I HAVE PREVIOUSLY written about how the Srebrenica genocide in the 90s was a turning point in my life. As a 20 year old, It was the first time I truly became conscious of the horrors of war, the deep-rooted hatred against Muslims in Europe, the blindness of those who speak of higher values while … Continue reading This Is What 8,372 Looks Like
IT IS EASY to overlook small details when reading the Book of Allah. Many of us read Surah al-Kahf on Fridays, and recently, I noticed something in ayah 18. وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًۭا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌۭ ۚ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِ ۖ وَكَلْبُهُم بَـٰسِطٌۭ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِٱلْوَصِيدِ ۚ لَوِ ٱطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًۭا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًۭا “And … Continue reading The Detail a Doctor Notices in Surah al-Kahf
MANY MUSLIMS LIVING in Britain are asking an increasingly difficult question: Should we stay, or should we leave? This is not an abstract question. Rising Islamophobia, hostility towards Muslims, political rhetoric, discrimination and anxiety about the environment in which our children will grow up can make life feel increasingly constricted. Some therefore consider moving to … Continue reading Where Should a Muslim Live?
FOR MANY YEARS, one detail in the story of Musa (as) and Khidr puzzled me. Why does Allah mention the fish? In one of the most profound stories in the Qur’an, a story about knowledge, destiny, patience, and divine wisdom, we suddenly encounter a salted fish that comes alive and slips into the sea. At … Continue reading Why the Fish?
WILDFIRES HAVE RAGED across many parts of Britain this summer in the exceptionally dry conditions. The government’s response to these wildfires has been to ban disposable BBQs. That makes sense. These can provide the spark that ignites a rapidly spreading fire. Individual responsibility matters. But there is something uncomfortable about the way we often talk … Continue reading When We Look in the Wrong Place
I RECENTLY WROTE ‘Two Years On: Why Removing a Tyrant is Not Enough,’ about the way Surah al Qaṣaṣ exposes the architecture of tyranny. The Qur’an does not present Pharaoh’s oppression as the work of one powerful individual. It shows us a system. Pharaoh stands at the centre of political power. Hāmān represents the bureaucratic … Continue reading Tyranny Has a Direction
SAHIH MUSLIM CAPTURES an incident that should make every believer who loves the Prophet ﷺ pause. After the death of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abu Bakr (ra) said to Umar (ra), “Let us go and visit Umm Ayman, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to visit her.” So they went to see her. … Continue reading Carrying the Message
THERE ARE MOMENTS in the Qur’an when a few verses seem to contain an entire lifetime of guidance. One such passage is the journey of Mūsā (as) from Egypt to Madyan in Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ. Mūsā has just left Egypt. He is frightened. He has killed a man. Pharaoh’s people are now searching for him. He … Continue reading Four Duʿās, One Journey
WE ARE LIVING through a remarkable technological transformation. Artificial intelligence can now generate images, voices and videos increasingly indistinguishable from reality. A photograph of a child at school can be manipulated into something sexualised, causing very real humiliation, bullying and psychological harm. Schools, pupils and parents are being told not to share pictures on social … Continue reading When Technology Outruns Morality
THE QUR’AN HAS a remarkable way of teaching profound lessons through seemingly ordinary words. One such example appears in the story of Prophet Ṣāliḥ (as). Allah says: وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَـٰلِحًا أَنِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فَإِذَا هُمْ فَرِيقَانِ يَخْتَصِمُونَ Indeed, We sent to Thamūd their brother Ṣāliḥ, saying, ‘Worship Allah.’ Then at once they … Continue reading Their Brother
Living For Islam 