I awoke this morning with these sentiments foremost in my mind: Do you order people to righteousness and forget yourselves, even while reciting the scripture? Have you no sense? Quran 2:44 How daft to make it your life’s work to call others to faith, but have nothing to show for it. Did you let the …
The Muslim world is diverse and it has always accommodated such diversity. That is its strength. Don’t be surprised to encounter diversity of opinion in the schools of jurisprudence. The accumulation of knowledge didn’t just happen in one day. Vociferous demagogues tends not to have the humility to appreciate this fact, but it is a …
To be a positive, happy person: how to cultivate that within? Sometime we encounter people who, despite carrying great burdens, exude such generosity of spirit as to render us dour ones contrite. These those folk who despite profound loss, hardship or inner pain, nevertheless have a smile for all they meet, lightening the load for …
Where were the khutbahs on the desecration of the Quran when men were strapping high explosives to their bodies, walking into packed mosques and detonating their charges, ripping to shreds worshipers at prayer, their place of worship and all of its contents, over and over for two decades? In each sacrilegious act, both the message …
Giving charity does not diminish your wealth. On the contrary, it multiplies your blessings. Indeed, the men who practice charity and the women who practice charity, who have loaned God a goodly loan — it will be multiplied for them, and they will have a noble reward. Quran 57:18 Never stop giving, regardless of your …
There we go again. Another of those unsettling encounters which stops me in my tracks and causes me to ponder for minutes on end: is my life really just a simulation? And am I being fed inputs from outside of the simulated container? Yes, I know I must not entertain this perturbing rumination too loudly, …
Such was my sincerity when I first took up this path that I thought I had to confess to all of my loved ones openly. Twenty-five years on, it occurs to me that this was quite unnecessary. What one believes is a private matter. Of course, back then there were complicating factors, such as Ramadan …
Sometimes you’re forced to speak up, even if you don’t want to, even if it’s out of character. That just happened at the mosque this lunchtime, when the boys’ teacher asked, “Who has heard of so-and-so?” Immediately, other dads ventured all they thought they knew. “He was a terrorist. He went to Syria. He was …
I was disturbed by a conversation yesterday. It didn’t sit well with me for it was not reflective of the path I have walked the past decade or so. To me, it was a very shallow rendition of faith, based not on deep reflection but on the clamour of social media. Fortunately, it was quick …