I came across a flyer going around in this blessed month of Ramadan saying that the greeting ‘Ramadan Kareem‘ (Generous Month) is not allowed. The rationale given was that the phrase gives the impression that the month itself is giving generosity, whereas, it is Allah who gives generosity. I thought this was a bit strange …
Many progressive Muslims argue that there is no such thing as ‘normative Islam’ and that it is all open to re-interpretation according to changing times even when it comes to fundamental issues of creed. In order to defend this position, their line of argument goes something like this: What exactly is normative Islam? There is …
The Fine Line Between Belief (Emaan) and Disbelief (Kufr) in Islam Read More »
I recently wrote a detailed piece on the Hanbali perspective on Istighatha and Tawassul. In that piece, I interviewed Sh. Kareem Helmy, a Hanbali scholar and researcher based in Egypt, to provide details on what Hanbali scholars say about these two matters. We briefly discussed Ibn Taymiyyah in it as well but the main focus …
I’ve been studying Arabic for the past 2 years or so via Zoom and while my reading and listening comprehension has significantly increased, my speaking ability is very weak. This is mainly due to the fact that I don’t get to practice at all. The only practice time I get is once a week with …
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is reported to have said about the believers, “When the wind comes to them, it makes them bend. When it is still, they are upright. That is how it is with the believer. He bends with affliction. The unbeliever is like the sturdy cedar which stands straight until Allah makes it …
Allah says, “The Hour has drawn near and the moon has been split. Yet if they see a sign, they turn away and then say, ‘A continuing sorcery.‘“ (54:1-2) Allah informs people about the splitting of the moon using the past participle and refers to the unbelievers turning away from his signs. The commentators and …
There are many aspects of the Mighty Book of Allah which cannot be imitated. In order to deal with them properly, they have been put into four categories. This section deals with the first of these which is the excellence of its composition, the cohesion of its word-structure and the purity of its Arabic. This …