Minhāj

Minhāj, a term used in the Qur’ān (5:48), means model, plan, system, way, method, line, among others. It means at once the way and the means to take that way. Minhāj entails therefore motion and progress towards a particular end. For Imam Yassine’s Justice and Spirituality School, al-Minhāj an-Nabawi (the Prophet’s model) means the practical theory that Imam Yassine crafted to show the method or way that Prophet Muhammad (God’s blessings and peace be upon him) used to train his companions morally and spiritually, organize them socially and politically, and mobilize them to build an Islamic state. Among the features of the minhāj is authenticity in the sense that all concepts by which it is represented are derived from either the Qur’ān or the sunna. Such careful choice of terminology is not made for the sake of difference per se. It is rather aimed to distinguish the minhāj from the other worldly methods in terms of source, intention, and purpose.