When he was nearly forty, Muhammad (peace be upon him) began to see dreams of light and inspiration in preparation for the mission he would be receiving to deliver Allah’s message to the world. These continued for six months and then he began to love and seek seclusion more and more. The significance of the…
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا ” Allah will raise for this community at the end of every hundred years the one who will renovate its religion for it.(Abu Dawud) We do not…
Imam Nawawi in his introduction to his famous Forty Hadith mentions the great scholars who inspired him, and were the brainchild behind compiling the 40 narrations (which were in fact 42). He said: “And many scholars compiled in this topic countless books” Amongst the first who compiled them are: Abdullah bin Mubarak (118-181 AH) is…
It is important for those teaching the deen to their community to be in touch with it. In fact, Allah Almighty talked about this openly in Surat Ibrahim when He said: ‘Wa ma ‘arsalna mir-rasoulin ‘illa bi-lisani qaw-mihee ‘We have never sent a messenger but in the language of his people’. [14:4] The delivery of…
Yesterday we lost one of our great female scholars and da’ee in Lebanon, Shaykha Sahar Halabi (rahimahallah), who passed away on 8th September 2020. She was a very special person, who changed her reality through visionary leadership. Though she had not been particularly practising in her childhood, the duas of her mother opened her heart…
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…
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…
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…
Abu Hurairah said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger (peace be on you). I hear many narrations from you but I forget them.’ He said, ‘Spread your cloak.’ I spread my cloak and he moved both his hands as if scooping something and emptied them in the cloak and said, ‘Wrap it.’ I wrapped it, and since then…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Patience of Pious Predecessors in Seeking Knowledge Among my books, one which is very dear to me, is Safahat min sabr al-’Ulamaa by one of my late shuyukh Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah[i] which took him more than 20 years to write. He did not set out to write it, but during the course…