The first man to fly

 Abbas Ibn Firnas, a 9th-century polymath and engineer, is recognized as the first human to achieve heavier-than-air flight over a thousand years before motorized airplanes. Using wings made of silk, wood, and feathers, he glided from Yemen's Jabal Al-Arus mountain at the age of 65 to 70, staying airborne for about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, he crashed due to a lack of landing mechanics.

Born in modern-day Ronda, Spain, and living in Cordoba, a center of learning during the Umayyad Caliphate, Ibn Firnas's contributions extended beyond aviation. He invented water-powered clocks, experimented with quartz crystals, and developed lenses for the visually impaired.

His legacy is honored in various places named after him, including airports and bridges in Muslim-majority countries. He died between 890 and 895 AD, with some historians suggesting his death may have been linked to his flying injuries.

Marriage - The Reality

 They got married after a beautiful love story, and after two weeks the husband woke up to go to work. He went to the bathroom to wash his face, and in the mirror he saw his face full of drawings of different colors.

His wife was young, childish, and had an innocent heart. She scribbled on his face as he was sleeping, and she did so with a great love, that they would laugh about it in the morning.

The husband washed his face while upset, and went to the kitchen to drink the coffee which he usually does every morning. He did not find the coffee, and he became more upset, and went to her.

She smiled because she thought he would laugh at her, and say something romantic.

But he slapped her until she fell down, and yelled at her saying: “I did not marry you to play with you, I am a man and not a young child. I married you to start a family to have children, to be a man in the eyes of everyone. Do you want to live a love story of the films and those novels that you read? Wake up, these stories does not make a home, nor provide food, nor raise children. Today I will invite my friends for lunch, I want everything to be ready when I come back. Do you understand?”

He went out and saw himself as the master of the house. He left her broken, crying so hard that she could not breathe well.

She is sick and when she cries she almost breaks out. Then she hurriedly went to prepare lunch, and tears did not leave her cheeks.

The husband went and told his friend what had happened while laughing: “They think that marriage is all love and romance. This is how women should be treated, my friend, otherwise she will never learn responsibility. She will not be a good mother. She must know that marriage is not as she sees or reads about it. These are just stories to gain profits. They need to learn that marriage is not a game or a novel.”

But fortunately his friend was not like him, he did not let him to finish his conversation, he cut him saying: “What kind of a man are you? Why are you so harsh on your wife? Is this how a good husband is supposed to be? The Messenger of Allah (May Allah's Blessings and Peace be upon him) said: (Be gentle with ladies, they are like glasses.) You have to deal with them gently and be soft on them, and do not break their hearts. Blessings and Peace of Allah be upon him said: (This world is temporary joys, and the best temporary joy of this world is a righteous wife.) Beware what you mentioned a little while ago about cooking and raising the children. It is not compulsory for her, but being nice to her will make her love you more, and be passion on you, and she will do all these without you telling her. You should know that she is not your maid. Go back to your senses my friend, and repent to Allah. Go back to your wife and honor her and do not make her sad again.”

The husband felt sad and regretted what he did. He then decided to call her to tell her that he had cancelled the lunch invitation of his friends, and to prepare lunch for them alone.

The phone rang but there was no answer. He went back to the house quickly and rang the bell but no one answered. He forgot his keys in the morning, because he came out while upset. Suddenly his phone rang, it was his wife's brother. His wife called his brother when she felt she was not well, to take her to the hospital. His wife's brother said to him: “Brother, we are in the hospital.” His voice was full of sadness, which made the husband's heart almost to stop from fear, and the idea that something bad had happened to his wife. He stopped the Taxi and went to the hospital, and found all her family there. There was sadness on their faces. He thought that they would be angry at him, but it seems they did not know what had happened. He greeted them and waited for the doctor.

After several hours the doctor came out to them head down and told them: “With great sadness and sorrow, May Allah Have Mercy on her, the weakness of her heart came to us late.”

Everyone cried, especially the husband. He regretted and blamed himself. Her mother washed her and she was buried the same day. In the evening the husband returned home after taking the keys from the brother of his deceased wife.

He entered the house and found the table covered. He removed the cover and found the best delicious dishes, and saw a paper hanging on the door of the refrigerator. It was written: “My love, I am sorry because I wanted you to betray the customs and traditions of your community. I am sorry because I wanted you to get out of this stone heart of a man, and to hear from you some romantic words, and hug me and tell me that you love me. Forgive me because of my childish mind I wanted you to treat me like a child. I hope your friends will like the food, and I promise that I will never make you sad or upset again. I promise you. I love you so much.”

He looked at the table and threw the food everywhere, and sat down crying, crying and saying: “What did I do to you my love, I killed you with my cruelty, forgive me?”

These days, we dishonor a man who loves and spoils his wife. We have forgotten that, you are considered a great man if you have mercy on your wife, and it is also a Command of Allah.

Allah Says: [And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.]

Remember your wife is from yourself, when she is happy, you will live a happy life. Know that building a happy home requires, Patience, Honesty and Love!

If you don’t share this, nothing will happen to you. If you do, you just might save a marriage.

Start building your home

 "What will you do in the grave for thousands of years?"

Dr. Mustafa Mahmood writes:

"I’ll tell you a method that has worked very well for me and has helped me focus more on my connection with Allah.

The grave is frightening, except for the righteous.

I thought about it, and now that I'm 54, I'm weary of the world and its things. So, when I go into the grave and remain alone for hundreds, thousands of years, what will I do?

Have you ever imagined that?

So I started following this approach:

Look, I’ll die, and I’ll have a dark, empty grave.

That grave will need provisions, so I began visualizing every act of seeking forgiveness as something I’m sending to my grave, so it can be there to wait for me as a companion in my loneliness.

By Allah, I’m not joking.

I have started fully decorating my grave.

In one corner, I’m filling it with thousands of praises of Allah.

Near my head, there will be the Quran that I read daily, providing a comforting pillow.

With each prayer, I imagine that I’m storing it in my grave.

Everyone will leave me, returning to their homes, and I’ll be left alone, perhaps for thousands of years. My children will likely forget me within a few years.

So, I will need companions, lights, and scenes of paradise in my grave.

I envision praises, remembrance of Allah, the Quran, prayers, and charity as my friends there, laughing and talking with me.

I have made sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) an essential practice, which will also join our gatherings there, like cool water and beautiful garments.

I want the life in my grave to be even more beautiful than this worldly life, Insha’Allah.

Isn’t it better to decorate my grave with the best things instead of leaving it filled with the stench of backbiting, envy, and other worldly sins, along with decayed furniture and a hard, rocky bed?

I worked tirelessly all my life to make my home here, but this home will eventually belong to my heirs; all my efforts won’t be for me but for others. So I decided it’s enough—I need to build my own home where only I’ll be, spending a long time there.

If all my deeds were only for worldly needs and nothing for my grave, then my grave would be filled with nothing but punishment, permanent darkness, and a harsh reckoning. How will I live alone in such a place?

My advice to you from today:

Make your grave your bank account. Deposit as much as you can, and go for the long-term policy.

Take good care of your worship. By Allah, when you are in the grave, you’ll thank me even from there.

Care for your grave more than you care for this world’s home.

Right now, you are among your family, wearing clothes, eating, drinking, sleeping comfortably among them, and having all your needs met, yet you complain and feel dissatisfied.

So imagine when you’ll be underground for hundreds or thousands of years—who will be with you then?

Your favorite politicians, athletes, actors, and businessmen? They don’t even know you exist, nor do they care about you here; yet, you foolishly waste your time on them.

Those children for whom you waste millions on lavish weddings—believe me, that waste will become a burden for you, and they’ll deny that their parents created difficulties for themselves and for them.

Therefore, take care of yourself.

Cherish each act of praise and every deed, and ask it to go ahead to the grave and wait for you. Let it make your grave fragrant, like a beautiful garden, with airy rooms, luxurious furniture, and compassionate friends.

We will meet there, and that home will be my best companion and the finest dwelling.

O Allah, grant us a good end.

O Allah, make our Hereafter better and protect us from the punishment of the grave.

O Allah, grant us the ability to remember You, to thank You, and to worship You beautifully so that You bestow Your pleasure upon us and place us in Jannat al-Firdous, where we may be in the company of Your Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), upon whom there are  countless blessings and peace.

Ameen ya rabbal aalameen 

So, start building your home."

The Great Muslim Hero

 The great Muslim hero, Amīr ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Muḥy al-Dīn al-Jazāʾirī رحمه الله, who passed away in the year 1300 AH/1883 CE, writes in his book:

"When I reached the blessed city of Madīnah, I stood facing the direction of the noble countenance of the Prophet ﷺ (in his resting place). After offering my greetings to him and to his two companions (Abū Bakr and ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما) whom Allāh had honored with his companionship in life and in the Barzakh, I said, ‘Yā Rasūlullāh (‎ﷺ), 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫; Yā Rasūlullāh (‎ﷺ), 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝; Yā Rasūlullāh (‎ﷺ), 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐞; Yā Rasūlullāh (‎ﷺ), 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐞.’ I then heard him ﷺ say to me, ‘𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐞.’

In that blessed moment, I couldn’t tell whether he meant a literal lineage or a spiritual kinship of the heart! I then sat near the noble feet of the Prophet ‎ﷺ, leaning against the eastern wall of the Masjid, remembering Allāh. Suddenly, I lost awareness of the world, of the loud recitations, Dhikr, and supplications in the Masjid, and even of myself, until I heard a voice say, ‘This is our master, al-Tihāmī.’ 𝐈 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞 while still in this state of spiritual absence 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐦 ﷺ 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞, emerging from the metal screen at the noble feet. He ﷺ approached the next screen and passed through it, coming toward me.

I saw the Prophet ﷺ, dignified and majestic, with a solid and noble form. His ﷺ blessed hair had more gray, and the redness of his ﷺ honorable face was more intense than what the honorable companions had mentioned. When he ‎ﷺ came close to me, I regained my senses and praised Allāh.”

[Spiritual Stations and Divine Effusions by Amīr ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Muḥy al-Dīn al-Jazāʾirī, Mawqif Raqam 82-83, Volume 1, pp. 144-145]

The Tyranny in the Middle East.

 For almost a year, the world stood by and allowed Israel to mass slaughter in Gaza.

Through this silence, Israel learned it could commit any atrocity in the occupied territories without consequence. Now, it’s extending the same brutal tactics to Lebanon - a sovereign nation, recognised internationally. But this isn’t just a story about geography. It’s about the conditioning of the global narrative. We’ve been psychologically trained, over time, to accept these horrors as if they were normal. “They’re Arab, so they’re the threat. It’s OK.” Over and over again, the narrative is carefully constructed to dehumanise, to normalise violence, and to make people believe that what’s happening is justified. This is not normal. Through repeated exposure, the mass killings, bombings and violations are framed as ‘good vs evil’ - and people, conditioned to believe this narrative, begin to accept it. When the media and those in power subtly shift the language, what was once condemned becomes tolerated, even justified. By standing by passively, the world is giving Israel permission to replicate the Gaza model anywhere…now in Lebanon. This isn’t just a Middle Eastern crisis anymore. If we don’t wake up to how this conditioning is shaping our beliefs, Israel’s methods will continue to spread, unchecked and to other parts of the world. The normalisation of violence starts in one place but has the power to reshape how we view humanity itself.

Islam in UK

Islam didn't enter the UK on the backs of South Asians, Africans, or Arabs—it was brought here by white men. The first recorded Muslim in the UK was John Nelson, an Englishman who converted to Islam in 1586 after traveling to the Ottoman Empire. The large-scale migration of South Asians to the UK began after World War II, under Prime Minister Clement Attlee in the 1950s. His government actively invited workers from Commonwealth countries, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, to help rebuild a war-torn Britain. This invitation came after nearly two centuries of British colonization in South Asia, from 1757 to 1947, during which the UK extracted immense wealth from the region—textiles, spices, and other resources—contributing significantly to the British economy. We were invited to help rebuild this nation, and we did. We laid the foundations for the first-world country Britain is today. Over generations, we’ve risen from the working class to the middle class and beyond, becoming an integral part of British society—contributing to politics, education, business, and more. We are a vital part of what defines British values.

Islam has existed and thrived in the UK for over four centuries. The real issue isn’t with Islam—it’s with the economic challenges many face today: the cost of living, lack of opportunities, housing crises, and political failures. We share these concerns, but unlike some, we don’t turn to beating the hell out of random white people or scapegoating the people who are in the same situation.