the four spiritual foes

June 14, 2015

Footprints on the Sands of Time 3

Mixing a little politics with spirituality, and marriage with social activism; and adding a few other meditations and musings about Muslims and the challenges of modernity in the mix, this is the third set of Footprints on the Sands of Time. The first two may be read here and here: ♦ On spiritual intelligence: The intelligent one understands what needs understanding and just goes Continue reading

politics & society

Abrahim monotheism in today’s age, anti-semitism, Arab springs, causes for Islamic extremism, harmony in marriage, provisions on the spiritual path, purpose of knowledge, rebellion against rulers, seeking Islamic knowledge, suhbah, the four spiritual foes, true fiqh and false fiqh, zionism

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.

the four spiritual foes

Footprints on the Sands of Time 3