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This book is an exhaustive handbook on microfinance covering more than 600 concepts and ideas .Since poverty alleviation remains a top agenda for development programs and microfinance has proved the most effective approach for combating it, there was a growing demand among students, academics, journalists, bankers and general readers for a handy companion on microfinance.
The text examines what has become a vast global industry employing hundreds of thousands of people and attracting the attention of large numbers of governments, banks, aid agencies, non-governmental organizations and consultancy firms. In this book the authors try to help students, who are relatively new to microfinance, practitioners looking for an entry point into the vast academic literature, and policy makers to become acquainted with the main ideas and debates about microfinance. The main objective of the book is to equip the reader with sound understanding of the various concepts in microfinance and their relevance to contemporary financial programmes so that the user is in a position to process business proposals in microfinance.
History bends to the will of man when it is exercised with faith and steadfastness. Umar Al Farooq was one such man. He bent history to his will, leaving a legacy that successor generations have looked upon as a model to copy. He was one of the greatest of conquerors, a wise administrator, a just ruler, a monumental builder and a man of piety who loved God with the same intensity that other conquerors of his calibre have loved gold and wealth. . Umar shaped the historical edifice of Islam and whatever Islam became or did not become in subsequent centuries is due primarily to the work of this historical figure. Indeed, Umar was the architect of Islamic civilization. Humankind has a tryst with destiny, to realize its own sublime nature, in the matrix of human affairs. When free will is abused, it reduces humans to the most wretched of creatures. No man understood this better than Umar and few since the Prophet carried this trust with as much wisdom, humility, determination, sensitivity, persistence and courage. Measured by any yardstick, Umar was one of the greatest figures in human history. In this fascinating biography, the well known author Moin Qazi delves into the life and work of the great hero of Islamic history.
The life of Muhammad has provided inspiration to Muslims for hundreds of years .The Prophet occupies a unique place in the life and conscience of Muslims. For them, he was the most perfect of God’s creatures, and he was, according to a famous Arabic poem, not just a man among men but like a ruby among ordinary stones. The life of the
Prophet has inspired the development of a vast body of literature over the centuries. Authors in every genre have written about Muhammad. Qur’anic commentators and jurists use examples from his life to explain obscure scriptural passages or argue in favour of particular rules. Ethicists give advice based on his conduct and precepts. Mystics derive elaborate symbolism from his Night Journey and Ascension. Muhammad: Man and Prophet is a unique attempt to combine the life and teachings of the Prophet into a coherent narrative.
Women in Islam: Exploring new Paradigms is a revolutionary book that explores the vast literature and canonical texts on the rights of Muslim women. The author argues that the revelation of Qur’an marked a watershed in the history of Muslim women. It empowered them in several ways. If women are oppressed today it is on account of factors extrinsic to Islam: had the true intent of the Qur’an been followed, there would have been gender equality, but this true intent was undermined by Arabian patriarchal practices and by imports from surrounding in egalitarian civilizations .He believes that the solution lies not in reforming but in rediscovering Islam. Differences regarding gender status are attributed primarily to the way the Qur’an has been predominantly interpreted, especially in the shari’a (holy law)
The life of Prophet Muhammad has provided inspiration to Muslims for hundreds of years. The Prophet occupies a unique place in the life and conscience of Muslims. In this profound and stimulating biography, the author shows how the Prophet’s message can be used to address a vast range of contemporary issues. The author focuses on the continuing relevance of the Prophet’s life and teachings in the contemporary context and strives to underline those aspects which have made them the touchstones of faith and purity of thought and action
VILLAGE DIARY OF A HERETIC BANKER is more a diary than an instructive guide. The diary provides the flavour of the author’s personal experiences as a rural banker and his engagement with the poor in the remote crannies of India. The seed around which the book crystallises is the intrinsic tenacity and grit of poor rural women that can be harnessed into energetic powerhouses to drive our rural society onto the road to prosperity. The book carries in its pages the poignant nostalgia of the author for villages but it is also tinged at places with rage and despair. The message in this book is that there is no grand, universal formula for poverty reduction. The battle has to be fought on several fronts and what works in one place does not necessarily work everywhere. The way forward lies in grassroots field experiments for understanding the causal relationships in poor people’s behaviour and in learning by doing. The author’s faith in poor people’s ability to climb out of the rut is unshakeable and his core belief is gradualism. The author believes that lasting social change most often—and perhaps always—comes slowly rather than in a burst of revolutionary fervour. It is this belief that has shaped his work. He also believes that lasting change can be effected only when women are given equal opportunities for financial empowerment
The author firmly believes that it is possible to eliminate poverty in our country—provided we re-examine the received wisdom of our assumptions. The poor are poor not because they are unskilled or illiterate but because they cannot retain the returns of their labour. They neither own capital, nor does anyone give them access to credit, except on the most unreasonable terms. They live on the edge, in constant fear of a catastrophe or tragedy, but they have no insurance because insurance companies consider them a losing proposition. And the State’s social safety nets are not only grossly inadequate but mired in corruption and bureaucratic red tape.
During his efforts in development finance and rural development work for over three decades, the author has seen projects and strategies succeed as well as fail. He has seen misguided project designs, poor implementation and squandering of large sums of money. But he also witnessed incredible achievements. When development works well, he argues, it can transform lives by providing the underprivileged the capital and knowledge that can open up opportunities for them and reduce their poverty.
Indian hand woven fabrics have been known since time immemorial. Poets of the Mughal durbar likened our muslins to baft hawa (woven air), abe rawan (running water) and shabnam (morning dew). A tale runs that Emperor Aurangzeb had a fit of rage when he one day saw his daughter princess Zeb-un-Nissa clad in almost nothing. On being severely rebuked, the princess explained that she had not one but seven jamahs (dresses) on her body. Such was the fineness of the hand woven fabrics..The author, who has spent several decades working for the promotion of handicrafts, provides unique insights into the lives of weavers striving to preserve the traditional textiles of the Deccan.
Muhammad: The Prophet for Eternity {Khutbât-e-Madrâs}is a compilation of a series of eight lectures delivered by Syed Sulaiman Nadvi in 1925 at Madras in India. In these lectures the author examines the lifeof the Prophet as an abidingmodel for all mankind. These lectures were delivered as part of an annual series of lectures promoted by the Muslim Education Society of Madras, a pioneer institution in South India. Among those who delivered these lectures are the legendary poet, Sir Mohammad Iqbal and the great translators of the Quran, Mohammed Marmaduke Pickhtall and MaulanaAbdul Majid Daryabadi. The lectures delivered by Iqbal have been published under the title The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam which is universally acknowledged as Iqbal’s greatest contribution to Islamic thought.Sulaiman Nadvi's lectures are presented here in a unique English translation by an award winning English author, Moin Qazi.
Syed Sulaiman Nadvi, an acclaimed Islamic historian and scholar, was born in1885. In 1911, he joined - Al-Hilal edited by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Together with Maulana Azad, Sulaiman Nadvi made Al-Hilal a powerful organ of young Muslims which ultimately played a dominant role in the awakening of Muslims in India. In 1926, he headed a delegation of celebrated Muslim leaders including Maulana Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali to Mecca to participate in the World Islamic Conference.On his return, from Mecca, he retired from active politics and devoted himself to literary pursuits. The greatest achievement of Syed Sulaiman Nadvi was the establishment of Darul Musannifeen (House of Writers), also known as the Shibli Academy, at Azamgarh. It is a pioneer inliterary and historical research in the subcontinent.
This book is largely a result of notes compiled by the author during the course of his studies and readings that straddled a vast canvas of life; spiritualism, academics, journalism, law, philosophy and literature. It is not a discourse but is truly a journey into the soul, and an initiation. The pages of this book are a strange mixture of analytic thought, mysticism, literature, eastern philosophies, western thought, religions, the sciences, psychology and the arts. The book surely has its own window. But the window invites us to open our own windows to look through the prism of every human being so that we know, understand and appreciate each other better. The author has drawn from a vast range of sources that span continents and cultures. What emerges is a kaleidoscopic canvas of shimmering stars of wisdom. Through this collection of essays, the author has tried to open the minds of people to a new view of humanity.
