Channel: Project Ma’ruf
“Perennialism is not just antithetical to orthodox Islamic teachings in the Qur’an, Sunnah and Sunni theology, but it is an imposition from those who believe - knowingly or not - that a Western universalist interpretation of religion is superior to what Muslims have believed in for all of Islamic History.”
—Ustadh Samir Hussain
—Ustadh Samir Hussain
this series is a hidden gem:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLViukcFTra7ddXd6iR9QKiukAN8NWl1dn&si=ejxIAsruIxz9zIkQ
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLViukcFTra7ddXd6iR9QKiukAN8NWl1dn&si=ejxIAsruIxz9zIkQ
Forwarded from Hamzah Raza
We should fear looking down at people more than we fear sins. The reasons are:
1) Sins are easily identifiable, whereas arrogance is in the heart and cannot always be seen. We can go years until we realize we're smug.
2) Sins are forgiven by tawba and good deeds, which are not that hard to do. Arrogance, however, is only broken by failure and humiliation, which are much more painful.
3) Allah says He loves the penitent, who are essentially sinners who always repent right away. But He "does not love the arrogant."
4) Everyone except Prophets fall into mistakes yet can still enter Paradise. But "nobody with an atoms weight of arrogance can enter heaven."
-Dr Shadee Elmasry
1) Sins are easily identifiable, whereas arrogance is in the heart and cannot always be seen. We can go years until we realize we're smug.
2) Sins are forgiven by tawba and good deeds, which are not that hard to do. Arrogance, however, is only broken by failure and humiliation, which are much more painful.
3) Allah says He loves the penitent, who are essentially sinners who always repent right away. But He "does not love the arrogant."
4) Everyone except Prophets fall into mistakes yet can still enter Paradise. But "nobody with an atoms weight of arrogance can enter heaven."
-Dr Shadee Elmasry
Fall term classes with Shaykh Murabit Benavidez are now open for enrollment through Mutūn, please check out the Mutūn website for more information and share with anyone who may be interested:
https://mutun.org
https://mutun.org
Forwarded from Hamzah Raza
Attended a talk with Shaikh Said Foudah yesterday here in Cairo and he said some very interesting things
He started off by speaking of how important the science of Ilm Al Tawhid. This is also known by other names such as Aqida, Kalaam, and Ilm Usul Al Din. He said that this science of Tawhid exists amongst every Muslim group because Tawhid is the essence of our Deen.
Without the existence of Allah, there is no existence of the Prophet ﷺ even. There is no proper fiqh and the punishment of the graves or anything of that. It all stems from the existence and oneness of Allah.
Shaikh Saeed then said that a Muslim must be honest with himself. The Prophet ﷺ said the believer does not lie. Shaikh Saeed said with honesty comes justice in our critique.
He said people know he critiques Salafis and will come to him and say “They don’t love the Prophet ﷺ.” This is obviously not true and no Muslim should ever suggest that.
He then stated that many people today say they are from Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah but have opinions outside of Ahlus Sunnah. They may even have a framework contrary to that of Ahlus Sunnah.
Shaikh Saeed said that many critique him for his critiques of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Arabi, but that this is his honest reading of their writings. This does not come from a statement of love or hate, but being honest. He considers them to have opinions that are outside the confines of Ahlus Sunnah.
He called us to stick to that framework of Ahlus Sunnah. Once we have studied and mastered that framework, we should be honest when we feel that certain scholars, in the past or present, have stepped out of that framework.
There is a Sullam of books that need to be read, with a close attention to its commentaries. Alhamdulillah, in fiqh, Muslims have become very advanced and very sophisticated. We need to have that same sophistication in the science of Tawhid, as this is the most important science.
We need Muslims grounded in the Kalaam tradition so that we can respond to present day Shuhubat. Just as have done a very good job of being able to resolve the various fiqh issues coming before us today, we need to dedicate that same amount of time and effort to resolve the various shubuhaat that have been brought to us today.
Shaikh Saeed mentioned that he also feels like Usul Al Fiqh needs revival in our day and age. He said Kalaam and Usul Al Fiqh are the sciences he believes we as Muslims really need to dive into. This is why his organization is called Aslayn…The two Asls that we need to revive are Usul Al Din(another name for the science of Aqida/Kalaam) and Usul Al Fiqh.
Shaikh Saeed also reminded us of the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that this Deen is Mateen(deep), so enter it with rifq(gentleness). Do not think that you will be able to master this tradition in a day. It will take time. Take things slowly. Read the commentaries and read them well.
It made me reflect on my journey in studying. I have been in Egypt for almost 3.5 years now. One thing that I have realized in this journey is that some concepts just take time to cook in one’s head. They are not going to click in a day.
Even if someone were to intensely study the religious sciences for 10 hours a day for 1-2 years, they would not be able to match someone who spent an hour a day doing it for five years. This is because this Deen is deep and its sciences must be studied with that in mind.
He started off by speaking of how important the science of Ilm Al Tawhid. This is also known by other names such as Aqida, Kalaam, and Ilm Usul Al Din. He said that this science of Tawhid exists amongst every Muslim group because Tawhid is the essence of our Deen.
Without the existence of Allah, there is no existence of the Prophet ﷺ even. There is no proper fiqh and the punishment of the graves or anything of that. It all stems from the existence and oneness of Allah.
Shaikh Saeed then said that a Muslim must be honest with himself. The Prophet ﷺ said the believer does not lie. Shaikh Saeed said with honesty comes justice in our critique.
He said people know he critiques Salafis and will come to him and say “They don’t love the Prophet ﷺ.” This is obviously not true and no Muslim should ever suggest that.
He then stated that many people today say they are from Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah but have opinions outside of Ahlus Sunnah. They may even have a framework contrary to that of Ahlus Sunnah.
Shaikh Saeed said that many critique him for his critiques of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Arabi, but that this is his honest reading of their writings. This does not come from a statement of love or hate, but being honest. He considers them to have opinions that are outside the confines of Ahlus Sunnah.
He called us to stick to that framework of Ahlus Sunnah. Once we have studied and mastered that framework, we should be honest when we feel that certain scholars, in the past or present, have stepped out of that framework.
There is a Sullam of books that need to be read, with a close attention to its commentaries. Alhamdulillah, in fiqh, Muslims have become very advanced and very sophisticated. We need to have that same sophistication in the science of Tawhid, as this is the most important science.
We need Muslims grounded in the Kalaam tradition so that we can respond to present day Shuhubat. Just as have done a very good job of being able to resolve the various fiqh issues coming before us today, we need to dedicate that same amount of time and effort to resolve the various shubuhaat that have been brought to us today.
Shaikh Saeed mentioned that he also feels like Usul Al Fiqh needs revival in our day and age. He said Kalaam and Usul Al Fiqh are the sciences he believes we as Muslims really need to dive into. This is why his organization is called Aslayn…The two Asls that we need to revive are Usul Al Din(another name for the science of Aqida/Kalaam) and Usul Al Fiqh.
Shaikh Saeed also reminded us of the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that this Deen is Mateen(deep), so enter it with rifq(gentleness). Do not think that you will be able to master this tradition in a day. It will take time. Take things slowly. Read the commentaries and read them well.
It made me reflect on my journey in studying. I have been in Egypt for almost 3.5 years now. One thing that I have realized in this journey is that some concepts just take time to cook in one’s head. They are not going to click in a day.
Even if someone were to intensely study the religious sciences for 10 hours a day for 1-2 years, they would not be able to match someone who spent an hour a day doing it for five years. This is because this Deen is deep and its sciences must be studied with that in mind.
Forwarded from Harun Saleh
What are you studying for?
Alhamdulillah, over the past few years specifically, it seems like there is a steep rise in people with careers and degrees outside the Islamic Sciences who are studying traditionally using all mediums available to them: local teachers, online studies, and even traveling to sit at the feet of the masters of the sciences. After a few years, someone who was an average Muslim with a career all of a sudden finds that they may have studied Ibn Malik's Alfiyya, various sciences to an intermediate/advanced level, memorized a sizable amount of the Qur'an, and more all out of the passion to seek knowledge and nothing more.
For this group, it usually starts with a few classes in the masjid, then Arabic studies, and one thing leads to another. Eventually they are met with the question, "What is the end goal with all these studies?"
This usually causes this group to start reflecting. Yes, they sought knowledge for the sake of Allah and out of their passion for knowledge, but is there more they should think of?
Usually, those who have shown dedication to the uloom find that they process and speak about Islam much differently than before, and if they studied correctly, those around them see a positive change in them. Due to that and their unassuming position in the community, they have combined being a person of knowledge and being someone accessible to people who might not otherwise ask about matters of the religion. Therefore, they have become a valuable resource for those around them. The more accessible people with knowledge and connections to scholars that the wider community has access to, the more the community as a whole improves.
Those with doubts they are afraid to approach the masjid imam with; those with questions they are too embarrassed to ask; those who might be heedless but now have someone in their friend group who might inspire them to recommit to the religion. All of these people now have someone around them who they trust with these matters they did not have before.
So to all of those students of knowledge who are not serving the community in any official capacity, just keep being you. Be the same approachable friend and family member to people you always were—a day will come when you are in a position no one else can be in to help someone. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "People are upon the religion of their friends" (Sunnan Abi Dawud).
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Imam al Haddad's dua for studying:
All praise to God, Lord of the Worlds. And salutations and greetings upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions. I intend to study and teach, take and give a reminder, take and give benefit, take and give advantage, to encourage the holding fast to the book of God and the way of His Messenger, and calling to guidance and directing towards good, hoping for the countenance of God and His pleasure, proximity and reward, transcendent is He.
https://seekersguidance.org/articles/general-artices/the-intentions-for-seeking-knowledge-imam-abdullah-al-haddad/
Alhamdulillah, over the past few years specifically, it seems like there is a steep rise in people with careers and degrees outside the Islamic Sciences who are studying traditionally using all mediums available to them: local teachers, online studies, and even traveling to sit at the feet of the masters of the sciences. After a few years, someone who was an average Muslim with a career all of a sudden finds that they may have studied Ibn Malik's Alfiyya, various sciences to an intermediate/advanced level, memorized a sizable amount of the Qur'an, and more all out of the passion to seek knowledge and nothing more.
For this group, it usually starts with a few classes in the masjid, then Arabic studies, and one thing leads to another. Eventually they are met with the question, "What is the end goal with all these studies?"
This usually causes this group to start reflecting. Yes, they sought knowledge for the sake of Allah and out of their passion for knowledge, but is there more they should think of?
Usually, those who have shown dedication to the uloom find that they process and speak about Islam much differently than before, and if they studied correctly, those around them see a positive change in them. Due to that and their unassuming position in the community, they have combined being a person of knowledge and being someone accessible to people who might not otherwise ask about matters of the religion. Therefore, they have become a valuable resource for those around them. The more accessible people with knowledge and connections to scholars that the wider community has access to, the more the community as a whole improves.
Those with doubts they are afraid to approach the masjid imam with; those with questions they are too embarrassed to ask; those who might be heedless but now have someone in their friend group who might inspire them to recommit to the religion. All of these people now have someone around them who they trust with these matters they did not have before.
So to all of those students of knowledge who are not serving the community in any official capacity, just keep being you. Be the same approachable friend and family member to people you always were—a day will come when you are in a position no one else can be in to help someone. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "People are upon the religion of their friends" (Sunnan Abi Dawud).
-----
Imam al Haddad's dua for studying:
All praise to God, Lord of the Worlds. And salutations and greetings upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions. I intend to study and teach, take and give a reminder, take and give benefit, take and give advantage, to encourage the holding fast to the book of God and the way of His Messenger, and calling to guidance and directing towards good, hoping for the countenance of God and His pleasure, proximity and reward, transcendent is He.
https://seekersguidance.org/articles/general-artices/the-intentions-for-seeking-knowledge-imam-abdullah-al-haddad/
Forwarded from Hamzah Raza
Going to start teaching a weekly Arabic class on Sundays at 2:30pm EST if anyone is interested https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QfA6YYQjEa4I4QCU68CGu2cDbBpdgOzV8P3cHOC5chI/
Google Docs
Arabic From the Ground Up
This course will go through books 5 to 8 of the Madina Books series. Through weekly classes, we will take a student who is currently at a beginner level in Arabic to being able to read advanced texts, converse in, and understand the Arabic language. Classes…
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