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…
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…
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…
Naseeha is sincere advice. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned in the very famous hadith narrated by Tamim al-Dari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, عَنْ أَبِي رُقَيَّةَ تَمِيمِ بْنِ أَوْسٍ الدَّارِيِّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: “الدِّينُ النَّصِيحَةُ.” قُلْنَا: لِمَنْ؟…
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…
Every name of Allah has its own unique reflection and divine light. The name Al Latif has been mentioned in the Quran seven times. It has been translated variously as Benevolent, The Kind One and The Subtle One depending on the context. In Surat al Anam, Allah says: لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ ٱلْأَبْصَـٰرُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ ٱلْأَبْصَـٰرَ ۖ…
Pairs of names Two of the beautiful names of Allah Almighty are Al-Mu’izz and Al-Mudhill. Al-Mu’izz is the One who gives honour while it’s opposite, Al-Mudhill is the One who humiliates. As we have seen with other names, they sometimes come in pairs such as Ar-Rafi, the One who elevates and Al-Khafid, the One who…
Among the beautiful names of Allah Almighty is Al Khafid, the Abaser, and Ar Rafi’, the Exalter. Literally, khafada in Arabic is to lower something down, while rafa’a is to raise something. The One who abases infidels is Allah Almighty and He is the One who raises up the faithful by salvation, so you can…
Bringing Allah’s names into our lives Anything related to Allah Almighty is beautiful. When talking about His attributes and His names, we should reflect on how we can live by His names, and activate His names in our lives. Bringing Allah’s names into our lives is transformative. It gives us a new dimension to our…
Allah’s beautiful name Ar-Razzaaq has been translated in various ways, but they are all connected to rizq, which is provision. So accordingly, you see the translation of Ar-Razzaq as the Total Provider or the Provider or the Sustainer. Also as the One who creates the sustenance for all His creation. And it is one of…
Don’t sell your deen and your dignity and your akhirah for silly games in the dunya. Don’t do that, even if it’s for money, even if it’s followers. They will not carry this responsibility on your behalf on the Day of Judgement. You will carry the responsibility of your own action and their own actions which they were influenced by you. This is why we need sincerity and ikhlas in our actions which we are doing. And we ask Allah Almighty to make our actions, and our deeds, purely for His sake, and in line with the Shariah and away from the influence of the shaytan and the evil around us.
The first obligation of every human being is to know his Creator. Some people accepted this invitation from Allah Almighty to find out about Him and truly knowing Him can only lead to gratitude towards Him. Allah called them to His message through different prophets and messengers, and a variety of means, yet unfortunately some…
The major principles of Islam (kulliyaat al Kubra) are the main principles which we cannot live without. The first main principle is to know Allah Almighty, but it is hard to do justice to this topic because Allah Almighty is beyond our comprehension. What we know about Him is from the Quran and what we…
How did the idea of compiling the major principles come about? Every Monday evening I hold an Arabic class, and at the end students ask questions. One of the questions a student put to me was ‘What are the major principles of Islam?’ There are plenty but I could not count them off the top…