Auto-generated transcript: As-salamu alaykum. My dear respected brothers, sisters, elders, what is unity? I know all of us talk about it. I can probably say that almost every Muslim, if not every Muslim, if you ask him today anywhere in the world, what is the number one problem of this Ummah, he will say lack… Continue reading What is Unity
A dear friend told me, ‘You have given us an analysis of our situation. I agree. Now give us action points going forward. What must we do?’ So, here is what I believe we must do to take back the reins of our destiny from the hands of those we have given them to. Believe… Continue reading Action points going forward
The Connection Between Taqwa and Tawakkul Opening In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, ask His help, ask His forgiveness, and rely on Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds.… Continue reading Focus on the fundamentals
The election is over, and America has decided who gets the most powerful job in the country. That is why I thought it is important to put it in perspective. قُلِ ٱللَّهُمَّ مَـٰلِكَ ٱلْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِى ٱلْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ وَتَنزِعُ ٱلْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَآءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَآءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَآءُ بِيَدِكَ ٱلْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ… Continue reading Facing Reality – Now what?
We must define ourselves in life because all our attitudes and actions, what gives us meaning, depends on who we are. Allahﷻ made the laws that run this universe, including our world. They include the laws of physics which we call natural laws, but those are not the only ones. There are others, equally powerful,… Continue reading Define Yourself
We are living through difficult times. Some of us are directly in difficulty. Others are watching difficult things happen to those they love. To truly understand hardship and relief, we must understand the source of both and that is Allahﷻ. Who is Allahﷻ and what does He want for us? Nobody can introduce Allahﷻ better… Continue reading Hardship and Relief
Living is about making choices- the choice to be a ‘victim’ of circumstances or to do something about circumstances and be their ‘master’. We are free to choose – to be ‘victims’ or ‘masters’ – but the choices have different payoffs. Both stances are subject to the same givens of society, environment, organization etc. But… Continue reading The Chains in the Mind
When you study the Seerah, ask yourself what the fundamental nature of the message of Rasoolullahﷺ was, which resulted in such overwhelming opposition to begin with and then total transformation of society. In my study of the Seerah, and I have written two books on this, the reason for the extent and severity of opposition… Continue reading Message of Muhammadﷺ
Charity is a zero-sum game because we see charity as giving. All giving is to lose something. When you give, you are saying that you didn’t receive anything in return. That is why if you give $1000 in charity, you say, “I gave $1000.” But when you buy Tesla shares for $1000 you don’t say,… Continue reading Investment – not ‘Charity’
Driving transformational change is the most difficult of tasks, but the most rewarding. If we take the two Ahadith that are quoted on this subject, in one Rasoolullahﷺ said: وَإِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ مُعَلِّمًا and in the other: بُعِثْتُ لِأُتَمِّمَ حُسْنَ الْأَخْلَاقِ We can say from these two that he was sent as a teacher to transform… Continue reading Rasoolullahﷺ – Teacher Par Excellence
There are two ways to guide anyone. One is to give them a map and leave it to them to follow it. The other is to send a guide with the map, who teaches them how to read the map and guides them on the right path, course correcting as necessary, so that they can… Continue reading Rasoolullahﷺ – The Guide to Jannah
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلَـٰٓئِكَتَهُۥ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ صَلُّوا۟ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا Ahzab 33: 56 Indeed, Allah showers His blessings upon the Prophet, and His angels pray for him. O believers! Invoke Allah’s blessings upon him and salute him with worthy greetings of peace. He is the one who Allahﷻ praised and blessed and… Continue reading Rasoolullahﷺ the Best Role Model for our times...
To reach a goal, we must have a goal. That seems self-evident but just see if you have a written down lifegoal. If you don’t, then ask yourself what you are working and living for? Just to eat, drink, satisfy desires and die, is what animals do. To live for a purpose is not what… Continue reading Benefit of Perspective – Part 2
Perspective is the ability to hold two pictures simultaneously in your mind – where you are and where you want to be. Without this, it is impossible to give any directions. Physically, mentally or spiritually, we need awareness of where we are and where we need to be, to be able to chart out a… Continue reading Benefit of Perspective
We are living the parable of the boiled frog. That is why we must get ourselves educated – not merely trained to make a living. Just ask yourself which books you have read in the past one year and you have the answer. Without reading and skills of reflective observation, introspection and abstract conceptualization you… Continue reading Understanding our World
Islam is the name of the relationship between our Creator, Allahﷻ and us. The Kalima Shahada is an affirmation of that relationship and the one who accepts it is a Muslim. To accept this relationship means to believe it in your heart, state that with your tongue, and act upon it with your limbs. That… Continue reading We know you by your gifts
My brothers and sisters, Allahﷺ sent his Kalaam (Word, Speech) so that we would reflect on it and change our lives to make them obedient to Him. In that lies our success both in this life and the next. Allahﷺ said in the Qur’an: لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ Anbiya 21:10 Indeed,… Continue reading Where am I in the Qur’an?
The purpose of education is to civilize the individual. To connect the human being to his Creator, so that he recognizes Him, has a relationship with Him, strives to please Him, relies on His Mercy, and looks forward to His Forgiveness. The purpose of education is to give the child ethics, values, and morals which… Continue reading What is real education?
The Qur’an commands us to be patient, to have Sabr and promises help to those who have patience. Allahﷻ taught us how to face difficulty and said: فَٱذْكُرُونِىٓ أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لِى وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ Baqara 2: 152-3 Remember Me; I will remember you. And thank Me,… Continue reading When the rubber meets the road...
The month of Muharram is a great and blessed month. It is the first month of the Hijri year and is one of the sacred months about which Allahﷻ says: إِنَّ عِدَّةَ ٱلشُّهُورِ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِى كِتَـٰبِ ٱللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ مِنْهَآ أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْقَيِّمُ Tawbah 9: 36 “Verily,… Continue reading Muharram, another New Year
Last week I told you that Allahﷻ prohibited sadness. That sounds unreasonable and you may say, ‘I don’t want to feel sad. But I do. So, why is sadness prohibited?’ We are conditioned to see emotions as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. The reality is that emotions are value neutral. They are neither positive… Continue reading How to beat sadness
We live in a paradoxical world. We are knowledgeable about the earth but are burning it up at a pace which is out of control. We are knowledgeable about health but disease, especially mental illness is in rampant proportions. We collectively have enormous wealth, but its distribution ensures that vast populations are deprived, even starving,… Continue reading It’s my Life
My brothers and sisters, we are living in difficult times which are testing us in ways that at least I had never imagined. On the one hand Allahﷻ has kept us and our families safe and well in this land. On the other hand, we are seeing every day what is happening to Muslims and… Continue reading Don’t be sad
He was Khaleelullah. And Allahﷻ loved him, so He tested him. In each test, by the help of Allahﷻ, he proved true to his Covenant with Allahﷻ. So, Allahﷻ gave him the job of building His House, the Ka’aba. Allahﷻ said: وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَٰهِيمَ مَكَانَ ٱلْبَيْتِ أَن لَّا تُشْرِكْ بِى شَيْـًٔا وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِىَ لِلطَّآئِفِينَ وَٱلْقَآئِمِينَ… Continue reading Hajj – A Journey of Love
The most important thing in life is not wealth or knowledge or even action. It is attitude. With the right attitude, you can create wealth, acquire knowledge and find the motivation to act. Without it you may have wealth, fame, influence, and knowledge but you despair. Just look for celebrity suicides on Google and you… Continue reading Joy of Submission
There are several ways to guide. The most reliable way is to give the person a compass to find direction, a map with details of the route and a guide to take them to their destination. That is what Allahﷻ did. He gave us the compass, the Qur’an, a map, the Sunnah, and the guide,… Continue reading The position of Rasoolullahﷺ in Islam – 4
All knowledge begins with Adab – an attitude of respect for knowledge and everything and everyone related to it. Adab is like the preparation of the soil for planting. Without preparation the best seed will perish. So also with knowledge, especially the knowledge of Islam. Without Adab we may get the words, but never the… Continue reading The position of Rasoolullahﷺ in Islam – 3
Allahﷻ declared that Muhammadﷺ is His Messengerﷺ and the last of them and the Seal of the Prophets and that after him there is no other. مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن رَّسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمًا Ahzab 33: 40 Muḥammad is not the father of any of your… Continue reading The position of Rasoolullahﷺ in Islam – 2
The opposite of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. Ignorance which is recognized is a blessing because the person then seeks to dispel it by learning. But the illusion of knowledge produces arrogance which shuts the door to learning and greases the slide into Jahannam. As happened for the first time when… Continue reading Position of Rasoolullahﷺ in Islam
