remembrance of God

August 29, 2016

Our Need to Connect, Anxious When We Don’t!

‘The more we’re connected, the more we seem to be disconnected’ pretty much sums up our growing modern dilemma. Our globalised social media age is one in which selling ourselves, sharing ourselves, expressing ourselves and defending ourselves are now part and parcel of everyday life for millions of people across the world. In such an age, writes Os Guinness, it’s a case of: ‘I Continue reading

technology & social change

compare-and-despair syndrome, connected to God or to Facebook?, connecting with God, Content Creator of creation, FOMO, greatest human need is to connect with God, human need to connect, Islam and social media, JOMO, Muslims and social media, remembrance of God, social media addiction, spiritual harms of social media, tackling anxiety
July 12, 2015

Should I Stop Making Dhikr If My Heart Isn’t In It?

‘I’m remembering Allah, but my heart’s not in it; what’s the point’ is a typical anguish for many of us? ‘When I make dhikr, my heart doesn’t have focus, it’s all over the place. Is there any use’ is another one? So should we stop making dhikr because out heart lacks focus on Allah; because there isn’t any hudur al-qalb Continue reading

correctives & clarifications, heart matters, short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality

dhikr of the tongue, dhikru’Llah, hudur al-qalb, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn al-Qayyim and the three levels of dhikr, Ibn Ata’illah, presence of heart, remembrance of God
January 11, 2014

Are We Amusing Our Hearts to Death?

One hadith states: ‘Laugh not too much; for too much laughter deadens the heart.’1 This isn’t to say that laughter or humour must be avoided altogether; for laughter and light-heartedness, in moderation, are prophetic Sunnahs that helps lighten burdens, ease anxiety and bring about joy to oneself and to others. Indeed, there is little virtue in Continue reading

ethics & morals, heart matters, modernity & muslimness, politics & society, short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality, technology & social change

amusing ourselves to death, benefits and harms of laughter, brainwashed by tv, dunya as distraction, entertainment, media distractions, recollecting the Afterlife, remembering death, remembrance of God
May 11, 2013

Beacons Upon the Path of the Soul’s Purification

The Prophet, peace be upon him, once said: kun fi’l-dunya ka’annaka gharibun aw ‘abiru sabil – ‘Be in this world as if you were a stranger or traveller.’ [Al-Bukhari, no.6416] Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali began his commentary to this hadith by stating: ‘This hadith forms the basis for having brief hopes (qisar al-amal) in terms of Continue reading

sufism, suluk & spirituality

cultural obesity, excessive entertainment, honouring the shari’ah, information overload, presence of heart in prayer, remembrance of God, the symbols of God
November 11, 2012

Are We Letting Time Whizz Right Past Us?

Imam al-Shafi‘i remarked: ‘Time is like a sword, if you do not cut it, it will cut you.’ He also said: ‘Your soul, if it is not kept busy with the truth, it will busy you in untruths and falsehood.’1 Islam’s “masters of the heart” tell us that filling our lives with works of faith and Continue reading

short read, short texts for reflection, sufism, suluk & spirituality

blessings of time, Ghazali, organizing time, procrastination, remembrance of God, time-wasting

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.

remembrance of God

Our Need to Connect, Anxious When We Don’t!

Should I Stop Making Dhikr If My Heart Isn’t In It?

Are We Amusing Our Hearts to Death?

Beacons Upon the Path of the Soul’s Purification

Are We Letting Time Whizz Right Past Us?