ethics & morals

May 4, 2018

The Content of Good Character

In this talk, Shaykh Surkheel (aka Abu Aaliyah) explores the most comprehensive verse in the Qur’an, as it relates to the core character of a believer. He then looks at three scholarly wisdoms which, taken collectively, sum-up the content of character for a Muslim. The first of them is Imam al-Zarnuji’s words: “The best knowledge Continue reading

ethics & morals, sufism, suluk & spirituality

adab and akhlaq in Islam, al-Zarnuji on good character, ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani on good character, character of a believer, cultivating good character, Muslim character, the Muslim personality, Yahya b. Mu‘adh al-Razi
April 12, 2018

The Male Lust, the Female Form & the Forbidden Gaze

Allah ﷻ informs in the Holy Qur’an: Made beautiful for mankind is the love of desires for women and offspring, of hoarded heaps of gold and silver, of branded horses, cattle and plantations. [3:14] Although such things are elsewhere spoken of positively in the Qur’an, as blessings for which people should be thankful, here they are Continue reading

contemporary concerns, ethics & morals, heart matters, marriage, family, gender

fitnah of women, gender ethics in Islam, harms ion the lustful gaze, how the heart is enslaved, Ibn al-Qayyim on the forbidden gaze, levels of love and infatuation, spiritual significance of lowering the gaze
December 25, 2017

Protecting the Fortress of Faith

Imam al-Hajjawi (d.968H/1561CE) – author of a celebrated Hanbali fiqh text, al-Iqna‘, and its abridgement, Zad a-Mustaqni‘ – wrote the following as part of his commentary to a famous Hanbali adab-poem: يُقَالُ مَثَلُ الْإِيمَانِ كَمَثَلِ بَلْدَةٍ لَهَا خَمْسُ حُصُونٍ، الْأَوَّلُ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ، وَالثَّانِي مِنْ فِضَّةٍ، وَالثَّالِثُ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ، وَالرَّابِعُ مِنْ آجُرٍّ، وَالْخَامِسُ مِنْ لَبِنٍ، فَمَا Continue reading

ethics & morals, sufism, suluk & spirituality

al-Hajjawi al-Hanbali on protecting faith, five walls of faith, fortress of faith, Hanbali adab-poem
December 3, 2016

Justice, Equality & Feminism: the Quranic View

In this tafakkur or ‘meditation’ upon the Qur’an, we explore the Islamic teachings on justice – what it means, its place in our religion, how it permeates the entire shari‘ah, and the dire consequences to nations and societies when justice is ignored or thrown to the wind. In fact, as we’ll see, the current state of the Muslim Continue reading

contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, ethics & morals, fiqh & usul al-fiqh, knowledge & learning, marriage, family, gender, politics & society, theology

Are Islam and Feminism comparable?, consequences of injustice in society, empowerment to women, feminism, Ibn al-Qayyim on the nature of the shari’ah, Ibn Taymiyyah on justice to innovators, Ibn Taymiyyah on political stability, is Islamic Feminism Islamic?, Islam and equality, Islam and feminism, Islam and patriarchy, Islamic feminists, male chauvinism vs. feminism, meaning of justice in Islam, social justice and political stability, women’ rights
November 26, 2015

Law & Morality: Swinging Sixties to Artificial Intelligence

Ever since Kubric’s 1968 sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey, or the 1983 film War Games, or the desperate attempts to stop Skynet going live in the Terminator franchise, we’ve grown more and more accustomed to machines having the commanding edge when it comes to making logical decisions about space flight or warfare. But for the past few years, scientists in the United Continue reading

ethics & morals, modernity & muslimness, technology & social change

artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence and empathy, Ibn taymiyyah on grades of moral offences, is every moral violation a criminal offence in Islam?, Islam and the moral imperative, Islamic law and morality, machines with morality, robots with morality
May 22, 2015

Beards, Hijabs & Body Language: Gender Relations

What does Islam say about gender relations? How are the sexes meant to interact in a healthy manner with each other? How can we instate the wisdoms of the shari‘ah and the guidelines of Islam in our everyday lives in this regard? This is what this brief post intends to explore. I’ll begin by fleshing out some Continue reading

contemporary concerns, ethics & morals, fiqh & usul al-fiqh

being a gentleman in Islam, gender interactions on social media, gender relations in Islam, Islamic chivalry, Islamic ruling on shaking hands with the opposite sex, modesty in Islam, rules for gender interactions, ruling on hijab, ruling on Muslim men keeping beards, what does lowering the gaze mean
February 9, 2015

Zakat: Helping the Needy at Home or Just Abroad?

Thoughts that first cross the mind when it is suggested that zakat should be given at home in the UK, as well as abroad, is: foolish; nonsensical; totally irresponsible; utter ignorance; unIslamic, even! After all, who in Britain is truly poor or needy compared to, say, the millions of people in Malawi, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and other parts Continue reading

contemporary concerns, ethics & morals, fiqh & usul al-fiqh, pillars of religious practice, wealth & trade

categories of zakat recpients, giving zakat in the U.K., huquq Allah wa huquq al-‘ibad, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Islam and charity, Shah Wali Allah, zakah to Muslims in Britain
January 25, 2015

How to Be the Best of Muslims, Not the Worst?

If, as it is said, ‘conduct is the best proof of character,’ then it befits each of us Muslim to adorn their conduct with sincerity, honesty, integrity and piety. In other words, we should each aspire to be people of beauty: inwardly and outwardly. Collectively, the ummah may be excused, in some part, for its lack of political and Continue reading

ethics & morals

becoming the best of nations, being shy infant of the Prophet, character is mark of a believer, deeds presented to the Prophet, excellent character is sign of true believer, islam and moral excellence, Islam condemns bad character, Muslims living ethical lives, religion and good character
August 4, 2014

Piety Demands We Think Before We Text, Tweet or Speak!

‘A still tongue makes a wise head’, says one proverb. Another says: ‘The wounds of a sword may heal one day; the wounds of the tongue, they never may.’ And then there is this note of caution: ‘Speak when you’re angry and you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret.’ While it is certainly true Continue reading

ethics & morals, short read, short texts for reflection, technology & social change

dangers of the tongue, harms of speaking too much, Imam al-Nawawi on speech, Islam and controlling the tongue, social media can kill spirituality, virtues of silence
January 11, 2014

Are We Amusing Our Hearts to Death?

One hadith states: ‘Laugh not too much; for too much laughter deadens the heart.’1 This isn’t to say that laughter or humour must be avoided altogether; for laughter and light-heartedness, in moderation, are prophetic Sunnahs that helps lighten burdens, ease anxiety and bring about joy to oneself and to others. Indeed, there is little virtue in Continue reading

ethics & morals, heart matters, modernity & muslimness, politics & society, short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality, technology & social change

amusing ourselves to death, benefits and harms of laughter, brainwashed by tv, dunya as distraction, entertainment, media distractions, recollecting the Afterlife, remembering death, remembrance of God

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.