Vol. 4 No. 1 (2019): al-Irsyad: Journal of Islamic and Contemporary Issues

The Editorial Board is delighted to announce volume 4, issue 1 (June 2019) of al-Irsyad: Journal of Islamic and Contemporary Issues. This issue contains five articles on Quranic Sciences, Islamic da‘wah, linguistics and translation, Islamic thought, and hadith studies.

Usman and Ahmad, in their paper titled "The Concept of Clairvoyance from the Quran: Thematic Analysis in Exegetes Discourse," emphasise the Quran as the divine word of Allah, which contains guidance and discloses answers to a variety of human problems. Currently, Islamic clairvoyance (firāsat) is a target of ideological disorder, particularly among Muslims. This concept, if misunderstood, could cause injury to the pure faith and disrupt the harmony of interaction within the Islamic community. Therefore, their article focuses on the perspectives of Quranic Exegetes and the implications of their incorrect interpretation of this concept. Several verses in the Quran discuss clairvoyance, either directly or indirectly. Primarily, describe how natural clairvoyance reflects on Muslims who have complete faith in Allah. The clairvoyance of a believer is comprised of cautions from Allah to His servants.

Aini et al., in their article titled "Persuasive Strategies Used by Muslim Preachers in Delivering Islamic Messages to the Orang Asli Community in Selangor," discuss the persuasive strategies used by Muslim preachers when delivering Islamic messages to the Orang Asli community. Aini et al. investigate the communication process involved in conveying da‘wah messages to the community of indigenous peoples (Orang Asli), which requires continuous da‘wah efforts to influence positive changes in the practise and appreciation of Islamic teachings. Their article identifies the persuasive strategies employed by Muslim preachers when communicating da‘wah to the indigenous population of Selangor. The study discovered that the preachers' persuasive strategies for communicating da‘wah included the authority of preachers through appointment and cooperation with Islamic institutions, the credibility of preachers, including knowledge, intentional preaching, spiritual practises, and noble character, and the application of changes encompassing cognitive, behavioural, and emotional aspects. Therefore, as a strategy for communicating da‘wah within the community of indigenous people, the proponent approach can influence Islamic teachings' cognition, appreciation, and practise.

Abdullah and Abd. Rahman, in their article titled "Euphemism in the Malay Translation of Quranic Discourse: A Pragmatic Analysis," analyse the euphemisms found in the Malay translation of the Quran's text. Even though both of the translated texts corresponded to the semantic meaning, they did not always adhere to the decorum principle. As a consequence, a dysphemism is introduced into the translated text. It was determined that the use of direct terms such as (mati), which refers to the Prophet, (haid), (mandul), and (janda) in the translation text had no parallel in Leech's Politeness Principles. Consequently, their research recommended that the text of the Malay translation of the Quran be revised so that the selection of words conforms to the civility principle.

Danladi and Sule, in their paper titled "Islam and Ethnicity: The Case Study of the Ombatse Crisis 2011–2015 in Nasarawa State, Nigeria," describe the activities of the Ombatse cult group and the violent conflicts that erupted as a result of these activities, which occurred in parts of Nasarawa State between 2011 and 2015. As Islam promotes peaceful coexistence among or between Muslims and non-Muslims, as well as coexistence among other ethnic nationalities, and as Islam prohibits ethnicity and nationalism, they discovered that peace is one of the most important instruments for the development of any society. Consequently, the paper disclosed that the major participants in the crisis were predominantly Muslim youths from ethnic groups engaged in violent conflict. Their study concludes that some Muslims, ignorant of the fundamental tenets of Islam, were readily brainwashed to favour their ethnic identity over Islam. The Ombatse mobilised support along racial lines to achieve the clandestine political goals of the cult's founders.

Finally, Syed Abdul Majid Ghouri, in his paper titled "Sheikh Abul Hassan Ali Hassani Nadwi and His Contributions to The Sciences of Prophetic Hadith: A Concise Expository Study," made contributions to hadith studies. His paper covers four subjects. First, a concise biography of Sheikh Nadawi and his academic accomplishments are provided. Second is his commitment to researching and teaching the Hadith of the Prophet. The third has to do with his ijaza in Hadith. The final section reveals his written contributions to Hadith and its sciences. The conclusion of the document provides a summary of the most significant findings. Sheikh Nadwi was a famous scholar among Muslims in this century; he received ijaza from great Hadith scholars of his time; great scholars sought ijaza from him; and he served the cause of the science of Hadith by teaching, authoring, and writing forwards for Hadith resources.