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notes
Brothers and Sisters: Vote!
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Election day has finally arrived. Although over one hundred million Americans have already voted, scores of millions will do so today. As we all know this is one of the most pivotal and controversial elections in the recent history of this country. Pivotal because it comes at a time when…
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Breonna Taylor: Why?
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Like many others in this country I have shed tears thinking of the tragic manner in which Breonna Taylor was killed in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment. A young, loving soul gunned down as she was just beginning to embark on what all who knew her believed would be a bright…
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Explosions: Malicious Design and Neglect Benign
by Imam Zaid Shakir
This past Tuesday, a massive explosion sent a giant mushroom cloud billowing into the air over the port of Beirut, Lebanon. As the dust settled, a landscape where the handiwork of humans -buildings, machines, cars, trucks, electrical wires- was obliterated; reduced to a twisted, melted, garbled, wasteland, block after devastated…
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Fasting Six Days of Shawwal
by Imam Zaid Shakir
When one has enjoyed a delicious and nurturing meal, one does not jump up from the table and race off to another endeavor. One takes time to savor the lovely tastes and to reflect on the great blessing one has been privileged to enjoy. So too our worship. One…
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The Wider Significance of Malcolm X
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Today, MANA: Muslim Alliance in North America joins many other organizations and individuals in commemorating the life of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, more popularly known as Malcolm X. Malcolm was born May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Ossie Davis famously said in his eulogy for Malcolm, “And if you knew him,…
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The Virus Questions America
by Imam Zaid Shakir
I came just like a thief inside the night. Confused you no longer know wrong from right. A plague, a pestilence, a scourge, or worse? I’ll let you know just who I am in verse. A tyrannical king I wear my crown. A novel threat yet…
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My Problem with Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories
by Imam Zaid Shakir
There are a large number of books that discuss the coming of the Antichrist, known to Muslims as the Dajjal (The Great Deceiver). One can spend a lifetime studying this literature from its myriad angles. The Antichrist as an individual. The Antichrist as a demonic system. The Antichrist in secret…
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Who Revived Malcolm X?
by Imam Zaid Shakir
With the release of the Netflix series reexamining the assassination of Malcolm X there is a renewed interest in determining the identity of his killers. It is not my desire to delve into that contentious issue. Rather, during this time when Malcolm’s passing is commemorated by so many, I pray…
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Death Comes Suddenly
by Imam Zaid Shakir
This past Sunday Jan. 26. 2020, I was teaching a class at the DarusSalam Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. The class was based on an Arabic book entitled الاستعداد ليوم المعاد (Preparing for the Hereafter). One of the last things we covered before taking a break was the following poem: يا…
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Sun Rising Over Snowy Woods
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The sun rises over the snowy woods, And looks into our hearts searching for good. For those who prayed throughout the dark of night, The sun will find a mirror for its light. Or is the mirror that she sees the lake? Adorned with sheets…
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Autumn Leaves
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The leaves of Autumn float gently down from the soon to be barren trees. As they quietly populate the ground, layer upon layer, they represent a metaphor for our lives. In the Spring they silently entered into the world, cautiously exiting the little wombs lining the branches, branches which stretch…
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Remember Childhood’s Yesterday
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The childish games we used to play, Those playground romps of push and shove, The carefree days of puppy love. How ‘bout those summers long ago When lazy days were all we’d know, Now that we’re grown why does it seem, Our happy days are…
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The Blessed Mawlid
by Imam Zaid Shakir
One of the most blessed events in the history of humanity was the birth of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (s) on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal. The gravity of this day is associated with the magnitude of the one born during it. The following narration should suffice in conveying the…
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Spiritual Grammar and the Danger of Complaining – Imam Zaid Shakir
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Complaining (shakawa) to other fallible humans has no part in our religion. Sincere advice (nasiha) does. What is the difference between the two? Imam Zaid Shakir explains. Usually, the complaint starts with what we describe as the first person, “I”. For example, “I don’t like…” “I don’t…
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Bridging the Scholar/Activist Divide
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Note: The following essay is an introduction I wrote in late 2017 to Imam Dawud Walid’s valuable book, “Towards Sacred Activism.” I am posting it here in hopes that it might bring some clarity on a pressing contemporary issue. It is Allah who facilitates all success. **************************** This work by…
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A Response to Ali Al-Arian
by Imam Zaid Shakir
In his recent article, “The political impotence of the Muslim American community,” Ali Al-Arian, among other things, laments the lack of moral integrity and political courage in those leading the American Muslim community. An illustration of this is his blanket condemnation of American Muslim leaders and organizations for not more…
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