Are You Thankful?

Recently my city got hit by a blizzard. In the middle of the storm, I had to make a trip outside in the whiteout conditions. Walking in the blizzard was pretty amazing; the storm almost knocked me down with powerful wind gusts, visibility was low, and the snow was still coming down hard. It got [...]

Call for Submissions: Black History Month

February has been designated Black History month in the United States. In this country, the Muslim community has had a tremendous history of African-American leaders and those enslaved, thinkers and entertainers, scholars and activists. This new year brings with it opportunities for growth and renewal, as well as mounting challenges of Islamophobia and bigotry. As the Spanish philosopher George [...]

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 [...]

How the Muslims Killed Dracula

  Born in the Ottoman Principality of Wallachia, Romania in 1435 AD, he was known as Radu al III-lea cel Frumos to his Romanian countrymen, Yakışıklı Radu Bey to the Turks, Radu al-Wasim to the Arabs, and Radu the Handsome in English. This ally and childhood friend of Sultan Mehmet II was instrumental in the [...]

Roles of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

Part I In the Quran, Allah (swt) describes his Prophet ﷺ in two very important ways: 1. The Job Titles of the Prophet ﷺ “Oh Prophet, we have sent you as a Witness, and a Bringer of Glad Tidings, and as a Warner. And as a Caller towards God by His permission, and as an [...]

Injustice Cannot Defeat Injustice

The End is Near: Turn Back to Allah

The driver was playing Qur’an. My husband, brother and I got into the microbus heading back from Palestine to Cairo, and rode almost silently with the five other male passengers, passing through the desert and listening to the Qur’an only hours before it would be time to break our fast. As iftar approached, one of [...]

Why All Americans Should Want a Mosque in their Neighborhood

Every few weeks, it seems that another newspaper article appears with the frightful headline, “Community X Protests New Mosque, Council Grants Building Approval.” It seems that fear has gripped even the most sensible of us. A masjid (literally the “place of prostration” in Arabic, or “mosque” as they are known in English), has unjustifiably become [...]

Worship Has Been Divided Between Allah’s Servants

A Lecture by Suhaib Webb | Transcribed by Fuseina Mohamad Surat Al-Fatiha 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 | Part XXI | Part XXII When I first became Muslim in 1992, alhamdullilah may Allah accept it from me, in that time when Allah took [...]

Wisdoms and Rulings for Ramadan

by Shaykh Muhammad al-Hassan Walid Dido al-Shanqiti | Translated by Suhaib Webb All praise is to Allah [alone] the Lord of everything that exists. Peace and prayers upon the one sent as a mercy to everything ﷺ, his family members, companions and whoever seeks guidance with his guidance and strives to follow his Sunnah (actions [...]

The Ramadan Nutrition and Workout Plan for Success: Women and Men

By Rehan Jalali, C.S.N. I am frequently asked, “How can I workout and eat properly while fasting?” Most people see the blessed month of Ramadan as a time when they will lose strength and muscle mass; some think they can only “maintain” themselves during this month, while many women actually gain weight! If you use [...]

On Call: The Trials of Being a Muslim Doctor during Ramadan

by Ahmed Zaafran With Ramadan rapidly approaching, the time has come to prepare mentally, spiritually, and physically for one of the most important times of the year in Islam. The month of Ramadan comes at the height of summer this year, bringing unique challenges. The focus of this particular article is geared towards those who [...]

Towards a Relevant and Empowering Understanding of Islam

On June 28, 2010 readers were encouraged to comment on how to apply the advice of the following translated piece from the writings of Jamaal al-Din al-Afghani: “He, The Most High, showed us through His clear verses that nations He has honored do not perish or fall from greatness. Their names are also not erased [...]

The Rand Report & Counter-terrorism in America

by Affad Shaikh The RAND Corporation is a think tank that recently released a paper entitled “Would-Be Warriors – Incidents of Jihadist Terrorist Radicalization in the United States since September 11, 2001.” For the past five years I have had the opportunity to watch law enforcement develop counter terrorism strategies, specifically in how it affects [...]

Commencing a Gathering with Recitation of al-Fatiha? Answered by Dr. Abdullah bin Bayyah

Answered by Dr. Abdullah bin Bayyah | Translated by Suhaib Webb The Question: Is it okay to commence a gathering with recitation of the first chapter of the Qur’an, al-Fatiha (the Opening)? The Answer: Reciting the Qur’an is encouraged and not restricted to a specific time or place. Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) [...]

Silence is Gold

In the famous hadith that we’ve all heard before, the Prophet ﷺ said: من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر فليقل خيرا أو ليصمت “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day let him speak good or remain silent.” [Bukhari and Muslim] When looking at the Arabic language, this hadith is very powerful. The first thing [...]

Treasure Your Parents

It’s a classic movie scene, almost cliché: a grown child leaving home as his parents standby watching. The mother, usually weeping, is being consoled by her husband. I used to think that it was the parents who were losing in these situations. Typically the child is beaming, excited at the new prospects that await, while [...]

From Tragedy Springs Hope

WebbStaff Note: This is part of a series of posts entitled “Muslims Making a Difference,” featuring Muslims benefiting society at different levels. To nominate someone to be profiled, please email their name, contact info and bio to: submissions[at]suhaibwebb[dot]com. Muslims Making a Difference: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII [...]

20,000 Dead in Unnatural Disaster Yesterday

If you attend a large mosque in America maybe two thousand people come to Friday prayer. 20,000 are dead. The unbelievable thing is that all those deaths were preventable. All of them. Sometimes just one person’s death can cause an entire war (remember Archduke Franz Ferdinand?) Other times, millions of people can die and we [...]

Al Jabbar: The Compeller

Abu Hurayrah (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one. Whoever ‘ahsaaha‘ will enter Jannah.” [Bukhari and Muslim] According to Shaykh Jamaal Zarabozo, the statement in the hadith “man ahsaaha” means “whoever enumerates them, believes in them, ponders their meanings, worships Allah by them and supplicates with them, [...]