The First Ramadan in Oxford
Ramadan in Oxford brings with it a peculiar atmosphere. This city breathes within an ancient scholarly air: the old university buildings that seem to…
Spirituality
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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…
Reminder: Refrain from sin
Refrain from sin, for sin diminishes your rank before your Lord, clouds the purity of your heart, and steals the radiance from your face.…
Reminder: My heart is scattered across a thousand roads
My heart is scattered across a thousand roads; the paths pull at it as winds tug at a small boat upon a shoreless sea.…
Reminder: The dominion of the world and all that it contains is but a disgrace to me
A single glorification from my lips can fill the space between heaven and earth, and a single praise can fill the Scale; and both…
Reminder: When the egg hatches
When the egg hatches and the chick emerges, it passes from the narrow confines of its shell into the breadth of life, entering a…
Finitude and divine judgement
The death of a person introduces a decisive ontological and moral transition. While the living remain agents capable of deliberation, repentance, revision, and moral…
Reminder: I am a flower, and I rejoice in the spring
My neighbour said to me one morning, as he stood contemplating my face for some time: “Why do I see you today radiant of…
Reminder: Do not praise yourself
Do not exalt yourself, for there is no servant whose record is free of both good deeds and sins. All sins arise from the…
Reminder: I long to enter the garden of bliss
My soul said to me: I long to enter the Garden of Bliss. I replied: A noble longing indeed. To aspire to God’s mercy…
Reminder: I am not the master of the day of judgement
I saw one praying eight rakʿahs of tarāwīḥ and said, “He is lazy.” I saw another praying twenty and said, “He hastens and does…
Reminder: Magnify your Lord
Do not boast of yourself, your lineage, your teachers, or your affiliations. Do not let reverence become blind partisanship, nor belonging turn into pride.…
Reminder: Think well of fellow Muslims
Cherish a good opinion of your Muslim brother, for the bond of Islam is the firmest of ties, the noblest of lineages, and the…
Questions & Answers on Spirituality
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…
Seeking help, crowdfunding, and mortgage
Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh Shaykh. I pray you are well in sha Allah. I have a question. Can we apply for crowdfunding, or can we raise fund through such platforms once end up in financial hardship? Is it…
The nature of waswasah
Assalamu Alaykum Shaykh, My question is about how Shayatin can adversely impact our lives with their waswasahs? Do all mental health issues, such as overthinking and panic attacks, emerge from waswasah? How can we stop it? Are they signs of…