Biggest Idol

Imam Al-Ghazzali considered the greatest idol to be the idol of the Self. This was his starting point."

- Hamza Yusuf in a speech: Critical Importance of Imam Ghazzali in our Times.

Why leaders are most important people?

Because babies learn to walk before they talk. Doesn't make sense? It does. In a moment.

Babies learn to walk before they learn to talk, because in case if otherwise they may never learn how to walk. They toil so much to learn how to walk because they see everyone walking around them. Human beings imitate by nature. Babies are no exception I guess. Little ones imitate adults; adults imitate adults. People at large imitate their leaders, who lead them. If leaders wear T-shirts, we all would wear T-shirts. If they do corruption on earth, everyone else would do corruption. That's why they're most important people in societies. Question is: Who is your leader?

(From Shaykh Hamza Yusuf's lecture on Surah Al-Balad.)

Qasida Burda Shareef by Muhammad Al-Husyan

Wanted to share this recitation of Burda Shareef by Muhammad Al-Husyan for many days. if you want an introduction to what Burda is all about, and more importantly, its significance for Islamic world, of which many, many Muslims are ignorant, watch the second clip.



Introducing the Burda of Imam Al-Busiri

Learning Islam from the "Objective" International Standard Universities?

Educating Muslim Youth by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Chittick says that Muslims have stopped to think. One of the major reasons for that is that Muslims have brushed the Islamic model of education replacing it with Western model of education, the latter not compatible wholly with the former. "Everyone nowadays is Qadi al-Qudat, Judge of Judges" - thanks to this alien system's intellectual outlook. While another oppression of the imported system is that it has replaced the fear of God in Muslims with an overwhelming fear of dunya (world) - overwhelming so to say to the mind rooted in tradition - the worth of which, i.e., dunya, is no more than a dead dog. I find this following lecture by Shaykh Yusuf invigorating, as if really 'revitalizing the dying organism' which is our mentality, generally speaking. Hope our elders get the point, reflect deeply on these matters, and do something about 'the dying organism' our youth is. But then again, as he proves, its on youth to take initiative to change, which, taking myself as an example, they can naturally do.

Part 1.


Part 2.

What is Islam?

Image source

'What Islam is about is taking away fear. See if you are a Muslim what are you afraid of? The first thing you accept about Islam, the very first thing: There is no god but Allah. Which means that there's nothing I should fear of but God.' (Shyakh Hamza yusuf in lecture at University of Toronto.)

Talk with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf