the outer and inner dimensions of Islam

December 25, 2019

The Law, the Path, the Reality

SCHOLARS AGREE THAT the actions of religion may be divided into two broad areas: the outward actions of the limbs, and the inward actions or states of the heart. Some describe the outward actions as shara’i‘a’l-islam – “the laws of islam” and the inner as haqa’iq al-iman – “the realities of faith”. Other scholars describe Continue reading

sufism, suluk & spirituality

Haqiqah is to worship God as though spiritually seeing Him, iman islam ihsan, shari’ah tariqah haqiqah, the outer and inner dimensions of Islam, truly knowing Allah

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 outer and inner dimensions of Islam

The Law, the Path, the Reality