The Humble I

Knowing, Doing, Becoming

vigilance of God

February 12, 2020

The Soul of Islam is a Vigilant and Mindful Heart

Revelation tells us that muraqabah, vigilance of Allah, is one of the sublimest spiritual stations. We are told too that habituating our heart to such vigilance requires training the heart gradually and step-by-step. Masters of the heart instruct us to accustom ourselves to being mindful and shy of Allah, even if it be for short periods at a time… Continue reading

consider Islam, heart matters, short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality

being mindful of Allah, cultivating a mindful heart, divine vigilance, God is closer to us than our jugular vein, heart of Islam, muraqabah, spiritual vigilance, the soul of Islam is muraqabah, vigilance of God
September 16, 2012

Are You Seeking with the Seekers or Sleeping with the Sleepers?

It is said that: ‘Every person is either a traveller, an arriver, or a non-traveller.’ That is, one is either journeying to God through acts of faith, devotion and loving submission, desiring to being drawn closer to Him; or has spiritually ‘arrived’ at God and has been led to true God-conciousness; or has yet to make that… Continue reading

short read, sufism, suluk & spirituality

Beatific Vision, dhikr, dunya, muraqabah, suluk, vigilance of God, wayfaring in Islam

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.

vigilance of God

The Soul of Islam is a Vigilant and Mindful Heart

Are You Seeking with the Seekers or Sleeping with the Sleepers?