The post ‘The Revival is Happening‘ drew a lot of comments. Most were thoughtful. A few were hostile, from people who wanted to mock Islam rather than discuss it. But one theme kept surfacing, in different forms, from people who seemed otherwise engaged and sincere. They said I was being judgemental. It gave me pause, … Continue reading On Being Called Judgemental
THERE ARE MOMENTS, even in Ramadhan, when the heart feels far. You pray, but it feels mechanical. You make du’a, but the words feel thin. You open the Qur’an, but your mind drifts. And a quiet fear creeps in: Have I drifted too far? In the middle of the ayat of fasting in Surah al-Baqarah, … Continue reading The Distance Is Never On His Side
LAST NIGHT AT taraweeh, I found myself standing under the open sky. The masjid was overflowing, and the prayer mats stretched into the car park. The weather had softened. After days of bitter cold, 10 degrees and dry felt almost balmy, carrying that stillness that makes one pause and linger. The imam was reciting from juzʾ 4, … Continue reading Standing Under the Ayat
IT WAS 5°C. Raining. Dark. My son had dental surgery the day before, but he had fasted. He was tired, uncomfortable, and slow to put on his shoes. “Hurry up, we’re getting late,” I called, determined that we wouldn’t miss the reward of Tarawih. We arrived just in time for the first rak’ah of ’Isha. … Continue reading Shaken But Not Broken
ONE OF THE righteous predecessors once said, “How unfortunate are the people of the world who left the world without having experienced its greatest delight.” They asked him, “What is its greatest delight?” He replied: “Knowing Allah, loving Him, finding comfort in His closeness, and longing to meet Him.” We spend our lives searching for … Continue reading The Centre
Ramadan Mubarak, dear brothers and sisters. We are here. We welcome it with hearts full of gratitude and souls hungry for renewal. We fast, we recite, we stand in night prayer, we give, and all of this is beautiful. All of this is sacred. But this Ramadan, I want to invite you to go deeper. … Continue reading Ramadhan Mubarak 1447AH
A HEADLINE CAUGHT my eye this week. A record number of under-30s in the UK are earning more than a million a year. It got me thinking. Twenty-five years old. Millionaire. Not from building something tangible. Mostly from screens. Influence. Attention. Branding. This seems to be what “doing well” looks like these days. It’s subtle. … Continue reading Beneficial, Not Famous
“WHAT IS LIFE’S purpose?” “Simple: to worship Allah. He created jinn and mankind for nothing else.” “Yes, but… what does that look like?” A pause. “Prayer, I suppose. Reading the Qur’an. Good character. Remembering Allah…” But here’s where the question deepens. Allah ﷻ tells us plainly: وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ “I created not … Continue reading Beyond The Prayer Mat
IMAGINE THIS SCENE in the not-too-distant future. It is the 29th of Sha‘ban. Across the Muslim world, believers gather late ‘Asr. Families walk to open spaces. Scholars, students, elders, and children lift their eyes toward the western horizon. The anticipation is shared, from Jakarta to Jeddah, from Istanbul to Islamabad, from Lagos to London. A … Continue reading Who Declares Ramadhan for the Ummah?
AS BANGLADESH COMES to another general election, I keep hearing the same arguments on repeat. Secularism is the only path to stability. Democracy is the only legitimate system. Islamic political aspirations? Emotional. Regressive. Dangerous. But here’s what nobody seems willing to say out loud. Five decades of secular governance haven’t resolved the moral and political … Continue reading Beyond the Ballot: What Bangladesh’s Election Won’t Solve
Living For Islam 