Closeness From Closeness
قُرْبٌ من قُرْب الحمد لله الذي خلق السماوات والأرض وأنزل من السماء ماءً فأخرج به من الثمرات رزقاً لكم, وسخّر لكم الفلك لتجرِيَ في البحر بأمره وسخّر لكم الأنهار. وسخّر لكم الشمس والقمر دائبَيْن وسخّر لكم الليل والنهار. وآتاكم من كلّ ما سألتموه وإن تعدّوا نعمة الله لا تحصوها, إن الإنسان لظلوم كفّار. لقد قدّر […]
The Thankful Pursuit
One of God’s mercies toward His servants is that He rewards them for their efforts, not for the results of their deeds. As for people among each other, they deal on the basis of results in most of their cases. Allah ﷻ said: {So whoever does righteous deeds while he is a believer – no […]
The Night of Power
Allah’s creation is not random. Everything goes by law, proportion, and measure “Al-qadar”: إنا كل شيئ خلقناه بقدر “Verily, all things have We created in proportion and measure.” [54:49] Everything has its appointed time, place, and occasion. All creation is subject to a general Fate “al-qadar” that reflects Allah’s Knowledge, Will, Power, and Wisdom. Prophecy […]
Reaping the Fruits of Ramadan
Is time to bid the most holy month farewell. The month of Quran, forgiveness, blessings, and fasting has parted. Ramadan has left us with the remaining 11 months of this next year. In reality, Ramadan is here to train us for the rest of the year. Now that Ramadan has come to an end, we […]
The Spirit of Eid
روح العيد الحمد لله رب السماوات ورب الأرض رب العالمين. وله الكبرياء في السماوات والأرض وهو العزيز الحكيم. الحمد لله وليّ الذين آمنوا يخرجهم من الظلمات إلى النور، ويهديهم إلى صراط مستقيم. خلق ابن آدم في أحسن تقويم ثم كرّمه وفضّله على كثير ممن خلق تفضيلا. إنّ من رحمة الله بعباده أن كتب عليهم فروضاً […]
Ramadan 1445 / 2024: The Constants and Variables
It is easy to list the constants during the month of Ramadan as we expect it every year to happen, and it shapes Ramadan the way we know it. But I will mention three main important constants about Ramadan. First, it is the honor of fasting as a response to the call of Allah (ﷻ). […]
Priorities In Ramadan
أولويات في رمضان ويهلُّ علينا هلال رمضان من جديد، لعل الله يبلغنا القبول وقد بلغنا الوصول. ولا بد من تجديد النية مع كل ليلة، وتبييتها توكيداً، واستحضارها تثبيتاً. وإن لهذه الشهر غاية عند الله متمثلة بقوله: “كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ” (البقرة: ١٨٣)، ألا وهي التحقق بمنهج التقوى، فتحفظ […]
Ramadan and Fine Tuning
During Ramadan we move constantly for one month between fast and feast. It is a methodical program aiming at rejuvenating our will to control our desires, emotions, and behavior. Quran refers to this form of control as “taqwa” (تَقْوى). Taqwa is the ability to consciously say “no” to anything that diverts us from Allah (ﷻ) […]
The Guest of Honor: Ramadan
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it has been prescribed for those who have believed before you, so that you may be ever God-fearing.” (Translation by Ahmad Zaki Hammad) The month of forgiveness. The month of […]
The Crime That Shook Our Community
When those we know and love leave and depart to their Lord, parts of us leave with them too; our memories with them and the shared good deeds they left behind. Our Muslim and Arab society woke up on the morning of Sunday, the twenty-first of January 2024, to the tragedy of the killing of […]