Wednesday, 23 May 2007
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
alAdab4 - Hadith 1 - 1. Prayer at its proper time…
1. Prayer on its proper time.
There are different narrations of this Hadith. Narrations from ibn Khuzaymah say prayer at the beginning of its time. Imam Nawawi and Hanafi school didn’t find support for this. Ibn Hajar shows that narrations for this are authentic. Even understanding and knowing that to pray Salah at its beginning time isn’t enough as we know its not always the best from other narrations for example to pray in congregation is better and also it’s better to delay the Isha prayer and pray as late as possible.
Salah comes before the parents. This is the number one priority in our lives. We know this from the Hadith of Prophet in at-Tirmidhi, the first thing to be judged is the prayer and if that is proper then everything else will follow. If prayer is defective then everything else will be defective.
How do we compare to those people who did make the prayer their priority? Are we like the sahabah? Is it the single most important thing in our lives?
The Hadith of Dajjal
Greatest fitnah which will afflict us. There never came a Prophet that didn’t warn against the dajjaal. The Prophet taught us to seek refuge from the evil fitnah of the dajjaal. He will make false miracles and people will take him like a God. Allah will cause draught and famine and the dajjaal will bring food and cause rain to come down. He will cause the dead to come back to life.
What was the reaction of the Companions to this news?
The Sahabah only asked - how are we going to pray that day?
Look at their priorities. SubhanAllaah. Look at what prayer meant to them.
Allah says in the Quran, The Salah repels/prohibits open evil actions (fahshaa) and evil sins in society (munkar).
By prioritising what Allaah and His Messenger prioritises for us we will be able to take the benefit from that prayer and make it repel fahshaa and munkar and have it fulfil the rest of obligations including the ones towards our parents.
When Allah says give thanks to me and give thanks to your parents. How is this done? The scholars have said this is done by performing the five prayers. By doing this you have thanked Allah and by making dua for the parents after the five prayers you have thanked them.
What does it mean? The prayer in its proper time
There are aspects of this which scholars have agreed upon and some aspects in whcih the scholars have disagreed upon.
- There’s no dispute over the timings of the beginning of Fajr and the end of Fajr.
- The beginning of dhuhr is agreed upon, this is when the sun passes the zenith. If you have a stick, you can see that when the sun gets to the highest point it castes a shadow on the stick itself. As soon as that shadow starts to move and elongate this is the beginning of dhuhr time, its called az-Zawaal.
- ‘Asr has major difference of opinion between two schools of thought. The majority are upon Shafi position, this is when Asr time begins when the shadow is one times the length of the stick plus the original shadow that was present at az-Zawaal time.
- The Hanafi school believe it to be when the shadow is twice the length of the stick plus the original shadow from az-Zawaal time. Both narrated in alMuwatta.
- Maghrib, everyone agrees about the beginning of Maghrib but they disagree upon its ending. Some scholars say Maghrib is valid to pray all the way until Ishaa’. Others such as the Hanafis say Maghrib only lasts for 10-15 minutes.
- Isha time is another issue of dispute, some scholars from the Hanafi school set the time of Maghrib to be a set time - about an hour. This is from hadith of Nu’man ibn Basheer. Some say Maghrib finishes when the whiteness or the redness disappears. These difference is acceptable. Especially in this country its difficult to judge these times, especially Ishaa’.
If we take the narration of prayer at the beginning of its time. We can see in the sunnah when it comes to do good actions we should try to do it quickly. So the principle to do it quickly is present in Islam. We should compete with one another to do good deeds. Other obligations like hajj shouldn’t be pushed away but done at a good time and may be accountable if they could’ve been done earlier in life but left till later when unexpected situations occur and the obligation is not fulfilled.
Prayer at the beginning of its time is something general. There are other narrations to specify issues. There are hadiths which are specific such as praying in congregation is better. Regarding Isha, if the Prophet didn’t fear for us then he would’ve delayed it as late as possible.
alAdab alMufrad 3 - Hadith 1
“The owner of this house (and he pointed to the house of Abdullah b. Masud) said, ‘I asked the Prophet which action of Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, loves best?”
He said, ‘Prayer at its proper time.’
I asked, ‘and after that?’
He said, ‘Then dutifulness to parents.’
I asked, ‘And after that?’
He said, ‘Then jihad in the way of Allah.’”
Ibn Mas’ud said: “He told me about these things. If I had asked him to tell me more, he would have told me more.”
This hadith is classified as Saheeh and is also found Imam Bukharis authentic collection Jaami’ Saheeh and in Kitab al Eemaan.
Narrators
Main narrator is ibn Umar ash-Shaybani. He was not a sahabi, was a masjor companion of Abdullah ibn Mas’ood so it puts him in the generation of the kibaar attabi’een
He was alive at time of Prophet. When the Prophet was sent with message, he was sent as a shepherd to look after the flock.
Benefit when he was talking about Abdullah bin Masood he did not mention his name, he only said the owner of this house. This shows respect but also shows Abdullah ibn Masood which is referred to Daar al Abdillah. When Abdullah is mentioned on its own in Hadith books it means Abdullah ibn Masood – shows the status amongst the rest of the scholars.
Abdullah ibn masood is from the early sahaabah he was. He was the narrator the of this hadith and learnt 70 surahs from the quran from the Prophet. To show the greatness they say he learnt them while Zaid ibn Thabit was still a child playing with the children and he was the main scribe! The spread of Hanafi schools and domination is through ibn Masoods moving to Iraq and then his opinions taking such strength and spreading.
They used to say he was most similar to prophet in his manner and the way he addressed people. Passed away in the 32nd year of hijri and was sixty something years old.
The Question Asked
Which action is most beloved to Allah subanahu wa ta’ala?
We have many similar narrations from various people. What does that question actually mean? Prophet didn’t mention Eemaan and those things before prayer but mentioned: Prayer, Birr al Walidain and Jihad.
Different opinions as to what this question meant:
- In general what is the best action.
- Responses are given to exaggerate the action in order to show its importance magnitude
- The answer changes depending on who asks the question.. Some answers have been: The best are those who are best to their to families, to their women etc. The responder thus answers in a way which specifically benefits the questioner and circumstances of the questioner.
- The answer would differ according to the time they lived in and what stages they were at. At the beginning of revelation Jihad was the best and was needed and thus was the best action and then once state had achieved stability something else might become more important like at the time of Hajj thus this becomes more important. If there’s a drought then zakah may be more important..
The Status of Women
As Shaykh ibn Baaz rahimAllaah shows the importance of women so elequently:
“The status of the Muslim woman in Islaam is a very noble and lofty one, and her effect is very great in the life of every Muslim. Indeed, the Muslim woman is the initial teacher in the building of a righteous society, providing she follows the guidance from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Since adherence to the Qur’aan and the Sunnah distances every Muslim - male or female - from being misguided in any matter… The secret of her importance lies in the tremendous burden and responsibility that is placed upon her, and the difficulties that she has to shoulder - responsibilities and difficulties some of which not even a man bears.”
Umm ‘Abdillaah
Knowledge
Anas (RA) said: the Messenger of Allah (SAAW) said:
“He who leaves his home in order to seek knowledge, he is in Allah’s path until he returns [to his home].”
Abud-Darda (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said,
“He who follows a path in quest of knowledge, Allah will make the path of Jannah easy to him. The angels lower their wings over the seeker of knowledge, being pleased with what he does. The inhabitants of the heavens and the earth and even the fish in the depth of the oceans seek forgiveness for him. The superiority of the learned man over the devout worshipper is like that of the full moon to the rest of the stars (i.e., in brightness). The learned are the heirs of the Prophets who bequeath neither dinar nor dirham but only that of knowledge; and he who acquires it, has in fact acquired an abundant portion.”
Abu Dharr narrated, the Messenger of Allah (SAAW) said to me:
“O Abu Dharr! If you learn one verse from The Book of Allah (The Quran), it is better for you than to voluntarily pray one hundred rak’as (units of prayer), and if you learn a category of knowledge (religion), regardless if it is applied or not, it is better for you than to voluntarily pray one thousand rak’as.”
Abu Hurairah said: I heard the Messanger of Allah (SAAW) saying:
“Anyone who comes to this mosque of ours in order to learn a good thing, or to teach it, is equal to the Mujahid in the path of Allah, and whoever comes for anything else, he is like a man who looks at other people’s belongings.”
Safwan Ibn ‘Assal said: I came to the Prophet (SAAW) while he was reclining on a red coat [in the mosque] and I said to him:
“O’ Messenger of Allah! I came to seek knowledge. He said: Welcome knowledge seeker! Indeed, the angels surround the knowledge seeker with their wings, then they pile on top of each other until they reach the lower heaven out of their love of what he is seeking.”
Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said,
Umm Maryam
The Wifes’ Jihaad.
If the Wife is at home looking after the children whilst the Husband is out seeking knowledge, the Wife is also rewarded for that seeking of knowledge.
As Umm Maryam pointed out to me; Marriage is the wife’s Jihaad and inshallah she will be rewarded for all the sacrifices she makes.
But the Husband should also be reminded that;
Husbands are accountable for their wifes’ learning and they are responsible for educating their wife.
Umm Yusuf
Posted by pearlsofknowledge
alAdab alMufrad 2- The Importance of Birr al-Walidayn
He begins his book with the Basmallah. Normally scholars start with the Hamdallah The Prophet narrated in Bukhari in Kitab alWahy that the first thing revealed was Iqra bismi Rabik. Read in the Name of your Lord… thus it is enough to start an action with the Basmallah alone. The Prophet used to do this in various correspondences with the kings and leaders so we can see the Hamdallah is not an absolute condition.
On The Words of Allah The Exalted: “We Have Enjoined Man To Be Kind to His Parents.” (al-‘Ankabut 29:8)
Imam Bukhari begins with this Ayah in order to make us connect the worship of Allah with the relationship of parents.
Why does he start the whole understanding of Adab with the parents?
Adab is how you interact with people and the people we interact with the most and those who are the most important people in our lives are out parents. They are above the scholars, above our children and they have the biggest Haqq from us after Allah subhana wa ta’aala. So if we are not able to perfect our Adab with them how are we going to be able to deal with other than them be it our brothers and sisters, people we meet in business transactions or even animals. This relationship requires kindness, obedience, good manners, everything we need to interact with people thus this is a reason why most scholars begin with Adab with the parents.
What is the importance of parents? Why are we are told to respect our parents and why does he state the verse of Allah at the beginning?
Our ultimate aim in life and reason for our existence is to worship Allah as Allah says in the Ayah: I have not created Jinn and Mankind except to worship Me. Allah subhana wa ta’ala caused our parents to bring us into existence so for this reason we must value them and respect them as if we didn’t exist we wouldn’t be able to worship Allah.
Birr al walidayn
Birr – when referring to land or sea it means to be wide, open and easy. This is how we must be with our parents. Good, kind, merciful, easy, righteous. The children must be wide and open with their parents at all times. Not blow up at them but give easy patient responses. Obey them as long as it’s not Haraam.
Tarbiyyah and Rooboobiyyah
We need to recognise Allaahs Lordship Rooboobiyah. The main role of parents in our lives and their number one obligation after worshipping Allah is to give us tarbiyyah. This word comes from the same root in Arabic as Rooboobiyyah.
Rabba – grow, cultivate, develop, nurture.
Al mattar arrab annubaat. The rain causes to grow the plants from the ground. In some poetry from Hasan ibn Thabit a companion of the Prophet he was describing someone very beautiful and used the word tarrababa – this is the process of the sea acting upon the oyster of the pearl and transforming it into its final product into a white clear pearl. Aspect of marine culture. Requires effort and so on. May take up to 6 years to develop a pearl in an oyster. This act of tarbiyyah is not easy. Same root as murabah - jam which takes time to flavour anf ferment etc too. Requires patience and so much effort and the final result is rare. The child who is murrabba is nurtured and brought up into a rare and unique child.
Why did the prophet emphasise the tarbiyyah?
Every child is born on the natural state and the parents turn him into a Christian or Jew or Zoroastrian, thus we can see that it’s the parents responsibility to make tarbiyyah on this child.
Through this tarbiyyah the parents give the child, he should develop in such a way that he recognises the rooboobiyyah of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. He reaches that state where his senses and his aql recognises that Allah is the one who deserves to be worshipped and He is ar-Rabb. This is why Allah puts so much emphasis on obedience of the parents after Himself.
Verse 8 of Surah Ankaboot
“We have enjoined on man kindness to parents: but if They (either of them) strive (to force) Thee to join with me (in worship) anything of which Thou hast no knowledge, obey them not. ye have (all) to return to me, and I will Tell you (the truth) of all that ye did.”
This came down in relation to Saad ibn al Waqqaas. Before Islam he was known for respecting his mother and loved her dearly. After he accepted Islam, the following hadith in Saheeh Muslim says that Umm Saad said to me (Saad) did Allah not command you to honour your parents? By Allah I won’t eat until I die until you renounce Islam. Saad was distressed by this. He loved her but loved Allah more. He went to the Prophet and then this ayah was revealed.
Imam Qortobi mentioned it was said to Saad “oh the one who has killed his mother” when he went back to her he said to her “I love Allah more than my love for you Even if you had a hundred lives I would not leave this religion of mine so if you wish eat and if you don’t wish don’t eat.” These are the limits for the obedience to the parents.
Other narrations show that she begun to eat and drink and he didn’t leave his obligations towards her. She eventually died a kaafirah.
Ibn Abbas narrates that this ayah was revealed upon another Sahabi called Ayyaash ibn Abi Rabi’ah. He was the brother of Abu Jahl. It is narrated that once he accepted Islam and made hijrah to Madina, Abu Jahl and his other brother Haaris came and said to him that Muhammad commands to be kind to the parents and since you have left our mother she vows not to eat or drink as she loves you more than us.
Ayyaash went to ‘Umar for advise and ‘Umar said they’re tricking you. He went back and they persisted until he gave in. They tied him up and took him home. They tied him in the corner of the house and would not untie him until he renounced Islam. He stuck firm to his religion alhumdulilaah.
Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad, the Prophet said:
“there is no obedience to the creation in disobedience to the creator.”
This hadith helps us to limit restrict and standardise our relationship with everyone.
alAdab alMufrad 1 - Intro to Imam Bukharis Life
About Imam Bukhari
Born on a Jumu’ah. 194 – 256AH born in modern day Uzbekistan. He was from a scholarly family. He transmitted what he could from the barakah of the third generation and gave us something to hold onto form their lives. Good to analyse his life to see how we can improve missing in our lives.
- He wasn’t even ten years old when he started to learn Quran and Hadith.
He had the ability to do ilm al rijaal – knew lives of narrators, companions, tabi’een, atba tabi’een etc. - At 10 years old through his memory was able to correct his teachers in narration.
- He travelled for next 30 years to study Hadith and produced the most authentic book after the Quran. Allah gave him such blessings to produce such a masterpiece.
Paraphrased narration: Imam Bukhari used to go with us to the scholars of Basra and all of us used to write the Hadith down except Imam Bukhari. Eventually we condemned him for not doing so. He told us to bring our notes and he was able to read all the Ahadith off by heart one by one until he narrated 15.000 Hadith off by heart from those notes.
- He memorised 300,000 Hadith. He’d know the chains of narration of these Ahadith as well as being able to categorise the Ahadith.
- He achieved such a high standard, so much so that near to no one disputes the authenticity of Saheeh Bukhari..
Memory was the major asset the scholars had. We are so poor at memorising and being able to retain information. Reasons for this are due to the distractions of our society. We need to make our hearts and minds free from them but the environment and there can’t be any interference.
- He wrote many books: Jaami’ Saheeh, books on aqeedah, fiqh and aladab almufrad.
- The generally accepted reason as to why he called it alAdab alMufrad is in order to distinguish it from Kitaab alAdab which is the 78th book of the Jaami’ Saheeh.
- No one has given this book a commentary until recently an Indian scholar gave a brief commentary.
- The root word Adaba is to invite a guest or collect people together in one place thus Adab means to bring all things good, of a high standard together.
- The Mufrad version is larger in size. Contains more Ahadith. The authenticity varies from the same level as Jaami’ Saheeh, to less even some weak narrations. It also contains sayings from the Sahabah and the Tabi’een.
- The majority of scholars deem it permissible to use weak hadith in issues of virtuous and good actions of the community, however there are three conditions the Hadith must fulfil:
- The Hadith isn’t very weak and is definitely not fabricated. So if there’s a liar in the chain he must not have been the only one who narrated that particular Hadith.
- The Hadith must come under a general principle which is established in other narrations.
- One must never narrate it as if it was definitely said by the Prophet. This is to protect yourself from attributing something to him which he did not say.
deep quotes…by Ibn Taymiyyah.
[Majmu Fatawa 10/85]
Trials and tribulation are like feeling the heat and cold, when one knows that they cannot be avoided, he will not feel anger at their onset, nor will he be distressed or disheartened.
[ibn al-Qayyim, al-Madarij 3/289]
Sins are like chains and locks preventing their perpetrator from roaming the vast garden of tawhid and reaping the fruits of righteous actions.
[Majmu Fatawa 14/49]
The sorrow in my heart...
Until I am given the Gladtidings of
Acceptance into Jannah,
Till I behold my Book of Deeds in the
Right,
And my Eyes are Cooled by the Sight of the
Messenger
How old are you?
قال: واحد إلى ألف ألف وأكثر
قال: لم أرد هذا، كم تعد من السن؟
قال: اثنين وثلاثين، ست عشرة من أعلى وست عشرة من أسفل
قال: لم أرد هذا، كم لك من السنين؟
قال: والله، ما لي فيها شيء، السنون كلها لله تعالى.
قال: يا هذا ما سنك؟
قال: عظم
قال: ابن كم أنت؟
قال: ابن اثنين، رجل وامرأة
قال: كم أتى عليك؟
قال: لو اتى عليّ شيء لقتلني
قال: فكيف أقول؟!
قال: تقول: كم مضى من عمرك؟
How Do I Love Thee… Let Me Count the Ways…
To count them in Arabic would take far longer, and have much more meaning…
the degrees of love in Arabic: [Summarized from Lane’s Lexicon]
حُبٌّ Hubb Love; affection; inclination of the nature or natural disposition, towards a thing that pleases or delights;
The degrees of حُبّ are as follows: first هَوىً hawaa, the “inclining of the soul, or mind;” also applied to the “object of love itself:”
then عَِلاقَةٌ ‘alaaqah or ‘ilaaqah, “love cleaving to the heart;” so termed because of the heart’s cleaving to the object of love:
then كَلَفٌ kalaf, “violent, or intense, love;” from كُلْفَةٌ Kulfah signifying “difficulty, or distress, or affliction:”
then عِشْقٌ ‘ishq [“amorous desire:” or “passionate love;”] in the Sihaah “excess of love;” and in the language of the physicians, “a kind of melancholy:”
then شَغَفٌ shaghaf, “ardour of love, accompanied by a sensation of pleasure;” like لَوْعَةٌ law3ah
and لاعِجٌ laa3ij; the former of which is “ardour of love;” and the latter, “ardent love:”
then جَوىً jawaa, “inward love;” and “violence of amorous desire,” or “of grief, or sorrow:”
then تَتَيُّمٌ tatayyum, “a state of enslavement by love:”
then تَبْلٌ tabl, “lovesickness;”
then وَلَهٌ walah, “distraction, or loss of reason, in love:”
and then هُيَامٌ huyaam, “a state of wandering about at random in consequence of overpowering love.”
Arabic Proverbs
بعضه و إذا أعطيته بعضك لم يعطيك شيئاً
2. على قد لحافك مد رجليك
3. القرد في عين أمه غزال
4. الناس على دين ملوكهم
5. سيد القوم خادمهم
6. إذا كان صاحبك عسل لا تلحسه كله
7. خيرها بغيرها
8. الشكوى سلاح الضعفاء
10. قلوبهم معك و سيوفهم عليك
11. الضحك بلا سبب من قلة الأدب
12. اللي فات مات
13. اسأل مجرب ولا تسأل حكيم
Ask one who has experience rather than a physiciani.e., Experience without learning is better than learning without experience
14. عدم الجواب جواب
15. حلم القطط كله فيران
16. إللي حبه ربه فرجاه ملكه
17. إذا حسنت سيرك لا تخاف غيرك
18. الجزاء من جنس العمل
19. قل لي من تعاشر و اقل لك من انت
20. لا تهرف بما لا تعرف
21. ضربني وبكى وسبقني واشتكى
23.الرجل الجوعان رجل غضبان
The hungry man is an angry man
24.العلم القليل شيء خطير
A little learning is a dangerous thing
25.ما يكسب بسهولة يضيع بسهولة
Easy comes, easy goes
26. الحب اعمى
Love is blind
27.المعرفة قوة
Knowledge is power
The Status of the Arabic Language in Islam
By: Shaykhul-Islaam Taqiyyud-Deen Ibn Taymiyyah (d.728H)
As for becoming accustomed to talking to one another in a language other than Arabic, which is the symbol of Islaam and the language of the Qur‘aan, so that this becomes a habit in the land, with one’s family and household members, with one’s friends, in the marketplace, when addressing government representatives or authority figures or when speaking to people of knowledge, undoubtedly this is makrooh (disliked), because it involves being like the non-Arabs, which is makrooh, as stated previously.
Hence when the early Muslims went to live in Syria and Egypt, where the people spoke Byzantine Greek, and in ’Iraaq and Khurasaan, where the people spoke Persian, and North Africa (al-Maghrib) where the people spoke Berber, they taught the people of those countries to speak Arabic, so that Arabic became the prevalent language in those lands, and all the people, Muslim and kaafir alike, spoke Arabic. Such was also the case in Khurasaan in the past, then they became lax with regard to the language and got used to speaking Farsee until it became prevalent and Arabic was forgotten by most of them. Undoubtedly this is disliked.
The best way is to become accustomed to speaking Arabic so that the young people will learn it in their homes and schools, so that the symbol of Islaam and its people will prevail. This will make it easier for the people of Islaam to understand the Qur‘aan and Sunnah, and the words of the Salaf, unlike a person who gets used to speaking one language, then wants to learn another, and finds it difficult.
Know that being used to using a language has a clear and strong effect on one’s thinking, behaviour and religious commitment. It also has an effect on making one resemble the early generations of this Ummah, the Companions and the Taabi’een. Being like them improves one’s thinking, religious commitment and behaviour.
Moreover, the Arabic language itself is part of Islaam, and knowing Arabic is an obligatory duty. If it is a duty to understand the Qur‘aan and Sunnah, and they cannot be understood without knowing Arabic, then the means that is needed to fulfil the duty is also obligatory.
There are things which are obligatory on all individuals (fard ’ayn), and others which are obligatory on the community or Ummah (fard kifaayah, i.e., if some people fulfill them the rest are relieved of the obligation).
This is the meaning of the report narrated by Aboo Bakr Ibn Abee Shaybah who said: ’Eesa Ibn Yoonus told us from Thawr from ’Umar Ibn Yazeed that ’Umar wrote to Aboo Moosa al-Ash’aree () and said: “Learn the Sunnah and learn Arabic; learn the Qur‘aan in Arabic for it is Arabic.”
According to another hadeeth narrated from ’Umar (), he said: “Learn Arabic for it is part of your Religion, and learn how the estate of the deceased should be divided (faraa‘id) for these are part of your Religion.”
This command of ’Umar, to learn Arabic and the Sharee’ah combines the things that are needed, for Religion involves understanding words and actions. Understanding Arabic is the way to understand the words of Islaam, and understanding the Sunnah is the way to understand the actions of Islaam…” [1]
The Golden Advice Regarding The Proper Manner of Learning the Arabic Language
All praise is for Allah. We praise him and seek his assistance. May the salah and salam be upon the messenger of Allah and all those who follow the prophetic path until the last day. Amma ba’d: Many brothers have asked me about learning the Arabic language and the best way to arrive at an understanding of the qur’an and sunnah. In response to these brothers I put this small essay together. May Allah grant us ikhlaas and sucsess in our efforts. Some of the salaf used to say, “man dakhala fil ilm jumlatan, kharaja minhu jumlatan.” “Whoever entered into knowledge all at once, it shall leave him all at once.” It is binding upon the student of any subject to gain an understanding and basic conception of what exactly he/she is studying. In Arabic this is called ‘tasawwur’. The lack of a proper ‘tasawwur’ concerning the method of learning Arabic is perhaps the biggest problem facing those that attempt to learn Arabic in the west. One simply has to look at the many numerous books on the Arabic language that are currently on the market in the west. With all of these books available, it would seem like everyone in the Muslim community would know Arabic by now but that is not the case. The reason for this lack of learning despite the presence of many decent books is built upon my previous statement about the lack of ‘tasawwur’. As for those who have no desire to learn Arabic or only claim that they want to learn while expending no efforts in that path I ask allah to give them tawfeeq and desire to understand the language of the qur’an and sunnah.
What is the Arabic language?
a) The Arabic language is a Semitic language that is primarily based upon three letter root words. For example we say ‘madh’hab’, this word comes from the root- dhaal-haa’-baa’. This word is derived from the root verb dha’haba. It is expected that those reading this already know this.
b) The Arabic language is composed of different sciences. When someone learns Arabic he/she must understand that he is in fact learning three sciences. Realizing this separation between the various sciences assist the student of Arabic in grasping the language. With this he will know where the language begins and where it ends. It is indeed unfortunate that most modern books of Arabic language instruction fail to even mention this. See what I mean when I spoke about the lack of ‘tasawwur’?
The sciences of Arabic are in fact twelve in number. However the sciences that are the most important for the understanding of the qur’an and sunnah are three:
I. Nahw: It is most often translated as ‘grammar’. Nahw is a study of the language and the various rules governing the words as they appear in a sentence. For example I will now mention to you three sentences and discuss the difference between them please pay close attention.
1. ‘la tashrubil-laban wa ta’kulu as-samak’
What is the difference between these three in meaning? The difference between them is in the ending of the verb ‘ta’kul’ which means to eat. In the first sentence ‘ta’kul’ ends with a dummah. In the second sentence the verb ‘ta’kul ends with a sukuun. In the third sentence however, the last letter of ‘ta’kul’ ends with a fathah.
The difference occurs because of the different usages for the ‘waw’. In the first sentence the ‘waw’ is the ‘waw’ signifying a separation. It means, “Do not drink the milk (but no problem) and your eating fish. In the second sentence the ‘waw’ is the ‘waw’ of joining. The sentence means, “do not drink the milk or eat the fish.” In the third sentence the ‘waw’ signifies a unity of action (ma’aiyah). This sentence means, “do not drink the milk and eat the fish at the same time.”
All of these changes in meaning took place due to the type of ‘waw’ used. The changes were not only in the actual structure of the harakaat in the words, but also in the meaning of the sentences.
II. Sarf: It is often translated as ‘morphology’. The actual meaning of sarf is “the metamorphosing or changing of the ‘asl (base/root word) to many different examples so as to achieve meanings that could not otherwise be achieved” The science of sarf is mostly relegated to verbs and that which derives from them. This change is done to stretch the meaning and to also make pronunciation easy upon the toque.
An example of changing the meaning through sarf is manipulating the verb ‘nasara’. From ‘nasara’ we may derive the following: Nasara Nas’sara Naasara tanaasara anassara istansara mansar naasir munasar mansoor . All of these words come from one root verb - nasara.
As for making it easy upon the tonque I will provide one example. Let us take the word ‘scale in Arabic. It is called ‘meezaan’. This word comes from the root verb ‘wazana’ which means to weigh. According to a principle of sarf the thing which is used to do this action will sound like ‘mif’aal’. If we were to apply this principle here the item used for the act of weighing would be ‘meewzaan’. Due to the difficulty found in pronouncing that upon the tonque we replace the ‘waw’ with a ‘yaa’ to make it easier. This simplification is broken down into set principles known in sarf. Properly applying principles of sarf can sometimes spell the difference between imaan and kufr. For example Allah said about himself in the Qur’an that he is ‘al-musaawir’-the fashioner. If someone was to pronounce the ‘waw’ with a fathah instead of a kasrah the word would mean ‘al-musaawar’-the fashioned one (the one fashioned by another). Of course the ignorant one making this mistake would be excused but this simply shows you the importance of sarf in the Arabic language.
III. Balaghah: It is a science dealing with the eloquence of the Arabic language and how to convey proper meanings according to the situation. Balaghah also deals with the meanings of words and they take shape in their different usage. Balaghah is essential in fully understanding the I’jaaz (miraculous) nature of the quran. An example of balaghah may be taken from the Qur’an. Allah the most high said in surah al ankabut, “alif laam meem. Do people think that they will be left alone saying,” we believe” and will not be tested with fitnah? Certainly those before them were tested with fitnah-so that Allah may make it known those were truthful and make it known who are the liars.” In this noble ayah Allah said “so that Allah may make it known those who were truthful” in this part of the ayah allah used the past tense verb ‘sadaquu’ which indicates that they were truthful in the past so the test and trial only made apparent that which was already there In the past-truthfulness. Allah then said, “and to make it known those who are liars” in this part of the ayah Allah speaks about those who didn’t pass the test as being liars. Here he used the word’ kaadhibeen’. In the science of balaghah we learn that this descriptive word-or sifah implies an established state of the person who is described with this quality.
Allah spoke about the Jews and how they disbelieved in some of the prophets and some they even killed. This was mentioned in the past tense in surah al baqarah. However when we look at the ayah we see a special rule of balaghah that gives us more meaning that what is found in the English translation. Allah said about them, “fa fareeqan kadh’dhabtum wa fareeqan taq’tuluun.” “So a group of them you denied and a group of them you killed.” Allah spoke about them saying that they denied a group of the prophets. He used the past tense verb kadh’dhabtum. However we find in the end of the ayah he said that some of them they killed by using the PRESENT TENSE verb ‘taq’tuluun’. In the science of balaghah we learn that if a present tense verb is used in a past tense context it then signifies what is called ‘istimraar’ or continuance. Therefore the meaning of this ayah in the context of balaghah is that the jews used to deny and kill the prophets and that they will continue to kill-in this case killing the followers of the prophets way and true path. This is mentioned in tafseer of al aluusee and in tafseer ibn sa’uud.
Learning Arabic-where do I start?
This depends on you. What do you wish to do with your knowledge of Arabic? A boxer will do a workout of a boxer to prepare for a fight. A runner will do a workout that enables him to win his race. If a runner does the workout of a boxer he will not achieve his goal of winning a race. And likewise the boxer who does the workout of a runner will not have the strength to win his fight. So looking at it with this view you must ask yourself, what do I want to do with Arabic? If you wish to read the paper only perhaps the advises listed here will not be a big benefit to you. And likewise the same for the one who only wishes to become a doctor or chemist in an Arabic speaking country. If your reason for learning Arabic is to understand the words of your creator and words of your prophet (saw) and the knowledge that comes from the books and tongues of the ulema then this advice should be of some benefit in sha’ allah.
Listed below are some concepts to ponder upon ·
- You must understand Arabic in Arabic being a self-translator is not the goal.
- There is no ‘one book ‘ that will teach you all of what you need to know of Arabic.
- Non-Arabs have been learning Arabic for over 1,400 years from Africa to Indonesia so it is incorrect to assume that we cant learn as they did in the past.
- The traditional method of learning Arabic is tried and true and we are in no need of new ways to learn the language. That involves complex systems and tests.
- You will not learn Arabic by simply taking one part of the plan. What I mean is that if you learn grammar only you will not know Arabic. And if you learn new vocabulary only you will not really know Arabic. Rather you must take all of it.
Where to begin, that is the question?
The reality is that it is very difficult to learn Arabic in the west without a good teacher, determination, time, Arabs or Arabic speaking brothers to mix with and learn from association. It is my personal opinion that one should begin with a basic lesson in sarf from the book ‘binaa al-afa’aal’. Learning sarf in the beginning is the best thing for non-Arabs. In fact this is way Arabic is still taught in turkey, India, and Pakistan and other non Arab Muslim countries. Learning basic sarf will assist the person in utilizing his dictionary properly, which in this time of learning he will have as his constant companion. (Note: the best dictionary in Arabic to English is Hans wehr without argument) the student should learn the basic verb patterns and basic skills in using the dictionary. After this, he will be ready to learn more and look up words with relative ease.
The student should now learn basic grammar. The best book in this area for beginners is the book ‘al-ajrumiyyah’. It is a small book outlining the fundamentals of grammar that are indispensable in understanding Arabic. There are some brothers that have learned ‘al-ajrumiyyah’ and grasped concepts that the 3rd year college student studying Arabic couldn’t. One should study this book with a good teacher who will make him understand the fundamentals of the book without going into detailed discussions of grammar issues. As we said earlier, learning grammar is not enough, so you must also learn how to pick up words to increase your vocabulary. This part is the most time consuming, sometimes taking years to develop. Here are some practical advises in this regard:
- You must read as much as you can. Start by reading small books on different issues in Arabic. Take a notepad and write the new words down. When you look up a word in the dictionary, underline it with a pencil. If you look up the word again in the future and see that you marked it with your pencil, you must memorize that word, as you will more than likely see it again and again. Don’t write the meanings of the words in English down in your book that you are reading. That is because you only read the meaning and not the actual word in Arabic this way.
- You must also learn through listening. In this way you learn how Arabic is spoken and how certain ideas are conveyed. The best thing is to listen and act as if you understand everything you hear. If you cant find a speaker giving a talk then buy some tapes of the ulema and tulaab ul ilm. Some of the clearest speakers are Shaykh Muhammad al-Uthaymin, shaykh al albani , shaykh Muhammad mukhtar ash-shinqiti, and shaykh Saalih aal ash-shaykh. It is also advisable to listen to tapes of those who are not so clear to gain mastery in listening skills. Some of the best ones for that are shaykh Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz and shaykh Jibreen & Shaykh A’id al-Qarni.
- Listen to the quran attempting to understand.
- Try to understand the Arabic language in Arabic. Don’t be like some people who only wish to translate everything into their own native tongue. This will take time but it is very important and will cause you to understand Arabic as it is.
- Talk as much as you can to those Arabs who will correct you and help you in learning.
The most important thing is to always read. If you don’t read you will not gain mastery over the language. You must read even if you don’t want to. Reading will give you a glimpse into the various sciences of the deen and increase your vocabulary. - In the beginning make your primary focus understanding. Most of us will know more words that we can even think to mention in a conversation with an Arab. The same goes for English.
- In learning Arabic, try to test yourself by gauging your progress.
Level 1/ reading and understanding the book qisas an-nabiyyeen first three months
Level 2/ reading and understanding the book al aqeedah as-saheehah wa ma yudaduha by shaykh bin baz rahimahullah second three-month period
Level 3/ reading and understanding tafseer ibn katheer third three month period.
Level 4/ reading and understanding fath al majeed sharh kitab at-tawheed. Forth three month period.
Level 5/ reading and understanding al-fawa’id by ibn al qayyim. Fifth three month period
Level 6/ reading and understanding hilyah taalibil-ilm by shaykh bakr abu zaid. Sixth three month period. Many may disagree with the books listed in each level but I firmly believe that a person can understand these books (except some vocabulary) after 18 months.
Stay away from English books and lectures. Cutting your ties with them will give you more determination to learn. Advanced study As for an advanced study of Arabic, one must traverse the following path.
- In grammar - Start with the book ‘at-tuhfah as-sanniyyah bi sharhil-muqqadimatil- ajrumiyyah’. This book is perhaps the best explanation of al-ajrumiyyah. After this book, learn the book, ‘ sharh qatr an-nada’ by ibn hishaam. After that if one likes he may study alfiyyah ibn maalik. Another good book to read is ‘jaami’ duroos al arabiyyah’
- In sarf - Start with the book ‘binaa’ al af’aal’. After that, move on to the book, ‘al maqsood’. For more advanced study, learn the poem in sarf entitled, ‘laamiyah al af’aal’by ibn maalik.
- In balaghah - Start with the book ‘al-balaghah al-waadihah’. After that one may study ‘uqood az-zimaam’ by as-suyooti. Perhaps the best books to read after the book of Allah - to gain strength in the language are the books of ibn al qayyim and ibn Rajab al hambali. Don’t rely on any one book to learn Arabic. The madinah books are not enough in my opinion. Take this advice and seek the tawfeeq of Allah, you should see some progress in sha Allah.
Allah knows Best
Dua for the increase of knowledge
رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
“My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.” (Ta-Ha 20:114)
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رَّبِّ أَدْخِلْنِي مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَأَخْرِجْنِي مُخْرَجَ
صِدْقٍ وَاجْعَل لِّي مِن لَّدُنكَ سُلْطَانًا نَّصِيرًا
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Dua for seeking guidance
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Dua for our Parents
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Dua of the one who has turned 40 years old
رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ
وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَصْلِحْ
لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي إِنِّي تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
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The Dua of Ibrahim (as)
وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاء
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ
الْحِسَابُ
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Dua for Public Speaking
وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي
وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِييَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي
“O my Lord! Open for me my chest (grant me self-confidence, contentment, and boldness). And ease my task for me; And make loose the knot (the defect) from my tongue.” (Ta-Ha 20:25- 27)
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Dua of seeking forgiveness
رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ
تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن
قَبْلِنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ وَاعْفُ
عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا أَنتَ مَوْلاَنَا فَانصُرْنَا
عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
“Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians); our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us Forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Maulâ (Patron, Suppor-ter and Protector, etc.) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.” (Al-Baqarah 2:286)
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Dua for our Muslim brothers and sisters
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ
الْحِسَابُ
“Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and (all) the believers on the Day when the reckoning will be established.” (Ibrahim 14:41)
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ
وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ
رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
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Dua of Victory
عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
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Dua asking for us to die as Muslims
رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَتَوَفَّنَا مُسْلِمِينَ
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Dua of forgiveness
لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
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Placing our trust in Allah
رَّبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ
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Dua against the Oppressors
رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَـذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ وَلِيًّا وَاجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ نَصِيرًا
“Heavenly Cure for a Wounded World”
Venue: Laisterdyke Community Centre Bradford 3
Date: 26th May 2003
Talk 1: Islam: Ancient Truths for a Modern World – Abu Aaliyah
In Surah Baqarah we come across the creation of man. It tells us who we are, why we are and what we are. It explains to us our purpose in life,
Allah azzawajal put us on this earth to look after it,
- There are 6 billion people on this earth and 1.2 billion of them are supposed to be Muslims.
- 1/5 of people live in poverty,
- 1 billion live in starvation.
- We use 75% of the world’s resources in the West.
How thankful are we?
The Ulama say that the Quran transforms us when we read it; it is a cure from evil and sin when it is applied. Just like insulin needs to be used many times a day for a diabetic, the Quran needs to be used many times a day for a Muslim. It cleanses the human heart and is constant medicine for us. The dua for anxiety asks Allah azzawajal to make the Quran the life of my heart and a light of my breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety.
Adam alayhi salam had a type of knowledge the Angels didn’t have. Asma akulaha. Allah azzawajal taught Adam alayhi salaam the names of things/angels/concepts therefore increased him with ilm.
وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الأَسْمَاء كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلاَئِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاء هَـؤُلاء إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
“And He taught Adam all the names (of everything)…”
Surah Baqarah 2 : Ayah 31.
This is an important part of insaan, knowledge; this is the distinguishing factor between Angels and humans and increases our makaam above them. The first revelation which was brought to the Prophet Muhammad salalahu alayhi wasalam by the Angel Jibraeel was about knowledge,
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ
“Read, in the Name of your Lord who created” (96:1)
This shows us the importance of knowledge and gaining knowledge, it should be our main focus. We need to gain this knowledge/read/learn “in the Name of Allah,” for the sake of Allah azzawajal.
We are here in the west as a minority so we shouldn’t do anything to insult the host community as they also now have rights over us. Traditions are fine as long as they don’t go against the Quran and Sunnah. We don’t have to completely arabise our lives because the Sunnah was for humanity not just an Arab thing.
Talk 2: When the Two Worlds Clash – Brother Ilyas
There’s a battle taking place, which is trying to make us think like the people around us. The Jews and Christians won’t be happy until we follow their ways.
- A time will come which will be bad except the time after will be worse. (Hadith)
- Firstly there will be the rule of the Nabi salalahu alayhi wasalam, then the rafideen, then an unjust rule, then tyranny, and then the return to the rule of the manhaj of the Nabi salalhu alayhi wasalam
- Knowledge will disappear leaving ignorance – people will give fatawas without knowledge
There will be a general increase in dhulm, killing will become widespread and life will become cheap, a battle will take place between eemaan and kufr.
إِنَّ اللّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الجَنَّةَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنجِيلِ وَالْقُرْآنِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللّهِ فَاسْتَبْشِرُواْ بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُم بِهِ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
“Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their properties for (the price) that theirs shall be Paradise. They fight in Allah’s cause, so they kill and are killed. It is a promise in truth, which is binding, on Him in the Taurat and the Injeel and the Quran. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain, which you have concluded. That is the supreme success.”Surah At-Tauba 9 : Ayah 111
“Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their properties for (the price) that theirs shall be Paradise. They fight in Allah’s cause, so they kill and are killed. It is a promise in truth, which is binding, on Him in the Taurat and the Injeel and the Quran. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain, which you have concluded. That is the supreme success.” Surah At-Tauba 9 : Ayah 111. We give everything in the service of Allah azzawajal – we possess nothing and everything is His. This is a most beneficial agreement for us. Allah azzawajal has given us wealth so that worship can be established thus wealth should correlate with an increase of ibaadah. We are far from fulfilling this; on the contrary the wealth is increasing us in kufr and disobedience to Allah azzawajal, which is a way that we are giving into this battle.
Many Muslims will die as a Jew or a Christian and won’t even realise it. The Jews were given knowledge and rejected it and are cursed by Allah azzawajal as they distorted their religion. The Christians act without any knowledge at all. Some Muslims have these characteristics.
We are required to fulfil our agreement with Allah azzawajal. We need to constantly ask for forgiveness. Allah loves tauba as it’s purification for us, it helps develop a relationship between Allah azzawajal and the slave. After a sin has been committed, tauba should be done with haste and good deeds should be done to make up for our bad deeds. Fasting makes us the master and controller of our nafs and desires. Salah will be the first thing to be weighed; if a prayer is missed you are in a state of kufr. Salah is the basis of the individual’s purification.
Enjoining the good and forbidding evil – Ibn Taymiyyah and some companions passed by some tartars who were drinking alcohol. The companions rebuked the tartars for this act and Ibn Taymiyyah rebuked them for rebuking the tartars and said, “Alcohol diverts a believer from his worship but diverts them from killing and tyranny.”
People have always existed who have wanted to destroy Allah’s word and try to attack the weaknesses but Allah azzawajal makes us stronger with each attack if indeed we are the believers.
1. A time which will be bad except the time after will be worse – there will be a general degeneration of the condition of mankind. At the end of time all that will be left will be the kalimah, which people will say because their forefathers used to say it. Ignorance will remain and the winds will have taken the souls of the believers.
We see ignorance amongst many people now who don’t know the requirements of the kalimah. There was a rapid increase in knowledge in the 23 years of the prophet salalhu alayhi wasalam and then a degeneration of knowledge will occur until the day of judgement.
Story – A people lived in a valley where a Messenger has arisen. The valley is in need of rain so the messenger makes dua for this rain. A stream comes down for these people and the people become physically and mentally strong and their characters become strong due to the purity of the water. The source of this strength was the pure stream. They wash themselves, give their children the water and protect it from pollution. This occurred for a generation until the people became complacent and forgot the source of this strength that they had and began to pollute the water with filth. The people still use the water as before ignoring the pollution. Disease then spread amongst the people and they became weak. The enemies in the next valley used to be jealous of their strength. During this weakness they came and humiliated them and took what they could.
3 types of people arose from the valley:
1) Lets fight the people who have invaded us but they were weak and were destroyed by the enemy
2) Lets make a treaty and find a solution, so they sat with them and worked out terms based upon materialistic values which mostly benefited the enemy
3) Lets go back to the source which was the purity of the water – they recognised that their strength was the purification of the water
This is a similitude of the Muslims today, we have had the Quran and the Sunnah which, is pure which made us strong in character, and made us strong physically and mentally with its teachings. We then forgot the source of our strength and polluted and added to the religion by polluting it with bidahs. The enemy who were always jealous of our strength then attacked us when we became weak and 3 groups of people arose/are arising:
1) Muslims who try to fight the enemy when they haven’t been back to the purity of the source that made us strong
2) Muslims who want to establish a treaty with the enemy which is on materialistic values which will mostly benefit the enemy and will only benefit the Muslims in the dunya
3) The Muslims who alhumdulilah recognise that the source of our strength was the Quran and Sunnah and the purity of it without the bidahs / pollution and have gone back to it / are going back to it inshaAllah