I have been reading Al-Fatihah for as long as I can remember. It is the opening chapter of the Quran (indeed the word ‘fatihah’ means ‘opening) and Traditional Muslims who observe the ritual prayers read it at least seventeen times a day. As I grew older and began to look into the deeper aspects of Fatiha, it became clear to me that Fatiha is also a summary of Quran. It is not just its position in the text – it... Read more
As I sit to write this piece, my mum whatsapp’ed me to inform me of her sister’s passing. Whatsapp is itself a miracle. Even 50 years ago, the idea of people sending billions of messages across the world without needing to pay astronomical charges was inconceivable. Another miracle was my aunt’s life. Though I did not know her that well, her miracle was her resilience. Although she came close to death a few times before finally succumbing, she always managed... Read more
How can a good God create evil? Evil is cause of all suffering in the world and so a good God cannot be its author. Hence, no God exists. This is a favourite argument with atheists and truth be told, I understand what they’re getting at. Try as I might to avoid seeing bad things, I just cannot. Sadly, I have a facebook account and try as I might, I cannot control its feed. Sometimes really depressing things pop up.... Read more
It used to surprise me when I discover vast differences between what is narrated in the Quran and the religious mythology I was taught at school. I distinctly remember being told at school about how Adam and Eve dwelled in the garden of Eden. Well, at first it was Adam but then he got lonely so God created Eve out of his rib. It was bent and so was she. Her nature was not quite straight thus subconsciously programming the... Read more
Isn’t it ironic that human beings argue, even get violent over a concept which is so abstract? People kill in the name of God. Such a sense of certainty they have or perhaps is it delusion? For me, the subject of the metaphysics is by nature unknowable in an objective sense of the word. While you can get to know God, you certainly can’t get to know him the way you know the physical world. Knowing him is an internal... Read more
It feels like I was always connected to idea of the apocalypse and judgement day. Growing up in a traditional Muslim family, the idea was perpetually mentioned albeit in an ominous tone. People whom you insulted would threaten you with recompense on judgement day, as I recall. They would look for you on that day and extract their due right! In school, visions of judgement day were depicted through the traditions of Prophet Muhammad. Horrifying visions of people being punished... Read more
Not many people, not even Muslims themselves, know about the Children of Adam. This group of young Muslim men and women (although anyone is welcome to volunteer) gather together in Holborn, London every Sunday evening, despite any kind of weather, to feed about a hundred and fifty homeless folks. These homeless folks love them so much that I’ve heard them express deep sympathy about the Islamophobia Muslims have had to face in recent years. Tell these homeless folks that Muslims... Read more
Last Friday, I was fortunate enough to attend the congregational prayers organized by the Inclusive Mosque Initiative (IMI). IMI has been instrumental in organizing inclusive prayers, people of all genders and sexualities, creeds and sects pray together as one. Last Friday’s prayer was especially meaningful since it was attended by Professor Amina Wadud Muhsin, the face of Gender Jihad herself. Since her book, ‘Quran and Woman’, Amina has been carrying forth the idea of Gender Jihad, reclaiming Islam from the... Read more
When religion is made into a business and becomes a source for personal income, self interest will be involved in its policy-making. This is the real cause behind the banning of the ‘Lets Read The Quran’ campaign in Malaysia. The statement given by the chairman of the Malaysian Comission of the Licensing and Control of the Quranic Text, Harussani Zakaria (who is also the mufti of the state of Perak) that this campaign should be banned is quite obviously to... Read more
Person Al-Islam. Personal Islam. That is the name of this blog and, I feel rather poignantly, the name of its inaugural post. The wordplay in the blog’s title is to suggest two things. Firstly, that one’s experience of Islam is personal and that without actual persons, there can be no Islam. There are of course, implications to that. This view may seem counter-intuitive at first. How can religion be something personal and consequently subjective? If anything, religion is probably the... Read more
Muslim in the Middle
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