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Ibn Taymiyyah’s Letter on Muslim Unity
THIS POST LOOKS at how Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah advised some people who were in the grip of an intense and frenzied theological dispute, which was unleashing untold fitnah, had gone beyond bounds, and was inciting mutual hatred, schisms and boycotting. The lessons the Shaykh is hoping to impart, and get us to take to… Continue reading
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Imam Ahmad’s Spiritual Vision
IN THIS POST we shall see how Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal’s spiritual vision was part of a larger part of his overall path of tahqiq al-ikhlas — ‘actualising true sincerity’ to Allah. For whatever else it might mean, spirituality in Islam is about the ruh or ‘Spirit’. It is about how to strip away the… Continue reading
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The Journey Starts from the Outside-In
WE READ IN the Holy Qur’an: Assuredly, Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance, and those who strive to purify themselves. [Q.2:222] Given that the context of the verse is about women’s menstruation, the first thing included in the idea of purification, or taharah, is purification of the body from physical and ritual… Continue reading
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Palestine: Victory is Already Here!
ALTHOUGH THE TITLE sounds like a clickbait one, I can assure the reader that it is rooted in the Qur’an itself. Permit me the indulgence to explain: I. THE VICTORY The Holy Qur’an says: Truly Our word to Our servants, the Messengers, has gone forth: Indeed it is they who shall be victorious. [Q.37:171-2] Ibn… Continue reading
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Seeing the World with a Prophetic Eye
IF WE MUSLIMS aren’t to share in modernity’s despair or unhappiness, if we wish to prise ourselves from this web of distraction, we need to see the world with a critical prophetic perspective. This perspective is one that wants us to marvel at Allah’s creation and be filled with a sense of awe and thanks… Continue reading
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Clothes that Scream Attention!
ONE HADITH STATES: ‘Whoever dresses in clothes of attracting attention (shuhrah, lit. ‘fame’) in this life, Allah shall clothe him in garbs of humiliation on the Day of Resurrection.’1 The way we dress can and often does, therefore, have to do with the inward state of our souls. We are told in the scholarly commentaries… Continue reading
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Rulers, Rebellions, Righteous Anger
THIS PIECE DISCUSSES the issue of whether or not Muslims can publicly criticise their Muslim ruler or government (if so, where, when and how), and if rebelling against state authority would Islamically be allowed? This article is a long read, comprised of seven sections. It’s an unarguable fact that Islam does not abide anarchy on… Continue reading
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Muslim Modesty vs. Red Pill Masculinity
WHEN IT COMES to gender interactions, Islam insists on decent and appropriate behaviour and dignified conduct between the sexes. In other words, gender relations must be built upon the virtues of modesty (haya’), dignity (waqar) and respectability (haybah). In fact, it’s probably not an exaggeration to say that men simply can’t be men, or rijal, in… Continue reading
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Religion Is Not A Substitute for Science
ACCORDING TO THE standard secular story that’s been repeatedly told to us for the past century or so, just a few short decades after the start of modernity, science was able to defeat religion with its sheer brilliance and power to explain. We’ve been led to believe that for centuries religion had been doing some… Continue reading
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A Few Thoughts On the Death of Non-Muslims
SOME MUSLIMS LABOUR under the mistaken notion that given the enormity of disbelief in Allah’s final Prophet ﷺ and Revelation, one must not speak well of a non-Muslim (kafir) when they pass away on disbelief. Islamic teachings do not, however, require or insist upon such an uncharitable approach. Many non-Muslims died during the lifetime of… Continue reading