THE BUS FROM Jeddah to Makkah was packed with pilgrims from a dozen countries, dressed in the same two white cloths. On my second Hajj, I was handed the microphone to lead the talbiyah for the journey into Makkah. One voice began it, others joined, and within moments the bus was one sound. It didn’t matter which … Continue reading Labbayk
THERE IS A moment I will never forget. Standing in the departures hall at London Heathrow, surrounded by the particular chaos of a busy international terminal: trolleys, announcements, the smell of coffee and duty free. And yet something was happening that had nothing to do with any of it. Around me, hundreds of fellow pilgrims … Continue reading Two White Cloths
I MEET PEOPLE who speak lovingly about Hajj, who feel its pull, who fully intend to go, yet continue to delay year after year. Some reasons are entirely understandable. Hajj is expensive. Quotas are limited. Health is not always on our side. There are dependents. But beyond those genuine barriers lies a different conversation altogether. … Continue reading What Holds Us Back
THERE ARE SOME obligations in Islam that we fulfil and move on from. And then there is Hajj. I have yet to meet a believer who says that they do not want to go to Hajj. The desire sits somewhere deep within the Muslim heart, sometimes close to the surface, sometimes buried beneath years of … Continue reading Answering the Call
DHUL HIJJAH IS almost upon us, and with it comes the familiar pull, that instant tug at something deep in the chest that every believer who has stood in those blessed places will recognise. I have been blessed to perform hajj twice in my life. The first time I was in my twenties, fresh out … Continue reading Remembering Hajj
BRITAIN’S PUBLIC SERVICES are in trouble. Junior doctors are on strike. Teachers are quitting. Nurses, midwives, fire fighters, policemen and social workers are burning out and leaving. Patients are waiting longer. Schools can’t find enough staff. Care homes are stretched to breaking point. The usual explanation is that there isn’t enough money. But that only … Continue reading When What We Need Most Is Rewarded Least
“RELIGION IS JUST a bunch of rules that stop you from living your life. Real freedom means choosing everything for yourself.” It’s a view you hear constantly, and not just from critics of Islam. It’s baked into the assumptions of modern life. But does freedom really lead to a better life? The Oldest Deception This … Continue reading The Freedom Trap
MOST OF US do not struggle with knowing what is right. We struggle with actually doing it. We can be completely convinced something is true and still repeatedly act against it. Whilst this may ultimately be a sign of weakness or hypocrisy, in origin it is simply how human beings are made. Two Parts of … Continue reading The Gap Between Knowing and Doing
THERE IS A SUBTLE literary pattern in Surah Hud that every person engaged in dawah work should know. As the surah moves through the missions of several prophets, something repeats with almost mechanical precision. Hud, Salih, Shuʿayb (upon them be peace) each begins their call with an identical sentence: يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ … Continue reading The Unchanging Word and the Changing Address
THERE IS SOMETHING that happens in certain forests across Britain at this time of year, not every forest, but those which are ancient and undisturbed. What was bare, dead soil transforms, day by day, into a sea of blue and purple stretching as far as the eye can see. The trees, still dark-branched, begin to … Continue reading Walking Through the Verse
Living For Islam 