Question: A man at our mosque had sex-change surgery before his conversion to Islam and now identifies as a woman; He wears women’s attire and is allowed to pray in the women’s prayer space. Those around him affirm him in […]

Christian: “Why can’t God have a son? Muslims believe in the virgin birth. The Qur’an asks how could God have a son when He has no consort, but allows for Mary to have a son even though she had no […]

By Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali Martyrdom is not a military strategy: This one is going to sting a little: Too many Muslims have, unfortunately, become accustomed to interpreting failure as success and success as failure. For example, some showcase […]

by Abdullah bin Hamid Ali They say that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. I’m old enough to remember the state of the Muslim community in the US in the years leading up to 9/11. Tough talk from the […]

By Abdullah bin Hamid Ali Muslim scholars in the past fiercely debated the permissibility of Muslims remaining in lands conquered by Christians and others. And Mālikī scholars took the least accommodating view of Muslims “remaining” as residents in hostile territories […]

Why aren’t more Muslim countries taking in Palestinians and other Muslim refugees? And why are Western countries expected to take in so many? Such questions are meant to suggest inherent Western moral superiority. For if Muslim countries were so much […]

We were told by the Prophet–upon him Allah’s blessing and peace–that as man’s time on earth draws to an end, we would witness the pontifications of the Ruwaybidah. When asked “What are the Ruwaybidah?” he responded, “Trifling men (al-tāfih) who […]

Dr. Abdullah bin Hamīd Ali A speech delivered at the 1st Annual House of Wisdom Conference in Memphis, TN July 29-30, 2023 (Throughout this speech, I will be using the words ‘he’ and ‘man’ as gender inclusive terms. My hope […]

Abdullah bin Hamid Ali American Journal of Islam and Society Muhammad’s Heirs: The Rise of Muslim Scholarly Communities, by JonathanE. Brockopp of Penn State University, begins anecdotally with an encounter with Moroccan students at the “University of Fez-Sais” (apparently the […]

Journal of Islamic Philosophy Volume 12, 2021 Abdullah bin Hamid Ali Pages 75-101 https://doi.org/10.5840/islamicphil2021126 Mustafa Akyol’s Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance Press HERE to download PDF  

Keys to the Garden: A Spiritual Commentary on the Chapter of Yasin Selection from Bahr al-Madid of Ahmad Ibn ‘Ajiba Translated by Abdullah bin Hamid Ali Press HERE for original post. Press HERE for PDF.  

Scholars of Mauritania Issue Fatwa Against Forced Vaccinations-Translated by Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali There is no doubt that the refusal of medical treatment, placing one’s reliance upon Allah and acceptance of what He decrees, is among matters endorsed by […]

  Al-Ghazālī on the Essentials of Interpretative Autonomy (Ijtihād) Translated by Shaykh Abdullah bin Hamid Ali What is Ijtihād? Who is qualified for it? And is it possible for a person to be a mujtahid in a single issue? (From Imam […]

America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would […]

The Qur’an describes Muslims committed to its mores as “a moderate nation,” and that sense of balance qualifies them to stand as “witnesses over humanity” (Q 2:143). Contemporary Muslims revel in this assertion, especially when it seems that “Islam” proposes […]

By Abdullah bin Hamid Ali 20, October, 2014 The words ‘Kalām’ and ‘Qur’ān’ are very closely related terms. In their original legal applications they are distinct in meaning. But in another way they are synonymous. In other words, the word […]

By Abdullah bin Hamid Ali 21, October, 2014 Abu Hanifa says in Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar about the qualities of God: “He has a hand, a face, and a self. So what He, High is He, mentions in the Qur’an of the […]

By Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali Translated by Abdullah bin Hamid Ali With the Name of Allah, All-Compassionate, All-Merciful All praise is due to Allah, The Initiator, The Repeater, The Doer of whatever He wants, The Possessor of the Glorious Throne […]

INTERPRETING ON THE FAULT LINES: TRENDS OF IJTIHAD IN NORTH AMERICA An Interview with Ustadh Abdullah bin Hamid Ali by Ali Albarghouthi View Pdf Version My first question, Shaykh, is about the definition of ijtihad, or what does ijtihad mean […]

“Is There No Arafah Except the One in Arafah?” Shaykh Abdullah Ali Besides the normal dispute over when Ramadan begins and ends, there is the dispute every year over whether or not the correct day of Arafat is the one […]

HOW ISLAMIC IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY? By Abdullah bin Hamid Ali Click HERE PDF version Critiquing ideologies is often mired by oversimplification. And, such critiques, likewise, result in the terms under scrutiny being stigmatized along with their advocates. This applies to […]

Click here for PDF version For many Muslims, Bilal b. Rabah, is the typical starting point of conversations about blackness and social marginalization. In the present, however, he is rarely the starting point of discussions about faith, fidelity, and sincerity […]

By Abdullah bin Hamid Ali “And, he turned away saying: “O my people! I have delivered you my Lord’s message and have offered you counsel. You, however, do not love those who offer counsel.” Quran Al-A’raf: 79 “There is no […]

The Constitution of the United States provides that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” During the ratification debates, a framer of the Constitution explained that this […]

The Place of Isnad in Islamic Education: Demystifying “Tradition” By Abdullah bin Hamid Ali Epilogue by Shaykh Muhammad bin Yahya Ninowy Click HERE for PDF version During the last few decades of the twentieth century, Muslims in a number of […]

Both the First Amendment of the US Constitution and Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledge that the freedom of religion and conscience are fundamental civil and human rights due to all persons. A similar declaration was […]

Tunisia is hailed by western feminist organizations as the most “progressive” Arab country in the Muslim world. Government sponsorship of abortions, the criminalization of polygyny (a crime punishable with one year’s imprisonment and/or a fine of 240,000 francs), a woman’s […]

  The Homosexual Challenge to Muslim Ethics By Abdullah bin Hamid Ali PDF Version      And We sent Lot who said to his people: “Do you commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For […]

“A masterly exposition of ijmā‘, its definitions, role in Islamic jurisprudence and perhaps most importantly its limitations. A well argued and timely reminder of the necessity for Muslim scholars today to revisit the process of ideological standardization that too often […]

26 October 2016 Abdullah bin Hamid Ali  “Have you not noticed those who claim to believe in what was revealed to you and to those before you seeking to adopt the verdict of the false deity (taghut) even though they […]

27 January 2017 Abdullah bin Hamid Ali  All societies differentiate between the “sacred” and “profane.” According to the French sociologist Emile Durkheim, even secular societies are “moral” at their core. Although morality may differ in one social context and another, […]

For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.― Sun Tzu, The Art of War If there was ever a time the leadership of […]

2 July 2014 Abdullah bin Hamid Ali  Prior to the tragic events of 9/11, with a few exceptions, a common concern among Muslim mosquegoers in the US was the question of whether or not it was lawful to live in […]

20 January 2016 Abdullah bin Hamid Ali  According to one proverb, “Anything imposed by force cannot endure without it.” That is, without the real presence or threat of force in any given society, lawlessness becomes the norm. It is this […]

6 April 2016 Abdullah bin Hamid Ali  The Islamic tradition offers no support for anarchy or vigilantism. While one of Islam’s goals is to foster a society whose members willfully respect the boundaries of others, the working assumption from the […]

6 May 2015 Abdullah bin Hamid Ali  The word ‘family’ according to its Latin root, familia, means a household or servants. A similar meaning is implied by the Arabic word, ahl (family; house; household, people belonging to a community or locality). There are […]