Tafseer of Salaat Study Group begun 26-April-2008

Al Hamdulillah, the pace of activities at my university is gathering with the commencement of a Study Group dedicated to learning the "tafseer" of the Salaat. The idea came about from a brother who (rightly) noted that there were no books (at least in English) that went through the Prayer in terms of its deeper meanings.

As a result, we thought this study-group would allow us to make notes that could then be published for use of others.

Its amazing how until you don't teach something, you don't appreciate anything fully.

On my blog in parallel (Muslim Thinking), I have for example gone through some of the discussion that we have had so far on "Subhaana Allah" (سبحان الله), such as where is the word derived from, how ibn Kathir quotes even some of the Sahabah not being familiar with this construction, and how the linguists debate why there is a fathah on the noon.

New found relevance

Alhmadulillah, it seems after 2 years at my current job, I have discovered a new relevance for this blogspot. Quite a bit has happened since then. In the words of my kind teacher: "Growth must be organic - not cancerous". And perhaps "organic" is the word of the day.

By the grace of the Almighty, some efforts to do our duty to Islam have started to show signs of positive response. I am hoping that by re-igniting this "old flame", another tool will be available to help it grow; and more actively rather than a passive commentary.

So let's see. Even Muslim Thinking had come to a standstill, but maybe we can bring it to life as well. May Allah grant Taufeeq.

Blog Shift

Al Hamdulillah wa sallallahu wa sallim ala nabiyyina Muhammad.

"By time, Man is in a state of loss..."

Firstly my apologise to those who have been waiting anxiously for an update. Though I did have the time, but there was really nothing to report within the context of this blog. I'm working on my Arabic reading Fatawa i.T., the hadith circle we are on Hadith #7 (of the 40) and really its just very hot and humid these days.

Given that the dawah scene is very slow in these early days (conveniently in keeping with the non-cancerous growth strategy advocated by my wise teacher + the issue of not wanting to create fitna in a pre-dominantly TJ scene), the Lahori Muslim blog really doesn't have much ratoinale. In fact i might just be wasting your time and mine. With no specific questions being posted regarding the Lahori Dawah scene, there also seems little interest.

This is not to say that reflection is not taking place. As a result, I am suspending the Lahori Muslim blog and shifting over to the Muslim Thinking one as of this coming Sunday (9/7/2006).

"...except those who believe and do righteous deeds and call one another to truth and call one another to patience."

I think this would be a more useful allocation of my time and yours as time is not there to waste. Muslim Thinking was set up in order to stimulate minds and really act as a much needed reminder to myself. It was motivated by the recurring refrain in the Qur'an: "Indeed in that are signs for the people of intellect." and similar statements. So hopefully there I should channel much of what is going on at this stage: thoughts.

At the moment it comprises of simple rants while nobody was really reading it.

But now it should be enhanced and hopefully be written with more self-composure.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Good Idea or not? Any suggestions?

wassalam

Abdullah

Al Hamdulillah rabbil Aalameen wa sallallahu wa sallim 'alaa imam-il-mursaleen.

To be quite honest it was a case of straightforward proscratination. Please do forgive
me for having missed last weeks post. Better late then never?

Paki workaround for getting to blogspot sites

I guess any intelligent person would have advised it in the first place but given my "priorities" it was only last week that I even thought of it. Went onto google and found the site: http://help-pakistan.com/main/dont-block-the-blog/. They give a neat workaround if you're somebody like me who wants to read blogs on blogspot.com domains. Just add http://www.pkblogs.com before your favourite blog site (e.g. http://www.pkblogs.com/islamiblog) and you will be back in touch with friends in the outside world.

Manchester is happenin'!?

You stay out of touch with a blog site and you fall into the false belief that nothing must be happening anyway. Click on AE(!?)'s blog and you find scholar's showering down. I can just envision AE going all goo-goo on seeing the Mauritanian wonder right now in my mind's eye. BTW, I don't know whether the 2 Sh. have a diff. opinion on pictures now? And bros, indeed don't be an aaloo parathaa... even worse than aataa, you may just be left an aaloo! Don't miss out indeed on that PG event on 18th June.

Words with the Shaykh

Speaking of whom, al hamdulillah, I was quite glad to be talking to Sh. K. From my side, I'm trying to woo him to LUMS as well... you know their starting a new School of Sci. & Engineering and looking for fresh PhD's who are tenure-track material. I'm sure when he brandishes the CCC label, they will be dazed. And quite glad to hear that the Sat. Morn. classes are picking up in attendance.

ibn Taymiyan classic

For my part, bi fadlillah, my old Arabic teacher showed up this weekend and we kicked off our reading of Majmoo-ul-Fatawa, the first book being kitab-ul-uluhiyya. I pray we can continue. Al hamdulillah, the Arabic is of an easy level, but the gems this guy keeps coming out with is astonishing - subhaanallah. Here is a sample (will appreciate corrections to the translation):

And so it is the duty of every single one to expend all his energies and capabilities in acquiring knowledge of what he [Muhammad - sallalllahu alaihi wasallam] came with and in obeying him. As this is the way of escape from the painful torment, and the [source of] honour in the home of blessings [i.e. Paradise]. And the way to that is the narration and the text [i.e. the Sunnah and Qur'an - or - the chain and the contents of a hadith]. [This is so] as the bare use of intellect will not suffice in [attaining] that. Nay, just as the light of the eye can not see except with the appearance of light before it, then similarly the light of the intellect can not guide until the Sun of the [Prophetic] Message does not rise upon it. And so spreading the [message of this] religion has been from amongst the greatest of obligations in Islam.

[ibn Taymiyah d. 728 AH, Majmu'-ul-Fatawa, Vol. I, p.44, Dar-ul-Kutb-al-Ilmiyah, Beirut Lebanon]

To be quite honest, i think that made my fortnight, and I hope it makes your week.

Abdullah

Some news this week

Al Hamdulillahi rabbil aalameen; wa sallallahu alaa Muhammad wa sallim.

This week, al hamdulillah, there are some snippets of news that I do hope prove worth your while.

Another visitor from Manchester

As you guys may be aware, Faisal (to use Abu Eesa's term: the Scabby) came down to Pakistan this week. The saturday before last he graced us with a visit to Lahore (coming further down from Peshawar). Thus, again it was an occasion for a re-union in which of course Mobeen (the now visiting Scabby) was instrumental. We did demonstrate to him that Lahore was capable of producing a good steak (Shazad: that's not the one at the Club). I guess he is now back in Manchester but is scheduled to visit once again.

Acquisitions

I'm sure you all are quite aware the effect buying a new book always has on the Shaykh. Bi fadlillahi wa bi rahmitihi, some recent additions to my library are the source of similar pleasure for myself . Finally, after four months of planning I was able to go down to Urdu Bazar where the original Darussalam shop is and get hold of some classics: Hilyatul Awliya, Majmu' fatawa ibn taymiyah, SubulusSalam, Sayr-ul-A'laam-un-Nubula and Lisaan-ul-Arab. To allow price comparisons (with that bookshop Sh. K. goes to, i guess) the grand total was about £300. Fatawa was priced at £85 [11 vol, Beirut print] and Lisaan at £75 [14 vol]. Consdering that the 3 vol. English explanation of the 40 Hadith sold for around £50 I consider it a bargain. However, I am assuming the prices are inflated given the shady middleman only handed over these things at a location away from the shop and gave no receipts. Couldn't get hold of the Sh. Ibn Uthaymeen sharh of Aqeedatul Wasitiyya, though Sh. Fawzan's was available. Could any of you chk with Sh. K. for a low down on this sharh... would he recommend it or should I go for the Sh. I.U. one. If any of you is in Lahore, and interested in Arabic books here then I'd def. recommend a trip to Rahmaniya Mkt. in Urdu Bazar and look at D. us-Salam's Arabic collection. I did also see there, Al-Albani's Silsilatus-Saheeha (and Da'eefah).

Learning Arabic

No my Arabic still isn't of that grade that I could pick-up Fatawa and tell you what he said. Incidently, though, my original Arabic teacher (and my Uncle) was around yesterday offering to help me read Fatawa ibn Taymiyah on a private tuition basis. I've put myself down for a taster session but there is a hitch. He is a big fan of this "modern" scholar Javed al-Ghamidi who is being hailed by several rationilist types as the Mujtahid of this era. The new controversy I learnt was that he says that actually fatihah has 6 ayaat (not seven as indicated by 15:87). The "seven oft-repeated" is supposed to signify themes like makki madni, etc. This adds to a list which includes views such as the existance of only one qiraa'a, questioning of Zuhri as a reliable narrator, questioning the authenticity of hadith that have been agreed upon, the beard not being an issue to do with the shari'ah. There is another issue which I have not engaged with first-hand and that is the use of the Qur'an directly to calculate hier ratios without recourse to a standard method followed by Umar. In light of these ijma-questioning stances, i foresee the lessons being hijacked by other considerations... let's see how it goes... his Arabic lessons in the past have benefited me though.

A slow week

Al hamdulillahi 'Azza wa Jall, wa sallallahu wa sallim ala As-Saadiq wal-Masdooq.

Quite frankly there hasn't really been much to report. The sharakpur trip had to be called
off because everybody had something else to do. So we missed the meeting with Sh. Na'eem's
elder brother from Faisalabad (Maulana Mas'ood - mudeer of Jamia Salfiya).

We have reached hadith no. 4 as far as the Nawawi Ahadith are concerned. Had some interesting discussion about the writing for the fetus. I don't think we mentioned it in any of our circles but apparently the text of Imam Nawawi has a problem. Because of adding the word "nutfah" it makes the hadith sound as if the fetus goes through its said phases over 120 days. But the original ahadith in Bukh. and Muslim don't have this word. As a result, the 40 days which is compliant with modern thinking of when the heart starts to beat (have anecdotal evidence to support this) and the fetus has passed the phases, is maintained. So don't quote Nawawi on this one! Credit to Zarabozo.

At the moment, I'm just getting used to not doing work on my PhD. It's funny. Did get a stab at teaching the MBA in LUMS. Quite a different experience to your normal lecture. Here they use what's called the "case-method" a la Harvard. So you have to teach them by asking questions... now where have I seen that before... any ideas???

wassalamu alaikum

Abdullah

Better late than never

Al hamdulillahi rabbil 'aalameen wa sallallahu wa sallim 'alaa nabiyyeena Muhammad.

Yes, you must be shocked to find that I finally did make the effort to update this blog. I do have to apologise. Four words: menatally & physically pre-occupied. Al Hamdulillah, yesterday, I sent off the corrected draft of my thesis. So now weekends and evenings are al hamdulillah my personal domain. There was plenty that did happen while I was away, though.

Makki Masjid comes to DHA

Amongst the top news is that Hafiz Na'eem is in town. On Tues. he did us an honour by visiting. Shabbir and Mobeen also got together, and so it was a pleasant Manc. reunion. The highlight was when we prayed Isha together, and it was like being in Makki with Hafiz Na'eem leading. Al Hamdulillah. A trip to his home town, Sharakpoor, is on the cards. Al Hamdulillah, he extended his stay for another 1-2 wks... Meanwhile Shabbir is suffering from the blues... no you ask him why...

Re-united with my aqeedah

I ask the shaykh to forgive the delayed response on this, but thanks to him, his family and Shazad's ability to hold on to valuable stuff in his boot for amazingly long periods, my copy of Sharh Aqeedatul-Waasitiyya was recieved a few weeks back. A note to all people planning to move to Pakistan: Darussalam here does not publish this book so make sure you get it from there.

It was eye-watering - no not because of the dust it had gathered - but to see the scribbles in the margins. Studying this book (with a proper sharh - definitely not the one that comes with the translation) is an essential insight in understanding how Allah speaks about Himself in the Qur'an and wishes to be known by His slaves - those that seek His Pleasure. It provides a formula to comprehend the repeated emphasis that Allah gives to His Names & Attributes by ending essential Ayaat with them and making those that talk about them the best in the Qur'an (e.g. Ayat-ul-Kursi & Surat-ul-Ikhlas).

All-in-all another highlight of the past weeks.

Pictures

Jazakumullahu Khairen Shazad for posting those pictures and the video. Its a pity that I don't think I'll get permission from the shaikh to upload these. If I did it, there would be some "alterations" to make them shari'ah compliant.

Misc

Jazakumullahu Khairen Wajid for calling and giving me an update (and I assume for forwarding my apologies to the others abt. my lack of updates). I hear Muslim Money is being presented by our very own Imran. Could somebody fwd a message from me to him that he check his hotmail and give me a much needed reply.

Besides that chicken has fallen from 56 Rs./kg to 20 Rs./kg. Chanay have risen from 42 to 84 Rs./kg. Mutton as at an all time high of 275 Rs./kg. KFC though is not doing as bad as before... but the Chicken flu crisis continues. I was at a four day executive course at my university where chicken did not appear at a single meal!! We had to do with Fish.

Okay, I guess that's it for now. Insha'Allah I hope further updates are more regular. Take care

and salam.

Abdullah