revolutionarity-blog

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Essential Advice for New Muslims in the West: the Obvious & the Not-So Obvious

Essential Advice for New Muslims in the West: the Obvious & the Not-So Obvious

The Obvious Be a Muslim. Literally: submit to Allah subanahu wa ta’ala, not Muslims or culture. How to do that? Learn and live the pillars of Islam. See below. Understand “lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh.” (There is no might nor power except by Allah SWT.) Be grateful for every breath you have and remain aware that at any point, in sha Allah SWT (God willing), all of it may end. Live not for…

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The Qur’an as the Word of God & A History of the Prophet Muhammad

The Qur’an as the Word of God & A History of the Prophet Muhammad

I can’t say how many times I have ‘Googled’ “what is Islam?” Maybe that sounds ignorant but, religious diversity was never a topic of conversation in my life until I brought it up myself. I think a lot of people find themselves in similar situations now. If you’re anything like me, you’re reading these words in search of an answer to that question. If you’re anything like me, all your fruitless…

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The Day of Arafat: Education and Supplication

The Day of Arafat: Education and Supplication

Today, August 31, 2017, is the second day of Hajj and the 9th day of Dhul Hajj, called the Day of Arafat. Millions of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca will spend the day standing in supplication before Allah on the mountain and plains of Arafat (also called the Mount of Mercy) in Saudi Arabia. For the Muslims not at Arafat, a day of fasting and supplication is prescribed. “This day I have perfected your…

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On the Topic of Islamic Obligation:

On the Topic of Islamic Obligation:

I’m neither impressively educated nor am I a certified scholar of any sort but, I have been, am currently, and inshallah, always will be, a student of life. I believe that we, as humans, have unquestionable obligations to ourselves, our families, our communities, and society as a whole. As a Muslim, these obligations go a step further to become a foundational condition of our faith.   In a lot of…

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Ḥawqala: One Path to Peace

Ḥawqala: One Path to Peace

and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein (Qur’an, Surah al-Qaf (50), Ayah 16) As-Salam Alaikum. Today, I want to share something that brings me comfort in my darkest, most uncertain moments, when I am all-too aware of my human fragility and the underlying transience of this fleeting life: hawqala. There have been a couple of times this past week when I find myself in a situation that…

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Revert Limbo: Somewhere I Belong

Revert Limbo: Somewhere I Belong

Diana Beatty aptly stated, “out of the many converts I have met, I have never known one who found conversion easy or took it lightly, nor have I ever known one who converted for any other reason except true belief in the religion.” Though I’ve yet to uncover extensive discussion of the causes, symptoms, and possible remedies of this condition, it remains a pervasive suggestion throughout almost…

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Hijab for Dummies: One Revert Experience

Hijab for Dummies: One Revert Experience

Brothers and sisters, strangers, friends and so-called enemies, I want to talk to you today about hijab. Hijab, no matter what the T.V. tells us, is not just the head scarf. Hijab, as is used in the context of today, is an umbrella term for modesty, though the real meaning goes much deeper than that. Side note: I believe that we, as a culture, are guilty of flippantly using and repeating…

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Faith and Ice Cream: One of Many Perspectives on Love

Faith and Ice Cream: One of Many Perspectives on Love

When I was a child, I had my suspicions about some of the most popular Western holiday traditions, like Christmas and Easter, for example. In the earliest stages, the suspicions were innocent, generated by tell-tale clues such as the fact that Santa’s handwriting looked a lot like my single mother’s and even though I changed my candy-loving mind every few days, that so-called Easter Bunny always…

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Shahada and Fitra, an Open-Ended Prayer

Shahada and Fitra, an Open-Ended Prayer

“As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.” Ecclesiastes 11:5 I’m sure I’ll write many things about the Muslim experience in the days to come but, today, only one thing comes to mind. I’ve struggled for months to tell the story of my conversion, when, in reality, it all came down to a…

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The Great American Eclipse: Genesis or Revelation?

The Great American Eclipse: Genesis or Revelation?

30 years ago, a woman named Mollie sat in her car at a stoplight on her way to work. Without preamble, reason, or explanation, a sudden knowing came over her. When asked to describe the experience in her own words, Mollie says, “It was like a seed of knowledge was just planted inside of me. The same way you know they sky is blue – I just knew. I knew I would have a baby girl and that her name…

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NOT

EVERYTHING

IS

ABOUT

SEXISM

OR

RACISM

OR

LGBTQ-PHOBIA

AND

SOMETIMES

THINGS

ARE

JUST

THINGS

AND

YOU

DON’T

NEED

TO

TURN

EVERYTHING

INTO

ARGUMENTS

FOR

EQUAL

RIGHTS

[revolutionarity-blog]

I’m now charging 5 dollars if you wanna know my ethnicity

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Watch the waves in the ocean. The higher the wave goes, the deeper is the wake that follows it. One moment you are the wave, another moment you are the hollow wake that follows. Enjoy both - don’t get addicted to one. Don’t say: I would always like to be on the peak. It is not possible. Simply see the fact: it is not possible. It has never happened and it will never happen. It is simply impossible - not in the nature of things. Then what to do? Enjoy the peak while it lasts and then enjoy the valley when it comes. What is wrong with the valley? What is wrong with being low? It is a relaxation. A peak is an excitement, and nobody can exist continuously in an excitement.

Osho (via aspiritualwarrior)

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Be as simple as you can be; you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become.

Paramahansa Yogananda (via aspiritualwarrior)

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Watch: President Obama then uttered three words to make sure Donald Trump got the message.

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[revolutionarity-blog]

29 very successful people who didn’t make it big until later in life