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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 [...]

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 [...]

A few weeks ago I noticed a strange pulsating feeling in my abdomen. It was not painful, nor was it uncomfortable, so quite naturally I ignored it. On the fourth day, however, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to look my symptoms up, just in case. Well it could be this, or [...]

The generosity of Allah knows no bounds. This lunchtime, inbetween prayers at the masjid, I was found pondering upon my sins. However would He forgive me, I asked myself, their memory fleeting in and out of my mind. I reminded myself that God’s mercy is not like human mercy; that while man might weigh the [...]

Random quotations keep on flowing into my mind: ‘they were not wronged, but they wronged themselves’ utmost amongst them. In this tragedy that it is my life — the perpetual oscillation between right and wrong curtailing my spiritual growth — every week seems to bring a new low and senseless despair. There came a sudden [...]

Some of my friends are angry with me, dispatching lengthy emails voicing their dissatisfaction. I know I should be hurt and offended, but instead I find myself thinking that this is just the voice of the Divine, revealing itself through His creation. I could compose great tracts in my defence, but I fear it would [...]

There is a disease that I have harboured for the best part of my life. It accompanied me as a child, an adolescent and an adult; as a Christian, an atheist, an agnostic and a Muslim; and in times of both health and sickness. I would define it as a disease of the soul — [...]

As Selaamu Alaikum, Everything happens for a reason and nothing occurs without Allah’s (SWT) plan. I was feeling a bit down because of some problems at work. I was studying Qur’an with a friend. We had some questions and needed some answers, so looked in to various Islamic sites. While searching, this link popped in [...]

It is Easter weekend and I am staying in the Rectory with my parents. As both of them are vicars responsible for different churches, they are in and out all weekend. The station of the cross on Good Friday after the night vigil on Thursday. My mother has already returned from her service this evening, [...]

Nicky Gumbel, 1994, Searching Issues, Kingsway Publications, England p.31 I WAS reading Searching Issues by Nicky Gumbel (of Alpha / Holy Trinity Brompton fame) recently and I came across the above statement in the second chapter, ‘What About Other Religions?‘ The question I want to address here is whether this is true. The actual context [...]