Currently Browsing: Notes
notes
From Eastern Skies
by Imam Zaid Shakir
From eastern skies the stars brought forth their light, Conveyed by hearts transcending desert nights, Igniting flames that burn the dross of sin, Bequeathing the courage to gaze within, Freeing the hearts to know the secrets there, Those secrets to their lovers do they share.
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Mass Shootings
by Imam Zaid Shakir
There have been 210 mass shootings in the United States this year. A mass shooting is described as a shooting that has four or more victims. Of those 210 mass shootings, only one, the killing of the Marines in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was perpetrated by a Muslim. That unfortunate and tragic…
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ISIS, Sex Slaves and Islam
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Today’s New York Times’ (NYT) article highlighting ISIS’ sexual enslavement of Yazidi women has cast a critical light on the issue of slavery and Islam. The ensuing implications should concern all Muslims. This is so owing to the fact that ISIS presents its practices as normative Islam and accuses the…
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Nature, Feelings, Emotions
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Tree and sky,
Green, blue and white;
Imagination,
Serenity and flight.
Not even the sky,
Can limit our dreams…
Which is one way
God tells us,
Better days are ahead.
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On the Passing of Shaykh Dr. Wahba al-Zuhayli
by Imam Zaid Shakir
During my time in Damascus, I lived in many different neighborhoods: Zahira Qadima, Mukhayyam Yarmuk, Saha Shahbandar, Muhajireen, Suq al-Jumu’ah and Khurshid. Like a desert nomad in search of greener pastures, I was ever in search of a cheaper rent. My year in Saha Shahbandar was certainly challenging from one…
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Say No To War
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The political theorist, Carl von Clausewitz, famously said, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” If that is the case, war is a politics that we do not need, because it only opens the door to mass murder, under the disguise of a political agenda. As Muslims we…
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Tears of The Yearners For The Meeting With God
by Imam Zaid Shakir
“Death is the most inescapable part of life. Upon entering into the world, no one can say, with absolute certainty, if a particular individual will be rich or poor, a glowing success or an abject failure. No one can predict if they, or anyone else, will live a long…
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Black Lives Matter
by Imam Zaid Shakir
My maternal grandfather is a Whitaker from Harris County, Georgia. His grandfather, who went by the name of Rich Eubanks (my grandfather, Richmond Whitaker, was named after him) was a slave, sold to an owner in Harris County from somewhere in Virginia. My maternal grandmother is a…
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On The Passing of Shaykh Shukri Lahafi
by Imam Zaid Shakir
The Muslim world has lost one of its giants with the passing of Shaykh Shukri Lahafi. Despite his stature, it is likely that anyone reading these words who is not from Syria has ever heard of Shaykh Shukri. Before I arrived in Syria, in 1994, to begin my studies there,…
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On Rebuilding Churches Burned By Terrorists
by Imam Zaid Shakir
If we ask a simple, straightforward question concerning the initiative launched by Faatimah Knight to help rebuild the eight black churches that were either partially or totally destroyed by fire in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Clementa Pinkney, and the murder of eight of his fellow congregants in…
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How Deep Is Your Love
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Perhaps the greatest hit recording of the popular 1970’s disco era singing group, The Bee Gees, was “How Deep Is Your Love.” Among the lyrics of that song were the following touching words: “I believe in you You know the door to my very soul You’re the light…
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Pray For Pakistan
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Let us not forget the people in those parts of Pakistan who are suffering from a horrific heat wave. Almost a thousand people have perished, along with almost three thousand earlier this summer in India, may Allah’s mercy envelop them all. One of the characteristics…
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Will A Khalifa Solve The Muslims’ Problem?
by Imam Zaid Shakir
This is brief response to recent comments about the need for a Khalifa. Brothers and sisters, do not think, simplistically, that the mere existence of a Khalifa will solve the Muslims problems. The Khilafa (office of the Khalifa) was ended by the order of Kemel Ataturk in 1924. At that…
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Q and A Time
by Imam Zaid Shakir
Question: Why is it so hard to call the massacre of African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina a terrorist act? Answer: Because all terrorists are Muslim, and Dylann Root, the confessed murderer is not a Muslim. Question: When obviously deranged Muslims commit acts of mass murder, why are they never…
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My Ramadan Prayer
by Imam Zaid Shakir
As we stand on the verge of beginning the great fast, let us pray that the blessings we enjoy are decreed to last. Let us pray for the people, who have lost their homes, fields and cattle in the flood, that they are patient and see their sins washed…
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Forgive Us Brother Malcolm
by Imam Zaid Shakir
As you gaze upon us from the perch of wisdom bequeathed unto you by the ninety years that have passed since your birth, and you see us sometimes wallowing in our folly; forgive us Brother Malcolm. You gave so much and taught so well, but, frequently, we have been…
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