God created the earth and the heavens as a home for us, filling it with infinite resources and talents. How can that serve us as we frame our attitude towards life, our talents and service to others?
In this podcast, I share an important poem by one of the greatest Arab poets of the modern age, a short intro to his life and impact, as well as some lesson we can take from one of his poems.
In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries Senegambian Muslims were led by their sheikhs to revolt across the Western Hemisphere against Spanish slavery. In their efforts rests the earliest liberation theology put to work: An approach that refused to accept bondage as anything but antithetical to faith; and saw faith synonymous with freedom. What followed was a legal logic that justified mass-murdering those Muslim slaves, banning them from those lands, sending many back to Africa and mass incarcerati...
On June 1st Razan al-Najjar sat off, as she had done before, to serve her land and her people. She was a self-educated, first responder in one of the most dangerous places in the world She was exhausted. The day before she came home covered in blood, and it was Ramadan, so she was fasting. But her bravery and passion could not be extinguished. She was resilient, brave Sadly, as many of you know, she was murdered that day. Shot by an Israeli sniper, who until now remains free and uncharged. Razza...
"Who are your people?" is an important question because it forces us to think, not only about "our people," but ourselves; if we don't know who we are, then we cannot identify our folk; and if we can't do that, then we are not living up to our responsibility as a Prophetic community. That relationship locates us as spiritual and social agitators, empowered by faith to call to the truth. The opening verses of Sura Yasin compel us to think about that and other important concepts.
كَاَنَّ أَخْلاقَكَ فِي لُطْفِهَا وَرَقَةٌ فِيْهَا نَسِيْمُ الصَّبَاحْ Your character, in its subtleness and grace, is like to leaves, touched by a soft, mild, morning breeze. kanna aklaqaki fi lutfiha waraqatun fiha nasimu al-Sabah
Oppression (in Arabic) comes from the word (ظلم). Dhulm means to put something where it does not belong. So, sin (because it places a person’s nature where it should not be, sinful) is a form of oppression; as is associating partners with God (since the norm is to worship God alone). However, in this article I will address injustice and oppression amongst people: a person transgressing the rights of others through environmental injustice by torture, injury or death, economic injustice by force, ...
As we exit the month of fasting, we are commanded to perform one last act; one more sacrifice: Zakat al-Fitr. What is Zakat al-Fitr, how do we pay it and what are some of the issues around it that are important to American Muslim Communities?
In this short reflection, I share three powerful lessons we can take from the twentieth chapter of the Qur'an.
It is dangerous to reduce spirituality to fashionable styles of dress and talk or an abstraction, where a seeker lives his faith vicariously through concepts, a group or holy men. Spirituality is work; hard work and discipline. In this episode, I chat with Monna Bennani about an act of spiritual resistance that is important: living a zero waste lifestyle
This podcast is important, and it will address three things related to the signs of the hour. The first deals with the authenticity of a text, while the second deals with the principles needed to understand what scholars called transmission related to the signs of the Hour or the transmission of trials. That will formulate what we will talk in this podcast. Our second podcast will address the order of the signs in brevity, inshallah. General Principle for engaging hadith related to this subject....
From time to time, during Ramadan, I plan to share some reflection on what the Imam will recite in Taraweeh prayers. That to bring you closer to its meaning and to enhance your experience.
In this episode, I chat with Imam Marc Manley of the Middle Ground Podcast and Community. Imam Marc leads that community in Southern California where he teaches, gives Friday sermons and guides others. We discuss a host of issues in this podcast from being an Imam in America, the Month of Ramadan and how to make it special.
Being woke is a term popularized recently popularized by activists. In my first podcast "Being Woke" I noted that the idea of wakefulness appears deep in Islam's spiritual tradition. But what next? The tradition is not meant to be accepted and romanticized. It should serve as an inspirational guide for us to write traditions for those who will come after us. Thus, in this podcast, I begin to address what lies "Beyond woke."
The Qur'an is heavenly constructed but socially located. Meaning we are responsible for thinking about it and reflecting it on our lives, and the communities around us. And just as the heart is central to our physical health, Sura Yasin is central to our faith!
LIving the prophetic legacy of love and care for neighbors requires investment, talent and a strategy. In what turned out to be more than an interview, I spent an evening watching and learning from Councilmen Basheer Jones as he lived that legacy.
What are some foundational principles we can take from the Qur'an's eighteenth chapter? How will establishing our early life on those principles help us as we move from student to worker?
I chat with Dr. Khalid Beydoun to discuss his latest book, American Islamophobia. In what turned out to be an almost hour-long conversation, we touch on his definition of Islamophobia, what a post-racial, post-religious Obama world means for American Muslims, Trump and white supremacy, anti-blackness in the American Muslim community, CVE, the fear that some religious leaders have of the left, and much more
There are numerous lessons we can take from the Night Journey of the Prophet (sa). This sermon shares some of them, along with some conditions to ensure a person's activism is aligned with Prophetic values..
Consumption and population growth have gravely impacted our world, wreaking havoc on ecosystems and resources, while creating strains on communities who struggle to access those resources, while relying on them for survival. How can we be allies to the underserved, seeing our care and concern for the environment as an essential weapon in defense of it while guaranteeing hat communities will have fair access to its benefits?
In this lesson, I focus on one of the greatest threats to our earth: consumption. As I reflected over Ibn Jawzi's words on the dangers of gluttony and opulence, I began to ask myself, how can religious ethics guide me to shop and eat so I can reduce our negative impact on the environment? If I were to plug the ethics presented in the text, how would they address living responsibly as a resident on earth?
Drake's video for "God's Plan" is powerful, showing him giving away nearly $1 million throughout the city of Miami. It is moving; the artist said, "It is the most important thing I've ever done." And while it has generally received praise from pundits, fans and religious leaders, some voiced concerns with it. I address that and more in this podcast.
Scholars of Islam noted that the first stop on the path to a relationship with God is being "Woke." Woke is a term organizers popularized, especially since the presidential election of 2017. What is Islam's idea of woke, what are its components, guidelines, and potentials? SwissCast #2 al-Ghazzali on Being Woke قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَعِظُكُمْ بِوَاحِدَةٍ أَنْ تَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ مَثْنَى وَفُرَادَى ثُمَّ تَتَفَكَّرُوا مَا بِصَاحِبِكُمْ مِنْ جِنَّةٍ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ لَكُمْ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ عَذَابٍ شَد...
In this lesson, Suhaib Webb starts the section on the destructive habits of the soul by addressing the triggers of Satan and one of the most important indicators of a sound heart: speech.
