Articles

As Ramadan fast approaches, many of us are eagerly looking forward to the opportunity for spiritual rejuvenation and quality time in worship in the masjid. But what of our children? If we are like many Muslim communities in the U.S., when we enter the masjid each night for Taraweeh prayer in Ramadan we part ways: our children go to babysitting, while we go towards the prayer room. While we spend extra hours in Ramadan in worship and feeling closer to Allah Most High, what are they doing in the (often now mandatory) babysitting room at our local masjid?

Part of the good manners towards the month of Ramadan is to prepare for it in earnest, and as this blessed month approaches, here are three points we should focus on in our preparation:

Imam Arsalan Haque discusses the ethics of disagreement amongst the scholars and how unity must be prioritized over our differences.

Social, political, economic, civilizational change – the root of all those changes is the change inside of you. I must do work. It does not come without effort. A spiritual dimension is a higher dimension.

Fasting is an expression of freedom, where we can move beyond our appetites into meaningful encounters with Allah.

"God's grandeur and beauty were apparent everywhere in China", says Mohammad Ali Hazratji, an attendee of Al-Madina's recent spiritual tour of China with Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui. He shares many of the profound spiritual lessons and images from the journey in his account of the experience.

As human beings, we are to look at everything in our lives—material experience, intellectual experience, psychological and emotional experiences—in the envelope of our spiritual reality. How do we take care of that spiritual reality?

There has been a surge in social justice activism, but also a rise of infighting within Muslim activist circles. Giving one another the benefit of the doubt and keeping space in the hearts to pardon each other’s shortcomings are Prophetic characteristics and should be part of this activism.

Given the current status of the planet and practices in the animal agriculture industry, and the numerous relevant verses in the Quran and available Hadiths, the Sunnah would be to give up all animal products and go vegan. Otherwise, one would have to explain how the Beloved ﷺ would stand for the destruction of total ecological systems, deforestation, overfishing, animal abuse that is both physical and emotional, as well as atmospheric and water pollution.

After memorizing the Qur'an as a child, Bilal Memon later forgot the Qur'an until re-learning it as an adult. Having experienced both the elation and frustration of the process of memorizing the Qur'an, he has dedicated himself to developing technology that will help Muslims more easily memorize and retain the Qur'an.

Having your community placed under unrelenting suspicion for years on end, causes stress. I have to say that just recognizing that made me feel better. Thinking back on the trajectory of Islamophobia in the US, my mind often settles on two features that both depress me and cheer me up. We should try our best to ignore Islamophobes and work to promote the safety of fellow Americans and to perfect any shortcomings in how we—not Islamophobes—understand our religion.

"Salam Neighbor" is an eye opening film that explores the lives of Syrian refugees, their hopes, fears, and experiences.