Thomas Friedman, in his recent New York Times Op-ed entitled, “www.jihad.com,” states that Muslims lack the moral courage to condemn the murderous outrages of “Jihadi” extremists. Part of the reason for this moral failure, in his view, is because the West has not demanded that Muslims take responsibility for their…

This is our final translation from Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali’s, Lata’if al-Ma’arif, this year. It deals with some of the virtues and duties associated with the winter seas, which is rapidly descending upon us. This excerpt is taken from pages 557-560 Imam Ahmad relates from the narrations of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri,…

A 200 page report entitled, “The 500 Most Influential Muslims” edited by noted professors John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin was published this month by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (Jordan) and the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (Georgetown University) describes Imam Zaid Shakir as “one of America’s most influential scholars.”…

The following excerpt is from Lata’if al-Ma’arif by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali concerning the virtue and some of the actions to be undertaken on the Day of Arafa (pp. 487-495) I wanted to get this out today for the benefit of the believers so I have not taken the time to…

Is Treachery Against Ones Fellow Citizens Sanctioned by Islam? One of the questions forwarded to me in the aftermath of the article I wrote on the Fort Hood tragedy [2], is the following, “What proof from the Islamic Law can you give that a person who is an American citizen,…

This is my response to the Fort Hood tragedy and events both associated with it and ensuing from it. I begin by expressing my deepest condolences to the families of all of the dead and wounded. There is no legitimate reason for their deaths, just as I firmly believe there…

Note: This essay was started before the tragic shootings at Fort Hood, TX. I have much to say on that issue, but I felt I should finish this essay first. The poor people, including poor Muslims, are oftentimes denied a voice. The meaning of their lives and their legacy is…

This brief essay is the first of several dealing with the Fort Hood tragedy. It is written by Shaykh J. Hashim Brown, an American Muslim convert to Islam. Shaykh Brown was blessed to have studied intimately with some of the greatest scholars of Syria for almost an entire decade. He…

You should know, may God have mercy on you, that truthfulness and sincerity are the foundations of every spiritual state. Patience, contentment, true asceticism, pleasure, and intimacy are branches of truthfulness. While sincerity branches out into certitude, fear, love, majesty, shyness, and magnifying [God]. Each believer has a place in…