Safinatu’n-Najaa / Ship to Salvation
In Kenya I was introduced to the short Shafi’i fiqh – text “Safinatu’n-Najaa” or “Ship to Salvation” in English, I read the text with a teacher, mainly to improve my Arabic, and he explained it in English. Until that time there was a partial English translation on this website: http://majmu.8m.com/safinah/
But now there is wonderful and complete English translation of this basic Shafi’i fiqh primer, with explanation, available for download from this website: http://www.al-inaam.com/Books/Safinat%20al-Naja’%20In’amiyyah%20Website).pdf or here: http://seekingilm.com/archives/667
The Arabic text from the Safinatu’n-Najaa can be downloaded from this site: http://www.elhusseini.dk/fiqh.htm
A commentary/explanation or sharh of this text can be downloaded here: http://read.kitabklasik.co.cc/2009/03/kasyifat-as-saja-syarh-safinat-naja.html It’s called “Kashifat as-Saja sharh Safinatu’n-Najaa” by imam Muhammad Nawawi bin ‘Umar al-Bantani from Indonesia.
Another sharh of this text is: “Nayl al-Raja bi-sharh Safinatu’n-Najaa” by as-Sayyid Ahmad b. ‘Umar ash-Shatiri from Yemen. Other existing commentaries (shurooh) – in poetry also – are mentioned in (footnote 44) this article: http://www.let.uu.nl/~Martin.vanBruinessen/personal/publications/kitab_kuning.htm#_ftn44
Akhlaq
At the “Traditional Halaqa” I attendend in Peterborough (UK) last week we were taught a poem on akhlaq by ustadh Thaqib Mahmood (http://wlsis.org/bios/Thaqib%20bio.htm), may Allah reward him. For a week long we studied a text called “‘Unwan al-Hikam“, Title for Wisdoms, by the author and poet Abu al-Fath al-Busti rahimullah. Not much can be found on this poet on the net (I read somewhere he is considered as a humanist; he was from the town Bust in Afghanistan.) but the Arabic text itself can be found here:
http://www.asharqalarabi.org.uk/paper/s-adaab-hukem.htm
Shaykh Abu Ghuddah (http://www.aboghodda.com/) rahimullah wrote a commentary on this poem, see: http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/ghudda.htm (nr. 21).
Ustadh Thaqib translated (from Arabic to English) and taught this text in a great way and I felt like if every muslim was to act upon it this world would be beautiful world. So may Allah give you and me the strength to live according to this text and implement it in our lives.
For very inspiring and interesting video-lectures on akhlaq, watch the lectures by sidi Abu Eesa Niamatullah on the book by imam al-Bukhari (r.) “al-Adab al-Mufrad” from this link: http://www.propheticguidance.co.uk/html/media1.asp
