A Poem of Imam Shafi’i
Not always wealth, not always force,
A splendid destiny commands;
The lordly vulture gnaws the corse
That rots upon yon barren sands.
Nor want nor weakness still conspires
To bind us to a sordid state;
The f...
The Prophet ﷺ’s dua at Taif
After a decade of preaching in Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ had lost his uncle and his wife and was still rejected by tribesmen. In an attempt to find a more receptive audience, the Prophet ﷺ traveled to Taif, hoping ...
Ibn Taymiyyah’s Letter from Prison
Ibn Taymiyyah stands as one of the towering intellectual giants of Islamic history. Beyond his academic contributions, however, ibn Taymiyyah was known for his high moral character. The following is an excerpt ...
15 Aphorisms from ibn ‘Ata’ Allah al-Sakandari
One of the signs of relying on one’s own deeds is the loss of hope when a downfall occurs.
Your striving for what has already been guaranteed to you, and your remissness in what is demanded of you are signs ...
Haroun Al Raschid – A poem by Abul ‘Atahiya rewritten by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The son of the Abassid Caliph al-Mahdi and a Yemeni slave girl, Harun al-Rashid became caliph during the peak of what is known as the Islamic Golden Age. During his rule, Baghdad grew into the greatest city of ...
Imam al-Layth’s letter to Imam Mālik
For the context of this letter, please refer to this post.
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In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Form al-Layth b. Sa`d to Mālik b. Anas.
I salute you with peace and praise Allah besides wh...
Imam Mālik’s letter to Imam al-Layth
Of the most famous intellectual rivalries in Islamic history is the rivalry of Imam Mālik ibn Anas and Imam al-Layth ibn Sa'd. Both were tremendous legal scholars, both founded a madhab, and both were intellect...
The Stranger-A poem written by the greatgrandson of the Prophet ﷺ
Ali ibn Husain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, better known as Zain al-'Abideen, was the great-grandson of the Prophet ﷺ and one of the few members of Ahl-Bayt to survive the massacre at Karbala. In addition to being kn...
The Repentance of Abu Nuwas
One of the most famous Arabic language poets in history was a man named Abu Nuwas. In addition to his literary talent, he was particularly know for the rowdy content of his writings. He would praise the joys of...
A Child’s Prayer by Muhammad Iqbal
Widely considered one of the greatest Muslim poet of the 20th century, Muhammad Iqbal was a lawyer, philosopher, poet, and politician. In addition to his Urdu and Persian poetry, Iqbal was a political philosoph...