“The treadmill is, in fact, an appropriate metaphor. By some estimates, about 40 percent of people who buy home exercise equipment later say they ended up using it less than they’d expected. How hard we push ourselves in a given workout matters, of course, but I think the bigger impediment to progress is that sometimes we stop working it altogether. As any coach or athlete will tell you, consistency of effort over the long run is everything. How often do…
I have undying love and respect for people who have every reason to give into circumstance but choose not to. Like the sister who had a miscarriage but a few weeks later chose to show up for tafsīr classes to learn about her Rabb. Or like the elderly lady who cannot walk unsupported but dutifully arrives at the masjid for tarāwīḥ and prays till the end. Or like the mother of five, who despite being a mother of five, pursues…
One of the best gifts you can get from Allāh is lofty aspirations (علو الهمة) and ability (tawfīq/توفيق) to follow through with them. Much of the worldly good and that of the Hereafter is then achieved with Allāh’s permission. Be it ḥifḏh of the Qurʾān, a healthy body, children who do well at school, knowledge of the dīn, children who do ḥifḏh of the Qurʾān, success at work, pursuing passions (as opposed scrolling yer ol’ timeline day in and day…
The best ṣalāh of a woman (and man!) is one that she comprehends. The ṣalāh where her mind is present and her heart is humble. The ṣalāh in which she fulfils the purpose of ṣalāh which is connection with the Lord and submission to Him. There is a Ḥadīth graded weak by Imām Al-Albānī, but the meaning of which is correct, it says, “A person’s share of his prayer is that which he comprehends.” The rewards she acquires through her…
[From unpublished archives 2018 — posting this now to serve as a motivation in preparing for the upcoming Ramaḍān.] The thing with social media is that you have the learned, the outright unlearned and everyone in between sharing their wisdom or lack thereof. Often the advice spouted is presented well and so appreciated by the masses though it might be poor and misleading.Consider the month that just passed. I came across dozens and dozens of posts lulling people into…
For some weeks, I’ve been working with a classical book of tafsīr. I’ve been reading and re-reading and then repeating the process over and over again in order to understand and hopefully internalise the scholar’s words. It wasn’t until I reached a segment where he had listed some aḥādīth of Rasūl Allāh ﷺ that I found my self subconsciously evaluating myself. I found myself thinking, reflecting and then resolving. …