Punctuality

You might think that because the day of a Muslim is built around prayers which need to be performed at specific times, that Muslims would be fairly punctual people as a rule. But this seems not to be the case, even though I've heard several scholars remind listeners of the importance of being on time. I remember Shaykh Yaser Birjas indicating to students at a seminar that they should arrive for class like a mu'adhdhin arrives for prayer. (He has to arrive early enough to be ready to call as soon as the time for prayer comes in.) This suggests that Muslims should be acutely aware of time as part of their preparation for prayer, or class, or anything else.

After becoming Muslim, though, I started hearing plenty of jokes about a tendency of Muslims towards tardiness. Although, the observation relates mostly to religious and social functions because late arrivals to work or school often result in disciplinary action. I find American society generally to be less tolerant of tardiness than Muslims (so kudos to the Muslims for being so forgiving) but this can result in some confusion for the American Muslim community.

I heard the story of a convert who made the observation, on his first visit to jumu'ah prayer, that when he arrived--at the indicated time--only a few people were present, but during the sermon people continued arriving until the hall was filled by the time of the prayer. Yet I don't think this experience is rare.

Similarly, I've noticed that when attending Islamic lectures and classes, most respected teachers endeavor to begin and end on time. While helping to organize a 4-week da'wah training program a few years ago, I learned an important lesson regarding punctuality. The class was supposed to begin early on a Saturday morning, and though a few people showed up early, there were crowds coming through the door even after the "start" time. I wanted to wait for the students to settle in--and that was a mistake. The imam of the masjid told me that even if some people were still arriving, I should still start on time, and end on time.

To start with, punctuality is respectful of people's time--if they showed up on time, they shouldn't have to wait for the program to begin. Moreover, ending on time allows people to leave for other engagements they may have planned, instead of detaining them longer than they expected. And also, if an event fails to start on time, what incentive is there to arrive on time?

Since my own lesson on punctuality, I've made a point of observing when speakers (scholars, imams, community leaders, teachers, etc.) deliberately start on time--or as best they are able, when faced with logistical delays--and end on time. I understand it to be a part of the etiquette of being a speaker--of being a teacher, or an imam, and have found that the more knowledgeable, respected, and elder teachers usually strive for punctuality, even when students are late. For that reason, I don't accept that tardiness is religiously appropriate behavior--since it's not from the etiquette which I have witnessed from religious scholars.

I've even seen some scholars who seem to be as strict about punctuality as my high school band director--for us, it was an enforced rule. Students late to rehearsal would have to perform push-ups or run laps. Arriving late for a trip would mean getting left behind--nobody would wait. And if our rehearsals ran over schedule, even by as little as five minutes, the director would shorten the next day's rehearsal by the same amount. Breaks came regularly--and if they were delayed, then they were extended also. (Noting that breaks were usually barely 3-5 minutes, enough time to sit and drink water.)

When I'm in a class or a lecture where the speaker goes on--beyond an hour, sometimes beyond two, I find myself becoming irritated and even resentful towards the speaker, while my concentration plummets. Especially when scheduled breaks have been neglected by the speaker.

How is a student supposed to feel after arriving on time and waiting over an hour or more for an instructor, who then proceeds to lecture for an hour or two without giving students a break? I think the only way a student can feel, in that situation, is that the instructor lacks respect for his time, leading the student to not respect the instructor.

So I'll emphasize again why tardiness is not something seen in the most erudite of scholars, and why I don't believe that it is religiously appropriate. And I maintain that view despite the prevalent disregard for time in some Muslim cultures.

Unfortunately, punctuality can even be an inconvenience in a culture with more lenient and flexible schedule. My husband stresses the importance of arriving promptly to dinner parties--that is, he wants to arrive at the time indicated on the invitation. However, I find myself stalling our departure in order to avoid inconveniencing the hostess. Since most guests tend to arrive 30 minutes or more late, she might not be fully prepared for guests if we arrive "on time." And she might struggle trying to make conversation with me while still cooking and cleaning, leaving me in an awkward position while he goes off to another room with the host.

On the other hand, an American crowd might be expected to arrive 5-10 minutes before the scheduled time. That's why there can be some confusion. Of course, punctuality should be the norm for all events, but I'm not sure what it would take for people to accept that on a wide scale. It's not easy to enforce it with other people, but the least we can do is enforce it on ourselves and make punctuality a fixed attribute for which we are known.

What's Said About Islamophobia

It's been a rough week for American Muslims. With the ICNA Relief fundraiser protest making big news (though it happened a couple weeks ago) and Peter King's congressional hearings, attempting to legitimize prevalent marginalizing stereotypes about Muslims, I've been confused myself about even what to say. The attacks on Muslims seem bizarre and senseless to me, and I haven't even found words to reply.

But not everyone has been rendered speechless. In these days when Shari'ah is being widely misunderstood, the voices below demonstrate wisdom, reason, and calm in response to seemingly frantic anger directed at Muslims, and are worth hearing.

The first, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf on Riz Khan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkzDUJHEw8Q&feature=player_embedded

The second, Shaykh Yasir Qadhi in a Tennessee newspaper, posted at MuslimMatters: http://muslimmatters.org/2011/03/11/yasir-qadhi-a-proud-patriotic-shariah-practicing-american/

Graduate Studies

One thing I learned at the Fiqh of Salah class I took a few months ago was the importance of Qiyyam ul-Layl. Shaykh Yaser Birjas described it as an institution for the Sahabah, that they had to become like students of Qiyyam ul-Layl to develop themselves as Muslims.

I think Ramadan is also a kind of school, teaching us to be better Muslims. So we spend a month engaged in worship--fasting, prayer, charity, and general good deeds--but it's not supposed to stop there. In fact, it should be training us to engage in worship throughout the rest of the year. It's a "boot camp" of sorts to prepare us for the rest of our lives. But it's just the training, and we shouldn't leave everything off when Ramadan is over.

One thing that I started doing a lot more of this Ramadan is Qiyyam ul-Layl. And even though I felt like I didn't get as much from Ramadan as I had really hoped to (in terms of reading and memorizing Qur'an especially), I can at least say that Qiyyam became an easier and regular habit for me. I'm not talking about taraweeh exactly, but praying Qiyyam (specifically Tahajjud) before fajr time. Alhamdulillah that I was able to do it. Over the last few months I've really struggled in trying to make Qiyyam a regular habit, but Ramadan definitely helped me get to that point.

So I like to think now that I am going from the school of Ramadan to the school of Qiyyam ul-Layl, to another level of training and disciplining myself. I pray that Allah accepts my siyam (fasting) and also my qiyam (standing in prayer), and makes me one of those who regularly pray Qiyyam ul-Layl.

UnLearning

Have you ever had to sit through a class that made you feel that you actually lost knowledge, instead of gaining it? I remember hearing Muhammad Alshareef say on a lecture CD that even if we can't benefit from an instructor's knowledge, then we should learn from his character. And if his character is bad, then we can still learn what bad character is and, consequently avoid it ourselves. But such situations are hardly fun, and it's difficult to make them seem worthwhile.

The worst part is that it becomes difficult to be a good student, without any sort of respect for the teacher. Maybe it's a deep inclination I have to disrespect those who disrespect me, but that's an awfully lame excuse. But if the teacher treats me as though I am unimportant, what opinion should I have of him? And if he doesn't prepare for class, why should I?

And there's another problem--sometimes the material might be so poorly presented that instead of increasing knowledge on the subject, and strengthening faith (for material on Islam) it might be possible to actually feel my faith goes down with the information.

How can that be?

Perhaps if the instructor frequently answers questions without actual evidence, but with his opinion instead. Or if he doesn't understand the material he is presenting enough to answer questions at all, beyond the material prepared. Or if he mentions things on other subjects during the presentation with the students know to be incorrect. Or in his general presentation he uses circular logic and insufficient evidence to prove his point.

I think it's possible that some people can be so poorly equipped to lecture that the audience's understanding of the material might actually be detrimentally affected. Any thoughts?

Uloom al-Qur'an at Raleigh Masjid

Since there have been no announcements after jumu'ah khutbas for the last few weeks, you might not have heard about this exciting new seminar at the Raleigh Masjid. While I have been enjoying the relative peace and quiet after salah to make tasbeeh before I find my hands occupied with waves and shakes and hugs, it does seem that this class might be slipping under the radar!

So I'm going to try to give the advertising for this class a little boost, and for many good reasons. I absolutely love the study of the Qur'an--it is the reason I became a Muslim, and for me the strongest proof for the shahadah, that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Messenger of Allah. And what an excellent time this is, to touch the study of the Qur'an--right before Ramadan. Improving our understanding of the sciences of the Qur'an before immersion in it is bound to enhance the experience overall, right?

The info-article on the IAR website (http://islam1.org/) lists a number of questions to be answered in the seminar inshaaAllaah, which I have summarized into a topical format below.

1) The meaning and means of the revelation
2) The means of transmission, collection, and compilation
3) Occasions of revelation
4) Abrogation and specification
5) Al-Ahruf As-Sab`ah

Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian. (15:9)

I haven't actually taken a class on this subject before (and I will definitely attend this one inshaaAllaah), but when I started asking a lot of questions on the subject to the shaykh at my masjid, he directed me to a book called Ulum al-Qur'an, by Ahmad von Denffer, which I purchased once I could get a hold of it. It's really an excellent little book--I'd recommend it for anyone who has doubts or confusion about the compilation of the Qur'an. It's also conveniently available to read online. The other book for this class (I don't think purchasing the books are necessary, by the way) is called An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an, by Yasir Qadhi, and is available for purchase online.

If you're in the area, please spread the word about the class. If you're planning to come, please register. The class will be at the Raleigh Masjid (IAR) on August 7th and 8th (Friday and Saturday) inshaAllaah. Go ahead and register, make du'a for the class and the teacher, and the exact time for the class will be announced later.

Definition of Salah

In my notes on the "linguistic" definition of salah, I have a few different points. Even though Shaykh Yaser Birjas in Fiqh of Salah discussed the linguistic root of the word salah, and so did Shaykh AbdulNasir Jangda in Vocabulary of Salah, the only summary I can give on the subject is that it's not immediately obvious what the root is, or if the word came from another language.

However, there are still some linguistic understandings inherent in the usage of the word, and that is what I will share inshaaAllaah.

So the first linguistic understanding of the word is that it means du'a and istighfar, which in English means supplication and seeking forgiveness. Du'a, or invoking Allah, is the essence of prayer and worship. In English we use the word "prayer" to mean both du'a and istighfar (and even dhikr) but these words in Arabic have special connotations. We can understand however that salah means invoking Allah and asking for His forgiveness.

The second linguistic understanding of the word is that it means forgiveness and mercy. We get this interpretation, which applies to the salat of Allah, from the following ayah:

Allah sends His Salat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc.) on the Prophet (Muhammad SAW) and also His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salat on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad SAW), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation i.e. AsSalamu 'Alaikum). 33:56

In this translation (Muhsin Khan), the word Salat is taken to mean "Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc." when referring to the Salat of Allah. And then the Salat of the angels is asking for Allah to bless and forgive [Muhammad, saws.] And our salat in this case means asking Allah to bless him.

The way Sh. AbdulNasir explained it was to say that if Allah is the "doer" then the salat means to have mercy on, and to grant blessings. And if the "doers" are the angels then it means that they seek forgiveness. And if the "doer" is a human being, then it simply means to worship.

One other meaning of the word salah, is that the plural form (salawat) can mean masajid, or places of prayer, as in ayah 22:40.

The technical definition of salah, however, is how we understand the term today. That is, worshiping Allah by means of particular prescribed sayings and actions in a particular order at particular prescribed times, beginning with takbir (Allaahu Akbar) and ending with tasleem (As-salaamu alaykum).

Improving Your Prayer

Alhamdulillah, I've recently had the opportunity to attend two excellent classes on salah--the first was AlMaghrib's Divine Link: Fiqh of Salah, and the second was Bayyinah's Meaningful Prayer: Vocabulary of Salah. So I've had the opportunity to go over salah from both fiqh and linguistic perspectives, something that has impacted my own prayer in a way that I cannot describe.

I want to keep the information fresh, which means I'll need to go over it a few more times, so inshaaAllaah I might be using my blog as a platform to do that.

The first and most powerful thing that I learned was the importance of qiyyam ul-layl prayers. Praying at night isn't something that I ever really did outside of Ramadan, except for an occasional witr. My excuse was always that I didn't know enough Qur'an, and that as I learned Qur'an I would start. Kind of a lame excuse, I guess. Shaykh Yaser Birjas recommended praying Qiyyam even if you only know Surah Ikhlaas, just repeat it over and over to make a long standing segment. Recite it beautifully, reflect upon it. So not knowing Qur'an shouldn't be a reason to abstain from Qiyyam.

We learned in the class that the Companions had to pray Qiyyam every night for a year, as an obligation--and for most of us I think it's a rare occurance, and we tire quickly. I remember my first Ramadan, praying taraweeh wore me out awfully--going just a few times a week seemed a burden, I couldn't concentrate, and I just wanted to sit down. My third Ramadan it actually surprised me how short each rak'ah was, since I expected it to be so long as to make me tired. It wasn't any shorter, I was just getting used to it. Alhamdulillah.

But praying Qiyyam--and I don't mean taraweeh exactly, but actually praying by yourself at night, in your home, in the quiet of the night--has benefits for the believer. It's like an institution, strengthening your iman. You should spend the time reciting the Qur'an and reflecting on it.

Shaykh Yaser even said that this is his advice for people with low iman. They complain that they can't wake up to pray, and so he tells them that this is the solution--praying Qiyyam. Especially waking up to pray it (tahajjud). And from my own experience, it can encourage you to learn even more Qur'an, so you have even more you can recite in Qiyyam (without repeating it.)

Now here's a bit of trivia: What's the difference between tahajjud and qiyyam ul-layl? Qiyyam ul-Layl is any prayer prayed at night after 'isha before fajr time, ideally with long standing (which is what qiyyam means.) Tahajjud is a kind of qiyyam ul-layl, which you pray after going to sleep, so you had to wake up to pray it. And this is best especially in the last third of the night. Taraweeh is also a kind of Qiyyam ul-Layl, which is prayed in Ramadan, with resting between the sets of four raka'at (the root word implies rest.)

Between Shyness and Arrogance

A few weeks ago, my imam said something that I found interesting. He said that knowledge is lost between shyness and arrogance. Though perhaps it makes more sense, based on what he was trying to say, to state that knowledge is gained between them, as if they are two ends of a spectrum, and being at either end is where you lose the knowledge. He couldn't off-hand remember the source, and it was a rough translation, and I myself haven't found the source, but still it seems poignant enough to address, even just as a nice quote (since I can't validate its origins.)

Basically what it's saying is that a person does not gain knowledge when affected by either extreme shyness or arrogance. The shy person is afraid to ask question, afraid even to go to classes. Think of some Muslims who were too shy to ask their questions to an imam--I think this is especially true for sisters. Or sisters who are too shy to attend a class on Islam, and so they don't learn, because their shyness hinders them. It doesn't mean that shyness is bad, because of course women are encouraged to be modest, especially around men. Just remember the statement of Aisha, "How good are the women of Ansar that their shyness does not prevent them from learning religion." (link)

And as for arrogance, the person who thinks that he already knows a thing cannot be taught it. Instead it takes humility before the teacher. Arrogant students will either get bored or even try to contradict the teacher. I had such disdain for my high school band teacher that I couldn't have learned anything from him, even though he was the one who had the college degree in music. I was arrogant about my own knowledge (I had been taking private lessons for years before I met him and certainly wasn't ignorant) and consequently was unable to benefit from any of his.

So when it comes to learning about Islam in particular, we should be between these two extremes. Not arrogant about what we already know so that we refuse to learn anything from the teacher, nor too shy to inquire and seek the knowledge.

I'd like to add that when attending the AlMaghrib seminars I have, that I found the students to be in such a state--humble enough to receive knowledge from the shaykh, and yet bold enough to ask their questions. And this was the case equally (or so it seemed) among brothers and sisters. There was equal time devoted to answering questions of brothers and sisters. This only makes me love that environment anymore--the students who are dedicated to seeking knowledge.

Course Correction

Lately I've been listening to a CD set of Imam Anwar al-Awlaki's Lives of the Prophets, which I recommend for anyone who has the chance. To really maximize the experience, I suggest you read the section of Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Kathir (which is available in English) before listening to the story as told by the imam. That's because when you can listen to the imam you get not just the story of that particular prophet, but usually several lessons which might be learned from his story as presented in the Qur'an (and sometimes in the sunnah also.) Familiarity with the story beforehand will make it easier for you to focus on understanding the lessons.

This morning I finished Vol.1 (or rather, I came to the end, as I did not start at the beginning so can't really say I "finished") which describes the story of the Prophet Yunus, as, called Jonah in English. Jonah is the prophet who stopped making da'wah to his people out of frustration, and left them, so Allah punished him by having him be swallowed by a fish.

And [mention] the man of the fish, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." 21:87

From the darkness of the belly of the fish, in the darkness of the sea, in the darkness of the night, Jonah called out to His Lord with this du'a. And Allah tells us in the Qur'an (37:144) that Jonah would have remained in the belly of the fish until the Day of Resurrection had he not been of those who glorified Allah.

So when we make mistakes, we should first turn back to Allah, and put things back in focus--that Allah is the only ilah, the only one to worship (we say this in salaah daily: Iyyaka na'budu, and laa ilaaha illAllaah), and that our lives should be worship of Him, glorifying Him. (We also glorify Him in salaah: subhana rabbiyal-'adheem, subhaana rabbiyal-a'la) So we need to admit when we are wrong, and understand how and why we were wrong.

And also, understanding our mistakes is a way to avoid them later on. That's why it's interesting to point out that after Jonah turned back to Allah, Allah granted him success in his da'wah--his people believed, and so Allah did not punish them. (10:98)

By Rote

Every now and again I hear people debate the merits of memorizing things. Over the last few years I think I have refined my own opinion on the matter. Those proponents of memorization point out that it serves as a foundation of readily accessible information, while the opponents of it encourage developing knowledge at higher levels and so find memorization unnecessary.

When I think of memorization, there are basically two experiences I recall from high school, from two of the best teachers I had in high school. My math teacher, who taught me in 9th and 10th grades (Geometry and Algebra II), actively encouraged memorization, especially in Geometry. Before high school, geometry always seemed like fun--"We get to draw circles and triangles!"--and I never realized what the point of a whole class on the subject was about, until I realized that the point of the class was more to learn how to logically prove things. And proofs required a handy arsenal of theorems and postulates and corollaries, which would do you absolutely no good unless you had them memorized. So we had them drummed into our head by the teacher yelling the name of the theorem or what have you, then she would slap someone's desk with a yard stick. (Louder and scarier than a ruler.) And the class, terrified by the yelling and slapping, would shout back the statement of the theorem requested. It really was terrifying, but we sure memorized those things pretty quick. And we needed to--because without actually knowing them, we couldn't go about proving much of anything.

On the other hand, my English teacher, who taught me in 10th and 11th grades (World and American literature), would say that memorization is the lowest level of knowledge, or education. In that class we were not trying to memorize verbatim what she taught, but to take it in and ruminate on it, and then arrive at some conclusion piecing together lots of different kinds of information. I guess that was supposed to be a more sophisticated learning process, getting the mind to explore new directions and ideas.

But both philosophies have merit--both methods of teaching were useful. And I think they actually support each other. First of all, memorization is important--it has been downplayed in recent years, even decades perhaps, because basic information is so readily available: in textbooks or the internet. So we can all be geniuses if we have Google handy, right? And that's why independent thought is also important--to siphon through all that information, to process it and from it derive a conclusion.

In a different discipline--like learning Islam--I think both philosophies still have merit. And isn't it true that if we look at the Scholars of Islam, we see that they both had prepared an adequate arsenal of knowledge, but that they were also able to determine the meaning in the information at hand, and to arrive at new conclusions from the evidence at hand?

So it's nice that we can have thousands of ahadith available in a searchable database, but it's not the same as having it immediately accessible in the brain. That database cannot replace an actual scholar, even if he hasn't memorized all those ahadith! What a scholar can do is take an hadith that might be different in subject matter from what a questioner is looking for, and derive from it principles necessary to answer the question. A search engine can't do that.

And I read something recently written, I think, by Hamza Yusuf, who was describing the difference between people called "daytime scholars," and "nighttime scholars." In the daytime, books and references would be available, so a person who had not memorized all those texts could still access them and thus impart knowledge and wisdom from them. But in the nighttime, without his sources available to him, he wasn't much of a scholar at all. The nighttime scholar, on the other hand, is the scholar worth being: the one who has memorized the books so that when asked a question, regardless of the situation (i.e., day or night,) he can still answer the question.

It seemed to me a compelling reason to try at least to memorize some Islamic knowledge, rather than leaving it in books. If it's in books, and someone asks you, you can refer them to a book. But if you memorize, then you can replace the book, right? And if you have memorized and learned deduction, then you can actually start answering.

The Path of Shepherds

I've just had the opportunity (alhamdulillah!) to attend an Al-Maghrib double-weekend seminar on the two weekends either side of my spring break, this past weekend and the one before. The topic of the seminar was the Seerah, i.e., life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and it was called The Shepherd's Path. (Taught by Shaykh AbdulBary Yahya, may Allah protect him)

One thing we learned in the seminar was that all the prophets were shepherds, even Muhammad saws. And we learned some of the lessons that a person learns by being a shepherd. I found them interesting and profound, so I thought I would share these on my blog.

Basically there were six major lessons learned from being a shepherd.

Firstly, patience. Sometimes a flock doesn't want to go where they need to go, so the shepherd has to have patience while trying to lead them in the right direction. The Messengers (pbut) needed patience when trying to guide people to the truth, because people wouldn't necessarily accept it. Recal that Noah (pbuh) was preaching for 950 years with only a few people accepting his message.

Secondly, gentleness. This is because sheep especially are very gentle animals--it doesn't work to be harsh with them. Similarly, people are also turned off when someone is harsh or rude with them, so the Messengers (pbut) needed to learn how to be gentle.

Thirdly, being a shepherd allows one the opportunity to reflect on God's creation. Because the shepherd has to lead the flock away from cities and such so the animals can graze, he can look at the mountains and the valleys and the sky and think about the wonders of God's creation. This makes me think of Psalm 8 in the Bible which mentions the creation as demonstrative of the Majesty of our Lord.

Fourthly, the job of a shepherd is to bring the flock away from danger, without them knowing they are in danger. And that is basically what the Messengers (pbut) had to do--to guide mankind without the people really understanding the danger of neglecting their message. The shepherd is able to see danger before the flock can, and the Messengers (pbut) also had knowledge that we do not, because of revelation. There is a teaching from Muhammad (saws) that gives the example of someone having set a bonfire in the desert, and of insects (like moths) trying to jump into the fire because of the bright light, but he, the Messenger (saws) was trying to grab them all and keep them from jumping into the fire.

Fifthly, being a shepherd teaches responsibility. The shepherd has to answer to a higher authority (i.e., the owner of the sheep) if something bad happens to them.

And lastly, being a shepherd teaches the value of work. The Prophet Muhammad saws was working as a shepherd to help his uncle Abu Talib provide for the family. It wasn't exactly easy work, and the wages were typically low, but it was still a way for the shepherd to contribute to his family's livelihood or to earn some money for himself by working, as the job was typically most suited for young boys.

So overall being a shepherd was like training to be a leader and to be a teacher, giving the Messengers (pbut) the qualities they needed to preach the message. There is a lot we can learn from that, I think, to be a da'ee. These are the qualities that someone who wants to teach Islam and call people to Islam needs to have. Especially since we are trying to follow in the footsteps of the prophets, pbut, and the footsteps of our beloved Messenger, Muhammad saws.

Why are Ilminars so late?

I'm not sure how it happened, exactly. Maybe it was trying to download Muhammad Alshareef's Ramadan Journal, or maybe it was signing up for my first Al-Maghrib Seminar in Atlanta (which I won't be attending anyway.) But somehow I started getting emails about "Ilminars."

Has anyone besides me noticed a bizarre fascination with the world ilm by the Al-Maghrib folks? (IlmFest, IlmQuest, IlmFruits, Ilm Summit, and Ilminar?) It is quite possible that you might not have received this ilmformation:

ilm·in·ar –noun
High Powered LIVE webinars presenting beneficial Ilm(Knowledge)

So anyway, there is a Qur'anic Sciences Ilminar on Wednesday. In case you aren't getting these emails and you want to attend, here's the RSVP link www.almaghrib.org/ilminar with more information.

What kind of bothers me, though, is that it doesn't start until 9:50pm. EST (Which I think is really code for starting at 10pm with 10 minutes of buffer time.) I tried listening to one of these webin-- er, ilminars before, and it was interesting but at the same time I was sooo ready to fall asleep for the last half hour, and I didn't know how long it was going to last. And it started at 8:30! I could kind of understand 8:30, so people on the West Coast can listen too. But really, I'm kind of disappointed that this one starts so late.

I really hate to start listening to something and then hoping that it will end soon just so I can sleep. But I anticipate this one to last at least an hour and a half... meaning 11:30 before I can go to sleep. And I wouldn't be surprised if it goes longer, up until midnight. So I wonder if maybe I shouldn't just skip it for being too late?

To What Does a Da'ee Call?

So far I've written two posts from my class on da'wah, namely 12 Characteristics of an Effective Da'ee, and The Recipients of Da'wah. This is the third, and the conclusion of the section on the pillars of da'wah. If you remember the first pillar of da'wah is the da'ee or the person who is doing the inviting, while the second pillar is the person receiving da'wah or being invited. Now the third pillar is what the da'ee is calling to, the actual da'wah which is of course Islam, the natural answer to the question asked in the title of this post.

Allow me to refresh the old analogy as well, wherein the da'ee is compared to a salesperson, and the person receiving da'wah (mad'oo) is compared to a customer. The da'wah to Islam is therefore the product being sold and bought in the transaction analogy. And there are many ways to describe Islam to somebody, but if we as callers to Islam want to know how to effectively present it to someone else, then it's useful to understand it in the ways I'm presenting it here.

First let's look at the meaning of Islam--it is total submission or surrender to God, to Allah, and it existed before the Prophet Muhammad (saaws). This is a general definition, describing Islam as being followed by Noah (and his followers) and Abraham (and his followers), and Moses (and his followers) and Jesus (and his followers.) All these groups could be considered to be Muslims under this broad definition. But more specifically when we talk about Islam we are referring to the deen of Muhammad. By deen I mean "religion" or "way of life." Muhammad (saaws) surrendered and called his people to Islam, and to Islam is what we are calling the people as well.

So now we look at Islam as having three main parts, namely 'aqeedah, shari'ah, and akhlaaq. We cannot present Islam as existing as only one of these parts, but must understand all three.

'Aqeedah of course means (roughly) beliefs. The pillars of imaan (belief in Allah, angels, prophets/messengers, scriptures, day of judgment, and the qadr of Allah) and other parts of iman fall under the category of 'aqeedah. This is also the theological aspects of Islam.

Shari'ah means the laws of Islam, and the differentiation between what is halal (lawful, permissible) and haraam (not permissible, unlawful).

Akhlaaq refers to good manners and morals.

So when we present Islam we should note that there are these three parts or dimensions to Islam, and by excluding any of the above the Islam is incomplete. After realizing that there are these three parts to Islam as a product, we move on to the characteristics of Islam which make it distinctive and why Islam is better than other religions. Specifically, these are the reasons why a person (mad'oo) would want to "buy" Islam from the da'ee, and why someone would choose to be a Muslim instead of following another religion or way of life. The da'ee should be familiar with these characteristics just like a salesperson should understand the features of the product he is trying to sell, in order to explain its advantages to the customer.

So these are the characteristics of Islam which should be conveyed when giving da'wah.

(1) From Allah - The first characteristic of Islam is that it came from Allah, and not from humans. This means that the beliefs have been prescribed by Allah ('aqeedah), as have the laws (shari'ah), and the moral behavior (akhlaaq) is also the result of Divine Guidance--from Allah.

(2) Complete - The second characteristic of Islam is that it is a complete way of life, meaning it is not devoid of any aspect, nor does it need mankind to finish, improvise, or add anything to it.

(3) Clear - The third characteristic of Islam is that it is clear so that people can understand it. Islam has answers for all of a person's questions, and in a way that mankind can understand and implement.

(4) Comprehensive - In addition to being a complete way of life (#2), Islam is also comprehensive, meaning that it covers all aspects of human existence. It provides guidelines and instructions for both children and parents, for rulers and those who are ruled, for example. It applies to individuals, to families, and to entire societies.

(5) Balanced - The fifth characteristic of Islam is that it is balanced between physical and spiritual aspects, and it is also moderate (not extreme.) This means that everything is to be given its right, and physical needs are balanced with spiritual needs without a person going to an extreme in either approach.

(6) Practical - Islam is also a practical religion (way of life), so that even if it becomes difficult, it is made easier. For example, if it becomes difficult for a person to stand for 5 daily prayers, he may sit. In this way Islam does not become a burden on its adherents.

So these six characteristics are that Islam came from Allah, is a complete way of life that is clear and comprehensive, while also being balanced and practical. There are an additional 5 characteristics (for lack of a better word) of Islam. These are things a da'ee should be aware of when helping someone to accept Islam.

(1) Allah (SWT) made the deen easy and removed the hardship from it. Human nature is weak, but since Islam has been made easy it is not a problem to adhere to it.

(2) Islam was implemented gradually during the lifetime of Muhammad (saaws) so that the hearts of the people could change. This should be applied towards dealing with other Muslims who might be attached (addicted) to certain bad behaviors in this life.

(3) In any act of worship (of Allah), mankind cannot initiate anything without proof. And the proof must come from Allah. So in Islam we have a way of worshiping our Lord that He Himself has taught us.

(4) Islam combines between firmness and flexibility as appropriate. For example, in transactions there is flexibility, that things are assumed to be permissible unless they have been forbidden, with proof.

The last point I have is the 3 kinds of rights in Islam--the rights that a Muslim needs to make sure are fulfilled.

1. Rights of Allah - The first right is the Right of Allah, that we worship Him alone and do not associate anything with Him in worship.
2. Rights of Self - The body has both spiritual needs and physical needs like food, education, and security, and has the right that these needs are fulfilled.
3. Rights of Others - The last kind of rights in Islam are those of other humans, and non-humans. A person's relatives have a right on him, and his neighbors have a right on him, as do all the Muslims, and in fact all of mankind. For non-human rights, these are the rights of the environment and animals, for example.

So when a da'ee is calling someone to Islam, these are the things to keep in mind. Especially important is the answer to the following questions: Why should someone accept Islam? Why should that person be a Muslim, instead of being a Jew, a Christian, an atheist, or something else? What is special about Islam?

Without addressing the points mentioned in the post, it's likely that a person might get a distorted view of Islam from the da'wah, and see Islam as either only laws (shari'ah) or only belief ('aqeedah) or only good manners (akhlaaq). And unfortunately many people get this impression about Islam, that they just need to be a "good person" or that if they follow all the rules they are following Islam. This I think especially applies to da'wah towards Muslims. When giving da'wah to non-Muslims, it's important to point out that Islam is as mentioned, from Allah, our Creator, and that it is complete, clear, comprehensive, balanced and practical.

To give da'wah is to be on the sabeel or way of the Prophet Muhammad (saaws), as Allah SWT says in the Qur'an

Say, "This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah ; and I am not of those who associate others with Him." (12:108)

So May Allah make us among those who follow this Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (saaws) and increase in those attributes where we are weak.

This post is based on my notes from a class with the imam on da'wah, but the commentary is pretty much my own words--so please forgive me for any mistakes as they are my own, while anything good is from Allah SWT and all praise is for Him.


part 1 / part 2 / part 3

The end of summer

My summer officially ended today, as I returned to school for what I truly hope is my second-to-last semester. I've resolved to strive harder in school this semester than I have in the past--something that I think I can do since a number of burdens have been lifted from my shoulders.

But as I look back over the last couple of months, I realize that it has been a wild ride. It has snagged me in a few places, and I stopped to lick my wounds--wounds that are now turning in to scars, some larger than others. So I just wanted to share my thoughts and reflections as I look back.

I decided in the spring that I would not be taking any classes over the summer. I knew that meant that I would have to forego any chance of graduating in the fall. If I had taken summer school, it would have been possible, but I was burnt out on many levels. My attitude towards school had become largely apathetic, and my participation in class about as low as you can imagine. But aside from school I was still working and organizing things for the masjid, and delivering presentations for school groups at the masjid and elsewhere. Another reason I opted out of summer school was simply that I couldn't afford it. But I really needed a break--and I didn't even realize how much I needed it.

But once school finished I started working full time, 40 hours a week. And that was light! My work never came home with me, I never had deadlines for projects hanging over my head, no tests to study for, no homework assignments, or anything like that. And with that, when I came home from work I could easily tend to things that during school often got little attention--like dirty dishes, piles of laundry, and a dusty bookcase.

Since the masjid was offering a variety of classes on weeknights after maghrib, I made a point to start attending them. Going every night turned out to be too much for me, and eventually I was only going to one class in the week. But alhamdulillah, I haven't missed a single session of that class (except for when it was cancelled), and by sticking through it I've been able to get some really valuable notes that I've posted on my blog!

I also volunteered to help the Youth program, which had a schedule organized for middle and high school with different activities on Friday nights. I took over the "education" portion and prepared some videos to show them. That ended up falling through in about a month, since truly the communication was just sub par, with the girls not knowing where/when their activities were held and ultimately not showing up at all.

And there has been the tajweed course, which was really just amazing alhamdulillah. Br. Wisam Sharieff from the Bayyinah Institute came to Raleigh in June to teach a tajweed course, and alhamdulillah I've been able to continue taking the followups ever since. In the course he basically taught all the rules of tajweed, and in the followups we practice, learning a new surah from the 30th Juz each week, and reviewing the rules in that surah and reciting to an instructor. I really feel that taking this class has helped improve my relationship with the Qur'an--and it should, since now I'm reading Qur'an much much much more often, and much more easily.

There have also been some unhappy times this summer. When my roommate got married and I became temporarily homeless, and then my own engagement was broken off. These two overlapping circumstances made my life incredibly difficult for a little while, but alhamdulillah--with difficulty comes ease. I moved and now am relatively comfortably settled in my new place, and Allah SWT has brought someone else into my life to help heal my wounds.

I have since embarked on a fitness plan that so far has helped me lose an astonishing 14 pounds, and I purchased a bicycle that, though exhausting, makes me truly happy to ride. So alhamdulillah for everything. The summer is over and life moves on. And now I'm back in school trying to reacquaint myself with the concept of homework!

The Recipients of Da'wah

I mentioned in my previous post, 12 Characteristics of the Da'ee, that there are essentially three pillars of da'wah. Da'wah is of course defined as three stages which are conveying the message of Islam, teaching Islam to the people, and helping them to implement it in their lives. The three pillars are first the da'ee, or person calling and inviting to Islam, second the mad'oo, or people being called to Islam, and thirdly the actual object of the da'wah which is of course Islam.

When discussing the recipients of da'wah (the mad'oo) as I have titled this post, it's useful to understand both the categories of people, and their rights. While there is a specific breakdown into difference groups of people we must first understand that this pillar of da'wah, the recipients of the da'wah, comprises all human beings. Every person fits in somewhere. I don't say that to pronounce judgment on anyone, but to drive home the point that everybody can and should receive da'wah, and that there is no class of people who should be exempt.

The two main categories of people are obviously Muslims and non-Muslims, which are both then further categorized. It is useful to understand these classifications because it is a requirement of a successful salesperson to "know the customer." And we can use here the analogy of da'wah to sales, whereby there is a salesperson, a customer, and a product. The salesperson is the da'ee who is conveying or teaching Islam, while the customer is the one being called to Islam, and Islam itself is the product of that transaction. So the salesperson, in order to be a good salesperson, must understand who his customer is, and what they are looking for, and also the most appropriate way to approach them.

When the Prophet Muhammad (saaws) sent Mu'adh to Yemen, he instructed him to first call the people to laa ilaaha illAllah, Muhammad ar-Rasoolullah, and if they accepted that then to call them to establish the salaat, and if they accepted that then to call them to pay the zakaat. The people in Yemen of course were Christians, and this was the approach suggested by the Prophet Muhammad (saws) in dealing with them.

So let me start with the categories of non-Muslims, who make up 4 primary groups.

1. Atheists: The first group of non-Muslims is atheists, who are those with no belief in God at all.
2. Idol Worshippers: In Arabic, mushrikeen, this group is referring to people who worship any kind of idol, or associate any partner in their worship of God.
3. People of the Book: This category is significant, referring to people who received the message (of Islam) before, and then changed it so they are now misguided. An extra note on this group is that the people will be in the hellfire if they reject Muhammad (saaws) who was the Messenger for all of mankind. And on the other hand, the people of the book of course have a special status in fiqh.
4. Hypocrites: The last category of people are the munafiqoon in Arabic, who are those people pretending to be Muslims while they in fact do not believe. They first appeared in Medina, and will be in the lowest level (most tortured) in hellfire for their actions.

The Da'ee must know and understand the non-Muslims like a physician must know his patients in order to treat them.

Muslims are also categorized, which I stress again to point out that Muslims also are in need of da'wah and should be included among the recipients of da'wah. So we classify them into three levels. And even though it might seem like common sense, all three are listed because da'wah should be given to all three groups, to either improve (2 & 3) or to maintain (1) their adherence and righteousness.

1. The first describes those who are always at the highest level of righteousness. At this level the da'wah should be primarily to encourage the person to maintain his level of righteousness, and to guide him towards extra (nawafil) acts by which he can draw even nearer to Allah.
2. The second is the lowest level, describing those who are Muslims but are not adherent. If we recall again the instructions of the Prophet Muhammad (saaws) to Muadh, we understand that guidance occurs slowly, one pillar at a time. First the da'ee guides to laa ilaaha illAllah, but for the Muslims who accept that, the da'ee will guide to salaat first, then zakaat, then siyaam, then hajj, and not try to overwhelm a person by having them implement all these things at once. It is also important for the da'ee to remind the people to repent, and ask forgiveness.
3. And the third is those who are between the first and second. For this person who is between the two levels, the da'wah should focus on fulfilling the obligations on Muslims, and avoiding the major sins. For a person who does that, he should be guided towards the voluntary acts to draw nearer to Allah.

I gave the previous analogy of the da'ee being like a physician who must know his patients, and it is crucial that a da'ee is able to understand the people to whom he is giving da'wah, before he calls them. Here is another example: suppose there is a person who is dealing in haraam activities, perhaps his income his haraam, so he won't go on hajj. The Shaytaan comes and tells him that his hajj wouldn't be accepted so he might as well not go. And tells him that his prayer won't be accepted so he might as well not pray. The da'wah should focus on guiding this person towards ibaadah (worship). The imam gave another analogy here, describing good deeds and bad deeds like deposits and withdrawals into a bank. If the account is empty, you need to make deposits before you can make withdrawals. In that way, just encourage people to follow bad deeds with good ones, and just go step by step.

The first portion of the class I saved for the last in this post, since I considered it the most profound and significant message, and this is the rights of the recipients of da'wah. While they do have a responsibility, according to the author, to actually accept the truth in the message and open their heart, it seems to me to be better to focus on what the responsibilities are of the da'ee to ensure that the rights of the mad'oo are respected.

Now there are basically two rights, the first of which is simply the right that the person actually receives the da'wah. This is like a right of a customer to actually receive a salesperson to explain the product to him. If a customer walks into a store and no salesperson comes to help him out, then this demonstrates poor salesmanship. And in our case, it would be poor da'wah, but since all human beings are the recipients of da'wah, there shouldn't be any waiting for the people to come to us to start our da'wah. Regardless of whether they come or not, they still have the right to hear from a da'ee.

The second right is a responsibility of the da'ee, and it is that the da'ee makes the time and effort to actually give the person the da'wah. The imam gave us the example here of the blind man who came to Muhammad (saaws) to hear some verses of the Qur'an, while Muhammad (saaws) was busy trying to give da'wah to a member (or a group) of the elite in Meccan society. Muhammad chose then to ignore the blind man, and because of that some verses (Abasa 80:1-10) were revealed admonishing him for his mistake. The message here is that every single person has an equal right to receive da'wah.

To give da'wah is to be on the sabeel or way of the Prophet Muhammad (saaws), as Allah SWT says in the Qur'an

Say, "This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah ; and I am not of those who associate others with Him."
(12:108)

So May Allah make us among those who follow this Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (saaws) and increase in those attributes where we are weak.This post is based on my notes from a class with the imam on da'wah, but the commentary is pretty much my own words--so please forgive me for any mistakes as they are my own, while anything good is from Allah SWT and all praise is for Him.

part 1 / part 2 / part 3

12 Characteristics of an Effective Da'ee

When Muslims talk about Islamic Da'wah, or inviting people to the way of Islam, they are basically talking about three different stages of promoting Islam. The first (of three) is inviting people to Islam by conveying the message. That is only one stage, which is followed by teaching Islam to the people who accept the message. And the third stage is actually helping people to implement Islam in their lives. So when I talk about da'wah in this post, I am referring to all three of these stages collectively, and not only the first (as many people perceive.) Therefore da'wah is not directed only to non-Muslims but to Muslims as well, at various levels of knowledge and iman.

Now basically there are three pillars of da'wah. Just like there are pillars of Islam (5), pillars of iman (6), and even pillars of salaat, there are pillars of da'wah, and they are three (3). This almost seems like a common sense breakdown, but is useful when trying to understand and analyze the concept of da'wah and methods of it. Of the three pillars of da'wah, the first is the caller to Islaam, or the da'ee. The second pillar is the audience of the message, the people who are being called to Islam. And the third pillar is the message itself, what the da'ee is calling to--Islam. Although I'm reluctant to use this analogy, the pillars of da'wah can be likened to sales, where there exists a salesman, a buyer, and a product being sold. It's a useful analogy, but I don't like thinking of Islam as being literally 'sold,' especially as salesmen (analogous to the da'ees) are often considered to be liars in this culture. Or maybe it's just that I have a bad experience with salesmen. Anyway, these are the three essential pillars of da'wah.

Now, as was mentioned above, the da'ee is the person who is basically calling people to Islam, conveying the message, and trying to teach the people and help them to apply Islam. The first da'ee or messenger was Nuh (i.e., Noah, pbuh), and the first da'ee in our ummah was Muhammad, saaws. Because the da'ee is calling to Allah SWT, he is in the highest and most honorable role, and is promised a great reward. But in order to be an effective da'ee, there are essential characteristics, even required attributes which a person must possess--they have been summarized here into 12, the 12 characteristics (or requirements) of an effective da'ee.

1. Iman - The first essential characteristic mentioned is to have a strong faith or belief in what the da'ee is calling to, which is Islam.

2. Good Relationship with Allah - The second characteristic is to have a good relationship with the One to whom the da'ee is calling, Allah SWT. This characteristic can be broken down into two parts: sincerity, and love.

• Ikhlaas means sincerity, and the da'ee must be pure in his intentions. He should be worshiping Allah SWT with sincerity and purity, and not be maintaing what could be called merely a superficial relationship. It should be sincere.
• Love for Allah SWT is the second part, and a da'ee should love Allah SWt in his heart in order to be an effective da'ee or even a strong Muslim. There are ways to cultivate love for Allah SWT which can be reviewed in my post entitled Loving Allah.

3. Knowledge - A person calling to Islam should also have strong, solid knowledge of what he is calling to, which means the da'ee should know Islam, and also know why Islam is better than any alternative paths.

4. Application - The da'ee must also implement what he calls for, as it is not appropriate to call people to do what he himself cannot apply in his own life. Sometimes this is called 'practicing what you preach.' It is very important for the da'ee to implement Islam in his own life before calling others to it.

5. Awareness - The da'ee should have awareness of basically three principles:

• Awareness of the reality of da'wah in his lifetime and place, such that he knows the means of giving da'wah in his particular circumstances and time.
• Awareness of the reality of the condition of the people he is calling to Islam, such that he understands their experience and their options.
• Awareness of his personal capabilities, as a person cannot give da'wah beyond his capabilities so he should be aware of his own limits.

6. Wisdom - Wisdom in the way of da'wah means that a da'ee can give the message gradually, at the level which people are able to understand. Giving them more information than they can grasp will lead to more confusion and fitnah, so it is better to give people only what they are capable of understanding. We can see of course that the message of Islam was delivered gradually, for over two decades, as the people were able to progress in their understanding and iman.

7. Good Manners - While good manners attract people, poor manners repel them, and manners attract people much more than speech, so it is essential that the da'ee has good manners. The most important of the good manners is patience, as Muhammad (saaws) was advised to have patience as the messengers before him had patience.

8. Giving Muslims the Benefit of the Doubt - The da'ee should give the Muslims the benefit of the doubt, and respect, because if he doesn't, people will always have the worst interpretation of a person's actions. The da'ee needs to show respect so that people will open their hearts.

9. Covering the Faults of People - When a doctor treats a patient, there is a strict rule of confidentiality, which is essential for a patient to be able to trust his physician. He needs to trust that the doctor will not reveal the person's shortcomings and weaknesses to others. Similarly, the da'ee should cover people's shortcomings so that they are able to trust him, not fearing that he will reveal their flaws to their friends or community.

10. Mixing and Isolating Appropriately - This characteristic means that the da'ee mixes with the people when it is best to mix with them, which is when he can help them. But at the same time, it means he refrains from mixing with them, or isolates himself, when mixing with them would be harmful. It is good to mix with the people, but isolation is preferred if the mixing would allow the group to bring down the da'ee.

11. Giving Due Respect - This implies that the da'ee gives everyone the respect which is due to their position, which means respect the scholars, the elderly, and people who have been given authority. This way the disrespect will not block the haqq from reaching their minds. We have an example of this behavior in the Prophet (saaws) who at the conquest of Mecca said that anyone inside the Haram or staying in their homes would be safe, as well as anyone staying in the House of Abu Sufyan--this showed respect to Abu Sufyan.

12. Cooperating with other Da'ees - This final characteristic is that the da'ee should cooperate with others who are calling to Islam (plural is du'aat by the way) and this is because they are working for the same objective, and working for the same ilaah. So they should help each other, give each other advice, and make consultation, instead of competing and trying to defeat each other.

Now it's important to note that just because a person might not have all of these characteristics doesn't mean he cannot be a da'ee, it just means that he won't be as effective, and perhaps that he is not giving da'wah correctly. So what a da'ee should do if he finds himself lacking in any of these attributes, is to improve himself. If he has bad manners, he should improve his manners. If he lacks knowledge, he should acquire knowledge. And if he has been accusing Muslims instead of covering their faults then he should try to give them the benefit of the doubt.

To give da'wah is to be on the sabeel or way of the Prophet Muhammad (saaws), as Allah SWT says in the Qur'an

Say, "This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah ; and I am not of those who associate others with Him." (12:108)

So May Allah make us among those who follow this Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (saaws) and increase in those attributes where we are weak.

This post is based on my notes from a class with the imam on da'wah, but the commentary is pretty much my own words--so please forgive me for any mistakes as they are my own, while anything good is from Allah SWT and all praise is for Him.

part 1 / part 2 / part 3

My Life Goal

So do you think that you know me pretty well? Either you know me in person or you read my blog--what is it I'm looking for? Maybe you know... maybe you don't. I'll tell you, in one word: knowledge. 'Ilm, precisely, Islamic knowledge. Every smaller goal in my life only serves this greater goal, which is to learn more about Islam, to learn more about my Lord, and to better serve Him.

It's a serious business, and very important to have the right intention. Related by Bukhari and Muslim, 'Umar bin Al-Khattab narrated that the Prophet (saaws) said:

Actions are but by intention and every man shall have but that which he
intended.

Moreover, Abu Dawud related that Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (saaws) said:

He who does not acquire knowledge with the sole intention of seeking the Pleasure of Allah but for worldly gain, will not smell the fragrance of Jannah on the Day of Resurrection.

In fact, we know of another hadith reported by Muslim from Abu Hurayrah that among the first people who will be judged on the Day of Judgment is a martyr who fought only to be called brave, so he will be thrown into hell, and a person who gave charity only to be called generous so he will be thrown into hell, and a person who learned and studied Islam only so that he would be called a scholar. So I reiterate that it is important, absolutely necessary to have the right intention in acquiring knowledge, which means solely for the pleasure of Allah.

So why would I want to acquire knowledge in the first place, instead of just trying to do a lot of worship? First of all, I have Allah alone to thank for guiding me to Islam--and yet this is only one of the many blessings the Most Merciful has given me. And yet, Allah says in the Qur'an (35:28) what means:

Only those fear Allah , from among His servants, who have knowledge.

So it takes knowledge to be a true servant of Allah, who sincerely fears Allah. And if we are to be between hope and fear, then knowledge is essential to cultivate a true understanding. Allah also says in the Qur'an (39:9) what means:

Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]? Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?" Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding.

This ayah is just full of the value of knowledge... I really can't say any words to better describe it than these so I won't even try. Knowledge is also a means of gaining reward in the Hereafter, since Allah has also said (58:11) what means:

Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees.

And He told His Messenger Muhammad to say, this du'a (20:114):

My Lord, increase me in knowledge.

Rabbee zidnee 'ilma.

So we can ask now, is knowledge a blessing? And yes, of course it is. Bukhari and Muslim have reported that Mu'awiyah narrated that the Prophet (saaws) said:

When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of
Deen.

And what about just searching for knowledge, since it does not come handed to us on a silver platter? Is the path for knowledge blessed? Yes! Searching for knowledge is a way to find Jannah. Muslim reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (saaws) said:

Allah makes the way to Jannah easy for him who treads the path in search of knowledge.

Similar hadith reported by At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud tell us that the angels lower their wings over a person seeking knowledge, and that the inhabitants of the earth from an ant in its hole to the fish in the sea, supplicate for that person's forgiveness. In fact, searching for knowledge is a kind of jihad in its own right. At-Tirmidhi reported from Anas that the Prophet (saaws) said:

He who goes forth in search of knowledge is considered as struggling in the Cause of Allah until he returns.

But the truly beautiful hadith, the one that constantly compels me to seek knowledge, is the one which compares the worshiper to the person of knowledge. From Abud-Darda, reported by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi, the Prophet (saaws) said:

The superiority of the learned man over the devout worshipper is like that of the full moon to the rest of the stars.

So the devout worshipper--the person who serves his Lord and offers prayer at night, and charity, this person is like one of the stars in the sky, and there are plenty of stars. But the person who has learned knowledge for the sake of Allah, who we know truly understands and fears Allah, that person is like the full moon in brightness among a sea of stars.

Rabbee zidnee 'ilma! My Lord, increase me in knowledge!

Resurgence of Scholarly Thought

For the past several weeks I've had the opportunity to take a class offered by the imam at my masjid about the differences between the four major schools of fiqh. It was a very interesting class, just wrapped up, and this weekend I finally received a copy of The Four Imams. But aside from the basic material of the class, the sheikh gave us a new perspective on scholarly thought and ijtihad in the modern Muslim world.

He explained that after a time of intense scholarly pursuits, during which Muslims pursued knowledge with fierce dedication, the students of knowledge began to simply follow their teachers. Rather than basing a fatwa on daleel (proof) and ijtihad, they would provide a fatwa of a previous scholar, with that scholar being the authority rather than the verses from the Qur'an, hadith from the Prophet (s) or Companions or other sources which were used. Ultimately that led to a breakdown of the intellectual struggle and stifled advances in Islamic thought. Scholars would train exclusively in one school of jurisprudence, and some people (laypeople I presume) even considered that to change one's madhhab was equivalent to changing one's deen--even converting to another religion like Christianity after being Muslim.

I think it's important to understand that kind of development, intellectual regression if you will, because the dearth of capable scholars leaves many Muslims today prone to be misguided.

Let's take for example the medical field--we have seen in this century amazing new advances is in medicine. Advances in medicine are possible because there is an abundance of doctors and research facilities. People collectively view advancement as important and so resources are devoted to the task. As more people study and practice medicine, the brightest minds are given a forum in which to excel, and funds are directed towards that pursuit.

Why shouldn't the study of Islam be the same way? That we devote our resources towards it--that the brightest minds among the Muslims follow a path that not just reviews and copies what has been done before, but continues to flourish with fresh new perspectives analyzing the past and synthesizing a means for the future. The medical field has developed a culture in today's world, but the study of Islam should do the same. A culture that respects the scholars and puts Allah first, which understands global currents but advances the cause of Muslims worldwide, for the sake of Allah.

That has to begin with thought--introspection. Looking inside our past and revitalizing it. I think this is happening today--Muslims are increasingly active in da'wah to Muslims and non-Muslims. They seek to convey the message to those who haven't heard it, teach it to those who accept it, and implement it among those who embrace it. It is a slow process but that's what we see--slowly but surely the scattered ashes of a united ummah are fusing together, congealing to construct a new house for the Muslims. But without the solid bricks of knowledge, the house can only be shaky, and weak, at best.

Many Muslims today are also seeking knowledge--even in the West, students from overseas are founding new schools and institutes to make knowledge more accessible to Muslims who would otherwise be isolated from the powerhouses in the Muslim world. It is a trend I think we should encourage--yes, it is important to have doctors, lawyers, journalists, etc., but we cannot progress as a single nation unless we understand what binds us together, and that is Islam. The scholars of the past have left us towers, which over centuries have begun to decay and fall. We need to make it a priority, to teach ourselves about Islam, to teach our children, and the rest of the world.

I have immense respect for those who have elected to carry the banner, those who devote hours, days, months, years to the pursuit of Islamic knowledge--may Allah reward them.

Kung Fu Islam

Last week I went to see a movie, mostly because I was bored and didn't want to go home. And what did I go to see, but The Forbidden Kingdom! Probably not in line for movie of the year, it was a good way to (shame on me) waste some time. On the other hand, I guess it wasn't completely wasted since I can make a blog post on it, right?

Basically it's a "kung fu" flick with a white kid who gets transported back in time, and to China, with a mission to return some magical staff to the Monkey King (played by Jet Li... lol.) The big headline about the movie was that it was a collaboration between Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

But anyway, both characters sort of play martial arts masters, teaching the white kid some kung fu. And that's what is really interesting. (Interesting to me anyway, probably not to some kung fu enthusiasts.)

First of all, did you know that the meaning of "kung fu" doesn't mean fighting or martial arts? The character in the movie didn't--he just wanted to learn kicks and punches and that sort of thing. But like in the Karate Kid, kicks and punches aren't the first thing the master teaches the student. If you remember that film, you probably remember the master teaching the student "wax on, wax off" to begin with, and the reason is that the student first needs to develop the strenghth or the tools to be able to properly practice the martial art. Before he can start punching, kicking, or even blocking, he needs to develop strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance.

In The Forbidden Kingdom, the kung fu master tells the student the meaning of "kung fu." Do you know what kung fu is? It is effort exerted over time in order to acquire skill. Any skill. And he went on to describe how kung fu could apply to art, or music, or any other kind of skill.

And it struck me as a brilliant concept. I know what has happened to me as I began to study Islam, and it might have happened to other people as well. It's all too easy for me, or maybe anyone, to learn a little Qur'an, learn a couple ahadith, and pretend to be a faqih (jurist.) But it's kind of like a beginner trying to punch and kick when he doesn't even know how to stand properly, or even breathe properly.

At any rate, I've been thinking a lot about how important it is to have a good teacher. Tomorrow inshaaAllah I am hoping to pick up a book from the Islamic Bookstore about the four imams. It's called, The Four Imams. I remember hearing a story about Abu Hanifah, I think, and that he showed a lot of respect for his teacher by helping him around the house and being a kind of servant to him. I'm not sure of the details but I hope to find out soon inshaaAllah. At any rate, it's a nice story that is good to think about when we want to approach Islamic knowledge.

Because in actuality the knowledge is a gift from Allah--imagine that it is like pure water. But what happens if you put pure water in a dirty container? It becomes dirty water. So we need to work on ourselves constantly while we acquire knowledge--constantly purifying ourselves. And even if we don't get the knowledge we at least can be purified inshaaAllah.

Another analogy is from the movie I mentioned. While the boy is asking his teacher to teach him complex stances and moves and forms, showing off his knowledge of these things, the teacher is filling up his cup. And as the hot drink reaches the brim, the teacher keeps pouring, as the student begs him to stop pouring because the cup is full! And the teacher simply tells him, "I know," and asks him how he expects to fit any more drink in a cup that is already full. He then tells the student to empty his cup. Of course the analogy is that the student's cup was full of what he thought he already knew, when in fact without the basics, all his knowledge was useless, so he needed to start with an empty cup--humble, and ready to learn.

InshaaAllah we can all be humble before our teachers, and behave with such manners and etiquette, with such sincere love and longing for Allah, that our teachers are happy to fill us with their knowledge, instead of pouring into a full cup of dirty water.

The Admission of Ignorance

Sorry. I really did just avoid my blog for a week. I didn't reply to comments (I have now, by the way, to the last couple comments on the partition post--being sufficiently humbled thanks to one comment-er in particular) or make new posts, or even really read other people's blogs that much.

So I caught up, leaving quite a few comments on some folks' blogs (please forgive me for that!) And now am paying attention to mine again.

In the meantime, I tried out a new webforum. Maybe I was bored with whyislam or curious to see people discussing the issues I was studying (from my class on 'aqeedah)--and I didn't like what I found, to be honest. I didn't realize quite how off-handedly brutal some people can be on the internet regarding 'aqeedah. BrNaeem left a comment recently when I mentioned I was taking the class in the first place about how people like to argue these issues... and I admit: he was right, I was wrong. It can really make your head spin!

So three words I've come to cherish in the last few weeks are simply, "I don't know." Or the emphatic version, "I just don't know." And something I think I'm beginning to believe is that sometimes the answer to a question really doesn't matter, and that "I don't know" actually is a sufficient answer.

Last night I was actually skimming through pages I could find about the 40 Hadith of An-Nawawi, and in so doing recalled or skimmed across the following two, which I think are presently relevant:

Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt.

Part of the perfection of one's Islaam is his leaving that which does not concern him.

Now it might seem (as I have read in the explanations of these two) that the first is about halaal and haraam and what is not clear between the two, and the latter about not being a busybody.

But what is on my mind is delving into a realm of theological questions which lacks definitive, clear, precise answers. I find two people, both with tremendous knowledge (from my stance anyway, they seem to have tremendous knowledge) arguing about such minutiae as to give you a headache, both having a different opinion, and both basing it on research and evidence. It's just so confusing, I'd rather not even ask the question. Moreover, the answer would have practically no impact on my faith except to collect me into one group or the other with a leader and a label.

So these issues really don't concern me, to use the wording of the latter hadith, and the answers are doubtful and contradictory. So I don't see a reason to preoccupy myself with them to the exclusion of more relevant issues. Instead, I should probably just focus on improving my own understanding of Islam and applying that to my life.

I know this post was kind of vague and non-specific... but I don't want to open that box of debate inviting someone to explain his take on those kind of issues which are confusing me lately. I'm happy to say when approaching certain questions now, that I just don't know, nor do I find the answer to be of my immediate concern.