Separation at the Border
“As a mother, this sickens me to see things like this happening in 2018. It is reported that at least 2,700 children have been split from their parents since his zero-tolerance policy has been put in place. All of this happening is so surreal. It seems something this inhuman would only happen maybe 40, 50 […]
Not Just Rituals
The rituals of Hajj might be the most Islamic practices based on total submission without many people understanding the reasoning or wisdom behind it. And perhaps it’s meant to be just like that, especially since there are no direct verses in the Quran and Sunnah that directly specifies a logical meaning. In the few lines […]
Repeat After Me
Am I worth it or am I worthless? Can I make sense of a situation that impacts me? I don’t understand Why it is so hard to chase dreams? Are dreams meant to stay dreams? Repeat after me, No. I try but nothing is being accomplished, does that make me a failure? Repeat after me, […]
ذَوْقِيَّاتْ
الإسلام دين جميل يحث على الجمال في كل تفاصيله، ويدعو إليه ويرغب فيه؛ فالله جميل يحب الجمال، ومحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم جميل كأنه قطعة البدر كما اجتهد واصفوه… وجمال هذا الدين جلي واضح في مبادئه وعباداته الروحية والتعاملية على حدٍ سواء، ولا يخفى هذا على ذي لب؛ فنظرة خاطفة في سيرة النبي المصطفى عليه […]
The Brotherhood of Hajj
In a time when people are uniting in the name of language, ethnicity, race, economic status and many other titles, the fifth pillar of Islam, Hajj, comes one more time this year to remind Muslims that what unites them is their faith in Allah. I remember the first night I spent in front of the […]
My Name
My name is Hasan Mohammed Hussein but a lot of people mispronounce it In the movies it is pronounced antagonist While the news pronounces it terrorist, To an Uncle Tom I’m an alien, although I was born an American. My teachers call me hason, hasaine But I see that they try, so I let her […]
Prayer (Salaat) in Islam (Pt 2)
Istiqama: resisting transgression and standing up to oppression Reciting from Al-Faatihah, the Opener, “show us the straight path” (1:6) while standing up straight in prayer is a continuous reminder to adjust our lives according to the right and straight path. Straight should be the manner of travel and the quality of any path we take […]
وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا ۚ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
كل ليلة.. اخرج من كل ما تملك وادخل في اضطرارك العظيم والعاجلة كلها ليل نفسكَ التي تؤوي خبايا الظُّلمةِ في الخطيئة و روحك الجريحة التي مرّغتها في التقلب بين الشهوات.. قلبك الطفل النديّ يئنّ شوقاً .. يطلبُ السكينة بين إصبعيّ الرحمن أطلق شراعيك واعرض نفسك على رب السماء وقُل خذني إليك بالأخذ الرفيق .. يا […]
Is It Really Atheism?
Growing up in the Middle East back in the seventies, I witnessed many young men and women joining political parties that adopted capitalism, socialism, communism and atheism. That was the popular culture at the time, especially for young adults, as the allure of such groups was to embrace a sense of identity and empowerment after […]
اتْرُكْ أَثَرَاً
حان وقت كتابة هذا المقال، وانتهى رمضان، ومضى العيد، وما زلت أتردد فيمَ أكتب وعن أي شيء أتحدث! وكأن الأفكار تطايرت وتناثرت، وكأن رمضان استنفد حتى أفكارنا… لم أفتأ هكذا حتى وقعت يدي على كتاب لشيخ شامي جليل، توفاه الله منذ سنوات، لكنه خلف وراءه إرثاً عظيماً من العلم تتوارثه الأجيال من بعده وتحيي ذكر […]