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I have become rather passive of late. The practice of my deen has been confined pretty much to the performance of the five prayers; I don’t think I am in a very good place spiritually and my relationship with my Lord is strained by the sins I willfully pile upon others. All those passions that [...]

The reality of this road is that it is difficult. It may be straight, but it is steep and at times rough, and often vulnerable to the molestations of bandits. As anyone who journeys to the highlands of any nation will know, the easiest route to the top of a mountain is via the winding [...]

Do not convince yourself when you embrace Islam that you are special, immune to the trials of this world, for every living man and woman must decide whether to take up this path or reject it. You are not a special case. You too must struggle and strive against the call of your nafs. You [...]

When we were young we spoke of faith and truth, of rightness and wrongness, and of goodness. Now we talk of pragmatism. And we deride our younger selves and the zeal that once accompanied us.

“Wondrous are the believer’s affairs. For him there is good in all his affairs, and this is so only for the believer. When something pleasing happens to him, he is grateful, and that is good for him; and when something displeasing happens to him, he is patient, and that is good for him.”

Salam alaikum, I found listening to this recording very beneficial: Abu Dhabi Khutbas — Friday Sermon: Doubt & Certainty It is just over 40 minutes long, but I think it’s worth finding the time to listen, inshaAllah.

One lesson that experience teaches me is that sincere repentance must always be followed by vigilance. In Ramadan we have the gift of being able to distinguish between two types of sins: those that come from within, from the nafs, and those that come from outside. When, in the midst of that blessed month, we [...]

I had only just repented for the sins of the previous days and returned to my Lord ashamed when, on my return from a brief saunter in the back garden, a name whispered its way into my mind. I did not need to respond to the surprising murmur, but all of a sudden I was [...]

Those who see only a long and drawn-out process in the preparation to adopt needy children may not fully appreciate the huge blessings that the experience has brought. There are, of course, the children: two angels from heaven, Ramadan’s offspring. But, as if this were not enough, there has been so much more. One such [...]

As we travel this road, God’s generosity becomes ever more apparent. My year between the two Ramadans was marked with periods of darkness and a great descent, troubling to my mind, and yet God’s mercy has been unending. The days of immense folly still return to the mind, often whilst bowing in prayer, causing an [...]

Sometimes I cannot help being suspicious of Damascene Conversions. Of course God can change all hearts, I remind myself, from the most wicked to the most gentle. And indeed in the story of the Muslim faith there is ample evidence of this. Amongst the greatest personalities of Islam are those who were once its greatest [...]

What do people think of when they hear the words of Surah al-Ankabut, ‘Do the people think that they will be left to say, “We believe” and will not be tested?’ Does it conjure up pictures of war, famine, abject poverty, homelessness and flooding? Do we imagine the shaking of the earth, columns of refugees [...]