Eyes behold the speck of dust, the towering mountains, the towns and the wastelands, the moon and the stars, the dazzling radiance of the sun – yet they find no contentment, nor is their wonder ever exhausted. The heavens are a relentless adversary, the earth is the dwelling place of strangers, the whole world is… Continue reading The Eyes Were Made to See You
Then What?
You wish to be wealthy and well-off—trading, earning, planting, harvesting, storing money—captivated by the blossom of this world, content with its adornments, immersed in its pursuit to the utmost degree. You rush to pleasures and comforts, favouring the company of bad companions, moving from one amusement and pastime to another. You aspire to strength and… Continue reading Then What?
Beyond States and Stations
The travellers upon the ṭarīqah take pleasure in discussing such states as constriction and expansion, grief and joy, awe and intimacy, intoxication and sobriety, ecstasy and quenching, effacement and affirmation, variability and steadiness, and the like. They deem these states and fluctuations to be their ultimate aim. How limited in capacity are those beginners who… Continue reading Beyond States and Stations
You Can Build the Taj Mahal, but Not the Kaʿbah
It was a Friday — the blessed moment of the fourteenth of Ṣafar, 1447 AH — when our feet touched the soil of Jeddah, and it was inscribed upon the Preserved Tablet of time that a caravan was setting out towards its true homeland. Before the hour was complete, the caravan’s direction turned towards Makkah.… Continue reading You Can Build the Taj Mahal, but Not the Kaʿbah
The Help of Allah Cannot Be Compared to the Help of Man
Today, the world feels foreign to the Muslim. It seems as though he is a resident of a forsaken land. His boat has broken upon the flowing stream; he is battered by the waves of a storm, helpless and far from the shore, witnessing his own sinking with no one to save him. His garden… Continue reading The Help of Allah Cannot Be Compared to the Help of Man
Do Not Cling to the Fading Light of Yesterday
Every day, the sun rises upon the horizon in its full splendour, and then gradually sets, disappearing into the folds of night. Yet, that very sun returns each morning with fresh light, renewed life, and revived hope. This immutable law of nature delivers to us a timeless message: every sunset is not an end, but… Continue reading Do Not Cling to the Fading Light of Yesterday
To My Granddaughter Amani
O Amani! Listen well and take heed (A word to my granddaughter Amani, the daughter of my daughter Hālah, on the occasion of her thirteenth birthday – 4th August 2025) My beloved granddaughter, Today you arrive at a new milestone in your life and take your first steps into a stage that signals your growing… Continue reading To My Granddaughter Amani
The Nation Whose Sun Still Stands at Noon
They claimed that the sun never set over the British Empire. They lied. It has come to pass that days go by in which the sun does not rise at all over it. The same is true of the Mughal, Ottoman, ʿAbbāsid, Umayyad, Roman, and Persian empires — and before them, the kingdoms of the… Continue reading The Nation Whose Sun Still Stands at Noon
Mawlānā Abū al-ʿIrfān Nadwī (رحمه الله عليه)
The name of my esteemed teacher, Mawlānā Abū al-ʿIrfān Nadwī (رحمه الله), is not merely an identifier of an individual; rather, it represents a scholarly temperament, an intellectual tradition, and a refined civilisational awareness. To speak of him is not simply to praise a person, but to recall that legacy of knowledge which, over generations,… Continue reading Mawlānā Abū al-ʿIrfān Nadwī (رحمه الله عليه)
Learn to Walk Alone
A Counsel to the Students of Al-Salam Institute You are among the fortunate ones who have been blessed with the opportunity to breathe in an atmosphere illuminated by sacred knowledge. Around you lies the shade of the āyāt of your Lord, and the radiant light of the aḥādīth of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) is… Continue reading Learn to Walk Alone