The original ‘Ālimiyyah degrees have slowly become so watered down over the years that even those who haven’t been through such programmes feel prepared to offer it now. It went from 8 years full time, to seven years by summarizing the six books of hadith into one year instead of two, then to 6 years by dropping the six books altogether or incorporating them over the six years, then to 5 years by incorporating the Arabic into the curriculum instead of it being part of a preparatory curriculum, then to 5 years part-time, then to 4 years to match the conventional degrees, then to 4 years part-time to accommodate people’s busy schedules, and now to 6 weekends a year for three years.
To call such programs “ ‘Ālimiyyah Degrees ” is obnoxious, extremely misleading, and perhaps even sinful when considering the outcomes.
The ‘Ālimiyyah degrees that follow the Dars-E-Niẓāmī curriculum properly or a comparable curriculum, and not just claim that they do, produce very promising results if all needed factors are in place. There is no such thing as a 5-year, a 4-year, or a 3-year, part-time, over the weekend, quick fix, equivalent to the heavyweight 7 or 8-year ‘Ālimiyyah programme. Just as there is no summertime equivalent to the 7-8 year extended term of study in global centres of Islamic knowledge, such as Riyadh, Cairo, Madīnah, Makkah, Amman, Istanbul or…
Likewise, there is no online equivalent to sit before the heirs of the Messenger ﷺ. Sometimes I think to myself that perhaps the Messenger ﷺ said, “Whoever treads a path to seek knowledge, Allah will make a path to Paradise easy for him,” because he knew that people will slowly but surely stop *treading the path of knowledge* and instead sit by computer screens thinking that this is sufficient.
If you want true knowledge, don’t buy into the marketing gimmicks. Benefit from the opportunities you have around you if your situation doesn’t permit you to commit your life to knowledge, but know full well that much of what I described above is just marketing gimmicks, and it is not the full deal, and in many cases not even half of the full deal.
This was narrated by Qari Ismail Samni (Allah fill his grave with noor), Bolton.
“Shaykh AbulHassan Nadwi (Allah have mercy upon him) visited the UK and a programme was held for Ulama. At the start of the talk, Shaykh mentioned a dream in which he saw the blessed and glorious vision of the Final Messenger, the Seal of the Prophets ﷺ. In the dream, the Prophet ﷺ mentioned that he had his eyes on the Muslims of England (mere nazar England walo par hein).
On hearing this, the Ulama present were delighted and overjoyed. After which Shaykh stated, ‘There is no need to be so happy! Let me explain… if a mother has two children, one is playing in the garden and the second is playing near the fire. Which child does the mother have her eye on? Obviously, the one near the fire. Similarly, the interpretation of the dream is the Prophet ﷺ has his eyes fixated on the people of England because your Imaan is at risk. You may ask how? The Muslims of Makkah and Madinah will not sell their Imaan, because they are surrounded by Muslims and they are living in a Muslim country. At the most, they will commit sins. Same for the people of Pakistan, they will not sell their Imaan. As for the Muslims for India, they live in a Hindu country but totally oppose the actions of the Hindus. They dress differently, worship differently and keep Masjids and Hindu Temples separate.
What I have seen in the UK, especially in the young generation, step by step and inch by inch they follow the non-Muslims in every way; in their dress; in their food; their hairstyles; and their whole lifestyle. You are surrounded by non-Muslims, it is very easy to sell your Imaan living in the West.'”
Mawlana then continued his bayan.
It is December, the time of the year we see festive decorations and lights all around the country. Christmas is coming soon… Living in a non-Muslim country, how should we participate in this Christian festival? Are we allowed to attend Christmas parties? Should we let our children partake in Santa’s Grotto? When they attend school they want to play a part in the nativity play, is this Halal? Further, on Christmas day should we exchange gifts with our families and our Christian neighbours? Can we prepare a turkey dinner on Christmas day and enjoy it with the family? I won’t answer all these questions, but it is food for thought, further to the dream I mentioned in the start.
I will, however, like to touch on an issue increasing in the UK, having a turkey dinner on Christmas day. It is forbidden for a Muslim to prepare a turkey dinner on Christmas because this is an imitation of non-Muslims. It is confirmed in an authentic narration that “whoever imitates a people is one of them.”
Saying that the family gathers on this day and this is not with the purpose of imitating the non-Muslims but due to the fact that this day is a (bank) holiday, then this does not make it permissible for you to do this, because, in essence, you are imitating them. Gathering on this day could be on any other kind of food, why then have specifically a turkey dinner? Is this not imitating them even in the kind of food they eat?
The prohibition of resembling the non-Muslims is not restricted to inward actions [beliefs, actions of the heart] and intentions, but also to outward actions. It is for this reason that the Prophet ﷺ prohibited us from performing the prayer at sunset and sunrise, and he ﷺ said that it rises between two horns of the devil and the polytheist prostate to it at this time, despite the fact that a Muslim prays to Allah and not to the horns of the devil. However, the Prophet ﷺ forbade us from performing the prayer at that time regardless of our intention.
The Prophet ﷺ also used to differ from the people of the book even in the way they combed their hair.
Indeed, there are many narrations of the Prophet ﷺ about differing from the people of the Book in regard to both words and actions.
Therefore, we advise you to fear Allah and not imitate the polytheists and act in conformity with them in their festivals and traditions which are peculiar to them.
One should explain to the family, that it is permissible for the family to gather on that day because it is a holiday but without making this day as a festival and imitating the non-Muslims in their eating traditions and the like. It should be a family gathering like all other gatherings throughout the year [without any special food, settings or decorations].
Ismail Ibn Nazir Satia (One who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure)
Allah has granted this book a miraculous, wonderful and astounding status in terms of acceptance.
Imam Bukhari (Allah have mercy upon him) is buried in Uzbekistan, near Samarqand.
Ishaq ibn Rahwaye (Allah have mercy upon him) is the teacher of Imam Bukhari (Allah have mercy upon him), he authored a book, “Musnad Rahwaye” which is actually being published now. Once in class, Imam Ishaq stated, “I wish all the Saheeh Hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were gathered together in one compilation.
There were already books gathered with Haidth, but contained Saheeh, Hasan and Dhaeef Hadith.
The Dream and Glad Tidings
This comment of his teacher, ignited a burning fire in the heart of Imam Bukhari (Allah have mercy upon him), and he had an ardent passion to fulfil this request. Immediately after, Imam Bukhari (Allah have mercy upon him) had a dream of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him). In the dream Imam Bukhari (Allah have mercy upon him) had a fan in his hand, through which he was sending coolness to the blessed and illuminous face of our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The interpretation of which was, ‘I will gather Saheeh Hadith together, distinguishing them from the other unauthentic Hadith.’ He was very fortunate to be blessed with this honour. He would scrutinise and examine each Hadith carefully, sifting and picking out the authentic Hadith.
Scrupulousness and Diligence
For every Hadith, he would do Ghusl, pray 2 rak’ah and perform Istikharah. Mufti Saheb mentioned there are different narrtions as to how many Hadith in total are compiled in Bukhari Shareef. Some Ulama say, 7,000+ and some 8,000+ if we go with the minimum number, 7,000 Hadith – this would mean Imam Bukhari (Allah have mercy upon him) performed at least 14,000 rak’ah of Salah, performed Ghusl 7,000 times and then did Istikharah.
Thereafter he would show his Ustadhs; Abu Zur’ah (Allah have mercy upon him), Yahya ibn Mu’een (Allah have mercy upon him) and Ishaq Rahwaye (Allah have mercy upon him).
Islam and Arabs
The Arabs have pride and rightly so, they would have pride that Islam was established in Arabia. But Imam Bukhari (Allah have mercy upon him), was a resident of Bukhara. His Arabic wasn’t the most eloquent and articulate. He was accomplishing this task.
The weakest part of Bukhari Shareef in terms of linguistics is Kitabul Tafseer. This is evident, because Imam Bukhari (Allah have mercy upon him) wasn’t an expert of the Arabic Language. Hence some of words weren’t translated the best. For example,
يزاد في هذا الباب “هَمّ” هذا الحديث instead of the word ايضاً
The word “هَمّ” is Farsi, but instead of ايضاً he wrote that word.
Thus, the Ummah has a consensus the most authentic book after the book of Allah is al-Jami al-Bukhari. A person cannot become an Alim without studying Bukhari Shareef.
The Student’s Enthusiasm
Allah opens ‘Uloom for the teacher upon the eagerness and zeal of the student. Just like a baby cries and milk draws forth from the chest of the mother.
Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki (Allah have mercy upon him) once stated to his students, “Whatever you have achieved is through me, but if you did not have the burning desire in your souls I would not have had such inspirations and stimulus as well.”
Remember, in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab were also present. But they had no zeal to learn and change.
Sanad/Chain
Our chain (sanad) is very important to us, this differentiates us from other religions. No other religions have such a system of “Sanad.” My Shaykh, Dr Abdul Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy upon him) used to state a parable:
If there was a train that travelled from Karachi to Lahore, it was a fast train, very clean and travelled with speed. When it left the station at Karachi the station master attached a very old carriage at the end of this fast train, so that it can get “serviced.” When the train moved, the old carriage started squeaking! Somoene asked the old carriage, “Where are you going?” It replied, “You are lauhing at me, because my state is weak and poor. I may look deprived and pathetic, but the truth of the matter is when this new train reaches Lahore… so will I! Because my buffer and chain couplers are attached to this fast train.”
Likewise our connection to Ulama and pious people should be close and strong.
Imam Malik (Allah have mercy upon him) said: “If it were not for the Asnaad, people would say what they wanted.”
If we look at the Bible/Injeel and those people who sanctify this book, as Muslims we do as well to a certain extent. There is no chain to prove this book is still authentic. 300 years passed after Eesa (peace and blessings be upon him), there were many different variations of the Bible. In Nice, France, there was a conference in which all the priests decided we need to know which Bible is authentic. There was great dispute and disagreement. They decided to pray to God and fall in prostration and pray to Allah, at the same time they put all the Bibles on a table in a locked chamber. We pray that those Bibles which are fabricated, they fall on the floor. All night they did this, upon the crack of dawn they opened the door of the chamber. All the Bibles had fallen on the floor, except four. The historian who narrates this story further adds, they decided that four Bibles were authentic. But they had forgotten to write who had the keys to the chamber for that night!
Acquiring Knowledge Under a Teacher
It is important to study with a teacher, because of the student’s passion Allah blesses the teacher with noor and uloom and barakaat. This isn’t possible when the student studies alone. The system of studying under a teacher is finishing, it is very rare in the world such Hadith books are taught from start to finish. It only exists in India/Pakistan, due to the blessings of our Akabir. Many times I have experienced, I have done my motala for the a Hadith lesson, looked at the commentary as well. But in the lesson such things came into my heart that I had not known or researched. Quran and Hadith has been made by Allah in such a way in cannot be studied alone.
Never Miss a Hadith
In Karachi, we have 400-450 students in the final year – Dawrah. At least 60 -70 have never missed a Hadith, let alone missing a lesson. We call them ‘sahib e tarteeb’.
“All actions are dependent upon their intentions.”
“انما الاعمال بالنيات”
This Hadith is abused many times by people, they use it for wrongful purposes. People perform wrong actions and say, “my intentions are good. My heart is clean!” This is wrong, knowledge is important.
E.g. Someone is praying Salah incorrectly, you went ahead and showed him his mistakes which could break his Salah. He ignored you and said, “All actions are dependent upon their intentions… so my Salah is okay and correct!” This is wrong. You cannot use this Hadith to justify your wrong actions and lack of knowledge.
My late father, Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi’ (Allah fill his grave with noor) went for Hajj. When he reached Mina he had some guests who were known to be religious and in the political field, they arrived to meet him. My father questioned them if they had performed Rami? One replied, “No! I have made a representative (wakeel) on my behalf to perform Rami (stoning).” My father reprimanded him saying, “This is not permissible when you have the capability. This is only for those people who are unable to perform Rami!” The man said, “انما الاعمال بالنيات” (all actions are dependent upon their intentions). To which my father laughed and said, “If that was the case, there is no need for a representative as well. Just make an ‘intention’ of Rami.”
A wrong action does not become correct because the intentions are good. E.g a person steals money to give in Sadaqah, this is wrong.
Niyyah (intentions) play a major role in our everyday life, a mubah action can be rewarded if the intentions are good. If a person eats food to gain strength for ‘Ibadah and to do shukr, he/she will be rewarded accordingly. It is the same for spending time with one’s wife, to please her and act upon the Sunnah – you will be rewarded. The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raced with his wife, showed her the Ethiopian slaves playing for entertainment. All of this can gain reward if your intentions are correct.
My late father went for Hajj when I was a young boy 12 or 13 years old. Upon his return, he gifted me with a watch. I was so happy as I had never worn a watch before this. He remarked, “I bought this watch so you can tell the times for Salah. That should be your intention for wearing it.” Just look at the intention and reward behind this.
My late brother Muhammad Zaki (Allah have mercy upon him) who passed away many years ago, he would sing Naats and Nasheeds. He also had beautiful writing. When he learnt to write my father said, “Your first letter will be written to Hadhrat Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Allah have mercy upon him).” When Hadhrat Thanwi received the letter, he replied, “It is pleasing to see you can write in such a fashionable way. But make your intention to write in such a nice manner, that it makes it easy for people to read, I am making you into a Sufi.”
People have different definitions of ‘Sufis’, a true Sufi is he who does everything for Allah. Not the one who flies in the skies!
It is vital we correct our intentions on every action we carry out. Mufti Saheb then mentioned the Hadith of the first group of people being thrown into Hell; one of which will be Ulama, those who learnt Ilm and taught for other than Allah.
Allah save us. Ameen.
Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani Saheb (Hafidhahullah) is one of the leading Islamic scholars living today. He is an expert in the fields of Islamic Jurisprudence, Economics, Hadith and Tasawwuf.
Born in Deoband in 1362H(1943 CE), he graduated par excellence form Dars e Nizami at Darul Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan. Then he specialized in Islamic Jurisprudence under the guidance of his eminent father, Mufti Muhammad Shafi RH, the late Grand Mufti of Pakistan. Since then, he has been teaching hadith and Fiqh at the Darul-Uloom, Karachi.
Translation
My Lord, I come to Your door as a beggar complete indigence, bringing only my humility and shame. A beggar who has neither a joli nor a begging-bowl.A beggar slain by his desires and cravings. Having squandered the treasure of Deen and intellect at the hands of the ego; Having sacrificed contentment of heart at the altar of lust and pleasure.
Losing my wealth in the quick-sand of heedlessness and sin. I have come to seek refuge under the covering of your Kaabah. Through the stains of sin the heart’s world is suffering. Aspirations are weak, the will broken and hope is dead. From whence should I find the strength to express the heart truly?
For in this snare have I passed every moment of my life. In short, having been burnt at the stake of my own ill-deeds. In abject poverty due to the evil of my state. To you have I brought my ill-stricken fate. Empty-handed of any deed befitting your House.
This House of yours, which is your court of Love and Grace, O Lord Tis wholly Light and the repository of all Lights O Lord Being completely ignorant of the manners of your Doorstep. A beggar knowing not how to beg. My tongue fails to convey my heart’s feeling. O Lord, have mercy on this wordless speech! These eyes are dry, O Lord, knowing not how to weep Festering spots in the heart that can’t be cleansed out. O my Lord I have come to your door as a beggar wholly indigent, in abject humility and full of shame.
A passenger was once travelling on a ship when someone threw him overboard into the deep ocean. The waves engulfed him and, unsurprisingly, he tried his best to do everything he could to survive. The alarm was raised on the ship. The other passengers heard the call. Some of them did nothing because they were afraid of the deep water. Some of them did nothing because they were afraid that they might be thrown overboard themselves. And some of them did nothing because they thought it was no use, there was little chance of saving the man.
But other passengers came to the aid of the man in distress. One of them ran to the captain and pressured him to stop the ship. Another flung in a rubber ring. Another threw a rope to the drowning man. One of them even jumped into the ocean and swam out to try and save the man. Most of these passengers did not know who the drowning man was or how he ended up in the ocean; they simply saw a fellow passenger in distress.
The situation was serious. The water was cold and sunset was approaching. The drowning man flailed his arms desperately to keep afloat but he felt himself slipping away. Frigid, salty water began to wash into his mouth and nose. He began to lose hope.
While some passengers tried to save the man, other passengers stood on the deck in tears as they watched the scenario unfolding in front of them. They felt unable to do something practical to save the drowning man. So they shouted out words of comfort to the man. They told him to hold on just a little longer because help was on its way. Most of these passengers did not know who the drowning man was or how he ended up in the ocean; they simply saw a fellow passenger in distress.
When the drowning man saw their tears and heard their cries, he suddenly felt a burst of energy inside him. Up to that moment, his fight for survival had only been about himself. But when he saw that there were others who were worried about him and invested in him, he realised that he had to survive for their sake, even if he no longer had the energy to survive for his own sake.
With the encouragement of the well-wishers, the drowning man managed to keep himself afloat long enough for the rescuers to arrive and save him.
A hero is someone who makes a positive difference to the life of another person.
Who are the heroes in this story?
A) The drowning man, who did what he had to do to survive.
B) The passengers who rescued the man and encouraged him to survive.
The writer Mustafa Sadiq alRafei says, “When I looked into history, I found a small number of individuals whose lives mirrored the life cycle of a grain of wheat. They were torn from their roots then crushed then ground in mills. Then kneaded with fists, then rolled out and baked in ovens at high temperatures, just so they would provide food for others!”
Patiently persevere in the face of hardship hoping for a good outcome because you never know how many dead hearts you will bring to life in the process. No hardship lasts forever. There’s always an end!”
Bismi Allah- wal HumduLillah was Salah was Salam ala Rasoolillah
Today, I would like to speak about an issue, something which has affected me for years. It changed my life and I was oblivious to it for years. I feel brothers and sisters need to speak out about the issue, so it can help others who are suffering silently. More importantly, it is mentioned in Qur’an and Hadith but i see the Ulama, the scholars of Haqq are also silent and turning a blind eye to it. So I am going to start with the scholars who I am angry and upset at, never have I heard one talk in my Masjid, not on Jum’uah and not in Ramadhan on the topic… Black magic. I ask why? And I have the right to ask, do I not? This is no longer just a Bengali issue! I am Deobandi, Hanafi, Gujarati, studied in Madrasah as well. Is it because your wives and daughters are not affected? Because YOU haven’t experienced it in your family? Some scholars are in total disbelief, “it’s just in your head”, “mental illness!”, “everyone has problems in life”. We don’t disagree, mental health issues exist AND SO DOES BLACK MAGIC! IS Diabetes just in the head? Is Cancer just in the head? Other people have problems, marriage or job related, this does not mean Black Magic doesn’t exist. I’m sorry they’re insufficient proofs. Nobody said all problems in life are caused by Black Magic, but those of you who completely write off Black Magic are wrong as well. You no longer need to go to Pakistan or India to find Magicians and Witches, it’s all happening here in the UK. In our backyards. . .
Those who suffer from Black Magic and Jinn possession are living two totally different lives… yes! They have split personalities. One minute they are normal and the next minute they are going ballistic! People just assume they are bad mannered or have a disorder. Many sisters like myself are labelled bad wives and sometimes bad mothers. I won’t even go into how mother in laws treat us, with no sympathy and understanding DESPITE KNOWING. People assume if you are not sectioned into a mental institute or not actively trying to commit physical self-harm, then you are “okay”.
The psychological trauma we go through, the grief, the depression, anxiety, the phobias, Waswasah and doubts… on your partner on your family and close ones! Not forgetting the doubts we have on Allah and Iman! But all of this is brushed to the side, which just escalates for matters for us.
We want to seek guidance from Ulama, but they say nothing except, “it’s all in your head!” La Hawla Wa Laa Quwwata Illa Billah…
“Did the Prophet SAW not suffer from Black Magic himself SAW?”
Or was it just in His head SAW? …for six months He SAW was affected and He never knew, He found out later.
The Qur’an says we must seek help and assistance from people of knowledge. But they just make matters worse! I fear Allah whilst writing this, I am ashamed. But Wallahi alAzeem! These scholars need to refer back to their books. Nobody goes through everything in life, every illness, every pain, every suffering. So we can’t keep saying, because we haven’t experienced it we don’t believe in it. It breaks my heart knowing this disease is spreading quicker and faster. More and more houses and families are being broken by Black Magic. But the world just stands and watches and shows us statistics of divorce rates.
Are you unaware the most popular type of Black Magic is separating the husband and wife… read Surah baqarah: “From them (Harut and Marut) they learned how they might divide a man and his wife.” (2:102)
Aside from that, the suicidal feelings, the self-harm and nightmares we have on a daily basis. This is why I believe that Black Magic is far worse than cancer, diabetes or TB! People, please understand what I’m saying! With these illnesses you may lose your health, your teeth, lose weight or other parts of your body and it becomes ‘apparent.’ Our suffering is all internal and we are ashamed to tell anyone. Why? Generally, people are judgemental as it is. “He can’t get married!” “She can’t have children!” What would they say if they knew we were possessed or a victim of Black Magic?!
Have you noticed how if we don’t display very obvious physical signs of illness or at least obvious signs of mental illness then, people assume- it’s not that bad.
This really pained me at my worst times 😦 I sincerely felt like I had to explain myself constantly that no, just because it’s not so obvious, it is STILL extremely distressing, painful and debilitating.
“Also? With the above mentioned diseases you don’t lose your Iman easily and fall into Shirk! We are constantly in a cloudy battle with Shaytan’s army, jinn and waswasah – nothing is clear to us. We want to end our lives or end our Iman. Nobody understands us… our reward is with Allah SWT! He tests whom he loves (alHadith).”
I hope this is a reassuring message to all my friends who are suffering silently, Allah is with you. He is al-Hafeez, the best protector.
Please take this seriously, evil eye exists, black magic exists and Jinn possession exists. Please keep up your Azkaar and daily protection.
NB: I would like to clarify one question which many sisters ask me, brothers may also be confused about it too…
QUESTION: We pray Manzil (dua book) regularly, we pray Hizbul Azam weekly and our morning and evening Duas daily. Can we still be affected by Black Magic or Evil Eye?
ANSWER: All of the above are brilliant for general protection and we MUST do all of them and much more! But one can still be affected by Jinn or Black Magic or Evil Eye. The simple explanation to this is, the Prophet Alayhis Salam was also affected with Sihr. Who is more punctual on Azkar and Dua than Him Alayhi Salam? But he was still affected. Some people further ask, what is the benefit of reading all these Duas then? The benefit is the harm of Sihr/Jadoo will not be as great. I have always read Manzil- Alhumdu Lillah! When I was told about Sihr on me, it was said it only affected me 70-80%. Because of the protection, I was doing. So please do read the Wazeefahs you are doing, carry on. But once you have been affected by Jinn or Sihr you will need specific treatment, please contact a Shaykh.
I will leave links here for you all for Dua books:
Unfortunately, Qurbani has become rather like car insurance, where one searches for the lowest “quote” and the cheapest price… this should not be the case.
We shouldn’t think of Qurbani or any obligation in Islam as a BURDEN, brothers and sisters. Rather we should fulfil it for solely the pleasure of Allah SWT.
Give to the “needy” countries.
Give to the “poorest” country.
Don’t go for the LOWEST quote!
Did you know, there are many Muslims who don’t eat meat all year round, only on Eid! Remember that, next time you’re licking your chicken legs and eating that Kobeda.
I feel sooner or later, we will have websites or apps (like ‘gocompare’… ‘goqurbani’) that will compare charities and countries then show which are the cheapest. Astaghfirullah…
My gripe is we earn thousands of pounds and when it comes to spending for Allah SWT, we are tight fisted – La Hawla Wa La Quwwata Illa Billa!
The saddest part of all of this is, how deep our selfishness goes. The word ‘Udhiyyah’ (Arabic), ‘Qurbani’ (urdu), actually means ‘sacrifice’. It really shows whether we love Allah or just love our pockets, our purses and our bank accounts.
Lastly, many of you reading this will be from Bangladesh/India/Pakistan. Let’s not just focus on these countries, we have many of our Muslim brothers and sisters around the world who are living in extreme poverty. I understand that some of these other countries have extortionate rates for an animal. But, if we all go for a £15 share in a cow from India and just want to absolve ourselves from this obligation, who will feed the Muslims in Iraq and Palestine where a large animal costs almost £2,000 (approx £300 per share). It is advised that family and friends get together and offer a ‘Nafl’ Qurbani in these countries, i.e. split the cost between them, if they can’t afford a full share. A great way of doing this is with the intention of Esale Thawab. This Eid, let’s not deprive anyone In Sha Allah.
Please bear in mind, Qurbani comes once a year and we eat meat on a regular basis in the UK.
ASK YOURSELF: ARE YOU SACRIFICING OR JUST COMPARING THE PRICES?!
(Mawlana) Ismail Ibn Nazir Satia (One who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure).
The New Year by Shaykh Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh
Having just completed the year, the ‘New Year’ is seen and heard all around us. However, the question remains as to what should be a Muslim’s take on these events.
Upon the passing of a year, the common trend is to celebrate; people have birthday parties, wedding anniversaries etc. However, in certain spheres this is not the case; take the example of a businessman who at the end of the (financial) year will first take stock of the past year. He will meticulously go through the accounts of the past year taking into account every single penny. He will check to see if he made a profit, and if so then how can he make more in the coming year. He will check his expenses: where did he spend his money? Can he make further savings? All of this is done so that he can make the coming year more profitable than the one that has passed.
This should be the case at the end of the year in every Muslim’s life for we too have been sent to this world as businessmen with the commodity of time; which is life. We will have to one day give account for every second in the Court of Allāh ta‘ālā, when our books of deeds shall be presented.
We will bring forth a book for him that he will find wide open, (and We will say to him) ‘Read your book. Enough are you today to take your own account.’ (17:13-14)
‘Umar radhiyallāhu ‘anhu, emphasising the same, says:
Take stock of your own lives before Allāh ta‘ālā reckons you. And assess yourself before you are assessed by Allāh. And prepare yourselves for the great summoning.
It is our belief that on the Day of Judgement Allāh ta‘ālā will reckon us for everything that we did in the world.
On the day when everybody shall find present before him whatever good he did and whatever evil he did, he will wish there would have been a wide space between him and that (day). (3:30)
No matter how minute or trivial an act we did, we will find that it is present in our book of deeds.
So, whoever does any good act (even) to the weight of a particle will see it. And whoever does evil (even) to the weight of a particle will see it. (99:7-8)
This will be to the extent that in awe people will say:
‘Woe to us! What a book is this! It has missed nothing, minor or major, but has taken it into account.’ Thus they will find whatever they did present before them, and your Lord will not wrong anyone. (18:49)
We need to keep this reality in mind and spend our lives with regular reflection on our actions with Murāqabah and Muhāsabah. Murāqabah means to supervise and oversee oneself to ensure that he/she stays away from disobediences of Allāh ta‘ālā and spends every moment seeking the Pleasure of Allāh ta‘ālā. Muhāsabah means taking account of one’s activities at the end of the day, week and year; and thanking Allāh ta‘ālā for the ability to have performed any good actions and seeking forgiveness for any sins one may have committed. Inshā’allāh, if this is adhered to, then we will see a great change in our lives. We will find ourselves spending every second of our lives with great care.
The end of a year is a time to reflect and say to yourself, ‘Another year from my precious life has passed. Who knows how many more years, if any, I have remaining?’ Let us spend them in those avenues that bring the pleasure of Allāh ta‘ālā and stay away from those things that bring His displeasure, so that we can meet Allāh ta‘ālā in a state that He is pleased with us.
The original ‘Ālimiyyah degrees have slowly become so watered down over the years that even those who haven’t been through such programmes feel prepared to offer it now. It went from 8 years full time, to seven years by summarizing the six books of hadith into one year instead of two, then to 6 years by dropping the six books altogether or incorporating them over the six years, then to 5 years by incorporating the Arabic into the curriculum instead of it being part of a preparatory curriculum, then to 5 years part-time, then to 4 years to match the conventional degrees, then to 4 years part-time to accommodate people’s busy schedules, and now to 6 weekends a year for three years.
I am a Muslim. I am British.
mylittlebreathingspace - Ismail Satia 