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Method of learning

“Learning from those who have been on the journey before you can save you a lot of hurdles and help you deal with the inevitable, better equipped. We need to realise the importance of learning from those before us.”

Seeking knowledge is a highly rewarding venture. It is, however, very easy to become overwhelmed by the vast amounts of information that needs to be processed and digested. Here is an 8 step guide briefly discussing the basic requirements for a student of Deen or an aspiring Hafidh of the Qur’an:

  1. Constancy alongside moderation Read more
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Role of Women in Islamic Education

How does a woman fulfill her relationship with Allah Most High, and at the same time, also serve the community?

There are many extremes in this. For example, some people believe that women should not be educated at all; that they should be kept completely ignorant so that they don’t know anything beyond the basics of their faith. This is completely rejected by our deen. Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi, for example, compiled the famous work Bahishti Zewar and aimed it particularly toward women. The comprehensiveness of the book suggests it is a work that ought to live on the bookshelf of every home and used as a guidance for every aspect of a woman’s (and indeed her family’s) life. Indeed, such is the usefulness of the book that it is not uncommon to find muftis using Bahishti Zewar as a reference point nowadays.

There is the other extreme, too. Read more

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How to Safeguard Your Time

The great tābi‘ī, Hasan al-Basri rahimahullāh once said:

O son of Ādam! You are but (a collection of) days: when a day goes, a part of you goes.

A day that has passed will never return. Every morning at sunrise the day says:

Whoever is able to do some good should do it, for I will never return to you.

Just think! Our childhood days have passed; for many their youth has passed; others have reached old age and are waiting only for death to come. Allāh ta‘ālā says:

…Indeed, when the term appointed by Allāh comes, it cannot be delayed… (71:4) Read more

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Women’s Mosque? Women’s Empowerment?

The Women’s Mosque of America has started operations in Los Angeles. It is not a mosque per se, but the name of a non-profit organization. It began with holding female only Jumuah prayers, in an old synagogue with Stars of David etched on the stained glass windows. The decision to use this venue was made to “promote peace.”

Creating a separate space for Muslim women is a noble idea. Unfortunately the organizers chose the one event for this project for which it has no basis in the Shariah. Muslim women are not required to offer Jumuah. Read more

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Valentine Day, Birthdays, and Other Daze

What commercial and cultural propaganda presents as beautiful is rooted in ugly paganism but most blind followers do not know.

There is a group of practices that we can consider as the twin sister of bid’ah. Like bid’ah they flourish on the twin foundations of ignorance and outside influence. Like bid’ah they entail rituals. But unlike bid’ah the rituals have not been given an Islamic face. They are followed because they are considered an acceptable cultural practice or the hottest imported “in” thing. Read more

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Attending a Janāzah

by Shaykh Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

The journey to the Hereafter is one which almost every person fears, yet we fail to show any concern for our dear and near ones from the time of their demise to after burial. Our condition at such a critical time is worthy of much lament and shame. Rather than our benefitting the deceased in anyway, we return from the funeral with no benefit to ourselves or to the family; in fact we return with increase in the hurt and grief of the family and maybe sin too. This is because we are neglectful and forget the severity of the stages which our beloved ones are soon to reach. Read more

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The cleanliness of the Masjid

By (Mufti) Abraar Alli

The religion of Islam being a natural way of life is promotes many simple, yet essential values to our existence. Islam lays a lot of importance to respect, etiquettes and moral conduct which can be found throughout the Quran and Sunnah.
An example of this is found where Allah Ta’ala has honoured and revered the Masajid, This entails that everyone else also follows in this order. Allah Ta’ala associates the respect shown to the symbols of Islam (here the Masjid) with the grand quality of Taqwa:
وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِن تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ
Those who show respect to the signs of Allah Ta’ala for this is from the Taqwa of the heart (Surah Hajj) Read more

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The Beginnings of Arabic Grammar

إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

“Indeed, We have sent it, an Arabic Qur’an so that you all may understand.” (12:2)

قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا غَيْرَ ذِي عِوَجٍ لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

“It is a Qur’an in Arabic, without any crookedness, in order that they may have Taqwa.” (39:28)

Imam Shafi’ said, “Every Muslim is obligated to learn the Arabic tongue to the utmost of his power in order to profess through it that ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم is His Messenger’ and to utter what is mandated upon him…” (al-Risalah, pg.93) Read more

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Sublime “Holiday Spots” Not to forget!!

By: Moulana Mohammad

A man was on his way to a neighboring village when an angel suddenly appeared before him. ‘What takes you to this village? ‘Enquired the angel. ‘To visit a brother whom I love for the sake of Allah,’ was the sincere reply. The angel questioned further, ‘do you have any other motive?’

The man replied ‘No, upon which the angel exclaimed, I am the messenger of Allah and I assure you that Allah loves you as you love your brother.’

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith:6495)

At the same time, another angle is deputed to proclaim he following message to him:

“You have done well, your foot steps have been profitable, and you have prepared an abode for yourself in Paradise.”

(Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith:2008) Read more

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The Path to Purification

The Sharī‘ah is divided into two parts: external and internal. The department of Sharī‘ah relating to external deeds like salāh and zakāh is called ‘fiqh’, while the one dealing with internal feelings and states of the heart is called ‘tasawwuf’. Both are commands in the Qur’ān. Thus, while commanding salāh and zakāh, the Qur’ān also commands gratefulness and love of Allāh ta‘ālā, and condemns the evil of pride and vanity.

Similarly, in the books of hadīth, along with the chapters on ‘ibādāt, trade and commerce, and marriage and divorce, are to be found the chapters on riyā (showing off), takabbur, hasad, sabr, shukr etc. These commands are as much a mandatory requirement as the ones dealing with external deeds. Read more

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