Sometimes one comes across a statement in the Qur’an or elsewhere, an explanation of which does not satisfy one. There is a statement in the Qur’an, for example: وَ اعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِيْنُ Worship Allah until you gain certainty (xv: 99). Many of...

I have, over the years, examined people’s behaviour in the presence of the pious. At times I was very pleased with the extent of the adab of some people but I was also very displeased with a lack of adab shown by murids towards the shaykh or to other very pious...

In one of the many Holy Traditions, Allah Almighty uses the word “dome” to describe His Protection of the very special pious people on this earth. He says in this Tradition that nobody knows them and they are under His dome. Of course, we can only assume that Allah...

I do not know why, but perhaps it is what we call “blue Monday”, I thought a lot this morning [2012] about the divisions in the Muslim community throughout the world. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) predicted this when he said that the Ummah will be divided in...

Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an: وَ لَقَدْ كَرَمْنَا بَنِى آدَمَ We have honoured the chidren of Adam (xvii: 70). I will come back to this verse later. During the week [2012] one of the murids mentioned to me that he is afraid to feel good about the mosque built in...

In some parts of Africa, especially in Mali, Libya and Egypt, the graves of some of the very righteous people in the continent’s history, are being regularly desecrated. In some cases the remains are removed and thrown on dumps. The people who do this say that they...

On many occasions when we have looked at all that we’ve achieved, or rather, at all that we have been made to achieve, we stand in deep gratitude to our Lord. You see, it is always very easy to talk of blessings and graces or whatever the case might be, but to define...

In my study of many senior Awliya’ in the different Muslim communities throughout the world, and especially of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim in Cyprus, I have been amazed by the extent to which these people have continued to make major contributions to Islam in their senior...

Sometimes we respond to situations because we are compelled to do so. The compulsion comes from family members or other individuals who push one into performing certain tasks. A few years ago, somebody told me that he had to take his father by his hair to take him on...