‘Delad glädje, dubbel glädje: delad sorg, halv sorg.’ – Swedish proverb.

Oh, you don’t speak Swedish? Not to worry, neither do I. This proverb literally means, “Shared happiness, happiness doubled; shared sadness, sadness halved.” It’s about friendship, and how sharing your happiness with friends makes it so much more special; and sharing your sadness makes it much less painful.

Here are a few of my favorite quotations about friendship:

‘”And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends of one another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong.” (Quran 9:71)

Narrated AbuHurayrah: Allah’s Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: “Verily, Allah would say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Where are those who have mutual love for My Glory’s sake? Today I shall shelter them in My shadow when there is no other shadow but the shadow of Mine.’” – Sahih Muslim

“The poor man is the one who has no friends.” – Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra)

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” – Anonymous

“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.” – Edgar Watson Howe

“When a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.” – Charles Caleb Colton

“When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.” – Japanese Proverb

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.” – Bernard Meltzer.

This is a piece that I just published on Zawaj.com that maybe belongs more on this website, but ma-sha’Allah.

Muslim

What the Word “Muslim” Means to Me

By Wael Abdelgawad for Zawaj.com

The word alone triggers such different reactions in different people.

The literal definition of the word Muslim is “one who submits,” meaning one who submits to Allah, believing in Him and obeying His commandments.

More specifically, the word Muslim is the participle of the same Arabic verb of which Islam is the infinitive. The feminine form is Muslimah, though a female Muslim is often referred to as simply a Muslim.

There are many stereotypes about Muslims in the West, or one might say in the non-Muslim world in general, but I will not go into those in this article.

Instead, I’d like to share my thoughts and feelings on hearing the word Muslim and contemplating its meaning.

Click here to read the rest.