There is the lived faith and the intellectual faith.
Bono has finally found what he was looking for. Turns out he hid it in Malta.
Academia has made its own bed by courting rich donors overseas. A university cannot very well bite the hand that feeds it: its hands are tied. Take a principled stand, and you can wave goodbye to the new buildings and facilities.
If you have wronged yourself, but have managed not to wrong others in the process, have faith that your Lord is forgiving and merciful. The door to repentance is open wide. If you have wronged others, but have managed to rectify your affairs with those you wronged, may Allah have mercy on you: may He …
It is said that in truer times, the scholars of Islam were often hard on themselves and lenient with their students. Nowadays we find that it is often the other way around, where the prominent sheikhs of our time are extremely lenient with their own behaviour, while publicly promoting the hardest of opinions for the …
Funnily enough, the greatest promoters of this thing we call Islamophobia turn out to be its biggest contributors. After betraying the message, perpetuating abhorrent behaviour, abusing people and acting unjustly, they have the audacity to proclaim all criticism Islamophobia, which must be silenced and rejected outright. These people would declare the Qur’an Islamophobic too, if they ever …
It is as much an extreme to always believe that an alleged victim is telling the truth, as it is to always believe that they are lying. Sadly people demonstrate those extremes all the time. Where is the nuance; the case-by-case approach? Justice demands that we evaluate each individual case on its merits, not fall …
And recite to them, O Muhammad, the news of him to whom we gave knowledge of Our signs, but he detached himself from them; so Satan pursued him, and he became of the deviators. And if We had willed, we could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered instead to the earth and followed his …
As I was praying Isha salah last night, these words flurried across my mind: “O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.” — Qur’an 49:6 And with that I began to …
Perhaps now is the time to return to the Qur’an. To read, and ponder and reflect deeply on passages set out before us. Perhaps the time has come to stop investing in false idols: in the cerebral ramblings of men — however great they may be — and return to the verses of our Lord. …
Don’t discuss the misdemeanours of Muslims, they say, at a time when we are being attacked left, right and centre. To which we might respond: were it not for our misdemeanours, would we find ourselves in this position? But in any case, when exactly would the right time be?
There may be criminals that are honest, but most people accused of crimes insist that they are innocent: it goes with the territory. The trouble is, innocent people also protest their innocence. Thank goodness most of us are not judges.
Adoring, blinded admirers can’t understand how an adoring admirer was blinded. Could it be that their devotion and admiration was exactly the same as yours? Could it be that they had complete trust in the object of their admiration, just as you do? Could it be that they too could see only good, and perfection, …
I have long been afflicted with an intellectual inferiority complex, which has often meant that when judging an idea or argument, I defer to the wisdom of my learned friends. If my companions judged that a particular theologian had a brilliant mind, who was I to differ? If friends applauded the contributions of a certain …
It is becoming increasingly clear to me that as a community we have started worshiping the men who inspire us — our leaders, scholars and guides — showering them in adulation, far beyond their station. We make them great beyond question: unable to err, devoid of nuance, the object of our devotion. Given that the …
