Episode VI The House with the Shadowed Courtyard In Ugarit, the sea taught people to depart, while the houses insisted on staying. Friday entered through the thresholds before it entered the streets, silent, pretending to stir the air in the inner courtyards. The jars held the coolness of the night, and the linen curtains let in a dim light, even when hidden. The city, however, breathed in the rooms. It was there that people truly met, among walls that had listened more than

Islam is best understood through practice. It is not a theoretical system to observe from a distance, but an embodied experience that reveals its meaning through action. Many approach Ramadan out of simple curiosity and emerge transformed, noticing its effects both physically and spiritually. The direct experience of fasting highlights something often forgotten: our journey on this earth is first and foremost corporeal. It is through the body that we move, interact with the

We often imagine responsibility through the lens of work. A company entrusts us with a computer, training, a mission — and naturally, we understand that we are accountable for how we use those tools. Yet the deepest responsibility of our lives does not come from employers or systems. It comes from the One who created us and entrusted us with capacities infinitely more powerful than any device or resource. Allah, the Most High, appointed us as vicegerents on earth. We did not

Episode V In Ugarit, the wind could change direction without warning anyone. The slightest shift in the air was enough for sails to pull differently and for routes to be adjusted by a few degrees—just enough to make landfall somewhere else. That morning, the harbor awoke beneath a milky light. A ship that had arrived during the night awaited inspection: it carried tin from distant lands and amphorae sealed with dark wax. No one spoke loudly; there was something about journeys

My Ramadan begins with a scent. Not with a sound, not with a date on the calendar, but with the soft, white aroma of lilies. Elegant, silent, and present. Just approaching their petals, you can feel something change: the air softens, time slows, and the space becomes more intimate. This is how my Sensory Ramadan takes shape — through what is breathed in before it is even spoken. Flowers accompany these still-winter days, suspended between cold and promise. Among all the purc

Let us imagine a modern Western prison: sterile corridors, cramped cells, clocks marking repetitive days that often seem devoid of meaning. It is within this seemingly hopeless environment that a surprising and little-known phenomenon takes place: each year, tens of thousands of inmates choose to embrace Islam. These individuals—often from fragile social backgrounds, with histories of marginalization and prior criminal involvement—find in faith a pathway toward discipline, co

Episode IV In Ugarit, the sea meant waiting. Ships entered and left the harbor carrying cedar wood, metals, and purple-dyed fabrics — and even before the goods were exchanged and the merchants’ words intertwined like nets, there was a moment of pause. On their tablets, the scribes recorded names and quantities, yet between one line and the next there remained an invisible space — a moment in which one listened. It was not only a matter of trade or negotiation, but of recogniz

“Of all the bodies in nature, the one that acts most effectively upon the human being is another human being; no animate or inanimate body can replace it.”— Dr. Med. Franz Anton Mesmer The human being possesses intrinsic healing abilities, often overlooked by conventional medicine. For example, direct contact with the body can influence well-being: placing one’s hands on a painful area can reduce symptoms in a short time. The Qur’an teaches that for every illness there is a r

The indescribable scent of a sky that has remained still for years, and the gentle caress of a breeze that whispers of the desert: this is how certain returns reveal themselves, fleeting yet profound, on an ordinary day graced by a rare, almost unattainable stillness. True peace seems never to fully belong to this world; yet humanity continues to chase it, often without even realizing. Only later does one understand that such a pursuit is like trying to grasp a balloon that b

If starfishes lose an arm, it usually grows a new one over time, and in some species, even the detached arm can regenerate an entire starfish, if it contains a part of the central disc, that is, the central area of the body. Yet, I think we are all like starfish. Allah does not by chance write that He will piece together our bones on the Day of Resurrection. “Who will give life to the bones when they are dust?”Say: “The One who created them the first time.” (Quran 36:78–79) A

The storm always ends, the sun returns to shine, and often what we could not see becomes visible once everything has passed—when the clouds that prevented us from seeing clearly have been swept away by the alchemy of time. Because time is something mysterious, known only to God: capable of making us believe that everything is motionless and that all things follow a predetermined order. But that is not the case. There is no order as defined by humankind—only transformations, f

Episode III In Ugarit, among the layers of clay tablets, there were not only numbers and lists, but formulas and small prayers, repeated again and again, invoking protection and gratitude. They were not epic narratives, but measured words, carefully set down, as though their power lay in consistency rather than eloquence. Repetition is not always monotony; it can be discipline and memory. It weaves invisible threads that link one gesture to the next, one thought to another. S

Biology, faith, and social disintegration in the contemporary myth of love We have been promised that romantic love would be freedom and salvation. Empirical reality suggests otherwise: fragile bonds, disintegrating families, structural loneliness. This essay interrogates that promise and proposes a theological and anthropological reading in which religious truth, though disillusioning, appears more consistent with human nature. Human beings undergo a continuous process of re

Islamic tradition strongly recalls the principle of balance: never go too far to the right nor too far to the left. The Qur’an invites human beings to follow the ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm , the straight path, which coincides neither with the darkness of excess nor with the glare of ostentatious light, but with a posture of humility, awareness, and moderation. Balance is not neutrality, but constant discernment. In the contemporary context, Islam sometimes appears transformed into a s

Walking barefoot helps us ground ourselves, feel our undeniable connection to the earth, and recognize our own presence. Even when it’s cold, even when temperatures are low. On one hand, it’s true that we need to protect our bodies by covering them. But when we start to confine the soul, we risk drifting away from our essence—an essence that longs to feel free, even through the soles of our shoes, allowing information to travel directly to the brain. The feet are incredibly p