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12 January 2021

The Hidden Things in Our Lives

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For many people life is an endless quest for the elusive. We seek success, advancement, and wealth. We crave ultimate and unending happiness through the acquisition of material things. We desire the perfect companion, friend, and lover. The list goes on, and on. Without having a map, however, and without having rules and principles to guide you along the way, this can oftentimes lead to the opposite desired effect: frustration and grief. You never seem to actually get what you want, so you give up believing that the quest is impossible, and the dream is unachievable. However, if you understand that the quest itself is the reward, you can shift your paradigm and dramatically alter your relationship with the things you want. The key is in understanding how to be mindful of the process instead of the goal

August 18, 2020

Hijri New Year

The Islamic New Year is an event filled with great stories, meanings, and blessings. It is a time for renewal, reflection, and restoration. In this article, however, you will find special prayers and devotional acts to mark this occasion and get your New Year started right!

April 6, 2020

The Eve of the 15th Sh’aban

The eve of the 15th of Sh‘aban is one of the most significant and spiritually important times in the Muslim liturgical calendar. It is a night that the salaf used to seek out and honor with intense devotion and sweet supplication.

January 13, 2020

Devotional Acts for Ashura (10th of Muharram)

This is a short, convenient list of devotional acts for the occasion of ‘Ashura, the 10th day of the month of Muḥarram: 1. Fast the ninth and tenth of Muḥarram.1 2. Expand on yourself and your family by way of making some extra food, buying small presents, inviting family over for dinner, etc.

April 7, 2020

The Birth (Mawlid) of the Prophet

Celebrating the birth of our beloved Prophet ﷺ has been a custom of Muslim communities ever since the time of the Companions. To celebrate and commemorate his birth is to ultimately show thanks and gratitude to God for sending him ﷺ to us as a mercy.

January 13, 2020

Devotional Acts for the month of Safar

Ṣafar is the second month of the Islamic lunar calendar. There is a weak hadith narrated by Ibn ‘Abbās that states, “On the last Wednesday of the month [of Ṣafar] there is a continual calamity.”

November 23, 2020

The Hidden Things in Our Lives

November 14, 2020

Islamology and the Making of Fake Islam, part 2: Fundamentalists & Salafis

October 21, 2020

Islamology and the Making of Fake Islam, Part 1: Western Academics

August 14, 2020

Thoughts on Zakat

One of the unique features of Islam as an intellectual system is that it possesses a mechanism for renewal and revival within itself. This mechanism is the instrument of ijtihād- independent legal reasoning- that allows a trained and licensed jurist to develop new rulings and judgements for situations that are unprecedented, nuanced, and, in a way, of a troublesome nature. There is a lot of literature within Islamic legal tradition that explains the vast contours of ijtihād. Familiar discussions outline the common set of must-know legal rules and principles, interpretive tools used to unlock meanings within the primary texts, and auxiliary disciplines needed in order for one’s ijtihād to be effective and within the broad limits of orthodoxy. These are standard in any work that discuss the instrument of ijtihād. There are other discussions, however, that one comes across from time to time that shed a little more light on the phycology and mindset behind the person engaging in ijtihad, namely the mujtahid. One interesting description, courtesy of Imam Ghazali (d. 505/1111), is the need for the mujtahid to have vast amounts of creativity. The more creativity a mujtahid has, the more creative thinking they can bring to bear on a particular issue, the better they will be able to come up with right solutions and right answers; especially solutions that will last the test of time. To be creative in this context, therefore, is to think outside the box and dare to be innovative. It is to ask the right questions, not just memorize standard answers.

July 29, 2020

Truth, Lies, and Social Media

July 9, 2020

Innovation & Creativity: How to Get Islam Moving Forward

June 18, 2020

Islam is Greater than the Muslims

What role, if any, does and should religion play in politics? In an age when we see many, many religious leaders linked with politics and political parties, I make the argument that this is dangerous and a misuse of religion.

May 20, 2020

Expressing Gratitude

In the beginning of his Meditations, the Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius begins with a section on debts and lessons. He thanks specific family members, tutors, teachers, and friends for a myriad of reasons. For moral lessons like, “not to waste time on nonsense” and “to recognize the malice, cunning, and hypocrisy that power produces” as well as the mundane like, “introducing me to Epictetus’s lectures-and loaning me his own copy.” In just a few pages Marcus Aurelius manages to run the path from the profane to the sacred and acknowledge the debt he owes to all these acts of kindness and moral examples that helped make and form him. Even though he would end up becoming one of the most powerful men in the world, he still found the time to remember, reflect, and express gratitude to the things that helped him along the way.

May 2, 2020

God & Caesar

April 15, 2020

On Keeping a Ramadan Journal

Ramadan is the biggest event in the Muslim liturgical calendar. It lasts an entire month (the 9th lunar month), and there are extra devotional acts performed every day and every evening. It is the month in which we commemorate the revelation of the Quran, providing a special evening (the Night of Power) sought out in the last ten days-a mega event inside a mega event. It is the month of great spiritual benefits, forgiveness, and opportunities for renewal.

April 9, 2020

Time in the Age of COVID-19

There is a well-known quote by the famous jurist and polymath Imam al-Shāfi‘ī (d. 204/820): “I learned from the Sufis that time is like a knife. If you don’t cut it first, it will cut you.” This quote, perhaps more than any, was always a source of fascination for me.

January 13, 2020

A Framework for Understanding Violence and Extremism within the Family of Islam

Since I first confronted the subject of violence and extremism as a research topic about two years ago, I noticed that there was no coherent framework dealing with extremism arising from within the “family of Islam.” It has been difficult to wrap my head around this topic due to a lack of clear definition of terms, boundaries, etc.

September 17, 2020

The ‘Ulamā’ and Political Rulers

September 10, 2020

Three Questions that Help me Focus

July 25, 2019

What is Usuli Islam?

In The Clock of the Long Now, Stewart Brand argues that religion is one of the most durable institutions of civilization that helps ground us all in timeless values. In his concept of the forces of innovation (rapidly changing) and durability (slow changing) of civilization, religion would definitely be amongst the more slow adapting forces.

April 7, 2020

The Birth (Mawlid) of the Prophet

December 23, 2019

Islam is More than Just the Muslims

One of the most important things I learned throughout my studies is that religion as a concept and discipline is much greater and more expansive than what practitioners make it out to be. This is certainly true for Islam and Muslims.

January 12, 2021

Traveling to Japan

About two years ago, an opportunity to travel to Japan emerged from some of the consultancy work I do. Since my approach to preventing violence and extremism is unique and effective (I hope to share something about this soon), and since my background in comparative religions is well known amongst the people I work for and with, there was interest for me to travel and meet with Japanese religious leaders, especially Muslims, and share information and lessons learned. It was supposed to be a simple, straightforward trip, and from a business point of view it was. However, even though I travel frequently, at that point I had never been to Japan, and since this seemed like a onetime opportunity, I decided to make the most of it. What follows is how I took this simple opportunity and developed it into a long-term, fruitful relationship that will forever be a part of me.

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Traveling to Japan

Hadith Reading List

The Hidden Things in Our Lives

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Hadith Reading List

Hijri New Year

The Eve of the 15th Sh’aban

Devotional Acts for Ashura (10th of Muharram)

The Birth (Mawlid) of the Prophet

Devotional Acts for the month of Safar

The Hidden Things in Our Lives

Islamology and the Making of Fake Islam, part 2: Fundamentalists & Salafis

Islamology and the Making of Fake Islam, Part 1: Western Academics

Thoughts on Zakat

Truth, Lies, and Social Media

Innovation & Creativity: How to Get Islam Moving Forward

Islam is Greater than the Muslims

Expressing Gratitude

God & Caesar

On Keeping a Ramadan Journal

Time in the Age of COVID-19

A Framework for Understanding Violence and Extremism within the Family of Islam

The ‘Ulamā’ and Political Rulers

Three Questions that Help me Focus

What is Usuli Islam?

The Birth (Mawlid) of the Prophet

Islam is More than Just the Muslims

Traveling to Japan

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