Umar ibn Al Khattab (ra) reported that Allah’s Messenger (saws) said: “For everything there is a polish, and the polish for the hearts is the dhikr of Allah. There is nothing more potent in saving a person from the punishment of Allah than the dhikr of Allah”[1] The idea of polishing the heart can seem alien at first. “Polishing” evokes images of scrubbing hard at … Continue reading Polishing the Heart
Nura S. On Saturday, I was visiting the Art of Qur’an exhibition at the Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. It was the last day of the exhibition and it was packed, you could probably find the largest concentration of the Muslims in the city in and around the building on that day. Expectedly, there were non-Muslims who were also visiting, and I noticed … Continue reading “Did non-Muslims pay more taxes?”
The news hit the headlines last week. British department store Debenhams is to feature the Islamic clothing line Aab. Other than those of the far right, who claimed this is part of some ploy for Islam to take over Europe, most people reacted positively at the news, arguing that this will make Islamic clothing more accessible to those who wish to wear it. There is … Continue reading We need to talk about the commercialisation of hijab
Nura S. This summer, we all witnessed the images of policeman harassing Muslim women on beaches in Cannes, ordering them to take off their modest swimsuit, the Burkini. We were all appalled and outraged by the fact that a secular society, one of which the founding principles is supposedly liberte, can disregard the basic right of an individual to wear what they choose. While the popular … Continue reading Book Review: “Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves”
To think that Donald Trump is now President was downright hilarious at first. Every time I think back on that, I still get that sudden urge to laugh it off as if it was the punch line of some absurd joke. Then I remember its real, and the hilarity moves to complete shock that someone as vile and deprecating as Trump can be considered worthy … Continue reading Reflections on the US Presidential Election
The Qarawiyyin Project 