Ramaḍān, Qur’ān and purification of the heart

by Basharat Ali

“The heart should be content with whatever the Master throws at it. True faith, Iman, is about accepting all the challenges of life as gifts from Allah. Suffering is a gift. It is an opportunity to show a beautiful patience and resilience, a Sabr Jameel. with dignity and the certainty that we will inherit Allah’s eternal reward.

The Purpose of Fasting in Islam

by Justin Parrott (Islamicity.com)

Al-Gazali wrote: “Know that there are three degrees of fasting: the fasting of common people, the fasting of the elite, and the fasting of the elite of the elite. As for the fasting of the common people, it is retraining the stomach from fulfilling its desires as has been mentioned. As for the fasting of the elite, it is restraining one’s hearing, sight, tongue, hands, feet, and all limbs from sin. As for the fasting of the elite of the elite, it is the fasting of the heart from unworthy concerns and worldly thoughts and to restrain it entirely from everything besides Allah the Exalted.”

Welcoming Ramadan

By Arshad Gamiet
“Many of us think that Ramadan is a time to ‘go slow’ and to avoid exerting ourselves. Some of us would want to sleep all day until iftar. This is completely wrong. Ramadan is not a time for hibernation. That’s for the polar bears and grizzly bears in the cold north American winter. It’s not for wide-awake, Allah-aware Muslims!” Read more…

A Tale of Two Centuries…The Ist Century Hijri & The Century for Muslims since 1924

By Basharat Ali

Compare these two centuries of Muslim history, separated by 1,200 years. The first, glorious century that saw Islam spread from Arabia to Spain and the borders of China. Allah’s religion, the purest Monotheism became the most powerful nation on earth. Now look at the last 100 years since the fall of the Ottoman Empire….

How to improve your relationship with the Quran

By Talha Asghar

Ramadan, unlike any other time of the year, offers us the best opportunity to improve our relationship with the Holy Quran. During Ramadan, all our routines are changed to allow more time for improving our spiritual health…

Gaza, UN vetoes, UK parliament, corruption and intimidation

By Basharat Ali

The corruption and hypocrisy of those who speak so eloquently about democracy, human rights and the rule of law is now so clearly visible. The masks have fallen. There is no excuse for defending the genocide and slaughter of innocent men, women and children in Gaza…. 

How the tables turn…

By Sohaib Saeed

Cambridge Muslim College

Things are always changing under God’s master plan. How do we deal with it? How do we give advice to others? How can we be sure that our advice is valid, according to the Quran and Sunnah? Be careful! Either you know, or you don’t, and you’re reaching beyond your limits… You could be either a Wali or a Wally!…

Isra’ wal Mi’raj

From: Islamicity.org
What was the nature of this journey? Did it take place when the Prophet was asleep or when he was awake? Did he actually undertake a journey in the physical sense or did he have a spiritual vision while remaining in his own place? These questions, in our view, have been resolved by the text of the Quran itself. The opening statement: “Holy is He Who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque to the farther Mosque… “