Where Do You Derive Your Knowledge From? Knowledge comes from seeking it. It does not just descend on you. But then where is the best place to seek it from? The Need for Scholars For many of us Islam was passed down to us culturally and evolved through contact with books, courses and video clips….
The Four Schools of Fiqh What is the place of the madhabs in Islam? Can we trust them? Do we have to follow them? Or can we just go back to Qur’an and Sunnah? The best generation is my generation (Bukhari) In this narration, the Prophet (peace be on him) is confirming that the best…
Denying the Sunnah is Denying the Qur’an And whatever the Messenger has given you take it, and whatever he has forbidden for you refrain from it. Fear Allah. Indeed Allah is severe in His punishment . (59:7) We have revealed the message to you in order to clarify for them what has been revealed. That…
The Recipe for Success and Unity ‘O you who believe when you meet your enemy forces, take the firm stand against them and remember Allah Almighty much so that you may be successful and do not dispute with one another, lest you will achieve failure and your power will depart from you and be patient,…
We have not sent to you, but as a mercy to the worlds. (21:107) In this oft-repeated ayah, Allah Almighty informs us that He sent the Prophet (peace be on him) as a rahmatan lilalameen – a mercy to all humanity. In the hadith, the Prophet (peace be on him) himself said he was…
Prepare for Tomorrow Optimism is what we need for a New Year! Optimism The Prophet (peace be on him) was an optimist by nature. He inspired optimism in others, despite all the difficulties and challenges he faced. We should learn from the master, and emulate his character (peace be on him). Optimism is contagious just…
The Qualities Allah Almighty Loves In Bukhari’s book Adab al Mufrad (A Perfect Code of Manners and Morality), which is different from his Sahih, he narrates a particular hadith from an occasion when historians say a delegation from Bahrain, around the year 8 or 10 AH, came to visit the Prophet (peace be on…
To Reflect on the Past and Plan for the Future Check your Balance The wise person is the one who calls himself to account and prepares himself for the hereafter. The foolish person is the one who is following his whims and desires and only has hopes in Allah. (Tirmidhi) Closure and New Beginnings As…
Moving from Faith to Action What is faith? How do you define it? What does it comprise? And what are its fruits? Imaan has been painstakingly examined by scholars who identified its component parts. Yet imaan cannot simply reside in the heart, its reality is only evident when it is translated into action. As always,…
Know your Self Worth Where do you stand with Allah Almighty? What is your self-worth? Wrongly estimating our own value could have severe repercussions. How then do we ensure that we have a better on handle on where we stand with Allah Almighty? We may weigh little in Allah Almighty ’s eyes, but think we are…
Getting our Priorities Right In the pursuit of goodness it is easy to become side-tracked by worthwhile acts, which may deceptively be shifting your focus from more important acts. How valuable is growing a beard when you are not acquiring your earnings in a halal way? Or praying in the front row when you are treating your…
Opposing Oppression ‘Oh My servants I have prohibited oppression for myself and made it prohibited amongst you, so do not oppress one another’ (Bukhari) There are countless verses in the Qur’an on oppression and around 97 verses alone on oppressors. Human Weakness By contrast, there is a word which is mentioned three times in just…
The Pillars of the Islamic Civilisation What were the Achievements of the Islamic Civilisation built on? Whenever anyone asks what Islamic Civilisation is, the first thing which comes to our mind is usually our scientific achievements, of which we are rightfully proud Alhamdulilah. However, I would like to look deeper and focus on the…
Being Properly Prepared As most of us do not feel prepared for the akhirah, what tips are there to help us focus? Though most people think that ‘This day I have perfected for you your religion’ (5:3) is the last ayah to be revealed, they do not realise that that was only a fragment, a…
How to Act on Your New Year Resolution New Beginnings and Affecting Change ‘Oh you who believe! Fear Allah and behave with taqwa. Let every soul consider what it has prepared for tomorrow. Allah is surely aware of everything you do.’ (59:18) New Year’s Resolutions Most resolutions blow away with the wind. There’s nothing wrong…