Islamophobia
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Palestine and Shaam
Kashmir
China
Mental health The growing conversation around trauma, healing, therapy, and where it sits within Islamic practice deserves a nuanced and careful discussion. Across Muslim spaces today, there’s a noticeable rise in both the uptake of secular therapy and a reactionary rejection of it, often due to perceptions that it is unscientific, overly focused on victimhood,…
We’re surrounded by activities that may seem harmless – buying a lottery ticket or playing arcade games to win prizes. These may appear to be just fun and games, but how should a Muslim approach these forms of entertainment? Gambling is clearly prohibited in Islam Allah ﷻ says in the Qur’an: “O you who believe!…
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: عن أبي هُريرة رضي الله تعالى عنه قال: قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: “الْمُؤْمِنُ القَوِيُّ خَيْرٌ وَأَحَبُّ إلى اللهِ مِنَ المُؤْمِنِ الضَّعِيفِ، وفي كُلٍّ خَيْرٌ. احْرِصْ علَى ما يَنْفَعُكَ، وَاسْتَعِنْ باللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْجِزْ، وإنْ أَصَابَكَ شَيءٌ، فلا تَقُلْ: لو أَنِّي…
The exodus Musa (peace be upon him) received the permission to leave Egypt after Firaun refused to accept the truth that he was not a god, and that there is only one God. He refused to release Bani Isra’il from slavery, who had been abused for generations. Similarly the Prophet (peace be upon him) received…
Halal Earnings and Income – al kasb al halal Seeking an income is known in Arabic as الكسب (al-kasb), which literally means “earning.” From a Sharia perspective there are many aspects to earning such as how to earn a halal income and avoiding acquiring any wealth through haram means. The first scholar to write on…
Throughout history, oppression has followed predictable patterns, and tyrants have repeated the same tactics to silence dissent and maintain their grip on power. The exchange between Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) and Firaun depicted in Surat Ash-Shu’ara, offers a blueprint of oppression that we still see being used today. Allah Almighty commanded Musa (peace…
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allah folded the earth for me, and I saw its east and west, and the dominion of my Ummah will reach what was folded for me.” (Muslim) This hadith is a glimpse into the future—a part of the Unseen (ghayb). Knowledge of the Unseen belongs only to…
In Surat Nur, Allah Almighty stated: فِی بُیُوتٍ أَذِنَ ٱللَّهُ أَن تُرۡفَعَ وَیُذۡكَرَ فِیهَا ٱسۡمُهُۥ یُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ فِیهَا بِٱلۡغُدُوِّ وَٱلۡـَٔاصَالِ (Such light shines) in houses which Allah has permitted to be raised up and in which His name is remembered. Highly exalting Him therein, mornings and before sunset, (24:36) رِجَالࣱ لَّا تُلۡهِیهِمۡ تِجَـٰرَةࣱ وَلَا…
There are two important ayahs at the end of Surah Yunus. The first ayah is: قُلِ ٱنظُرُوا۟ مَاذَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَمَا تُغْنِى ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتُ وَٱلنُّذُرُ عَن قَوْمٍۢ لَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ Say, “Look at what is there in the heavens and the earth.” But, signs and warnings do not suffice a people who do not believe….
In Islam, putting down (euthanising) a cat is only permissible if the animal is suffering from an illness, injury, or condition that causes unbearable pain with no hope of recovery. Islam teaches kindness and mercy towards animals, and causing unnecessary harm or death is strictly forbidden. Mercy towards animals We have been taught to be…
One of the alternative names of Surat at-Tawbah is al-Fadihah, which means the surah that exposed the hypocrites. This surah talks the most about the attributes of the munafiqeen (hypocrites) more than anywhere else in the Quran, so much so that numerous people have written PhD theses on it. Unfortunately, we can see many munafiqeen…
In the last two pages of Surat al-A’raf, Allah talks about those who worship idols, or worship anything else other than Allah – whether this is their own whims, wealth, ego, etc. No matter how hard you try to invite them to the truth, they are leading themselves to destruction. أَيُشۡرِكُونَ مَا لَا يَخۡلُقُ شَيۡـٔٗا وَهُمۡ يُخۡلَقُونَ وَلَا يَسۡتَطِيعُونَ لَهُمۡ نَصۡرٗا وَلَآ أَنفُسَهُمۡ يَنصُرُونَ وَإِن تَدۡعُوهُمۡ إِلَى ٱلۡهُدَىٰ لَا يَتَّبِعُوكُمۡۚ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيۡكُمۡ أَدَعَوۡتُمُوهُمۡ أَمۡ أَنتُمۡ صَٰمِتُونَ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدۡعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ …
The beauty and timelessness of the Quran is evident in Surat al Anam, when Allah says: وَذَرُوا۟ ظَـٰهِرَ ٱلْإِثْمِ وَبَاطِنَهُۥٓ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكْسِبُونَ ٱلْإِثْمَ سَيُجْزَوْنَ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَقْتَرِفُونَ ١٢٠ Shun all sin—open and secret. Indeed, those who commit sin will be punished for what they earn. (6:120) Throughout all generations and nations, the path…
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…
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…