modernity & muslimness

March 2, 2018

Beware the Politics of Idolatry!

The Qur‘an teaches that whenever the love, longing, loyalty and submission which are due to Allah, are focused upon other than Him, or others along with Him, then this is shirk – idolatry; setting-up partners with Allah. For as Islam sees things, whoever loves something, desires it, values it, and centres their hopes, fears, love and loyalty around… Continue reading

modernity & muslimness, theology

how does Islam define idolatry?, how Muslims should engage modern society, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali on the essence of shirk, making idols of our desires, making idols of political systems, political idolatry
November 28, 2017

Pressures to Water Down Faith

This short video is about the demand being placed on Muslims to make their religious teachings align with the liberal orthodoxies of the age, and what our response to such pressures ought to be. Should we, as some are now doing, be watering down our faith teachings to make our religion more palatable to a wider… Continue reading

modernity & muslimness

does Islam need an Enlightenment?, Jawziyyah Institute, liberal Islam, making Islam more tolerant and tolerable, Surkheel Abu Aaliyah, water down Islam
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
January 21, 2015

While We Question Charlie, Let’s Question Ourselves Too!

While righteous anger when the Prophet ﷺ is mocked or insulted is integral to faith, we Muslims need to invest greater efforts into adhering to the actual obligations and duties instated by faith – be it in our acts or worship; our ethics and behaviour; our relationships; or our social contracts and transactions. The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘All my followers… Continue reading

activism, contemporary concerns, modernity & muslimness, politics & society

blasphemy in Islam, cartoons of the Prophet, Charlie Hebdo, Charlie Hebdo double-standards, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, islamophobia, Muslim extremists, Paris murders, vilification of European Muslims
May 30, 2014

Revering the Symbols of God in an Age of Irreverence

The Qur’an says: Whoever reveres the symbols of God, that is from piety of hearts. [22:32] Symbols (sha‘a’ir) refers to signs, marks or emblems by which something is known to belong to some particular body or group of people. Flags, for instance, are sha‘a’ir; as are those religious rites and practices which are emblematic of, or specific to, certain religious communities.… Continue reading

modernity & muslimness, short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality

Age of Irreverence, culture of egoism, liberalism, modern morality vs. traditional morality, reverence, symbols of God
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
December 8, 2013

Living Faith in Secular Societies

These are some reflections based on a presentation I delivered at an Interfaith forum in November, 2011; arranged and hosted by al-Noor school. The discussion was about how the practice of one’s own faith is affected by the secular landscape of our society. How far my thoughts on the subject convey or represent the voice of… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, modernity & muslimness, politics & society

how did secularism come about, Islam and secularism, religious practice in secular societies, secularism
November 24, 2013

Western Muslims: Prophetically-Inspired Voices of Dissent

This is a companion piece to the previous blog I wrote, called: British Muslims & their Strategies for Living in the UK (which can be read here). Here, I will discuss a few of the principles which ought to animate our engagement with wider society and our fellow citizens; and how, in the time honoured… Continue reading

activism, contemporary concerns, modernity & muslimness, politics & society

Abrahamic monotheism, creed of monotheism, Is religion an opium for the people?, Muslims in the West, sacred discontent, tawhid in the West, voices of dissent
October 30, 2013

British Muslims & their Strategies for Living in the UK

In H.G. Wells’ The Sleeper Awakes, Graham, a troubled insomniac in 1890s England, falls into a sleep-like trance that he does not awake from for over two hundred years. When he finally does come out of his slumber, he awakens to a world with wondrous technological trappings, yet staggering social injustice and growing unrest. Horrified… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, modernity & muslimness, politics & society

British Muslims, homosexuality and the Qur’an, Islam and progress, Islam in the UK, Islamism, islamophobia, liberal Islam, Muslim extremists
March 9, 2013

Big Brother: Who Watches Who?

During the first half of the twentieth century, many books were written which warned about the dangers of giving the state control over new and powerful technologies. The nightmare visions of society these books conjured up have left an indelible mark upon our collective consciousness and subsequent social and historical development. George Orwell’s 1984, and Aldoux… Continue reading

modernity & muslimness, poetry, limericks, literature, politics & society, short read

1984, Big Brother, consumerism, dunya as distraction, huxley, Orwell

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.