Swisscast With Suhaib Webb

Sura Yasīn flips the scrip; it moves from addressing the Prophet and his community, to a story about a city similar to his; and now, suddenly it returns to teaching his community. Why? What does that tell us about the sophistication of the Qur'anic message and the deliberate excellence we need if we want to stand in the office of Prophethood?

How can we free our theology from the bounds caste in the late 60's, and most recently after 9/11? By releasing it, I mean, as Vincent W. Lloyd wrote, "To attempt to speak honestly in God's name." Why are efforts to wrestle our faith until it submits its voice to the notions of the left or the right a failure to uphold the balance and truth of prophethood,; and why are unchecked identity politics a threat to our unity as a community as well as the country when they are not nuanced and cleansed with the language and foundations of Faith and our scholarly heritage? That and more.

The names of Allah give a colourless, cold life meaning by allowing us to tone the world around us with the filter of diving guidance. In this sermon I share two names that will help college students start the year off right.

Being religious without investing in good character is high treason. The Prophet (sa) was sent to complete and perfect good character. This section of sura al-Hujurat instructs us on how to have a good character with faith.

What does it mean when

Locating yourself and Qur'an on the map of life is a challenge. What are the virtues of the Qur'an and how do you envision your relationship with it?

Adversity comes with faith, and between them, both lie tests and trials. What are some important qualities we can take from the earliest chapters of the Qur'an sent to the Prophet (sa) that will carry us through success and challenges?

Umma is a word we say often without consideration for its components and investment. While financial donations are still robust in communities, the numbers of trained, disciplined and organized volunteers are not. I address that, as well as a number of contemporary concerns around religious freedom in light of Sura Yasin

In this short section I address four components of religious education: Effective communication when teaching religion, benefiting and investing in communities, understanding and caring about issues important to those we live with and finding shared causes and humility in leadership.

God created the earth and the heavens as a home for us, filling it with infinite resources and talents. How can that serve us as we frame our attitude towards life, our talents and service to others?

In this podcast, I share an important poem by one of the greatest Arab poets of the modern age, a short intro to his life and impact, as well as some lesson we can take from one of his poems.

In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries Senegambian Muslims were led by their sheikhs to revolt across the Western Hemisphere against Spanish slavery. In their efforts rests the earliest liberation theology put to work: An approach that refused to accept bondage as anything but antithetical to faith; and saw faith synonymous with freedom. What followed was a legal logic that justified mass-murdering those Muslim slaves, banning them from those lands, sending many back to Africa and mass incarceration. As those policies morphed, and the world changed, we are facing a different type of slavery under a system that has graduated from mass incarceration to what Vincent Lloyd called ”hyper-incarceration” and still focuses on black people. As Muslims, we have a religious duty to stand against this modern-day slavery as our ancestors did three hundred years ago, working for justice and a fair system. In this episode, I sit down with Margarita Rosa to discuss those revolts and how faithful people must push for prison

On June 1st Razan al-Najjar sat off, as she had done before, to serve her land and her people. She was a self-educated, first responder in one of the most dangerous places in the world She was exhausted. The day before she came home covered in blood, and it was Ramadan, so she was fasting. But her bravery and passion could not be extinguished. She was resilient, brave Sadly, as many of you know, she was murdered that day. Shot by an Israeli sniper, who until now remains free and uncharged. Razzan was only twenty-one years old. As soon as it happened, I knew that it was essential to share Razan’s story. She stood for female empowerment, education, peace and an end to occupation and genocide, so I reached out to her family In this week’s episode of SwissCast, I talk with Dalia al-Najjar, Razan’s cousin. In an emotional interview, we discussed life under Israeli occupation, what it feels like to be Gazan, Razan’s life and legacy and how we can support her foundation for empowering and educating young girl

"Who are your people?" is an important question because it forces us to think, not only about "our people," but ourselves; if we don't know who we are, then we cannot identify our folk; and if we can't do that, then we are not living up to our responsibility as a Prophetic community. That relationship locates us as spiritual and social agitators, empowered by faith to call to the truth. The opening verses of Sura Yasin compel us to think about that and other important concepts.

كَاَنَّ أَخْلاقَكَ فِي لُطْفِهَا وَرَقَةٌ فِيْهَا نَسِيْمُ الصَّبَاحْ Your character, in its subtleness and grace, is like to leaves, touched by a soft, mild, morning breeze. kanna aklaqaki fi lutfiha waraqatun fiha nasimu al-Sabah

Oppression (in Arabic) comes from the word (ظلم). Dhulm means to put something where it does not belong. So, sin (because it places a person’s nature where it should not be, sinful) is a form of oppression; as is associating partners with God (since the norm is to worship God alone). However, in this article I will address injustice and oppression amongst people: a person transgressing the rights of others through environmental injustice by torture, injury or death, economic injustice by force, plunder or theft or personal injustice by shaming, intimidating or false accusations. لَا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ (279) رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَل لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا وَاجْعَل لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ نَصِيرًا (75) } عَطْفٌ عَلَى اسْمِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، أَيْ وَفِي سَبِيلِ الْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ، فَإِنَّ خَلَاصَ الْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ. (وَلِيًّا) أَيْ مَنْ يَسْتَنْقِذُنَا (وَاجْعَلْ لَنا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ نَصِيراً) أَيْ ينصرنا عليهم وَاجِبٌ عَلَى ال

As we exit the month of fasting, we are commanded to perform one last act; one more sacrifice: Zakat al-Fitr. What is Zakat al-Fitr, how do we pay it and what are some of the issues around it that are important to American Muslim Communities?

In this short reflection, I share three powerful lessons we can take from the twentieth chapter of the Qur'an.