The Humble I

Knowing, Doing, Becoming

contemporary concerns

November 14, 2020

Sacred Knowledge: Between Serious Seekers & Flippant Jokers

Now that certain objectionable practices have wiggled and wormed their way into the da‘wah – e.g. corporate attitudes which seems to put money first, the conscious use of comedy and tomfoolery, the culture of edutainment, the huge fees or honorariums that some charge for da‘wah, and an unhealthy celebrity culture which now surrounds certain speakers… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, knowledge & learning, short read

are we allowed to joke in the da‘wah?, calling to Allah requires serious people, Islamic knowledge becoming entertainment, money concerns in the da‘wah, Muslim preachers and teachers being frivolous
August 25, 2020

Rethinking Our Da‘wah in Post-Monotheistic Britain

Given that the knowledge the ‘ulema and du‘at teach and convey is sacred, majestic and noble: That this is indeed a noble Qur’an [Q.57:77], then they too are expected to exemplify nobility and dignity in terms of character and how they carry themselves. The message is noble, its carriers must be noble too. It’s as short and… Continue reading

activism, consider Islam, contemporary concerns, da’wah & muslim apologetics, modernity & muslimness

avoiding da‘wah dramas and cultivating sincere concern, between tabshir and tahdhir, da‘wah to Allah not ego, dawn in the British context, inviting atheists and humanists to Islam, pillars of da‘wah in atheistic Britain, rules of da‘wah in today’s society, the call to tabshir and taysir, what should be our focus of da‘wah in Britain?, wisdom in da‘wah in a post-religious British context
July 27, 2020

Passing the Buck: De-Normalise the Culture of Self-Promotion!

Possibly one of the most spiritually damaging traits – particularly for scholars, shaykhs, preachers and teachers – is the culture of self promotion and of not passing matters on to those more learned or more spiritually rooted. That such a tendency has now been normalised does not speak to our sophistication, nor to our savviness, but to… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality

Dangers of self promotion, Ghazali in pitfall of the scholars, self promotion and sincerity
June 24, 2020

Is Din ‘Private’ Religion & Is Iman ‘Blind’ Faith?

This article revolves around three questions: (1) Does translating din as ‘religion’ imply that it is only a private matter, having nothing at all to do with the public sphere – which is what people usually associate with the term religion? (2) If iman is translated as ‘faith’, does that not suggest it is ‘blind… Continue reading

consider Islam, contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, da’wah & muslim apologetics, knowledge & learning, theology

is faith in Islam blind faith?, Is iman the same as faith?, Islam insists on reason-based faith, islam is not just va religion but a way of life, Islam the way of life, Islam’s theology insists we should believe by way of reflection, justification for God’s existence, meaning of din in Islam, meaning of iman in Islam, proofs for the existence of God
June 18, 2020

On British Muslims & Racism: Do Black Lives Matter?

Q. As Muslims, what should our stance be on racism or racial discrimination, and should we be supporting social justice movements like Black Lives Matter (BLM)? And isn’t all of this support for BLM privileging justice for black people over others, especially when we Muslims realise the increasing Islamophobia and injustices being perpetrated against our… Continue reading

activism, contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, ethics & morals, modernity & muslimness, politics & society

BLM & Muslims, books on anti-black racism, Islam and racism, Muslims and racism, racial discrimination, racial inequality, racism and Britain’s Black Muslims, should Muslims support Black Lives Matter?
June 9, 2020

Kalam & the Hanbalis: Is It Really Relevant Today?

Often rendered into English as ‘theology’, ‘ilm al-kalam (or kalam, for short) is the science which establishes and elaborates upon matters of doctrine and belief. Because it depends upon reason-based arguments, it is ‘discursive’: hence ‘ilm al-kalam is sometimes referred to as discursive theology. In its more conjectural or philosophical form – a form where it… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, hanbali fiqh, knowledge & learning, modernity & muslimness, orthodoxy & ahl al-sunnah, reason, religion, rationality, theology

Al-Ghazali on kalam, brief history of kalam in Islam, challenges of Muslim theologians today, contemporary issues in Islamic theology, difference between kalam and ‘aqidah, good books to critique modernity from traditional faith perspective, how a Muslim can best learn their ‘aqidah or beliefs?, Ibn Juzayy on kalam, Ibn Taymiyyah on kalam, is kalam relevant today?, Is the science of kalam obsolete today?, Islam and rationality, Islamic critiques of the post-modern secular world, proofs for God’s existence, questioning scientism, verifying the two premises of the kalam cosmological argument, what is the hanbali stance on kalam theology?, what is the kalam cosmological argument?, what relevancy does kalam have in the 21st century?
May 3, 2020

Muslim Scholars Must Learn To Be Macro Thinkers

Let me commence with the following: The sixteenth century French essayist and moralist, Michel de Montaigne, wrote in his famous Essays: ‘It could be said of me that in this book I have only made up a bunch of other men’s flowers, providing of my own only the string to tie them together.’ This, I should… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, knowledge & learning, modernity & muslimness

abdal hakim murad, Cambridge Muslim College, How can authentic Muslimness thrive in modernity, how social sciences discourse can manipulate Islamic discourse, Iskam, Islam and humanism, Islam and occasionalism, Islam and the need to understand modernity, Islamic macro thinking, Islamic pedagogy and madrassahs and modern curriculums, Islamic response to universe from nothing, Islamism and other such terms coopted by securitisation industry, Muslim macro theology, social welfare and humanism, updating curriculum in higher Islamic institutions
January 12, 2020

Khawarij Ideology, ISIS Savagery: the Wahhabi Inspiration?

It has now been four years since I started this three part instalment. It’s been over three years since I wrote the rough outlines for this third and final part. One thing or another, however, stopped me from completing it. But given Saudi Arabia’s current socio-religious changes or transition under the Crown Prince Muhammad b.… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, orthodoxy & ahl al-sunnah, politics & society, salafism reconsidered, theology

Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi’s Wahhabi pedigree, al-Maqdisi’s takfir if Saudi Arabia, brief history of takfir and the three Saudi states, did Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab make tafkir of the all non-Wahhabis?, how the Management of Savagery code influenced ISIS and al-Qaeda, Humud b. ‘Uqala’s role in spreading takfiri ideas, is Saudi Wahhabism behind ISIS?, Is Wahhabism responsible for today’s jihadi violence?, pillars of the jihadi worldview, Salafi stance of judging by man-made laws, Salafi view on wala and bara’ah, Sayyid Qutb’s influence on ISIS, Takfir fatwas of early Wahhabi scholars, understanding today’s jihadi violence, Wahhabi influence on ISIS, Wahhabi takfir of the Ottoman Empire, Wahhabis on wala and bara’ah
January 7, 2020

Conspiracy Theories: Do You See Shadows At Every Turn?

Are the various conspiracy theories that have etched their way into popular culture true? Maybe. Have the powerful elites of every age sought to band together to control, manipulate and exploit the masses? Probably. Can any of these conspiracies be conclusively proven? Unlikely. Is God in full control of history and human destiny? Absolutely! Yet… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, politics & society

are conspiracy theories true?, are conspiracy theorists irrational?, biggest conspiracy, Islam and conspiracy theories, Islam and the Illuminati, Protocols of the Elders of Zion
December 28, 2019

Are We Becoming Bored of God?

THIS IS AN OBSERVATION that may be limited to my tiny window of experience; and it is something I’ve been aware of since the early 1990s. Which is that we Muslims are ready and eager to read stuff about the nitty gritty points of fiqh and shari’ah law, yet as soon as discussing the actual Lawgiver… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, knowledge & learning, sufism, suluk & spirituality

al-Hasan al-Basri on being bored of worship, getting bored of God, God fatigue, how spiritual boredom shows itself, how to deepen knowledge of God, Islam on life’s true joy, knowledge and the three types of people, ma’rifah as knowledge internalised and experienced, spiritual boredom

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.