Vol. 2 No. 1 (2017): al-Irsyad: Journal of Islamic and Contemporary Issues

The Editorial Board is delighted to announce volume 2, issue 1 (June 2017) of al-Irsyad: Journal of Islamic and Contemporary Issues. This issue contains eight articles on Islamic law, Islamic psychology, Islamic education and teaching, Quranic studies, as well as linguistics and translation.

Zanariah Dimon, in her paper titled "Faith Recovery for the Cases of Renunciation Application in Islamic Religious Court," examines the procedure that follows the Syariah Court's receipt of an application to renounce Islam and the creed restoration process that an applicant must undergo prior to the Syariah Court's decision. After accepting religious status application cases, they discovered that the creed restoration practise was conducted as creed counselling or detention at the centre of creed restoration, per the instruction of the Syariah Court Judge. At the state level, there were no transparent and standardised legal provisions regarding repentance mandates (istitābah). The study also includes implications and several recommendations for enhancing the practise of creed restoration.

Mohd Rapini and Md. Noor, in their article titled "Shaḥādah in Syariah Court Evidence Statutes in Malaysia: Its Foundation and Legal Sources," elucidate the foundation and legal source of codifying the pertinent provisions of shahdah in Syariah Court Evidence Statutes (SCES) Malaysia. They discovered that shahdah under SCES refers to Islamic legal rulings, primarily from the Shāfi‘ī mazhab, also known as Malaysia's primary Islamic law reference. However, other views of fiqh are also permissible in certain circumstances when the flexible approach of selecting views from various Islamic schools of law is used to accommodate SCES.

Shaharuddin et al., in their article titled "The Converts and Zakat Distribution in the State of Selangor," analyse the method of zakat distribution in Selangor. In addition, the research will examine statistics regarding the assistance programmes received by converts in Selangor. According to their findings, there are twelve zakat distribution methods. In addition, the study provides statistics regarding assistance programmes received by converts. There are fifteen distinct categories of assistance available to converts. The hari raya allowance and monthly financial assistance, with respective totals of 54.4% and 47.6%, are the two forms of assistance that converts receive the most of. On the other hand, publishing and publication assistance account for only 7% of all assistance programmes. The implication is that zakat is disbursed in the form of either money or services. The study concludes that the zakat authority in Selangor has distributed funds equitably among 1/8 of zakat recipients.

Sudi et al., in their article titled "Spiritual in the Quran: Concepts and Constructs," discuss the spiritual concepts in the Quran that pertain to spirituality, as well as how the Quran debates the spiritual construct in these verses. According to studies, the Quran emphasises that spirituality contributes to human ascent and self-enlightenment in order to attain the purpose and meaning of life, where the basis of happiness and prosperity is a result of a healthy spirituality. In addition to al-qalb, al-rūḥ, al-nafs, and al-‘aql, which have been highlighted by previous Muslim scholars, the Quran also specifies al-lubb, al-ṣadr, al-ra’y, and al-fu’ād as spiritual constructs.

Abdullah et al., in their paper titled "Issues on Islamic Education in the Philippines," explain that Islamic education in the Philippines will play a significant role in meeting the educational needs of every Filipino Muslim. Their research demonstrates that Islamic education is essential for harmony and growth in the Muslim-Christian relationship. The study reveals that, as a result of the country's achievement of peace and development, the government implements the Arabic Language and Islamic Values Programme (ALIVE), which leads to National Public Holidays, provides equal education, provides an opportunity for Muslim scholars, and confers some benefit on the Muslim community in the Philippines. Focusing on the issue of Islamic education in the nation will cultivate a garden of peace that could lead to respect and harmony.

Salleh and Embong, in their paper titled "Educational Views of Ibnu Sina," discuss the Muslim philosopher's perspective on education. Analyses have been conducted on Ibn Sina's philosophical and epistemological concepts and ideas regarding education. Extensive document analysis was conducted for this purpose, and Ibnu Sina's previous writings were consulted. Ibnu Sina compiled a 'biographical' account of his life and accomplishments based on whatever materials were available to him. A narrative analysis is used to elicit results, followed by a comparative analysis of this philosopher with Western thinkers such as Aristotle and John Dewey. This hopefully clarifies Ibn Sina's sincerity in developing knowledge in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah, as well as his contribution to the modern educational system.

Nawi and Mohd Marzuki, in their paper titled "Mufti Muḥammad Taqī ‘Usmānī and His Scholarly Contribution to the Qur’anic Studies," describe the life of Mufti Muḥammad Taqī ‘Usmānī and his contribution to the study of the Holy Quran. The analysis demonstrates that Mufti Muḥammad Taqī ‘Usmānī is a continuation of Waliyullah's tradition and Deobandi scholars in providing Quranic instruction to laypeople and scholars via his writings and other scholarly works.

Finally, Nasimah Abdullah, in her paper titled "Reasons for the weakness of the readability of Quranic texts translated into Malay Language," discusses the extent of the readability of Quranic texts translated into Malay. The study concludes, based on several examples, that some translated texts lack eloquence due to the use of brackets in convergent positions and the presence of repetitions. In addition, the evidence demonstrates, to some extent, an unnecessary complexity in sentence structure due to the occurrence of multiple pronouns referring to the same person or object and a mismatch between pronouns and the referred noun. In order to ensure the cohesion and coherence of sentences, whether in part or in whole, the extent of the intelligibility of translated text plays a crucial role.