Yusuf's Blog

By His Mercy, you are liberated from having to secure outcomes in the world. Ultimately, if you measure success or failure by means of outcomes, you have entered a lottery that only sporadically pays out. It is purely His Mercy, otherwise understood as ‘good fortune’, that delivers the ending you desire. Your task is to interact with the universe in an appropriate manner in accordance with the knowledge that you currently have. To do so is a victory regardless of the consequent outcome. You must play the role He has assigned for you with sincerity and honesty. That is far easier said than done. We rarely truly know ourselves. We seldom complete the prerequisite inner-examinations required to make authentic, liberated decisions. The human being is a mine laced with explosives, toxins, and daunting boulders that discourage further exploration. But persist we must. Embark on the path of inner-transformation. Dig deep into the soul, shining light into corners darkened by egoic greed and s...

One’s choice of spouse exerts the single most profound impact upon one’s relationship with the Divine. One’s choice of spouse is therefore of monumental, eternal significance. One’s choice of spouse should be informed by clarity as regards the purpose of marriage, which is identical to the purpose of life: To Witness His Majesty. We do not exist to attain financial security or to go on holiday every three months. Rather, our purpose is to come to know the Perfection of His Creation, living in a condition of overwhelming gratitude. Your spouse will be your partner on that journey, either pointing out the astounding beauty that surrounds you in every moment, or wailing a toxic lament caused by an inaccurate, myopic interpretation of the universe. Effectively, you will be pickled in your spouse’s worldview. Think carefully. One’s choice of spouse must be motivated by a desire to accompany the chosen soul until death. Marriage is not a temporary solution by which sexual frustration...

My first experience of the ritual prayer was exotic and awesome. It was prayed approximately a week prior to my embracing Islam in a typically claustrophobic prayer room located in the bowels of a university campus, late at night. My companion, a much older mature student specialising in facial-reconstruction surgery, was open about his less than pious lifestyle. However, motivated by a combination of exam-season nerves and the duty to convey the message to an interested observer (which in my experience is found in even the most lax believer), he took it upon himself to accompany me to the prayer room. Prior to the prayer, I followed his lead as I washed my limbs in a small bathroom that reeked of what would become a familiar stagnant, damp odour. It was not particularly spiritual, with all of my attention directed towards not doing anything wrong and trying to save my trousers from being drenched. As I subsequently lined up for prayer in what I now recognise to be a storeroom with so...

          It is not uncommon for inquisitive people of other faiths or none to attempt to understand the dynamics of the Blessed Month. Often, such inquiries are limited to questions regarding the length of the fast, the conditions that must be fulfilled to maintain it, or the physical hardships that are its product. Some, however, wish to engage further, and are prepared to abstain from food and drink during daylight hours to experience for themselves the pangs of hunger and thirst that are a product of a nil-by-mouth day. But this is not fasting. This is merely not eating and drinking. Fasting cannot be divorced from faith. To fast is to invert one’s normative practices in order to intensify one’s remembrance of The One. The fast is designed to remind of the miraculous perfection that defines human existence, and to raise awareness of how every moment is part of an intricately designed tapestry of beauty inimitably weaved by The One. The fast...

As we boarded the plane, we were not met with the typical beaming but uninhabited smile. Instead, a Filipino air-stewardess struggled to conceal her discomfort as a male colleague held an early-teenage boy by the shoulders, straining to prevent him from racing off into the plane unescorted. The youngster, whose name was Fahoud, sported an uncomplicated, mischievous smile, and expressed his delight with the moment by making what would become a familiar sound, a wheezy, deep br eathing that soon glided into what resembled Arabic words. It was immediately evident that Fahoud suffered from some form of developmental disability. He was soon chased down by a band of identically dressed  women , whose traditional Saudi attire meant that the only means of distinguishing between them was by their voices. An older lady, presumably Fahoud's mother, gutturally barked orders at the young man, imploring him to cease his capers and return to his seat. The ladies, however, were powerless against ...

When speaking of faith, it is important to distinguish between matters that exist on the periphery and those that strike at ultimate purpose of the path. The Arabic word iman is usually translated as ‘faith’, but contains the idea of ‘security’, indicating that iman is the prism through which humans must interpret the universe in order to attain inner security, and by extension, tranquility. The goal of the path, as the Holy Prophet indicated, is to see Truth as Truth, and act accordingly. This means that the path is the journey towards bearing witness to the Majesty of the Divinely-Designed Tapestry that is our existence. This is achieved by surrendering to His Will, safe in the knowledge that if interpreted accurately, every incident, every moment, and every experience contains the capacity to facilitate recognition of Reality. The recognition of this Truth led Ibn Al Qayyim (Allah be well pleased with him) to say: Had Allah lifted the veil for his slave, and shown him how He han...