The Middle Ground Podcast The Middle Ground Podcast with Imam Marc Manley

﷽
Welcome to Episode Seventeen of the Middle Ground Podcast. I am joined again by my brother Dawud Aleman. We discuss my recent heart attack, facing mortality, and what change, if any, has it had on me. As usual, we discuss all topics in light of the Qur’ān and statements from the Prophet, ‎ﷺ.
قال شُرَيْح ابن الحارث القاضي
إني لأصاب بالمصيبة فأحمد الله عليها أربعة مرات
أحمد إذ لم يكن أعظم منها
وأحمد إذ رزقني الصبر عليها
وأحمد إذ رزقني للاسترجاع لما أرجو من الثابت
وأحمد إذ لم يجعلها في ديني
Shurayḥ ibn al-Ḥārith stated,
“Whenever I am afflicted with some great difficulty, I praise Allāh four times:
I praise Him that it was not greater than it was;
I praise him that He gave me the wherewithal to withstand it;
I praise Him that He gave me the means to say, ‘to Allāh we belong and to Him are we returning’;
And I praise Him that He didn’t make it a test for my faith.”

Other references in this episode:
* Musnad Aḥmad no. 8945: “The believer is friendly, for there is no goodness in one who is neither friendly, nor befriended.”
* Sūrah al-Anfāl v. 50: “If only you could see when the angels take the souls of the disbelievers, beating their faces and backs.”
Imam’s Corner is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.




Get full access to Imam’s Corner at imammarcmanley.substack.com/subscribe

﷽
Welcome to Episode Sixteen of the Middle Ground Podcast. I am joined again by my brother Dawud Aleman. We discuss Ramaḍān, fasting (ṣiyām/ṣawm), ṣabr (perseverance), as well as some of our first experiences with fasting when we were new Muslims, and what it’s like to withdrawal from the world for a little while. As usual, we discuss all topics in light of the Qur’ān and statements from the Prophet, ‎ﷺ.
Other references in this episode:
The reference I made to al-Zubaydī’s work on Arabic grammar, Tāj al-’Arūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs, in which he highlights the grammatical root of fasting (ṣāḍ+waw+mīm) means, “to grasp; to hold on to” as well as “to stop"; to withhold”:
* Sūrah Maryam v. 26: “I have taken vow of silence to the Most Merciful (al-Raḥmān)”;
* Sūrah al-Zumar v 10: “Only those who persevere for My sake will be given their reward without limit”;
* Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim #2685: “Whoever loves to meet Allāh, Allāh loves to meet them”;
* Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim #1152: “In Paradise there is a gate which is called al-Rayyān through which only the people who fast would enter on the Day on Resurrection”;
Imam’s Corner is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.




Get full access to Imam’s Corner at imammarcmanley.substack.com/subscribe

﷽
Welcome to Episode Fifteen of the Middle Ground Podcast. I am joined again by my brother Dawud Aleman. We discuss economics via UK inequality economist Gary Stevenson, investing, and the importance of Muslims cultivating resources for themselves and the communities they live in. As usual, we discuss all topics in light of the Qur’ān and statements from the Prophet, ‎ﷺ.
Other references in this episode:
* Sūrah al-Nisā’ v. 32: “And do not covet what Allāh has given some of you over others”;
* Investing and financial literacy with Shaykh Joe Bradford;
Imam’s Corner is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.




Get full access to Imam’s Corner at imammarcmanley.substack.com/subscribe

﷽
Welcome to Episode Fourteen of the Middle Ground Podcast. This episode is a recording of a talk I gave at Kitaab Academy’s Aqsa Conference. As usual, we discuss all topics in light of the Qur’ān and statements from the Prophet, ‎ﷺ.
Other references in this episode:
* Sūrah al-Mā’idah v. 55: “God, the Messenger, and the Believers, are your only guardian”;
* Christianity and Eugenics: The Place of Religion in the British Eugenics Education Society and the American Eugenics Society, c.1907–1940;
* Tweet about New York Post article;
Imam’s Corner is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.




Get full access to Imam’s Corner at imammarcmanley.substack.com/subscribe

﷽
Welcome to Episode Thirteen of the Middle Ground Podcast. In this episode brother Dawud Aleman (GBLevate) and myself discuss the phenomenal of the psy-op better known as celebrity culture. We ask questions such as “why is Taylor Swift everywhere?” and “why do they want us to pay so much attention to her?”As usual, we discuss all topics in light of the Qur’ān and statements from the Prophet, ‎ﷺ.
Other references in this episode:
* Sunan Abī Dāwūd no. 3331: “A time is certainly coming to mankind when only the receiver of usury will remain, and if he does not receive it, some of its dust will reach him”;
* Sūrah al-Naḥl v. 63: “If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more”;
* Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord;
Imam’s Corner is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.




Get full access to Imam’s Corner at imammarcmanley.substack.com/subscribe

﷽
Welcome to Episode Twelve of the Middle Ground Podcast. In this episode brother Dawud Aleman (GBLevate) and myself discuss politics again but drill down a little deeper and interrogate our understanding and estimation of the utility of politics and where might we go from here? As usual, we discuss all topics in light of the Qur’ān and statements from the Prophet, ‎ﷺ.
Other references in this episode:
* Sunan Abī Dāwūd no. 3329: “What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear, but between them are certain doubtful things”;
* Sūrah Ibrāhīm v. 7: “If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more”;
* Interview with John Gray: “Everything You Know About The Future is Wrong | Aaron Bastani meets”;
* A few thoughts on where we’re at as #Muslims living in the West and the realities therein (on X/Twitter);

Imam’s Corner is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



Get full access to Imam’s Corner at imammarcmanley.substack.com/subscribe