InshAllah over the next few days I’ll address some events that I witnessed over Ramadhan, I’ll also talk about my demoralising (or why it shouldn’t be) job search.

But first, something I’ve been itching to talk about.

I know pretty much next-to-nothing about the music world. But whatever your inclinations, I recommend… umm… nah forget that - I COMMAND you (in a brotherly manner) to listen to Outlandish’s new album titled Closer than Veins.

If you understand that percussion instruments are only halal, then don’t read any further. But don’t assume that I’m recommending this album because it has bangin’ tunes, I mean, granted, some of tracks have a wonderful upbeat tempo to them, but the last thing I’m calling for is brothers and sisters to start gyrating their hips like Muppets and bob their heads like pigeons.

Anyways, last night I was lying on my bed listening to the whole album till the early hours of the morning. I couldn’t understand why I liked it so much. But after a few hours, I started to feel short of breath. My mind was blurred in a mix of excitement and incredulity. I didn’t realise it when I first listened to the album, but by the end, I finally understood that EVERY SINGLE track on this album drives an Islamic message.

You may ask “So what? There are bare nasheeds, naats and ghazals out there that do the same.” True, but none of them can ever hope to reach such a large Western audience as Outlandish can. I don’t know what genre they fit in, but the mighty backing of Sony nearly guarantees that their voices will be heard. And that’s what it comes down to ““ getting our voices heard. As Muslims living in the West, all eyes are on us. But we still sit on our hands as the governments and media tighten the nooses. So praise be to Allah, who gifted the brothers from Outlandish a special talent, and then gave them the strength to challenge and frontier new boundaries.

It wouldn’t do Outlandish any justice if I just headlined the topics as marriage, motherhood, state of the Ummah, occupation, spirituality, integration, injustice, speaking the truth ““ it’s just so much deeper than that.

If your stuck scratching your heads then go to Hahmeds blog and you can listen to some of the tracks. You can also watch the video for “˜Look into my Eyes’ here. Be attentive when you listen, not all the references are immediate, but once you do, you’ll be in awe.

My favourites: I’ve Seen, Sakeena, Una Palabra and Kom Igen (you just gotta love the Urdu rap).