Rajab is the 7th Islamic month and marks the countdown for Ramadan. It's also one of the four sacred months in Islam, and the month during which we commemorate the Prophet's Night Journey (Isrā') and Ascension (M'irāj). Lots of takeaways for this important month!

Have you ever asked yourself, "why do bad things happen to good people?" We all have, and sometimes this question leads us to questioning God. I was asked by a listener to give this question some attention and hopefully this discussion will offer some comfort to those amongst us suffering.

Sufism is a very important part of my life, and in previous episodes (17,19,20,21,22) I covered the spiritual discipline from the perspective of a practitioner. In this episode I approach Sufism from the perspective of a first principle to understanding our entire faith.

A frequent question is, "how do we deal with our intellectual past?" Is the past just that, the past, or is there benefit in for the here and now? Many people who seek to "reform" Islam see its intellectual past as stagnant and backward. I think this premise confuses the issues of the past with the methodology of the past. This episode discusses this.

The life of the Prophet (Sīra) is one of the most important aspects of the entire Islamic religion. In this episode I lay out some broad arguments of why it is fundamental for us to learn and study his life story. I also provide some thoughts on how we should think of this subject before we approach it.

There is no denying that Islamic law has a lot of literature about slavery and the freeing of slaves (known as manumission). While all Muslim jurists and Muslim majority countries have outlawed slavery, the legal discussions in these sections of the Sharia have utility beyond their original use. In this episode I discuss one such utility, known as the “subtle moment.” While a bit theoretical, it is extremely important in solving some of our more complex, contemporary problems.

Not everything we encounter is black and white. Islamic law takes that into consideration and contains within it a flexibility that allows a nuanced approach to complex, real-life issues.

My guest today is Dr. Muhammad Fraser-Rahim. Muhammad is currently the  Executive Director, North America for Quilliam International. Muhammad is not only a scholar of religion and Islam, but has been at the forefront of tackling violence and extremism in the US an abroad. I am very fortunate to have worked alongside him on very exciting projects, and I am even more fortunate to call him a friend!

This is a concise discussion on the importance of theoretical people/theoretical structures in Islamic law. While organizations and companies often time seem to function like people, a common theme in the Western world, they are actually not real people and are therefore theoretical in structure. This construct, while sounding a bit strange is important as it allows a great deal of flexibility in adapting nuanced services in the modern world.

The rulings of the Sharia carry a larger meaning than their specific legal context. The spirit or symbol behind these laws remind us of the greater purpose of religion and identity. In this episode, I explore this concept with some concrete examples from Islamic history.