September 2012

September 29, 2012

Have We Weaned Ourselves from the Dunya?

The idea of weaning the soul away from the world, even as a child is weaned off the breast, is a cornerstone of Islam’s teachings. But most hearts are absorbed in this world; are captive to its vanities; and nurse intense love for its appetites. Beautified for people is the love of desires: for women,… Continue reading

sufism, suluk & spirituality

al-Busiri, balancing material and spiritual needs, coping with consumerism, how to deal with dunya, Islam’s life philosophy, Jalil Ahmad Akhoon, simple living, worldly detachment
September 27, 2012

Golden Rule for Muslim Activists

This is a companion-piece to the post, Basic Rules for Religious Activism which may be read here. In Islam, change isn’t sought for itself, but rather to improve an existing situation. If change does not lead to a greater good, or if it brings about a greater harm, then to bring about such change would… Continue reading

activism, fiqh & usul al-fiqh, politics & society

activism, commanding good, forbidding evil, Islamism, quietism
September 25, 2012

Basic Rules for Religious Activism

Truth be told, I have never liked the term “activism” as applied to Islam or Muslims, not least because it is unclear and nebulous and cobbles together many disparate thoughts, activities and people under a single umbrella. Nevertheless, since the term “activism” tends to refer to the efforts to promote or to direct social, political,… Continue reading

activism, contemporary concerns, politics & society

enjoining good and forbidding evil, government scholars, political activism, religious activism, rules for enjoining good, scholars of the state, seeking social change, the types of ulema, true scholars
September 20, 2012

Beholding the Prophet’s Status ﷺ

Mainstream, orthodox Islam (Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah) has long prided itself on preserving and transmitting the descriptions and distinctions of the blessed Prophet, peace be upon him. Tirmidhi’s much celebrated Shama’il, that depicts the beautiful attributes – physical and moral – of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is one such work in this heritage. Imam… Continue reading

orthodoxy & ahl al-sunnah, prophetology, salafism reconsidered, theology

‘lim al-ghayb, did the prophet have knowledge of the unseen?, knowing the rights of the Chosen one, loving Allah’s Beloved, shama’il, status of the Prophet, the Prophet’s maqam, venerating the Prophet, yearning for the Prophet
September 17, 2012

Insulting Islam: What Should Our Response Be?

The latest provocation against Islam takes the form of a crude film personifying and vilifying the Prophet, peace be upon him. A trailer of this otherwise unknown movie was posted on YouTube in July, attracting very little attention until last week when a version dubbed into Arabic was posted on the same YouTube channel, after… Continue reading

activism, contemporary concerns, politics & society

insulting the Prophet, Islamic response to insults, law of consequences, mocking Islam
September 16, 2012

Are You Seeking with the Seekers or Sleeping with the Sleepers?

It is said that: ‘Every person is either a traveller, an arriver, or a non-traveller.’ That is, one is either journeying to God through acts of faith, devotion and loving submission, desiring to being drawn closer to Him; or has spiritually ‘arrived’ at God and has been led to true God-conciousness; or has yet to make that… Continue reading

short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality

Beatific Vision, dhikr, dunya, muraqabah, suluk, vigilance of God, wayfaring in Islam
September 12, 2012

Are You Living an Unexamined Life?

The Prophet, peace be upon him, once remarked: ‘One of you sees the speck of dirt in his brother’s eye, but forgets the splinter in his own eye (yubsiru ahadukum al-qadhat fi ‘ayni akhihi wa yansa al-jidh‘a fi ‘ayni nafsihi).’ [Ibn Hibban, Sahih, no.1848] Those who don’t think of their own sins often make up for it… Continue reading

short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality

hadith of the muflis, seeing faults in others while forgetting our own faults, sins make you spiritually bankrupt, spiritual bankruptcy
September 11, 2012

Egos, Earrings & Atomic Bombs: What of Hiroshima?

While many will be commemorating the 11th anniversary of September 11, 2001, let us also recall a tragedy of far greater magnitude: August 6th, 1945. Around 10:30am on August 6th, 1945, without any warning or precedent, an American plane dropped a single atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The blast annihilated more than four… Continue reading

activism, politics & society

Arundhati Ror, glorifying nuclear terror, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, nuclear war, nuclear warfare
September 7, 2012

The Modern Pursuit of Happiness

“Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die” seems to best express the only kind of happiness modern man has made available to himself; and we know where such gross hedonism leads to. Our current culture of greed, of instant-gratification and of turbo-consumerism may deliver us short term ‘highs’, the momentary ‘buzz’, but these… Continue reading

mental health & psychology, short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality

hedonism, ingredients for a content life, materialism, pursuit of greed and selfishness, pursuit of happiness, the good life
September 6, 2012

Isn’t Loving God Enough to Make One a Believer?

The Qur’an states: There are among people those who set up equals besides God, and love them as [only] God should be loved. But those who believe are more ardent in their love of God. [2:165] One can often hear certain people puzzle over why Jews, Christians, Sikhs and others, are not considered believers – given… Continue reading

correctives & clarifications, short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality, theology

categories of divine love, Ibn al-Qayyim, types of love of God, will all who love God go to Heaven?

About Me

My name is Surkheel Sharif (aka Abu Aaliyah). Born and raised in London, England, I began my more formal, but gradual studies of the Islamic sciences around the late 1980s (just a few years after having quit my degree in Astrophysics). I also gained an MA in Islamic Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, in 2009.

I’ve translated a few Islamic works from Arabic into English; one of them, a short text on Muslim spirituality, called The Exquisite Pearl (2000). I have also authored a few books, including: More Fish Please & the Earth’s Complaint (2011); Fussing Over the 15th of Sha’ban & the Golden Rule of Differing (2011); A Muslim’s Guide to Modernity (2025); and Salafism Reconsidered (forthcoming)

I am the founder and current Director of the Jawziyyah Institute (est. 1999): a non-profit organisation dedicated to cultivating an Islam true to its time-honoured tradition, relevant to its current context, and of benefit to wider society.