It is easy to be awestruck by Muslim activists. They often have impressive beards. They advocate for the right political causes. When they speak, they employ religious vocabulary. In their daily interactions, they seem to be on the side of the poor and the oppressed. However, once you look beyond appearances, often the reality is …
Stress will cut you down. Often different kinds of stress collide, leaving you in a great big mess, spiralling downwards into a vicious circle of rocketing anxiety levels. Life is filled with tests, and even the most mundane events can pack an almighty punch, knocking you for six. A husband only needs to have a …
“O you who have believed, indeed many of the scholars and the monks devour the wealth of people unjustly and avert from the way of God. And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of God: give them tidings of a painful punishment.” — Qur’an 9:34
The questions you pose apply whether or not you bring a creator into the equation. The human mind cannot fathom infinity. If the universe or matter always existed and will always exist, however would we ever reach today? Hence we believe in beginnings. Be that Fred Hoyle’s “Big Bang”, Georges Lemaître’s “primeval atom” or the …
“O you who have believed, fear God. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow — and fear God. Indeed, God is Acquainted with what you do. And be not like those who forgot God, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient.” — Qur’an 58:18-19 For …
If you’re tired of your PC crashing / rebooting / updating, says Google, get yourself a Chromebook. It’s a nice idea, but is probably just hype. They’re playing on users’ genuine frustrations with their Windows computers, forever seemingly updating. But reality is very different. Perhaps the latest high end Chromebooks suffer none of these ills, …
I think most men harbour malevolent traits which, if allowed to come to fruition, would blossom into the worst of deeds and perhaps heinous crimes. It is the responsibility of each individual, then, to tame his soul, to dampen the calls to evil of the basest parts of him. Some men, I think, are truly …
White Muslim writes blog post castigating white Muslims for being white Muslims. Muslim social media acclaims the author, lauding him for telling the truth about white Muslims. White Muslim thinks: thank goodness I embraced this path in pursuit of truth, seeking the oneness of God. If I was in it for a sense of identity …
It is quite amazing how many times — wholly insignificant as I am — my path has crossed with those of the celebrities of community. Every now and then I am reminded of that happenstance, when my usually inconsequential website suddenly receives a massive spike in traffic, the average of five daily views suddenly multiplied …
The Daily Mail and The Times tried to tap into xenophobic sentiment by revealing that the RNLI spend 2% of their expenditure on efforts to reduce drowning internationally. Thousands responded with their wallets, pledging to support the lifesaving charity. Their message is clear: we don’t support the isolationist fear-mongering of billionaire media moguls. Give if …
I confirm that we all sin. To err is human, as the saying goes. That favourite ditty of mine captures my own emotions succinctly: ‘To good and evil equal bent, and both a sinner and a saint.’ Never would I pretend perfection; far from it, for my life has been like a swinging pendulum, sometimes …
What is safeguarding? It is working to ensure that children and adults, particularly the vulnerable, are able to live their lives in safety, free from abuse, harm and neglect. If Islam is an active path in which we move towards a state of safety and health, then safeguarding ought to be a primary concern of …
Indeed, those who have said, “Our Lord is Allah” and then remained on a right course — the angels will descend upon them, saying, “Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. We were your allies in worldly life and are so in the Hereafter. And …
Last night, I happened upon these words attributed to the Prophet, peace be upon him: ‘There shall come upon people years of deceit in which the liar will be believed, the truthful one disbelieved, the treacherous will be trusted and the trustworthy one considered treacherous; and the Ruwaybidah will speak out.’ It was said: Who …
