Women
Youth
Marriage and relationships
Culture/customs misconceptions
Navigating challenges
Coping with calamities
Suicide
Death
Social code and etiquette
Surat an-Nisa is a Madani surah, like almost all of the long surahs. Allah has dedicated this surah to women because during Jahiliyya times – and even today – the unfair treatment of women persists. This is a very rich surah, addressing many different kinds of relationships: between a husband and wife, between a man…
Allah dedicates two and a half pages of Surat al-Baqarah to the verses of infaaq, spending, ayahs 261-274. In fact, in the whole Quran, there are more ayahs encouraging people to spend in the way of Allah than commanding people to pray. This is because it’s very difficult for people to give away their money….
Limits on divorce Three pages of Surat al-Baqarah are devoted to the rules of divorce, or talaq. In Jahiliyya times, divorce was very common, but it was misused a lot, because there were no limits. Islam came to set boundaries, hudood. In Islam, divorce is permissible but it has conditions to prevent it being misused…
In a very important ayah of the Quran Allah Almighty gives us ten commands of which the first is to believe in One God, which is a message that recurs throughout the revelation and is the very basis of Islam. He has mentioned ten commands, of which I will focus on 6 and 7 only….
Earthquakes are one of the signs of the Hour Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, عَن أبي هُرَيرةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنه قال: قال رَسولُ الله صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّم: ((لا تَقومُ السَّاعةُ حَتَّى يُقبَضَ العِلمُ، وتَكثُرَ الزَّلازِلُ، ويَتَقارَبَ الزَّمانُ، وتَظهَرَ الفِتَنُ، ويَكثُرَ الهَرْجُ، وهو القَتْلُ القَتْلُ ……
Calamities afflict everyone When we read the Quran we see the word calamity musibah المصيبة has been repeated ten times and test, bala‘ البلاء has been mentioned 25 times. Allah Almighty tells us in this hadith that He will afflict His believing servants, and He afflicts His non-believing servants. The tests come in different ways,…
The loss of a child is a deeply sorrowful and painful experience for parents and the community. Islam recognises that this is a time of immense grief and therefore, provides clear guidance on how to cope with this tragic event. Find patience and acceptance The death of a child is seen as a test and…
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : “ ما يزال البلاء بالمؤمن والمؤمنة في نفسه وولده ة وماله حتى يلقى الله تعالى وما عليه خطيئة” ((رواه الترمذي وقال حديث حسن صحيح)) . The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)…
Salam means “Peace”, Assalamualaikum means “Peace be upon you.” And Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh means “Peace be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings.” One of the first speeches given by the Prophet (peace be on him) when he arrived in Madinah urged people to say salam – it is the gateway to all interactions and…
Be careful who you let in to your community Surat al-Mumtahinah is another Madani surah, all about who to take as your allies, and where to draw the line between the camp of the believers vs the disbelievers and their supporters. The context of surah is that it was revealed during the period when the…
What will reach the deceased in their graves? As per the well-known hadith, when someone dies three things continue to benefit them in their grave. These are charity given on their behalf, beneficial knowledge and the duas of their righteous children. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When the son of Adam dies,…
In Surat al Ahqaf, Allah Almighty describes a circle of righteousness. It creates the blueprint of how to set your priorities straight and maintain righteousness within your family and society. وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ إِحْسَانًا ۖ ….. قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي…
Duas to have righteous children وَزَكَرِيَّا إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُ رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْنِي فَرْدًا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الْوَارِثِينَ Wazakariyyā idh nādā rabbahu rabbi lā tadharnī fardan wa-anta khayru-l-wārithīn And (remember) Zakariyya when he called his Lord, ‘My Lord, do not leave me alone and You are the best of inheritors.’ (21:89) فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا…
Surat al-Hujarat is a Madani Surah full of rulings about the social code for a community, setting out boundaries and etiquettes for how to deal with other people in a way that pleases Allah. It has more rulings than it has ayahs – it has only 18 ayahs. Avoid much suspicion One of the most…
The widespread exclusion of women from mosques There is a very strong and prevalent view that a woman’s place is in the home, and also by extension that her place to pray is in the home. Consequently, women are barred from entering many mosques in UK and in other parts of the world. Quite often…