Ramadan Mobilization
During the month of Ramadan we see a dramatic increase in all acts of worship. In these blessed days prayer, charity, and preoccupation with the Quran are at their highest for many of us. This fact is also manifest in the prophetic narrations that deal with the month of Ramadan.

When Ramadan came, a noticeable change would take place in our Prophet’s (s.a.w) spiritual life. His generosity would re...

Ramadan Increases and Decreases
With the onset of Ramadan our eating and drinking, and even our sleep decrease. Our vivaciousness and our gallivanting stop; instead a tranquility and a sobriety take over us. We have a month-long experience of eating little, sleeping little, and speaking little, which are the three conditions for becoming a spiritually mature human being. Maybe this is the reason why we are given the good news th...

Small, Sincere Iftars
Thank God there are still people who invite close friends to their homes for iftaar. In these small and sincere gatherings we not only eat iftaar, but also meet people, catch up with friends, and have heartfelt conversations. We leave these iftaars having learnt something from the other guests and having seen a new practice or a new style from the household. Some friendships take deeper root, some...

Climbing the Steep Hill
I haven't personally attended the iftaars organized in luxurious restaurants with crowded groups, but as I hear more and more about the amount of food that goes to waste in these so-called charity events, I can't help but write about the irony that such iftaars create with some anger-tinged sorrow.

When attendees in these events organized by this charity or that foundation see that kilos of meat a...

Its Beginning is Mercy, Its Middle is Forgiveness
It is related from our Prophet (s.a.w) that he said about Ramadan, “Its beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness, and its ending is liberation from the Hellfire.” The stage of mercy has come and gone; now is the time for forgiveness. The mercy of God surrounds us as a manifestation of his name Rahman, whether we want to or not, whether we deserve it or not. (His name Rahim, however, is more a...

Ramadan: The Celebration of Revelation
We have mentioned that fasting is a celebration. Celebrating our joy by coming closer to the angelic. What we in fact celebrate with a month of fasting is the revelation of the Quran to mankind. Quran is a redemptive rope extended from the Heavens to the Earth. No matter how rough the waters of life, it keeps those who cling to it always in security and always close to Allah. 

Whenever we nee...

The Purpose of Fasting: Accustoming Self to God-Consciousness
Verse 183 in Surah Baqara prescribes fasting for all believers, and at the end of this verse Allah explains the wisdom behind this command. In the words of Quran commentator Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır: “Fasting has been prescribed on us as it has been prescribed on those before us, so that we may shield ourselves from all sorts of danger and reach the rank of God-consciousness by attaining the faculty o...

He Called and We Obeyed
Almighty Allah says to us in the Quran:

And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: They will come to thee on foot and on every lean camel through deep and distant mountain ravines. That they may witness the benefits provided by them. (Al-Hajj 22:27-28)

This is the call from our lord Allah. He made it holy by His majesty, and did this for His faithful servers. It is a call from the one, Allah, to the n...

The Mawlid of al-Barzanji
Together with frequent contributor Abdal Hakim Murad LastProphet.info is honoured to present a short clip from a recording of the mawlid of Imam Ja’far al-Barzanji (d. 1764). One of the most famous and popular mawlid recitals celebrating the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) birth, this particular recording comes all the way from Cape Town, South Africa, where it was movingly performed by the acclaimed Ma...

Albanian Mawlid


Together with frequent contributor Abdal Hakim Murad LastProphet.info is honoured to present a short clip from the recording of a mawlid performance filmed at the Fatih mosque in the city of Durrës, Albania. The mawlid is sung in Albanian from a translation written by Hafiz Ali Ulqinaku in 1873 of Suleiman Chelebi’s famous 15th century mawlid. Hafiz Ulqinaku was an extraordinary figure whose tal...

Mawlid
Meaning "place and time of birth," the word "mawlid" is used in the Islamic world to express the honored welcoming of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to this world.

Muslim poets competed with one another to make literary works regarding the Prophet, whom Allah sent as a mercy to the worlds. It was attempted in these prosaic and poetical works to welcome him to the world, to describe the miracles and extra...

Discovering the Legacy of Muhammad
Going beyond the hype and discovering the legacy of Muhammad

Today is a special day, for it is today we remember a man who was without peer, who changed history more than any other person and would bring balance to the lives of his followers throughout the centuries. Strangely, the image that some of the world has of this man is in stark contrast to the vast literature of eyewitness accounts. This...