards whether the term "people" in the hadith is used generically or specifically - forcing these people to Islam after defeating? The author in this context, addressed the terminology of hadith, its apparent contradiction with the principles of Sharī’ah, legal maxims, provisions, diverse interpretations, and added his own opinion. Descriptive and qualitative research approach was employed for the collection, demonstration and analysis of data.

Exploring the Possibilities of Using Poetry for Enhancing Language Development of Secondary School Students

This small-scale action research explored the possibilities of using poetry for teaching English as second language. The study was based on the rationale that literature can be used as a resource for enhancing language development of students in our context. The assumptions were that poetry would stimulate students' interest and would create opportunities of using and learning language. The study was conducted in a secondary classroom of a private English medium school in Karachi, Pakistan. The action research studied the existing teaching practices of English language as well as the problems faced by teachers and students in teaching and learning English and students' language needs. The action was implemented in two cycles consisting of reconnaissance, planning, implementation, and reflection. Planning and implementation was in response to emerging needs and issues from each action. The data was collected through interviews, discussions with teacher and students and was analyzed after each reflection and action. The study reports some possible strategies of teaching poetry for language development. It also discusses some key findings such as that students' interest in poetry can be stimulated by providing relevant and appropriate poems and by enabling students to articulate their own understandings. Furthermore, it provides multiple opportunities to the students for enhance their language skills and meaningful contexts for using the language. The study concludes by presenting my key learning as a teacher, teacher educator and an action researcher. It ends by suggesting some recommendations for schools and further research.