New Islamic Directions
Shorter reflections and statements on the events of the day.
Imam Zaid Shakir · August 10, 2020
This past Tuesday, a massive explosion sent a giant mushroom cloud billowing into the air over the port of Beirut, Lebanon. As the dust settled, a landscape where the handiwork of humans -buildings, machines, cars, trucks, electrical wires- was…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · May 29, 2020
When one has enjoyed a delicious and nurturing meal, one does not jump up from the table and race off to another endeavor. One takes time to savor the lovely tastes and to reflect on the great blessing one has been privileged to enjoy. So too our…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · May 19, 2020
Today, MANA: Muslim Alliance in North America joins many other organizations and individuals in commemorating the life of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, more popularly known as Malcolm X. Malcolm was born May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Ossie Davis…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · May 16, 2020
I came just like a thief inside the night. Confused you no longer know wrong from right. A plague, a pestilence, a scourge, or worse? I’ll let you know just who I am in verse. A tyrannical king I wear my crown. A novel threat yet long I’ve been…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · May 9, 2020
There are a large number of books that discuss the coming of the Antichrist, known to Muslims as the Dajjal (The Great Deceiver). One can spend a lifetime studying this literature from its myriad angles. The Antichrist as an individual. The…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · February 27, 2020
With the release of the Netflix series reexamining the assassination of Malcolm X there is a renewed interest in determining the identity of his killers. It is not my desire to delve into that contentious issue. Rather, during this time when…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · January 28, 2020
This past Sunday Jan. 26. 2020, I was teaching a class at the DarusSalam Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. The class was based on an Arabic book entitled الاستعداد ليوم المعاد (Preparing for the Hereafter). One of the last things we covered before…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · December 13, 2019
The sun rises over the snowy woods, And looks into our hearts searching for good. For those who prayed throughout the dark of night, The sun will find a mirror for its light. Or is the mirror that she sees the lake? Adorned with sheets of ice and…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · November 19, 2019
The leaves of Autumn float gently down from the soon to be barren trees. As they quietly populate the ground, layer upon layer, they represent a metaphor for our lives. In the Spring they silently entered into the world, cautiously exiting the…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · November 14, 2019
The childish games we used to play, Those playground romps of push and shove, The carefree days of puppy love. How ‘bout those summers long ago When lazy days were all we’d know, Now that we’re grown why does it seem, Our happy days are in our…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · November 12, 2019
One of the most blessed events in the history of humanity was the birth of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (s) on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal. The gravity of this day is associated with the magnitude of the one born during it. The following narration…
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Imam Zaid Shakir · October 1, 2019
Complaining (shakawa) to other fallible humans has no part in our religion. Sincere advice (nasiha) does. What is the difference between the two? Imam Zaid Shakir explains. Usually, the complaint starts with what we describe as the first person,…
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