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A single day epitomizes our lifetime. Therefore,  we should attempt to be constantly upright and pure so that we meet our Lord in the best possible state of mind and heart. Days are where we are born and where we shall die.

Farhat Ahmed Ali

The five daily prayers may be likened to the five fingers of the hand: they are complementary, mutually dependent but at the same time unique and individually necessary.

Farhat Ahmed Ali

Life herebelow does not have a value per se, nor does the life hereafter. The former gains value only if it is associated with the life hereafter and the latter gains value only in relation to seeking Allah’s pleasure- the ultimate goal one may ever attain.

Farhat Ahmed Ali

As he/she enters the realm of Islam, a new revert is bound to feel somewhat torn between a former self and a nascent one. Shall he/she relinquish his original culture altogether, or shall he/she find a middle ground, a compromise between it and Islam? Shall he/she proceed slowly and gradually or quickly and impetuously in whatever direction he/she has opted for? Shall he/she integrate in his original culture or isolate himself therefrom? Shall he/she accept the others as they are or attempt to change them, no matter what? Shall he/she wear Arab or Pakistani clothes or keep those he/she has always worn? Shall he/she mix with the other gender unconditionally as he/she used to or mix regularly with members of the same gender and only exceptionally with the other?
These questions and many more similar ones presumably cross the mind of any new revert to Islam. We devote this corner to answer with the help of Allah any such questions.

Such is the perfection of the human biological constitution that should one single organ or bone be displaced, it would disrupt the harmony of the body and jeopardize our very existence. Take for instance the elbow joint. Without it, all human achievements –cultural, technological, intellectual, etc- would have been impossible. More, we would have been long extinct. Indeed, had we been created without an elbow joint, how could we eat, drink, write or build anything with a pair of stiff stick-like hands dangling on our sides?

Farhat Ahmed Ali

Salaah -prayer- is a bridge crossing over the agitated waters of life and connecting this world to the hereafter, the seen to the unseen. Not only does it elevate our souls to heaven but it also liberates our body – 5 times a day – from the shackles of flesh and vanity and infuses us with peace and tranquility.

Farhat Ahmed Ali

A field of wheat
Stretching as far as the eye can see
Its golden ears
dancing in the wind
Sipping the sunshine
Its unperturbed solitude
Mingles with mine

Farhat Ahmed Ali

Islam made lawful the consumption of the flesh of goats, sheep, cows, camels, fish, deer, geese, chickens, ducks, rabbits and game birds but made unlawful the consumption of the flesh of swine. The question is why pork in particular? And is this prohibition arbitrary, discriminatory and whimsical? Is it a strategy adopted by Islam to stand out among other religions as the one which prohibits pork? Or is this prohibition based on sound, scientific arguments made for the best interest of man, physical and spiritual? 
In answer to the third question, namely that Islam prohibited pork merely to stand out amongst other religions for this prohibition, let me say from the onset that Islam is not the only religion that prohibits pork.  Before Islam, Judaism did, and so did Christianity as testified by the Bible itself: In the Old Testament consumption of pork is explicitly forbidden: Read more »

The story of Lot in the Bible is encased in Abraham’s. The life of the uncle (Abraham) and the nephew (Lot) are intimately connected: they leave their homeland, Ur of the Chaldees, they travel to Harran, to Canaan in Palestine, then to Egypt and then back to Palestine where they have to part because the land is unable to accommodate their cattle and flocks and because their respective herdsmen nearly fell out with each other over the grazing ground. Abraham instigates an amicable settlement according to which Lot takes The Plain of Jordan, including Sodom and Gomorra, and Abraham the land of Canaan.  They separate only to be reunited forthwith: Lot is taken captive by King Chedorlaomer who, with the assistance of three confederate kings, defeats the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their allied kings. Abraham, against all odds, arms his servants (in its typical propensity towards precision, the Bible tells us that the number of the servants turned overnight into redoubtable warriors was 318!) and charges into the camp of the enemy. Not only does this peaceful farmer transformed overnight into a bellicose soldier liberate Lot and recuperate his goods but also he smites the enemy and routs them! (this story is inextant in the Qur’an) Immediately after, Abraham is visited by the Lord and three angels (who despite their immaterial existence feast on the generous banquet prepared by Abraham in their honour!) and upon hearing that Sodom and Gomorrah are going to be destroyed he pleads with the Lord so that the righteous be saved. When doom was due, the angels leave for Sodom and Gomorrah. They were to spend the night in the street but upon Lot’s insistence they come into his house. Upon knowing that the villages were to be destroyed, Lot pleads with the Lord so that he spares the village of Zoar where he would go and hide. The lord grants the request. Lot and his family are ordered not to look back as they flee from the wicked villages. They all comply except lot’s wife who, as punishment, is metamorphosed into a pillar of salt. Read more »

As soon as the story of Abraham unfolds in the Bible we are told that God will make of him a great nation, that he will be blessed and that his name shall be glorified.

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

And I will make of thee s great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

                                                                            (Genesis 12:1-3)

These verses necessarily imply that Abraham possesses great qualities that entitle him to such a high status in the sight of God. However, to the reader’s dismay, the character that is portrayed is devoid of any such qualities. Rather, he is presented as a cunning, materialistic, greedy person roaming the land in search for more money, more land. Like his forefather Noah, Abraham wins a reputation for something he does not deserve! Read more »