By Laura El Alam Which highly addictive drug is readily available in stores worldwide, sanctioned by most societies, and openly consumed everywhere from sporting events to business meetings? If you guessed alcohol, you are correct. Because it is so ubiquitous, many people don’t think of alcohol as a drug. [...]
Meena Malik What should a person do about their cultural identity when they enter Islam? Do they walk away from it or adopt a new one as a Muslim? The good news is that there is no such thing as a singular “Muslim culture” that needs to be embraced [...]
Saima Mehboob When we think about words like slave or servant today, they bring negative images to mind. Oppression, inequality, injustice, since one human in servitude of another can only demean the one serving. The world may appear to have come far in abolishing these practices, but this isn’t [...]
By Meena Malik You may have heard “Muslims don’t date” or “dating isn’t allowed in Islam.” On a surface level, those statements are correct. However, in order to understand what Islam’s stance is on dating, the term “dating” frst needs to be defined. I’ll define dating as the stereotypical [...]
By Bassam Zawadi One who reads the Qur’an and hadith literature cannot miss the several references concerning hell. While many would understandably appreciate why some of humanity’s worst criminals might deserve to burn in hell temporarily for their horrendous crimes, several would struggle with the idea of one [...]
By Meena Malik So how do Muslims get married if they’re not allowed to date? There are many ways that Muslims may find their future-spouses that are within the guidelines of Islam. The most important aspects of the courtship process for Muslims is the 1-clear intent that the [...]
Melissa Barreto I grew up without religion. My parents were raised Catholic. There were faint signs of it at home -- necklaces with saints in the back of the jewelry drawer, a dusty yet decorative statue of the Virgin Mary that was passed down from a relative, [...]
The Islamic calendar, also called the Hijri calendar, is used in many parts of the Muslim world either in replace of or along with the Gregorian calendar. The Islamic calendar is based on 12 months and follows the lunar system. The names of these months are Muḥarram, Ṣafar, Rabīʿ al-Awwal, [...]
Saima Mehboob “I’m not a religious person. But I’m spiritual.” For 35 years, I could relate. I grew up in a very conservative Muslim home, with a heavy South Asian influence. Cultural traditions often blended into Islamic practices, and it was never clear to me where one [...]
Islam is the name of the religion that Muslims follow. People who practice Islam are called Muslims, just like those who practice Christianity are called Christians. The literal and lexical meaning of Islam means submission. Islam comes from the root Arabic letters s-l-m which are the same root letters [...]
