The Cure to Devolution

I wonder, how many of us use intellectualization as a defense mechanism for the qalbi hole created by forgetting Allah? We analyze deen socially, racially, politically, economically, scientifically, and so on with whatever intellectual tools we have at our disposal. Yet, the desire to pray is no stronger and yaqeen still elusive. We are all...

Yielding to the People of Knowledge

For the person who thinks his or her understanding of Islam is like that of the scholars: The Seventh Protocol: Yielding to the People of Knowledge What this means is the layperson must believe that the meanings and secrets of these literal expressions that have been concealed from him were not concealed from the messenger...

There is nuance in life

It's funny how sometimes we delude ourselves into thinking our weaknesses are our strengths. We have forgotten that Muslims are a people of the ghayb. We believe in the ghayb because we have unquestionable knowledge about it from al-Haqq (The Truth) through al-Sādiq ﷺ (the truthful one). We know that underlying every apparent action –...

Disagreement to justify permissibility

I'm going to share with you a point that is lost on most. Disagreement among scholars on a topic is not a proof of it being permissible. How common is it today for a person when faced with a ruling s/he dislikes to say, "The scholars have disagreed on it!" Yet, we are commanded by...

Look, Our Deen Accepts What You Do!

Shaykh Ashraf `Ali al-Thanwi (May Allah have mercy on him) in his Malfuzat gave an example of some Muslims of his time who wanted to impress Hindus by showing how Islam accepted their ideas. Those Muslims quoted, "And do not insult those they call upon other than Allah" (Surah al-An`am: 108). Then, they explained that...

Scholars need to be more relevant to the times

"Scholars need to be more relevant to the times" is just code-speak for "Scholars need to make halal what we are already doing." Be wary of those who bring the ways of politicians and progressive activists into spirituality. Rather, adopt the ways of those whose spirituality led them towards activism.

It’s the little things…

One of the secrets of the people of taqwa is what Imam al-Ghazali describes in his "The Forty Principles of the Religion" quoted below. The Tenth Principle - Following the Sunnah Know that the key to happiness is following the Sunnah and taking Allah's Messenger ﷺ as an example in all of his comings, goings,...

Islamophobic tendencies

You have Islamophobic tendencies if: 1. You feel the need to 'watch' a Muslim whether in public or in your neighborhood. 2. You think the average Muslim that is just trying to get by, feed his or her family, and send his or her kids to school is something other than that. 3. You think...

The Devil built a wall called dehumanization

He must have been so proud the day he built it. What better way to undermine compassion and mercy than to convince a person that another isn't even human? The narrative is familiar to anyone in the West: The Muslims are savages loving war over peace. They kill and hope to be killed. Muslim men...

What more can you ask for?

From the start, Allah created you with a fitrah - a natural disposition - pointing towards Him. Long before you were born and even before kufr was a thing known, Allah lined up every human being and asked us a rhetorical question, "Am I not your Lord?" and you answered in the affirmative. Within a...