Juz 7 وَكُلُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ حَلَـٰلًۭا طَيِّبًۭا ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنتُم بِهِۦ مُؤْمِنُونَ ٨٨ “Eat of the good, lawful things provided to you by God. And be mindful of God in Whom you believe.”— Qur’an 5:88 All good things come to us from God. As we embrace His sustenance we should always take…

Juz 1 ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًۭى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ ٢ ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ ٣ وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ ٤ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًۭى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ ٥ “This is the Book! There is no doubt about it—a guide…

#ramadan2023 A Spiritual Month Cambridge Central Mosque يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ١٨٣ “O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was for those before you, so that you may become mindful of God.“— Qur’an 2:183 When God tells us about fasting in the Qur’an.…

The Best of Deeds قال رسول الله (ﷺ)    “من يرد الله به خيرًا يفقه في الدين” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “When Allah wishes good for a person, He bestows upon him a correct understanding of the religion” يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍۢ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ شُعُوبًۭا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ…

The beauty of umrah is that through pilgrimage to Allah’s house one’s soul is able to remove distractions and find peace. We return to our purpose in life and feel at home: وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ “I did not create jinn and humans except for My worship” — Qur’an 51:56 “أَلَا بِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ…

Part 2 Recap True success is not in our achievements or our wealth, or even specifically our outcomes. True success is in our consistently striving to do the right thing. إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ “Indeed, Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He…

In Part 1 we looked at if success us a part of our value system or is it something that we’re blessed with as a result of our values? What is true success? Looking at the example of Prophet Noah he tried sincerely to preach to his people for 900 years and garnered only a…

Recently i was exploring “values” with a friend. Things that an upright person should seek to embody such as honesty, integrity, courage, respect, humility and generosity — among other traits. We were going through a list of words and “success” came up. It made me wonder if success, and being successful, is a “value”? Is…

I Forget Most Things When we look back on our lives and what we had for lunch last Tuesday, all the little conversations we had, the emails we sent, sometimes even the places we went. We may forgot the details, sometimes we may forget things that happened completely! If we think of every time we…

Media intake, islamic diet and giving ourselves time and space to process it all. Modern approaches to a healthy lifestyle often focus on good health through diet and exercise. This is excellent but what about the intellectual, emotional and spiritual aspects to our beings? How do we govern the emotional, spiritual and information diets within…

Re-centring, being present and taking a break from being chronically online. In part 1 we looked at how a buddy of mine was complimenting their physical regimen with a diet that subsists the emotional and spiritual aspects to our being too. Spiritually we aim to stay connected to Allah through our actions and intentions. Striving…

Having got in shape through a mixture of dieting and exercise a buddy of mine was talking to me about physical diet; and the myriad of options and solutions to working out, staying healthy, eating clean and getting in shape. Our thoughts then turned to the other aspects of our lives that perhaps need a…

Emotional Turmoil & Tribulations قَدْ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْنَآ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ مَن يَتَّقِ وَيَصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ “Allah has truly been gracious to us. Surely whoever is mindful ˹of Allah˺ and patient, then certainly Allah never discounts the reward of the good-doers.” — Qur’an 12:90 Emotional turmoil. Tests and trials. Life is full…

Ramadan 2022 – Juz 29 تَبَـٰرَكَ ٱلَّذِى بِيَدِهِ ٱلْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌ ١ “Blessed is the One in Whose Hands rests all authority. And He is Most Capable of everything.” —  Quran 67:1 Ultimately all power rests with He, Allah. We do what we can, trying our best but ultimately our success and…

Ramadan 2022 – Juz 28 أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ مَا يَكُونُ مِن نَّجْوَىٰ ثَلَـٰثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلَا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلَآ أَدْنَىٰ مِن ذَٰلِكَ وَلَآ أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ ۖ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا عَمِلُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ…

Ramadan 2022 – Juz 27 – The short life and preparation وَفِى ثَمُودَ إِذْ قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَمَتَّعُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ حِينٍۢ ٤٣ فَعَتَوْا۟ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلصَّـٰعِقَةُ وَهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ ٤٤ فَمَا ٱسْتَطَـٰعُوا۟ مِن قِيَامٍۢ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ مُنتَصِرِينَ ٤٥ “And in ˹the story of˺ Thamûd ˹was another lesson,˺ when they were told, “Enjoy yourselves ˹only˺ for a…

Ramadan 2022 – Juz 26 – Reacting to ups and downs قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُم مَّا تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَرُونِى مَاذَا خَلَقُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ أَمْ لَهُمْ شِرْكٌۭ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ ۖ ٱئْتُونِى بِكِتَـٰبٍۢ مِّن قَبْلِ هَـٰذَآ أَوْ أَثَـٰرَةٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمٍ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ ٤ Ask ˹them, O  Prophet˺, “Have you considered whatever ˹idols˺ you invoke besides Allah?…

Ramadan 2022 – Juz 25 – Reacting to ups and downs وَإِذَآ أَنْعَمْنَا عَلَى ٱلْإِنسَـٰنِ أَعْرَضَ وَنَـَٔا بِجَانِبِهِۦ وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلشَّرُّ فَذُو دُعَآءٍ عَرِيضٍۢ ٥١ When We show favour to someone, they turn away, acting arrogantly. And when touched with evil, they make endless prayers ˹for good˺. — Quran 41:51 The nature of life is…

Ramadan 2022 – Juz 24 – Gratitude & Sufficiency أَلَيْسَ ٱللَّهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُۥ ۖ وَيُخَوِّفُونَكَ بِٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِۦ ۚ وَمَن يُضْلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْ هَادٍۢ Is Allah not sufficient for His servant? — Quran 39:36 God is our creator and provider. The guiding force that sustains us and has always looked after us in…

Ramadan 2022 – Juz 23 وَءَايَةٌۭ لَّهُمُ ٱلْأَرْضُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ أَحْيَيْنَـٰهَا وَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهَا حَبًّۭا فَمِنْهُ يَأْكُلُونَ ٣٣ وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا جَنَّـٰتٍۢ مِّن نَّخِيلٍۢ وَأَعْنَـٰبٍۢ وَفَجَّرْنَا فِيهَا مِنَ ٱلْعُيُونِ ٣٤ لِيَأْكُلُوا۟ مِن ثَمَرِهِۦ وَمَا عَمِلَتْهُ أَيْدِيهِمْ ۖ أَفَلَا يَشْكُرُونَ ٣٥ “There is a sign for them in the dead earth: We give it life, producing grain from it…