Category: Verse & Prose
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The Squandered Prophet
“Khālid ibn Sinān is considered to have been a prophet after the time of Jesus but before the time of Muḥammad… Khālid was a man of extraordinary spiritual power, and by use of his staff was able to counter a fire that was engulfing his land in Aden. He chased the fire back into the…
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The Encompassing Word
Bouhammouda Hassan and Abul-Hakam Mas‘úd engaged in an escalating rivalry, each producing extensive encyclopedias and abridgments to outdo the other. This intellectual competition culminated in a brief, profound exchange where al-Fásí’s single-word response left Abul-Hakam awed, leading to a shift in focus for both, particularly towards mystical poetry.
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The Mosque on Church Street
Despite his best efforts, Imam Kenan, upon seeing the meager congregation gathered before him, could not help but reminisce about the grand opening of this mosque here on Church Street.
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I am no Ibn Battuta
I have a friend who has travelled far and wide from the bustling streets of London to the dusty dunes of Mauritania and across the Islamic world. He often tells me that I am the true traveller and that he is not.
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A Coffee Pause Between Two Worlds
The steam rose slowly, soft, hesitant, as if unsure of the morning air. It floated upward, disappeared, and returned, a cycle as brief and delicate as my pause between two meetings. I held the paper cup with both hands—not for its warmth, but because it anchored me. Out there, I belonged to a world of…
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Moonlight over Granada
In 1492, the fall of Granada marked the end of Muslim rule. Nuhu Osman Attah explores the sentiments of various characters, including a soldier, philosopher, lady, and poet, lamenting their loss.
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When Fear Becomes God: Algorithms, Zionism, and the Death of Conscience
Acne-faced, my stomach growling, and a heavy grocery bag struggling over my shoulder, I was trying to out-walk my hunger on a busy Montreal street. I had just moved to Montreal from Pakistan.I was simultaneously doing tasbeeh—Hasbunallahu wa ni‘mal Wakeel (Sufficient is Allah for me!). My fingers were quickly rolling over rosary beads in a…
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The Most Beautiful
In the name of Allah, the Most Beautiful, whose creations are the ascending sun and the luminous moon, the ethereal clouds of hope and the radiant celestial stars— all decorating the skies above the Earth.
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The Redwood Sanctuary: A Dedication to Foundations (Usul)
A poem exploring the profound wisdom of ancient trees, particularly redwoods, as they communicate the interconnectedness of life, the importance of nurturing each other, and their resilience in nature.
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When I Die
When I die, I apologize to you for my cowardice That I turned my head away From you and myself That I could convey to you properly The Truth.