The ears are adorned by hearing the words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. وَلاَ حَسَنٌ إِلاَّ سَمَاعُ حَدِيثِكُمْ …. مُشَافَهَةً يُمْلَى عَلَىَّ فَأَنْقُلُ “Nothing is truly beautiful except hearing your narrations firsthand — received directly from your lips, dictated to me, and then faithfully transmitted by me.” This is a verse from the poem…
Our Lord Almighty says in His Noble Book: وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ ۖ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ “And We created from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” Surah al-Anbiya, 21:30 This is a fact that we see and recognise every day. Allah is the One who created water and sends water down…
Arabia Before Islam History is often shaped in places that few people expect. When people think of the great civilisations of the ancient world, they picture the temples of Egypt, the academies of Athens, the roads of Rome or the palaces of Persia. Rarely do they imagine the deserts of Arabia. To many of the powerful…
History remembers civilisations for what they leave behind. Ancient Egypt is remembered for its monuments. Greece for philosophy. Rome for law and engineering. China for its technological innovations. Islamic civilisation left a different kind of legacy. Over many centuries it became one of the world’s great centres of learning, scholarship, trade, architecture and scientific enquiry. From…
We are all fed up with the headlines. With constant bad news and a worsening geopolitical situation, random and absurd threats of aggression that make Lex Luther look tame, and barefaced lies every time we hear politicians make statements, it’s hard not to feel down. Add to that the rising cost of living…the doom and gloom…
Explaining Islam to non-Muslims – beyond the myths and misconceptions Two billion people, (about a quarter of the globe) are Muslim. Muslims believe in one God, who is called Allah, the Arabic word for God, which is also used by Arabic-speaking Christians. Muslims believe that God is the Creator of everything, including the universe, and…
Medicine as a trust and an act of worship Ibn Sina and the purpose of medicine Muslim scholars made major contributions to the development and transmission of medical knowledge. One of the best-known figures in this history is Ibn Sina, known in the Latin tradition as Avicenna. He was honoured with the title al-Shaykh al-Ra’is,…
Allah Almighty says: الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا “Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your way.”(Surat al-Ma’idah, 5:3) We are all familiar with this verse. It was revealed on the Day of ‘Arafah during the Farewell Hajj of…
In an age where success is often measured by status, wealth and influence, Islam offers a very different vision of greatness. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught that true honour is not found in being served, but being a servant of Allah, the Most High, and then serving others. As for being a servant of Allah,…
What does seerah mean? Linguistically, seerah means the way or path. In Arabic, you may say that a person followed the seerah of someone, meaning he followed his path, his way, or his manner. So when we speak about the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ, we are speaking about the way he lived. Sometimes people…
One of the questions people ask today is whether Islam is compatible with modern life. Everything seems to be changing at an incredible pace – technology is advancing, cultures are shifting, lifestyles are becoming busier, and every day brings a new trend, a new opinion or a new way of thinking. And there is a…
There are so many things to reflect on in the story of Prophet Yunus (peace be upon him). The first is that his ordeal took place at night, and there is something about the loneliness of the night. People sometimes call it “the dark night of the soul”: that quiet, difficult journey which happens when…
One day, Mu‘adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) was riding behind the Prophet ﷺ on a donkey. Imagine how blessed he was to share that precious time in the proximity of the Prophet ﷺ! The Prophet ﷺ at the reins and Mu‘adh probably holding on to him, behind him, close enough to…
Islamic law distinguishes between two broad areas: huquq Allah (the rights of Allah) and huquq al-‘ibad (the rights of people). Huquq Allah are the rights of Allah. They include acts of worship, such as prayer, fasting, zakah and Hajj. They also include rulings that uphold Allah’s commands, such as the prescribed punishments in the Shariah….
Muharram is a special month. It is the beginning of the Hijri year, and within it is the tenth of Muharram, the Day of Ashura. Although the Hijrah itself took place in Rabi’ al-Awwal, the Islamic calendar begins with Muharram and counts its years from the Hijrah. So when the new Hijri year begins, it…