Allah (SWT) does not like the wasteful, extravagant people, yet here we are wasting billions of tonnes of food every year, while our brothers and sisters suffer from acute malnutrition.

'Eat and drink, but do not waste. Surely He does not like the wasteful.' 7:31

Globally, roughly 1.05 billion metric tonnes of food are wasted annually.

This wasted food amounts to enough calories to feed roughly 2 billion people—which is more than four times the amount of food required to completely end world hunger (which affects over 700 million people).

- Google AI Overview

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful,

After Suratul Fatiha where we are encouraged to ask Allah for Guidance, one then comes to the second chapter ‘Suratul Baqara’. The preliminary verses describes who is a believer.

I always stop at these verses again and again because I think do I have all these qualities? and if I don’t then I must work for them! This is always the reflection I attain from reading them. However another thing I noted is that the believer must really do them, he or she must practically ‘do’ and merely not just ‘say’ and then those people will receive the best gift possible and that is Allah’s Guidance.

If one wants to receive the Guidance of

One day I finished work late at night, and I had to come home by taking a bus and then walk for about 15 minutes to reach home. So, my parents were telling me not to come by myself and they insisted that either they or my brother will pick me up from work by car, because they felt concern for me if I walked in the dark streets by myself at that time, especially since some bad incidents have occurred in our neighborhood.

But, I told them not to worry and that I'll come by myself and that insha'Allah I'll be okay. And I was reminded of the verse about the thousands of people who fled their homes out of fear of death or an epidemic; however, Allah caused them to die and then brought them back

One of the most common questions people ask is: "If God is divine, why doesn't He guide every soul?" This part of the ayah fascinates me:

"Had We willed, We could certainly have imposed guidance upon every soul."(32:13)

Had Allah willed, He could have created us like angels. But the greatest blessing and trial given to mankind is free will—the ability to know right from wrong, recognize the truth, and still choose whether to follow it or turn away from it.

Religion is not something forced upon us; rather, it is something we choose. The one who wishes to worship Allah will ultimately do so, while the one who rejects Him does so by choice. This understanding places us in complete accountabi

Helpless and lifeless lying on the bed for one week in the hospital this time was a nightmare. I was looking around in the emergency room here and there, finding an angel of death. I couldn't explain these feelings in words, but that time was an eye-opener for me, like Allah, my dearest Rabb, wanted to send me a message. This world is so temporary, just a blink of an eye. I was hoping and praying may Allah show me the faces of angels with good news. I was alright half an hour before, just delayed a sadqah. "No issue, Sarah. I'll give it tomorrow," and then I collapsed. There is no tomorrow in good deeds. I feel that whenever and whatever good comes to our minds, we need not to wait. I felt o

Sometimes I get goosebumps thinking about it. Every time I face a question, a struggle, or even just wonder about something, I end up finding guidance in the Quran and Sunnah - whether it’s a direct answer, a principle, or a perspective I hadn’t considered. It amazes me that Allah swt already knew the challenges human beings would face and in His mercy gave us guidance for them over 1,400 years ago. The more I learn, the more grateful I feel, and the more certain I become that the guidance revealed by Allah swt is truly timeless.

Bismillah,

Last week, I reconnected with an old friend from my architecture school days in America, almost 15 years ago. It turned out that she had established a very successful architectural practice with her husband. Beautiful homes and interiors, straight out of magazines.

I was so happy to see that.

But seeing her also stirred something deeper. She was the manifestation of my dreams as an architect, the dreams that never became reality.

As I looked at her work, I couldn't help but think about how time had slipped through my hands while I was busy raising my children. I never really noticed it happening. In many ways, she was the version of myself that never happened.

You have to tru

Reflections on Surah Al-Kahf (18:93–98)

MTF Workshop Participants Welcome As part of our workshop on Surah Al-Kahf, we invite all participants to share their reflections on verses 93–98, the passage describing Dhul-Qarnayn's encounter with a people threatened by Ya'juj and Ma'juj, and the construction of the great barrier.

These verses offer rich insights into leadership, service, gratitude, knowledge, collective effort, technology, justice, humility, and the recognition that all success ultimately comes from Allah.

Some questions to consider:

What qualities of leadership do you observe in Dhul-Qarnayn? Why does he refuse personal payment and instead ask the people to contribute their

Alhamdulillah that we can forget. There are several reasons scholars have mentioned before as to what the wisdom behind our forgetfulness is, but today, I felt it.

Sitting there, doing my evening adhkaar and sending salawaat upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), I started to remember a time when I felt deeply connected to the Prophet. I felt the love I had for him; just thinking about him then made me cry from missing him. Now, it was just a memory. I remembered having those feelings, but somehow I'd forgotten to feel that way over time. So I thought to myself, perhaps I am due a reminder or two about this great man who walked this earth.

But the idea that I'd forgotten never left me. Ho

There is a moment just before dawn, in the blue that is neither dark nor light, when the world holds its breath.

If we step outside and simply look up, something happens that is hard to name. The list recedes. The noise inside quiets. Something larger moves in. The Quran has a name for this practice of attending. It is called tafakkur, the deliberate, directed contemplation of what Allah has made.

It is not the same as enjoying a walk or pausing to admire a view. That difference matters.

The Quran returns again and again to one instruction: look, and reflect. Rain. Ships on the sea. Clouds moving between sky and earth. The alternation of night and day. Allah does not require a mountain su