September 2011
37 posts
Tafsir Ziyan – Reflections on Mistakes in Life →
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Renaming the Taliban
I’ve been thinking of renaming the Taliban to the Ta’ban تعبان. Ta’ban means “tired” in Arabic and I’m really tired of their foolishness. Let’s have a vote.
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Who Am I To Not Say?
If Imam Malik and James Brown can both say, “I don’t know”, then who am I?
Bobby … I don’t know.
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The Unbearable Silence
Why does a CVS, or any drug store for that matter, need music? Everywhere you go there’s music to the point that music becomes meaningless. It’s as if modernity cannot stand its own silence: in the absence of any clamour, modernity must face its weary self whereupon it, methods of deconstruction not withstanding, is fully incapable of articulating any meaning or purpose to life.
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WatchI admire his da’wah spirit.
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WatchOmniscient vs. Unreliable narrator. Discussing Nabokov’s Pnin. You can view Garrett-Goodyear’s pdf here.
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“Fact: Using 15 minutes of your 1,440-minute day to pray is not extreme.”
– Word ‘em up. Muslima on a Mission.
Amazing footage from a satellite. The world from... →
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WatchThe spiritual benefits of being active.
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A Hadith...
…is not a reason, in itself, to do something, especially when a decision is being made for the group or the community versus a personal decision.
Having knowledge is not sufficient: Knowing when and if an action, judgment, or decision is appropriate requires understanding as well.
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Islam Played No Role in the Arab Spring...
Then came, just ten years after 9/11, the Arab Spring, in which Islam did not play a role, and the killing of Osama Bin Laden, whose death went almost unnoticed among Muslim public opinion.
Mr. Roy, how have you come to the presumptuous conclusion that Islam played no role in the so-called “Arab Spring”? Was it because Muslims didn’t use minarets as battering rams to knock down...
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WatchIt was my pleasure to have been invited on NBC 10′s @Issue, hosted by Steve Highsmith. The show was about religious leaders and how they try to lead Muslims, Christians and Jews toward peace in a post-9/11 era. I was joined by Rabbi Richard Hirsh and Rev. Sherri Hausser, both of whom I enjoyed meeting and hope to work with again in the future.
If you have trouble loading the video, you may view...
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My Obligatory Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 Post →
A really touching story about my wife’s father, whose death is part of her own 9/11 memorial.
So, Do You Consider Yourself To Be a Liberal or...
That was a question I received today at the TV station.
“No,” I said. “I’m an opportunist, meaning that if a liberal ruling will bring good and reduce harm for the Muslims then I will accept a liberal approach. Howerver, likewise, if a conservative ruling will maximize good and reduce detriments then I will accept a conservative approach. Like I said, I’m an...
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What Lies Beyond Peace?
“Peace is not simply a strategy to get what we want, but peace is a means of promoting an atmosphere in which people are free to choose the kinds of lives they want to live.” - Dr. Sherman Jackson.
What must ask ourselves the difficult question, peace for what? - hat tip to Yusuf.
Muslim Chaplaincy at the University of... →
It is my great pleasure to announce my acceptance of the Muslim Chaplain position at the University of Pennsylvania. I am deeply humbled and honored at Penn’s trust in me to carry out this role. I…
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The Fiqh of 9 to 5
عن أبي مالك الأشعري قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم إذا ولج الرجل بيته فليقل اللهم إني أسألك خير المولج و خير المخرج, بسم الله ولجنا و بسم الله خرجنا و على الله ربنا توكلنا ثم ليسلم على أهله
On the authority of Abu Malik al-Ash’ari, the Prophet said, ‘When a man leaves his home he should say, “O’ God, I ask you for a good entrance and a good exit. In God’s name...
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Banning Shari‘a →
As we take stock of the 10 years since 9/11 and the ghastly images of those two towers crashing to the ground, one thing has remained constant since September 12th: the imperative of security. Since then, we have witnessed an immediate military strike against Afghanistan, followed by saber rattling against the Axis of Evil—Iran, Syria, and North Korea; the military invasion of Iraq, climaxing with...
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Muslim Chaplaincy at the University of... →
It is my great pleasure to announce my acceptance of the Muslim Chaplain position at the University of Pennsylvania. I am deeply humbled and honored at Penn’s trust in me to carry out this role. I ask Allah for guidance. Amin. I would like that thank all those involved, especially Adnan and Carolyn, whose shoulder’s I will be riding on and doubtless, without whose support I would not be...
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WatchPriorities of Islamic Law—a lecture by Dr. ‘Umar Faruq ‘Abd-Allah. Thanks to Lamppost for making me aware.
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9/11 2011 – Say Good-Bye to Diversity [?] →
Here it is. My 9/11 post. I had been avoiding this issue, not because I haven’t had thoughts on it, but primarily because I haven’t really had the venue to speak my mind. But while laying on my couch, giving Pnin a cursory reading before my term begins, an e-mail flashed across my iPhone and a very long and complicated conversation jumped off inside my head. Here is the short form.
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“…what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for...”
– Nicholas Carr, from “The Shallows”.
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Philly Patient Ride
The American Cancer Society and PhillyCarShare have partnered together for PhillyPatientRide, a program that provides free transportation to patients who may have no other way of getting to their life-saving appointments.
Volunteers will be trained and have access to PhillyCarShare’s fleet of vehicles to use to provide transportation to participating area hospitals and treatment centers.
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Muslim Habitus →
More from my wife:
Some thoughts on Habitus and Islam. I love Bourdieu! This is by no means a good explanation of his sociological theories. But an exploration of inculcating Islamic principles into our daily life so that we move from just verbally saying we submit to having sincere belief.
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WatchThe End of Work: An Interview with Charles Hugh Smith from DANGEROUS MINDS. Hat tip to Stephen for this one.
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“The disbeliever is bewildered by creation, the believer is bewildered by God”
– From Imam al-Haddad via majdimam.
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Don't Be Too Proud...
For all my Muslims who love to pump their fists in the air and rage about “there is no god but God!” and thump their chests about their profession of faith, take some nasihah [counsel] from shaykh Vader:
شهد الله أنه لا إله إلا هو و الملائكة و أولوا العلم قائما بالقسط لا إله إلا هو العزيز الحكيم
“God proclaims that there is no object of worship other than God as do the Angels...
