Last summer, I was honored to be invited to an Iftar dinner — the meal to break the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — hosted by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. The guests consisted of many high ranking government officials, including a large number of Muslim government employees. These Muslim [...]
Before I genuinely began to cultivate and nurture my relationship with God, I regarded the five daily prayers that Islam enjoins on believers as laborious. It seemed impractical to expect that I would be able to stop what I was doing during my busy work schedule to take time out and pray. Working as a [...]
On Sunday 6th November, it will be the Great Feast of Islam and Muslims (Eid al-Adha) symbolizing the culmination of the pilgrimage to Mecca; a few days of light, fraternity and love intended to symbolize meditation, a return back to the Creator, blessings and prayers for peace. Yet, we are observing that this noblest of [...]
The biggest part of Thanksgiving is sharing and caring. It is a day to express friendship and kindness to those who are struggling with the difficulties of life. It ought to bring out the best in us for others. Why should we do that? The Native Americans believe that the world is one large family, [...]
Reflections On the Holy Month As the Holy Month of Ramadan draws to an end, it is now time to reflect on what we have learnt in the last 4 weeks, individually and collectively, where each and every one of us have been honoured students attending the ‘school of profound spirituality’ being inspired by the [...]
Many of us spend a good portion of our Ramadan nights with our hands raised in du`a’ (supplication), listening to the heart-felt words of our imam or shaykh calling on Allah in the witr prayer. For those of us who don’t speak Arabic, it is a time when we often long to understand the meaning of the words [...]
The riots that have engulfed London and other major cities in the United Kingdom over the last week are finally receding in intensity but in the wake of the horrific scenes of violence, looting and arson that has left people shaken, the real issues look set to take centre stage especially as post mortems are [...]
It is as simple as it could get,although many of us like to confuse the world around us,with philosophical and scientific detail ,often leaving us with quite a big question mark. God created this universe, nature and finally us. The angels were however the first to question Him and were puzzled at God’s wacky idea, [...]
YES, it is that time of year again. The month of Ramadan has come. This is the month where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk every day for 29 or 30 days. It is a month of reflection for many while for others it is a month of worship. However, for many, it is just [...]
Imam Al Ghazali said : “None shall be prosperous except he who follows the prosperous people before him.” You will have to accompany the righteous companions of the Prophet (PBUH) or read about them, if you wish to be prosperous. We must try our best to find out about our virtues – the goodness of [...]
