A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ I am a Sunni but Sufism interests me?   Can I become one if I wanted to? ”   Sufism is not a sect.   Sufism is the Western name for the field of the religious sciences we know as taswawwuf , ihsan , or ‘irfan .   It is part of the foundation of Islam.   The study of Sufism is normally bundled in with the study of fiqh and ‘aqidah .   A person who has mastered this science is known as a Sufi.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ According to shari’ah , is it acceptable to invest in information technology stocks because they provide services to banks and other financial institutions? ”   If we go by that logic, you will have almost nothing to invest in, because the economy is interconnected.   You cannot invest in companies that deliver food to the people who work there.   You cannot invest in utilities because they provide electricity and other utility services to the bank.   You cannot invest in estate management companies because they manage their properties.   You cannot invest in public transportation because people take it to work there or go there as clients.   Fiqh does not even have an ijma’ on what constitutes riba’ , and there is a plethora of fatawa .   You cannot even say this is “according to shari’ah ”, since shari’ah is our interpretation of the Divine Intent....

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ My bank charged me interest and fee, but I do not want to pay the interest because of my religion Islam.  In this case, is it halal to pay? ”   It is haram for you not to pay, since you used the services of the bank.  By using those services, you have agreed to the terms of use, and part of those terms includes fees and interest.  If you do not want to pay that interest, you should not have used those facilities.  The secular world does not care about your interpretation of the jurisprudence of a personal faith.  That is not the bank’s problem.   In any case, it is not a definitive position that absolutely all forms of interest is haram .  Personally, I think that is illogical.  There is an inherent infrastructure and upkeep cost for the bank.  For interest to be considered riba’ , usury, there has to be an element of zhulm , op...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi ( q.s. ) wrote:   “A true Lover does not follow any one religion, Be sure of that. Since in the religion of Love, There is no irreverence or faith. When in Love, Body, mind, heart and soul do not even exist. Become this, Fall in Love, And you will not be separated again.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykha Rabi’ah al-‘Adawiyyah al-Qaysiyyah al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said:   “In love, nothing exists between breast and Breast. Speech is born out of longing, True description from the real taste. The one who tastes, knows; The one who explains, lies. How can you describe the true form of Something In Whose Presence you are Blotted out? And in Whose Being you still Exist? And Who Lives as a Sign for your journey?”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A visionary exchange between Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ), and Sayyid Muhammad ibn al-Habib ( q.s. ) went like this, as recounted by the shaykh .   “‘Know, my son, that God will honour you with sweet and pleasant waters.’   I said, ‘Are these the waters of Islam, iman and ihsan ?’   He said to me, ‘They are’.   I said, ‘O Messenger of God, shall I alone drink these waters, or myself and whoever follows me?’   He said, ‘You and all who follow you of my community shall drink them.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Would Muslims be happy if non-Muslims judge them with their own shari’ah ? ”   Shari’ah is a legal framework, a set of principles, based on Revelation, the Qur’an, and supporting secondary sources, one of which being the sunnah and ahadits .   Shari’ah is not a law.   What you are thinking about is fiqh , the derived body of fatawa , legal opinions, and ahkam , rulings.   A non-Muslim judge would first have to be qualified in the principles of fiqh , and familiar with the body of ahkam and fatawa to be effectively rule in such a case.   Thee is a reason why it is not easy to be a qadhi , judge. It would be possible, since there is no explicit stipulation for the qadhi to be Muslim, only that he be knowledgeable and just.   The second complication is that modern fiqh is ossified, and has not caught up with the realities of Muslims in a minority conte...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is taken from the first chapter of Iqazh al-Himam fi Sharh al-Hikam , a commentary on al-Hikam of Shaykh Taj ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari ( q.s. ), by Shaykh Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ajibah ( q.s. ).   Shaykh ibn ‘Atha’illah ( q.s. ) said:   “Do not let the intention of your aspiration veer to other-than-Him. Hopes can go no further than the Ever-Generous.”   The intention of the himmah is its aspiration to which it is directed.   The himmah is the force directed to obtaining aims.   Hopes are that to which someone aims.   When our himmah is connected to something which we want to obtain, then return to Allah ( s.w.t. ) and do not connect it to anything except Him because He is Ever-Generous and His Blessings flow constantly night and day.   Hopes can go no further than the Ever-Generous.   He Wants to be asked so that He can Answer the request....

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Sister Louise Ann Kelly, asked, on the 07 th October 2016, on The Sharing Group, “I am sorry if this topic has been covered already, but I am very interested to know about the origins of ahadits .   Is it true that the first known ahadits to be actually written down was 200 years after the death of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   What is the earliest date of ahadits being recorded in written form, not oral.   What was the first known ahadits to be narrated and recorded   or transcribed?   Brother Mustafa Howard: 200 years is certainly not true.   Among the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) companions were those who wrote some of the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) sayings.   But your question begs other questions.   Why the importance laid on when ahadits were written?   The Arabs were a people of incredible memory powers.   The early Muslims were the most moral people to ever exist.   They immediately imple...