Saima Sher Fazal

On Critical self reflection and thought in Islam: The Islamic paradigm presents to us a mode of critical thinking unique to the modern world. On one hand it beautifies and limits the extent of human rationale and on the other other it persuades him to ponder, explore and question. How so? Allah promises Hidayah to those who are in search of the truth and those who question out of pure intention and not with an intent to find justifications to their own desires. In surah Baqrah and various other surahs of Quran we are shown how the Bani-Israel questioned Musa(AS) not to learn but to justify their own desire. Yet at the same time in various places in the Quran Allah (swt) encourages human thought to ponder, observe and reflect upon his ayahs. Those within the Quran, those outside the Quran and those within our own selves. These ayahs are like indicators pointing like signs towards a truth. Only the one in search of these signs will find them. Sadly though the modern Muslim is to

Trials, Effect and Tauba! Trials and tribulations are a part of every one's life. Life is not a fairy tale. Bad patches , difficulties are inevitable. A lot of people have different ways of dealing with trials. Some good some, some bad, some completely caught unaware! The ones in which a person gets farther from Allah ji are bad, the ones which make a person closer to Allah ji are good. It sounds quite simple but when a person is actually going through a difficult time it gets tough to understand. Its hard because during that suffering if the person has not strengthened his or her defenses before hand, the chance is that he will  fail and fall into depression, anxiety, frustration or stress. During these phases the ability to think or act sensibly in numbed. What then? PREPARE! Yes, that’s it! Prepare before hand. Strengthen your defenses when you are not in any of the aforementioned phases! We know that Allah swt expects a momin to be well prepared. First of lets ponder

The ‘Mullah’ and Us!: Keeping the recent scenario in Focus there is a post circulating around on social media. It’s a quote by Ahmed Deedat a renown Muslim scholar from India. It states how an ‘ignorant Muslim’ is dangerous etc.... What’s really interesting is the presumption that maybe ‘we’ do not come under this label of an ‘ignorant Muslim’.  That maybe it takes a certain dress, a beard and a few violent demonstrations on the roads to prove that we are ‘ignorant muslims’ and ‘dangerous’! Let’s compare our educated selves with this ‘ignorant Muslim’. The ‘ignorant Muslim’ comes out in the streets and harms public property. While the educated Muslim sits inside well furnished homes and curses the ‘ignorant’ for disturbing his routine and peace. The ‘ignorant Muslim’ is maybe a Qari, a vegetable vendor, a butcher, a mechanic so on so forth. While the educated Muslim is a doctor, an engineer, a designer, a teacher, a musician or a model/ actor maybe! The ‘i

“No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or by emotional appeal” (Marilyn Ferguson) It requires a Paradigm shift. A shift in the way we see things. Only Allah holds the hearts and minds of people and only his ayahs (in nature, inside us and in the Quran) can make one see differently.  So what are we supposed to do? We are supposed to guide them to his ayahs ( in nature, in ourselves and in the Quran) in the most relevant manner according to the space and time we are provided with.  It’s a path one needs to tread by oneself. One can only show the other the guide posts.  That’s our test. If we don’t do it someone else will till his will is done !  It’s better to Surrender to the will of God for if we don’t we will surely be bent to the will of men! #havefaith #surrender

What’s so wrong with the modern skeptic is his adherence to a unique flexible rigidity. Weird?!. Paradoxical?! Exactly! His inability to actually break the barriers of logic which provide him with a very sharp, intelligent and often correct ( yet incomplete) view of this world and life are also a major cause of his addictive yet comfortable seclusion. Breaking barriers means being ready to get uncomfortable. Getting ready to be vulnerable. It takes a lot of guts to be inclusive. Not easy to walk the talk. Skepticism should teach one to question ones own comfort and choices. Weighing ones own limitations constantly against a universal criterion. Breaking the barriers also means being ready to learn. Learn to see the truth. Learn to accept our own limitations and learn to accept that we could be actually wrong. It also sometimes means to defy the most logical obvious reality in order to defy ones own self and surrender. It is this sort of skepticism that actually led Ibrahim (AS)

In this day and age the greatest dichotomy faced by the Muslim mind between ‘what is’ and ‘what should be’ has led the mind to doubt the viability of action. Action that is based on belief in the eternal to manage the affairs of the ephemeral. It is this very thought process which needs reformation. It is hard to translate something into action which is not prevalent or present in the society around us.  The reason our beliefs do not translate into a solid presence is our inability to think the way we should. This hindrance is huge as it blinds us from a reality which can very much be.  Such a reformation of the thought process which encourages faith and discourages doubt.   Doubt has led us to the state we are in. We cannot have faith without dealing in faith and faith rejects doubt in its essence.  To progress towards a more harmonious relationship between the two, it is vital at first to search for a safe place, a middle ground, the Sirat e mustaqeem. The most common hurd

The very notion of owning an idea is in contradiction to the fickle reality of human intellect and existence.  A construct designed specially to ‘other’ and create a monopoly over the ownership of certain ideas. In complete contrast the Islamic perspective of ownership holds a person responsible for an idea but denies monopoly. In islam even an idea is a trust from Allah for the momin which entails responsibility and with that free and unlimited access! #havefaith #surrender