By Rafet Khaliq

‘Good intentions are the most beautiful of secrets’ Ali Ibn Abi Talib (RA)

As the fourth Caliph of Islam and cousin and son in law of Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him), Ali exemplified sincerity and selflessness in his actions and unwavering devotion to Allah. The statement ‘good intentions are the most beautiful of secrets’ resonates deeply with the teachings of the life of Ali Ibn Talib (RA). Pure intentions were often unseen but profoundly impactive. Ali's humility and piety serves as a reminder that beauty of one’s intentions lies not in the public recognition but in their alignment with divine principles. Embracing these ethos can enrich our spiritual journey and foster a deeper connection with Allah leading to a more harmonious and compassionate existence.

The why of what we do:

Ali Ibn Talib (RA) beautiful example lead me to think, if we were to consider last year’s Ramadhan and think back at what we did, going back to...

By Rifat Sultana

Verily the friends of Allah are those who remember Him the most, are constantly grateful to Him and have greater patience in the face of His trials. 

(Imam Ali – as)

(ref: https://sayingsofimamali.com) 

As we end this year of 2023, and start the year 2024, many hearts are saddened, broken, grieving and shocked by the atrocities that are occurring around them. Mass destruction, massacres and injustice of every sort taking place whilst the notion of humanity, justice and compassion nowhere to be found within the power hungry individuals, so called ‘leaders’ and states. 

In these testing times that we are facing as an Ummah, while we raise our voices and stand up against injustice and oppression, we also need to keep in mind that there is that one Supreme Being over us all; who sees all, hears all, and knows all. As Muslims we believe nothing can happen without His permission, and that He knows best. He tests by giving and by taking,...

By Rafet Khaliq

To capture any moment in time you need to be in the moment in order to absorb, and fully indulge in that moment - sometimes the smallest thing can sit with you to have a profound effect - this can take place as - a look, a feeling, a connection with another and some self-realisation.

So many amazing things take place in the moment when you fully indulge; you embrace life, connect with the senses, breath and feel, being totally complacent with the here and now. What an amazing place this is for us to stay. If this was the case and we enjoyed all our present moments, life would be much more stress-free, we would neither worry about the future and all the things we wish for or allow our past to weigh us down - we would be happy in living the fullest life of each moment as it comes.

So why don’t we live this way? If it’s as easy as that!

I believe its awareness; we are so consumed by how we normally think and how our thoughts devour us that we don’t...

By Rafet Khaliq

Discover your thing!

We all know about the benefits of exercise it is widely documented and there are endless pieces of research advice and information as to why should exercise. Yet, with all this information and constant bombardment, why is it that many of us still do not make a move to exercise?

Allow me to stir some thoughts as to why this may be, and what simple moves we can make to utilise this widely available and wonderful therapy called exercise. In this article I shall provide information as to the well-known benefits of movement, summarised in bite size text for you to easily absorb and I will finish with a challenge to you the reader, to discover YOUR thing and run with it!

We shall touch on behavioral blocks and why it is we don't do what we know will make us feel better, look better, and enable to deal with life and all the challenges that can come with it! So what is it that stops us from that little bit of beneficial movement? 

I believe that the...

By Rafet Khaliq

‘Oh Allah purify my heart of malice, my soul of the sins I’ve committed and purify my intentions for me- Ameen’

as Muslims our intentions should be to gain the pleasure of Allah SWT in all that we do, according to Imam Nawawi’s Forty Hadith, which states ‘Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended’ (Bukhari, Muslim). The intention which is the ‘Niyyah’ refers to the spirit of doing deeds through which they may become religiously valid - sincere intentions turn permissible deeds into acts of worship. This process also highlights the connection between the physical actions and their spiritual consequences. Even though nobody else may understand us, and sometimes we are not correct in our actions even when our intentions were good, Allah SWT knows our true intentions and knowing this helps to bring peace within ourselves.

Intentions are the roots of every actions, they reflect the...

We often look at the mirror to give ourselves a quick glance to see if we are looking good, good enough to face the world; the connection with the mirror is usually on a surface level, but what if we were to go deeper…

If you were to look deep into your eyes through the mirror, what would you see? We can often be our own worst critics, negative self-talk and self-judgement which come from our conditioning holds us back from self-compassion. 

Mirror work was originally developed by transformational teacher and author Louise Hay as a way of getting in touch with the inner self. Hay said, ‘Mirror work is the most effective method I’ve found for learning to love yourself and see the world as a safe and loving place’.

Mirror work is when you look at yourself, focus on your eyes and embrace the reflection with love and compassion, using positive affirmations. Yeh, I know…sounds uncomfortable and at first it may well be, but with a bit of regularity you...

The new buzzwords in healing is mindful meditation. Everyone is talking about mindful meditation and reaping the benefits! 

Sometimes we may think, meditation? That’s not for me, I don’t have the time for that hippy whippy stuff. But it’s not about free time, it’s about understanding what we value and making time for it, right? Discovering how this prophetic practice can help you in many aspects of your life can be transformative to how you view the world.

So now about that free time, if you normally pick up your phone and start scrolling, turn on the TV or listen to a podcast – although this can help switch off from daily stressors – what is much better for your health and stress relief is Silence and Solitude which can also be labelled as Mindful Meditation.

“What is even better for your health and stress relief is Silence and Solitude”

Silence and solitude can bring higher consciousness to intuition, a greater sense of calm,...

Self care is the practice of taking action to preserve one's own health (Oxford Languages)

In life we get caught up with servitude to others, our kids, our parents, our jobs, as Islam teaches us to be selfless however there is also absolute importance to caring for our own wellbeing too.

It was reported by Aisha RA that the Prophet (SAW) said 'Verily your own self has rights over you, so fast, break your fast, pray and sleep' (Sunan Abi Dawud).

Have you ever addressed serving yourself, what would this look like? As soon as we serve ourselves, we can much more fully serve others, known as filling your own cup.

The Prophet (SAW) went to the Cave Hira regularly, the need for time to himself and reflection is key in taking away himself away from, others and a space to quieten the mind. 

Self-Care is not synonymous to being selfish or self-indulgence, it is taking care of yourself so you can be healthy and be well.

Self-care is part of the answer on how we can deal with our daily...

Self care is the practice of taking action to preserve one's own health (Oxford Languages) 

Have you ever gone to the beach, felt the sand under your feet and just felt so relaxed no matter what type of hectic or stressful day you've had? This feeling of calm is likely to be induced by the sounds of the waves, and from having your shoes and socks off your feet. When your feet are connecting to the Earth's natural healing energy - this is called grounding or earthing. 

Grounding is one of the most powerful and simplest ways to improve your health. Conductive contact with the human body to the surface of the Earth can have some very fascinating benefits to our psychology. 

This contact is easiest from the soles of your feet, however any contact with skin works, so whilst you pray salaah you're enhancing the experience with your feet, hands, nose and forehead. You can use grass, soil, sand or even contact with concrete for this.

Grounding is simple science - Humans are...

A large oak tree stands tall, looking healthy and strong. Little birdies come along and settle on its branches, whilst other birds and animals feed off its rich food source; acorn. People sit under the tree as its branches reach high and wide providing shade from the sunshine, the admirer however does not realise what is going on underneath below the surface and underground within its roots. The roots of the tree have become diseased, unless treated or if the tree does not fight back, the tree will suffer, eventually the problem below the surface will manifest above ground. 

Much like the large oak tree, we also fester with deep rooted issues inside us, but our onlookers, our friends, family, colleagues and even ourselves many a time may not always be aware of what’s going on internally. 

We manifest our emotions through the trials that we have had in life, some huge events that take place in our lives which go against the nature of our souls, the core of who we are,...