After Everything We Did for Them

A past favor can put pressure on a friendship long after the help is over.

The Third Person: Including Others in Conversation

Including others in conversation begins with noticing who has been left outside it.

That book on your shelf is someone else's

A borrowed object can become familiar without becoming ours.

Mann in Islam: When a Favor Becomes a Debt

Mann in Islam includes reminding recipients of charity in a way that hurts or humiliates them.

Close the article. Explain one idea.

A small learning experiment, with room to discover what we missed.

Returning Borrowed Things in Islam: Before They Have to Ask

Returning borrowed things in Islam is part of honoring a trust. Qur’an 4:58 commands returning trusts to their owners.

Learning by Explaining: A Better Way to Remember What You Read

Learning by explaining means putting an idea into our own words, then checking it against the source.

Three Breaths to a Glass of Water

Sunnah of Drinking Water: Three Breaths, Sitting Down

The smallest table manner in the Sunnah turns out to be a lesson in pace, and pace is something a stomach, a mind, and a heart all notice.

The Same Cup, Poured Twice

The Shade Allah Draws Back Every Afternoon

Niyyah in Islam: The Same Cup of Tea, Two Different Deeds

Niyyah in Islam is the intention behind an act, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم taught that Allah “does not look at your bodies nor at your forms, but rather He looks at your hearts.”

Shadow in the Quran: The Shade Allah Draws Back Every Afternoon

A sign that moved fast enough to catch would also be a sign that could frighten.

What the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم Did at Home

The Prophet at Home: What He Did When Nobody Was Watching

The Three Words That Would Not Come Out

Kibr in Islam: The Pride Too Small to Call Pride

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم defined kibr in two parts, disdaining the truth and holding people in contempt, and warned that a mustard seed of it bars Paradise.

The Twelve Rak'ah Nobody Counts

Rawatib Prayers: The Twelve Rak'ah Nobody Counts

How Long a Feeling Lasts If We Do Not Feed It

Sabr in Islam: How Long a Feeling Lasts When We Stop Feeding It

The Report That Goes Up on Monday

Fasting Monday and Thursday: The Week's Built-In Reset

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم fasted Monday and Thursday and gave his reason plainly

The Gift Goes First

Giving Gifts in Islam: Give Gifts and You Will Love One Another

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said "Give gifts and you will love one another," an instruction recorded in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad and graded hasan.