ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAwn when He Would Get Angry
June 3, 2023 § Leave a comment
“ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAwn wouldn’t get angry. If someone did happen to anger him he would say, ‘May Allaah bless you. (Bārakallāhu fīk).’”
Ḥilyatul-ʾAwliyā, vol. 3, p. 39.
Shaikh ʿAbdur-Razzāq al-Badr said, “Would that we would take heed of this and compare it to what we do and say when we get angry. He used to say this great duʿā to someone who made him angry, so what would he say when happy and relaxed? It is true strength and firmness that he contained himself like this when angry.”
Source.
New Youtube Channel
June 2, 2023 § Leave a comment
Inshaa Allaah, will start posting vids here, kindly subscribe and help spread the Deen. Wa jazakumullah khair.
https://www.youtube.com/@thescholarspen
Stealing Donkeys
May 31, 2023 § Leave a comment
Bashār ibn Burd said to Hilāl ibn ʿAṭiyyah who was a friend of his, “Hilāl, will you listen to me if I give you a piece of advice specifically for you?” Hilāl replied, “Yes!” Bashār then said, “There was a time when you used to steal donkeys, then you repented from that and became a Rāfiḍī [shīʿah]—go back to stealing donkeys, wallāhī it’s better for you than becoming a Rāfiḍī.”
Wafayāt al–ʾAʿyān, vol. 1, p. 425.
Abud-Dardā and Umm ad Dardā
May 26, 2023 § Leave a comment
Abud-Dardā said to Umm ad-Dardā, “When I become angry then make me happy. And when you become angry I will make you happy—if we are not like that then how quickly we will part.”
Al-Ajwibah al-Balīghah, p. 33.
Imām adh-Dhahabī’s Humility
May 26, 2023 § Leave a comment
This is a page from the book, Dhail Dīwān aḍ-Ḍuʿafā of Imām adh-Dhahabī, which is a work where he wrote about narrators, weak ones, abandoned ones, trustworthy ones etc.
Under the names that begin with the letter م he wrote:
“Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān al-Ghāfiqī: he has a bad memory, he is not precise and nor is he mindful of Allaah [muttaqī]. May the Most High forgive him.”
He was talking about himself, Imām adh-Dhahabī is Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān al-Ghāfiqī, raḥimahullah.
The Man from Banī ʿAbs and the Porter
May 26, 2023 § Leave a comment
A man from Banī ʿAbs went to the al-Madāʾin market and purchased a large amount of goods and then looked for someone to carry them for him. He saw a man standing in the market and called him and said, “Carry these for me, may Allaah have mercy on you.” So the man came and picked up his wares and started to walk next to him.
Every time they passed by a group of people they looked at the man who was carrying the goods and said, “As-Salāmu ʿalaika, O Abū ʿAbdullah!”
So the man from Banī ʿAbs was surprised at this porter who was carrying his goods and who all the people of the city knew and who the nobles and dignitaries feted and revered and respected and who they gave this most respectful of salāms to.
So he said, “Who are you, may Allaah have mercy on you?” He replied, “I am just one of Allaah’s slaves.”
Then they passed by another group of people and they said to the man carrying the goods, “As-Salāmu ʿalaika, O Abū ʿAbdullah!” So then the man from Banī ʿAbs took one of them by his hand and said, “Who is this man?”
He replied, “That is Abū ʿAbdullah Salmān al-Fārisī—[most noble] Companion of the Messenger of Allaahﷺ and the Amīr of al-Madāʾin.”
So the man felt embarrassed and ashamed and said, “May Allaah have mercy on you, I didn’t know who you were, please give me my goods so I can carry them.”
Salmān said, “No, wallāhī, I will carry them right until you get to your house.”
Siyar Aʾlām an-Nubalā, vol. 1, p. 546.
On Ramadaan
March 24, 2023 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ʿUthaimīn said, “During the day [in Ramaḍān] you are in a state of worship from Fajr to sunset [because fasting in Ramaḍān] is one of the pillars of Islam and you are carrying it out from fajr to sunset—even if you are asleep, even if you are buying and selling, even if you are talking to your friends, you are all the while engulfed in one of the pillars of Islām, subḥānallāh.”
Jalasāt Ramaḍāniyyah, vol. 1, p. 11.
Ibn Taymiyyah on Seeking Forgiveness
October 25, 2022 § Leave a comment
In the nine volume collection of Ibn Taymiyyah’s works which Shaikh ʿUzair Shams checked and brought to light bi ithnillah, the Shaikh of the Shaikhs of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, said, “A person’s seeking forgiveness from Allaah [istighfār] is more important than all duʿās.”
Jāmiʿul-Masāʾil, vol. 6, p. 277.
A Brief Biography of Shaikh Muḥammad ʿUzair Shams · Part 2 – The Madrasahs He Studied At ·
October 20, 2022 § Leave a comment
Continuing from the last post.
“The Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him, had something which many people missed out on in our time, namely, the companionship of scholars and being raised among them, since he started his education with his parents and the scholars from his family. During that time he learnt Urdu and Persian and memorised some juzz of the Qurʾān, Shaikh ʿUzair said, “We used to memorise some juzz of the noble Qurʿān and some didactic poems and poetry in Urdu, the focus with us in India was more on understanding and expression rather than memorisation, that is why we were not familiar with the memorisation of texts and different manāhij as is known in Arab lands.”
The Shaikh also benefitted a lot from his father going to a large number of Shaikhs and different madrasahs. The most important madrasahs that Shaikh ʿUzair studied in were:
1) The first one he mentioned when he was asked about his religious upbringing was his own home, where he studied with his father and some of his brothers, this was in 1960 and he did so for two years at primary school level.
2) Faiḍ ʿĀm Madrasah in Māo, it was the first one he studied in after studying with his parents at home, he joined it in 1962 when he was about six years old and stayed there for three years. In his sixth year at primary he learnt Persian and memorised lots of Persian poetry.
3) Dārul-ʿUlūm al-Aḥmadiyyah Madrasah in Dārbānjā in Bihār in 1967. He only stayed there for a year. He studied grammar and morphology and the fundamentals of Arabic there under his uncle ʿAinul-Ḥaqq as-Salafī in Urdu, and also with Shaikh ʿAbdun-Nūr an-Nadwī who he studied Arabic with in Arabic, and he studied Persian literature with Shaikh Muḥammad Raʾīs an-Nadwī.
4) Dārul-Ḥadīth in Bengal in Murshidabād, he joined it in 1968 when his father moved there to teach so he had to go with him, and it is there that he learnt Bengali, and as such the Shaikh had learnt the following languages: Urdu, Persian, Hindī, Arabic, English and Bengali, then later he also learnt German. The following year he left this madrasah.
5) Dārul-Ḥadīth ar-Raḥmāniyyah in Benares in 1969 for two years where he completed middle school. Here he studied ḥadīth under Shaikh ʿAbdus-Salām ar-Raḥmānī.
6) Al-Jāmiʿah as-Salafiyyah in Benares too where he completed his secondary school education, finishing in 1976. There, under his father, he studied Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and al-Muwaṭṭaʾ. And with Shaikh ʿAbdul-Waḥīd ar-Raḥmānī he studied Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. And with Shaikh Ṣafiyyur-Raḥmān al-Mubārakfūrī he studied the book Ḥujjatullāhil-Bālighah of Shāh Waliyullāh ad-Dehlawī. And with Shaikh Muḥammad ʿĪsā an-Nadwī he studied selected chapters from the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldūn in Arabic. And with Shaikh ʿAbdul-Muʿīd Banārisī he studied Sunan an-Nisāʾī.
7) The Faculty of Arabic at the Islamic University of Medīnah, graduating with a degree there in 1981.
8) The Faculty of Arabic at Umm al-Qura University in Makkah where he obtained a Masters in 1985. Then he studied for a Phd there.”
Part 3 to follow inshaa Allaah.
A Brief Biography of Shaikh Muḥammad ʿUzair Shams · Part 1 – Surrounded by Scholars ·
October 19, 2022 § Leave a comment
Felt like putting a bio out on the Shaikh, Allaahul-Musta’aan. Here you go:
“He is Shaikh Muḥammad ʿUzair Shams bin Shams al-Ḥaqq bin Riḍallāh, born on Friday 15th December 1956 in West Bengal where his father had moved in order to teach.
He was raised in a family blessed with knowledge and scholars, his forefathers were known people of knowledge and excellence for eight generations, Shaikh ʿUzair said, “My family roots are in Bihar in north Bengal, my grandfather was a scholar and my father too, likewise almost all of my uncles were as well.”
His maternal grandfather: ʿAbdur-Raḥīm Barbūmī was a well-known scholar and muḥaddith, held in high esteem in his area and among his people. He was a student of the Muḥaddith, the ʿAllāmah, as-Sayyid Nadhīr Ḥussain al-Ḥussainī ad-Dehlawī. He spent his life teaching and calling his people to the truth.
His grandfather: Riḍāʾullāh who passed away in 1941, a well-known scholar who had a great impact on the common folk and the students of knowledge there.
His father: Shamsul-Ḥaqq Salafī, who passed away in 1986, a person of knowledge who used to teach ḥadīth in many madrasahs in India, he took the place of his father after he died taking over his works and responsibilities in daʿwah and teaching in their area. Shaikh ʿUzair studied from him and he was his first Shaikh, “My father graduated from a religious institute called Dārul-ʾUlūm al-Aḥmadiyyah in a city called Darbānjā which is in Bihār, north India. After he graduated he went to a number of different religious institutes and schools there, and he was the Shaikh of Ḥadīth in most of the ones he taught in … he spent his entire life teaching ḥadīth spanning more then fifty-two years. He taught Saḥīḥ Bukhārī more than fifty times and spent most of his time on it. He was entrusted with the responsibility of giving fatwās, he had many fatwās some of which have been published and also some articles and writings but they are limited.”
His uncle: ʿAinul-Ḥaqq Salafī, d. 1982, also from the people of knowledge, Shaikh ʿUzair also studied with him as will be mentioned later. Shaikh ʿUzair said about him, “My uncle was a teacher in Dārul-ʿUlūm al-Aḥmadiyyah, he was a student there and when he graduated he became a teacher there, and taught there for sixty years …”
His mother: the daughter of ʾAbdur-Raḥīm Barbūmī who was just mentioned earlier, he used to be keen on getting his daughters married to people of knowledge just as he was keen on teaching them, he helped his daughter memorise some of the Qurʾān and she studied many books with him at home.
From here Shaikh ʿUzair, may Allaah have mercy on him, started his journey in seeking knowledge, first at the hands of his father, from whom he got his manners and at whose spring he drank during his childhood … his father dedicated himself to him and would teach him and at the same time join him in play and fun, Shaikh ʿUzair said, “My father, may Allaah have mercy on him, would firstly teach me, my mother would too, and then he would play lots of games with me, even now I can remember that I learnt how to swim from him because there was a river next to our city …”
The Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him, had something which many people missed out on in our time, namely, the …”
Shaikh Uzair’s Works
October 18, 2022 § Leave a comment
Shaikh Muḥammad ʿUzair Shams Teaching Right till the End.
October 17, 2022 § Leave a comment
A brother who was there said, “Shaikh Muḥammad ʿUzair Shams died the way he lived. I was with him when death came to him. A beginner student of knowledge at Dār al-Ḥadīth al-Khairiyyah was with me too and the last thing the Shaikh advised him with was to be serious in seeking knowledge and to practice writing by summarizing what he reads and hears. And to learn how to write correctly he advised him to become acquainted with [the dictionary called] ‘Al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ’ and ‘Muʿjam al-ʾAʿlaam.’ And before that in the very same sitting he tested the student to check his level in grammar, and morphology [ṣarf] and spelling, and here is a paper of the test he gave the student with the Shaikh’s corrections:
This is very painful, such a loss, Allaahul-Mustaʿān. May Allaah fill his grave with light and give him al-Firdaws.
Is it Allowed to Use the Terms Lūṭī or Liwāṭ when Referring to Someone Who is Gay and to Homosexuality?
October 15, 2022 § Leave a comment
Here students are asking about the wording used to refer to a gay person or homosexuality in Islam, the term normally used is Lūṭī and Liwāṭ respectively, is it allowed to use such wording since it seems connected to the Prophet Lūṭ’s ﷺ name?
Student: Has the term Lūṭī been used?
ʿUthaimīn: All of the scholars use it, all of the ʿulemā, the fuqahā and the Imāms use this term.
Student: [Is it connected to] Lūṭ, O Shaikh, or the people of Lūṭ?
ʿUthaimīn: Sorry?
Student: I said to Lūṭ ﷺ?
ʿUthaimīn: No, to the people of Lūṭ, to the people of Lūṭ … the connection is not to Lūṭ ﷺ himself or his actions, the connection is to the people of Lūṭ …
Sharḥ Kitāb al-Ḥudūd, 5.
Student: “Al-Liwāṭ [homosexuality]”, Allaah ﷾ called it a fāḥishah.
ʿUthaimīn: “The” fāḥishah not “A” fāḥishah.
Student: We call it, “The fāḥishah,” and we call it, “Al-Liwāṭ” isn’t this an insult to the Prophet [Lūṭ] ﷺ?
ʿUthaimīn: No, never, this is something well-known … the people of Lūṭ, i.e., Lūṭī is an attribution to these people [and not the Prophet Lūṭ ﷺ].
Tafsīr Sūrah al-Aḥzāb, 9a.
ʿUthaimīn on the Causes for the Spread of Zinaa and Homosexuality and the Emergence of Obscene Papers and Magazines in his Day and then Satellite Channels and the Effect this had on Saudi Society and that this is What the Enemy Sends in—This was Said Decades Ago so what If He Saw what has Happened Now?
October 14, 2022 § Leave a comment
ʿUthaimīn: If someone were to ask if this has spread in the community, and we ask Allaah for well-being and we ask Allaah to protect our country from it, does it have any causes? I say yes, it has causes.
1) The youth.
2) Wealth.
3) Free time.
Free time, lots of our youth now are free with no work, well-off, their food, drink, clothing, residence are all there. And the youth have energy and are reckless, that is why it is mentioned in a ḥadīth that, “Allaah is amazed at the youth who doesn’t have an inclination towards desires and disobedience [ṣabwah],” i.e., deviation, because among the reasons for the youth to go astray, except for those who Allaah protects, is this wealth and free time and youth.
Another reason is looking at obscene pictures in magazines and newspapers which our enemies have started to send to us like locusts, do you know locusts or not? When locusts are stirred up and they come at you from every angle what can keep them away? Our enemies have started to send papers and magazines [to us like that] from outside because they know that there is no Kingdom, and I say this while I am sitting in the Ḥaram in front of the Kaʿbah, there is no Kingdom, as far as I know, better than this one in its path, manners and in making the Book and the Sunnah the judge, and I do not say that it is perfect, it is not perfect, and if I said it was reality would refute me, but I say that it is the best Muslim country that can be found.
That is why its enemies concentrate on bringing things which will be a cause for its moral degradation, and a cause for its intellectual deviance, such that they also attack the Saudi judiciary system even though it is taken from where? From the Book and the Sunnah. They attack it, wanting it to be like the justice systems of other countries.
I say that these papers and magazines are a reason these vile sins have spread, whether homosexuality or zinā, and Allaah’s refuge is sought.
That is why a man who is in charge of his children and family, when he sees such magazines in his sons and daughters’ hands, he must turn them away from them by persuading them and using good means to do so, not stupidly and violently and insolently, but rather by convincing them. Then if they listen then that is what we want, and if not then he can go to [the next level, which is] what? Which is what? To being stern, we can burn these magazines and dispose of them.
Another part of that is what they watch on cable channels where they see detestable things, things that corrupt one’s thinking and which go against tawḥīd and are full of innovations and things that corrupt one’s ʿaqīdah, against which any sound intellect let alone someone who knows the Straight Path, will bear witness that watching it is not allowed. Why not? Because of the major reprehensible things it leads to.
And if it were argued that there is some benefit in it, like the amount of white hair found on a black bull, then that good is negligible in comparison to the huge corruption found in it.
And if you think about our society you fill find a big change during these two years when these satellite channels started to become more widespread, especially amongst the youth who sit watching them in the places where they hang out together [istirāḥah] and in the desert and other places. There has been monumentous change because they watch things that their souls call to, youth that have free time and no work.
And the strange thing is that some fathers who are responsible for their families are the ones who bring these satellite channels to their houses themselves, they bring them to their houses and they can see their families, their boys and girls and wives and sisters watching these munkar things which corrupt morals and they won’t say a word.
Or sometimes the man might not be the one to bring it into the house himself but his wife does because she is employed or the children might and so on and so he will see them [doing that] and just pass by them, going and coming, [he will see them] watching these evil films and will not stop them.
This is something we know and have heard about and if that is the case then I ask you, my brothers, here in Masjid al-Ḥarām, has this man fulfilled his trust which Allaah placed on him when he has allowed his family to watch those things that destroy manners and the ʿaqīdah or has he betrayed them?
He has cheated them because he was able to prevent them, he has betrayed them and if he has betrayed them then let us listen to what the infallible one said ﷺ, “Any servant in charge of people who dies while acting dishonestly towards them, Allaah would forbid his entry into Paradise,” and this ḥadīth includes those lesser than the bigger people in charge, because the Prophet ﷺ said, “A man is a guardian over his family and is responsible for them,” so if this is what the Prophet ﷺ said, “A man is a guardian over his family and is responsible for them,” and, “Any servant in charge of people who dies while acting dishonestly towards them, Allaah would forbid his entry into Paradise,” and this man was able to stop his family from watching these channels which destroy one’s manners and thinking and beliefs [but didn’t], then it is feared that he may fall under this warning.
Fatāwā al-Ḥaram al-Makkī, 1418, 6a.
ʿUthaimīn on The Severity of Homosexuality and the Difference Between it and Zinā
October 13, 2022 § Leave a comment
ʿUthaimīn: We have two powerful stories for this lesson. The first is that of the People of Lūṭ. They were polytheists and a sin became commonplace amongst them in addition to shirk, which was what? Homosexuality, and we seek Allaah’s refuge from it, i.e., lusting after men, which their Prophet Lūṭ described as, ‘The Fāḥishah الفاحشة, The shameful deed/the great sin,” and Allaah described fornication [zinā] as, ‘Fāḥishah فاحشة, a shameful deed/a great sin.’
Which is greater, ‘The Fāḥishah,’ or ‘a Fāḥishah?’ ‘The Fāḥishah,’ is, i.e., it is the major shameful deed/the great sin.
And that is why homosexuality is more severe than zinā, and we seek Allaah’s refuge, homosexuality is more severe than zinā, men going to men—because it has been described as, ‘The Fāḥishah,’ and zinā was described as, ‘A Fāḥishah.’
Sound natural disposition is repulsed by this hideous act, that a man goes to a man, and Allaah’s refuge is sought.
That is why their Prophet rebuked them for it, saying, “Why do you ˹men˺ lust after fellow men, leaving the wives that your Lord has created for you?” This goes against sound intellect/reasoning [ʿaql] “In fact, you are a transgressing people.” [26:165-166] This goes against sound intellect totally and it is one of the most dangerous things that a nation can face in terms of it turning its manners on its head and corrupting them.
When someone who this has been done to grows up and realises what happened to him his face goes gloomy, [questioning] how he can go before people to such an extent that some of them have wanted to kill the person who did this wicked deed to them saying because he has made me walk among people as though I’m a woman …
So it is an enormous, major Fāḥishah and it is not [even] possible to be wary of it because how can you say to two men walking together, [for example], “Part ways,” you can’t [i.e., the Shaikh is saying you can’t tell if they are homosexual or not and remember the Shaikh said this decades ago in Saudi, as for around the world nowadays!], but if you found a man with a woman who he is not allowed to be with it is possible to tell them to part.
But this is a problem, it is something hidden, flowing through the community like poison in the body.
Fatāwā al-Ḥaram al-Makkī, 1416, 6a.
The Mawlid and the French
October 10, 2022 § Leave a comment
When Napoleon was in Egypt the French army participated in the Mawlid, putting on military parades, fireworks displays and playing music. In his book, “ʿAllāmah Taqiyyud-Dīn al-Hilālī’s Travels to India and Afghanistan,” [2/248] our Shaikh, Abū ʿUbaidah Mashūr āl-Salmān, may Allaah protect him, commented on this saying, “This is the mawlid celebration that these kuffār want, in fact they scramble to do it. As for the true prophetic celebration which is made up of always following his example ﷺ, all the time, in all circumstances, every day—i.e., which is loving the Prophet ﷺ according to the Sharīʿah without any interruption or discontinuity, then they wage war against that and reject it! Subḥānallāh! How strange this life is and how things are turned on their heads, such impetuousness for [mere] phrases and folly, not for truthful facts and affairs of ʿaqīdah.”
Celebrating the Prophet’s Birthday ﷺ
October 4, 2022 § Leave a comment
If a Hell Dweller Came to Earth
September 28, 2022 § Leave a comment
ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr said, “If a man from Hell were brought out to the dunyā, everyone in it would die due to his hideous appearance and [unbearable] stench.” Then he started crying uncontrollably.
Ar-Riqqatu wal-Bukāʾ, no. 104.
“Please Do Duʿā for Me.” Posers in Charity, Posers on Youtube or Tiktok or Wherever Else Recording Themselves Giving Charity
September 25, 2022 § Leave a comment
If you give in charity for Allah’s sake then don’t ask them to do duʿā for you. Allah said, “˹saying to themselves,˺: ‘We feed you only for the sake of Allah, seeking neither reward nor thanks from you.’” [76:9]
The Shaikh of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said, “So whoever asks the poor to supplicate for them or praise them has left this āyah.”
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, v. 11, p. 111.
All of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim’s Books in PDF format
September 25, 2022 § 4 Comments
Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid, may Allah have mercy on him, oversaw a project on the publication of Ibn al-Qayyim’s books, here is a link to all of them in PDF format.
He did the same with Shaikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah’s works, here is a link to them too, both collections with permission from the publishers.
Talking Too Much and Going Out Too Much
August 20, 2022 § Leave a comment
About 1200 years ago, al-Fuḍail ibn ʾIyāḍ used to say, “This is not the time to talk. It is the time to remain silent and stay at home.”
Ar-Risālah al-Mughniyah fis-Sukūt wa Luzūmil-Buyūt of Ibn Abid-Dunyā, p. 37.
A Mountain and A Three Night Journey
August 19, 2022 § Leave a comment
It is transmitted on the authority of Abu Hurairah that Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ said:
“The molar tooth of an unbeliever or the canine tooth of an unbeliever will be like [Mt.] Uhud—and the thickness of his skin will be the distance of a three night journey.”
Muslim: 7185/2851
On Summer
August 18, 2022 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ʿAbdur-Razzāq al-Badr said, “We are at the start of summer and we will mention a great matter and a severe event which it reminds us of.
It is a clear cut sign and true proof of what Allaah has prepared for the Day of Reckoning.
Summer, and especially when it becomes very hot, reminds us of the Fire of Hell on the Day of Judgement, and it has been mentioned in a ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs from Abū Hurairah that the Prophet ﷺ said, “The [Hell] Fire complained to its Lord saying, ‘O my Lord! My different parts eat each other up.’ So He allowed it to take two breaths, one in the winter and the other in summer, and this is the reason for the severe heat and the bitter cold you find [in weather].”
All of us try to get away from the summer’s heat by trying to find cooler places and shade, and that is why one of the Salaf said, ‘I am amazed at the person who tries to shelter himself from the summer’s heat in this world, how can he not then protect himself from Hell’s heat on the Day of Judgement by keeping away from sins?’
And [more specifically] the midday heat, especially during summer, also reminds us of the Fire. Abū Hurairah reports in a ḥadīth that the Prophet ﷺ said, “When it is very hot, then wait for it to cool down before you pray, for intense heat is from the flaring up of the Hell-fire,” this is a reminder for people who fear Allaah.
When some of the Salaf, may Allaah have mercy on them, would leave after the Jumuʿah prayer during the severe heat, they would remember the people departing on the Day of Judgement—departing either to Paradise or the Fire because that Day will be on a Friday, the Day of Reckoning will be on a Friday, and by midday on that Day the inhabitants of Paradise would be having their midday nap and those of the Fire settled theirs, as Ibn Masʿūd said and then he recited Allaah’s Saying, “On that Day the residents of Paradise will have the best settlement and the finest place to rest.” [Furqān: 24]
The sun which Allaah has created in this life reminds us of the Fire of the Day of Judgement, its heat reminds us of the heat to come on the Day of Judgement.
Indeed it reminds the people of when it will come close to the creation on the Day of Judgement, the Day when they will stand on a flat plain with a reddish tinge, there being no shade, no refuge, no dwelling place for anyone except whoever Allaah provides shade to under His Shade on the Day when there will be none except His.”
“Alhamdulillah that I Became a Muslim Before I Met These Muslims.”
July 14, 2022 § 1 Comment
The ʿAllāmah, the Shaikh Muḥammad Sulṭān al-Maʿṣūmī al-Khujandī al-Makkī, who some of you may know through the English translation of his book on blind-following which you can find here, said:
“One of the people who was guided and became enlightened through this Divine Light was a man from the West, from those who ascribe to Christianity. He read the translation of the meanings of the Qurʾān in English and so Allah allowed him to see the truth and enlightened him. He learnt Arabic and came to understand some meanings of the Qurʾān and thus became certain that Islam was the true religion which could make a person happy in this life and the next and so embraced it. Then he migrated from his country intending to settle in a Muslim land and so ended up settling in the two ḥarams [Makkah and Medīnah].
But when he saw those who called themselves Muslims here, and their manners, and how they dealt with people in a manner which opposed Islam and its teachings he was shocked and confused, and said to me:
‘Alḥamdulillāh that I became a Muslim before meeting these Muslims. This is a blessing from Allah on me. If I had seen these people before that I would have fled both from them and Islam, but I understood Allah’s address to us when He said, ‘O Mankind! …’ and I am one of mankind, and that meant that I had to fear Allah who created and nurtured me and that I must believe in His Messengers and Books, and I was certain that everyone who fears Allah, his Lord, will be happy in both abodes, and that whoever disbelieves and denies [the Truth] then Allah’s Punishment is severe, and no-one has the excuse of ignorance as long as he can understand …’ etc.!
So look how this European learnt knowledge and sought guidance, in the same way every individual from mankind has the ability to learn and understand his Lord’s Speech, that is why Allah addressed them in general terms, and ordered them to have faith and fear Him, and to follow the Messenger who He sent with the Truth, a Messenger who was sent to all of mankind as a mercy for them, whether man or jinn …
This gentleman who was guided to Islam has accompanied me since 1937 and attended my lectures. He often asks me about the meanings of āyahs from the Qurʾān and ḥadīths, and has become a good Muslim. I ask Allah, the Most High, to make both me and him and all Muslims firm in īmān, to always grant us success and to give us a good ending, āmīn.”
Tamyīzul-Maḥẓūẓīn ʿanil-Maḥrūmīn fī Tajrīdid-Dīn wa Tawḥīdil-Mursalīn, pp. 39-40.
This is Shaikh Muḥammad Sulṭān al-Maʿṣūmī al-Khujandī:
I Don’t Know
July 13, 2022 § Leave a comment
Ibn al-Qayyim said, “ʿUqbah ibn Muslim said, ‘I was with Ibn ʿUmar for thirty-four months, when asked a question he would very often say, ‘I don’t know.’’ And Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib would hardly give a fatwā or say something without adding, ‘O Allah, save me, and save them from me.’”
Iʿlāmul-Muwaqqiʿīn, 6/134.
I Don’t Know
July 12, 2022 § Leave a comment
Ibn al-Qayyim said, “One of the people of knowledge said, ‘Learn, ‘I don’t know,’—because when you say, ‘I don’t know,’ they will teach you until you do, and if you say, ‘I know,’ they will ask you until you don’t.’”
Iʿlāmul-Muwaqqiʿīn, 6/134.
Aren’t You Embarrassed?
July 11, 2022 § 1 Comment
“Imām ash-Shaʿbī was asked a question and replied that he didn’t know the answer. So someone said, ‘Aren’t you ashamed of saying, ‘I don’t know,’ when you are the faqīh of Iraq?’ So he said, ‘But the Angels weren’t ashamed when they said, ‘We have no knowledge except what you have taught us.’’” [Baqarah 2:32]
Iʿlāmul-Muwaqqiʿīn, 6/134.
Best Available Lane’s Lexicon and Hans Wehr Mobile Apps [Non-PDF]
June 29, 2022 § 3 Comments
You can find two free mobile apps at this link, one for Lane’s Lexicon and the other Hans Wehr, the distinguishing factor being that the results are not shown as scanned PDFs that are difficult to read on a mobile, here the actual text is searchable and way more readable.
The font size of the results can be adjusted to make it easier on the eye along with a few other settings:
Sample results:
By clicking on the blue box link shown at the top of the image above, instances where the word or its root occur in the Quraan are listed:
Clicking on one of the Quranic links should detect a Quraan app if you have one installed on your phone and open the listed aayah in it:
Seems like it is only available on Android.
Many thanks to the developer, Gibreel Abdullah, may Allah reward him with good.
Further resources here.
A Dream About Ibn Taymiyyah After his Death
April 19, 2021 § 2 Comments
“A man held as trustworthy by companions of ours such as Shaikh Shamsud-Dīn Muhammad ibn Ruzair and others said that he saw a dream in which a Christian man was going somewhere, so he said to him, ‘To where?’ He replied, ‘To the Messiah عليه السلام.’ So he said, ‘I have more rightful affinity to him [than you],’ and so he went along with him until they saw him and he looked beautiful.
The person in the dream then said to himself, ‘If only I could see our Prophet ﷺ so that I could in fact [really] see him and see in what esteem Īsā عليه السلام holds him.’
So the Prophet ﷺ came and the Messiah عليه السلام stood up and the Prophet ﷺ sat in his place and he looked most magnificent, beautiful in face and appearance, and the Messiah عليه السلام kissed his hand and his head and then sat next to him.
Then the Prophet ﷺ asked the person in the dream, ‘What do you have with you?’ He replied, ‘Ripe dates [ruṭab].’ So he handed them to the Prophet ﷺ who took them and gave some to the Messiah.
So I said to the Christian, ‘Look how your Prophet venerates our Prophet.’ So he said, ‘Yes.’
Then from behind the Prophet ﷺ a group of people approached, the Shaikh [of Islaam Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah] was sitting amongst them or at the front of them. When they got closer the Shaikh came forward and the Prophet ﷺ stood up and said, ‘Welcome, O Ahmad,’ then he gave him some of the dates.
Then another group came from in front of the Prophet ﷺ but he never turned to look at them. So the Shaikh Taqiyud-Din [Ibn Taymiyyah] said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! These people are from your Ummah.’
So he replied, ‘No. If they were from my ummah they would’ve been upon what you were upon.’”
Takmilatul-Jaami li Seerati-Shaikhil-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, p. 72.
Gifts of Knowledge 