Abul-Qasim al-Husayn b. Muhammad b. al-Mufaddal, better known as Raghib al-Isfahani (“the Monk of Isfahan”), was born in Isfahan, modern-day Iran, and died in around 1108 CE. His most well-known books are his Al-Mufradat fi Gharib al-Quran, a dictionary of rare words in the Quran, and Dhariya’ ila Makarim ash-Shari’ah, or, The Means to the … Continue reading On Love and Friendship: An Excerpt from Raghib al-Isfhani’s Dhariya’ ila Makarim ash-Shari’ah
Excerpts from my prison journals
I was in prison from June 2003 to December 2016, thirteen and a half years. These are some excerpts from the journals I kept from that time.
You Don’t Know What Critical Race Theory Is
There is much to-do in popular culture today about Critical Race Theory (CRT), whether it should be rejected or embraced. Champions of CRT accuse those who oppose it of not knowing what it is. The truth is that most of CRT's champions and opponents appear to have no clear idea of what it is. That's not really their fault.
American Muslim activism should focus on doing good
American Muslims have tragically erred by putting an imbalanced focus on demanding rights for themselves instead of living out their Islamically-rooted commitment to the common good. In doing so they've obscured the truth & good of Islam & contributed to the secularization & polarization of America.
Eric Voegelin on Averroes (Ibn Rushd)
In his Incoherence of the Incoherence (Ar. تهافت التهافت), Ibn Rushd, known to the West as Averroes, included a severe warning against spreading knowledge among the common people that was beyond their capacity to understand: الكلام في علم البارئ تعالى بذاته وبغيره ممّا يحرّم على طريق الجدل في حال المناظرة فضلا عن أن يثبت في … Continue reading Eric Voegelin on Averroes (Ibn Rushd)
“Keys of Heaven”: the Origins of an Arabized Quranic Word
By Ismail Royer Allah says in Surah az-Zumar 39:63: له مقاليد السماوات والأرض To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. Ibn Katheer said this means: أن أزمة الأمور بيده ، له الملك وله الحمد ، وهو على كل شيء قدير That the control of all things is in the Hand of … Continue reading “Keys of Heaven”: the Origins of an Arabized Quranic Word
Video: In which I debate an “ex-Muslim”
The founder of Atheist Republic, Armin Navabi, was kind enough to have me on his show to discuss belief in God, atheism, extremism, and so on.
Video: Dealing with Atheism
In this talk with some youth I discuss my journey from atheism to belief.
Classical Maliki jurisprudence and sentencing factors for the crime of hirabah
To what extent should a sentence reflect the characteristics of the criminal and not merely the crime? An example of how classical Islamic jurists addressed this question is found in the work of jurists of the Maliki madhab concerning the crime of hirabah.
Letter on Progressive Muslims
The source of Muslims’ predicament in the United States is their profound anxiety over being accepted as “real” Americans, and the tendency of this anxiety to overcome their confidence in the truth of their religious principles.
A good tree 