سَیَقُولُ ٱلسُّفَهَاۤءُ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَا وَلَّىٰهُمۡ عَن قِبۡلَتِهِمُ ٱلَّتِی كَانُوا۟ عَلَیۡهَاۚ قُل لِّلَّهِ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقُ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبُۚ یَهۡدِی مَن یَشَاۤءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَ ٰطࣲ مُستَقِيم The foolish among the people will ask, “Why did they turn away from the direction of prayer they used to face?” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “The east and west belong ˹only˺ to Allah. He guides…
What is puberty? How does it affect girls’ physical, emotional and psychological development? What advice does Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon him) give us to help us get through this period successfully? We look at puberty and give tips from experts to help you get through this time. Puberty and physical Changes…
Did you visit Me? Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said that Allah Almighty will say on the Day of Resurrection: عن أبي هريرة رضي الله تعالى عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: “إنَّ اللَّهَ عزَّ وجلَّ يقولُ يَومَ القِيامَةِ:…
The journey of Umrah is deeply spiritual, physically demanding at times, and emotionally enriching. It is a microcosm of life itself, filled with moments of joy, struggle, and deep reflection. Alhamdulillah, my recent Umrah was all of this and more, particularly during the Sa’ee, the ritual of walking back and forth between the hills of…
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: عن عبد الله بن عباس رضي الله تعالى عنهما قال كنت رديف رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال لي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: يا غلام أو يا بني ألا أعلمك كلمات ينفعك الله بهن، قلت: بلى، فقال احفظ الله يحفظك، احفظ الله تجده…
What is wafa? Usually al wafa is translated as loyalty, but depending on the context, it can have more meanings. We will see this from examples from the Quran and the Sunnah and the practice of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). To define al wafa as loyalty is to restrict its meaning, as wafa…
Never delay taking the shahada Anyone who is considering becoming Muslim, should not delay their shahada. None of us know how long we have in this world. This life is temporary and we must all leave it. As only Allah knows the time and place of our death, someone who has a terminal condition may…
Rifa’ah ibn Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) stood on the pulpit and then cried, saying: عن رفاعة بن رافع رضي الله تعالى عنه قال: قامَ أبو بَكرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رضي الله تعالى عنه على المنبرِ ثمَّ بَكى فقالَ: قامَ رسولُ اللَّهِ صلَّى اللَّه…
One of the core principles of Islam is husn ad-dhann—having a good opinion or thinking well of others. The word husn derives from hasan, which means good, and ad-dhann refers to one’s assumptions or opinions. Together, husn ad-dhann means to think positively about others, while its opposite, su ad-dhann, refers to harbouring negative assumptions or…
What makes it so hard to keep resolutions? Is it ingrained patterns of behaviour that are hard to change? Is it that the desire for comfort and pleasure keeps trumping the ungraspable desire to be a better, fitter, more successful version of ourselves? Or is it the desire to escape pain and discomfort which we…
When he was nearly forty, Muhammad (peace be upon him) began to see dreams of light and inspiration in preparation for the mission he would be receiving to deliver Allah’s message to the world. These continued for six months and then he began to love and seek seclusion more and more. The significance of the…
I would like to outline seven aspects of the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Makkah that shaped his personality and prepared him for the responsibility he would carry as Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). 1. Lineage Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born of the noblest lineage. Quraysh was considered the…
The principle of the community, or being together, or togetherness, is called al-Jam’aa in Arabic. It is related to many other topics. First, Allah Almighty created us as an Ummah. We are all go back to Adam and Eve, who are our ‘parents’, and from there we split into different communities and different tribes and…
Dystopia and doom This year has had a distinctly dystopian feel. As the past year flashes through my mind, it’s hard not to feel despondent. With the earth feeling like a train hurtling and careering off the edge of a cliff, one wonders what exactly we should be celebrating and what we have to look…
What is tranquility Tranquility is one of the major principles in Islam. What is tranquillity? How can we achieve it? and what helps us to stay on the path of tranquillity? Tranquillity is a recurring theme in the Quran, and mentioned by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as well as demonstrated in his practices….