The Revival and Renewal of the Modern Muslim Ummah:Dr.Samir Mahmoud: OnePath Network-July13,2026
YouTube Video:
https://youtu.be/oA0G0uksJ8s?si=7hbKgNY3En-_R5Bs
There is a difference between a religion that is alive and a religion that is merely practiced. Dr. Samir Mahmoud has spent decades thinking about what separates the two. In this episode, he lays out one of the most rigorous and far-reaching frameworks for Islamic revival the channel has hosted.Dr. Samir Mahmoud is Academic Director of Usul Academy and Lecturer on the Diploma in Islamic Psychology at the Cambridge Muslim College. He was formerly Assistant Professor at the Lebanese American University. He holds a BA in Anthropology and Politics and an MA in Architectural History, Theory and Urban Design from the University of New South Wales, an MPhil in Theology and Religious Studies, and a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Cambridge, completed under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Winter (Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad).
Timestamps 0:00 Intro 1:17 Guest Introduction: Dr. Samir Mahmoud 3:19 Revival vs Renewal: Ihya and Tajdid Explained 5:19 What the Past Teaches About Renewal 6:30 Rooted Revival and the Usul Academy Vision 7:16 Roots in Eternity, Not Just the Past 11:00 What Are We Actually Trying to Revive? 12:11 Islam as Letting Go: A Deeper Definition 14:58 I Am Not an Identitarian Muslim 15:32 Islam's Mandate: Healing All of Humanity 18:53 The Concentric Circles: Self, Family, Ummah 21:12 Inner and Outer Work at Each Level 26:06 Two Extremes: Modernists and Reactionaries 27:53 Decolonising the Muslim Mind 30:17 Engaging the World on Our Own Terms 32:38 Technology Is Not Neutral 35:16 Classical Muslim Scholars in Science and Medicine 37:47 Science Is Partial, Not Wrong 38:20 Education for Careers vs Civilisational Revival 39:24 The Four Fundamental Shifts of Modernity 40:56 Objective vs Subjective Beauty in Islam 43:00 Why Every Atheist Goes on Nature Walks 44:55 Modernity Is Dead but Still Dominant 47:05 Liberalism Is Collapsing Worldwide 48:28 Pursuing Justice Without Modern Moral Language 49:39 Islam as Equal Heir to Greco-Roman Thought 52:48 The Mizan: Islam Was Given the Balance 54:49 One God, Many Names: Unity in Diversity 56:42 Classical Tolerance for Ambiguity and Multiple Views 58:19 Islam: Simple on the Surface, Infinite in Depth 1:00:36 Islam's Capacity to Embrace Radical Diversity 1:01:27 What Islam Offers to Multiculturalism Today 1:03:37 Justice as a Fundamental Principle of Revival 1:04:33 True Justice Can Only Come from Allah 1:06:10 Justice Starts in Local Communities 1:07:55 Any Injustice Is a Muslim's Concern 1:09:10 Judging Scholars by Politics, Not Knowledge 1:10:16 Multiple True Perspectives in the Tradition 1:11:43 The Danger of Black and White Thinking 1:13:23 Adab Is a Science, Not Subjective 1:14:13 The Ottoman Art of Scholarly Debate 1:16:44 Muslims Who Look Islamic but Lack Adab 1:17:58 Are Our Schools Forming Muslim Character? 1:18:22 Education: The Missing Link in Revival 1:19:14 What Does Revival Actually Look Like? 1:20:13 Forming a New Generation Like the Prophet in Mecca 1:21:09 Tafakkur: The Quranic Mode of Heart-Centred Thinking 1:22:09 The Left Hemisphere Has Hijacked the Heart 1:22:31 Heart-Centred Education: The Foundation of Revival 1:23:02 Closing Reflections.
Dr.Samir Mahmoud Website: https://www.samirmahmoud.com/
https://www.theheartofdesign.com/articles/recovering-conscious-design
In this conversation series, we explore design as a spiritual practice with creative leaders, spiritual teachers, and start-up founders from around the world. Here, Peter Gould interviews Dr Samir Mahmoud; globally respected scholar, lecturer at the Cambridge Muslim College and expert on traditional spirituality and classical architecture studies.
In this conversation series, we explore design as a spiritual practice with creative leaders, spiritual teachers, and start-up founders from around the world. Here, Peter Gould interviews Dr Samir Mahmoud; globally respected scholar, lecturer at the Cambridge Muslim College and expert on traditional spirituality and classical architecture studies.
Article: The purification of self (Tazkiyat al-Nafs):Dr.Samir Mahmoud
The purification of self (Tazkiyat al-Nafs) is an extremely important approach to perfecting the human condition and actualizing the state of being God’s vicegerent on earth.
The term tazkiyah in the Arabic language means purification of something from impurities, and its growth, development and perfection. Imam al-Ghazali developed the practice or art of tazkiyat al-nafs based on the Quranic verse (91:7-10):
“By the soul/self, and the proportion and order given to it; and its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right; truly he succeeds that purifies it [zakkaha], and he fails that corrupts it!”
In this sense, tazkiyat al-nafs can be defined as the purification of the self from all evil inclinations and its beautification with good values and virtues.
In our modern day and age rife with moral confusion and temptation, it is extremely important we are equipped with a method or process that we can use to re-gain mastery over our self and purify it from negative influences. This will then allow us nurture our own individual growth and development as better Muslims. Ghazali is a very helpful guide on this quest because he uses very clear terms and concepts geared towards individual growth and development. For Ghazali, a human being is both, body and soul, matter and spirit. It is the unique balance between the two that makes humans what they are, the highest creation. The original condition of the human being is that of fitrah. According to al-Ghazali, a human being is born in a natural state of purity (fitrat al-Islam). The potential to do good or bad exists. It is the early developmental stages and influences that determine how those potentials are enhanced. If the child’s early environment is good, the good potentials are promoted. If it is bad the bad ones are.
The Divinely revealed law is crucial for knowing what is right and what is wrong. However, even when we know what is right and wrong, we may be under the influence of compulsions and temptations that control us or skew our judgment. Therefore, there is an important element in tazkiyat al-nafs, namely, a conscious decision to changes one’s self in the direction of that which is better. As a spiritual-moral term, tazkiyat al-nafs denotes our self-imposed effort of eradicating those tendencies within the human self, which form obstacles in the path of our moral and spiritual development.
To this end, it is important to understand the structure of the self. Following the Quran, Ghazali explains that there are three levels to the self. There is the:
The Inciting Self (al-nafs al-ammarah): the part of our lower self that impels us towards doing wrong things. It overlaps with our passions, desires, ego, and instincts.
The Reproaching Self (al-nafs al-lawwamah): the part of our self that reproaches us and takes us to task for committing wrong things. It overlaps with the function of reasoning and judgment.
The Tranquil Self (al-nafs al-mutma’innah): the part of our self wherein the self has attained to a state of peace and serenity due to its purification and perfection. It overlaps with the spirit within us.
posted by NFIE @ 9:20 PM
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