OnGuard - For the Ummah, For the Truth

Muslim men are struggling with anxiety, depression, loneliness, addiction and pressures that often remain completely hidden from the people around them. But why do so many men suffer in silence — and what should Muslims actually do about it?

In this episode of OnGuard, Dr Hamza Andreas Tzortzis sits down with Ahmed Tomal of Tawfiq Therapy for a frank discussion about the mental health challenges facing Muslim men today.

They explore anxiety, depression, loneliness, addiction, relationships, suicidal thoughts, emotional suppression and the difficulty many men have in asking for help. Ahmed also breaks down what therapy can genuinely offer — while warning against uncritically importing assumptions and ideologies from modern therapeutic culture into an Islamic framework.

Can a man be strong and still admit he is struggling? How should husbands communicate when stress begins damaging their marriages? What does useful therapy actually look like? And how can Islam, family, community and professional support work together before somebody reaches breaking point?

A candid and practical conversation about what Muslim men may be going through behind closed doors — and why simply saying “I’m fine” may not be enough.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:30 Meet Ahmed Tomal
03:39 Can mental-health language be weaponised?
06:34 Why focus on Muslim men?
07:12 What Muslim men are struggling with
09:33 Depression and suicidal ideation
10:44 How anxiety is treated
15:55 Exposure-response prevention and Prophet Musa
22:06 Hamza’s experience with boxing anxiety
27:32 Childhood experiences and coping mechanisms
34:39 Suppressed emotions, anger and relationships
47:53 Understanding depression
59:19 Responding directly to suicidal thoughts
1:00:08 What happens during therapy?
1:08:00 Therapy, ideology and Islamic values
1:12:42 Suicide rates in Muslim communities
1:16:59 Is “toxic masculinity” the right term?
1:24:46 Islamic guidance on emotions and grief
1:30:52 Why Muslim men avoid seeking help
1:37:48 Final advice: hold on and seek support
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Is modern therapy really neutral?
Imam Abdullah Hasan argues that beneath many popular approaches to psychology, counselling and psychotherapy lie assumptions about what a human being is, what suffering means, what constitutes illness, and what healing should look like.
And when Muslims adopt those frameworks wholesale — then simply add Qur’anic verses, hadith or Islamic terminology — are we actually producing “Islamic psychology”? Or are we importing an entirely different worldview into Islam?
In this fascinating OnGuard conversation, Dr Hamza Andreas Tzortzis sits down with Imam Abdullah Hasan, who combines traditional Islamic scholarship with formal study in psychology, counselling and psychotherapy.
They explore the philosophical foundations of Freud, Carl Rogers and modern therapy; why Imam Abdullah believes Muslims must build from an Islamic understanding of the qalb, nafs, rūḥ and fiṭrah; the development and criticism of psychiatric diagnosis; the “chemical imbalance” narrative around depression; pharmaceutical influence; grief and human suffering; trauma culture and self-diagnosis; the effect therapeutic language can have on families; and what an authentically Islamic approach to human flourishing might look like.
Imam Abdullah also shares the deeply personal experience of losing his mother, and explains why Islam does not promise us a life without pain — but gives suffering meaning, purpose and a path through it.
This is not an argument to ignore genuine suffering or deny people support. It is a challenge to Muslims to examine the assumptions underneath the solutions we are being offered — and to rediscover the extraordinarily rich understanding of the human being already contained within our own tradition.
Chapters
00:00 Coming up
02:44 Meet Imam Abdullah Hasan
04:47 Is modern psychology harming Muslims?
14:00 Building psychology from an Islamic worldview
28:52 What’s wrong with “Islamic CBT”?
31:46 Who decides what counts as mental illness?
43:11 The chemical imbalance theory and antidepressants
50:46 Can secular psychology really be “Islamised”?
65:00 Grief, depression and the meaning of suffering
75:51 Trauma, suicide and turning back to Allāh
84:10 Has therapy culture made us more fragile?
86:16 Should Muslims study psychology?
90:48 What is actually causing the mental health crisis?
95:05 Where to learn more from Imam Abdullah Hasan
99:54 A final warning to the Muslim community

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What makes a society truly civilised?
Is civilisation measured by wealth, military strength and global influence—or by the moral principles that restrain power and protect human dignity?
In this extended OnGuard conversation, Dr Hamza Andreas Tzortzis sits down with Shaykh Dr Haitham al-Haddad to explore akhlāq: the Islamic understanding of character, morality and the way human beings relate to Allah, themselves, one another and the world around them.
They examine who has the authority to define right and wrong, why secular moral frameworks can produce radically different conclusions over time, and whether human reason and desire can ever provide a stable foundation for ethics.
The discussion then moves from the individual to the civilisational. Can a society flourish without morality? What happens when pleasure, greed, ribā, family breakdown and the pursuit of power become embedded within a nation? And why do powerful countries so often begin to resemble the very forces they once claimed to oppose?
Shaykh Haitham also explains why Muslims should aspire to civilisational strength—not for domination or oppression, but to protect justice, resist tyranny and prevent the weak from being exploited by those with greater power.
Drawing upon the Qur’an, the Prophetic mission and examples from Islamic history, this conversation presents akhlāq not merely as good manners or private spirituality, but as the moral foundation upon which individuals, families, communities and entire civilisations must be built.
A wide-ranging discussion on morality, power, justice, trust, ʿaqīdah, tawakkul, barakah—and what it really means to be civilised.
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In this special episode of OnGuard, Hamza Andreas Tzortzis sits with the world-renowned Mauritanian scholar Shaykh Dr Mostafa al-Shaybani for a deeply personal conversation on da‘wah, sincerity, fame, the Qur’an, family, and the crisis of Muslim online influence.

Hamza asks the Shaykh to advise him directly — as someone involved in leadership, public da‘wah, online work, and mentoring others — on how Muslim speakers, activists, influencers and students should protect themselves from ego, ostentation, fame, algorithm-chasing and losing sight of the real purpose of calling people to Allāh.

The Shaykh’s answer is a powerful reminder: before public da‘wah must come private worship; before chasing followers must come sincerity; and before trying to “win” arguments must come a heart shaped by the Qur’an.

This is essential viewing for anyone involved in da‘wah, Islamic content, community work, teaching, activism, or public Muslim discourse.

Chapters:

00:00 Hamza asks for sincere mentorship
02:44 Private worship and the weight of da‘wah
06:37 Why are you calling people to Allāh?
08:10 The Qur’an is guidance, not just barakah
12:10 Surah al-Baqarah and reshaping the Muslim mind
17:18 Tadabbur: the Qur’an as transformation
21:22 Reading sīrah as Qur’anic guidance
22:40 Your da‘wah starts at home
24:47 Fame: the enemy of the da‘i
29:40 Basīrah, hikmah and long-term da‘wah
36:10 Qur’an, marriage and the da‘i’s inner life
42:29 Let the Qur’an choose your da‘wah priorities
44:11 Followers, hearts and success from Allāh
46:38 Hamza’s journey back to the Qur’an

Subscribe to Islam21c for more conversations on faith, family, da‘wah, politics, society and the challenges facing Muslims today.

Share this episode with anyone involved in da‘wah, Islamic content, community leadership or Muslim public discourse.

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What happens when Muslim men and women are separated from their fitrah, their roles, their families — and each other?

In this OnGuard podcast, Shaykh Shaqur Rehman joins us for a deep discussion on the Power of a Muslim Woman, the role of motherhood and wifehood in Islamic civilisation, the crisis facing Muslim families, and how modern society has reshaped the way men and women see themselves.

This is not just a discussion about feminism, university, marriage, or gender roles. It is about the heart of the Muslim home, the future of the Ummah, and the urgent need to rebuild men, women, families, and communities upon submission to Allāh.

We discuss how colonialism, liberal modernity, materialism, online discourse, broken family structures, and schooling from a young age have shaped Muslim men and women — and what it takes to undo that damage through tarbiyah, leadership, sisterhood, brotherhood, haya, family, and community.

Chapters:
00:00 Reclaiming the Power of a Muslim Woman
12:06 How the Muslim family was hijacked
20:38 Real Islamic masculinity and male leadership
34:04 How society reprogrammed men and women
49:11 Muslim women, media and da’wah
01:00:10 Motherhood, wifehood and the path to Jannah
01:06:17 University, apostasy and protecting the dīn
01:22:38 Rebuilding families, tribes and communities

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Support the show
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