Category: Theology
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Akbarian Metaphysics: A Brief Elaboration
The locus of cognition, in all senses, is the heart, which comprises a litany of layers that cognize different aspects of reality, from the material to the metaphysical, and the rational to the supra-rational. The dualism modernity promotes — one wherein the two components may never be combined harmoniously — rips matter and spirit apart,…
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Thinking Palestine Through Islam: The Mirage of Secular Dissent as Epistemic Resistance Against Israel
The central tenet of Islamic belief – the proclamation of lā ilāha illallāh, or “there is no God but Allah” – forms the underlying consciousness that breathes meaning into the existence of every Muslim. This proclamation, or kalimah, is made up of two seemingly opposing statements – a negation followed by an affirmation. Ostensibly, this…
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The Metaphysics of Palestine
Taha begins his lecture by declaring that political analysts, historians, anthropologists, and sociologists—even if they are pro-Palestine—have engaged in secular violence to Palestine by erasing the ghayb in their analysis of Palestinian history. The world of the unseen—or the ghayb in Quranic idiom—is a critical feature of discussing the land, and by assigning Palestine into…
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Girlfriend Ḥalāl: What Happens When Islam Is Bereft of Submission
Before meeting Senator Menendez, Nadine was friends with an immigrant of Egyptian origins, Wael Hana. Somehow, Hana had become the sole halal certifier authorized to clear meat exports to Egypt, a marked change from the Egyptian government’s years-long practice of accepting the certifications of a handful of U.S.-based legacy certifiers. However, this particular monopoly carried…
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The Grammar of Reality
Grammar is often viewed as a tedious and unimaginative subject, pertaining merely to our means of mundane communication. Squeezed dry of any life, outwardly it appears to be an endeavor devoid of any inspiration. Even moreso, for a traditional student of knowledge, memorizing obscure aberrant verses of poetry to deliver grammatical points, parsing the construction…
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Al-Tirmidhī’s Bayān al-Farq
This is a translation of the first chapter of the Persian jurist al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī’s Bayān al-Farq bayna al-Ṣadr wa-l-Qalb wa-l-Fuʾād wa-l-Lubb. I may translate the rest in due time, as some of the contents in my following pieces on Akbarian Metaphysics, in shāʾ Allāh, may be better understood by non-Arabic speakers after reading this chapter,…
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Halal Consumption and Our Spiritual Health
We must be scrupulous in what we eat because the rest of human civilization depends on us. The actions of non-Muslims are not as important as the actions of Muslims — it is the actions of Muslims that govern the welfare of the entire planet. We are responsible for what happens in the world. Our…
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Reflections On Love and Suffering
The term dīn is not understood in our Tradition as the term “religion” is throughout Western religious history, but rather carries four primary significations: (1) indebtedness; (2) submissiveness; (3) judicious power; (4) natural inclination or tendency. [1]
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The Ibn ‘Arabī Connection: How Akbarian Metaphysics Shaped South Asian Sufism
To those that, like me, spent their lockdown evenings watching Diliriş: Ertuğrul, Ibn ʿArabī will be a familiar name. Draped in the robes of a dervish, Ozman Sirgood’s character wanders the landscapes of medieval Anatolia, dispensing scriptural wisdom and delivering spiritual guidance to the eponymous protagonist and his plucky tribespeople.
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Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha’rani and His al-Minan al-Kubra
Al-Minan al-Kubra is a fascinating text that can almost be placed in a genre of its own. Not only is the book bursting with beneficial advice and specific examples of the manifestations of various virtues, but it is also a glimpse into al-Sha’rani’s own life. From the beginning he speaks of his own lineage, and…