pillars of religious practice
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Reward for Reading Qur’an Without Knowing the Meaning
Q. Is there any reward for reading the Qur’an in Arabic, even if you don’t know or understand the meanings? If so, what would be the point? ♦ A. Alhamduli’Lah, wa’l-salatu wa’l-salam ‘ala rasuli’Llah. This nagging question has been around for a while. But only recently has it begun to be argued about in a Continue reading
contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, pillars of religious practice, qur’an, tafsir, tadabburimportance of reflecting on the meaning of the Qur’an, Is it allowed to read the Qur’an without understanding?, Is it sinful to recite the Qur’an without understanding it?, Is there reward for reading the Qur’an without meaning?, the greater purpose of the Qur’an, the Qur’an and the salaf in Ramadan -
What Now after Ramadan?
Now that Ramadan has come to an end; and now that the spiritual energy and barakah we’ve been surfing on for the past month is subsiding, there is always that conundrum of letting ourselves spiritually unravel and allowing our material concerns to eclipse our spiritual ones. And whilst we are not expected to be in Continue reading
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The Kaʿbah, the Abrahamic Call & the Spirit of Hajj:
The Qur’an relates to us this duʿa of the Holy Prophet Abraham: رَبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِنْدَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا الصَّلاَةَ فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِنْ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ وَارْزُقْهُمْ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ ‘Our Lord! I have settled one of my offspring in a barren valley near Your Sacred House Continue reading
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Preparations for Pilgrimage & Piety
The Qur’an says of itself: [This is] a Book that We have sent down to you, full of blessings, that they may meditate upon its signs, and that those possessed of understanding may take heed. [38:29] The Quranic insistence on tadabbur (to ‘meditate’, ‘reflect’, ‘ponder’ upon the Qur’an) is one of the three essential states our hearts should be in for them to be enriched, Continue reading
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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
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Reality Check with Ramadan
Below are three short blog pieces I wrote last year on the theme of Ramadan and the spiritual technology called siyam/sawm, or fasting. Indeed, the very point of fasting in Ramadan, the fourth pillar of Islam, is to foster a state of detachment from the world, as also from our ego and desires. This creates, as it Continue reading
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Dhu’l-Hijjah: Honouring the Days of Abraham
The sacred month of dhu’l-hijjah (the last month in the Islamic calendar) is upon us, bringing with it all its virtues and blessings. It is the month of the pilgrimage or hajj, in which God has marked out, for pilgrims and non-pilgrims alike, some exceptionally blessed days. The Prophet, upon whom be peace, taught us the spiritual courtesy Continue reading
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The Five Degrees of Prayer
In the following extract taken from his monograph explaining the virtues and merits of dhikr – God’s remembrance and invocation, Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (d.751H/1350CE) takes us through the ascending degrees of prayer (salat): ♦ ‘With respect to prayer (salat), people are of five levels: The first [degree] is of he who wrongs his own soul Continue reading
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Fasting: Starving the Ego, Feeding the Soul
Muslim religious authorities speak about three levels of fasting: Firstly, the “outward fast,” where one abstains from food, drink and sexual union. Secondly, the “fasting of the limbs,” whereby the eyes, ears, tongue, hands and feet refrain from sins and acts of disobedience. Thirdly, and it is the highest degree of fasting, the “fasting of Continue reading