Irtiza Hasan and Zainab bint Younus consider how to celebrate Eid while the Ummah’s hearts grieve with Gaza; being mindful in light of Eid consumer culture; and how we can talk to our children about the heavy realities of our Ummah. How can we channel celebration as resistance against oppression? How can we celebrate Eid ethically without losing sight of the global context? Check out this episode and let us know your own thoughts and experiences below! From the MuslimMatters family to yours, Eid Mubarak! May Allah accept all our worship from Ramadan, and let us witness a free Palestine soon ..read more

by Dima Shamaly [Connie Charles, mentor]   March 19, 2024 When we see the crescent moon    As you know, every year we are aware that Ramadan is approaching by the sighting of the crescent moon. When the crescent moon appears, children’s voices become louder in the streets, and decorations fill every street and every house.     Each of us goes to the markets and malls to buy delicious food and necessities for the month of Ramadan. We seek out the foods that distinguish Ramadan from other months. Dates, for example, qatayef, and many other things.  &n ..read more

The Witnesses Of We Are Not Numbers   Introduction by Ruth Nasrallah Survivors of genocide have traditionally borne witness only after the atrocities end. In the case of the current tragedy in Gaza, witnesses are working in real-time. Because of the prevalence of journalists, photographers, and videographers on the ground using social media to livestream conditions there, millions can quite literally see the horror. Whether you turn away from the worst of it – the images that are gruesome enough or provocative enough to merit a platform to blur them out – or you take every detail in, you ..read more

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters reached out to our regular (and not-so-regular) crew of writers asking them to share their reflections on various ayahs/surahs of the Quran, ideally with a focus on a specific juz – those that may have impacted them in some specific way or have influenced how they approach both life and deen. While some contributors are well-versed in at least part of the Quranic Sciences, not all necessarily are, but reflect on their choices as a way of illustrating that our Holy Book is approachable from various human perspectives. Introducing, A Ramadan Quran Journal: A Musl ..read more

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level. Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3 Juz 4 Juz 5 Juz 6 Juz 7 Juz 8 Juz 9 Juz 10 Juz 11 Juz 12 Juz 13 Juz 14 Juz 15 Juz 16 Juz 17 Juz 18 Juzʾ 19: Abandoning the Quran? “And the Messenger will say, “O my Lord! Truly my people have taken this Qur’ān as something to be discarded!” This is a very powerful complaint from the Prophet ﷺ. He’s ..read more

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level. Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3 Juz 4 Juz 5 Juz 6 Juz 7 Juz 8 Juz 9 Juz 10 Juz 11 Juz 12 Juz 13 Juz 14 Juz 15 Juz 16 Juz 17 Juz 18 Juz 19 Juzʾ 20: Who Responds to the One in Distress? In verses 59-66 of Sūrah al-Naml, Allah ﷻ reminds us about all of these amazing signs, proofs, and evidence spread throughout the universe that prov ..read more

After starting grad school to become a therapist, I learned that much of what we do as therapists is help people understand and navigate through their emotions. It sparked my curiosity, to see what the Quran has to say about people and emotions, so that very first Ramadan while I was studying in my program, I decided to put post-it flags in my mushaf every time I saw a word describing an emotion in the Quran. I did not realize then that this idea would turn into a 5-year endeavor.  Here I am, 399 post-its, 2 years of graduate school, and 4 years post-graduation later, and I’m still learni ..read more

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level. Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3 Juz 4 Juz 5 Juz 6 Juz 7 Juz 8 Juz 9 Juz 10 Juz 11 Juz 12 Juz 13 Juz 14 Juz 15 Juz 16 Juz 17 Juzʾ 18: Seven Qualities of Highly Effective Believers ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (ra) narrated: “When revelation came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, one could hear what sounded like the buzz of bees near his face ..read more

This special video installment of the MuslimMatters Ramadan Qur’an Journal series comes from Ustadha Samia Mubarak. Ustadha Samia shares powerful reflections from Surah al-An’aam, which was revealed to provide comfort and reassurance to RasulAllah during a time of great struggle and grief. “You are not alone” is a message from Allah to RasulAllah , and to all believers who recite the words of Surah al-An’am. Related: A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series – [Juz 13] Bringing Oppressors To Justice A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series – [Juz 22] Manifesting The Prophetic ..read more

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level. Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3 Juz 4 Juz 5 Juz 6 Juz 7 Juz 8 Juz 9 Juz 10 Juz 11 Juz 12 Juz 13 Juz 14 Juz 15 Juz 16 Juzʾ 17: Good and Bad are Tests from Allah ﷻ To drive the reality of death into our hearts, in order to etch it into our consciousness, Allah ﷻ says, “Every soul will taste death. And We test you ˹O humanity˺ with g ..read more