Missing Makkah: A Personal Plan for Dhul Hijjah

Aug 19, 2018

Year after year, we hear the excellent advice of what we should do if we are not going for Hajj. We all know about not clipping our nails and hair, the fasting of the first nine days of Dhul Hijjah, being charitable, making dua, and so on. While these are all excellent actions to take – essentials really – they may become repetitive and uninspiring, because they are so routine by now. If this is how you feel about Dhul Hijjah, try to do something different this year: do I’tikaaf. … More Missing Makkah: A Personal Plan for Dhul Hijjah

Book 2: You Suck!

Aug 14, 2018

So, here we are:
Dwellers of the concrete jungle,
Prisoners of our own, man-made environment;
the physical outside distorting the vision inside:
work in boxes,
live in boxes,
think in boxes.

Force-fed your vision of the world we inhabit,
Conditioned to accept the barrage of information which bombards us at hyper-speed. … More Book 2: You Suck!

Missing Makkah: Special advice for former Hujjaj this season

Aug 12, 2018

Every former Hajji has their own unique story. Tales of the days they were blessed to spend on this sacred journey, so beloved that even the struggles and discomfort they faced are not enough to discourage them from wanting to return. At this time of year, that yearning grows stronger. So, what can they do about this? … More Missing Makkah: Special advice for former Hujjaj this season

The Cage

Aug 4, 2018

Sometimes at work you just feel closed in. Bored by what you’ve got to do; restricted by the times you work; and caged in by the physical environment you’re in. … More The Cage

Peace

Jul 23, 2018

The sun kisses my face
as i sit here in my empty bedroom.
At utter and total peace:
outside –
the subtle symphony of the birds,
the gentle breeze rustles the leaves,
and calm permeates the air
on this gloriously sunny Winter morning… … More Peace

The book (that’s still on the way)

Jul 14, 2018

When this blog hit the 10-year mark, I planned on compiling a “best of” – which would be an e-book collecting what I considered my most meaningful creative pieces over that period. It was quite a feat to go through so much content, but I eventually settled on a body of material that I believed would work. The idea was that there would be three distinct areas: poetry (the biggest portion), reflections and prose, and photography. … More The book (that’s still on the way)