The Humble I

Knowing, Doing, Becoming

a sin is not the whole person

September 30, 2026

When Sin Does Not Extinguish Love

Al-Bukhari (no.6780) records a hadith about a man who was brought to the Prophet ﷺ for repeatedly drinking alcohol. After one such occasion, a Companion cursed him because he had been brought for the punishment of flogging quite a few times. The Prophet ﷺ stopped him and said: ‘Do not curse him. By Allah, I… Continue reading

religion, short read

a sin is not the whole person, sinful hearts can still love Allah, the repeated sinner who loved Allah

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.

a sin is not the whole person

When Sin Does Not Extinguish Love