Muslims & The Post-Literacy Society
A ḥadīth about being read to, and a warning about a society that is losing the very capacity — and the source material — to read.
Reflections & Notes
The Blog
Modern Myths of Professional & Wellness Culture
Efficiency and optimization can’t buy you more time. A reflection on discipline, control, and trusting Allāh’s decree.
Ribā, Robots, and the Panopticon
Episode 51 of the Middle Ground Podcast: on surveillance and the panopticon, building AI locally, and ribā vs. Islamic economics.
Putting God on Trial?!
Why the skeptic’s demand that God prove Himself is itself the trap — the Qur’an’s diagnosis of unbelief in Sūrah al-Anʿām.
What Does Sunnah Really Mean?
A quick-start guide to what “sunnah” really means, drawn from Imām al-Qafaṣī’s Lubāb al-Lubāb.
Repetition & Remembrance
On why the Qur’ān repeats itself — speaking as plainly to a brand-new Muslim as to one who’s walked the path for years.
AI Is More Artificial Than You Think
The problem with AI isn't what it can do — it's how we mislabel math as thinking.
On Morality and Secularism
Secularism demands a moral standard for everyone while eschewing any authority beyond the self.
Hope & Faith in Times of Absurdity
Episode 50 of the Middle Ground Podcast with Imam Marc Manley and brother Dawud Aleman.
From Villain to Vindicated
Sūrah Munafiqun, the vindication of Zayd ibn Arqam, and telling the truth in difficult times.
Dreaming of a Prophetic Life
A reflection on fitrah, homesteading, and the quiet pull toward a simpler, more prophetic way of living.
Guard Your Narrative
On protecting your inner narrative from those who profit by naming your anger for you.
Islam & Evolution
Pushing the Yaqeen–Muslim Skeptic debate over human evolution forward, thoughtfully.
Islamic Psychology
Does a psychology built on agnosticism toward the soul deserve the name “Islamic”?
Meaning & Terminology in the Qur'an
On preserving Qur'anic terminology against the temptation to redefine it.
The Modernist Muslim
On the false humility of dismissing scholarship while claiming not to be a scholar.
Muslims & Manhood
Why some Muslim men reach for pop psychology instead of tradition to answer a crisis in manhood.
On Liberalism
Framing an excerpt from Modern Age on liberalism's quiet hold over Muslim education in the West.
Black Lives Matter & Systemic Racism
A civil conversation on race and systemic racism with Dr. Abdullah bin Hamid Ali.
Performative Islam
On the shift from practicing Islam to performing it for an audience.
Race & Secularism in America
Musings on Vincent J. Lloyd's work on how secularism manages both race and religion.
Reading List (Articles)
A companion stack of articles alongside the book reading list.
Reading List 2023
Imam Marc's running list of books for teaching, study, and inspiration.
Reflection
In Arabic
The Challenges of Embracing Islam Today
On the difficulty of learning Arabic, and what the ummah owes new Muslims — written in Arabic.
Biography
In Arabic
Marc Manley: A Brief Biography
Imam Marc's path to Islam, his teachers, and the story behind Middle Ground — written in Arabic.
“The Joker” With Imam Suhaib Webb
Part II of Imam Marc’s conversation with Imam Suhaib Webb on the film “Joker.”
Fajr Club Ḥalaqah
“Having Hope In Meeting Allah” — a short Fajr talk on the opening of Sūrah Yūnus.
Why Islam Is Not a Culture
On revelation, culture, and the temptation to conflate the two.
American Imamate
On serving an underserved ummah, and a hadith from Ibn ʿAbbas on preaching with earnestness and restraint.
Our Culture of Indifference
A crying toddler on a crowded train reveals a culture that has forgotten patience — and what the Qur'an asks of us instead.
Islamophobia: It’s Not a Phobia
Islamophobia isn’t fear. It’s hatred dressed up as anxiety — and Muslims need to stop pretending otherwise.
American Muslim Identity
A 2012 essay on the quest for authenticity among Blackamerican and immigrant Muslims — and the still-unfinished work of an American Muslim culture.
Islam: A Din of Action, Not Just Philosophy
Islam is a religion of action, not just philosophy — more than the decadent acquisition of knowledge.