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The Term “Salafi”

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following was adapted from “The Term ‘ Salafi ’” by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller .  The Wahhabis like to use the word “ salafi ” to refer to their minhaj .  They have been using this title since the early 19 th century.  This brief article is to share a few facts.   Firstly, the word “ salafi ” cannot apply to anybody of this age.  There is no such thing as the Salafi madzhab in this time.  The term “ salaf ” strictly refers to the first three generations.  The term used for anybody who came after their time is “ khalaf .”  Those who call themselves “ salafi ” today, are in fact “ khalafi ,” like any one of us.  The true Salafi “ madzhab ” produced many schools of thought, and the four surviving ones from amongst them, in Sunni Islam, are the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali schools.  It is due to these four schools of fiqh that the shari’ah has been preserved.   In the fourteen hundred years of Islamic tradition, there has not been an

Success through Swalah

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is taken from a transcript of discourse delivered by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad.   In the adzan , we say “ Hayya ala al-falah .”   Translated, it means come to success.   What does success this imply?   And how can observing the swalah lead to success?   We know swalah to be an institution and one of the pillars of Islam.   Swalah is very important to a believer because Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) is reported to have said, “The difference between us and them is prayer,” with “them” referring to the hypocrites.   Allah ( s.w.t. ) Says:   سُوۡرَةُ العَنکبوت ... وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ‌ۖ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنۡهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَٱلۡمُنكَرِ‌ۗ وَلَذِكۡرُ ٱللَّهِ أَڪۡبَرُ‌ۗ ... (٤٥)   … and establish regular prayer: for prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt ... (Surah al-‘Ankabut:45)   If we perform our swalah properly, we will get that inte

The Shadowless Prophet

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is a transcript of discourse given by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad.   Today, insha’Allah , we will deal with an unusual topic which is why Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) was shadowless.   Firstly, we need to understand that Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) was a human being.   Allah ( s.w.t. ) Says:   سُوۡرَةُ حٰمٓ السجدة / فُصّلَت قُلۡ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۟ بَشَرٌ۬ مِّثۡلُكُمۡ يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَىَّ أَنَّمَآ إِلَـٰهُكُمۡ إِلَـٰهٌ۬ وَٲحِدٌ۬ ... (٦)   … there has come to you from Allah a (new) light and a perspicuous Book. ― (Surah al-Ma’idah:15)  One of the possible reasons why Allah ( s.w.t. ) Gave us this information in the Qur’an is because of the birth of Jesus ( a.s. ).   Jesus ( a.s. ) was the second-to-last messenger and he came into this world in a very miraculous way.   His ruh was placed in his mother and then the physical aspect of his personality was formed.   After the coming of Jesus ( a.s. ), came Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) and All

The People of the Ditch

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is found in the books of tafasir , exegesis, the story behind the Revelation of some verses in Surah al-Buruj.   Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) said that among the people who came before, there was a king who had a sorcerer, and when that sorcerer became old, he said to the king, “I have become old, and my time is nearly over, so please send me a boy whom I can teach magic.”   So, he sent him a boy and the sorcerer taught him magic.   Whenever the boy went to the sorcerer, he sat with a monk who was on the way, and listened to his speech and admired them.   So, when he went to the sorcerer, he passed by the monk, and sat there with him; and on visiting the sorcerer, the latter would thrash him.   So, the boy complained about this to the monk.   The monk said to him, “Whenever you are afraid of the sorcerer, say to him, ‘My people kept me busy.’   And whenever you are afraid of your people, say to them, ‘The sorcerer kept me busy.’”   So the b

An Introduction to the Theory of Qur’anic Interpretation

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is taken from “An Introduction to the Theory of Qur’anic Interpretation” by Shaykh Nur ad-Din Abu ‘Ubadah ‘Ali ibn Juma’ah.   The Qur’an is a Divine book and a sacred text that Allah ( s.w.t. ) Revealed so as to encompass matters of belief, legal practice, morality, ideals and lessons.   Allah ( s.w.t. ) Fashioned the Qur’an to be inimitable and He Guarded it from error unlike the other Divine books.   It is thus truly an inimitable book and that there is no limit to the ways in which it is inimitable.   Throughout Islamic history, the scholars have pondered the depth of the Qur’an’s miraculous nature and they have found that the many aspects of its inimitability have continued to increase.   The number of written works about the Qur’an and its inimitability has continued to grow to the extent that the great scholar and poet, Shaykh Muswthafa Swadiq ar-Rafi’i ( r.a. ) said, “Since human history was first recorded, no book can be