@Way Ahead I had a previous commitment last night but Alhamdulillah thank you for always recording and I am now all caught up. And many thanks for the very thoughtful gifts for the sisters and brothers! I have a friend who always reminds me that this deen is one of ease so I appreciated all of the moments Monday and Thursday where you reminded us to always do our best, have the best of intentions, and when there are differences of opinion between humans, to always choose the path that keeps us as close to God as possible within our times and circumstances and abilities.

I'm more of a cat guy and I don't know the scholarship on dogs in Islam but I'm guessing a lot of this might depend on historical context, e.g. dogs are now very domesticated and therefore more likely to be cleaner (even pampered!), etc. whereas they likely weren't in the time of the Prophet (PBUH)? I'm partial to more "reformist" scholarship that sees the Quran as a book for all times and all people and therefore it being always incumbent on us to interpret it for our specific contemporary contexts while also holding space, understanding, and reverence for tradition. I've been studying a lot about the differences between taqleed (uncritically accepting scholarship/rulings, etc.) and ijtihad (independent reasoning to derive scholarship/rulings, etc.) and grappling with the right balance, though mostly on issues a little bigger (though Allah knows best!) than the purity of dog hair haha

@Lynn Swan There's a great app called Dhikr & Dua that I use and you can find duas by emotion, need, etc. One way I've been enjoying making dua is to say "Ya Allah, you are [insert one of His holy names here]" and then pray for someone, something, etc. For example, "Ya Allah, you are the Protecting Friend, please protect my family, friends, and community." Or, "Ya Allah, you are the Most Just, please bring justice to our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Sudan and Congo." I usually start by praising Allah, thanking Him for the day and creation, then do the above based on what's on my mind, and end with repentance, thankfulness for the Prophet (PBUH), and gratitude again. However, from what Shaykh Evans is always teaching on Tuesdays at Taleef, there really is no wrong way to make Dua as it's an expression of our personal relationship with Allah!

& thank you for the great book rec!

@Way Ahead Salaams! I’m sorry to not be able to make tonight’s open book session but am super excited for the future ones InshaAllah!

Salam! My name is Josh Honn and I live in Chicago, IL, where I work as an academic librarian. I am relatively new to Islam and took my shahada in September during a beautiful newcomers retreat hosted by the Taleef Collective.