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The Nightingale

  • Write on Time

    Write on Time

    The Quran repeatedly emphasises contemplation as a crucial function of the heart that interprets meaning within natural phenomena, the theatre of human history, and even our own lives. There is meaning everywhere, and as Muslims we reject the view that life is meaningless. We are meaning-making beings, or more accurately, meaning-discovering beings.
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  • Lest We Forget

    Lest We Forget

    My own son is now grappling with the news of the war on Gaza and he asked me how I dealt with the Bosnian genocide; I had spoken about Bosnia with him from time to time so he knew I would have a response. I said that I read all I could about Bosnia, and I wrote poems as a way of making sense of what I was reading. It may not seem much – and truly the poems I wrote didn’t amount to anything – but in a forgetful world, remembering can be a revolutionary act.
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  • Baraka Blue with Ameera Aslam: Truth and Beauty

    Baraka Blue with Ameera Aslam: Truth and Beauty

    Baraka Blue is a poet, musician, author, and teacher from Seattle, Washington. He runs the Rumi Center for Spirituality and the Arts and hosts the award-winning podcast Path & Present. His published poetry works include Reedbed Diaspora, Empty and the Ocean, and his latest, The Art of Remembrance. In this recording of a session conducted at Wardah Books titled Truth & Beauty, Baraka speaks about the book The Art of Remembrance and discusses the concepts of truth and beauty.
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  • Hanna Alkaf: Hamra and the Jungle of Memories

    Hanna Alkaf: Hamra and the Jungle of Memories

    Wardah Books · Hanna Alkaf: Hamra and the Jungle of Memories   Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcast. Hanna Alkaf is the author of Hamra and the Jungle of Memories (HarperCollins). In this recording of a session conducted at...

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  • Reflection on 'The Girl and the Ghost'

    Reflection on 'The Girl and the Ghost'

    Apart from the scary scenes and a power-greedy bully in a form of a bomoh, the book teaches us the strength of friendship and how this is so important in going through the hurdles of life. Suraya’s forgiving character is a reminder to us all to not inflict harm in retaliation to anyone who has caused us pain. By the end of the story, we are left with the familiar heartbreak of goodbyes. (Alas all good stories must end.)
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