"Surely, the true religion in Allah's sight is Islam" (3:19)
by Muhammad Al-Shareef I was a teacher in the Qur’anic study circle at our neighborhood Masjid at the time. I would see this young boy after Maghrib prayers, you might say he was about fifteen years old. He held a pocket Qur’an and sat alone reading from it – no, he wasn’t actually reading from it, he was just trying to make it seem as if he was. Now and again, he would shyly steal a few glances at us,
Read moreSeveral years ago an Imaam moved to London. He often took the bus from his home to the town area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the same bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him twenty pence too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, you better give the twenty pence back. It would be wrong to keep it. Then he thought, oh forget
Read moreQari Muhammad Qayyam (may the mercy of Allah be upon him) related that a great deal of fighting and bloodshed had started prior to theIndo-Pakistan partition of 1947. He said that a very beautiful daughter of a very rich man in a certain community stepped out of her house to visit her aunt, who lived no more than a few streets away. Suddenly a riot erupted as she had gone halfway and she found herself trapped withapparently nowhere to go.
Read moreThis is a story filled with lessons and warning, anyone who is in a high position of academic activity or in Tasawwuf or in any other service of Deen will derive benefit and guidance from it. They will learn that it is of utmost importance for one to avoid thinking of others as being inferior to him. They should always remember the advice of Shaykh Shahabuddin Suhrawardi (rah), the spiritual guide of Shaykh Saadi (rah): “Never become self-conceited and never
Read more“From the signs of truthfulness is fear of Allah and asceticism in life; for the truthful with conviction fears consuming from what is impermissible and bears poverty and hardship for the sake of Islam. If he commits sin then he does not sleep until he returns to his Lord and repents, in order to free himself from the sin, and its burden. Ibn Jarir at-Tabari: I was in Makkah during the season of Hajj and I saw a man from
Read moreAnfal, a rich young girl, sat waiting impatiently at the doctor’s clinic to get the results of a medical test. She was in a hurry to attend a party and feared she might be late for her appointment with the hairdresser. She never thought the result would be anything important. It was just a precaution insisted upon by her family. She had never suffered any serious illness, apart from the odd ache in her, apart from the odd ache in
Read moreIt’s about Muslim man named Rashid. He Says. “I was not a practicing muslim, I had bad friends. I enjoyed going out with them. I was almost never home, but always at gatherings with friends, in these gatherings we backbited, gossiped and made fun of ppl. I was especially known among my friends to make jokes and ppl were impressed by the way I was so good at it. One night (at the time I was 30 and married and
Read moreby Fatima Asmal Rehana looked up from her cup of tea, and shook her head disapprovingly. “How do I look, Azhar?” Tasneem, her 20-year-old daughter was asking her brother, as she made her way to the breakfast table. “Fat,” giggled 14-year-old Azhar, returning to his plate of sausages and eggs. “Fat is exactly what you are going to be, if you keep stuffing your face like that,” Tasneem retorted, admiring herself in the Defy oven. Clad in her tightest pair
Read moreThe Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be. ONE: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone’s hand. TWO: You will experience a painful sharpening from
Read moreA group of frogs were travelling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the unfortunate frogs they would never get out. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took
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