Knowing Allah
Purification of the heart
Justice
Truthfulness
How to keep motivated
Muslim identity
Self-development
Self-audit
Surat Al-A’raf recounts the stories of five prophets: Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut, and Shuayb (peace be upon them all). As a Makkan surah, it offers consolation to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), reassuring him that he was not alone in facing rejection, hostility and ridicule. Every prophet before him endured similar opposition from their…
What is haya? One of the main principles of Islam is al-haya. Al-haya is an Arabic term, which has three different translations in English. One is shyness, and we refer to someone shy as hayee. This is one translation. The other translation is modesty, depending on the context, as the translation of the word depends…
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…
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…
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…
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….
Today my focus is obedience. Obedience is ta’a in Arabic. In Islam, we have the concept of obedience to Allah Almighty, obedience to His messenger, and obedience to those who are in charge, as Allah Almighty stated in the Quran in many verses. For instance, Allah Almighty says in Surat al Imran: ‘Say “Obey Allah…
كَانَ ٱلنَّاسُ أُمَّةࣰ وَ ٰحِدَةࣰ فَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِیِّـۧنَ مُبَشِّرِینَ وَمُنذِرِینَ وَأَنزَلَ مَعَهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ بِٱلۡحَقِّ لِیَحۡكُمَ بَیۡنَ ٱلنَّاسِ فِیمَا ٱخۡتَلَفُوا۟ فِیهِۚ وَمَا ٱخۡتَلَفَ فِیهِ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِینَ أُوتُوهُ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَاۤءَتۡهُمُ ٱلۡبَیِّنَـٰتُ بَغۡیَۢا بَیۡنَهُمۡۖ فَهَدَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لِمَا ٱخۡتَلَفُوا۟ فِیهِ مِنَ ٱلۡحَقِّ بِإِذۡنِهِۦۗ وَٱللَّهُ یَهۡدِی مَن یَشَاۤءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَ ٰطࣲ مُّسۡتَقِیمٍ All mankind used to be a…
Thabaat – firmness, resolve, constancy and a strong heart! Upholding the truth and clinging to it is one of the main principles of Islam. When we read the Quran we see many verses in which Allah Almighty talks about thabaat – how to be steadfast, how to be firm in your imaan and not to…
Start another act of worship as soon as you have completed one And to complete the number of days and to glorify God for what He has guided you and may you be guided by Him. So that you might be grateful. (2:185) Allah Almighty commanded His servants to thank Him for His favours for…
Allah Almighty said: ‘And do not crave what Allah has given some of you over others.’ [4:32] In this ayah of Surat an-Nisa, Allah is addressing the very common disease of hasad, envy. For example, if someone is not happy with the division of inheritance that was laid out earlier in the surah, this stems…
Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the East or the West. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets; who give wealth, despite (their) love for it, to relatives, orphans, the poor, travellers, those who ask (for help), and for freeing captives;…
We are lucky to be witnessing Ramadan and to be able to pray in a mosque where we have a roof above our heads. The people of Gaza have no place to pray; food to eat; water to drink. Inshallah Allah will give them relief soon. We are starting with Surat al-Baqarah. Of course, this…
Allah Almighty said in Surat al Hadid: لَقَدۡ أَرۡسَلۡنَا رُسُلَنَا بِٱلۡبَیِّنَـٰتِ وَأَنزَلۡنَا مَعَهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلۡمِیزَانَ لِیَقُومَ ٱلنَّاسُ بِٱلۡقِسۡطِۖ وَأَنزَلۡنَا ٱلۡحَدِیدَ فِیهِ بَأۡسࣱ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَـٰفِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِیَعۡلَمَ ٱللَّهُ مَن یَنصُرُهُۥ وَرُسُلَهُۥ بِٱلۡغَیۡبِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَوِیٌّ عَزِيزٌ﴿ ٢٥ We have indeed sent Our messengers with clear proofs, and sent down with them the Book and the Balance,…
Autocratic leaders In Surat al Qasas, Allah Almighty tells us about Firaun, who has appeared in the Quran 70 times as a symbol of tyranny, oppression, and corruption etc. إِنَّ فِرۡعَوۡنَ عَلَا فِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهۡلَهَا شِیَعࣰا یَسۡتَضۡعِفُ طَاۤىِٕفَةࣰ مِّنۡهُمۡ یُذَبِّحُ أَبۡنَاۤءَهُمۡ وَیَسۡتَحۡیِۦ نِسَاۤءَهُمۡۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدِینَ ٤ Indeed, Pharaoh had become high-handed in…