23 Ramadan 1443 AH
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous
2:21
Welcome to The Qarawiyyin Newsletter!
Ramadan Mubarak from The Qarawiyyin Project! We are grateful to witness another Ramadan, and pray you are all making the most of this sacred time. As we enter the last 10 days and pour our hearts out in prayer, and we ask that you keep the Muslim ummah in your ad’iyah. May Allah shower His infinite mercy upon us and accept our ibadah.
In a two part series, Aseel A. unpacks the idea of “strangeness” and constructs an Islamic ethical framework around the concept.
Strangers: An Ethical Framework of Gharabah| Part I
“To be a stranger, is to be a stranger from this world, because one actually belongs to another permanent one; to exercise a deliberate distance from the pleasures of the world, and instead to dedicate oneself fully to God. A Muslim, in this conception, is always already a stranger as much as they are in this world, but not of it.”
Strangers: An Ethical Framework of Gharabah | Part II
“Because they are strangers, and therefore have neither knowledge, familiarity, nor custom to fall back onto, they take the time to learn about things around them. They wish to see things deeply and clearly, and so they try to identify the invisible relations hidden within a familiar-looking environment.”
In Part II, Aseel A. depicts the stranger’s role in fighting harmful socio-economic practices.
Ramadan: Attaining Taqwa in a Secular Era
Drawing upon the works of Ibn Juzayy, Aisha H. examines taqwa and the struggle of maintaining awareness of God in a secular age.
Podcast Ep. 21: Mind the Gap
This Ramadan, the team shares reflections on the passing and usage of time, the rows of tarawīḥ, and the nature of communal worship. What does it mean to exit our private sphere of spirituality and see Ramadan as a time for ummah-wide transformation? How can we take heed of Allah’s ﷻ reminders about the passing of time?
PODCAST: A little less fearful, a little more fierce with The Qarawiyyin Project
The Qarawiyyin Project featured as guests on the MIPS podcast to discuss the shape of the post-War on Terror world and how Muslim identity has been fashioned by apologetics instead of creed. Make sure to check out their other episodes.
As well as periodically updating our resource bank, here we share some other insightful contributions from prominent Muslim figures and organisations.
RESOURCE: Fitra Foundation Fitra Foundation is a new platform aiming to remedy the decline of Islamic female scholarship in the modern day. Its podcast series 'The True Recitation' focuses on the exegesis of Quranic verses that shape our spiritual attitudes towards the Divine words. The project is being launched in separate phases so keep an eye out!
APP: Qariah App Qariah is a brilliant new app launched by Shaykha Maryam Amir featuring the recitation of the Quran from qualified women reciters from across the globe. May it be a means of strengthening our relationship with the words of Allah in this month and beyond.
ARTICLE: A Prayer-Based Civilizational Order: The Social Dimension of the Rules of Ritual Prayer - Sohail Hanif, Islamic Law Blog Dr Sohail Hanif looks at the virtues of ritual prayer beyond the spiritual dimension, specifically as a pillar of social organisation, highlighting a harmony between the community and it's mosques.
PAPER: Keys to Tadabbur: How to Reflect Deeply on the Qur’an Yaqeen Institute provide us with a checklist to help us reflect on the words we are reciting, to tap into the secrets of the Qur’an and unlock its most valuable treasures.
NEWSLETTER: Working Towards Ehsan Ahmed Shaikh's informative newsletter is about Muslim non-profits, from the perspective of Muslim donors. It addresses ethics, zakat policy and leadership. As we give our zakat this month, this serves as a vital reminder to ensure we are giving it to the right people.
If you have any questions, feedback or would like to feature in our next newsletter, let us know. Email us at contact@qarawiyyinproject.co or visit our website to find out more about our article submission process.
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Until next time, Assalaamu Alaykum