Why am I tested?

How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX Developing [...]

How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart

How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX [...]

It’s Never too Late

I finally reached the elevator of my apartment building. It was my first week studying abroad in Cairo. After a long walk from the Arabic center in the hot sun, I was thirsty. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and after five hours of Arabic class my head was spinning. I just wanted to get home. [...]

The Break

While we were growing up, my mom always promised my brother and I something that she fully intended to practice – she told us that if we ever grew too proud, too arrogant, or started going in the wrong direction, she would break us. Our mother – the one who carried us in her womb [...]

More than a Game: The Lesson of Michael Vick

By Yahya Buni I have been a lifelong fan of sports. It started as a kid when I played with my friends after school everyday. In those days, kids played out in the streets for hours without any adult supervision or worries. Video games were just catching on and my family could not afford one for [...]

I’m So Not Worth Anything

By Ibn Siddique It was a beautiful moonlit, starless night. I gazed out of the window and breathed in deeply. It all seemed so peaceful, but yet, the turmoil within me seemed to be raging harder than ever. I had a sudden urge to jump and just let go. Let go of my worries, my [...]

Attachments: Emptying the Vessel

Before you can fill any vessel, you must first empty it. The heart is a vessel. And like any vessel, the heart too must be emptied—before it can be filled. One can never hope to fill the heart with God, so long as that vessel is full of other than Him subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted [...]

Turning Towards God in the Worst Moments of Our Lives

Many of us have experienced, are experiencing or will experience difficult moments that make us wonder whether there is any hope for our future. These moments rock the foundations of our inner selves. They can throw us into abysses of doubt and devastate our self-esteem, nearly obliterating our sense of hope for a life that [...]

The Bliss of Paradise

Becoming the Servants of the Most Merciful Series Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV True Servants of the Merciful are well aware of and fear the possibility of being punished [...]

The Dream of Life

It was only a dream.  For a moment, it overtakes me. Yet the suffering I feel in my nightmare is only an illusion. Temporary. Like the blink of an eye. Why do I dream? Why do I have to feel that loss, fear, and sadness in my sleep? On a greater scale, it’s a question [...]

Patience, Perseverance and Fortitude

Becoming the Servants of the Most Merciful Series Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV The distinguishing characteristics of the true Servants of the Merciful have been laid out for us [...]

The Ocean of Dunya

Part I | Part II Yesterday, I went to the beach. As I sat watching the massive Californian waves, I realized something strange. The ocean is so breathtakingly beautiful. But just as it is beautiful, it is also deadly. The same spellbinding waves, which we appreciate from the shore, can kill us if we enter [...]

Pain, Loss, and the Path to God

I still remember the desperation. In the deep disappointment which often follows self-reflection, I turned to my Creator to plead. I turned to plead – but not for what can be measured, bought, sold, or traded. It was desperation for a truer currency. With my flaws suddenly made open to me, I became desperate to [...]

The Stab

Don’t grieve at the stab. It’s only meant to free you. From the chains that bind you to the earth and shackle you to the shadows of people. The mirage of water cannot quench. But is so beautiful to the thirsty. I’m afraid. Of never knowing another life. Different. So different. If I let go, [...]

Defeat

One word defines it all. It is that moment in time when even breathing becomes difficult. Everything that once was, is not. And everything that will be, is unclear. It’s when your trust has been broken, your emotions shattered, and your mindset has become scattered. With each painful breath you know that if you take this [...]

A Time for Healing

The rest of the “In the Shade of Ramadan 2010″ Videos are available here.

Blessing or Punishment: Reinterpreting Prosperity and Hardship

Since the time we were children, we have learned the difference between good and bad. The formula is simple. When something good happens, we are happy. When something bad happens, we are sad. And the criterion is clear. Good is about acquiring, and we work to see results that can be weighed and measured. For [...]

A Letter to You

It’s hard to explain the freedom. It’s so deep and so real. Looking through the confusion, the empty boxes and hollow images, I saw you – Dunya. You place veil after veil over my eyes. Trying to win me, deceive me, enslave me to your lies. When the truth is you couldn’t give me even [...]

Tuesdays with Morrie

An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’’s Greatest Lesson With an Islamic Twist When my father was in the hospital earlier this year, a friend of mine gave him a book titled Tuesdays with Morrie as a gift. I immediately wanted to grab it and read it but thought I would wait until the [...]

The Trials of This Life