Islam’s existential question

May 14, 2025

Islam’s Five Big Life Questions

‘THE STARTING POINT of any religion is wonderment. The sheer mystery of our lives demands an explanation. From the gas clouds floating in interstellar space, to the tiniest subatomic particles, the realm of action into which we have been thrust must be understood if we are to know how to live. “The unexamined life is Continue reading

consider Islam, da’wah & muslim apologetics, theology

defining true belief, Islam’s epistemology, Islam’s existential question, proofs for God, the big questions

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.

Islam’s existential question

Islam’s Five Big Life Questions