The Hawqala is short form of saying la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (Arabic “لا حول ولاقوة إلا بالله”) which is usually translated as “There is no power or strength except with Allah.” This short but powerful statement has many benefits. Affliction of poverty These words – ‘There is neither strength nor power save in God’ – have the striking effect of helping one to...
How I started wearing Hijab
Hijab seems to be quite a controversial topic in today’s world. Whereas a less than a 100 years ago a woman choosing to cover her hair was seen as no big deal, nowadays it seems like it’s the most shocking thing a woman can do – yet wearing revealing clothes is seen as normal! Such are the times we live in, and before I get into why Hijab is important for a muslim woman, I wanted to share my story. Growing up In my family, the...
Why we shouldn’t judge people
People are very quick to form judgements on others, and mostly without looking at themselves first. Being quick to criticize someone, a muslim or a non-muslim, is something to be avoided because we do not know a persons intention, and they may be far better than us. A person’s outward actions Right now, all we see are the actions that the person has done so far in their life. We do not know later on what they will be doing, or that in...
The importance of learning Arabic
Although I grew up in an Arab country, I never really became fluent in Arabic. I always read the Quran translation in English and thought it was enough. I have now realized the value of learning Arabic, how beautiful it is in it’s depth and meanings, and that any translation will never be able to give justice to the real Quran. (Mistakenly) thinking a translation is enough If someone told me that we should read the Quran in Arabic, I...
How to react to someone who insults Islam
This Hadith (teaching) of our Prophet relates to how to react when one gets insulted. This hadith is useful to keep in mind especially nowadays when Muslims are being attacked and insulted from people who have little or no understanding about Islam. While it is important to defend our religion and our Prophet, it is also important to keep our cool as this Hadith teaches us. While Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sitting with some of his...
