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The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Give charity without delay, for it stands in the way of calamity.” — Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 589 “They ask thee what they should spend (In charity). Say: Whatever wealth ye spend that is good, is for parents and kindred and orphans and those in want and for wayfarers. And whatever ye [...]

This Ramadan I resolved to memorise the remaining short suras I have thus far failed to learn. One sura a day, I told myself, for I can do it, for it’s not that hard, for I have learnt twenty ayats in an afternoon or a morning before. But taking stock, on this the nineteenth day [...]

Although my wife often reminds me that believers do not grieve over the past nor worry for the future, I often find myself lamenting the many mistakes I made over the years of my life and the numerous opportunities that passed me by. Sometimes it looks like it might subsume me as I begin to [...]

Some of the people dearest to me are people who would call themselves “Salafis”. They nurtured me when I was new to this deen, helped me and never failed to offer me support. Over the years I have seen each of them evolve in their own particular way. One of my friends is sensitive, has [...]

The past has been exercising me over the last few days and I have been thinking about old friends and acquaintances I have left behind along the way. Perhaps it is because we have been visiting my wife’s extended family while in Turkey and catching up with a few of her old friends. I tried [...]

Silence settled; I held hushed fear. Fear of sins returning to haunt. You changed, rearranged, but like heaven and hell, your mark remains in that gruesome book. No forgiveness or recognition, because they never saw your deconstruction and the reconstruction that followed. I saw the reflection of myself in characters passing by; exploitative, consumptive bodies, [...]