The Humble I

Knowing, Doing, Becoming

balancing material and spiritual needs

September 29, 2012

Have We Weaned Ourselves from the Dunya?

The idea of weaning the soul away from the world, even as a child is weaned off the breast, is a cornerstone of Islam’s teachings. But most hearts are absorbed in this world; are captive to its vanities; and nurse intense love for its appetites. Beautified for people is the love of desires: for women,… Continue reading

sufism, suluk & spirituality

al-Busiri, balancing material and spiritual needs, coping with consumerism, how to deal with dunya, Islam’s life philosophy, Jalil Ahmad Akhoon, simple living, worldly detachment

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.

balancing material and spiritual needs

Have We Weaned Ourselves from the Dunya?