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A true friend, I have always thought, is the one who will always tell you the truth, even when the truth is something you do not necessarily want to hear. And in this I believe I have been blessed, for amongst my acquaintances there have always been those who would say, pull yourself together, just [...]

Who sits this side of the computer terminal, tapping out words that shoot out across the web? Nobody knows. Nobody knows if the author is a believer or a doubter, the pious or a sinner, the learned or the ignorant, a guide, the guided, the misguided or a misguider. Nobody knows if the author is [...]

Alhamdulilah for companionship, friends, smiles and felt-tip pens. Alhamdulilah for a child’s eye, for a mentor’s advice, for helping hands. Alhamdulilah for a lifetime to approach Him.

Friends are allowed to have blue moments, brief falling-outs, disagreements and the odd depression. Because a friend shouts at me, or takes issue with something I say, it doesn’t mean the friendship’s through. But even it was and we were suddenly enemies to one another, it would not change God’s sacred law. Back-biting is still [...]

“I looked at all the friends and did not find a better friend than safeguarding the tongue. I thought about all the dresses but did not find a better dress than piety. I thought about all sorts of wealth but did not find a better wealth than contentment in a little. I thought of all [...]

Last year I moved house and changed jobs at the same time. We got the keys for our new home in the last week of May and I started my new job in the first week of June. In both cases it was the start of something new in an unfamiliar town. We had lived [...]

Following tradition I am ill once again during my stay in Turkey. This time at least it’s not a stomach bug; I just seem to have caught a bad cold (in this heat!). Still, this hasn’t prevented me from experiencing the better things of life. I am back in Istanbul again and attended a nice [...]