What kind of a muslim I am

Two articles on brother Suhaib’s log caught my eye:

1.) “Suhaib! Where do you stand? What kind of muslim are you?”: http://www.suhaibwebb.com/blog/counseling/suhaib-where-do-you-stand-what-kind-of-muslim-are-you/

2.) “Drop the prefix: I’m just muslim”: http://www.suhaibwebb.com/personaldvlpt/drop-the-prefix-i%e2%80%99m-just-muslim/#more-6554

This is me and this (and Allah) is enough for me. I’m a MUSLIM. I’m thankful to be a muslim – alhamdulillah – and I don’t want to be associated with any other hizb than that of islam. I’m sick of all those subdivisions and affiliations people ascribe themselves to, whether Salafis or Sufis or anything else. I am a muslim who follows the Salaf and who recognizes the science of tasawwuf (purely based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah) as an integral and important part of islam, that’s it. I do recognize the four Sunni schools in fiqh and the three schools in ‘aqidah but as a layman I don’t follow any of these schools, I do study them, because I put my trust in a scholar from one of these schools whether in fiqh or ‘aqidah when I want to know something. I’m closest to the Shafi’i and Maliki madhhab and in ‘aqidah to the Athari madhhab. I’m a moderate or try to follow the middle road/path, al-wasatiyyah, as advocated by shaykh Yusuf al-Qardawi and others like imam Ahmed Saad.

Leading contemporary scholars and students of knowledge for me are:

- al-Qardawi

- ‘Ali Jumu’ah

- Bin Bayyah

- Salman al-Awdah

- Muhammad Hasan al-Dido

- Haytham al-Haddad

- Hamza Yusuf

- Zaid Shakir

- Suhaib Webb

- Muhammad Akram Nadwi

- Samir al-Nass

Good quote Hamza Yusuf and an advice

Hamza Yusuf said in one of his fabulous lectures: “Our society is a society that celebrates the death of the spirit in giving life to the lowest pursuits of humanity. That is the death of the soul.“

See his video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-92aAr6Z_4&feature=related

Dear brothers and sisters we need to wake up from our sleep. This was said by Hamza Yusuf in 1995 and what we see nowadays 14 years later is still true and it has even become worse: this Western society is sick, really sick. We are not aware of the impact of the sicknesses of our hearts and the great blessings Allah has bestowed upon us to cure these sicknesses and to cure the people around us with the gift of islam. Our beloved Prophet came to cure the hearts of the peoples and since his time until now we see the same sicknesses only on a larger scale than he probably could have imagined. What can we do?

Throw out the television out of our houses as a first step because watching television is a full time job for a lot of people. Watching television creates these sicknesses. I already stopped watching television for more than a year now and I can only say: ALHAMDULILLAH! All that time I have after coming home from work, blessed time which can be spent usefully. Dear brothers and sisters, spend your time well and stop wasting time watching television. Bring your dead spirit back to life, surrender to al-Hayy and don’t give in to what this society promotes: celebrating the death of the spirit and celebrating the dominance of the lower, evil nafs and pleasing the shaytaan and following your hawaa because you are “free”. Wake up before you really die as sleep is the cousin of death, the little death. This is my humble nasihah to myself and to all of you who read this.

Learning Arabic is a personal obligation

Salam,

See this link for the complete article on this title: http://www.2shared.com/file/8665042/fca233e7/To_master_the_Arabic_language_is_a_personal_obligation.html#

After a brother – with whom I had some e-mail correspondence about learning Arabic – read the article he made the following comments:

“Many of the quotes you made, though they are correct, do not justify your conclusion that mastering arabic is fard…Just because Umar ra hit his children for making language mistakes do not in any way establish the fact that arabic is fard…So we have to disregard such and similar quotes…Yes, learning arabic strengthens one’s intelligence, and it can also increase one’s murua’ah…but from these statements we cannot deduce that learning arabic is fard ayn…” and: ” These quotes merely show that mastering arabic is very desirable, and recommandable, which every muslim agrees by default..”

 

The brother – may Allah preserve him is correct. I want to add to this though I didn’t mean to quote these sayings from the Salaf to prove that learning or mastering Arabic is fard ‘ayn but only to illustrate the importance of the Arabic language in our religion and how the Salaf valued this language and to show their devotion and love for the Prophet and everything he did in which many of us are lacking, including myself. They were the best of the generations who followed him and they tried to imitate him – out of pure love for Allah and His messenger – in every way possible, also with regard to the language (although it might seem extreme to us to hit your children because they make mistakes in the language; and we all know Ibn ‘Umar followed the Prophet s.a.w.s. in a very strict way). My point was to make clear that if you really want to understand your religion, you learn and study Arabic to the utmost of your capabilities and possibilities with the help of Allah else I really wonder if you take your religion and the upbringing of your children – who will insha’Allah follow you in your religion out of conviction – seriously. Also, just because something is not fard and “merely” and emphasized sunna doesn’t mean we shouldn’t follow it or leave it because it is not an obligation.  

 

He also wrote me concerning the quote: “Do not learn the language of the non-Arabs, and do not enter upon them in their churches on their festivals, for indeed wrath descends upon them.” “I don’t want to divorce this quote from its textual and contextual conditions of historical emergence; obviously it makes a reference to entering churches on festivals etc…However, saying “don’t learn the language of non-arabs“  is not only a hidden arab nationalism, but also fundamentally against islamic values, and the life our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wassalam).  Just to remind you, the famous sahabe named Zayd bin Thabit learned Hebrew and many Syriac languages when the Prophet asked him to learn foreign languages…Then Zayd became a translator, and guided in da’wah activities as well…I don’t know how people come up with bizarre statements such as ‘do not learn non-Arab languages..“

 

I do agree with the brother here. This seems to be some hidden Arab nationalism or fanaticism here which is not of the teachings of islam, moreover it is well known that this saying contradicts the practice of the Prophet s.a.w.s. and his Sahaba. For example, when some of the first Muhajirin arrived in Medina from Abessynia and they presented to him some clothing from that place as a gift he said something in the language of the Abessynians to make clear he liked it.

 

Concerning my quote: “Always remember … without total fluency in the Arabic language, you can only attain basic islamic knowledge … but basic knowledge is the path to advanced knowledge.” He wrote: “Yes, true. Absolutely!  One cannot achieve more than basic islamic knowledge without Arabic fluency. But what is fard ayn is only that basic islamic knowledge.. (which includes recitation of surahs in Arabic for prayer as well, but not knowledge of Arabic language itself).“

 

Concerning imam al-Shafi’i’s statement: “It is obligatory upon every muslim to learn the Arab tongue [language] to the utmost of his power {to be able} to profess through it that “there is no God at all but Allah and [that] Muhammad is His servant and apostle [messenger]”, and to recite in it {i.e. the Arabic tongue/language} the Book of Allah, and to utter in mentioning what is incumbent upon him, the takbir, and what is commanded, the tasbih, the tashahhud and others.“ he wrote: “This is definitely true……if you say that knowing arabic is fard…you don’t mean that one must be able to speak it, for example, in a court situation, explaining his situation to the qadi in Arabic…A muslim would not be sinful if he cannot express himself in Arabic during a court, or any other situation, right?  In that case, you are using the word “mastering” in a wrong way…Because, for example, I mastered the English language…and this means that I can fully express myself in that language in whatever context it is…But clearly, this is not what you mean…You only mean Arabic knowledge related to islam…Yes, I agree that it is fard ayn to master Arabic to the extent that you can say ‘there is no God at all but Allah and that Muhammad is his servant and apostle” in Arabic, and to the extent that you can recite the book of Allah (which, technically only requires pronunciation and tajwid, not knowledge of Arabic language itself..For example, I can recite the whole Qur’an, but I don’t understand it) and to the extent that you can utter what is incumbent upon him, e.g. takbir etc…As long as you can do all these, that means you satisfy the fard ayn requirement of Arabic knowledge…which, linguistic wise, does not mean you mastered Arabic language. And lastly, it will come as a suprise…Abu Hanifa ra.  held the opinion that one’s salah would be valid if he recited the Fatiha in Persian language under extreme conditions…(The sahaba Selman Al-Fârisî had made a Persian translation of Fatiha, and the Persians recited this translation in salah until their tongue became familiar with Arabic pronunciation. But I don’t know whether this was during or after the life of our Prophet.“

 

Masha’Allah, this last part especially is some great piece of valuable info. Salman al-Farisi was actually the first one to translate the Qur’an into a foreign language. About the recitation of the Qur’an in Persian, this can be read here: http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/MW/translatable/koran.htm But be warned: this is an anti-islam site but quotations are provided which can be checked on veracity. In the Wikipedia article with the title “Hanafi” it can be read: “Abu Hanifa held that “the Qur’an” consists of the meaning of the text and so in the daily prayers it was permissible to recite “the Qur’an” in any language unconditionally. Later Hanafis only held that this meant it was only permissible if the person praying was unable to recite the Qur’an in Arabic, but the original opinion is still upheld as a difference.” No source is provided though. See also this fatwa on the same subject (especially nr. 12): http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503546068  There is much more to find on this subject if one delves into it. Here are some more links:

 

- http://suzyashraf.tripod.com/htm/_ed._Syed_Mumtaz_Ali.htm

- http://www.quranicstudies.com/articles/language-of-the-quran/muslim-discourse-in-the-early-twentieth-century-on-the-translation-of-the-quran.html (HIGHLY INTERESTING!!)

 

May Allah reward the brother for his useful comments.

 

 

Islam en Ramadan in Kenia

Afgelopen Ramadan heb ik in de plaatselijke moskee een lezing mogen geven over de islam en Ramadan in Kenia. Degene die hierover graag iets willen lezen kunnen hier een PDF downloaden met de inhoud van die lezing: http://www.2shared.com/file/8049397/dd6f08b9/Islam_en_Ramadan_in_Kenia.html

Hier zijn tevens wat foto’s van moskeeen in Kenia die mijn ouders en ik zelf genomen hebben: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=&w=42418512%40N07 zodat men een beetje een beeld kan krijgen bij de lezing.

Veel lees- en kijkplezier insha’Allah!

Wonderful statement imam al-Shafi’i

Shaykh Samir an-Nass – may Allah preserve him for the ummah –  from Syria quoted – during the halaqah in Peterborough (UK) last april I attended- a wonderful statement from imam al-Shafi’i rahimahullah, see here:http://www.2shared.com/file/7774451/c3711659/Statement_imam_Shafii.html

This is the summit of akhlaaq and forgiveness that we should be teaching and spreading amongst our brethren. I thought it was a statement from imam Malik r. but was mistaken. The source of this statement is the Diwan of imam al-Shafi’i, see this link: http://lisanularab.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3734#post3734.

Here it is in Arabic:

من نال مني او علقت بذمته
ابراته لله شاكر نعمته
كيلا ارى ممن يعوق موحدا
او من يسو ء محمدا في امته

Transcribed it goes like this:

“Man naala minni aw ‘aliqtu bidhimmatihi

 

aabraa-tuhu lillahi shaakira ni’matihi

 

kayla uraa mimman ya’ooqu muwahhiddan

 

aw man yasoo-u Muhammadan fee ummatihi”

 

 

Translation: Whosoever injures me (i.e. has done me a wrong) or there is something in his charge that is due to me (i.e. he owes me something), then I clear/absolve him thereof for Allah’s Sake (i.e. I forgive him) being grateful to Him for His Bounty, because I do not want to be seen as one of those who impede (the progress of) a muwahhid (one who upholds Allah’s Oneness) (on the Day of Judgment) or of those who have done Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) a wrong with respect to his Ummah.]

Waarom de mujtahids meningsverschillen hadden

Hier een vertaald artikel met als titel: “Waarom de mujtahids meningsverschillen hadden“, te downloaden van: http://www.2shared.com/file/7774234/e1cc39e2/Waarom_de_mujtahids_meningsverschillen_hadden.html

Dit artikel is overgenomen van de volgende link: http://www.ahlu-sunnah.de/main/fiqh/165-wieso-die-rechtsschulen-meinungsverschiedenheit-hatten

Het (bekerings-)verhaal van Salman al-Farisi r.a.

In het kader van de Ramadan-tour 2009 van het Landelijk Platform Nieuwe Moslims (www.lpnm.nl) heb ik een lezing mogen geven over het bekeringsverhaal van Salman al-Farisi radi Allah ‘anhu, een hele bekende metgezel van de Profeet Mohammed sall Allahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam. Een PDF-document met dit verhaal / deze lezing kan hier gedownload worden: http://www.2shared.com/file/7765705/3ef1d689/Van_Isfahan_naar_Medina.html

Deze lezing is met name gebaseerd op het boekje van dr. Abdur Rahim: http://www.goodwordbooks.com/product-details/From-Esfahan-To-Madinah/397.html en de lezing van Anwar al-Awlaki “Quest for truth”, die hier gedownload kan worden: http://www.kalamullah.com/anwar-alawlaki.html

Hier volgen nog enkele links met interessante artikelen over Salman al-Farisi:

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_the_Persian

- http://www.naqshbandi.org/chain/3.htm

- http://www.ezsoftech.com/islamic/salman.asp

- http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1176631679060&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout

- http://www.islamiska.org/e/salman.htm

- http://www.al-islam.org/masoom/companions/salman.html (Shi’a site)

- http://ibnyaaqub.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/salman-al-farisi-and-identity/

- Een ander boek over Salman: http://store.dar-us-salam.com/product/104.html

- http://www.geocities.com/ahlulbayt14/salman.html

- http://www.dawaatelislam.com/Sahabah/Salman%20Al-Farisi%20Radi-Allahu%20anhu.htm

- http://www.lastprophet.info/en/a.ali-ural/salman-al-farsi-from-fire-to-divine-light-from-mabih-to-salman-al-khayr.html

- http://www.inter-islam.org/Biographies/SalmanfarsiR.htm

Mijn posts in het Nederlands

Voor de Nederlandse lezers van mijn blog, hier mijn posts in het Nederlands tot nu toe:

Stellingen en woordspelingen, deel 2

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/stellingen-woordspelingen-deel-2/

Stellingen en woordspelingen, deel 1

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/stellingen-deel-1/

De correcte uitspraak van de shahadah volgens het klassiek Arabisch en de Shafi’i madhhab

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/de-correcte-uitspraak-van-de-shahadah/

Boek “De omstreden bronnen van de islam”

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2009/03/15/boek-de-omstreden-bronnen-van-de-islam/

Motieven voor bekering tot de islam

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/motieven-voor-bekering-tot-de-islam/

De edelgesteenten der geloofsleer over de uiteenzetting van het islamitische geloof

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/de-edelgesteenten-der-geloofsleer-over-de-uiteenzetting-van-het-islamitische-geloof/

Nederlandse woorden van Arabische oorsprong

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/nederlandse-woorden-van-arabische-oorprong/

Salafisme en spiritualiteit

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/08/17/salafism-and-spirituality-salafisme-en-spiritualiteit/

Bekende tot de islam bekeerde Nederlanders

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/bekende-tot-de-islam-bekeerde-nederlanders/

De Mudawwanah

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/08/03/de-mudawwanah/

Waaruit bestaat het soefisme

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/waaruit-bestaat-het-soefisme/

Liefde – 2

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/liefde-2/

Liefde is mijn fundament

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/liefde-is-mijn-fundament/

Ik ben niet

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/ik-ben-niet/

Liefde komt…

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/liefde-komt/

Geduld (nog niet af)

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/07/12/geduld/

Liefde

- http://baytulhikma.wordpress.com/2008/07/11/liefde/

10.000!!

Allahu akbar kabira wa’l-hamdulillahi kathira: I have had more than 10.000 visitors wa la hawla wa la quwatta illa billah!! Never expected this when I started about a year ago. Here are my most read, top 10, posts of all time:

Top Posts for all days ending 2009-09-04 (Summarized)

Title	Views
Fatawa shaykh Muhammad al-Hassan al-Amin	783
Sayyid Sabiq and his Fiqh us-Sunnah	706
al-Akhdari	340
Partial English translation of al-’Itqan	284
Sharh Mukhtasar al-Akhdari	274
Poems by imam al-Shafi’i	274
Recommended books	264
Riyadh us-Salihin	216
About me / Over mij	203
Basic classical texts for the beginning	180

 

Keep reading my log insha’Allah and remember me in your prayers, wa sallallahu ta’ala ‘ala sayyidina Muhammadin wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi ‘ajma’in.

The Risalah of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani

Because of Ramadhan I was going through the chapter on fasting in the Maliki fiqh-book the Risalah of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani, rendered to English by F. Amira Zrein Matraji. Although the translation is not really great the nice thing about this book is you can read the English text which is accompagnied by the Arabic text WITH TASHKEEL. This makes reading the Arabic text easier, it builds your vocabulary and understanding of Arabic and you get familiar with fiqhi terms. In short this is very beneficial. I was inspired to do this after listening to a short explanatory course / lecture on the chapter of fasting by Rami Nsour from the Tayba Foundation (http://www.taybafoundation.org/instructors.html). It is said Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani was the “little Malik”, the second most important scholar in the Maliki madhhab after imam Malik. He wrote the Risalah when he was only seventeen years old and the text was originally meant for children and comes after having studied the Mukhtasar of al-Akhdari in the traditional Maliki curriculum. The lecture by Rami Nsour is very beneficial and once again proves you need to read and study a fiqh text with a teacher else you will misunderstand and wrongly apply some of the issues.

Here are some resources on Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani and the Risalah:

- The lectures (3) by Rami Nsour can be downloaded and listened to here: http://andalus.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/fiqh-of-fasting/ Enjoy!

- The translation mentioned above can be bought here: http://www.sunnipubs.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=60&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26&vmcchk=1

- Here is his biography: http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/seerah/0067.htm and here too: http://kitaabun.com/shopping3/article_info.php?articles_id=14&osCsid=b0d

- Another translation of the Risalah: http://www.iiu.edu.my/deed/lawbase/risalah_maliki/index.html

- A translation of another book by Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani on ‘aqidah called “A Madinah View”:  http://www.lamppostproductions.com/node/194#

‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam

I bought ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam, a book on fiqh ul-hadeeth, in Kenya in a cheap Indian print version, for only 1 euro. This book is especially popular with our Salafi brethren and explained by many contemporary Salafi scholars, some of them mentioned below. Here is what one can find online on this book:

- The whole book in Arabic: http://www.esnips.com/doc/28584ba2-ca84-4c80-a53a-5ff88e751231/UMDATUL-AHKAAM-ARABIC-TEXT

- ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam with the notes of shaykh bin al-Uthamin (in Arabic) – rahimahullah – under the name “Tanbeeh ul-Afhaam“: http://www.binothaimeen.com/soft/moton/OmdatAlahkam.exe  The book can be bought here: http://www.salafilibrary.com/slib/ See a short remark on the book here: http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=6&Topic=3934

- Here a short translated (English) transcript of the sharh by shaykh al-Jabiri on the subject of menstruation: http://www.salafitalk.net/st/uploads/ACFDBD.pdf

- English translation and explanation of the first chapter on tahaarah by shaykh dr. Abdul Majid Ali, one of the students of Bilal Philips: http://drabdulmajid.com/explanationofumdatulahkaam.aspx 

- The explanation by way of threads / posts of ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam on the Multaqa Ahl al-Hadeeth forum: http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vbe/showthread.php?t=663

- Fiqh ul-Hadeeth, the whole book including sharh; translated English text and lectures by shaykh Abu Muhammad ‘Abdur-Rauf Shakir: http://www.islamlecture.com/fhadeeth.htm

- Lectures and documents on the explanation of ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam “Tayseer al-’Allaam” (by shaykh Aal Bassaam): http://www.islamhouse.com/p/43394 (Arabic)

- Partly explanation of ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam in Dutch: http://www.al-yaqeen.com/nieuw/bibliotheek/rubriek.php?id=70 and here http://www.soennah.com/content/category/14/42/41/ (fasting / vasten)

This book is sometimes confused with the Hanbali fiqh - book -’Umdat ul-Fiqh-, as can be read here:   http://forums.islamicawakening.com/1241-post1.html and here: http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vbe/showthread.php?t=5483

- An explanation with the name “Riyaadh al-Afhaam fi Sharh ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam” (Arabic) by Taj ud-Din al-Fakihani can be downloaded here: http://www.2shared.com/file/7188488/11dc1bc4/Riyaadh_al-Afhaam.html

- Lectures on the sharh of ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam by the late shaykh Ibn Jibrin rahimahullah: http://www.archive.org/details/ibnJibrin_umdat (Arabic)

- Lectures (Arabic) on the sharh by shaykh Ibn Daqiq al-’Ied “Ihkaam ul-Ahkaam” can be downloaded here: http://www.archive.org/details/Wakil-Ihkam-02

-  On the website of the Islamic Online University from Bilal Philips a free course can be taken on the “Fiqh of Tahaarah” based on the sharh of ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam “Tayseer al-’Allaam“, of which the documents can be downloaded here: http://kalamullah.com/fiqh-of-tahaarah.html

- Shaykh an-Najmi also wrote a sharh on ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam with the name “Ta’sis ul-Ahkaam“. This is mentioned in his biography: http://www.fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/ahmadannajmee.htm

- A small book review on ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam can be read here: http://darul-fusha.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=90&Itemid=88

- Lectures in English by the late shaykh Saleh as-Saleh on ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam: http://darul-fusha.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=90&Itemid=88

- Lessons in English on ‘Umdat ul-Ahkaam: http://www.ibnfarooq.com/lessons.html

Muhammad Asad and Alija Izetbegovic (rahimahumallahu ta’ala)

Muhammad Asad and Alija Izetbegovic (rahimahumallahu ta’ala) were too great contemporary Muslim thinkers of the last century. Click on the following link and you will find a good read on how how they thought on the islamic state:  http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/essay01.php  Here is one of the quotes from that essay by Alija Izetbegovic:

“An islamic society without an islamic authority is incomplete and without power; islamic governance without an islamic society is either utopia or violence.“

Subhanallah what a powerful statement by him and how true this is. He was a man of great vision. We can see many examples of this in recent history, think of Somalia right now and what is happening there. I remember a statement by Muhammad Asad in this context that was also very true: “the implentation of the hudud laws is the final stage of the islamic state and not the other way around“. Or something like that, I can’t remember where I read it. This is the big mistake many islamic revival movements have made – in my humble opinion - when wanting to implement the shari’ah when they took power or want to take power in a certain state.

I encourage anyone to read the books mentioned in the essay above, including myself. I have read some of the things of Muhammad Asad like his biography “The Road to Mecca” (partly) and parts of his Qur’an translation and explanation. A beautiful documentary about his life with the same name also has been made recently and can be seen on the internet if you search well; I have seen it in Dutch. I have not read anything yet by Alija Izetbegovic although his books are available in English.

Translated biography of imaam Ibn Qudaamah rahimahullah

I have translated the biography of the Hanbali imaam Ibn Qudaamah – rahimahullah – from Arabic to English with extensive footnotes and remarks from my own hand, may it guide and benefit everyone who reads it. For the ones who are interested, it can be downloaded here: http://www.2shared.com/file/6708551/9c321472/Ibn_Qudaamah.html

 

Here one can read a part (in 3) of his famous Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasideen on Khushoo’ and Beautification of the Prayer: http://www.sahihalbukhari.com/sps/sp.cfm?subsecID=IBD06&articleID=IBD060002&articlePages=1

Important note: The Minhaj was not from this Ibn Qudaamah but by a family member, this is a mistake, also in the footnotes of the translation, may Allah forgive me.

 

Lectures / podcasts on one of the books of his students and family members ((Fadaa’il al-’Amaal [not to be confused with the infamous Tablighi book] – Diya’ al-Maqdisee)) can be listened and downloaded here:  http://seekersguidance.org/site/podcast.html

Stellingen, woordspelingen deel 2.

1.) Samir en Mohammed, de islamitische versie van Sam en Moos. (Of was het Bram en Moos?) In dit geval wordt het Brahim en Mohammed.

2.) Er is in het geheel geen God en Ataturk is zijn profeet.

3.) Moslims wonen in het Oosten en de islam is in het Westen. (Naar Rifa’a at-Tahtawi – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifa’a_el-Tahtawi)

4.) Niet de smaakpolitie maar de harampolitie. (Naar Baba ‘Ali en Ummah Films)

5.) Als de berg niet naar Mohammed komt, komt Mohammed wel naar de berg. (Inmiddels is deze uitdrukking ‘ingeburgerd’ in Nederland. Eigenlijk was het Mozes.)

6.) In het land der blinden is Dajjal (1-oog) koning.

 7.) Niet de Mexicaanse maar de Marokkaanse griep. (Van: www.wijblijvenhier.nl)

8.) De islam is mijn tariqa en Mohammed s.a.w.s. is mijn shaykh.

9.) Tijd is de munteenheid (valuta) van het Hiernamaals.

10.) 9-11: Who is going to Heaven?

Deze stellingen zijn o.a. geinspireerd door de “Contentions” van Abdal-Hakim Murad / Timothy Winters, zie: www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/contentions.htm en Usamah Hasan, zie: http://unity1.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/reflections.pdf

Beautiful poem

قال القاضي عبد الوهاب المالكي
Qādhi ‘Abd’l-Wahhāb al-Māliki said:

 

 

ونائمةٍ قبَّلتها فتنبَّهَتْ … وقالَتْ تعالَوْا فاطلُبُوا اللِّصَّ بالحدِّ

She was asleep. I kissed her. She awoke.
She shouted, “Help! Establish the law against this thief!”

فقلتُ لها إنِّي فَدَيتكِ غاصبٌ … وما حكمُوا في غاصبٍ بسوَى الرَّدِّ

So I said to her, “But I sacrificed myself for you! I took it by force I admit!
But they didn’t rule on the Usurper other than it is to be given back!

خُذيها وكُفِّي عنْ أَثيمٍ ظلامة … وإن أَنتِ لم ترضَيْ فأَلف على عدِّ

Take it and stop punishing this oppressive soul!
If that doesn’t satisfy you, then take a thousand instead!

فقالتْ قصاصٌ يشهدُ العقلُ أَنَّه … على كبدِ الجاني أَلذُّ من الشَّهْدِ

She said, “This kind of punishment, everyone bears witness no doubt
That it is sweeter for the Criminal than honey itself!

فباتَتْ يَميني وهي هميانُ خصرها … وباتَتْ يَساري وهي واسطَةُ العقدِ

So my right hand spent the night and it was her belt.
And my left hand spent the night and it was her necklace.

فقالتْ أَلم أخْبَرْ بأَنَّكَ زاهدٌ … فقلتُ بلَى ما زلتُ أَزهدُ في الزُّهْدِ

She said, “Was I not told that you were a pious man?!”
So I said, “Indeed! I am still a pious man when it comes to piety!”

 

Source: http://alternativeentertainment.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/she-was-asleep-i-kissed-her-she-awoke/

 

 

Stellingen en woordspelingen, deel 1.

Een eerste serie stellingen i.v.m. de islam:

1.) Zonden zijn wonden.

2.) Ik behoor tot de shi’ah (partij) van de Sunni’s.

3.) Je ‘lult’ (vergeef me mijn taalgebruik) uit je nafs (je ego i.p.v. je nek).

4.) Salafi’s zijn de ware Sufi’s.

5.) De jihaad is geen haat.

6.) De islam is niet lam.

7.) Het “lam God’s” is niet van de islam.

8.) Vertrouw op God maar zet je fiets op slot. (Nederlandse versie van de hadith: Vertrouw op Allah maar bind je kameel vast.)

9.) Discussies rondom Salafisme: wil de ware Salafi opstaan!

10.) Islam: de religie van…. Jantje. Ja, ook van hem.

11.) Ieder voor zich en God voor ons allen.

12.) Ho-Mo: Hollandse Moslim.

Is there a place for gay muslims?

Look at this short lecture by Sherman Jackson.

Four things responsible for causing islam to lose its brilliance

In his book “The Path of Muhammad” imam al-Birgivi – rahmatullahi aleyhi – said, quoting a certain Muhammad ibn al-Fadl:

“Four things are responsible for causing Islam to lose its brilliance:

1. Many Muslims do not live in accordance with what they know.

2. They live in accordance with what they do not know.

3. When they do not know the basis of their actions, they do not try to learn from those who know.

4. They prevent each other from knowing by distracting each other, either by attractive things or by things that are fearful.”

 

Subhanallah, this is so true. Islam lost its brilliance because of ignorance.

Basic classical texts for the beginning student of knowledge

Here are some basic classical texts for the beginning student of knowledge (like myself).

1.)  ‘Aqida: The Creed of the Imaam of Hadeeth al-Bukhari”; this book can be downloaded here: http://www.2shared.com/file/6011368/9723d525/Creed_Bukhari_Muhammad_bin_Ismaeel.html

A basic, concise and agreed upon text on ‘aqida from one of the Salaf and greatest imaams of hadeeth like the title says.

 

2.) Tajweed: Tuhfat ul-Atfaal / A Gift for Children; this book can be downloaded here (in Arabic and English): http://www.2shared.com/file/6011449/d75d91b4/tuhfetulatfal.html

A poem with the ahkam and qawa’id of tajweed.

 

3.) Arabic grammar: “al-Ajurumiyyah”; this book can be downloaded here: http://www.2shared.com/file/6011473/1ca52b69/Al-Ajurumiyyah20English.html 

and here:

 http://www.2shared.com/file/6011476/6ccfdfe6/Al-Ajuruumiyyah20Arabic.html

Your knowledge of Arabic and grammar starts with this book, all the ‘ulama know and use it.

 

4.) Fiqh: al-Wajeez (in short) or in English “The Concise Presentation of the Fiqh of the Sunnah and the Noble Book” by shaykh Badawi. I have mentioned this book before in my post on Fiqh us-Sunnah. It provides sound proofs from the Qur’an and Sunnah and gives many references to other books; for the hadith-checking shaykh al-Albani is the authority relied upon. Translated by Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo.  

 

5.) Nooraniyyah, this book can be downloaded from this site: http://www.quranicsciences.com/index.asp?visitormonid=356821

 

6.) The Madinah Books Series (3) a course for learning the Arabic language, to be downloaded here: http://www.kalamullah.com/learning-arabic.html

 

7.) al-Qawl al-Ma’loof fi Sifaat ul-Huroof by shaykh Baysusi, which booklet / poem can be downloaded here: http://www.2shared.com/file/6514122/770d4cd0/al-Qawl_al-Ma_luf_fi_Sifaat_ul-Huroof.html

 

These books will really help the beginning student of knowledge a lot; several versions and translations of some of these books can be found on the internet. I have realized after a lot of reading the past couple of years I need to start all over again and go back to the basics. These books support me. I compiled this short list after following some lessons by brother Abu Taubah on:  http://thefiks.org/elearning/ He teaches from these books and his lessons are in one word: MASHA’ALLAH. He also teaches tafseer and Arabic language in general and he is providing you with a good basis to build on if you continue to follow his lessons.

May these books benefit the one who reads and studies them.

Shaykh Haitham al-Haddad

Recently he was in my country (the Netherlands) and in my eyes he is a reliable (Salafi) scholar, based in London (UK) who can clarify an issue in clearcut terms and analyze it. I have heard / watched / listened to several of his lectures. I’m talking about shaykh Haitham al-Haddad, one of my (many) favourite scholars in the West (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaikh_haitham_al_haddad.)

Here is a very interesting fatwa by him on an issue that particularly appears in the West, more specifically in the northern countries, it is about the ‘isha and fajr prayers times during summer (roughly from the 15th of May till the 15th of July) when ‘isha is around midnight (0.00) and fajr around 03.00 o’ clock or even earlier according to the Hanafi’s; there are even Hanafi’s (a very small minority) in my country who claim there is no ‘isha – prayer at all during this time and as a consequence they only pray four times a day (this is another issue in itself which will not be discussed).   

Here the link to the fatwa: http://www.islam21c.com/british-affairs/isha-fajr-prayer-times-during-the-summer.html and an extra article: http://www.islam21c.com/general/islamic-fiqh-council-on-prayer-times-during-the-summer.html

The main websites of the shaykh are: http://www.islam21c.com/, http://www.mrdf.co.uk/ and http://www.iprogress.org.uk/

The shaykh has a very good lecture on the niqaab (in 3 parts), watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZe44SX0EBo

Here is a video (3 parts) with the shaykh and a British 84 year old convert to islam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkQs_2SPbss&feature=related

Here a lecture (several parts) with the shaykh on misconceptions about the maqasid of the shari’ah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1e0P4P3Rm0

The shaykh on the infamous marriage contract (several parts): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGRA252Y9BU

A lecture on moonsighting (also several parts): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txlk4iF_3T0 and here is the article: http://www.aqnsites.com/moonsighting/1ST_Al_Haddad.pdf

A series of 3 excellent articles on music:

- http://muslimmatters.org/2007/06/02/a-simple-matter-of-disagreement/

- http://muslimmatters.org/2007/06/02/a-simple-matter-of-disagreement/- http://www.islam21c.com/british-affairs/consensus-ijtihad.html

- http://www.islam21c.com/british-affairs/music-a-prohibited-and-fake-message-of-love-and-peace.html

And last but not least a lecture on making hijrah (11 parts): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unnaKiFiYVs&feature=PlayList&p=0473BC6279284E37&index=14