Thoughts Archives - Page 2 of 35

The Ansar and Us

THE NAME OF Anṣâr never fails to evoke undertones of sacrifice, submission, and love of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ and warm sentiments of appreciation in our hearts. There is much for us to learn from their lives. Is there something common…

A Ramadhan Primer on the Ritual Retreat of I’tikaf

In Islam, i’tikaf refers to a form of worship in which one stays in a masjid as a way of getting closer to Allah. The word i’tikaf comes from the Arabic root ayn – kaf – fa, represented here in English as …

Deconstructing Riba

DEEP DOWN INSIDE, we all want something for nothing. We love delicious fruits and vegetables, but don’t want to have to grow and pick them ourselves. We want a nice house, but don’t want to have to sweat for it. We want…

Qur’anic Interpretation | Part 2 | Tadabbur and the Need for Scholarly Explanation

IN PART ONE of this series, we addressed the basic misconceptions that cause Muslims to be deprived of the real message and infinite wisdom of the Quran. On the one hand, many self-proclaimed interpreters, denying the need for recourse to any classical…

A Postpartum Look
at Stewardship of the Earth

“SAY HELLO TO your new master,” my aunt told me. I looked down at him, laying peacefully in my arms, his big brown eyes staring innocently back at me. I could not help but laugh at the irony of it. But she…

Are Western Muslims Culturally Tone Deaf?

Mosques arson, bombings and graffiti, citizen-packing of city council meetings to deny mosque building permits; “flying while Muslim” detentions; hate crimes and hate talk from pro-Evangelical Christian talk show hosts and guests; national, state and local political candidates who use an Islam-bashing…

An Islamic View of Peaceful Coexistence | Part 2

Tolerance of Religions Under Islamic Rule When Islam becomes the religion of a state it does not compel non-Muslims to accept it. Some Western writers tell us that it was attempts at such compulsion that caused the famous European Wars of Religion…

An Islamic View of Peaceful Coexistence | Part 1

No Compulsion Existing peacefully with non-Islamic beliefs is an essential Islamic principle that is clearly stated in many Qur’anic verses, and that has been practiced by Muslims throughout their history. It is not something that Muslims impose on their religion or something…

Our Monotheistic Revelations: Their Central Focus and Forms

Since monotheistic religions proclaim the existence of the one and only Divine Being, the essence of their revelations would be the same. As the sage of Konya, Jalal al-Din al-Rumi writes, “Ritual prayer might differ in every religion, but belief never changes.”…

Quranic Illumination on the Phenomenon of Sexual Deviance

The rally that was held in Washington D.C. in defense of sexual deviance raised an argument among people with regards to the nature of this phenomenon and its significance. I have therefore thought it proper to present the Qur’anic answers to the…