As we continue reflecting on feedback and correction, we often focus on the courage required to give advice. We talk about speaking truth gently, correcting with wisdom, and intervening with love. But there is the other side to this equation and one that may be tougher for many of us and that is receiving correction.

It is relatively easy to say we value growth. It is much harder to demonstrate it when someone points out where we are falling short. That is when the ego really kicks in and boy does it sting. 

Do we remember the hadith that says: “The believer is the mirror of the believer?” Have we considered what a mirror does? A mirror does not flatter [though we really wish it did!!]. It does not soften angles. It does not adjust lighting. It reflects what is there. We may not always like what we see, but the mirror is a gift because it helps us correct course. 

As we grow older, more accomplished, or more established in our families and communities, something subtle happens: we b...

We have been exploring the Quranic injunction to encourage good and stop evil in society. Coming back to the metaphor of the village, we could say that if encouraging good builds the village and forbidding wrong protects it, then correcting with wisdom is what keeps it from fracturing.

Because let’s be honest, this is where things often go wrong. It is how we give feedback or offer correction that drives people away. So the problem is often the delivery of the message.

In verse 125 of Sura Nahl, Allah says: 

ادْعُ إِلِى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ 

[16:125] Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation and have disputations with them in the best manner; surely your Lord best knows those who go astray from His path, and He knows best those who follow the right way.

Here the Quran spelling out the principle of how...

When Allah describes the believing community in Surah al-Tawbah, he begins not with rules or rituals or punishment. He talks about the relationship between believers.  

وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاَةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُوْلَـئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللّهُ إِنَّ اللّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ 

[9:71] And (as for) the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and obey Allah and His Messenger; (as for) these, Allah will show mercy to them; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

The word used is awliyā’, a term far richer than “friends.” It signifies loyal protectors, committed allies, those bound together in care, defense, and shared responsibility for the sake of Allah. It implies mutual upliftment. It implies standing beside one another. It implies moral...

In verse 79 of Sura Maida, the Quran criticizes a group of people:

كَانُواْ لاَ يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَن مُّنكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُواْ يَفْعَلُونَ 

[5:79] They used not to forbid each other the hateful things (which) they did; certainly evil was that which they did.

We discussed yesterday about how amr bil ma‘rūf wa nahy ‘anil munkar is one of the defining characteristic of believers (9:71). This verse we are discussing today does not condemn these people only for committing wrong but for failing to stop each other. We often imagine sin as a private matter between an individual and Allah. But the Quran repeatedly reminds us that wrongdoing has a social dimension. What we tolerate shapes who we become collectively.

Yesterday we spoke about the Quranic injunction about inviting and encouraging to righteousness. Today let us explore the other half of the injunction: forbid the wrong. 

We discussed how it is the moral responsibility for all believers to create an a spiritually hea...

Over the past reflections, we have spoken about the nafs — how it is vulnerable, how it drifts, how it is shaped by environment. We are not as strong as we imagine ourselves to be. We forget. We normalize what surrounds us. We absorb the tone, habits, and moral temperature of the spaces we inhabit. If everyone around us gossips, gossip begins to feel harmless. If no one prioritizes prayer, prayer begins to feel inconvenient. If littering is everywhere, littering no longer registers as wrong.

I sometimes think of this as the “Roman nafs”, as in when in Rome, do as the Romans do. In a supportive environment, we thrive. In a corrupt environment, we can be easily misled. Here’s the thing: Allah [swt], in His mercy, does not expect us to battle our weaknesses alone. Instead, He builds into our faith a protective system: Amr bil Ma‘rūf , enjoining what is good. It is a way of stacking the odds in our favor.

In verse 104 of Sura Ale Imran, the Quran says:

وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُو...

Today’s reflection is on one of my most favourite verses from a favourite Sura. Towards the end of Sura Ala, the Quran says: 

بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا 

[87:16] Nay! you prefer the life of this world,

وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى 

[87:17] While the hereafter is better and more lasting.

Yesterday we reflected on 2:216 which reminds us that we may dislike what is good for us and love what is harmful for us. That verse reminded us that our judgment is limited. Today’s verse widens the lens and shows us why: we are making judgments from within a temporary world while being created for something everlasting.

This earthly existence is called “dunya” in the Quran. The word dunyā refers to the temporal world and its earthly concerns and possessions, as opposed to the hereafter (ʾākhirah). In the Qur'an, dunyā and ākhira are sometimes used dichotomously, other times complementarily.

Quran refers to this eartly existence as al-Dunya (the nearer, lowly or ordinary life), and ...

In our last reflection, we spoke about rebellion against the self, how sometimes our own impulses work against our flourishing. Today’s verse from Sura Baqara takes us one step deeper.

وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ وَعَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَعَسَى أَن تُحِبُّواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ وَاللّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

and it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows, while you do not know.

In this verse, Allah [swt] reminds us of a profound truth: human perception is limited and our internal preferences are not always trustworthy. We may detest something that holds hidden benefits or long for something that harms us. This verse from Surah Al-Baqarah is an invitation: to trust, to surrender, and to cultivate a mindset of growth by embracing discomfort.

This realization, deeply embedded in Islamic teachings, is also supported by psychological research and...

Something that we hear often these days goes like this: how does it affect God if I don’t pray [or fast or do cheat or lie or sleep around]? Is God so petty that he will punish me for these inconsequential things? Religion feels so restrictive. Why does it matter so much if I do this or that? What difference could it possibly make to God?

The short answer to this question is, you are right. It makes no difference to God. Allah is not diminished by our actions. He is completely independent and self-sufficient. Our obedience does not increase Him. Our disobedience does not decrease Him.

Our reflection for today explores how this is actually the wrong question to ask. Verse 23 of Chapter 10 describes people caught in a storm at sea. In fear and desperation, they call upon Allah sincerely. They promise gratitude and obedience if only they are saved. But when the storm passes and safety returns, they revert to their old ways, transgressing, rebelling and exceeding limits.

Firstly, this s...

Following our discussion yesterday on Nafs al Lawamma, today we will look at a related idea from the same Sura. 

In verses 14 & 15 of Sura Qiyamma, Allah [swt] says: 

بَلِ الْإِنسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ 

[75:14] Nay! man is evidence against himself,

وَلَوْ أَلْقَى مَعَاذِيرَهُ 

[75:15] Though he puts forth his excuses. 

After Allah [swt] swears by the blaming soul at the beginning of this surah, He takes us one step deeper. The nafs al-lawwāmah is the part of us that feels guilt when we fall short. But here, in these verses, Allah tells us that we are not only capable of feeling blame, we are capable of seeing ourselves clearly. The human being is a witness against himself.

The word baṣīrah comes from sight. It implies inner vision, insight, clarity. It suggests that beneath our stories, our defenses, and our justifications, there is a part of us that knows. We may explain. We may rationalize. We may defend our choices. But underneath all of that, we know when we are wrong...

In these verses from Sura Qiyyamah, Allah swears by the day of judgment and by the “nafsal lawama” or self-reproaching soul:
لَا أُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ 

[75:1] Nay! I swear by the day of resurrection.

وَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ 

[75:2] Nay! I swear by the self-accusing soul.

Let us remind ourselves that whenever Allah swears by something, it is not to convince us. It is to wake us up, to tell us: Pay attention. This is important.

Earlier in this series, we spoke about how our inner compass has already been calibrated with the discernment of right and wrong. We are innately programed to seek goodness. That is our true north. 

However, we are also weak and have a nafs that has strong desires and loves comfort and pleasure. So what happens when weakness, desire, or ego pull us slightly off course?

This is where Nafs al Lawwāmah comes in.

Allah has placed within our soul a capacity for self-censorship which has a crucial role in guiding us toward self-improveme...