Every now and then, I am jerked back to reality. Recalling all that really happened, I suddenly interrogate myself: “Why do you pray for those who would have caused you such harm?” But then I remember that saying attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib: “Hate no one, no matter how much they’ve wronged you.” Long …
It’s a blessing to find a teacher who keeps things real. Attach yourself to those who are fair and just, who refuse to justify the unjustifiable or make excuses for what should be condemned. If you can’t find such a teacher, hold to that for yourself. Inshallah, in time, God will send you the companions …
Although I go for a walk weekly with a chap who is quite religious, I’ve noticed that when the topic turns to religion or politics with other guests, I usually take that as my cue to get up to do the washing up.
The nature of this life is that it’s a testing realm. There’s no escaping this. Everyone will be tested. People say to me that they intend to migrate in order to escape the perceived trials of raising children in Britain. What do they think they will find in their new home? Some kind of utopia, …
Victory of the unproud. English from 5 min mark.
“What about the terrible way Muslims behave?” You’re not responsible for how others behave. You’re only responsible for yourself. Perhaps the way others behave will be a test for you. Perhaps it will separate the wheat from the chaff, the true gold from false. My wife belongs to an ethnic group, which, at the collapse …
Let the raucous callers reflect on surah Luqman. What advice did Luqman give his son?
The servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk humbly on the earth, who, when the foolish address them, reply, ‘Peace!’ Quran 25:63
This the deen I love. The practical faith real to me.
I don’t have the stamina of my pious brethren in faith, who stand their nights in prayer. My Ramadan is characterised by working days fasting, and evenings nursing the headache that’s accompanied me for weeks. It wasn’t always so. In the early years, I’d be breaking my fast at work, then returning home for an …
When a theology of liberation for the poor and oppressed is coopted by the rich and powerful, only disaster lies ahead. Watch as a movement for social justice transforms into a tool for suppression and control. The polar opposite of all it first stood for. Don’t read tradition through the lens of imperialism. View it …
Do good people pass over the way because of how we behave? If they do, we should make this dua: Our Lord, do not make us a trial for those who disbelieve, and forgive us, our Lord. Surely you are the mighty, the wise. Quran 60:5 May good people be sent guides who truly embody the light …
