Reminder: Ramadan takes pride in the fasting and nightly devotions of the Muslims
Layla takes pride in her love for Qays al-‘Āmirī, that love which wandered through the deserts of Najd, yet was only made purer by…
Character and Ethics
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Guidance for Muslims living as minorities
An academic recently asked me to reflect on the situation of Muslims who live as minorities and are exposed to systemic injustices, marginalization, and, in some cases, threats to their lives and properties. These circumstances…
Scholarly Disagreement: Limits, Etiquette, and Responsibilities
The very nature of knowledge and research is founded upon disagreement. Among scholars, there is sometimes agreement and at other times disagreement, and this…
Reminder: Do not wrong anyone
Do not wrong anyone, for wrongdoing will become layers of darkness on the Day of Resurrection. How heavy those darknesses will weigh upon hearts…
The Moment of Farewell
Today is the twenty-sixth day of the blessed month of Ramadan. The heart is immersed in a strange state. It feels as though only…
Games, Recreation, and Life
_(An excerpt recalling Jaʿfar Masʿūd Ḥasanī)_ * There was a time when, on the horizon of Muslim life, swordsmanship, archery, and horsemanship shone like…
Reminder: There is nothing but myself and the mirror
I looked upon Zaid, and he appeared envious; I looked upon Amr, and he seemed ignorant; I looked upon Samer, and he was lewd…
Nadwa’s Lentils
It is often said that whoever has not lived in the hostel of Nadwa cannot truly be a Nadwi. At first glance, this sentence…
Reminder: Despair is more hideous than the fire of hell
O soul! Beware, beware of despairing of the Spirit of God, and beware, beware of losing hope in His mercy. Truly, the heart’s turning…
See the World Through the Eyes of Mawlānā Abū al-ʿIrfān Nadwī
In the history of human societies there is a strange yet repeatedly recurring tragedy: when a weakness becomes widespread, people begin to regard it…
Reminder: How ignorant you are of the beauty of Joseph!
How ignorant you are of the beauty of Joseph! You imagined that Joseph’s beauty was confined to the image, and you assumed that the…
Reminder: I made the Scale ashamed
When I presented my deeds on the Scale of God on the Day of Judgment, my soul trembled with shame, and the Scale itself…
Reminder: The stranger who loses the path of his journey
I was born in Paradise, beside the Lord of all worlds, and it was for me a homeland untouched by decay, a dwelling unchallenged…
Questions & Answers on Character and Ethics
View all Q&A →Knowing oneself through returning to the Dīn
My student, Abu Hanifah Dilawar, forwarded to me the following question: Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuhu, Shaykh. This is a question from a Bangladeshi reader of the Bangla Facebook page who regularly reads your articles. They wrote: “I could…
“A bedding for a man, a bedding for his wife, a third for a guest, and the fourth is for the shayṭān”
Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4142, narrated by Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah. The hadith says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned bedding and said: “There should be bedding for a man, bedding for his wife, and a…
Balancing birr, patience, and self-protection
My student Dr Areeg asked me the following question: Assalamu alaykum Shaykh Akram, Islam places great emphasis on maintaining family ties and showing birr al-walidayn. However, I struggle to understand how this can be reconciled with situations involving abusive parents,…