17 April 2026
Disciplining the Self
Al-Hakeem al-Tirmidhi's parable of the wild steed: how patient, deliberate training disciplines the self until it carries its rider through trial and commotion without fear.
Tag: translation
16 articles
13 January 2026
Disciplining the Self
Al-Hakeem al-Tirmidhi on disciplining the self through the parable of the falcon, tamed from wild wariness into settled trust in its keeper.
24 August 2025
I Seek Refuge in Allah from the Company of the Idle - Imam Ibn al-Jawzi
Imam Ibn al-Jawzi on the value of time, and the habit of idle visiting that squanders it in gossip, flattery, and backbiting.
21 September 2024
Delusion of the Wealthy
An excerpt from 'How the Generation of Salah al-Din Appeared': al-Ghazali on the delusion of wealthy Muslims who never understood the wisdom of wealth.
16 September 2024
Imam al-Ghazali's letter to the Governor
Al-Ghazali's letter of reply to the governor of the Nizamiyya Madrasa, written from retirement, on sincerity and the corruption of scholarly life.
2 September 2024
The Weakness of the Islamic World in the Face of the Crusader Attacks
How disunity and corruption among the leaders of the Islamic world opened the door to the Crusader seizure of Nicaea and the Levant.
5 August 2024
The Vivid Imagery of Death and Judgment
Al-Muhasibi's Kitab al-Tawahhum: meditating on death, the barzakh, and the hereafter through vivid spiritual imagination.
23 March 2024
On Repentance - Part 2 [Translated Extract]
Part two of al-Ghazali on repentance: is regret alone tawbah, and what conditions must accompany it before it counts?
15 March 2024
On Repentance - Part 1 [Translated Extract]
The second valley of al-Ghazali's Minhaj al-Abideen: the road of tawbah, and what sincere repentance demands of the one who travels it.
18 February 2024
The Soul of Souls - New Publication Available Now
Announcing 'The Soul of Souls' by Imam Ibn al-Jawzi — a rhetorical masterpiece of admonition, stories, and poetry, now available from Dhikr.
19 August 2023
It is with the Fortress of the Heart, satan is Defeated. [Translated Extract]
Ibn Ata'illah al-Sakandari on the verse of the pious touched by satan's whisper — and the fortress of the heart by which he is defeated.
12 August 2023
On the Rise & Fall of Civilizations - Part 3 [Translated Extract]
Part three of Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah: powerful states have a natural lifespan, rarely exceeding three generations.
5 August 2023
On the Rise & Fall of Civilizations - Part 2 [Translated Extract]
Part two of Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah: it is the nature of political leadership to claim all nobility for itself — and how that hastens a state's end.
22 July 2023
On the Rise & Fall of Civilizations - Part 1 [Translated Extract]
Part one of Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah, chapter three: it is the nature of political states to seek luxury once conquest brings prosperity.
15 July 2023
Allah's Care for You [Translated Extract]
Ibn Ata'illah al-Sakandari on how Allah has watched over you, managing your affairs with benevolence from the Day of Decrees.
9 July 2023
What is Forbidden is Desired [Translated Extract]
Imam Ibn al-Jawzi ponders the nafs and why its craving for a thing grows the more that thing is forbidden.