I said to my Self,
“A Muslim hero’s hand was severed in battle and left dangling by a thin piece of flesh. This hampered him from continuing to fight, so he put the fingers of his dangling hand under his foot and stepped on it, freeing his body from the weight of his severed hand. […]

Bismillah.
Some maxims mentioned in “Islamic Spirituality I” from The Hikam:
“Do not let the delay of what you are fervently praying for discourage you, or dishearten you - for He has Guaranteed you the answer in what He chooses for you (not in what you choose for yourself) and when He wills, not when you do.”
(Ibn […]

Bismillah.
“Do not keep the company of anyone whose state does not awaken yours, or words direct you to Allah. You might be doing badly, and be shown your goodness by keeping the company of someone even worse.”
~ Ibn ‘Ata’ Illah’s “The Hikam,” taught in Sunnipath’s “Islamic Spirituality: Part 1″
In other words, one may mistakenly believe […]

Salam,
In the month of Ramadan, we are encouraged to seek forgiveness from Allah and His mercy in order to purify our souls. Approaching the end of this blessed month, I found it pertinent to share something from “The Journey to Allah” offered by Sunnipath Academy: the concept that the inspirational drive […]

Imam Subki (Allah have mercy on him) quotes the great Sufi master Sahl ibn Abd Allah al-Tustari (Allah have mercy on him) as mentioning that,
“From the proper manners of the People of the Sunna (Ahl al-Sunna) are four things that are absolutely necessary:
[1] Following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)
[2] Complete […]

The Need For Wisdom and Knowledge - Fath al-Mawsuli and Imam Ghazali
Fath al-Mawsuli (Allah have mercy on him) said:
Doesn’t a sick person who is deprived of food and drink die?… It is the same with the heart: if it is kept from wisdom and knowledge for three days, it dies….”
Imam Ghazali (Allah have mercy on […]

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
Last week, in my Essentials of Islam class, we covered the inner dimensions of prayer from Muhtar Holland’s excellent book, The Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship. I prepared for my weekly live session with the students by reading what Imam Ghazali had to say about presence of […]

Excellence in Friendship - What
are some keys to being a good friend?

Imam Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (Allah have mercy on him),
one of the great sufi masters, wrote in his work The Proper Manners of
Companionship (Adab al-Suhba) that,

Proper companionship with one’s friends is through:
[1] Remaining constantly cheerful
[2] Doing the good
[3] Spreading mention of their virtues
[4] Concealing […]

The Proper Manners of Keeping Allah’s Company
Imam Ghazali states in his work, The Beginnings of Guidance:
The Proper Manners of Keeping Allah’s Company
Know that the companion who never leaves you whether you are resident or travelling, whether asleep or awake, both in your life and after your death is your Lord, Master, Protector, and Creator.
And whenever […]

assalamu ‘alaykum,
In case you missed it, you can now watch the recording of Shaykh Abdul-Kareem’s event on ‘Pride and Humility’ from this past Sunday. The talk was a Course Lens of Al-Habib Umar and Shaykh Abdul-Kareem’s Attaining Good Character course.