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Life is filled with trials and tests, but somehow we never recognise half of them in the mundane encounters of daily life. ‘Do you think you will be left to say, “We believe”, and will not be tested?’ we remind ourselves as calamities unfold on our television screens. Tornados rip a town to pieces, and [...]

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 [...]

Saving Sajdah (Sumayah Hassan, An Obscure Sanctum) 

An important lesson has been learned as a result of this fracas (and forgive me, but this is “The Journey of a Self-Centred Soul”) — it reveals the fragility of faith. Those words of the Prophet, peace be upon him, that before the Hour holding onto one’s religion would be like holding onto burning hot [...]