Reflect upon the following story and the lessons we can take from it: On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbās (radhyAllāhu ‘anhumā) that the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) dispatched a military unit. Upon gathering the booty they found a man who said, “I’m not from them! I fell in love with…
Al-Tabari narrates in Tārīkh’l-Tabari (4/72): Fātimah the wife of ‘Umar b. ‘Abd’l-‘Azīz said about his illness, “That night, his shivering became uncontrollable and he couldn’t sleep, so we kept a vigil over him and didn’t sleep either. In the morning, I told a servant of his known as Marthad, “O…
Allah jalla wa ‘alā says: ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْمَرْحَمَةِ “And then to be one of those who believe, and urge one another to patience and urge one another to mercy.” (90:17) Allah ‘azza wa jall in this verse combines the enjoining of one another…
I just love this story about the great Muhaddith and Imām, Hāfidh Abu Bisṭām Shu‘bah b. al-Hajjāj. Imām al-Dhahabi relates in his Siyar that al-Asma‘ī said: “We were once with Shu‘bah whilst he was was narrating hadīth when he heard the sound of pens writing (on wooden slates). “Is it raining?”…
Sūrah al-Fātihah is described as the ‘Mother of the Qur’an’ and the ‘Seven oft-repeated verses’. It is recited in every unit of every prayer. It is one of the chapters of the Qur’an we memorised as children and one of the chapters that we will teach to our children. But…
That title is cleverer than you actually thought by the way. The pause at the comma is obligatory. The inflexion applied to the last two words in the same sentence is a must. The understanding of “Treat” to mean “very well” or “significantly” is essential. After all that is done,…
I guess you could react in a number of ways when you see an outrageous photo like this: sadness, fear and bad memories if you have yourself been a victim of domestic violence disappointment that I (AE) would use such a photo and article “to make an issue out of…
Below is a detailed response to a question put to me from a brother, which I invested some time in due to what I felt to be the importance of the issue and what I felt to be a lack of detail available on the internet in English. I hope…
Islam is often accused of dishonouring women which is not only an outrageous slur, but should be thrown back in the face of many who claim it. Anyone who studies religions deeply and sincerely will find it impossible that it’s Islam which has a problem. Let’s have a quick religious…
Allah jalla wa ‘alā says: الطَّلاَقُ مَرَّتَانِ فَإِمْسَاكٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ تَسْرِيحٌ بِإِحْسَانٍ “Divorce can happen twice, and [each time] wives either be kept on in an acceptable manner or released in a good way.” (2:229) Allah jalla jalālahu also says: وَإِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ النَّسَاء فَبَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ سَرِّحُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ…
It’s very difficult not to get irritated by those men who try to equate the challenge of wearing hijab with their own “challenge” of keeping a beard. The fear being of course that men might belittle the believing women and look down upon them, and conflate the difficulty of what women face with what…
Allah jalla wa ‘alā says: يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ “Children of Adam, beautify yourself in your place of worship.” (7:31) This is part of the 31st verse of Sūrat’l-A‘rāf, and in it there have been mentioned three words which are “names” that are meant to be…
