between the pages
The default state of a writer isn’t a cigarette-smoking, alcohol-swigging, typewriter-banging character. It isn’t sitting by the window, admiring the flowers in fall, overlooking the blues and greens while waiting for a ray of inspiration to descend. It isn’t an inexorable flow of the pen. It isn’t picturing Bukowski and his cats, Murakami and his … Continue reading The Default State of a Writer
i like me better when i’m broken. i’d run to my prayer mat and pour my turbulent heart right open. beg for a miracle. beg you to listen. fix this for me. carry this for me. bring me out of this darkness and light up my path for me. tears fall easier. hands more steady … Continue reading Better Broken
16th May 1976. My father is standing atop a building that was under construction at St George’s Road. The view overlooks May North Primary School, which has now been replaced with a sewage treatment plant. His vintage Ray-bans covers half his face as he smiles widely, looking away from the camera and into the distance. … Continue reading Running With My Father
Ask a friend out for a cup of coffee Stroll into a nearby cafe Order favourite coffee and get a pastry to go alongside. Choose from the assortment of confectionery - we recommend the kanelbullar (cinnamon bun), kardemummabullar (cardamom bun) or kladkakka (a sticky chewy yummy Swedish cake), or the chokladbollar (chocolate ball). Settle in … Continue reading How to Fika Like a Swede
I am sitting by the window at a quiet-zone carriage, whooshed in a metal cabin from Copenhagen to Stockholm, making my return to this beautiful city after a fascinating weekend at the vibrant Danish capital. As I'm typing this post, I'm reflecting on my eventful Scandinavian summer thus far. We have only a few days left … Continue reading A Thought: Does Absolute Freedom Exist?
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to attend Shaykh Ammar Al-Shukry's AlMaghrib single weekend degree seminar on Unlocking the Names of Allah. Here are some notes I took. May it benefit! What’s in a name? A God with many names - all of which when invoked, would still be powerful and sweet. … Continue reading His Majesty – Unlocking the Names of Allah
I have been struggling to write about this for a long while now. Perhaps because for a long time I wasn’t ready to share my honest thoughts. Lately though, after bouts of contemplation as Ramadan rolls around, I figured I should share my rumination on this experience with hopes of reaching out to anyone facing … Continue reading This is How We Broke Up
The word Ramadan comes from the word ramad, which means 'extreme, burning heat'. This year as we enter the month of Ramadan, a month of extreme heat and difficulty, I see it aptly manifest in both ways - metaphorically, where we burn our sins through our fast and race towards good deeds, and literally, at my workplace, where … Continue reading Coolness in the Heat
These tears never seem to dry when reading the stories of the victims in the Christchurch shooting. But what's so profoundly moving for me are the stories behind the young ones like Mucaad Ibrahim, an aspiring imam and Sayyad Milne, an aspiring footballer. It was heartbreaking to learn that Mucaad was only three years old and … Continue reading The Young Ones
it is ‘asr in summer and the streets are brimming with crowds. my heart finds refuge in a mosque in east London. i slip into my prayer garment and disappear into the prayer room, joining a lady beside me who smiles and asks if she could borrow my scarf. i say sure. i sit a … Continue reading An Ode to the Christchurch Victims
