Muslim Aid - Snowdonia Trek 2009

I was one of the 49 or so strong team of Muslim Aid-erz on the Snowdon Challenge Part 2 in aid of the Pakistan Crisis.

On 13th May Muslim Aid launched an emergency appeal for the people of Pakistan with a target of £1 million. So far, you have helped us raise a fantastic £100,000 which has been used to provide shelter, food, fuel and medicine. http://www.muslimaid.org/index.php/what-we-do

With very little expectations going into the MA Snowdon Trek 2009, I was very well impressed by many things. Having been to Snowdonia with a previous charity a few years back, by far the quality and experience of this trip was second to none. So who says Muslims can not organise events well?!
It was truly a blessing to meet like minded active Brothers in Charity on the Trek.

My highlights:

Day 1:
-Coach travel was most enjoying, and the driver Anita (non-Muslim) was great throughout, very lively and accommodating especially when we would stop over to do our Salaat at the service stations.
-Brotherly love and banter during Day 1 Owl time, it was safe to say the Brothers got well acquainted with one another, up to the early hours of 2am, thanks to few accessories, torches, shadows, sounds and groans....leave that to your imagination.....
-Qur'an and Nasheed recitation from a well versed Br. named Sultan:-), was a very good idea and Mash Allah voice was good, Akhi.
-Making Salat with the Akhis in Jammat at the service station, a real bond and the beauty of Salat was there to see for all.

Day 2:
-Trek was great, and little bit of competition to get some of that testosterone out for the men showed big time
-Coffee on the cards for all, that was well deserved, and to see one of the Brothers strolling in (Muneem Bhai), having walked up with no food given his mate had taking his food to reach Mt. Everest.lol

Day 3:
-Excellent Day 3 "off the beaten track trekking", with some of the Akhis, doing Titanic poses on the top of the Mountain (names will not be disclosed - yet!)
-Did not just make good friends, but made long lasting Brotherly Bonds via this event

There are so many more highlights too many too mention and pictures don't do justice to the time I personally had in Wales.

Jazakum Allah Khayr to all the Muslim Aid organisers and volunteers who have done an amazing job in organising and making the event a great success. May Allah swt reward you all for your efforts. May Allah swt reward all those who took part in the event. Ameen. Ameen.

Definitely would recommend events organised by Muslim Aid!

10k for Muslim Youth Helpline!

Sunday 12th July 2009, another year and another British 10k run comes faster than I can eat a chicken tikka kebab at Angel Kebabs! http://www.thebritish10klondon.co.uk/

The weather was great for the run, had a pre-race breakfast consisting of bran flakes with banana with some semi-skimmed milk. This was ideal as did not want to touch the caffeine or fried edibles. I was still trying to keep the food from the Malay restaurant from Friday night down (oops too much info).

I was running again for the Muslim Youth Helpline, and Alhamdullilah has been a very successful sponsorship campaign, with around GBP340.00 raised on-line and much off-line which I am looking to collect over the next few days. Progress on the sponsorship campaign below.
http://www.justgiving.com/abdulmuhidali/

More information on Muslim Youth Helpline can be found on http://www.myh.org.uk/
They do some great work and is worth visiting.

The route I knew about from last year, which I clocked around 55mins. However, this year was totally different, with very little training this year I was trying to equal this or at least get under an hour:-). With only a JPM chase 5.6k run at 44 minutes 3 days ago (mind you this was done with a 5min pit stop at the Mens, and was nursing a brother who had an injury for the first 3k), was not looking good. With so many people rushing to the starting line, a few of the brave MYH runners and I went round to near the starting line.

The horn was blown at 9.35am to kick the race off, we however started around 9.48am and quickly lost east other in the first 100m through dodging the slow pacers. A sign for the 1k, followed by 3k and then 6k, 7k and then that's when it started to get difficult going towards Parliament from Embankment, all uphill. The next sign I saw was 9k and this was a much relief as the legs were going. I sprinted into Whitehall and pushed myself, finishing the race with the clock at 1:00:38 on the finish line clock, which made my run time at around 0:47:38 sec! This was a result which I was much happy with, MashAllah. So much pics and celebrations at Pizza Express followed!

Will contemplate another 10k run next year in a years time, after some ice on my legs...

The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier

This was a one day course which I attended at Ebrahim College.
http://www.ebrahimcollege.org.uk/pages/courses/parttime/all_courses.php/#Bengal

Most if not all of the content was covered from the text "The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760'' by Prof. Richard Eaton.
This can be found free online on the following link. http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft067n99v9&chunk.id=ch01&toc.depth=100&brand=eschol

For a Muslim, Bengali Britain it was really fascinating to understand what my parents culture and to a large extent my own had been shaped by. It is worth knowing where one has come from to better understand where one is to go with what one has.

Point to note (there were many):

1. The Bengali scripts did not change from Bengali to Imperial (Persian/Arabic/Turkish). As Islam was internalised into the Bengali universe.
2. Abyssinians were brought to India as slaves, recruited for the Indian Military. They later took over the Sultanate, which made it very unstable in the 7 years from 1486-1493.
3. The original aims of the Moguls may have been political when they took over East Bengal but the effect had been cultural via the Mosque building, and therefore was taken that religion was deemed to be a major factor for the Moguls to acquiring stability.
4. Undated Mosques: Bamboo and Thatching material used by the Moguls to build the Mosques. These did not last and were only built for the "Peers" (Saints) to gain rights to the land.
   
5. Contracts to build religious buildings were delegated by the Hindus (who thought themselves to be more superior to the Muslims) to the Muslim workers. This inevitably lead to more Mosques in the region being built.
6. Best historical information, are based on the land records departments in the district, where there are record rooms full of archives of material from the Mogul Empire and beyond.
7. The river and how this changed (Ganges and Brahmaputra) played a significant part in the rise of power to the west of Bengal.
   

Fiqh of Marriage

This was a 5 hour workshop which I attended pretty much at the last minute, there was very little to do on this day, apart from watch the footy on TV and well with the end of the season, thought better to spend 5 hours and to understand the Fiqh of Marriage! We all have to start somewhere and must say the course was definitely enlightening, Alhamdulillah!

I will write a few things from each learned person:

Mufti Mhmd. Ibn Adam - Making the right choice

1. Make the right choice: one must take time out to seek the most suitable spouse for oneself. This is extremely important and should not be taken lightly.
2. One should seek a spouse for one of four things (from well narrated Hadith on this matter) (i) Deen/Character; (ii) Wealth; (iii) Lineage (iv) Beauty and follows on saying, let it be deen.
   
3. Some scholars say that it is better to look at external beauty first then you can investigate her level of deen and piety (with the hikmah of nikaah being a form of protecting ones chastity).
4. Physical attraction: Imam Nawawi narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said a prospective women can show her face and hands. With the face being the obvious beauty and the hands being the indication of her physical condition and structure of her body.
5. Suitability and Compatibility: Do not delay if you find someone compatible. What is compatibility? someone who shares the same goals and objectives/aims in your life.
6. Find someone who has a purified heart, must therefore look at more than ones external beauty. As if the heart is good then the external manifestation of this will also be good and warm. There are many books on the Purification of ones heart and will write a list of this in my blogg in later editions Insha'Allah.

Shaykh Hassan Ali - Sacred act of Nikaah

1. If both partners are pious; you are both likely to enter Jannah and if so will meet there too.
2. Without Nikaah the two people are strangers to each other, therefore being alone together is prohibited (as in such cases the 3rd person is Shaytan). If you go against this then you will be chipping at the blessings from Allah.
   
3. Try to keep engagements short, if longer than do a Nikah and then before marriage can refresh the vows.
4. Brothers should not use the Psychological abuse of the term "Talaq" (divorce) on their wife, as you cannot joke with divorce as its a legal shariah statement. Best to avoid using this word or making any indirect reference to it.

Mufti Mhmd. Ibn Adam - Sexual Relations (SR) in Islam

He has an excellent book also called "The Islamic Guide to Sexual Relations", the first as many have told me of its kind in the English language. As there are many traditional Arab texts on this subject matter which has not been translated into English.

This is such a taboo subject in our communities which does not have to be that way as many Islamic marriages may have issues stemming as a result of this. The Mufti mentions as the Prophet (SAW) said, that when there is matters of deen, we should not be too modest. Don't be shy this is a spiritual disease as otherwise you will overlook aspects of deen by doing this.

NB: Pride and shyness are two major things that prevent people from acquiring Ilm.

I would recommend to all those who are married and who are looking to get married read this, and make dua that Allah benefits the readers implement the knowledge. Ameen. Make dua for the Mufti who has worked hard albeit Vs a small minority of Muslims for the publication.

Ayesha (RA) said "How admiral are the women of the Ansar" in reference to their Hayya in learning.

Some brief notes:
-Happiness in the bedroom usually equated to happiness in Marriage
-Don't make something Halal (permissible) Haram (prohibited) for yourself. If something that is disliked (Makrouh) then it may be allowed if in the event it will save the marriage.
-Right of both spouses (not just the mans)
-Psychological and Physical preparation for Pre/Post SR

There is much more in the book mentioned above.

Shaykh Hassan Ali - Blissful Marriage

Ali ibn Abu Talib was asked "What is Marriage? He replied;

1. A month worth of happiness, after that;
2. A whole era and lifetime of worries, stress, response, after that;
3. Back starts to bend, after that
4. Time to go to the grave
   

This the Shaykh was emphasizing from this that once get married for the Aakirah.

-Get to know the characteristics of a person before you marry them. The Myers Briggs Personality Indicators could be used as a tool to find suitability in personality as this is a character matching technique which some have found useful as you can find a lot about a person through this.

The Roadmap to Knowledge

The Roadmap to Knowledge - Principles of Seeking Knowledge:-
a two day course provided by Al- Kauthar Institute by Shaikh Waleed AbdulHakeem. http://www.alkauthar.org/

This was a course that was much anticipated by myself and by many Brs and Ssts alike that I came across on other courses. The course was Alhamdullillah good platform for all seekers of Ilm to use as a tool to be able to start acquiring and managing ones sacred knowledge and more importantly steps to applying this in one daily life.

The main topics that were covered were:

-Introduction to seeking knowledge:
This was good as it created the bones for the meat to be put on that would come later in the course.

-Ethics with Yourself:
Good Characther (Ikhlas), having sincere intention (and one should try and have multiple intentions all for the pleasure of Allah swt, which will increase ones reward).

The more you Love Allah (swt) and the Prophet (saw), the more you will have sincere intention and this will increase your passion to seek Ilm.

Being utmost humble with the knowledge you seek and attain, and staying away from arrogance, It has been said in a well known hadith says that a person with a grain of arrognace so that he looks down on others, will not be granted Jannat (Paradise).

-Methods of seeking knowledge: There were too many to list down here. But you should always try and seek a reputable Shaykh in your local area for Hidayya to Ilm.

-Manners of the student with the Sheikh: -Acting upon what you have learnt:

Learn from the Shuyuk of your local place before embarking upon another Shaikh.

The Shaikh covered the various texts in quite some detail and was a great insight and for me the best part of the course. It provided me with a great outlook of the breadth of books on various Islamic Disciplines such as Aqeedah, Fiqh, Hadith, Quranic Sciences and to more recent issues such as Islamic Finance etc.

The order of learning the various Islamic Sciences:

1. Aqeedah then;
2. Fiqh (eg. Fiqh of Tahara (Purification), Salaat, Sawm (Fasting), Hajj)
   
3. Qur'an (eg. Tajweed (min. Surat Fatiha))
4. Hadeeth (the saying of the Prophet (SAW))
5. Seerah (The biography of the Prophet (SAW))
6. Other History (eg. About the Caliphate, Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman)

For reading material:

-Best to have a smaller texts on the subject matter which is recommended from a scholar who follows the Ahlus Sunnah Wa Jammat.
-Once going through a summarised text one can move onto more larger texts where more details are dealth with Insha'Allah.
-The will of moving to small or large texts will depend on the individual person and how long one has been seeking Ilm.

My own GEM notes I have taken:
-Manners First, Roadmap to Last.
-The RoadMap is a trust
-Glorify Allah with his Asma (Names) and Sifa (Attributes), not just say "Allahu".

Some Q&As which the Shakh responded to:

Q. What is the best of deeds?
A. Depending on the time, place and situation, the deeds may differ.

Q. Is Hajj (specific act of Worship) obligatory for All?
A. Only when you have the means, it becomes obligatory upon you.

Q. Is knowledge about the other sects in the Muslim Community important?
A. Yes, as knowing the other sects, helps one not to fall into the incorrect ways (avoiding bid'a) and thus sticking to the Qur'an and the Sunnah Insha'Allah.

Q. What can pollute the students intention and remove the blessing from his knowledge?
A.
i) Self-ego via other peoples perception of himself and praise from others' (riyaa) ;
ii) False comparison with a deviate intention of improving himself to other knowledge seekers
ii) Solely relying on your own knowledge it can lead you to ignorance
iv) Self-satisfaction of the knowledge you have

Q. What if the intention was not pure when I started seeking Ilm, should I study everything again?
A. No. Make sincere Tawbah and re-read and implement what you have learnt with this new niyaat. This is trap which the Shayateen put into one, to doubt the purity of ones intention all the time via waswas (whispering).

Q. How do you deal with a Shaikh who practices some Innovation? Is it ok to learn from the Shaikh?
A. Once needs to know what specific subject matter the Shaikh causes him to act in bid'a.
One needs to also distignuish between Mukaffira (out of Islam) and Non-Mukaffira (dislike such people). It is better for a new student of knowledge to avoid such Shaikhs as s/he would not know what is bid'a and what is from the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Salah

Just a short reminder in regards to prayer (salah), how important it is, and how at times, we neglect it or become weak within it.

(The above picture is an example of devotion to keep to the commandments of Allah, and to perform Salat at the correct times to please Allah (swt)).

"Be ever mindful of prayers, and of praying in the most excellent way; and stand before God in devout obedience." [Qur'an 2:238]

"And be steadfast in prayer and regular in charity: And whatever good you send forth for your souls before you, you shall find it with Allah. for Allah sees Well all that you do." (Quran: 2:110)

On the authority of Abu Malik al-Harith bin 'Asim al-Ash'ari, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said:

"Purification is half of iman (faith). Saying 'Al-Hamdulillah' (Praise be to Allah) fills the scales.

Saying 'Subhanallah wa al-Hamdulillahi' (Exhalted be Allah and Praise be to Allah) fills the space between the heavens and the earth. Salah (prayer) is a light. Sadaqah (charity) is a proof.

Sabr (patience) is a shining glory.

The Qur'an is an argument either for you or against you. Everybody goes out in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves." (Sahih Muslim)

Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet added, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah wipes away (annuls) evil deeds." (Sahih Al Bukhari)

`Uthman ibn `Afan (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If the time for a prescribed Salah comes, and a Muslim performs Wudu' properly (and then offers his Salah) with humility and bowing (to Allah), it will be an expiation for his past sins, so long as he has not committed a major sin; and this is applicable to all times." (Reported by Muslim)

Salat is a pillar of the religion (Islam). He who establishes it, establishes religion; and he who destroys it, destroys religion." [Tabrani]

CEI Monthly Saturday Outreach Programme

CEI Monthly Saturday Outreach Programme organised by the Crawley Educational Institute (CEI) at Friends House, Euston. Visit www.ceiuk.com for further details.

The first of these monthly sessions was held at the Education - Lecture theatre at Friends House on 7th Feb 2009. The Session lasted for 2hours and must have had over 600 people. Well given that these are gratuity events, the numbers were very high.

Feb Lectures:
-Glad Tidings of A Prophet - Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa (Liverpool)
-The Covenant of the Prophets -Habib Ali al-Jifri (Tarim, Yemen)

CEI and myself was blessed to have Habib Ali al-Jifri, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (on Him be Blessings and Peace), to open this monthly Seerah Course, which will be taught by Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa and various guest lecturers over the coming year.As much as it may at first be difficult to understand Shaykh Irahim Osi-Efa, you cannot say he is not emotionless!

March Lectures:
This is the 2nd lecture of the Seerah Course, which will be taught by Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa and various guest lecturers over the coming year.

-The Early Years: The Nurturers -Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa (Liverpool)
-The Preparation of a Prophet: Lessons for a Prophetic Community - Shaykh Jihad Brown (USA)

CEI was blessed to host Shaykh Jihad Hashim Brown for the monthly Seerah Course at Friends House. Shaykh Jihad is the deputy director of the Tabah Foundation (link below) which was founded by Habib Ali al-Jifri.

http://www.tabahfoundation.com/Together, they have successfully brought together a council of eminent scholars including Abdullah bin Bayyah, Ramadan al-Bouti and Habib Umar bin Hafidh to tackle international and global Muslim issues whilst reconnecting such 'Ulama with the Muslim community.

Shaykh Jihad, having studied and taught Islam in Damascus and Tarim, will bring much knowledge and blessing to this Seerah Course, insha'Allah.

The idea is that regular attendees (Insha’Allah I am one of these) will be able to complete a biographical study on the life of the Prophet Muhammad (on Him be Blessings and Peace) by way of two lectures, each lasting approximately 50 minutes. Light refreshments and an opportunity for informal questions and discussion will follow the lectures.

The beautiful thing about the course, is that the idea is to provide access to knowledge to a wider audience but also for a humanitarian cause to provide free hot food for homeless people too during the night, so it is important that those who are in need are invited to this event and donations are therefore most welcomed.

http://www.ceiuk.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15%3Acei-monthly-saturday-outreach-programme&catid=1%3Acurrentclasses&Itemid=4

Fiqh of Janazah & Spiritual Preparation

The Inevitable Event - The Fiqh of Janazah

This course was not for the faint hearted and not something that you would say was top priority learning on a Saturday Morning!

The course was organised by Utrujj and taught by Shaykh Hatham Tamim at SOAS. I was looking forward to the course as the topic of death has to be in our minds as much as life as we know it. The course was exceptional, however on such a topic one day was far to less to go through all the content, practical demo' and Q&As. It is a start and one must read on and understand InshaAllah.

I have not witnessed death in family or have close Friends passing away. Those that have passed away have been extensions to my families or friends parents that have passed away or I have have known for a short time. Seeing my parents from being active and healthy to being dependant on us especially in recent years has made me think about death much more, thus me attending the course. May Allah swt provide me the Ilm to understand and learn from this course. Ameen.

Contents

The course covered the following topics:

• What to do and say when someone is at the point of approaching death
• The Sunnah of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) regarding attitude towards death
• The importance of remembering death and preparing for it
• How to wash the body correctly (with practical demonstration)
• How to pray Janazah (funeral prayer)
• The rulings and etiquette's of burial
• Where to bury deceased Muslims
• The etiquette's of grieving
• The etiquette's of visiting the graves
• Common misconceptions surrounding the above topics

Each and every one of us will one day meet with our death.

There was much things on the course which due to the time cannot be expanded on right here. Some of my own Questions such as how long is it permissible to delay the funeral? does the maut (deceased) feel and hear when they die? What should one read pre-death? How should one prepare the mawt body for the burial? And who is permitted by Shariah to do this? What are the etiquette's of grieving and visiting the graves?

The course covered all the Questions and more, with a practical demonstration too on how to wash the body and cloth it in preparation for the burial.

There are some differences between Madhabs on certain specific issues too. One should not concern themselves with the differences as the Imams that the Madhabs have such Ilm one should not be in a position to comment.

The Light Of Guidance

The Light of Guidance - Fundumental of Faith 101 this was the first Al-Maghrb Insttitue course that I have attended on the recommendation from a good Akhi I met at another Institure, Tayyibun. It was in a way just like being at Uni' with the first 101 course!

I was very impressed with the structure of the course, timing and content coverage was impeccable (who said the UK Muslim Ummah cannot organise things, dispels the idea that their is a MST (Muslim Standard Time) well for this course only).

It was a 4.5 days course, split over two weekends near Earls Court, and had Alhamdullilah 500+ students taking part. As always with such events, the sisters outnumbered the Brothers, so Akhis, where are you....we need to win this battle of the sexes!

The course started around 9.50am and finished around 7.00pm so all in all was a long day. I went on my own for the first weekend and met some really nice Brothers there, and this was a crowd that was different than other courses I had been on. They had a real good ethos and balance about them, from all kind of backgrounds and nationalities (Sri Lankan, Brunei, Malaysian, Somalian, Afghanistan, India and from all around the UK... and oh yes the French contingent too! (Can't forget them on stage with their rather weird accents.lol).

The Al-Maghrib UK group was known as Qabeelat Al-Shams (Yes the Sun, for a nation that does not get much sun - how ironic). The Ameer (leader) of the Qabeelat was great as were all the volunteers, it was really like a family gathering. MashAllah.

The seminar was a great opportunity to grasp a greater understanding and fall in to depths of the awareness and knowledge about the crucial beliefs that form the skeleton of Islam, and to tie our hearts to these truths.

The LoG on Aqeedah Seminar covered in summary the following:

• Definition of Tawheed
• Importance of Tawheed
• Categories of Tawheed (history; differences of opinion regarding categorization schemes)
• Tawheed in Allah's Lordship (Ruboobiyyah): reality and definition
• Quranic Proofs of Ruboobiyyah
• Western Proofs for the Existence of God (Ontological, Cosmological, Kalam, etc.)
• Critique of Western Proofs; comparison w/ Islamic Proofs
• Atheism (arguments; refutation)
• Ruboobiyyah by itself is incomplete (proofs)
• Allah's Right to Be Worshipped (Uloohiyyah)
• Definition of Worship
• Meaning of Ilah; meaning of Kalimah
• Manifestations of Worship (Du'a, Sajdah, Tawwakul, Sabr, etc...)
• Deviations in Worship (Talismans, Magic, Astrology, etc...)
• Other concepts (Tabarruk; Tawassul; Shafa'aah; etc...)
• Shirk: definition; history; dangers; categories; causes
• Evidences used by Muslims who seek to justify Shirk
• Kufr and Nifaq: definition; dangers; categories; relationship with Shirk
• Manifestations of Major Kufr

It was truly an eye opener especially the key issues for me, was "Sihr" ("Black Magic") that is not so prominenent especially in the sub continent culture and is important to the see the tell tell signs.

Few things I had taken note from the course was amongst many:

- If one wears a "Tabeez" (pocket chain round the necks with the so called Words of Allah written on in it, in order that it protect them from the Shaytan, it is better avoid having such things with you as this may be a sign of shirk without one knowing it, and also it may in fact do you more harm then good. There was incidents that the Shaykh had witnessed himself and showed in his Seminar too, where in opening the Tabeez, he found the names of the Shayateen written in them, and this broought a sigh of 500 odd people in the hall, which said it all.

-Breaking down Tawheed into 3 constituent parts: (1) "Ruboobiyyah" - The One Lord (2) "Ismu wa Sifa" (Names and Attributes of Allah) and (3) "Uloohiyyah" - the right to be worshipped. All three must be present to have Tawheed.

- To understand the principles of Tawheed is to understand and bring you closer to the Devine Lord and how Allah (swt) would want to be worshipped. This may help one to undertand the pitfalls of entering into "Shirk" (to associate another object with Allah).

-Intercession specific to the Prophet صل الله عليه و سلم:
Every single prophet was guaranteed one dua

• Nuh عليه السلام- used his for the flood.
• Musa عليه السلام- used his to seal the heart of Pharaoh
• Suleiman عليه السلام- Asked for a kingdom the likes of which nobody had, and would ever have.
• The Prophet صل الله عليه و سلم- Saved it for the Ummah for the Day of Judgement. This shows us the mercy of the prophet صل الله عليه و سلم.

Other information from the Al-Maghrib course guide:

Aqeedah is linguistically derived from the term 'aqadah' - a verb which means "to hold fast to" or "to establish". Our 'aqeedah is the pillar by which our deen stands firm, the fertile land from which all of our actions blossom, and it is the foundation from which all other Islamic sciences grow. '

According to our scholars, 'aqeedah is the firm creed and beliefs that one's heart is fixed upon without any wavering or doubt.

Are we certain about these beliefs to which our hearts should be tied? How well do we know the fundamental tenets of Islam, relating to our eman in Allah (swt), in the prophets, the books, the angels, the Last day and Qadr [fate]? Imam Abu Haneefah, rahimahullah, called his work on 'aqeedah "al-Fiqh al-Akbar" (The Greater Understanding), while he referred to shari'ah as simply, "the understanding of science".

"...Knowledge is the discerning proof of what is right and what is wrong, and it is the positive force that will help you surmount the trials of comfort, as well as those of hardships. Knowledge is your most powerful sword against your enemy, and finally, it is your most dignifying raiment in the company of your close companions." -- Mu'aadh ibn Jabal, radi' Allaahu 'anhu

This is one of many seminars on Fundamentals of Faith from Al-Maghrib Inst. with others and the series, 201, 301, 401, and Comparative Religion.

There were some memorable events:

-Shaykh (who is from Texas, USA), tells us a story of him going into a corner shop in the country to top up him mobile phone, as he asks the women on the counter, "...can I top up my Oxygen?"

-The 'Paper Bag" shirk blow up! - Where we had written Shirk and Kufr on each side of the paper bag and then in kind of perfect harmony we blow and burst. This was a good end to a long 4.5 days.

-Chinese Fortune Cookies - where each person had to eat the cookies and make sure that they do not peep into the fortune script, as a sign we can abstain from listening or reading predictions for the future from sources inc. horoscopes etc.

-French contingent with their 100 per cent perfection in their transmission of their answers in the group exercise with the analogy of the TV in the bath tub, synonymous to having a manual i.e. the Qur'an and Sunnah and not following it with disastrous consequences.

-The food was great - day one was kebabs, and then it got better, with biryani and chicken. There was coffee and tea throughout the day in the break out rooms just keep us awake in the afternoon, though the Ameer saw to that in any case if anyone was nodding off.

Plus you had Islam Channel recording the whole seminar, so watch this space, this seminar is coming on a TV near you (try to have a look out for me - doh!).

Ashurra - 10th Day of Muharram

It is Maghrib on Tuesday 6th January 2009. I have just broken my fast with some brothers are work, had a nice chicken shish from the local Kebab shop near my work. It was abs great, Alhamdullilah!

We now enter Yawm Ashura, which means the 10ths Day. This is unlike any other 10th day of the month and has many significant events taking place on this day.

On this 10th of Muharram,

• Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) accepted the repentance of Sayyidina Adam ('Alaihis-Salaam) after his exile from Paradise;
• Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) saved Sayyidina Nuh ('Alaihis-Salaam) and his companions in the ark;
• Allah extinguished the fire in which Sayyidina Ibrahim ('Alaihis-Salaam) was thrown by Nimrod;
• And Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) spoke directly to Sayyidina Musa ('Alaihis-Salaam) and gave him the Commandments.
• Sayyidina Ayyub ('Alaihis-Salaam) was restored to health (from leprosy);
• Sayyidina Yusuf ('Alaihis-Salaam) was reunited with his father Ya’qub ('Alaihis-Salaam);
• Sayyidina Yunus ('Alaihis-Salaam) was taken out from the belly of the fish; and the sea was divided as the nation of israel was delivered from captivity and Pharoah’s army was destroyed.
• ‘Ashura is also the day when the kingdom of Sulaiman ('Alaihis-Salaam) was restored;
• Sayyidina Isa (Jesus) ('Alaihis-Salaam) was raised to Jannah (Paradise); and
• Sayyidina al- Imam Husayn (Radiyallahu 'anh) (the Holy Nabi’s, Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim, grandson) achieved the honor of Martyrdom

Fasting:

Mu’awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan (Radiyallahu 'anh) relates:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) say: "It is the day of ‘Ashura. Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) has not made fasting obligatory for you. But I am fasting. He who likes to observe fast among you should do so, and he who likes not to observe it (does not have to) observe it." [Sahih Muslim]

Abu Qatada (Radiyallahu 'anh) relates that the Holy Nabi (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) said that the fast on the 10th of Muharram atones for the sins of the preceding year. [Sahih Muslim]

Abu Huraira (Radiyallahu 'anh) reports that the Holy Nabi (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) said that after Ramadan, the fasts of Muharram have the greatest excellence. [Sahih Muslim]

Alhamdulillah, Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) has blessed us to see another year. The first month of this year is Muharram. In this month is an excellent day—the day of ‘Ashura—which falls on the 10th of Muharram. The Holy Nabi (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) recommended that we fast on this day, by his Sunnah. He also indicated how we should observe the fast of ‘Ashura. Hakam ibn Al-Arat (Radiyallahu 'anh) relates: I went to Ibn Abbas (Radiyallahu 'anh)… I said to him: Tell me about fasting on ‘Ashura. He said, "When you seen the new moon of Muharram count the (days) and (begin to) observe fast on the 9th." I said to him: "Is it how the Holy Messenger of Allah (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) observed the fast?" He said, "Yes." [Sahih Muslim]

Hazrat Ibn Abbas (Radiyallahu 'anh) relates that when the Holy Nabi (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) said: "If I survive till next year, I will definitely observe fast on the 9th of Muharram (as well)." [Sahih Muslim]


(Note: What the Holy Nabi (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) meant was that he would also fast on the 9th as well as the 10th to which he was accustomed. We also should try fasting on the 9th and the 10th of Muharram.)