This is the first post in the series Essential Virtues for Developing Nobility of Character. The series will share the speaking notes for lectures delivered in Toronto in October 2015. The audio files of the lectures are also available online via itunes or libsyn (Living and Loving the Quran. http://marziahassan.libsyn.com/webpage)

The topic that we will discuss, reflect on and inshallah put into practice in the next few days is called Essential Virtues for Developing Nobility of Character.

We will be discussing in very practical terms various virtues of character and how we can develop and nurture them within ourselves. Before we can do that, however, we need to gain some basic understanding of what is good character and why it is important to develop it. This part is more theoretical and abstract than what is to come but it is usually useful to understand why we need to work at something challenging as it gives us a reason to push through when we face obstacles.

What is akhlaq?

The...

Many of us struggle to focus and maintain concentration when we pray. Sometimes it seems that the harder we try to focus, the more difficult it appears. This session is the recording from a live session from 2007, where we explore the issue of concentration in salaat and discuss various strategies to improve focus.

Leading up to Ramadaan, I will inshallah try and upload some sessions on self development. Here is one from a live session in 2009. It introduces the concept of self knowledge and briefly covers the steps to getting to know ourselves

This episode is part of a longer live traiing on practicing forgiveness. In this section, we explore the cost of holding onto resentments and discuss how and why we form grievances. Once we recognize how holding onto resentments robs us of joy and saps our energy, we can begin the process of healing ourselves from the poison of resentment.

Do you find that your temper gets in the way of maintaining good family relationships? Do you find yourself focusing on the challenging aspects of other's personalities? Here are some suggestions to manage anger so that it does not get in the way of great family relationships.

What does it mean to say that Allah swt will bring small acts of goodness to light?
What are the worldly benefits of doing small acts of kindness?
How can we practice doing small acts of kindness every day?

Continuing our study of Chapter 34, Sura Saba. In this episode, we discuss how arrogance, power and materialism caused the Meccans to disbelieve in the message of the Quran.

In the final session on Sura Saba, we discuss accountability and summarize the message of the Sura.

In this episode we talk about the arguments used by the Quraish to disbelive in the message of the Quran