Iblis (Satan) refused to bow to Adam, and the Qur’an condemns him for it. But some of the most daring Sufi mystics read that refusal very differently: as the act of a perfect monotheist and a tragic lover who would not bow to anything but God, even at the cost of eternal separati ...Show more
Anqa - Arabic Folklore's Most Elusive Creature
What is the Anqa? In this episode we explore the Anqa (عنقاء), the elusive, legendary bird of Arabic and Islamic tradition, often compared to the phoenix and the Persian Simurgh. We look at its origins in pre-Islamic Arabian lore, the story of how it vanished from the world, and ...Show more
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Episode 12 - Religion and Spirituality - Muhammad Sami
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In this episode we discuss the formation of Shia orthodoxy. Picking up from our earlier episode on early Shi’ism we explore how the experience of persecution under the Umayyads and Abbasid shaped Shia thought and doctrine. We discuss the Muhammad al Baqir and Jaffar as Sadiq and ...Show more
We're excited to start Season 3 of Sacred Text Messages, with an analysis of the nature of the nafs (lower self or ego) and its devilish inclinations. Shaykh Hamza navigates us through the core tenets of Imam al-Ghazali's brilliant text Mizan al-Amal (The Measure of Actions), fro ...Show more