This article appeared originally in Al Madina Institute’s Blog In his autobiography Deliverance from Error (Al-Munqidh Min Adh-Dhalal), Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazālī explains how he dealt with his skepticism on the path to attaining certainty regarding what beliefs he adopted. He mastered the tenets of the major intellectual movements of his time and authored books in each,…
In his book Knowledge and the Sacred, Seyyed Hossein Nasr has a blank page before the preface that only has the following lines written on it: يا مريم عليك السلام بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Ya Maryam ‘alayki’l-salām Bismi’Llāh al-rahmān al-rahīm While the second part was not especially out of the ordinary…
Question: My honoured Shaykh, I’m a soldier in the Syrian army and we have differed amongst ourselves about what to do in the case that we are commanded by our commanding officer to shoot the protestors with live ammunition. Should we obey the command or not? Keep in mind that if we do not shoot the protestors…
“Set a limit to joking for it undermines chivalry and manliness.” – Sa’d b Waqqas International Women’s Day (IWD) is a day dedicated to the celebration of everything that is women. The earliest recorded observance was on May 3, 1908 and it has been held on different dates ever since. Nowadays, IWD is held on…
Menna Essam, an Egyptian filmmaker, is currently in the middle of a documentary project on Muslims, their perception of Islam, the rise of atheism within Muslim countries, and challenges of the modern world. Below is the uncut audio recording of her interview with me in which we discussed many issues related to these topics.
{They said, ‘Shu’ayb, does your prayer tell you that we should abandon what our forefathers worshipped and refrain from doing whatever we please with our own property? Indeed you are a tolerant and sensible man.’ He answered, ‘My people, can you not see? What if I am acting on clear evidence from my Lord? He…
Imam Malik said, “I have learned knowledge for myself.” It was attributed to Sufyan al-Thawrī to have said, “We learned knowledge for other than God the Exalted, but knowledge refused to be sought for other than God.” Imam Ahmed said, “The essence of knowledge is awe of God.” These statements and others like them from…
The fourth lesson from the series on introductory Islamic creed commentary on Imam Muhammad ibn Ja’far Al Kattani’s poem “The Creed of Deliverance”.
To love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person. Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love — Erich Fromm, “The Art of Loving” Most of us love with conditions…
Aphorism #1 From the signs of relying upon the actions – loss of hope in times of failure من علامة الاعتماد على العمل نقصان الرجاء عند وجود الزلل Ibn Ata’ Allah may Allah have mercy on him starts off his aphorisms by correcting the Muslims’ belief and creed that they hold in their hearts. Given…
