Quicunque Vult: or, My journey to Islam
PART I                         In a former church, my heart is a mihrâb,                         Urging me to repent, the erasure of old but remembered sins.                                                                                     (Sünbülzâde Vehbî) Wild talk of a new Islamic hermeneutic hatching in the Muslim communities of the West has been with us for some years, with sadly...

The First British Guest of Allah
At a time when  Britain had major political and economic interests in the Middle East, Hedley Churchward had only one concern in mind while going on a pilgrimage to Mecca; the pleasure of Allah. Hedley Churchward, later known as Mahmoud Mobarek, was the first recorded British Hajji in history. Abdulhakim Murad, a lecturer from Cambridge University Islamic Studies department, narrates for us the ...

The Sunna of Sacrificing
Eid al-Adha is called the Great Eid. It occurs at the culmination of the Hajj, and is the culmination of the first ten blessed days of Dhu al-Hijjah, days which have been described by our beloved Prophet (pbuh) as the best days of the year, exceeding even the days of Ramadan in their virtue. From the confirmed Sunnahs (practices of the Prophet) of Eid al-Adha is the sacrifice of a suitable animal...

The 'Black' Letters on the White Pages of Islam
The increased interest of African Americans in Islam has become one of the most confusing phenomena related to the spread of Islam in the United States. By and large, Islam is stereotyped by many students of religion and society as being a religion that has prejudiced black people. The voice of the advocates who negatively interpret the relationship between Islam and black people is becoming loud...

Highlights from the Lives of Converts
Betty (Batul) Bowman, US I left my home in Maryland more than 40 years ago to seek my fortune in California. My search began with the words of Prophet Jesus:             Seek and you shall find,             Ask and you shall receive,             Knock and it shall be opened unto you [Matthew 7:7] And ended with the words of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh):             Tether your camel and trust in Allah...

A Very Human Prophet
digg_title = ""A Prophet who could remain human when turning towards Allah""; var sburl7208 = window.location.href; var sbtitle7208 = document.title;Kathleen St.Onge is a public school teacher and a convert to Islam. She speaks regularly on Islam and develops internet projects to promote faith-based living and religious tolerance. She lives in Toronto, Ontario. She has written a book cal...

Farewell Address
  Full text of the Farewell Address made by Prophet Muhammad to all humanity during his Final Pilgrimage. Praise be to Allah. We glorify Him; we thank Him. We expect help from Him. We ask to be forgiven by Him and, with repentance, we turn to Him in obedience. We take refuge in Allah against the evil suggestions of our nafs and doing bad acts. Whomever Allah shows the truth, no one can ...

We Are All on the Same Boat
Natural Environment Today environmental problems are threatening all living species, beginning with man, and natural beauty. Even if it is a little late, the "Earth Summit" can be seen as a concrete expression that this danger has been seen and that urgent measures must be taken. Since a universal consciousness has begun to awaken in this direction, what needs to be done is to try and m...

Ashab Al-Suffa
What does Ashab al-Suffa mean?Ashab al-Suffa is a term, composed of the words ashab meaning “masters, friends” and suffa meaning “veranda, shed, porch” in Arabic. The term is a generic name given to the Companions who stayed in the arbour next to the mosque of the Prophet, upon him be peace, in Madina after the Emigration and studied religious sciences there.The establ...

Mukthirun
Mukthir is a word derived from the word “kathrat” in Arabic which means “to be abundant in number” and its plural is ‘mukthirun.’ As a term in the science of hadith, Mukthirun refers to the seven companions of the Prophet (pbuh) who narrated more than one thousand hadiths. Even though there were around 114,000 companions when the Prophet (pbuh) passed away, onl...

Al-Muhajirun (The Emigrants)
Muhajir refers to “a person who leaves his / her place of residence or country to live elsewhere.” The plural form of Muhajir, namely Muhajirun, as a term, refers to those early Muslims who believed in Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) after he started the call to Islam. Because of their faith, the Muhajirun were subject to the oppression, persecution and torture of Meccan idolaters, and they left Mecca fo...

Ansar (The Helpers)
The word ansar means "helper" in Arabic, while the word ansari refers to a person who helps. But as a term, the Ansar were the people from Medina who supported Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the muhajirun (Emigrants) when they migrated from Mecca to Medina.

The people of the Ansar were from two tribes: the al-Aws and the al-Khazraj. It is reported in the sources that these two tribes often fought aga...