Perception of University Students About Horoscopes in Sindh Province, Pakistan

Horoscopes are considered as one of the important content items in the mass media. Many people perceive and believe that these Zodiac signs have an impact on their lives. That is why they check these signs on different media regularly. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of Sindh University students about horoscope. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 100 students of Sindh University through a close-ended questionnaire. The results concluded that girls are more interested in horoscope than boys. The sources for horoscope prediction were mainly newspapers among the Sindh University students. The students reported that they read horoscope daily to skip the pressure and try to satisfy their minds. This research is limited to the University of Sindh students. In the future, the researchers should conduct a large-scale study with a more significant population to determine the perception of the public about horoscopes.

Modern Exegetic Trends in Egypt With Special Reference to Mufti Muhammad Abduhu

The Glorious Qur‟an is a Book revealed on our Prophet (S.A.W), a complete guide book for entire humanity which covers all spheres of human life. Since the creation of Adam(A.S), human thoughts have been continuously passing through an evolution. The Creator of the Universe bestowed human beings with knowledge and reasoning. On the basis of which he ponders over creation of the Lord and in its light and guidance he explores new vistas of life. It has been ingrained in his nature to investigate mysteries of this Universe. To seek the consent and obedience of Allah is also part of all human beings‟ nature. In order to fulfill this natural desire, Almighty Allah sent His Prophets and Holy Books. The Qur‟an is the last of such revealed books which has been guiding human beings for the last one thousand and four hundred years. Human thought is liable to faults and errors. The Holy Qur‟an, being an explicit text, also gives the road map to faulty and erratic thinking and beliefs so they might adopt an enlightened path for the success in this world and the Hereafter. In all ages or eras, the Ulama always played a vital role to sort out problems of human beings and tried to guide them by explaining the teachings of the Holy Qur‟an in the light of the explanation given by the Prophet (S.A.W), his followers and the succeeding generations respectively. After dominance of western thoughts and culture, human thought has appeared in altogether different grab than the past. The present age is replete with the specimens of western hegemony in the field of science and technology. The western civilization, at present, rules over the muslim world, in terms of political, social and economic context. The modern western thought treats religion as something “additional” or “irrelevant”, whereas previously, the existence of God as an unseen supreme power, the soul, and the life after death – were considered as three vital points of human thought and struggle. The clergy played the dominant role in determining the sources of the blessings and bounties of God, as well as the interpretation of religious text. But very soon a change occurred and the clergy was replaced by the advent of “Modernism”, “Liberalism”, “Marxism”, etc. These new movements raised a lot of questions even the existence of God was also questioned by the philosophers. Now, Universe, human existence and worldly life all three have become the centre of attention for the modern man. To provide material goods and luxuries to human body and getting happiness is now the central point of modern philosophy. The right of interpretation and explanation of religious text is given to individuals. The welfare or prosperity of human beings has been relocated. Now it is based on “rationalization” rather than “religion”. This modern thinking of the west also raised a challenging question before whole muslim world whether Islamic teachings are useful for the present modern age. Egypt was one of those leading muslim countries where this question seemed most crucial. This reinforcement of the western thought took place in Egypt in the nineteenth century. As a result of this increasing hegemony of westernized thought, the Muslim Scholars and Ulama explained that Islam is relevant and applicable for all times and ages. One aspect of their struggle has been the explanation of the Holy Qur‟an as a vibrant source for solving new emerging situations and problems. A social reformer, an erudite scholar and a thinker Mufti Muhammad Abduhu played a pioneer role by pronouncing that the Holy Qur‟an has potential for revival of Islamic Thought. The topic of this research is based on analytical study of Mufti Muhammad Abduhu‟s explanation of the Qur‟an. The research aims at: (a) Whether pioneer modern exegete Muhammad Abduhu has guided the muslims in contemporary problems. (b) Does his exegesis of the Qur‟an show any impact of western thought and ideology? This exegesis of the Qur‟an is analyzed by dividing the thesis in two sections. These two sections are dealt logically. First section deals with the history of exegesis, its origin, evolution as well as rules pertaining to the acceptance or rejection of exegesis. Second section deals with the rules applied or followed by Mufti Muhammad Abduhu and his methodology. I have tried to describe and analyze the viewpoint and approach of Muhammad Abduhu regarding the Uloom-ul-Quran which are necessary for an exegete, such as Asbaab-ul-Nazool, Nasikh-o-Mansookh etc. In the last I have tried to present the descriptive and analytical study of Muhammad Abduhu‟s explanation of the verses pertaining to Islamic beliefs (Aqaid) as well as social, political and economic affairs (Ahkam).