In every nation there are those striving for peace, and those striving for war. If you must pick a side, choose those who are truly striving for peace. To work out who is who, you must open your eyes, and resist the collective amnesia demanded of us. To strive for peace doesn’t mean to shrink …
In life, I find, we tend to be tested by whatever occupies us at any given time. In the very early days along this path, such tests would often revolve around the strange hypotheses I’d entertain to account for the perplexing conundrums of the moment. In the period leading up to my testimony of faith, …
I grow weary of the facile pleading of bearded influencers, for whom a woman’s alleged feminism is more problematic than a brother being engaged in major sins. The brother — always, always — must be given his seventy excuses and the benefit of the doubt, but the feminist sister must immediately be condemned, undermined and …
If only the zealous fellow would bring evidences for whatever he insists on spouting before vast audiences week after week. While the learned know he is simply making it up as he goes along, the ignorant seem easily fooled by the apparition of stringent orthodoxy, hanging on his every word. It is all a game …
Prioritise what the Quran prioritises, not what popularism holds to be important. Focussing on the latter will just carry you down a rabbit hole, distracting from what is essential. Focus first on constructing firm foundations. The Quran prioritises justice, being fair in trade, looking after orphans, feeding the poor, being kind, merciful and humble, resisting …
These days, I can’t help feeling that the YouTube algorithm is forever serving up far-right content for me. I don’t just mean the white supremacist far-right, but also the hard right of Muslim thought. Wherever I turn, I seem to encounter the most reactionary politics, drowning out all other voices. It probably doesn’t help that …
Death will come: that is assured. None of this will go on forever. Our lives will end, perhaps when we’re least expecting it. It doesn’t really matter to me if those who called me to a better way all those years ago didn’t know they were calling me to a better way. It doesn’t matter …
I have been reading a lot about the psychosocial impact of the non-inherited genetic condition I find myself bestowed with and its influence on quality of life. Though the phenotype caused by that extra chromosome is highly variable, numerous studies have demonstrated that the condition is often associated with lower socioeconomic status, in terms of …
Perhaps it was for a good reason that I had a mega wobble in 2021, its effects reverberating through 2022. Sure, my ingratitude was on full display, as I trounced myself for being an utter failure, oblivious to blessings all around me. But perhaps it was necessary to go through that, to take stock, reset, …
I can’t sleep these days. I blame coffee, or my high cholesterol. Sunday night, I didn’t sleep at all, until after fajr prayer at dawn. Monday night, I slept better, after shunning caffeine all day, making up for the previous night. Last night I couldn’t sleep until well after three, giving me just a few …
The fitna my generation had to contend with was the scourge of terrorism, each act of wanton barbarity tarnishing the reputation of the faithful everywhere. The fitna of this generation is the circus of bearded influencers, who believe they are calling people to faith but are in fact scaring good people away. With their risible …
