In Good Faith

I came across a couple of Saad Yacoob's Substack articles in 2025, and knew straight away that I had to get him onto the show. When I then learned that his PhD was centred on the famous Muhammad Iqbal - after whom I was named - I was even more keen to do so.
Our paths crossed unexpectedly in Doha and we sat down for an impromptu chat. Saad didn't disappoint. This was easily one of my favourite conversations of In Good Faith so far. In it, Saad puts forward a powerful and beautifully articulated rallying call for us all.

Saad's academic bio.
Saad's Instagram.
Saad's Substack.

(00:00) Confrontation & confidence
(06:29) Critique of legal tradition
(15:18) Internal vs universal relevance
(21:52) Critique of mysticism & modernity
(36:15) Reviving the spirit of faith
(39:17) Salvific anxiety & material flourishing
(46:20) How to overcome collective depression
(56:10) Colonial mentality of the colonised
(1:06:11) Identity, individualism & community
(1:14:08) Becoming standard bearers
(1:24:42) Closing couplet & reflections

Dr Sohaib Saeed gives his view on the implications of the revelation being in Arabic. Watch the full episode here.

The idea of a “Muslim community” will remain a myth for as long as its zakat remains disorganised, scattered and imbalanced… which is exactly the situation today.
Drawing on my decade of experience in running a zakat institution, and my reflections on revelation and prophetic example, I propose ways forward that help make sense of what zakat is and what we need to do to unlock its immense power.

(00:00) What does zakat mean?
(05:58) The salat-zakat combo
(18:40) Purpose of zakat
(27:45) Centralisation & representation
(52:10) Why zakat should be local
(56:22) Welfare & admin categories
(1:14:31) Soft & hard power categories
(1:35:35) Revising rates & thresholds
(1:47:25) Voluntary giving

On the day that Ramadan Tent Project (RTP) hosted its first event for the breaking of the fast (iftar) at Silverstone - home of the British Grand Prix - here's a flashback to my conversation with Omar Salha in May 2025 to understand more about RTP's Open Iftar initiative.
Watch the full episode here.

Dr Sohaib Saeed lays out a useful approach to help make sense of revelation.Watch the full episode here.