language
-
Iblees is the name of a Jinn whose title is ‘الشيطان’ (Al-Shaytaan). Jinn are a creation of God. They are made of fire and have freewill . One day, God informed the angels that he is creating man. When he commanded the angels and Iblees to bow down to man they all fell except Iblees.…
-
‘The Denial of Death’ by Ernest Becker is not the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for no reason. It is a masterpiece in analytical psychology that clearly presents the reader with an overview of the history of psychoanalysis. Becker begins by beautifully framing the human problem as one of ‘heroism’. This is the idea that…
-
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Surah Jum’uah is a surah that was revealed in the madani period of prophethood, after the prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم had to migrate from the city of Makkah to Medinah, which was originally called ‘Yathrib’. This surah begins, as is common in the ‘musabbahaat’ (glorifiers) surahs of the quran,…
-
Albert Camus (1913-1960) writes the Myth of Sisyphus. In this absurd book (which is meant as a compliment of coherence for Camus ideas), he explores the idea of how life has no purpose, and the truly ‘absurd’ man accepts this. His works can be seen when he totally divorces his hope, ideals, and actions from…
-
Long have I wished to read great poetry and recently had the chance to read John Milton’s Paradise lost and Paradise Regained. These two poems, consisting of 12 and 4 books respectively around 400 pages is a masterpiece in Literature, accessible to all; though some passages’ full effect will only be felt by a reader…
-
Introduction Why are we here? Every human being, whether religious or secular, eventually confronts this question. The Qur’an, Islam’s revealed scripture, offers not only a theological answer but a deeply existential one. At the centre of its moral narrative is the story of Adam—not merely as the first human, but as a reflection of the…
-
Introduction In the modern world, where personal autonomy is often prized above all else, religious prohibitions are frequently misunderstood as arbitrary restrictions—rules imposed from above to control desire or suppress freedom. In Islam, however, what is haraam—that which is forbidden—is not defined by human instinct, social tradition, or clerical whim. It is defined by God,…
-
The Antichrist, or Dajjal, is not merely a future individual. He is a recurring phenomenon: a corruption that arises when religious authority is wielded without accountability, when God’s message is twisted into an instrument of control. The Qur’an repeatedly warns against this distortion—not from enemies of faith, but from within. Surah Al-Hadid, verse 25 presents…
-
We live by faith far more than we live by proof. We trust that the sun will rise tomorrow, though there is no deductive necessity that it must. We believe our memories are real, even though we’ve never stepped outside our minds to verify them. We accept that our parents are truly our parents, though…
-
In a time where eloquence and articulation is at an all time low, the attack against the importance of language and literature reigns supreme. To remain good pondering contemplators, we must remember that (paradoxically) it is through language that language is attacked. Language and Religion In a conversation during an interfaith event at Oxford, a…
Engraved Light 