Du’a takes many forms. Beseeching Allah — relying on Him and trusting in His plan — we ask for guidance and goodness. Looking at the dua of istikhara (seeking goodness) we ask Allah to make us happy and content with his plan; even if at the outset it doesn’t seem like what we desired. We…

Patience ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ “Guide us to the straight path – the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray.” —Qur’an 1:6-7 The opening chapter of the Qur’an Al-Fatiha, is something…

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ When My servants ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me. So let them respond ˹with obedience˺ to Me and believe in Me, perhaps…

This week marked the beginning of the Islamic New Year, Muharram and soon Ashura, but for those of us who aren’t so familiar what do all these terms mean? Muharram — The New Year & The Sacred Months Muharram is simply the first month of the lunar calendar; marking the start of the new year…

In my previous posts for “Ten Tips for Taqwa in Today’s Times” I explored some apps, techniques and extra litanies we can inculcate into our day — all with the aim of improving our quality of life and drawing closer to Allah. In the final post we look at the most important of all of…

Journalling, gratitude, mindfulness, planning & productivity — all these terms may mean different things to different people. Over the past few years my journalling practice, unknowingly to me at the time, has skimmed the surface on each of these topics. This nightly exercise works as my daily download to decompress and reflect on what has…

“There are no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days.” [Sahih] These first ten blessed days of Dhul-Hijjah are coming to a close, with Eid al-Adha fast approaching! Over the last few days many of us will have tried to fast and hopefully increase our worship in some…

Ramadan is celebrated world-wide, people all around the world know it as the month of fasting and taqwa (mindfulness) for Muslims. Dhul-Hijjah on the other hand, another month in the Islamic calendar, is less renowned. But what should we know about the month? What does it hold, and how can we benefit from it? In…

Some thoughts and photos on water. “Indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and rivers” 54:54 There is something about water, the sound, the visuals, the refreshing taste, a warm shower on a cold day, the coolness of a refreshing soak in summer. It stirs the soul. The Qur’an contains an abundance of verses talking…

The Qur’an and Sunnah In last week’s continuation of “ten tips for taqwa” series we looked at practical actions we can do throughout our day to help us be mindful of Allah. “And Allah is the Guarding Friend of the mindful.” —Qur’an 45:19 We aim for taqwa and mindfullness of Allah as something that we…

In part-1 of this series we looked at how a positive mindset can affect our well-being and spiritual condition for the better. We looked at 5 tips for cultivating this mindset: In part-2 we’re looking at specific actions that can help to reinforce that mindset and help us to build mindfulness of Allah. As these…

Long Summer Days – Investing – Writing & Eman Long days As we come to the end of Shawwal a friend reminded me that it would have been better to finish the 6 additional fasts of Shawwal earlier as iftar time is getting later and later. With June 21st, the summer solstice, marking the longest…

Top tips for using an iPad for Studying Modern studies – classical texts The modern student might find they have access to a myriad of textbooks, an entire library at their fingertips in the form of PDFs; but how best to actually utilise all of these resources? The simple solution (as you may have guessed…

Too much money, burning a hole in your current account? Not necessarily a common problem, but if you haven’t already invested it somewhere, how do you make your money work for you? You don’t want it just sitting in a current account or savings account losing value to inflation. An obvious first port of call…

What is Taqwa? Taqwa is our ultimate goal and the path to peace in this life and the next. “For those who were aware of God there is supreme fulfilment” —Qur’an 78:31“And Allah is the Guarding Friend of the mindful.” — Qur’an 45:19 Taqwa encompasses being, mindful, conscious and aware of Allah at all times.…

Today I am writing about writing. David Perell’s “The Ultimate Guide to Writing Online” is a great piece, and I really recommend you read it in full; but it’s also very wordy. I’ve taken the bits that stood out to me and aimed to capture all the salient points here. Hopefully providing a quick version…

“Whoever fasts Ramadan then follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted for a lifetime.” — Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏”‏ مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَهُ سِتًّا مِنْ شَوَّالٍ كَانَ كَصِيَامِ الدَّهْرِ ‏”‏ ‏ As the sun has set on Ramadan we’ve moved…

In the UK lockdown guidance has changed constantly over time including moving to a system with different tiers throughout the country. This makes sense in a large country, rural areas would have a much different social and economic landscape to large cities. However many people were happy to move between the different tiers moving from…

Post-Ramadan Blues and fighting negative self-talk. As Ramadan comes to a close it’s a bittersweet feeling as always. On the one hand life returns to normal, we can eat during the day and with lockdown restrictions easing we can start seeing our friends and family more regularly too. On the flip side, things are returning…

Ramadan 2021/1442AH – Juz 30 – Rizq “For those who were aware of God there is supreme fulfilment” —78:31 Some theologians posited that in addition to being physical places, heaven and hell are also metaphors for spiritual and emotional states of wellbeing that we attain in this life. By chasing lower desires we drag ourselves…