Are Sikhs allowed to be in a mosque? Somebody asked me this question and I wondered if it is okay.
Anonymous

Sure! If they want to come in to see the mosque then tell them to go ahead, and it’s good to call up the mosque before hand maybe because many give tours (depending on the size of the mosque etc.).


GoodEvening

Good evening to you too! 

i've been considering a conversion. I'm Christian (non-denominational) and I've been reading your blog and have begun readin the Qu'ran a tiny over the past couple of months and i really like the message of Islam. My question is if it's possible to muslim without regularly attending worship/praying. Because although i love the message of the Qu'ran and Islam, i'm not really one for rituals, thanks for your time. Sorry for not using the proper muslim addresses
Anonymous

Hiya, and no worries!

Sorry for the late reply, just had a lot of backlogging in my inbox, but slowly sifting through! 

I think it’s great that you’ve been reading into Islam, and I’d love to know what your updates are because you sent this more than a week ago I think. 

What I would say is that it seems you have a perception of ‘rituals’ to be something negative, and I’m not so sure I would describe prayer in Islam as a ritual. It’s not something elaborated or exaggerated, rather it is something essential to our faith. And it’s very simple too, not difficult and it doesn’t take huge amounts of time, rather it fits into the day perfectly.

Firstly, just to clarify, prayer is a direct command from God, and not something created from our own whims. It is mentioned numerous times in Qur’an and Hadith (sayings of the Prophet), for example Allah says in Chp 2, Verse 110:

“And establish prayer and give zakah, and whatever good you put forward for yourselves - you will find it with Allah. Indeed, Allah of what you do, is Seeing.”

Therefore we must understand that if God has commanded something for us, it is for our own benefit, for Allah knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows what is best for us. 

Secondly, our five daily prayers are not a burden, rather it is a freedom from the daily constraints, problems and worries of life, it is a chance to communicate with your Lord in a manner that you know He would love. This point is essential, because to others it may look like we are just performing some strange actions, but rather out prayer has been shown to us by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who was the best worshipper, and we know that anything he showed us and guided us towards was towards good and to the Pleasure of Allah. So the best way to worship God, is the way he taught us, as that is most pleasing and approved by God. 

The prayer also removes sins, if performed properly and with the right intention, and again there are many evidences to show this. For example, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said (Sahih Bukhari 505)

Abu Huraira reported: I heard The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, saying, “If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day, would you notice any dirt on him?” They said, “Not a trace of dirt would be left.” He said, “That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah wipes out evil deeds/sins.”

There are countless benefits and wisdoms behind the prayer, but what I can truly say is that you will know the feeling and beauty of it, once you yourself place your head on the ground and prostrate, knowing that you are doing so only to your Lord, the Owner of the Heavens and the Earths, the Most Merciful, The All Knowing. It is truly a liberating feeling. 

And Allah says in the Qur’an: “O you who have believed, enter into Islam completely [and perfectly] and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.” (2:208) 

Take note of this command and remember that if you know that the fundamentals and foundations of this religion are correct and that it is the truth-than naturally the building too will be sound in teachings and wisdom. 

May Allah make things easy for you and bless you. Hope this was of help insha’Allah. 


The other day my close friend came to visit my grandmother. Masha’Allah she’s what-around 85 and really wise and full of good advice. 

Anyway, my friends a convert and my Grandmother was just saying to her how fortunate all of us are to be part of Islam, and how Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala chose each and every one of us specifically to be given the fuel of Islam, it’s up to us how much we ignite the fuel and turn into a flame (by practicing and being devoted to worship etc.)

Then she started talking about the beauty of Tawhid (the oneness of God) and she kept on saying ‘Don’t throw this away, don’t take it lightly, it is your bloodline, don’t you remember Bilal, don’t you remember him, when they were crushing his bones and scarring him he didn’t give up this gift, he kept on saying ‘Allah is One, Allah is One’, don’t you remember the tears on Sumayya and the tears of Bilal. How beloved are these people, how treasured are they. Don’t give up this gift.’

Subhan’Allah, every time she said ‘Don’t you remember, don’t you remember’ We just started crying. Literally bawling. It’s the way she was saying-so genuine and concerned for us. The family downstairs were like why is everyone crying upstairs lol. It’s just one excerpt from one well known story, but there are so many out there, and most are not well known. 

We need to connect more and read more about these incredible people, the companions of the prophet. They too were husbands, wives, sons, daughters, children. Why do we always (mostly subconsciously) make this divide in our head between the current day and the days that they lived in. No. Rather these stories have been preserved for us to learn and implement their lessons into our own lives. They are relevant to us, now more than ever. 

We should read about the Sahabah extensively and in detail to truly look have people to look up to, let’s not fill our hearts with useless and tarnishing images, programs, books etc. Rather let’s read about the true heroes and role models that will never die. Their biographies will only encourage us to follow their path, and that path leads straight to Jannah subhan’Allah. 

Hello brother. You have powerful work, to you, what voices a poem and nation, madness, a feeling hope, or God himself, when we walk away or with him. Does grandeur or rags make man? Its a riddle :) It is very simple, I am a young writer, and I enjoy the work you put out.

Assalamualaykum wa rahmatullah, 

It’s a sister :)

Jazakillah Khayr. I feel stupid though because I don’t know the answer to that riddle. If you’re asking me outright though I’d say it depends on the person but most likely……erm rags. 


For some reason most people on tumblr seem to think I’m male. I wonder why that is?

Just for the record-it’s a sister here. :)

Assalamualaikum. Love your blog, Jazakallah!

Wa Alaykumussalam wa Rahmatullah, 

Barak’Allahu Feek(i)!


Regret

Turns the sugar sour and the memories bitter.

Makes you wonder why you didn’t wake up quicker

Keeps you up at night staring at the clock for another hour

Distant thoughts of what went wrong, and how you lost that power

Regret screams at you on the brightest day, telling you not to smile

And clutches at your happiest thoughts, extinguishing out the light in your eyes

It’s not listening to your wise grandmother, when she said to be patient

And to defeat regret at his own game, by making sure in every way

That you wont regret that thing again.

Regret is having the balloon tied on your wrist,

But when it blew in the wind you let it fly away

It’s sowing your own destruction and missing out on reward,

The pleasure of your Lord and the peace of your own mind

Regret is not turning to Him sooner,

When you know that He would relieve your past

It’s not repenting, or praying or remembering Him,

When only that would clean your heart

Of the black soot that’s found it’s way in.

Regret is losing your good traits

And adopting the bad

It’s not taking account

Of your own shortcomings

Regret makes you small

And helpless

Regret is sin

Laziness

Sadness

Fatigue.

Regret is not realising sooner that it will change you, and benefit you, if you simply turn to Him.  Repent to Him. Your affairs are with Him.

Then say Alhamdulillah, and do your best. And as they always say: Let Allah do the rest. 

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (radiAllahu anhu) said:

يَنْبَغِي لحَامِلِ اَلْقُرْآنِ أَنْ يُعْرَفُ بِلَيْلِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ نَائِمُونَ
The one who memorizes Quran must be known
by his nights when the people are sleeping,

وَ بِنِهَارِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ مُفْطِرُونَ
by his days when the people are eating,

وَ بِحُزْنِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ يَفْرَحُونَ
by his sadness when the people are rejoicing,

وَ بِبُكَائِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ يَضْحَكُونَ
by his crying when the people are laughing,

وَ بِصَمْتِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ يَخُوضُونَ
by his silence when the people are chatting away,

وَ بِخُشُوعِهِ إِذَا النَّاسُ يَخْتَالُونَ.ـ
and by his humility when the people are boasting.