My student, a sincere seeker of knowledge and dedicated teacher, Nilofer Ahmadi, wrote to me: Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh, dear Ustadh. Please take your time in responding, as I know your time is very precious. May Allah جل جلاله accept all of your efforts for His dīn and place abundant barakah in them.… Continue reading Balancing Confidence and Humility in Serving the Dīn
Who Are You?
You say that with but a single gesture of yours lamps are extinguished, lanterns go dark, stars hide themselves, the moon vanishes into eclipse, the sun sets, the earth is plunged into darkness and the dominion of gloom prevails. But if you had lit the lamps, kindled a light, protected the flames from the winds,… Continue reading Who Are You?
Cold is Cold and Heat is Heat
The history of humankind is such that in every age of reason we have invented chains of the scaffold and the gallows. From the early days of schooling until graduation from Nadwah, in the hours devoted to composition and essay writing, we were made to write on many worn-out topics. These topics were generally uninteresting,… Continue reading Cold is Cold and Heat is Heat
The Origin of “Kāhil”
Professor Mushīr Ṣāḥib, of Lucknow University (may God preserve him), wrote the following query: al-salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmat Allāhi wa barakātuh. I hope that you and your family are well, and, as usual, engaged in religious and scholarly pursuits. May Allah, exalted is He, grant you long life with health and strength. Doctor Ṣāḥib! One… Continue reading The Origin of “Kāhil”
Pay Attention to Ninety-Nine Percent of Muslims
Many of my students are active in the fields of teaching and daʿwah among Muslims. Their efforts are bearing fruit, but they have also expressed a recurring difficulty which causes them some concern: certain people attempt to entangle them by stirring up talk of sectarianism and blind attachment to particular schools. How should they respond… Continue reading Pay Attention to Ninety-Nine Percent of Muslims
Journey to America (56)
We prayed Fajr in the mosque of Zaytuna College, perched high upon a lofty hill whose summit greets the first breaths of the morning breeze and is enveloped in a serenity befitting places of worship and knowledge. Thereafter, I returned to my work, turning over the examination papers of Al-Salam Institute, weighing them with due… Continue reading Journey to America (56)
Women’s Education
Among the many problems confronting Muslims today, one of the most critical is the question of “the status of women in Islam.” Serious effort to understand this issue in depth, and to seek a sound solution, is still lacking. When a problem arises, it is necessary to find its solution, for human nature, as created… Continue reading Women’s Education
The Golden Age of Letter Writing: Faint Memories of a Lost Civilisation
“I called you, but you did not pick up.” “I sent you a WhatsApp message, but you did not think it proper to reply.” “I rang you many times, but you remained silent throughout.” Such is the unbearable burden of our age, where the very means of communication that have made life easy have also… Continue reading The Golden Age of Letter Writing: Faint Memories of a Lost Civilisation
The Important Duty of the Time
In 1912, news spread that some Muslims of Shahjahanpur had apostatised. At that time, ʿAllāmah Shiblī was gravely ill. Upon hearing this news, he became restless — neither by day did he find rest, nor by night tranquillity. In whatever way possible he strove to reach that region. The authorities had placed a strict cordon… Continue reading The Important Duty of the Time
You are the Proof
All praise is due to You that we have known You. It is by Your favour alone that we have recognised You. How did we come to know You? How did we come to recognise You? It was by Your will that we came to know You, and by Your decree that we came to… Continue reading You are the Proof