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My Ramadan Prayer
by Imam Zaid Shakir
As we stand on the verge of beginning the great fast, let us pray that the blessings we enjoy are decreed to last. Let us pray for the people, who have lost their homes, fields and cattle in the flood, that they are patient and see their…
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Lady Liberty
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The Statue stands tall, symbolizing liberty. Liberty is a gift handed down by the constitution through time. But have all accepted it, and given it a home in their minds? Are the graces of liberty truly free? If it cannot…
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Consequences of Muslims Targeting Civilians
by Imam Zaid Shakir
This essay, written in the immediate aftermath of the failed New York City bomb attempt [1], will examine some of the theological implications of Muslims violating civilian immunity. I have written elsewhere why attacks against innocent civilians are in opposition to fundamental teachings of Islam. Unfortunately, there are some Muslim…
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Our Hearts Are Calling Out
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Our hearts are calling out to us, into the dark and maddening night. Our hearts are calling out to us, to seize our hands and lead us right. Too blinded are we by the glare, of power, money, war and fame? Yet with perverse, blinded…
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Why They Want To Do Us Harm
by Imam Zaid Shakir
This essay is the unedited version of a response Imam Zaid wrote to a question posed by Helen Thomas to the White House press corps, “Why do they want to do us harm?” Thomas never got an answer so “In These Times” posed the question to several respondents. The edited…
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From the Pursuit of Power to the Power of Cooperation
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The theme of the recently concluded (December 25-26, 2009) Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conference in Toronto, Canada, was Saving the Ship of Humanity. In the words of the program’s brochure: When a ship is lost at sea, is in imminent danger of sinking, or if it has been hijacked, the…
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Demand an Investigation Into the Killing of Imam Luqman Abdullah
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The autopsy report on Imam Luqman Abdullah, who was gunned down in a Dearborn, Michigan warehouse, Wednesday, October 28, 2009, was finally released Monday, February 1, 2010. The details revealed by the report show why law enforcement authorities would try to suppress it. The Imam’s body was riddled with twenty-one…
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The Virtues of Winter
by Imam Zaid Shakir
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,…
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The Virtues of the Day of Arafat
by Imam Zaid Shakir
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…
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Is Treachery Against Ones Fellow Citizens Sanctioned by Islam? [1]
by Imam Zaid Shakir
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,…
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Remembering Imam Luqman Abdullah
by Imam Zaid Shakir
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…
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Mentioning Hajj, Its Virtues and an Encouragement to Undertake It
by Imam Zaid Shakir
We will now continue our translation from Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali’s work, Lata’if al-Ma’arif. In this section, he begins a discussion of the Hajj and some of its virtues, pp. 400-402. It is related in the two sound books (Bukhari and Muslim) on the authority of Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet,…
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What a Beautiful Day
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Today was a beautiful day. After a period of days that brought howling winds and driving rain, the California autumn yielded to a bright, blue cloudless sky. The rain has transformed the vacant space to the side of our front yard into a lush carpet of soothing green grass. The…
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Farewell to Imran Sabir
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Today (October 5, 2009), I was in Scotland for the Launch of Shaykh Abdul Aziz Ahmed’s Book, Living with Blindness: Lessons from the Life of Imran Sabir, who passed away this past March after struggling his entire life with the devastating effects of LOGIC Syndrome, a rare genetic disease. I…
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Reflections on Ramadan
by Imam Zaid Shakir
‘Id Mubarak! Another Ramadan has passed. We pray that Allah accepts all of the righteous deeds undertaken by His servants during this month and that all of us have left the month with our sins forgiven and our prayers answered. For me this was an especially powerful Ramadan. There were…
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