Book Review 5: Al Tathkirah (The Reminder) by al Qurtubi

All of the books I have mentioned until now were brought to me by my family. Because they were not ‘officially’ allowed to visit me yet, getting the books would take a long time. But at a later point, I had the added privilege of being able to place orders directly through a warden who made purchases according to the prisoners’ needs, such as clothes and books.

The first book I ordered was al-Tathkirah fi ahwaal al-Mawta wa Umoor al Akhira, (The Reminder of the Affairs of the Dead and the Situations of the Afterlife,) commonly referred to as “The Reminder” by al-Qurtubi. This was one of the books I used in the preparation of The Hereafter which I recorded in 1999. I ordered that book because we are always in need of reminding ourselves about the Afterlife. It covers the topics of: Death, the Grave, the Day of Judgment, Paradise and Hellfire. The book is excellent except for the inclusion of many weak hadith. There are other books that I could have ordered that cover the same topic, but I have a certain fondness for the scholars of Andalusia; there is something romantic about that land. Having seen Andalusia, I can imagine the places where al-Qurtubi, al-Shatibi, Ibn Hazm and others lived, taught, and authored their books. It is also amazing to see how many great scholars were produced in a relatively small Muslim state.

A few days after sending for the book, I received it. And as soon as I received it, I started reading it. But then the light bulb in my cell burned out. This meant that I was in almost complete darkness at night, except for a glimpse of light that would come in from the corridor. I was also in almost total darkness during the day, except for some light that comes in from a small window close to the roof. It was impossible for me to see the print day or night. I informed the wardens about it but nothing happened that evening. I didn’t mind staying in the dark because I had been in artificial light continuously for a few months at that point so it was a nice break to experience darkness again. We forget that everything is a blessing, even darkness.

I wanted to read the book and I was very eager to do so. I asked the wardens again and they said that the process includes informing their supervisor who will then write a report that will be submitted to the head of the prison and he will send a request to the electrician, who will apply for the lamp from the prison storage. It was going to be a while. What was I to do?

There was one warden who was polite towards me that offered to open the window on the iron door. This small window is used by wardens to pass small items to prisoners without opening the door. They also use it to peek in and see what the prisoners are doing. By leaving it open, a ray of light would come from the lamp in the corridor directly onto the floor about half a meter from the door. It was an inconvenient location, being very close to the door, but because I was so eager to go through the book I placed it under this ray of light and read that way for about 2 or 3 days until the light bulb was replaced.

For a period of about 4 to 5 days I was totally immersed in the Afterlife. Looking through the lens of the Hereafter puts everything in this world in the right perspective. We need to think about death and what will happen after death constantly. Rasulullah said: “Frequently remember the destroyer of enjoyment (i.e., death).” We ask Allah to wake us up from the state of unawareness we are in!

Al Bidayah wa al Nihaya by Ibn Kathir

Ibn Kathir is a Shafi’i scholar, who studied under one of the greatest Shafi’i scholars of all time, Abu al Hajjaaj al Muzi. Al Muzi loved him and drew him close to him and even married him to his daughter.
This 10 volume work, along with his tafsir, are the most famous works of Imam ibn Kathir. The title translates as: “The Beginning and the End.” As the name suggests the Imam covers history starting with the beginning of creation and ends with the righteous entering into Paradise and the evil entering Hellfire. Here are some more details:
First he talks about the story of creation based on the verses of Quran and sayings of the Prophet but then he moves on to narrate stories that rely on “al-Isra’eelyyaat”, the stories of the People of the Book. Then he proceeds with the stories of the Prophets (This is what I based my series on the Prophets on).
The next part covers the seerah of Rasulullah. The advantage of his coverage of seerah is that he combines what the scholars of seerah such as ibn Ishaaq, al Waqidi, and Musa bin Uqba wrote along with what the scholars of hadith have included in their books such as Bukhari, Muslim, the four books of Sunan, al Bayhaqi, Ahmad, and al Hakim. This makes his coverage of seerah very comprehensive. The downside is that the story does not flow as it would with the seerah of Ibn Ishaaq for example and there is also a lot of repetition and sometimes there are contradicting narrations. This makes it serve better as a reference than a book to read. This part is translated into English by Trevor Le Gassick. However there are some mistakes that I guess stem from the translator being a non-Muslim and thus because of his lack of understanding of Islam chooses incorrect meanings for words that have more than one meaning.
Ibn Kathir’s coverage of the time of the four Khalifs is detailed and avoids many but not all of the weak and fabricated narrations that exist in the history of al Tabari.
Then he covers the period of the Umayah khilafa. After that his history becomes quite Shaam-centric. Imam Ibn Kathir, in some cases almost conclusively, focuses on the histories of al Shaam (the area encompassed by present day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan,) Egypt, and Iraq.
What about North Africa, Andalusia, the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian penensula, and other areas of Islam?
There is some talk about North Africa and its relationship with the establishment of the Fatimi dynasty whom Ibn Kathir refers to as liars, and Impersonators, who wished no good for the Muslims (The Fatimids were outwardly Shia and inwardly Ismailis.)
Andalusia gets mentioned but many important events in its history are missing. Ibn Kathir talks about the land of Sind while mentioning the great conquests that occurred on the hands of Muhammad bin al Qasim but then neglects it completely until Mahmud Sabaktakeen arrives on the scene and achieves great victories on the Indian subcontinent. The Arabian peninsula is covered sparsely and when it is, it is mostly about what was going on, or who was ruling in Makkah and Madina. Yemen and Oman are lost in this narrative. And there was absolutely nothing on some areas such as East Africa for example.
Why is that?
Well Ibn Kathir offers an apology somewhere (I cannot recall where at the moment) that he has omitted some parts because of lack of resources.
Now shouldn’t we think about this for a moment?
This great Imam who wrote some of the greatest works lacks resources on some important issues such as the history of Andalusia which made him omit almost 600 years of Muslim history in Spain (Ibn Kathir lived during the 8th hijri century) while we today have all the resources at our fingertips. Modern technology has brought with it a proliferation of Islamic knowledge but where are the ones who would take advantage of that?
Therefore, al Bidayah wa al Nihaayah is an excellent reference on the history of the prophets, seerah, the history of early Islam and the history of al Shaam and Iraq up until the year 768H.
During the period when I was reading these ten volumes I was living with the ummah. The ups and the downs, the victories and the defeats, the righteous and the evil, the just rulers and the tyrants, the scholars, the poets, the worshipers, the military generals, the deviants, the hypocrites, and the enemies.
We have a truly fascinating history.

imam anwar alawlaki

IMAM ANWAR AL-AWLAKI – The Battle of Hearts and Minds [Transcript]

Assalamu Aleikum,

Earlier Imam Anwar al-Awlaki had given an inspiring Lecture – The Battle of Hearts and Minds – the following is a transcript of the lecture by Darul Murabiteen.

Audio – Audio Lecture

Transcript – Pdf Format

 

Book review 2: Madarij al Salikeen by Ibn al Qayim

Madarij al Salikeen by Ibn al Qayim:
This is a three Volume book which represents one of the greatest works produced on the topic of spirituality. I had already read the book a long time ago and was fascinated by it. When I was in jail and was thinking about what books to order when I would be allowed to do so, this book seemed to be the right thing to read in my present circumstances. Steadfastness was what was needed now, and steadfastness was a deed of the heart, so it was the heart that I should focus on.
When the opportunity arrived and I was allowed to order books it was on the top of my reading list.
The author starts by giving tafsir of surat al Fatiha. The rest of the book are the stages that the traveller moves through in “إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين” “You do we worship and You do we seek help from” [Fatiha, v5]
The book is based on a book written by Abu Ismail al-Ansari al-Harawi al-Sufi who was a Hanbali scholar from Hirat in modern day Afghanistan. The name of his book is Manazil al-Sa’ireen (the Stations of the Travellers). Imam Abu Ismail named one hundred stations that the traveller during his journey to Allah passes through.
The first station is “al-Yaqadhah” “The Waking up” This is when the heart wakes up from the slumber of unawareness. The next station is the station of “Azm” “The Resolve,” after the heart has woken up it decides to embark on its journey towards Allah.
Some of the stations that he mentions: The station of Fear, Repentance, Observation, Hope, Sincerity, Purification, Trust, Submission, Fortitude, Gratitude, Will, Certainty, Trust, Knowledge, Wisdom, Tranquillity, Purity, Drowning, Absence, Life, and Love.
The language of ibn al Qayim in his books is eloquent. But in this book his language is so high class that it represents the peak of his writing. This book is simply untranslatable. The terminology that he uses and the fascinating way of putting the concepts together would make any translation lose a portion of its beauty during the process. Now I don’t mean here by eloquence the beauty of the words and the use of a flowery style of writing but I mean the ability of the author to express complicated thoughts and sophisticated concepts, and what would otherwise be difficult to express, into readable words that not only are understood by the reader but captivate him and make him feel that the author is reading his inner thoughts and is seeing through into the depths of his heart to see his ailment and prescribe the cure.

Ibn al Qayim after mentioning the verses of Quran and hadiths blends his words with the words of Abu Ismail al-Ansari , whom he would refer to as shaykh-ul-Islam, along with the sayings of the great scholars of the heart such as: al Junaid, AbdulQadir al Jaylaani, al Tasturi, and al Fudhail bin Iyadh.
There are so many words of wisdom and valuable teachings in this book that are waiting to be observed and lived by.
May Allah bless us all and provide us with wisdom and guide us to righteous acts. We ask Allah to shower his mercy upon our great scholars whom Allah has made the instruments of teaching us the truth and guiding us towards the straight path. Ameen

from:www.anwar-alawaki.com

The Dust will Never Settle Down

There has been recently an increase of unacceptable behavior from the kuffar towards our beloved Prophet. So what is the ruling of sharia on such incidents and how did the Sahaba deal with such people and what do our scholars say about them. About this and more Imam Anwar will deliver a talk titled: “The Dust will Never Settle Down”. Allaah will suffice His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) against the criminals who mock him. He says (interpretation of the meaning): “For he who hates you (O Muhammad), he will be cut off (from posterity and every good thing in this world and in the Hereafter)” [al-Kawthar 108:3] i.e., he is scorned and humiliated and cut off from all that is good. When the Muslims besieged a stronghold and its people resisted, then they heard them mocking and reviling the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), they would sense that victory was at hand, and it would only be a short time before Allaah granted them victory, to avenge His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Al-Saarim al-Maslool (p. 116-117).

To ask Questions concerning the Lecture visit Anwar Al-Awalki’s Blog

Download Here

The Battle for Hearts and Minds

This is the first proper lecture given by the Imam Anwar al Awlaki since his release last year December.

This lecture was delivered to a South African audience via live phone link on Sunday 11 May 2008. It was part of a Conference held by PureIslam Da’wah and Publications themed: Holding on to Hot Coals – Surviving as a Muslim in the West. An important topic that is going unnoticed by the majority of people around the world. With the advancement of communications in the world, the enemies are not only plotting away with their weapons but also with their lies portrayed in the media spreading all sorts of lies to justify the slaughter of innocent human beings.

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Book Reviews From Behind Bars..

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Assalamu alaykum all,

In this set of short blogs I will review the books that I had a chance to read while I was in jail. Here is the first:

This was during my first two months in the Political Security Jail. This was a time when I was allowed no visitors, no contact with family, and no contact with other prisoners. In fact I wasn’t even allowed to speak to the prison guards except in whispers and only for urgent needs. This was a time of complete isolation from the outside world.

I was in an underground solitary cell made up of four concrete walls with an iron gate on one side and on the opposite side a small window -rather a hole- covered with iron mesh to allow for some fresh air to come in. I couldn’t see much from it because it was about four meters high. Then there was the roof with a bulb hanging from it which was on continuously day and night. Then the floor with a mattress 2-3 inches thick, a blanket, a worn off pillow, a plastic plate, a bottle for water, and an empty bottle “just in case”.

And then there was a Quran

In this environment there is nothing to do and nothing to read but the Quran, and that is when the Quran reveals it secrets. When the hearts are clean; when there is nothing clouding the spirit, the Quran literally overwhelms the heart.

I have never in my life felt the Quran so strongly. Thoughts, insights and feelings that I would fail to describe would come with every new verse that I would recite. Reading Quran then was not something I would force upon myself but I would recite it with eagerness for hours at end and never lose my concentration. The chapters of the Quran would carry me outside of this world and I would completely forget about my situation until a warden would slam the door open for restroom time or to take me for interrogation. Then I would wake up again to the depressing reality of this world.

So does the Quran speak to us differently in jail?

We approach Quran with a more receptive heart when we are being tested. We also come to understand Quran better when we are separated from the distractions of this world. Both these two elements exist in prison. One thing I came to realize is that the Quran does not open up its secrets to you unless you open up your heart to it. Quran does not spill its pearls to the undeserving.

Ibn Taymiyyah wrote while he was in jail that he had been reciting Quran and reflecting on its meanings and that Allah has opened up the meanings of Quran for him. He said he learned new meanings that scholars would wish to learn. He had learned from it meanings he had never thought of before and he went further to state that he regretted the time he spent in the past learning other aspects of knowledge and not focusing on the Book of Allah. Within a short period he said that he had read the Quran, from cover to cover, eighty times. This was due to the blessings of him being imprisoned. Allah says: “You might dislike a thing and in it Allah puts a lot of good”

During that blessed period of over two months when I was free of any distractions except for the interrogation worries, that is when I came to understand the statement of Uthman (r) when he said: “If the hearts are pure they would never satisfy their thirst from the Book of Allah”

Those moments are so strange to me now, and so different that they do not seem to be a reality, or even a far away memory, but rather seem to be a dream.
We ask you O Allah to make us of those who love your words and contemplate them.

“Indeed in that (i.e. Quran) is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present (in mind)” Sura Qaaf 37.

anwar-alawlaki.com

Your Heart is the Pillar of Your Worship

by ‘Abdullah ‘Azzam (may Allah have Mercy upon him)

“…the heart is the machine that drives all acts of worship. It is what moves the entire body! As long as the heart is alive, then the limbs will be alive, and the soul will open itself up to worship. However, if the heart becomes diseased, then worship will become too heavy on the soul, leading to it eventually disliking and hating – and we seek refuge with Allah from this – worship. Because of this, Allah – the Glorified and Exalted – said, regarding the prayer:

{“…and truly, it is extremely heavy and hard except on those who are submissive…”} [al-Baqarah; 45]

The prayer is heavy, because one’s legs and hands are not what get up for the prayer. What gets up for the prayer are the heart and the soul.

{“Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up for the prayer, they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but little.”} [an-Nisa'; 142]

Because of this, it is the heart that stands up for worship. The limbs are simply slaves of this heart, carrying out what it commands them. If the heart is alive, then the soul will be alive, and worship will become beloved and sweetened to the hearts and the souls, and they will open up for it.

However, if the heart becomes diseased, then worship becomes too heavy on it. The heart is like the digestive system: right now, the most beloved thing to you is meat. However, if you develop an ulcer somewhere in your digestive system, then the meat – along with its fat and oil – becomes the most hated thing to it, since it is diseased. Sweets are also something that are beloved to the soul. For example, if you were fasting right now and were to break your fast on some desserts, then your soul would become satisfied with that, right? However, if one were to be stricken with diabetes, then he would not be able to handle these sugary foods, even if they were beloved to him.

The heart is like this: it must be strong so that it can handle worship that is strong. The stronger your heart becomes, then throw as much worship upon it as you wish. You would get up to pray at night, and you would cherish this prayer and consider sleep to be your enemy:

{“Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope…”} [as-Sajdah; 16]

He begins to forsake it because an enmity develops between him and his bed. He prays behind the imam, and he says to himself: “If only he would make the prayer longer,” so that he would increase in his opening up to this worship, and his tasting of its sweetness.

At times, I would pray a normal prayer with the people behind me, so I would elongate the prayer. The youth would then come to me and say (the hadith): “Whoever leads the people in prayer should go easy on them,” – the youth! And there was an old man behind me who was between 90 and 100 years of age – his face filled with light – and he would say to me: “Keep making the prayer long and do not answer them.” A man of 90 years getting pleasure out of a long prayer, and a youth of 20, who probably practices karate and judo, cannot handle the same prayer.

Why?

If he went to the soccer field and spent two hours playing there without becoming bored, then why would he become bored from hearing the Qur’an for five minutes? The difference between a short prayer and a long prayer is simply five minutes, so why does he become bored from these five minutes of Qur’an, yet he does not become bored from two hours of soccer? Why does he not get bored from standing for two hours staring at an inflated piece of leather, his heart attached to it?

Because, what stands up to pray is the heart, and what stands up for sports are simply the body and muscles.”

[From a lecture given by 'Abdullah 'Azzam on June 15, 1988 entitled 'The True Preparation,' found in the collection 'at-Tarbiyyah al-Jihadiyyah wal-Bina''; 1/220]

Excellent Book – inshallah more to come

“

Total Length:
34 pages

Download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?dddg89dzzmn
http://ia360626.us.archive.org/1/ite…nTaymiyyah.pdf
http://www.archive.org/download/IbnT…nTaymiyyah.pdf

The Electoral Process and its Implications Upon the Voters

 

Certainly, the system of Democracy is dependant upon the masses to participate in elections so that it can be clarified which candidates are to represent them in the councils and parliaments. This electoral process is also essential in determining the ruling party and the President or Prime Minister of the country.

 

Because the system is founded on the masses choosing leaders to legislate laws and implement policies on their behalf, the entire democratic process could not exist without elections. If it weren’t for the participation of the masses in the electoral process, Democracy would not be possible to implement as there would be no one to vote for any candidates and therefore their would be no elected members of parliament to act on the people’s behalf in legislation and government policy.

‘Abdulwahhāb Al-Kilālī said, “It means that the people, to whom the mastership belongs, do not practice the authority of legislating themselves. Rather, they grant it to the Members of Parliament whom they elect for a specific period and appoint to represent them in practicing this authority on their behalf.

 

Shaykh Abū Basīr Mustafā Halīmah said, “Firstly, Democracy is founded upon the principle that the masses are the source of power. And included in that is the power of legislation and that takes place by means of selecting representatives for the general population who take their place in the duty of legislation and the creation of laws. And in other words, the legislator and the obeyed one in Democracy is the human and not Allāh. And this means that the one who is worshipped and obeyed in the issue of legislation and the permitting and the prohibiting is the masses (the humans) and not Allāh, the Most High. And this is the essence of Kufr and Shirk and misguidance, due to its contradiction to the fundamentals of the religion and Tawhīd. And it results in the association of the weak, ignorant human with Allāh in the most unique characteristic of Ilāhiyyah (i.e. devoted worship), which is the ruling and the legislation.”

 

So the reality is that these Members of Parliament, which act upon the will of the majority and take their place to legislate laws etc., can only do so when the masses elect them to the positions to do so. And if we conclude that these Members of Parliament commit Shirk and Kufr by legislating laws besides Allāh, then what would be said about the people who elect them for this job, knowing that this candidate will be engaging in the formation of man-made laws on behalf of the people who elect him?

 

 

And the Shaykh, ‘Abdul-Qādir Ibn ‘Abdil-‘Azīz, said, “As for those amongst the people who vote for them (i.e. Members of Parliament), they are committing Kufr as well, because according to the representative democracy, the voters are in reality delegating them to practice the mastership of Shirk – legislating beside Allāh – on their behalf. Thus the voters give the members of parliament the right to implement Shirk, and set them up – through their voting – as legislating lords beside Allāh. Allāh, the Most High, says:

 

 “Nor would he order you to take Angels and Prophets for lords (gods). Would he order you to disbelieve after you were Muslims.” (Al-Imran 80)

 So if a person who takes Angels and Prophets as lords has become a Kāfir, how then about the person who takes the Members of Parliament for that? Likewise, this is also implied in His saying:

 “Say: O people of the scripture, come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allāh, and that we associate no partners with Him, and none of us shall take each other as lords besides Allāh.” (Al-Imran 64)

 

Consequently, taking people as lords beside Allāh is a Shirk and a disbelief in Allāh and that is what those who vote for the members of parliament are doing.” And this action falls into the description of the known rule: “Supporting Kufr is Kufr”, because the one who assists or enables the people to commit Shirk or Kufr, knowingly, takes the same ruling as the one who commits the Shirk or Kufr itself. And this rule is consistent with what Allāh, the Most High, said about those who remain present while His verses are mocked:

 

“And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this Qur’ān) that when you hear the Verses of Allāh being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them. Surely, Allāh will collect the hypocrites and disbelievers all together in Hell.” (An-Nisa 140)

 

And Ash-Shawkāni said, “His statement: …certainly in that case you would be like them. In other words, ‘If you do that and do not prevent (it) then you are the same as them in the Kufr.”

 

And the Shaykh, Sulaymān Ibn ‘Abdillāh Ibn Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhāb, may Allāh be merciful to him, said, “The meaning of this verse is just as it appears. It means that if a man hears the verses of Allāh being disbelieved in or made fun of and sits among those disbelieving ones who are making fun of (them) without being compelled to, and does not prevent them and does not leave them until they begin to talk about (a different subject), then he is a Kāfir like them, even if he does not take part in this act, because this indicates his pleasure with Kufr. And being pleased with Kufr is Kufr. With this verse, and others like it, the scholars have demonstrated that he who is pleased with the sin is like the one who commits it and if he says that he hates it in his heart, it is not accepted from him because the judgments are upon their (outer) appearance and he has exhibited Kufr, so he would be a Kāfir.”  

Therefore, one who merely remains present while the Kufr is being committed and does not leave nor attempt to prevent it, takes the same ruling as the one who actually performs the Kufr. So what is to be said about those who assist and enable the Kufr and Shirk by electing a candidate on their behalf to legislate for the creation, laws, other than the laws of the Sharī’ah?! And keep in mind that these votes are the only method by which this individual member of parliament will be able to do so, because without the electoral support from the voters, he would not be in the position to perform this Kufr and Shirk in the first place!! So in this case, the voters are the ones who enable and assist this one to commit the Kufr and Shirk and they are not merely from those who sat silently while the verses of Allāh were mocked.

 

Once you make the connection between the role of the voters, during the election, and the subsequent Kufr and Shirk which is committed by the Member of Parliament when he is elected, there is no more room for doubt. And what is the difference between those who elect this individual as a lord besides Allāh to legislate the lawful and unlawful for them and those who take the sun or the moon as a lord besides Allāh to provide them with their sustenance and provision? By Allāh, the ruling upon them is the same.