People of the past knew the art of conveying a lot of meaning using very few words. The best example of that is Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Nowadays, an avalanche of gossip often conveys little or no beneficial knowledge. The classical scholars of hadith would derive many rulings from one simple incident in the life of … Read more
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Reading translations of the Quran does help a lot in understanding its meaning, but the unquestionable fact is that translations are simply not enough. They touch only the surface of a vast ocean of meanings. You miss out on a lot of what Allah (swt) is saying to you. You get the … Read more
Modern science has a theory about how the world was created, but it’s an assumption, and even scientists will tell you that they don’t have enough evidence. Allah has explained how he made the world for us in a few verses of the Quran. In the first instance Allah affirms that He created the world: … Read more
Postmodernism can be very briefly summed up as a refusal to accept anything just because someone— particularly someone in power— told us so. In this view acceptance of truth is a personal affair; if something seems true to us it should only be because we see the truth in it. Some might argue that the … Read more
There’s no question that the Quran forbids sexual activity outside of marriage. But have you ever thought of why this might be? It’s clear from human history and experience that sexual desire is at the same time a precious gift that must be protected and a volatile force that must be controlled. Without it there … Read more
Recall all the (minor) sins you’ve committed over time, and then imagine that there’s one deed you can do which rewards you with the forgiveness of all of these sins. There is such a deed; it takes just one minute, and you have a chance to do it after each prayer. Sounds amazing doesn’t it? … Read more
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. “How can we be happy?” A million dollar question, and yet it has a very simple answer. Now even science agrees that happiness comes not from having a million dollars but from activities that can be incorporated into everyday life. The newly emerging field of positive psychology has earned much attention from … Read more
I know a dear elderly Muslimah who keeps goats, chickens, and a pet dog at her small rural home. The goats and chickens are well looked after, healthy, and content. One day one of her grandsons brought her yoghourt as a gift. As much as she loved yoghourt, she gave it to her dog so … Read more
We were having a dinner table discussion about the intellectual value of television. We all agreed that television could be an important source of information. “But,” I pointed out, “the problem with television is that it doesn’t teach you how to tell the difference between truth and lies. You need to learn that from books.” … Read more