03
Apr 2023

Allah mentions the story of Musa and Firaun again and again in different surahs throughout the Quran. In Surat az-Zukhruf, we have the part of the story where Allah Almgihty talks about the relationship between Firaun and his people. ‘So he fooled his people, and they followed him. They were truly a sinful people.’ Many leaders treat their people like fools In this ayah we see that it’s a common practice of many leaders – wherever you go, in any century – to treat their people as if they are......
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25
Feb 2023

In Surah An-Nazi’at, Allah Almighty says: فَإِذَا جَاءَتِ الطَّامَّةُ الْكُبْرَىٰ يَوْمَ يَتَذَكَّرُ الْإِنسَانُ مَا سَعَىٰ وَبُرِّزَتِ الْجَحِيمُ لِمَن يَرَىٰ فَأَمَّا مَن طَغَىٰ وَآثَرَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّ الْجَحِيمَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَىٰ وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَىٰ فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَىٰ “When the great havoc happens, man will remember what he did. And the hellfire will be clear and exposed for everyone who sees. As for him, who was defiant, who crossed all limits, oversteps all the limits, and prefers this life over the hereafter, then hell is his last abode.......
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08
Dec 2022

The importance of Justice Justice is a very important principle in Islam – so much so that it is one of the main pillars, not just of Islam, but any system. If any system fails to deliver justice, it will collapse. The divine message which God revealed to mankind from the first man, Adam till the last messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all), came to establish justice and teach people how to establish justice in their lives. In Arabic justice (adl) appears in the Quran 18 times in different verses......
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13
May 2022

Asthe community is reeling from the shock, disbelief, disgust and sadness at the killing of veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, at whose funeral innocent mourners were also viciously attacked and beaten, we turn to the Quran for guidance on how to bear such painful wounds, when the old scars are still fresh. It is very clear from the Quran that the carriers of the truth will always be attacked and indeed Shireen’s life was the price she paid for daring to report the truth. Her horrific death was the means by which......
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04
Mar 2022

The men who stayed back The story in Surat al Tawbah, Allah mentions the story of the three people who were left behind during an expedition when the Prophet (peace be on him) and his army were proceeding to the Battle of Tabouk. He mobilised the troops as Allah had commanded him. Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) contributed a great deal to this campaign. As with all things in life, there are always challenges and hiccups along the way. Among these challenges were the hypocrites, the munafiqun, who were......
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11
Dec 2020

The limits of leadership There are plenty of verses in the Quran about leadership and the importance of the leader in the community. At the same time, we also have plenty of narrations in the sunnah which define the responsibilities and boundaries of leaders. Leadership is not a blank cheque to do what you want In the hadith, A’isha reported that the Prophet (peace be on him) said: O God, cause distress to him who has any charge over my people and causes them distress, and be gentle to him who has......
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13
Oct 2020

Islam teaches us not to throw words without weighing them. The Prophet (peace be on him) taught us about major sins (Kaba’ir), including shirk, killing and zina (fornication/adultery). Each one of these comes with a set of punishments. These punishments have to meted out according to rules which restrict who can apply them and under what circumstances they can be applied. The conditions are very specific. If they not fulfilled, they cannot applied. It may come as a surprise, that among the major sins, like killing and zina, is swearing at one’s......
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10
Aug 2020

Allah Almighty says, God commands justice, and goodness, and generosity towards relatives. And He forbids immorality, and injustice, and oppression. He advises you, so that you may take heed. An-Nahl:90 This particular verse, Abdullah bin Mas’ud said, is the most comprehensive in the Quran. It contains three commands and three prohibitions- justice (adl), goodness (ihsan) and generosity to relatives (eta dhil Qurba). It forbids immorality (fahsha’), evil (munkar) and oppression (baghi). Justice is one of the most important principles in Islam. It’s a universal principle and among the seven categories who will......
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03
Jun 2020

As the Black England footballers are subjected to disgusting racial abuse in the wake of England’s Euros 2020 defeat, we are reminded again of the continuing systemic racism in our countries, which led to the protests in the US and around the world, following the tragic death of George Floyd just a year ago. Fundamentally, the issue is about the lack of respect, honour and dignity which is being shown by one set of people towards another, when Allah told us that every single life deserves it. He Himself honoured mankind. Not......
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14
Jan 2020

The General Principles series This is the third in the series on General Principles of Islam- which every Muslim should know. This series started when one of my students in my Arabic class said, ‘You have mentioned the main principles of Islam many times, but what are they? Where can I read about them?’ I realised at that moment that though they are mentioned frequently, and scholars refer to the general principles of Islam as a given, there is no compilation that I am aware of which lists them, so when I......
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23
Aug 2019

Be One Ummah in the Face of Adversity A Muslim is a Muslim’s brother. He does not wrong him, or let him down, or hand him over to his enemies, or despise him. (Muslim) Stick to principles Going back to basics, sticking to our principles makes our ummah a special ummah. Unfortunately, with all the challenges our ummah faces, we have lost our principles. The Prophet (peace be on him) confirmed the importance of the unity of the ummah on an individual, community and national level. The Muslim is the brother......
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16
May 2019

The Prophet (peace be on him) said: ‘He will not be admitted to Jannah, the one who has in his heart an atom’s weight of pride.’ A man asked the Prophet (peace be on him): ‘We like to have beautiful dresses and shoes. Is it out of pride? Will this be classified under kibr?’ The Prophet (peace be on him) replied: ‘Allah is Beautiful and likes beauty.’ (Muslim) What is kibr arrogance? The Prophet (peace be on him) defined kibr as: ‘Pride is rejecting the truth and despising people.’ (Muslim) There......
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11
Mar 2019

Women’s Right to Fair Treatment Women’s Day is a reminder that we still have not secured freedom from oppression for women. Isn’t it time that we deliver women the rights that Islam gave them 1400 years ago? O mankind we have created you from a male and female and we have made you into tribes and nations in order to know one another. Indeed the most honourable of you before Allah is the one who has the best conduct. (49:13) We have honoured the children of Adam (17:70) Honouring the Children of......
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21
Feb 2019

Cornering the Cat – Why Allah Forbid Oppression Oh my servants, I have made oppression forbidden on myself and made it forbidden amongst you so do not oppress one another. (Bukhari) This is one of the fundamental rules and pillars in Islam – the prohibition of oppression (dhulm). There are different types of dhulm. The highest is to associate with Allah Almighty: Those who do believe and do not contaminate their belief with dhulm, they have guidance from Allah and they have security. (6:82) When this ayah was revealed the companions of......
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03
Jan 2019

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 one surah, which makes it very special, that word is al mustadafin ‘the helpless people’. It appears in Surat al Nisa. The word mustada’af derives from da’f– as the majority of Arabic words derive from three original letters –......
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