How did Avicenna (Ibn Sina) ‘prove’ God exists?
“The full argument is a bit complicated, but here is a somewhat simplified version. Avicenna’s proof actually has nothing to do with design, he doesn’t need the idea that the universe is intelligently put together. Instead, he argues from the idea that the things we see around us are ‘contingent’ or merely ‘possible’.
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…
“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!
“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…
“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…
“They are meticulous in keeping with the sunnah, yet forget the One who brought it ﷺ!” It was a powerful moment. We had just finished praying maghrib and began reading the adhkar after the prayer, most notably the Salawat on the Prophet ﷺ. As we finished, the shaykh turned his attention to a poster…
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…
