The Humble I

Knowing, Doing, Becoming

al-Zarnuji on good character

May 4, 2018

The Content of Good Character

In this talk, Shaykh Surkheel (aka Abu Aaliyah) explores the most comprehensive verse in the Qur’an, as it relates to the core character of a believer. He then looks at three scholarly wisdoms which, taken collectively, sum-up the content of character for a Muslim. The first of them is Imam al-Zarnuji’s words: “The best knowledge… Continue reading

ethics & morals, sufism, suluk & spirituality

adab and akhlaq in Islam, al-Zarnuji on good character, ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani on good character, character of a believer, cultivating good character, Muslim character, the Muslim personality, Yahya b. Mu‘adh al-Razi

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.

al-Zarnuji on good character

The Content of Good Character