• Why Not Despair? Reflections on Patience

    Why not despair? The Islamic meaning of sabr is to stop ourselves from despairing and panicking, to stop our tongues from complaining, and to stop our hands from striking our faces and tearing our clothes at times of grief and stress. To have _sabr_ is to first realize within your own heart that a) there is a god that exists b) that this god is worthy of all my worship c) that this god is indeed characterized by attributes of perfectness and majesty, which can only be ascribed to god and no other.
  • Arabic Analysis of Surah Balad

    This is post #35 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series). In this post, we will insha’Allah do a word-for-word breakdown of each surah, as space permits. In the first ayah, Allah (subhannahu wa ta’ala) says: لَا أُقْسِمُ بِهَٰذَا الْبَلَدِ The first two words, laa uqsimu (لَا أُقْسِمُ) literally means “I do not swear.” Uqsimu is mudaari’ mutakallim waahid, i.
  • The Ins and Outs of Halloween

    So who’s down for a party this Saturday? Let’s do it! Meet at the closest masjid near your house at 7:45pm. Forget about these kiddish Halloween parties, be a person of dignity and honour, be amongst the party of Allah. وَيُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ أُوْلَئِكَ حِزْبُ اللَّهِ أَلَا إِنَّ حِزْبَ اللَّهِ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ And We will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally.
  • Tafseer Surah Balad, Part 2: Iqtahamaa

    This is post #34 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series). The CN Tower, 150 stories high. Fa laa iqtahamaa al-aqabah. Continuing our discussion of Surah Balad, Allah (‘azza wa jal) says: أَلَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُ عَيْنَيْنِ وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ Translation: Have We not made for him two eyes? And a tongue and two lips? And have shown him the two ways?
  • Tafseer Surah Balad, Part 1: Life is Toil

    This is post #33 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series). This is the first of two posts on the tafseer of Surah Balad. Allah says: لَا أُقْسِمُ بِهَذَا الْبَلَدِ Translation: I swear by this city (Makkah) … [Surah Balad, verse 1] “Laa uqsim” literally means, “I will not swear by.” in Arabic language, it means “this thing is so truthful, I almost don’t even have to swear by it.
  • Tafseer Surah Quraysh

    Fal-ya’buduw rabba haadha al-bayt. This is post #32 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series). This post is chronologically out of order, since Surah Quraish was revealed before surah Qaari’ah; but insha’Allah khayr. Allah says: لِإِيلَافِ قُرَيْشٍ إِيلَافِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَذَا الْبَيْتِ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ وَآمَنَهُم مِّنْ خَوْفٍ Translation: For the accustomed security of the Quraysh – Their accustomed security [in] the caravan of winter and summer – Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who has fed them, [saving them] from hunger and made them safe, [saving them] from fear.
  • Benefits of Tawbah

    Bismillah This is a translation from the original article in Arabic. 1- It is a cause to receive the Love of Allah azza wa jal. The Most High says: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves. (2:222) 2- It is a cause of success. The Most High says: وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ And all of you beg Allah to forgive you, O believers, that you may be successful.
  • Ramadan Retrospective

    Eid Mubarak! As the sahaba would tell each other: May Allah accept our good deeds and your good deeds (from Ramadan). Ameen! Ramadan is still fresh in your mind; the long days of fasting, the pain in your legs and back from taraweeh, and most of all, that biting regret that you didn’t do enough. Would you like to make the next Ramadan even better? With only five minutes worth of effort?
  • Plan for the Last 10 Nights of Ramadan

    Ramadan is coming to a close. Like the last half-kilometer of a 10km race, the finish-line is in sight. This is the time to pull out all the stops and to sprint, flat-out. This is the time when Laylatul-Qadar, the night where deeds are multiplied by more than one thousand, hides. Are you ready for it? Maybe you felt like Ramadan breezed by. Maybe you felt like you didn’t do enough.
  • Arabic Analysis of Surah Qaari’ah

    A faraash–a moth. This is post #31 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series). As per the poll on our twitter account, there was consensus on their being a post on grammatical analysis of Surah Qaari’ah. So here you go insha’Allah. Standard Disclaimer: I am not an Arab (as in, fluent in Arabic) nor have I double-checked this in books of ‘ulama discussing grammar; there is sometimes difference of opinion in grammar, as well; so take it as such insha’Allah.