The Humble I

Knowing, Doing, Becoming

politics & society

September 14, 2019

Limericks to Engage the Faith-Based Mind: 2

Here are some more limericks highlighting, not just religious themes, but also faith-based conundrums and challenges (an earlier helping can be read here): I A hippy who was ever so calm, Thought that peace was the whole of Islam. His faith got derailed; God’s Oneness, he veiled; For a penny, he’ll now read your palm.… Continue reading

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

forms of pride, legitimate differences of opinion, showing off
September 10, 2019

Limericks to Engage the Faith-Based Mind: 1

Here are a collection of limericks, short and snappy, through which a variety of religious themes and faith-based issues are served-up as quirks, curiosities and, of course, food for thought: I A lad who watched Starsky & Hutch, Then got the Khawarij-like touch. As his raged unfurled, He said: ‘I must change the world. ‘I… Continue reading

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

counterterrorism, Islam and terrorism, khawarij, sufis and salafis, taqlid
August 30, 2019

Principle v. Practice: Questions on Modern Muslimness

In principle, there’s good cause to counter the allegation that, historically, Islam impeded the development of modern science in the medieval Muslim world. In practice, this must not translate into the belief that scientific progress is an absolute value upon which the credibility of Islam must actually rest. ≡ In principle, a Muslim scholar possessed… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, da’wah & muslim apologetics, modernity & muslimness, politics & society, science & religion, short read, theology

fate of non-Muslims in the Afterlife, how Muslims can best grow and thrive in the West, Islam and evolution, Muslims and the environment, pride in Islam, should Muslims be political activists or apolitical, status of science in Islam, what makes a person a Muslim
October 16, 2018

Times Will Get Worse Before They Get Better: But How?

Q. Do times get worse throughout the ages, after the Prophet’s era ﷺ? And is there a basis for believing this in the textual sources of Islam? Can you also say something about the return of Jesus, peace be upon him, and the coming of the Dajjal, and how they fit into the overall pattern… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, politics & society

expelling the hadith about the deterioration of times, fundamental difference between Islam and liberalism, future is for islam, hadith about how the times will get worse, how islam brings ultimate peace on Earth, Ibn Hajr explaining how times worsen, problem with the fiqh of taysir, rule of the mahdi, the hadith on how there will be peace on Earth, the return of Jesus
July 17, 2017

The State Seeking to Domesticate Muslim Scholars

I suppose our starting point can only be this advice from the Prophet ﷺ: ‘Whoever comes to the doors of the ruler is put to trial.’1 Discussion about this, I must admit, is a difficult and delicate one; so I’ll try to be as nuanced and even handed as possible. And Allah’s help is sought. This concern, first off,… Continue reading

activism, contemporary concerns, knowledge & learning, politics & society

fitnah for scholars cooperating with the state, Ibn al-Jawzi on Muslim scholars working with rulers, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali on ‘ulema visiting rulers, is it allowed for ulema to enter upon rulers?, Muslim scholars and socio-political activism, RAND report 2007, UK Muslim scholars and Prevent Counter-Terrorism strategy
July 1, 2017

What Are the Consequences of an Unjust Socio-Political Order?

Cruel and unjust treatment of women continues to be a huge problem the world over, including Muslim societies and communities. Despite the Qur’an insisting otherwise, mens’ egos can all too often turn a deaf ear to the divine commands in this regard. If we Muslim men wish to fare well in the Divine Court, we’d do well to… Continue reading

politics & society, short read

cause of Muslim weakness, fruits of justice, Ibn Abi’l-‘Izz on khuruj, Ibn Taymiyyah on justice, Islam and justice, Qur’an and justice, rebellion against the Muslim state, removing the chaos and confusion in Muslim lands, the decline of the Muslim world, why are Muslim countries so backward?
February 16, 2017

Fitnah: Coming to a Sin-e-World Near You! (Part 2)

The first part of this blog (here) discussed the fitnah or tribulation of wealth, civil war and men’s weakness for women. The second and final part of the blog discusses three more fitnahs – that of callers to misguidance, spreading of inverted understandings of Islam, and the question of governments seeking to domesticate Islam and its scholars. And Allah’s help is sought. ♦ 4 –… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, fiqh & usul al-fiqh, politics & society, theology

amman message, definition of bid’ah, fitnah of callers to misguidance, fitnah of entering upon rulers, governments compromising Muslim scholars, inverted understandings of Islam, is it lawful for Muslim scholars mixing with rulers?, protection against fitnah, protection against trials snd tribulations, RAND report of 2007 and Muslims, seventy-three sects in Islam, trials and tribulations in Islam, what to do in times of trials and fitnah?, who are the ahl al-sunnah, who is the saved-sect
January 23, 2017

Fitnah: Coming to a Sin-e-World Near You! (Part 1)

The Arabic word fitnah bears the meaning of trial, discord, affliction, temptation and civil war, and any other strife ‘that ruptures the community’s unity and pits Muslim against fellow Muslim.’1 As well as discussing the ageless and abiding fitnah of wealth, women and civil war, this blog piece will also reflect upon the fitnahs related to callers to misguidance, governments seeking to domesticate Islam and… Continue reading

contemporary concerns, politics & society, sufism, suluk & spirituality

‘ishq, fitnah of civil wars, fitnah of wealth, how are women a fitnah?, how should Muslims view wealth or money?, Ibn al-Qayyim on civil wars and rebellion, Ibn al-Qayyim on the degrees of love, islamic teachings on civil war, Jaleel Ahmad Akhoon, lowering the gaze in Islam, meaning of fitnah, passionate love in Islam, temptations of wealth and women, the forbidden gaze, the illicit glance, types of fitnah
December 29, 2016

Syria: Rulers, Righteous Outrage & Rethinking Revolutions

Initially, Aleppo never witnessed the large scale anti-government protests that kicked-off in other parts of Syria, in March 2011. A year later, though, and Aleppo too became a bloody battleground when rebel fighters tried to drive government forces from the city. The offensive was not decisive and Aleppo ended up divided: government forces controlling the west, rebel fighters the east. For… Continue reading

activism, contemporary concerns, politics & society, theology

conditions for revolting against Muslim ruler, difference between pre-modern and modern states, Hasan al-Basri on rebellion, how to help Aleppo, how to help Syrian refugees, is khuruj allowed in Islam?, Islamic ruling on rebellion against unjust rulers, Muslim political theory, Muslim theory about the state, reason for Syrian civil war, ruling on Arab springs, three conditions for khuruj, what to do about Aleppo?, what to do about Syria
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

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.