Summer Holiday Hacks

It’s the summer holidays, a time all kids rejoice and parents begrudge! After a long, tough year at school, every kid relishes that much earned break to kick back, relax and enjoy the sun. In their minds, summer consists of a concoction of games, gym, smartphones, TV and friends – with snacks, sleep and maybe a vacation scattered in between.

As parents, it’s tough enough entertaining them for 6 weeks alongside work, let alone having to worry about the time they spend. Religion feels like another burden to bear! Here are 10 Hacks to help you parent like a pro to make this a summer they won’t forget!

The Desert Call

As He stood upon the newly built house in the vastness of the desert, he began calling the emptiness to the House of God.

To an observer, His actions seem worthless. What good will his call do amidst the immensity of the desert? How will it reach the millions of people around the world to bring them to the House of God? Shouldn’t he have built it where people already were, rather than expecting them to come to the house of God? Who would traverse the difficult terrain of Arabia to come to His house?

Our Consistent Friend

Ina Lillah wa’ina ilayhi raji’oon إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون We belong to God and to Him we shall return. Now Ahmed Shah is in his grave, the angels drawing nigh. ‘O Servant, speak the name of He you called your Lord’ they cry. O Ahmed, say: Allah the One – He whom I praised…

Meaningful Action in a Helpless World

“Everything you do without remembering God is useless.”

The world is a scary place. So much is happening beyond our control, it’s easy to feel paralysed by helplessness. It’s with this that I turned to a trusted friend and teacher for advice; what can we meaningfully do to change things?

His answer shocked me. He had read the undertones of my question. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what to do; it was that I subconsciously believed it wouldn’t do anything!

Purpose

“You are very important. If you weren’t, then you would not be here. You matter. If you tap into your potential, you are among the best of all creation. You are the one that if you mention Allāh, He mentions you among His highest angels – Gabriel, and Michael – He is mentioning you to…

Meaningful Prayer

“The motions of prayer are the physical manifestation of your words and state, each in perfect congruence with the other” – Shaykh Asim Yusuf The words of my teacher struck deep; prayer is not driven by your thoughts, but by your state. Each motion is a perfect reflection of the state your heart should be…

Dear Pilgrim

Below is a (fairly long) email I send to people before they head off to Umrah. It’s my own dua list accompanied by some advice I wrote. Feel free to take any duas and use them for yourself, and please remember me in them too. Of course, any dua you make for others is always…

Hurdles

“When did Islam become a series of hurdles and challenges” I’ll never forget those words. It was the unexpected response I was given after asking for advice on some difficulties I and others had been facing. So often, we reduce our faith to a set of rules – do’s and don’ts. We obsess with it,…