Clear Intentions In A Chaotic World | Anchored Ep. 1

Should you seek Islamic knowledge? Work for Big Tech? Get involved in politics? Make hijrah? Use AI? These are some of the complicated questions that shape the decisions Muslims have to make every day, as students, professionals, parents, community members, and even in their personal worship. And answering them starts with reflecting on the foundation of everything we do in life: intention (niyyah). After introducing us to the great scholar Imam an-Nawawi (rh), Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy explains what every Muslim must know about intention. 

Six months after 9/11, 25% of Americans said Islam encourages violence more than other religions. 25 years later, that number is 51%.The hostility did not fade with time. It grew. And it grew in a country where Muslims buried their own dead from that day, where Muslim first responders ran toward the towers, and where a generation has now spent its entire life answering for a crime committed by 19 strangers.On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, Sh. Omar Suleiman takes the question America asked in 2001 and turns it in the other direction. Why do they hate us? Who taught you to hate?This khutbah sits with collective blame and what the Qur'an says about it. Allah tells us that no soul carries the burden of another (Surah al-An'am, 6:164). He commands justice even toward people who despise us: “Do not let the hatred of a people lead you away from justice. Be just. That is closer to taqwa.” (Surah al-Ma'idah, 5:8).For Muslims who have never known an America before the Patriot Act, the watchlist, and the secondary screening line at the airport, this is a khutbah about where the hate actually came from, who has profited from keeping it alive, and why the enemy you were handed may not be your enemy at all.

What does it take to really fix a broken heart, relationship, and community? Are we making du’a to Allah to fix our lives, while neglecting the actions He wants us to take because they are uncomfortable? It’s easy to skip to the conclusion that your situation isn’t fixable. It’s more difficult, but honest, to remember that nothing fixes itself. Dr. Omar Suleiman explains the power Allah has given us to work to fix our problems, while always trusting Him with the best outcome. And he reminds us of the true cost of leaving our relationships broken. 0:00 - The Strangers: Those who fix what others corrupted3:40 - A powerful statement of Shu’ayb (as) on islah (fixing things)5:20 - Marriage: If they both want it fixed, Allah gives tawfiq10:15 - Do you think Allah can free Palestine but can’t change your spouse?12:30 - Al-Hadi and Al-Jabbar: Allah mends what you can’t 14:05 - What Umar (ra) on making du’a for rizq16:30 - The Prophet ﷺ’s 3 du’as and our responsibility19:30 - Turning to Allah with broken pieces21:45 - The cost of leaving things broken24:40 - Closing du’a

He mocked the Prophet ﷺ publicly for years, shouted him down at his dying uncle's bedside, and died a martyr fighting for him. Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah (ra) believed long before he ever came forward, certain he was beyond forgiving. He was turned away once. Find out what his sister said that changed it.Watch a previous episode of The Firsts to learn more about Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith (ra): https://yqn.io/52wq00:00 - Why the redemption stories get harder from here02:10 - Who Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah (ra) was05:33 - The mockery that has an ayah about it07:08 - The deathbed of Abu Talib11:21 - "I don't think Muhammad ﷺ will accept me"14:13 - Umm Salama (ra) intercedes for her brother17:10 - How Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah (ra) died17:55 - The son Umm Salama (ra) raised

The Prophet ﷺ said he did not fear poverty for this ummah. He feared wealth, and he feared what abundance without barakah does to a community. A man would be handed a hundred dinars and still not be satisfied. People would stop asking where their money came from. One companion walked away from wealth that was even 10% doubtful. Find out why.Dr. Omar Suleiman traces the hadith of the end times about wealth in Signs of the Hour Ep. 15: greed placed in the hearts, the collapse of the question of halal income, and the narration that no one will be left untouched by riba.0:00 - Why the Prophet ﷺ feared wealth more than poverty5:04 - Wealth was never condemned7:03 -  A man with 100 dinars is unsatisfied8:11 - Why gratitude increases wealth and ingratitude shrinks it10:02 - Stinginess isn’t only with money12:38 - Two kinds of haram wealth15:16 - How haram income starves the soul18:52 - Zakat as purification, and the spiritual question it raises20:17 - When no one will escape the dust of riba21:24 - Fear Allah as much as you can

Imam Ahmad (rh)’s best mornings, he said, were when they told him there was no flour left in the house. An empty shelf reminded him Who had been filling it every other day of his life.Most of us run that instinct in reverse. The bank balance drops and we quietly conclude that Allah is withholding out of displeasure. What must we remember about our rizq when it seems to stop flowing? How can Muslims reframe financial anxiety, job loss, and deepening debt as opportunities? And what does tawakkul and trusting that Allah is Ar-Razzaq really mean?  00:00 Living life assuming the best of Allah04:24 Finances can test our trust in Allah06:24 When Allah withholds, it's for your own good07:51 Your rizq will always find you11:09 Don't cut corners seeking provision11:56 The story of Ibn Aqil (rh) and the pouch of gold14:14 Allah is Ar-Razzaq, The Ever-Providing19:06 Closing reflection and du'a

You may still be alive tomorrow, but this version of your life won’t be.Your body will change. Your circumstances will change. Your children will grow older. Your parents may not always be here. The person waiting for your apology may eventually stop waiting.So what happens to all the good we keep telling ourselves we’ll do later?The call we keep meaning to make. The apology we keep putting off. The time we assume we’ll have with our parents and children. The charity we tell ourselves we’ll give tomorrow.The Qur’an preserves the plea of someone who ran out of time:“My Lord, if only You would delay me for a little while, I would give in charity and be among the righteous.” — (Surah Al-Munafiqun, Verse 10)But the delay never comes.This isn’t simply a warning about dying suddenly. It’s a reminder that some of the good we postpone depends on having the right person, the right moment, or the right opportunity still in front of us.In this khutbah, Dr. Omar Suleiman reflects on time, aging parents, growing children, unfinished apologies, and the opportunities for goodness we assume will still be there tomorrow.What have you been putting off because you assume you’ll have more time?

Shaytan never told Adam and Hawwa (as) to disobey Allah. He told them the forbidden tree was something else: shajarat al-khuld, the tree of eternal life. A good tree.The command never changed. Only the name did. The Prophet ﷺ warned that this technique would come back at the end of time as one of the signs of the Hour, and it's stranger than it first sounds. It isn't about a generation that stops believing in halal and haram. It's about a generation that keeps both categories perfectly intact and quietly moves things between them. People from this ummah will drink khamr, he ﷺ said, and call it by another name.Imam al-Ghazali (rh) mapped the same move through the diseases of the heart centuries before anyone said the word “rebrand”. Greed is renamed as ambition. Arrogance has been renamed to confidence. Cutting off your family answers to protecting your peace.Dajjal is the end of this road, not the beginning of it. He'll rebrand Jannah as the Fire and kufr as imaan. A world that's spent generations learning to accept renamed evil is already rehearsed for him.Name every major sin you can think of, then ask which ones already answer to something softer. That's the exercise Dr. Omar Suleiman puts to the room, and it's worth doing before you press play.

Our attention has become one of the world's most valuable commodities—and we're paying for it in ways we rarely notice.In this Focal Point, Imam Tom Facchine explores how the attention economy grew from a simple business model into an industry built to capture our focus, shape our habits, and keep us distracted. More importantly, he asks what all of this means for Muslims trying to live with presence, purpose, and khushoo'.This episode looks beyond social media addiction to the deeper spiritual consequences of living in an age of constant distraction.

Renad Attalah inspired hope with her cooking videos set in war-torn Gaza. Now, she has sought safety in the Netherlands while her mother remains behind. Join Dr. Omar Suleiman to hear from Renad and her mother, Um Firas, learn about what life is like in Gaza as the world moves on, and hear the stories of a mother and daughter separated by a needlessly cruel conflict.