Articles

Islam is not a race or a marathon. It’s a way of living prescribed by the Creator, as demonstrated by the Prophet ﷺ. There is an intended balance that ought to be struck between immediate repentance and living to fight another day.

The old tradition of visiting scholars in other lands and interacting with Muslims in faraway places is a practice that needs more attention among Muslims in the West. For the children of enslaved Africans in particular, traveling back to Africa, hearing our people such as Senegalese say “Welcome back home” and breathing the air of Islamic tradition from there is a type of medicine for our wounded souls.

Revisit the best articles from ImanWire in 2016.

Many of us are deeply shaken by the bloodshed and violence meted out against innocent people in the world. We see images and hear the stories of — among so many others — the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in Burma, the calculated starvation of the people of Yemen, brutality against black lives in our very own country, and in Syria, again and again, a people attacked by nations that have, as the Prophetic tradition so accurately described, “gathered against them just as people gather around a feast."

God reminds us of the great day we will all come to witness, a when the test of this life, with its painful trials and challenges, its triumphs and heavy tragedies, will come to a halt and everything within it will come to an end.

To intensely remember that greatest day - the realest day – is a source of grounding and solace. It is the day of ultimate justice and judgment, in which all those in positions of power will be uprooted. The day in which all the systems that perpetuate injustice will be broken, and all the chains of command will be cut. Might, military or otherwise, will be humbled low, and plots and strategies will be cast off.

We take comfort in knowing that God is the perfectly just, to Whom all affairs return. As we love Him for His promise of heavenly reward for the righteous, so too do we love Him for His promise to justly deal with those who harm and oppress.

When we come to Salah, where are we going? We’re supposed to be going to whom? To Allah – to liqā Allah (meeting Allah) in Salah. So if in that walk or drive or coming to Salah we are not energized in this way, if we come for the wrong reasons and we come lazy and bored, then that’s a sign that Allah is not desiring us because of the way we are. But if when we come to Salah we find our hearts desirous, going forward emotionally, elated, and expanded – and if we’re not in a hurry in Salah to leave – then that’s a sign inshallah that Allah loves to be with us.

Over the past five years many of us have been struggling to make sense of the carnage we see in Syria. In the past two days alone those feelings have been intensified as we witness children, women and men suffer in ways we wouldn't wish upon our worst enemy. Each one of us can help in being a spiritual and material conduit of aide to our brothers and sisters in Syria by doing the following.

In an age where being busy and constantly on the go is praised, we need to emphasize the importance of staying silently still.

Few seek, and yet fewer find a mentor that through mastery and gentle patience can take them by the hand and assist them in not only in finding faith, but finding themselves.

There is a lack of clarity in American Muslim discussion as to what CVE is. I put forth a definition and description of CVE as a concept to inform and inject greater clarity into American Muslim community conversations on the topic, so communities are making better informed decisions by hearing from more than one particular narrative.

The Prophetic way is to work to find balance in our lives and to enjoy being a Muslim.

Our culture of shame and stigmatization of those struggling with problems we consider taboo is immensely harmful. To acknowledge a problem and recognize the human face dealing with it does not equate to its acceptance or normalization. It is a recognition of the human condition and the consequences of having free will. America is experiencing an addiction epidemic, especially with prescription drug abuse. Muslims should be at the forefront of efforts to solve this crisis. But first, we must assess our attitude towards our own.

Just as our Prophet never lost control of his emotional state, we too must strive to keep a level head during these times of madness. It’s a matter of perspective: we can either choose to be nervous and afraid or we can continue to take solace and remain positive. In the end, we can only focus on the things we can do and can control— seeking assistance through patience and prayer, which will be difficult except for the people of humility. It is arrogance of the worst order to demand that Allah do something when we haven’t done anything. The people of humility are those who realize that they are not powerless. Their seemingly feeble prayer, supplications, avoidance of the prohibited and utterances of remembrance have the power to delay the coming of the Hour. We must continue to be Muslims and civic citizens to the best of our ability: to be in the service of Allah and all of His Creation, because that is what the people of ḥilm (forbearance) do because they follow a Prophet who embodied that same ḥilm.