By lailakhanShaytan, Satan, Iblees, the Devil, Lucifer—these are all synonymous for the one ultimate enemy. The tempter, the doomed one, the damned one—the one that can take you to hell. A while back, the image below was circulating, suggesting that Shaytan missed one sajda (prostration), which got him kicked out of heaven. The message was: do not miss your prayers…
By Guest BloggerWritten by Shazia Mansuri. — I was running late. Six extra minutes on the walk to the station, two extra minutes printing my ticket, four extra minutes stuck in a signal delay, three extra minutes weaving between tight-lipped businessmen to catch the path, just to be halted again. The World Trade Center train was packed with sweaty…
By Guest BloggerPrayer is the most important conversation of your day. Take it to God before you take it to anyone else. –Unknown Regardless of our level of belief in God or ourselves, we all have struggles at one time or another. Things are not going our way or we are not sure about a major decision;…
By Guest BloggerAll of us, at one point or another, have sat through the “boring and culturally irrelevant” Jumu’ah khutbah (Friday sermon), the “over-our-heads technical” khutbah, and the “our khateeb couldn’t make it, so I’m just winging this” khutbah. But the one that people tend to hate the most is the khutbah where, in every other sentence,…
By feenaqaziabbatiToday’s world is filled with so much glamour and galore, and it’s kind of hard not to experience a little envy now and then. After all, let’s be honest — envy is a pretty basic-level human emotion that all individuals can attest to. But just because it’s something that all human beings can experience, doesn’t…
By Guest BloggerYour alarm is going off, if you snooze five more minutes you’ll be late for work, but you are so tired. What do you do? Sleep in for five more minutes and arrive late for work, possibly facing repercussions, or sacrifice those five minutes of sleepy bliss for a later reward? Researchers have been studying…
By akhalilWe’ve all come across horrendous videos of “mashallah brothers” talking about how Muslim women should “dress properly” (whatever that means), and even famous imams and sheikhs critiquing the attire of Muslim women. As a Muslim woman, I think I can safely say that we’ve had enough. Why don’t these imams and “mashallah brothers” ever talk…
By Guest BloggerFor my family and I, Eid is about family gathering, good food, and memories that will last a lifetime. So this year, when my sister and her husband booked my immediate family (mum, dad, two sisters, their husbands, and children) a holiday in Marbella for Eid, we were all unsure about what to expect of…
By Amani Marie HamedI’m standing in front of the induction range at work, a pancake slowly sizzling in the pan, a bag of crushed walnuts and nutmeg open and waiting to my left. There are still four and a half hours until sunset, and the heat and the smell of fresh qatayef rising from the stove make me…
By yusraPhoto credit: YouTube screen shot Recently, I attended the annual ICNA Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, as I do every year. Established on September 1st, 1968, the Islamic Circle of North America was a response to the growing need for a supportive Muslim community in North America. They eventually started this convention to create a platform…
By Rowida“I just wanted to be free.” ‘Muhammad Ali’ is a name you can say in any country in the entire world, and people will recognize it, respect it, and acknowledge its greatness. While being at the intersection of arguably the two most oppressed groups in America–African-Americans and Muslims–he fought hate, discrimination, and oppression for liberation. Muhammad…
By Guest BloggerIt was a hot day in November of 2013, and I was walking down the streets of Bethlehem. Actually, it was a very hot day for a Swede like me, with the sun beating down on my head at a whopping 77 degrees. I was visiting the Holy Land for nine days to learn more…
By Guest BloggerFor as long as I can remember, I have proudly identified myself as a Muslim feminist. This statement of who I am never seemed weird or contradictory, in fact, the two together always made sense. However, to many people unfamiliar with Islam, the term Muslim feminist may seem paradoxical and certainly raises some eyebrows. It…
By Maysoon KhatibSometimes when I’m in the midst of a roaring, thunderous, straight from the gut laugh, I pause and look around. I’m taken aback at that exact moment because it’s not my laugh I hear–it’s the echo of my own mother’s sound of amusement. And when it happens, I transcend time, going to a place back…
By Guest BloggerOn a quiet Sunday in their calm San Jose neighborhood, Golam and Shamima Rabbi were found shot to death in their home. The San Jose double murder proved to be worse than the worst hate crime. Golam and Shamima were Bangladeshi immigrants who had been members of the Muslim community in San Jose for decades….
