The Month of Ramadan
Translated by Dr. Abu Zayd They asked: What is the meaning of the month of Ramadan? I replied: It is a month of blessings, abundance, happiness, and beauty. In it, the Qurʾān was revealed as guidance for humanity, guidance that is self-evident and clear....
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The Soundest Book
They asked: What is the greatest book? I replied: After the Book of God, the greatest book undoubtedly is the Ṣaḥīḥ of Imām Bukhārī, entitled al-Jāmiʿ al-Musnad al-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Mukhtaṣar min Umūr Rasūlillāh wa Sunanihī wa Ayyāmihī. Nothing like it has ever been authored in Islam or any other tradition.
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Two questions regarding congregational prayer
Many people have asked me: As we are compelled to pray in our homes, can we follow an imam via live broadcast by radio or TV or other means of ‘live-streaming’? A congregational prayer is valid if there are two or more than two doing the prayer in the same space.
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Few Thoughts on Surah al-‘Ankabut
The surah begins with the question: {a hasiba n-nasu an…} It is not right to translate hasiba as ‘think’/‘imagine’ or ‘suppose’/‘conjecture’. The meaning here is ‘reckon’, ‘calculate’, to use reason to weigh up options in order to come to a judgment about…
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Desire and Love in Marriage
I want to begin by trying to explain to you the difference between desire (hawa) and love (mahabba). Desire is something that happens to you; you are passive before it; it arises; it gets you; it seems strong and you seem weak. It is aroused by…
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Reflections on Education
The importance of religion to Muslims means, an emphasis on Arabic and Qur’anic studies; and the importance of earning their livelihood, means they have instead, to learn English, which is the only medium Western learning could be studied.
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Advice to women travelling for `umrah
Women, generally, have always been easy targets of abuse and harassment by misguided, predatory men and hence it has rarely been safe for them to travel alone. That is why the Prophet advised that women when travelling in a potentially unsafe…
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Notes on Surah al-Shu’ara’
This surah addresses the intense anxiety that God’s Messenger, salla l-lahu `alayhiwa-sallam, suffered on account of the negative responses he got when he conveyed to the people the message God had commanded him to convey. It seems that he blamed…
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