‘Aynul-Yaqeen

Picture yourself in this situation.

You’re giving a Halaqa to a group of new french-speaking converts. Most of them are new in the religion, and they’re all very interested in learning what are the basic obligations of Islam. Its a very diverse group, even though its geared for converts: there’s some old men, young teenagers, some Muslims, some non-Muslims and yes, converts.

In the middle of your class, you start quoting the view of a contemporary scholar, and a man in the front row shoots his hand up immediately. Visibly infuriated, this man decides to take this opportunity to warn against you, against the scholar you were quoting, calling you out and saying you’re such-and-such a person, with such-and-such a belief, and those upon this way are misguided.

What do you do? How do you respond?

While this specific situation would requires more tact because this man has has quite possibly come with an agenda to misguide those new converts into his group or line of thinking, such arguments must generally be approached with a consistant approach.

There are various ways one can argue a point: one can use many different arguments from one’s rationality, from the revelation, from many sources; however one will often come to various conclusions due to the various methods being used. If I were to say that a particular cake is the best cake ever, and you were to say that another particular cake is the best cake ever, we both came to this conclusion based on a methodology, a differenct choice of priorities: while you may judge based on the size of the cake or its texture, I may judge on the aftertaste which it leaves in the mouth, or other different traits.

Yes, I know, this example is not the best one for the topic, since one’s preference in eating chocolate cake over cheese cake is not a domain in which differing is disallowed. However, what about differing in the ‘Aqeedah? Surely there are some small aspects of the ‘Aqeedah wherein differing is permissable, yet, usually when we are discussing the science of Islamic Belief, we are talking about something about which differing is not allowed. One may argue a certain point in the realm of this department and come to a conclusion which is at odds with another person’s conclusion: ie One person may argue that there is no God, while another argues that there is, and they both base their argument on a set of arguments.

One would need a set of principles that one should refer to; this is in fact the methodology of the scholars of the past: when they would debate such important topics, they would return to common principles and prove to the other party why they were incorrect according to their own methodology.

Inshallah I plan on going through an excellent book called Usool al Istidlal ‘ala Masaa’il ul-I’tiqaad ‘inda Ahlus Sunnati wal Jama’ah by ‘Uthman ‘Ali Hasan, written as a Masters Thesis which was supervised by the Dr. Nassir al-’Aql, who wrote an excellent work which is translated into english entitled ‘The Methodology of Ahlus-Sunnah in Deriving Aqeedah’. I’ll be posting here from time to time on this subject, so keep your eyes peeled inshallah

I decided to take the AlMaghrib course Rules of Engagement last summer, and alhamdulilah I benefitted quite a bit. I left the course understanding the importance and the sacred place of ethics in Islam. It completely changed my relationship with my parents, and it made me realize that I had many shortcomings in this department.

 One thing which was stressed during the course (as all AlMaghrib courses, for that matter) was to take the exam. At the time, I didn’t really understand the importance of this, and decided not to attend it. However, a dear brother and friend of mine decided to attend the exam and studied for it accordingly, showed up to the exam and passed with flying colours, alhamdulilah.

 Later that week, in his car, driving back from a Halaqa I realized the great mistake I had made in not attending the exam: I understood that by attending this exam, he was able to retain a lot more of the information than I was, and was thus able to use it for much khair in the community.

It was only when the brothers started their AlMaghrib Halaqa that I decided to start using what I had learned and teach it to others. They requested me to give a Halaqa on what I had learned in the class, and I found it to be quite a good idea since this is the same thing that shaykh Anwar al-Awlaki (may Allah hasten his release) spoke about in his series The Hereafter; he explained that teaching is often one of the best ways to retain the knowledge we have acquired. He quoted the example of shaykh Ahmad al-Qattan, who used to diseminate the knowledge he acquired from the books and the scholars by teaching it to a simple grocer. Another example is that of Sayyid Qutb: he used to buy, with his own pocketmoney a myriad of different Islamic books at the age where many waste it on candy and movies, and once he would acquire a certain degree of knowledge,  he would go from house to house and he - being still a child -  give speeches on what he had learned to the women, who were traditonally deprived of such beneficial knowledge. Another example is Dr. Hesham al-Awadi, who in one of his talks mentioned that he would learn a topic and immediately teach it during the khutbas in the University where he attended. This whole concept has been extremely beneficial in my locality, especially for those that have been teaching the children in their Halaqas: Now they are much more knowledgeable when it comes to Sirah and the Lives of the Prophets, which were the topics covered in the Halaqa.

I have to say that alhamdulilah,  so far it has gone quite succesfully and I am also covering this topic in my khutbas that I’m giving, and I must say that if nobody benefits from these talks at all, then at the very least I benefit from reviewing this material. The way I see it, its pointless to take notes if they end up just gathering dust in a book somewhere in your library or some folder buried in the mess of your desk.

Amongst that knowledge we must learn is that knowledge which came from our Prophet (sallallahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam) which he taught us, like how to worship, just like the man who was taught how to pray by the Prophet (sallallahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam).

The paths to knowledge are many, inclduding:

a. The senses (five senses, including sight, hearing, taste, etc.) and this is the most basic. This is how the senses perceive that the sun ’sets’.

b. The intellect: This is discourse, thought. Imam Juwainy (rahimahullah) said that this is the means by which the human being discerns the possible from the impossible, the good from the evil. The intellect admits the possibility of things happening, so for example, we admit that it is possible for us to be going around the sun, and the earth to be moving and not the sun going around the earth.

c. Revelation from Allah, and this is the utmost, the haqq, whether the other two paths to knowledge understand it or not. It basically boils down to whether or not you believe the sources or not: intellect can comprehend truth, while revelation tells us that it is so.

You need intellect to believe in Revelation, one cannot exist without the other. Revelation tells us that there’s more than meets the eye, that death is not the end.

Abu Hamid al-Ghazaali (rahimahullah) said that human beings judge by the nature of their habits. Similarly, if you were to tell someone about life on other planets, he would think that you’re crazy. However the intellect increases, and many discoveries come today and are confirming Islamic beliefs. For example, one may imagine the possibility of resurrection through the recent scientific developments in cloning.

We must have knowledge of Islam, beginning with the ‘aqeedah, with the message of risaalah by knowing the sirah, by knowing how to fulfill our obligations, what is good akhlaaq, the ruling of being with a family, the virtues towards the neighbor, mu’amalaat, marriage and all of those things which concern us all generally.

It is not an obligation on everyone to be an ‘aalim, however one does need general knowledge! Like for example, one must know about financial transactions which one may or may not enter into, inheritance laws, and knowledge of the shari’ah, and all that which concerns human life from the cradle to the grave.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam) said:

“Whoever relieves a believer’s distress of the distressful aspects of this world, Allah will rescue him from a difficulty of the difficulties of the Hereafter. Whoever alleviates [the situation of] one in dire straits who cannot repay his debt, Allah will alleviate his lot in both in this world and the Hereafter. Whoever conceals [the faults of] a Muslim, Allah will conceal [his faults] in this life and the Hereafter. Allah is helping this servant as long as the servant is helping his brother.” [Muslim]

I’m not asking you to pledge financial aid, nor is this a request for volunteers; all we ask my dear brothers and sisters is to pledge to make du’a for this young Muslim girl, Salma. Her mother wrote:

“My daughter Salma, who is just 12 years old, is battling for her life at a local hospital. She is suffering from cancer and is presently in the last stage. The doctors have given up all hope but I have trust in Allah and in the power of du’a.Therefore as a helpless mother of a dying child, I beg all of you to pray for my daughter, please include her as a part of each and every du’a of yours. Please pray to Allah that He should give her body the strength to respond to the medication, that He should somehow miraculously heal her of this disease and InshaAllah grant her a healthy and long life.

Please, please pass this message on to as many Muslim brothers and sisters as you can. If even ten percent of you would remember to pray for my daughter then it would mean a lot for us. Your duas and Allah’s mercy are our only hope. Thank you.”
-Parveen

May Allah give her good health and a quick recovery, may He pour upon her and her parents patience in this moment of need. May Allah protect the Muslims across the world. May Allah strengthen the weak ones amongst us, may He cure the sick ones from amongst us, and may He have mercy on us all and enter us into Jannah, ameen.

I recently joined an excellent forum, An-Najwa, which encourages people to use their time on the internet efficiently, for every single second we spend on the internet is not only recorded by our Internet History or some Governmental Agency, but the Lord who Created us to Whom we shall all return, and a sister translated this work called The Mute Daa’iyah, may Allah have mercy on her and place this on her scale of good deeds.

The Mute Daa’iyah

I am a 37 year old youth and I am married with children. I pursued all that Allah forbade from sins.

As for prayer, I did not perform it in congregation, except on occasions, to be civil with others. The cause being, that I befriended the evil and charlatans. So Shaytaan was accompanying me most of the time.

I had a seven year old son, named Marwan. He was deaf and mute, however he suckled Imaan from the bosom of his righteous mother.

One night, my son and I were at home. I was planning what I would do with my friends and where we would go. It was after Maghrib when my son Marwan communicated with me with our special sign language. He signaled to me: “O my father, why do you not pray?” He then raised his hand to the sky warning me that that ‘Allah Sees you…’

My son would some times see me doing bad things, so I was astounded with his talk. Then my son began to cry in front of me.

I brought him to my side, but he escaped from me. After a short time, he went to the tap and made ablution. He wasn’t perfect with ablution; however he learnt that from his mother who would advise me a lot, yet it was of no use. She was also of those who had memorized the Quran.

My mute and deaf son then came over and signaled to me to wait a little. He then started to pray in front of me. When he finished he picked up a copy of the Noble Book and placing it in front of me, he opened it straight, without flicking through the pages. He placed his finger on this verse of the Surah Maryam “O my father! Verily I fear lest a torment from the Most Gracious (Allah) should overtake you, so that you become a companion of Shaytaan (in the Hellfire).” He then burst out crying. I also cried with him for a while. He got up and began to wipe away the tears in my eyes, then he kissed my head and hands and he signaled to me: “Pray o my father before you are placed in the dirt and become subjected to torture. I was – I swear by Allah Al-Mighty – in shock and fear, only Allah Knows. So I got up and turned all the lights on in the house. My son Marwan followed me from room to room, watching me in wonder.

He said to me: “Leave the lights and lets go to the big mosque – he meant the Masjid An-Nabawwi . I said to him: “No, we will go to the mosque next to the house”. He refused all, except the Prophet’s Mosque. So I took him there and I was in great fear.

We entered the Rawdah (where the Prophet peace and blessings upon him is buried) and it was full of people. The Isha prayer began and the Imam of the Haram read from the Words of Allah Al-Mighty: “O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of Shaytaan. And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaytaan then, verily he commands Al- Faahisha [i.e. to commit indecency (illegal sexual intercourse)], and Al Munkar [disbelief and polytheism (i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds; and to speak or to do what is forbidden in Islam)]. And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins. But Allah purifies (guides to Islam) whom He wills, and Allah I All-Hearer, All-Knower.” Surat An-Noor 21

I could not control my self from crying, and Marwan was next to me crying because of my crying. During the prayer, Marwan pulled from his pocket a tissue and wiped away my tears. After the prayer I still kept crying and he wiped away my tears, until I stayed in the Haram for an hour. Marwan signaled to me: “Enough o father. Do not be afraid…” for he was worried about me because of my intense crying.

We returned home and this night was from one of the greatest nights for me, as though I had just been born again. My wife and children were present and they all began to cry and they didn’t know at all about what happened. Marwan told them: “My father prayed in the Haram”

My wife grew happy with this news. This was the fruit of her good upbringing and I told her what happened between me and Marwan.

I asked her: “I ask you by Allah, did you order him to open the copy of the Quran to that verse?”

She swore by Allah three times that she did not do that. Then she said to me: “Praise Allah be to Allah for this guidance.”

That night was one of the most wonderful nights and now all praise is due to Allah, I do not miss the prayers in congregation in the mosque. For I have disassociated myself from the evil charmers and have tasted the flavor of Imaan. If you see me, you would know that from my face.

Also I have began to live in overwhelming happiness and love with my wife and children, and especially my son Marwan, the deaf and mute who I love a lot; and why not, when my guidance was through him.

Source: from the book “The Returning Ones to Allah”

This is the first part from my notes on the talk by Shaykh Abdullah b. Bayyah given at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference entitled Why Knowldege Must Precede Actions. Please note that these are my notes, and are to be taken as such, since I am only human and most probably missed much, wallahul musta’an.

Knowledge is a must in our religion, we must know how to act before acting. Action without knowledge is like walking without a light, the proof for this is the ayah where Allah says in the Qur’an:

فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنبِكَ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مُتَقَلَّبَكُمْ وَمَثْوَاكُمْ
So know that there is no god except Allah, and ask forgiveness for your guilty deed, and for the male believers and female believers; and Allah knows your moving about and your lodging.

Imam Bukhari used this ayah in the title of his chapter ‘Knowledge precedes Speech and Action.’

Allah also states, the translation of the meaning being: “Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know?”

There is a famous hadeeth where the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam) said that whoever seeks a path towards Jannah, Allah will make his path to Jannah easy for him.

These, amongst other, are a proof that seeking knowledge is something which is an obligation upon the Muslims.

With knowledge, we are capable to know how to worship Allah, how to comport ourselves with others, and how to have a good character.

Amongst all the things in the Qur’an, there is only one thing which we ask for increase in the Qur’an, and that is knowledge, as in the ayah: rabbi zidnee ‘ilma.

Well, it seems that I have succumbed to the level of many of my friends, and started my own blog. Hopefully it’ll be more than a simple re-hash of what’s available already on the internet, I intend to post some of my own thoughts and notes from local events and circles so that all of you avid web-surfers can benefit from the little knowledge available in my locality.

Anyways, keep looking here, you might just enjoy it, inshallah.