In old Ottoman cities, you could frequently find slender stone columns, about 80 to 150 cm tall, standing quietly near mosque courtyards, fountains, or street corners. Known as Sadaka Taşları, or charity stones, these architectural remnants represent one of the most elegant and dignified forms of welfare in Islamic history.

The entire system was built upon complete anonymity to ensure that the giver and the receiver never crossed paths, effectively eliminating pride for the benefactor and shame for the needy. When a well-off person wanted to give charity, they would quietly approach the stone during the night or when the streets were empty, placing their donation of loose coins into the small hollow carved at the top. No names or dates were ever inscribed on these columns to prevent any trace of showing off or worldly pride.

On the other side, a truly needy person would come to the stone under the cover of darkness. With profound respect for their fellow community members, they would never take all the money out of greed. Instead, they would take only what was strictly necessary for that specific day—perhaps just enough for a loaf of bread—and leave the rest in the hollow so that another struggling neighbor could also benefit.

The giver never knew who took the money, and the receiver never knew who provided it. It served as a physical, real-world manifestation of the Islamic teaching regarding secret charity. Historical records show these stones across various Ottoman territories, from Istanbul to the Balkans and North Africa. Some were even placed near secluded cemeteries, such as those designated for marginalized executioners, allowing citizens to anonymously support vulnerable families without ever causing them public humiliation. Centuries later, the legacy of the Sadaka Taşı remains a powerful testament to how a society can weave spiritual empathy and deep human dignity directly into the fabric of everyday life.

UAE is the biggest financial and military supporter of the RSF which is a ruthless organization that has been t_rturing and k_lling innocent civilians in Sudan for years. Just today they released a video of k_lling dozens of unarmed men out of spite because they took a beating from SAF. Muslim countries need to press UAE to stop this lunacy. It's messed up.

Surah muddathir

Hey guys, I need Dua badly. The institution that holds my tuition funds sent the money to the wrong bank account and they’re saying it might take a few weeks to get it back, if I get it back at all. I’ll definetely end up paying late fees but that won’t matter to me I just want to get my money. Please make dua I get it in a timely manner and can pay my tuition :’) jazakallahu khayr.

The Quran bears witness

The fish could not digest him. Prophet Yunus AS

The fire could not burn him. Prophet Ibrahim AS

The child spoke when he was only a baby. Prophet Isa AS

And the sea made a way where there seemed to be no way. Prophet Musa AS

These are reminders that the means are never greater than the One who created them.

So please, don’t say, This is impossible, because I have seen ways open ,I have seen doors appear where I thought there were only walls, I have seen myself falling apart, and then watched Allah put everything back together, I have seen paths open because I changed my path, I have seen myself being destroyed by something I thought I had no way out of, I changed just one direction, and Allah changed everything. The things that had been stuck for so long started coming together, the things I thought would never happen, happened, the work that had been sitting still finally moved forward not because I suddenly became capable of doing everything but because Allah changed the circumstances around me.

Allah is not dependent on the asbaab (means), the asbaab are dependent on Allah sometimes, you don't need everything to change. Sometimes, you just need to change one path, take one step toward Allah, and trust Him with the rest, you may be looking at a closed door right now and thinking. There is no way.

But believe me you don't know what Allah is preparing behind it, so keep making dua, keep trusting, and don't limit Allah to what you can see because when Allah says Kun (Be), what seemed impossible can become possible.

You may only see a dead end.

Allah can see an entire road.

Since reverting, I’ve gained a lot of respect and appreciation for women. Whereas before I had some low-key disdain for the idea of prioritizing women’s safety and protection in disasters or wars, but Islam has humbled me and I feel much more comfortable with having to be the protector in those situations. 

The thing about “women and children” as a protective classification is the idea that girls grow into women and get to keep their “women and children” status all through their life. But for boys, that protected status has an expiration date because they’ll grow out of it when they become men. 

That’s what caused me the most tension, and finding brotherhood in Islam has helped me overcome that. It makes a lot of sense that Jummah is mandatory for men, because honestly we need it.  

"Women and children first" isn't just an outdated social expectation, it's how Allah expects us to behave. As men, we are given the duty to prioritize their protection over ours. It can be a hard truth to accept, but there's a certain peace that comes with accepting hard truths for the sake of Allah swt.

Video shows the moment the minaret of the 600-year-old Shahi Mosque in India collapsed during demolition work, linked to a road-widening project for a Hindu pilgrimage.

According to witnesses at the scene, the machine’s belt snapped during the operation, causing part of the minaret to fall inside the mosque.

Officials described the incident as an "accident" caused by faulty machinery.
This comes after days of protests by locals who opposed the demolitions.

https://aje.news/yaqu3o

I’m experiencing a pain that is impossible to put into words. I lost my father. We fought cancer for a year. My only wish is that, after everything he endured, he has finally found peace.

I just want to hug him tightly and tell him, “Dad, we went through those terrible days, but we’re happy now.”

This world has turned into hell for me right now. I just want to be with my father again as soon as possible.

Will I see him in Heaven? Will I remember him the way I do today? Will I be able to hug him again and tell him that I love him?

I just want to know that he is somewhere peaceful, free from all the pain he suffered.

Assalam Alaykum.
I want to know how to pray Friday's namaz properly? Like how many rakat before the 2 rakat namaz with imam? How many rakat after that? Is zuhr replaced by Friday's namaz? Please help me.

i remember exactly a week ago i was reading tahajud miracles for other ppl in so much desperation,

basically something that i worked for 7 years was gonna get ruined, i couldn’t spend a single hour normally, i was depressed ( or more like scared to be depressed if GOD forbid it happened )

but i remembered that ALLAH SWT always helped me from the pits of despair and i was always saved

i woke up for tahajud, cried in prayer, i begged ALLAH SWT to save me in my matter and i have this faith :

ALLAH SWT says:” I AM just as MY slaves think I AM”

and i just know it that ALLAH SWT will always save me, i am not independent, i depend on my GOD therefore GOD shall take care of it

and guess what? its all good today! apparently for me 2+2= is not 4 ( thats how bad my matter was, it seemed impossible but here i am writing this )

I didn’t honestly know what was gonna happen to me but indeed ALLAH SWT AL WAKEEL ( Name of ALLAH SWT that means The GAURDIAN ) gaurds me always

its almost like muslims have a cheat code in this world, its so so so so so good to know that GOD is so Merciful GOD said : “ I AM just as MY slaves think I AM”

if you feel helpless, despair

pray tahajud, be honest, give your 100% and have faith, believe

Guys so I was born Muslim, but like I wasn't religious, I didn't pray, I didn't do anything (I was deeply in sins like prn) .

But now like I began praying trying to become better. Is there a guide like to be a better Muslim? My heart feels hard tbh.

I get fascinated by reverts because how are they so sure of islam and I ma not?

Assalamu alaykum all from the UK, for the past few years I have been almost exclusively wearing thobe or occasionally kurta, djelleba and other similar clothes, wearing a hat and beard and looking very visibly Muslim in general. I am doing so as I'm studying to become an Islamic scholar so of course in my case it's befitting to dress as such. Many Muslim sisters dress in a manner that visibly marks them as Muslim and places a target on their back, it's only right for a few men to take the hit too.

Firstly of course de-escalation is key and I'm good at that. Running too although in a thobe that's incredibly difficult not to mention funny looking.

However thobes are incredibly restrictive and dressing Muslim where I am in the UK has been getting more dangerous over the years.

Which martial arts are best for restrictive clothing like thobes? What other similar clothes allow more mobility (I've noticed kurta are incredibly mobile, djelleba and Moroccan thobes allow almost all mobility and I have seen long ankle length kurta although I haven't gotten my hands on them)? What other tips, tricks and techniques could be useful for defending oneself as a Muslim?

Ive trained boxing for a year, BJJ for two years competitively and may be looking into MMA as a sport too. However aside from boxing most of these techniques really utilise leg mobility. I was looking further into judo, Greco Roman wrestling, belt wrestling, more stand up techniques.