Finding Jennah
I have spent a lot of my life trying to reconcile between hardship and ease. On the one hand, we are told again and again that the straight path is not easy and requires struggle and sacrifice. But on the other hand, as humans we always desire ease. What I have come to realize is that the path will always have challenges, tests and trials. There will be hardships and there will be storms. But, if Allah wills, you can be given ease *within* the hardship. The one who finds refuge in Allah, remains dry—even during the most powerful storm. Outside, it may be raining, but inside the refuge of...
Read MoreI Grieve
I Grieve By: Yasmin Mogahed I lifted my head Once more Only to see The sun had set, The trees had slept, And they’d all gone home I grieve. The sky that was clear is now covered with fog. My path, I no longer see. Why try…when it’s all so gray? I grieve. Today I grieve For what’s been lost. My forgotten people, still on their knees before a snow god in spring I grieve. They’ve forgotten that prayer And to whom they should call. The Essence replaced by mundane ritual, empty symbols. Their hearts… so tired, jaded and...
Read MoreAll Were Delivered
All the voices have hushed to a whisper now. The sounds have slept. I rest here in the cocoon of my heart, Waiting for its’ deliverance. They made you think your pain was small. Small to Him… Because it was small to them. Your pain is not small to Him. Your insignificance is in front of Him—but not to Him. You are insignificant before Him. But you are not insignificant to Him. My deliverance will come. He never left any of them in this state. Not Musa, Muhammad, umm Musa, Maryam, Ayoub, Yunus, Yusuf, Yaqoob, Ibrahim, Ismael, Hajar, Aasiya, Nuh. All were delivered. My...
Read MorePoverty of the Soul: United for Change Conference Speech
This is the transcript of the speech I gave at the United for Change Conference in CT on Sept. 29, 2012 Poverty of the Soul: United for Change Conference Today, I’m going to talk about poverty. But, then you already knew that. Yet, the poverty I speak about today isn’t the apparent kind. You see, before we can begin to speak about a concept, we need a criterion. We need definitions. In speaking about poverty, we need to understand that there is external poverty and there is internal poverty. And one is far more dangerous than the other, because while one form of poverty determines how we...
Read MoreLooking For God
This is a piece I wrote while in the airplane… Looking for God By: Yasmin Mogahed I’ve been looking for God my whole life. I just didn’t know it. When we study those things that we all seek—in life, in a companion, in everything—we’ll find that both the believer and the atheist are actually just seeking God. See, God is the designer. Whether you’re an atheist or a believer, God is the designer of your needs, your affinities, your inclinations. And He has designed these inner drives to fit the natural order: tawheed (to seek, recognize and submit to one single...
Read MoreA Reflection on Victory and Defeat
Reflect on this: When did the victory come? When they admit defeat. Not to the creation. To God. Then victory came. Not from the creation. From God. [See Quran (54: 10-15), (21: 87-88), (7:23), (21: 83-84) and duaa of Muhammad (SAW) after Taif]
Read MoreNow Available Worldwide
