There are two ways to lead our lives. The way we want and the way Allahﷻ wants for us. Whichever way we choose, we will be held accountable for it when we die. The issue with living the way we want is that our knowledge is limited, and our desires rule us. The benefit of… Continue reading Remember the Standard The post Remember the Standard appeare…

Every relationship in the world has two things associated with it; a benefit that we derive from it and a responsibility that we owe to it. Any relationship that does not benefit ceases to exist even if it began and carried on for a while. Very soon any intelligent person will realize that they are… Continue reading Build the Relationship The post …

Ramadan comes to help us to become Muttaqoon and become eligible for all the promises of Allahﷻ. That process begins with Istighfaar and Tawba. فَٱسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ إِنَّ رَبِّى قَرِيبٌ مُّجِيبٌ Hud 11: 61 So seek His forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. Surely my Rabb is Ever Near, All-Responsive ˹to prayers˺.” Seeking… …

The purpose of fasting is not to fast but to transform our lives and put ourselves on the path of success in this world and the next. Ramadan comes to reset our standard, the criterion of what has value and what doesn’t. When we stay away from even the Halaal during the hours of daylight… Continue reading Spirit of Ramadan – part 3 The post Spirit …

Ramadan is the month of self-reflection and introspection with the intention of getting our lives back on track. Our life is a journey which we hope will end in Jannah. Our parents Adam (AS) and Hawwa (AS) came from Jannah and when Allahﷻ sent them to the earth, He gave them the key to return… Continue reading Spirit of Ramadan – part 2 The post Sp…

My brothers and sisters, in another day or two we will enter Ramadan. The question I ask myself and you is, will we enter Ramadan or will we allow Ramadan to enter us? If we enter Ramadan then on the 1st of Shawwal, we will exit Ramadan. But if we allow the spirit of Ramadan,… Continue reading Spirit of Ramadan The post Spirit of Ramadan appeared f…

We hear this Ayah in every Jumu’ah Khutba in practically every masjid on the face of the earth. Let us focus on just two words in it – Al Adl wal Ihsaan. إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَٱلْإِحْسَـٰنِ وَإِيتَآئِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱلْبَغْىِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ Nahl 16: 90 Indeed, Allah co…

Allahﷻ gave us a purpose of existence which is given to the highest in any society – to guide and show the way. This is the purpose that we inherited by being the followers of Rasoolullahﷺ – to give to the world. To give mankind a standard by which to live. To give it by… Continue reading Become a Standard Bearer – Part 2 The post Become a Standard…

“Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings to the strangers.” Saheeh Hadeeth [Ibn Maajah, Kitaab al fitan 3986 Like most thinking Muslims of our time, over the last few years, I have also been thinking about the sad state that the Muslim Ummah finds itself… Continue reading Become a Stand…

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Jabir (R) reported: Rasoolullahﷺ said, “The best of people are those who are most beneficial to people.” I… Continue reading Winning is about staying in the rac…

بَدَأَ الإِسْلاَمُ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ ‏‏ Abu Huraira (R) reported: Rasoolullahﷺ said, “Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange, so blessed are the strangers.” Ibn Majah (Kitab Al-Fitan) In a world based on oppression, courage is strange. In a world based on amassing personal wealth, ch…

This Khutba is a summation of the 7 Khutab titled ‘The Way Forward’. Here, I am going to highlight the action points only. I will begin with my gift to you, which is my own motto: “I will not allow what is not in my control to prevent me from doing what is in my… Continue reading The Way Forward – Summary The post The Way Forward – Summary appeared…

What distinguishes people who never experienced subjugation from those with a collective memory of empire and subjugation, is their willingness to speak up, fight for their rights and to pay for what they enjoy, while the others only complain but do nothing to change the situation. This is the ‘learned helplessness’ of people whose bodies… Continue…

Most of us are historically illiterate and our cherry-picking approach to history ensures illiteracy. However, our lives won’t change until we learn lessons from history and break out of the vicious cycles that we are caught up in. We don’t learn the lessons because we can’t differentiate between critiquing and critical analysis and criticizing. We…

My brothers and sisters, in these series of my 7 – Khutab called, ‘The way forward’, I will try to define for you the problem that we Muslims face globally and to suggest the way forward to a solution. There are two critical things which you must remember as you listen to me. One, that… Continue reading The way forward – part 5 The post The way for…

If I must die,you must liveto tell my storyto sell my thingsto buy a piece of clothand some strings,(make it white with a long tail)so that a child, somewhere in Gazawhile looking heaven in the eyeawaiting his dad who left in a blaze–and bid no one farewellnot even to his fleshnot even to himself–sees the… Continue reading In the Dhikr of Allah is …

History teaches one critical lesson: Only those who contribute are valued. Only they have leverage, are influential, and have power. Their religion or ethnicity doesn’t matter. What matters is their contribution to society on a local or global scale. The world works on one overarching principle: What’s in it for me? WiiFM. That’s how it… Continue r…

Think long term. It is not about winning one conflict. It is about becoming influential and creating a situation where there are no more conflicts. It is about becoming influential where you can initiate and direct local and national policy. It is about being in positions where the decisions you take will positively impact people… Continue reading …

In Sura Isra Allahﷻ mentioned two historic events. وَقَضَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا فَإِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ أُولَىٰهُمَا بَعَثْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادًا لَّنَآ أُو۟لِى بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ فَجَاسُوا۟ خِلَـٰلَ ٱلدِّيَارِ وَكَانَ وَعْدًا مَّفْعُولًا ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَ…

I have a principle in life. “I will not allow what is not in my control to prevent me from doing what is in my control.” That is based on the reality that when we stand before Allahﷻ, we will not be asked, ‘What happened?’ But we will be asked, ‘What did you do?’ That… Continue reading The Way Forward – Part 1 The post The Way Forward – Part 1 appe…

But We see with our eyes, but we understand with our hearts. That’s called insight. That’s why Allahﷻ said: Indeed, it is not the eyes that are blind, but it is the hearts in the chests that grow blind. Structures of this life don’t show what’s behind them in the Will of Allahﷻ. Like the… Continue reading Difference between sight and insight The po…

I remind you and myself that a fire can’t be extinguished by another fire but by pouring water over it. Violence does not end violence. It only increases it. As Muslims we are against all violence, no matter who does it. We condemn the actions of Hamas and all calls to violence. We follow the… Continue reading What to do about what happened The pos…

My brothers and sisters, the default setting for the Muslim is that he/she is a Wali of Allahﷻ. This is not my imagination but Allahﷻ stated that clearly in His Book and said: أَلَآ إِنَّ أَوْلِيَآءَ ٱللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَكَانُوا۟ يَتَّقُونَ لَهُمُ ٱلْبُشْرَىٰ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَفِى ٱل…

Islam is a belief system. You enter Islam by believing and declaring that belief. It is equally simple to leave Islam. That is why it is essential to ensure that we never say or do anything that contradicts or denies our belief. That is why knowledge is important and it begins with fundamentals. Which is… Continue reading Focus on the Fundamentals …

They say that reading biographies is perhaps the best way to learn real life lessons. That is because a biography is a record of practice. Of what worked and what didn’t. The life of Muhammadﷺ is perhaps one of the most well documented in human history. Having said that, one may ask why his life… Continue reading Muhammadﷺ- An example for all peopl…

It is one of the articles of our faith to believe in Divine Destiny and to be pleased with it. Ridha bil Qadha is proof of our Imaan and a sign of Tawakkul. Islamic understanding about destiny is that we have been given limited choice in our lives. Some things have been written for us… Continue reading Focus on the Fundamentals – Part 2 The post Fo…

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَـٰمِ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ…

بَدَأَ اللَّهُ كِتَابَهُ بِإِظْهَارِ كَيْفَ نَبْدَأُ كُلَّ أَيَّامِنَا، وكُلَّ لَيَالِينَا، وَكَيْفَ نُوَاجِهُ كُلَّ مَوْقِفٍ فِي حَيَاتِنَا، سَواءٌ كَانَ ذَلِكَ سَهْلََا أَوْ صَعْباََ. لَقَدْ عَلَّمْنا أَنْ نُرَكِّزَ عَلَيْهِ، وَأَنْ نَشْكُرَهُ عَلَى كُلِّ مَا أَعْطَانَا إِيَّاهُ وَأَنْ نَتَذَكَّرَ أَنَّ كُلَّ مَا نَعْرِفُهُ، بِمَا فِي ذَلِكَ أَنْ…

قال الله – وَخَشِىَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ فَبَشِّرْهُ بِمَغْفِرَةٍ وَأَجْرٍ كَرِيمٍ لِمَاذَا خَشْيَةُ اَلرَّحْمَنِ عِنْدَمَا يَكُونُ اَللَّهُ هُوَ اَلرَّحْمَنُ؟ تَتِمُّ تَرْجَمَةُ خَشْيَةِ اَللَّهِ بِخَوْفِ اَللَّهِ، اَلْخَوْفُ هُوَ عَاطِفَةٌ سَلْبِيَّةٌ، نَحْنُ نَكْرَهُ مَا نَخَافُهُ، وَلَكِنَّ اَللَّهَ قَالَ: إِنَّ اَلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُحِبُّونَه…

قَالَ الله تَعَالَى عَنْ وَرَثَةِ الفِرْدَوسْ: قَدْ أَفْلَحَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلَاتِهِمْ خَـٰشِعُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ ٱللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَوٰةِ فَـٰعِلُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَـٰفِظُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَـٰنَـٰتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَٰعُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَٰتِهِمْ يُحَاف…

Connect to Allah with gratitude Allah began His Book with showing us how to begin each day, each night, and how to face every situation in life, be it one of ease or difficulty. He taught us to focus on Him, to thank Him for all that He gave us and to remember that everything… Continue reading تواصل مع الله بامتنان The post تواصل مع الله بامتنان ap…

Allahﷻ said about the reason we were created And the jinn and mankind were not created except to worship (Allahﷻ). Worship means to know – how can we worship One we do not know? Allahﷻ, is the living and the mighty, and His words are also alive, because the Word of Allahﷻ is not created,… Continue reading المقصد لحياتنا عرفان بالله The post المقصد …

قال الله تعالى أنه ذكرنا في القرآن – فهؤ قال: لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَـٰبًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ أين تلك الإشارة ؟ لم يذكر الله أسمائنا بل ذكر أنواع الناس وصفاتهم وأخبرنا عن نهايتهم – مهم جدا بالنسبة لنا أن نسأل حل يمكن هل نحن فيما بينهم ؟ فقال الله تعالى عن نوع واحد من الناس: … Continue reading ابحث عن نفسك في القرآن The p…

We continue with our topic of the three voices that speak to us and what to do about them. Over the last two weeks I spoke about the first of them which was Shaytaan. Today we will speak about the second voice which is even more dangerous and that is the voice of our own… Continue reading Three Voices – Part 3 The post Three Voices – Part 3 appeare…

We continue with our topic of the three voices that speak to us and what to do about them. Last week I spoke about the first of them which was Shaytaan. To complete that discussion, Shaytaan misguides and when the person accepts that misguidance, Shaytaan washes his hands of the responsibility. Allahﷻ told us about… Continue reading Three Voices – …

Allahﷻ created us and sent us into this world for a short period of time. During this time, He promised to take care of all our affairs in return for which He gave us the honor of establishing His Deen on the earth. وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ مَآ أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ وَمَآ… Continue reading Juma Khutba – 3 Voice…

We were talking about what built a man like Ibrahim (AS) who Allahﷻ loved and called him His Khaleel. It was this connection with Allahﷻ that built the man Ibrahim (AS) who when he was in his 80’s Allahﷻ blessed with a son, Ismail (AS). Then when Ismail (AS) was still nursing Allahﷻ ordered Ibrahim… Continue reading Feel Allahﷻ in our hearts – #2 T…

We just finished Ramadan which Allahﷻ sent us to make us Muttaqoon. I remind myself and you that all the promises of Allahﷻ are for Muttaqoon. So, it is worth the effort to become a Muttaqi and benefit. In Ramadan we reminded ourselves that we are Muslim. That we have submitted our will to the… Continue reading Feel Allahﷻ in our hearts The post Fe…

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Protestant Minister at the time of Hitler who opposed him and paid with his life. In his essay, ‘Costly Grace’ he says that Divine Grace (Fadhl of Allahﷻ) is something that we must pay for. We take it for granted, we feel we are entitled to it, we don’t even stop… Continue reading Costly Grace The post Costly Grace appeare…

My brothers and sisters I want to remind myself and you that the meaning of being Muslim is to submit to Allahﷻ without question, without argument, without reservation or hesitation. To submit joyfully and eagerly. That is the symbol of our trust in Him. And that trust is what earns His pleasure and His help.… Continue reading Muslim is a verb The …