A friend once asked me, “How do I differentiate between a truly knowledgeable scholar, and a fake one?” His question came amidst a long conversation in which we were discussing the reasons that make some people follow radical extreme religious movements. My answer was simple, I said, “The way to distinguish between them is easier… Continue reading Symptoms Of Religious Extremism
Have you ever heard of such a thing as “unconditioned acceptance”? There is no such a thing, right! Actually, when I gave it a thought, I realized that I’m totally wrong. If you ponder over motherhood, you will instantly get the idea. A mother bears her child inside her womb for 9 months. She goes… Continue reading Unconditioned Acceptance
One cold winter night years ago, I was walking with two friends in downtown Cairo. The weather was extremely cold, and most streets were empty. When we approached Tal’at Harb square (one of the famous squares in Cairo), we saw a homeless old woman sleeping on the sidewalk, covering herself with a blanket, and trembling… Continue reading Blessings Are In What’s Minimal
My idea in Orientalism is to use humanistic critique to open up the fields of struggle, to introduce a longer sequence of thought and analysis to replace the short bursts of polemical, thought-stopping fury that so imprison us in labels. [Edward Said, Orientalism, 2003]. It has become a tradition among many people to label “the other”… Continue reading Labeled of the Earth
Many non-Muslim thinkers, historians, poets, politicians, etc., studied Prophet Muhammad’s life, and spoke publicly, or even wrote books describing the man whose life they explored thoroughly. Some of them were among the most renowned during their time, and they still are. By all means, you don’t have to embrace someone’s ideas in order to respect him or… Continue reading Conqueror of Hearts
Among the biggest controversies storming the media is “Islam & Terror.” Of course this is a big issue that could never be dealt with in one short post, but I consider this post to be one in many to come. The main purpose of this quick post, is to shed some light on how Muslim… Continue reading Islam & Terror Controversy
We often hear people say, “Good luck,” “hard luck,” among other expressions related to their belief that luck controls their fate. This is absolutely dumb; you make your own luck, not the other way around. Many people build their expectations upon their hopes or intentions. They think that if their intentions were good enough, the… Continue reading How To Make Your Own Luck
Often do we hear famous scientists speak about the big bang theory. They insist that this massive universe doesn’t need an Omnipotent Omniscient creator to happen. In their opinion, ‘Chaos’ can ‘create’ on its own. Let’s try to indulge into what they say, then simplify, and analyze it. Kindly note that whenever we speak about matters… Continue reading The Massive Universe
Many people find the idea of religion so foggy and irrelevant to their daily lives. They can’t comprehend why do some people follow this religion or that. As a Muslim, I shall tackle the issue from my perspective but I believe that my words shall be resounding for people from other faiths as well, so… Continue reading Purify Your Instincts
Among the amazing phenomena of the Qur’an and the Islamic call for prayers is that they are both immersed in music, or more likely to say, music is immersed amidst their words to an extent that makes them both inseparable. Ever since the Qur’anic recitation started 1400 years ago, the sound of music found there… Continue reading Calling For Prayers
Islamic Methodologies Made Easy 