Islam is based on optimism. Allah Most High made us so that He could have mercy on us and forgive us, and to despair of Allah’s mercy is a major sin. Shaykh Hamza Karamali explains that our slavehood to Allah Most High is the joyful slavehood of someone is utter need who knows that His Almighty Lord is always there to help him through life’s difficulties, and who created Him to forgive him, have mercy on him, and enter him into Paradise.   For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

Allah Most High always answers the prayer of someone who turns to Him in complete distress, having given up hope in everything apart from Him. Shaykh Hamza Karamali explains what this state of complete distress is, and that it is the essence and purpose of turning to Allah Most High in supplication.   For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

Allah Most High reminds us to have humble hearts and to not be like those who were given revelation before us, whose hearts grew hard with the passage of time (Qur’an, 57:16). Shaykh Hamza Karamali explains the difference between a humble heart and a hardened heart, and how we should renew our relationship with Allah Most High. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

Allah Most High urges us to “give him a goodly loan” that He will “repay many times over.” But what does it mean for us to “give a loan” to the One on whom we utterly depend, and the One who needs nothing from us? Shaykh Hamza Karamali explains. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

Shaykh Hamza Karamali tells the story of the “Great Calumny” in which the wife of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) was falsely accused of adultery and then exonerated by Allah Most High Himself in the Qur’an. When her father then swore an oath to never give financial assistance again to one of the Companions who was responsible for spreading the calumny, Allah Most High urged him to forgive and asked him, “Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you?” For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate  

Trust (tawakkul) in Allah Most High is one of the great virtues of the heart. Shaykh Hamza Karamali explains this virtue, along with the related virtue of genuineness (sidq), and shows how each of these virtues shines most brightly when we choose to do what is right in the face of difficulty.   For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

In Surat al-Rahman--the Chapter of the All-Merciful, God asks us thirty-one times why we are ungrateful to him. Shaykh Hamza Karamali explains what gratitude is and then explains Surat al-Rahman, illustrating how to respond to God with gratitude. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

Throughout history, God has sent us messengers to warn us that we will be resurrected after death in order to stand before Him to be judged for our actions. The rational response to this warning is to take steps to be successful after the resurrection. But people often turn away from the warning, not because of a rational reason, but out of stubborn folly, and they then clothe their rejection with flawed arguments, even though they know, deep down inside,  that they are making a bad decision.   For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

God sent the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) with signs that enable us to discern that he was not an impostor, but a genuine messenger from God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali walks you through a verse of the Qur’an that shows how the ancient Arabians saw those signs, and how we can see them today. He then explains that the consequence of seeing those signs is genuine acceptance of everything that God tells us through His messenger. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

This is the most common question that God asks us in the Qur’an. We sometimes think that idol-worship is a primitive practice of the distant past and that now, in the age of science, we know better than to worship idols. Shaykh Hamza Karamali explains that the idolatry of the scientific age is worse and more prevalent than ever before and that verses of the Qur’an that ask us why we worship other gods apply just as much to us today as they did to the polytheists of ancient Arabia. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate