26
May 2022

Seeking knowledge is our main priority in life. This is why the very first divine word revealed to the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was ‘read’. It is incumbent on every believer to seek knowledge, from day 1 verse 1 we are commanded to learn. Anas ibn Malik May Allah be pleased with him reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim. (Ibn Majah) Accordingly we see many verses in the Quran about seeking......
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27
Aug 2021

Today’s reminder is about the five signs before the Day of Judgement. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (peace be on him) said: عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يُقْبَضَ الْعِلْمُ، وَتَكْثُرَ الزَّلاَزِلُ، وَيَتَقَارَبَ الزَّمَانُ، وَتَظْهَرَ الْفِتَنُ، وَيَكْثُرَ الْهَرْجُ ـ وَهْوَ الْقَتْلُ الْقَتْلُ ـ حَتَّى يَكْثُرَ فِيكُمُ الْمَالُ فَيَفِيضُ ”. رواه البخاري (1036) ومسلم (157) “The Hour (Last Day) will not be established until (religious) knowledge will be taken away (by the death of religious learned men), earthquakes will be very frequent,......
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06
Aug 2021

Seeking authentic knowledge is an obligation for every Muslim Today’s topic is the imposters – those people who claim that they have knowledge and lead people with ignorance. The Prophet (peace be on him) mentioned in different narrations the importance of seeking knowledge and before all of this, the first verse which was revealed by Allah Almighty, was ‘Iqra!’ (Recite or read). ﴿١﴾ اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ Read: In the Name of your Lord, who created. ﴿٢﴾ خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ Created man from a clinging clot. ﴿٣﴾ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ......
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07
May 2021

The limitless words of Allah Surat Luqman has a unique and beautiful verse in it: If all the trees on earth were pens and the ocean ˹were ink˺, refilled by seven other oceans, the Words of Allah would not be exhausted. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. (31:27) The reason behind this revelation was that the disbelievers were challenging the Quran and telling the Prophet (peace be on him) that the revelation would end and there would be nothing after that. Allah Almighty responded by saying imagine if all the trees were pens,......
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24
Mar 2021

During Makkan times, Allah Almighty was drawing the attention of non-believers to His signs, and prompting them to think about who was the originator of the universe and the world. He pointed out the wonders of creation around them, so that they could distinguish between the truth and their misguided inherited beliefs, which they were following blindly. Allah Almighty was prompting them to reach the right conclusion after a process of observation and reasoning, so they could arrive at the truth with the intellect and maturity they had been given to figure......
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06
Mar 2021

Ibn Abbas mentioned that Surat al Qalam was the second surah to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). Not all of the surah was revealed at once, just as not all of Surat al Alaq, the first surah to be revealed was conveyed in one go. The surahs which followed these two revelations, were to be revealed were Surahs Muzzammil and Muddaththir. The Pen The surah’s is name The Pen (Al Qalam). Al Qalam is a symbol of knowledge. We use the pen to exchange ideas and transfer......
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24
Jul 2020

The etiquette of seeking knowledge In Islam, it is not just knowledge which we are interested in, but how we seek knowledge is also important. Our attitude towards learning, and our teachers and fellow students. There is a huge body of literature and learning on the etiquette of learning itself, which has been passed down from the circles of the Prophet (peace be on him). These show us the correct etiquette between scholars, as well as between students and teachers, and even the process of learning – how to receive, write down,......
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22
Jul 2020

Aside from the entertaining aspect of the stories, there are many valuable lessons we can glean from Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah’s 400 page book, The Patience of the Pious Predecessors, which he divided into 8 chapters. When I re-read the lengthy (50 page!) conclusion of the book I couldn’t help thinking that it is the cream of the cream of his book. Knowledge rests on giants of the past The first and second generation of scholars carried the knowledge, whose fruits we are enjoying to this day. Throughout the book, we saw......
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15
Jul 2020

Ali ibn Hasan (Abu Qasim) Ibn Asakir al Dimashqi The great scholar Ibn Asakir is one of the very well known scholars of the 6th century Hijri. Born in Damascus in 499AH, he passed away in 571AH. (1105–1175AD). He was so dedicated to knowledge that he was al hafidh as well as the top of every science he decided to write about or master. Most historians were Muhaddith He was renowned as a great historian but before that he was a great Muhaddith. The majority of historians, including Ibn Kathir were also......
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19
Jun 2020

Sacred knowledge brings us closer to Allah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said, ‘Allah makes the way to Jannah easy for him who treads the path in search of knowledge.’ (Muslim) ‘Verily, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge out of pleasure of what he is doing. Verily all in the heavens and earth seek forgiveness for the knowledgeable, even the fish in the water. The excellence of the knowledgeable over the servant is like the excellence......
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12
Jun 2020

The determination of the scholars and how they tread the path of knowledge was accompanied by continual sacrifice on their part. Sacrifice of their sleep, the luxuries and the pleasures of life. They were not choosing between halal or haram when they gave them up, but were made knowledge their priority over enjoyment, relaxation and rest. To the extent that some did not marry, even though it is the Sunnah and it is recommended, because it would have interfered with their single-minded pursuit of knowledge. Their dedication was well beyond anyone’s expectations. Ibn......
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05
Jun 2020

The importance of purity of reflection is a powerful combination with high himma, which is the quality of tenacious determination. Khatib al Baghdadi was one of the great scholars of hadith and such a prolific writer that he contributed a book to every branch of Islamic knowledge, so that everyone who came after him, could not help but refer to his work. Such was his vast legacy. Born in 392, in Baghdad, as suggested by his name, he died in 463 AH. Among the hundreds of books which he wrote, is the......
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31
May 2020

Travelling is part of seeking knowledge The importance of travelling to seek knowledge is highlighted in the book of Patience by Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah who has described some of the arduous journeys undertaken by great scholars of the past. The virtues of seeking knowledge There are many verses which talk about the importance of seeking knowledge. For instance: أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ ۗ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ۗ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ Is he who worships devoutly during......
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29
May 2020

There is a split of opinion among scholars on the topic of poverty and wealth – whether it is better to be poor or well off. The high status of the poor Imam Bukahri wrote a chapter on the virtues of poverty in his Sahih, called Fadlu al faqr. So scholars commented that this showed he liked the virtues of poverty. Allah Almighty also mentioned the fuqara (destitute people) in the Quran many times. Among these were the ahlu Suffah, a group of companions, who were very poor. The Prophet (peace be......
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15
May 2019

Reading and Writing – how to elevate yourself Love Reading The first command given to the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) was the command of reading Iqra. Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an: Read, in the name of your Lord Who Creates; Created man from a clot. The underlining meaning of the verse is to seek knowledge, the knowledge that will lead you to discover your Lord, which will lead you to discover yourself and your purpose. Therefore the Ummah of Muhammad is the Ummah of Iqra, to read,......
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