The Seerah (biography) of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is a key reading for all Muslims. However, many view it through a lens that misses its essence. Sami Hamdi explains how we need to rethink how we view Seerah so that we can internalise it in our lives.

Also, for the past 16 months, we all know how difficult it has been for food and essential supplies to reach the beleaguered people of Gaza. This, Insha'Allah, is changing. We have partnered with a charity, Baitulmaal, because now, more than ever, there is a need not only in Gaza but also in Turkish controlled Northern Syria and in all the places we routinely talk about in this program where our ummah is subject to abject poverty. We have chosen this charity because Baitulmaal is a non-profit with people on the ground who organize well-thought-out projects and serve the most needy.

To donate to their Critical Aid campaign, please visit the link on our screen now and in the description. Please do remember that charity never reduces our risk and gives Barakah to our wealth.

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This Ramadan, support an alternative Muslim media platform rooted in faith, thought, and enlightened activism. Your donation is an investment in Sadaqah Jariyah, bringing you rewards that will last long after this life. Become a monthly member today and be part of The Thinking Muslim’s sacred mission.

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We often associate Ramadan with seeking closeness to God, which is its aim. A believer abstains from food and drink in the daylight hours to commit themselves to Allah. We draw closer to him through worships and good deeds and this is a month of charity. Muslims give more in this month than any other time in the year, hoping that our sincerity reaches Allah and in the process he overlooks our failings.

But in many ways Ramadan stands as a denunciation of capitalism, the insatiable wants, greed, selfishness and gluttony. It teaches us to focus on what is important – family, ummah, justice and of course our own salvation. This is the argument of Imam Tom Facchine, who joins us today. Imam Tom Facchine is research director at Yaqeen institution.

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Bait ul Maqdis – the sacred precinct in Palestine - is a blessed place in Islam – but today, we have downplayed maybe its centrality to what it means to a believer. From my last conversation with Dr Khalid El-Awaisi – where he controversially said that al Aqsa and these blessed lands have to be more clearly central to our faith and worldview – we want to explore how we practically manifest this nearness to Bait ul Maqdis and Palestine.

Dr Khalid El-Awaisi is from Hebron, Al Khalil, in Palestine. He is a lecturer in the pioneering field of Islamic Jerusalem Studies. He is an Associate Professor of Islamic History at the Social Sciences University of Ankara.

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At the time of recording, the German election results have just been announced, revealing an extraordinary outcome for the far-right AFD party, which came second in the Bundestag (parliamentary) elections with 20% of the popular vote, primarily from the country's East but also among some younger voters in the West. The opposition CDU party, led by Friedrich Merz, is on track for victory but will need to negotiate with either its traditional adversaries, the SDP, led by former Chancellor Scholz, or the minority parties. The AFD openly calls for the repatriation of ‘non-Germans,’ wherein ‘German’ is defined through a cultural and racial lens. Elon Musk has expressed support for the AFD, having spoken at one of its rallies. The party is avowedly anti-Islam and aims for a Germany free of Muslims. So, how do Muslims in Germany respond to these unprecedented and potentially challenging times ahead?

We are pleased to have Marcel Krass with us today. Marcel Krass converted to Islam in 1995 at the age of 18. Since 2007, he has been active in German Dawah and, alhamdulillah, is well known throughout the country. His specialty is Quranic Arabic, which he studied and now teaches at his institute, Deen Akademie, founded in 2020. Since 2018, he has been the spokesman for the Muslim civil rights organisation, Federal Islamic Union.

For the past 16 months, we all know how difficult it has been for food and essential supplies to reach the beleaguered people of Gaza. This, Insha'Allah, is changing. We have partnered with a charity, Baitulmaal, because now, more than ever, there is a need not only in Gaza but also in Turkish controlled Northern Syria and in all the places we routinely talk about in this program where our ummah is subject to abject poverty. We have chosen this charity because Baitulmaal is a non-profit with people on the ground who organize well-thought-out projects and serve the most needy.

To donate to their Critical Aid campaign, please visit the link on our screen now and in the description. Please do remember that charity never reduces our risk and gives Barakah to our wealth.

You can find Marcel Krass here:

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Islam is about justice and Gaza has mobilised the community to confront the settler colonial enterprise. On this journey we have met many non-Muslims who share our sense of mission and have embraced this collaboration to carve out a better world. I have experienced as a result of these past 15 months that we have a huge following amongst such principled people, trying to understand what motivates the people of Gaza and our faith.

Today I would like to put some of the common questions I have received and that intelligent people ask about Islam to Imam Tom Facchine. Imam Tom Facchine is research director at Yaqeen institution.

For the past 16 months, we all know how difficult it has been for food and essential supplies to reach the beleaguered people of Gaza. This, Insha'Allah, is changing. We have partnered with a charity, Baitulmaal, because now, more than ever, there is a need not only in Gaza but also in Turkish controlled Northern Syria and in all the places we routinely talk about in this program where our ummah is subject to abject poverty. We have chosen this charity because Baitulmaal is a non-profit with people on the ground who organize well-thought-out projects and serve the most needy.

To donate to their Critical Aid campaign, please visit the link on our screen now and in the description. Please do remember that charity never reduces our risk and gives Barakah to our wealth.

You can find Yaqeen Institute here:

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Africa is a resource-rich continent with immense potential. When countries within the continent demonstrate good governance and sound economic judgment, they thrive. It is, of course, overly simplistic to discuss Africa as a monolith. Yet some regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, continue to grapple with debt, poverty, and civil conflict. This is why the continent remains the most underdeveloped, leading to a brain drain of its most talented individuals to more prosperous nations. To what extent has the legacy of colonialism, in both its historical and contemporary forms, contributed to these challenges? How do we evaluate its potential, and what about the Muslim population, which numbers around 437 million – almost half of the continent?

To help us untangle and demystify Africa, we are honoured to have on The Thinking Muslim Professor Abdoulaye Ndiaye, an Assistant Professor of Economics at NYU Stern. He has written extensively about his home country, Senegal, and has recently published intriguing article examining Islamic concept of zakat and economic inequalities in the Muslim world within an Islamic understanding.

Also, for the past 16 months, we all know how difficult it has been for food and essential supplies to reach the beleaguered people of Gaza. This, Insha'Allah, is changing. We have partnered with a charity, Baitulmaal, because now, more than ever, there is a need not only in Gaza but also in Turkish controlled Northern Syria and in all the places we routinely talk about in this program where our ummah is subject to abject poverty. We have chosen this charity because Baitulmaal is a non-profit with people on the ground who organize well-thought-out projects and serve the most needy.

To donate to their Critical Aid campaign, please visit the link on our screen now and in the description. Please do remember that charity never reduces our risk and gives Barakah to our wealth.

You can find Prof. Abdoulaye Ndiaye here:

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Profound words on the liberation of Palestine. Dr. Khalid El-Awaisi is from Hebron, Al Khalil in Palestine. He is a lecturer of the pioneering field of Islamic Jerusalem Studies. His main speciality is in the historical-geography of Islamic Jerusalem. He is currently the Associate Professor of Islamic History at the Social Sciences University of Ankara and Executive Director of Islamic Jerusalem Academy .

You can find Dr Khalid Awaisi here:

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