Massoud Vahedi

Life sometimes either gives you "Editor Desk Rejection" or a "Reviewer 2 Recommends Rejection".

When an ostensibly Islamic government attracts hundreds of thousands of followers worldwide with extremely restrictive views concerning the rights of women to work and study, it can't just wave it off by saying it is "unlucky" in garnering bad apples. Perhaps there is something inherently wrong with the values of the government's representatives and philosophy itself in attracting those extreme followers in the first place. The problem is further compounded when the followers/supporters of this government on social media don't mind cursing scholars who have opposed the said government's policies (e.g. Mufti Taqi Usmani), preaching ethnonationalist nonsense and speaking ill of minorities, takfiring people who disagree with the government's laws, or engaging in qadhf of women (calling them dirty or impure) because they don't agree with the segregation laws of the country.

الجهل المركب "حقيقة الجهل المركب: جهل بالحكم، و حكم بالجهل." - الشيخ محمد اليحيى

The Arabic word أخ (brother) has two plural forms: الإخوان and الإخوة. Although these plurals can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often carry different meanings. الإخوان typically refers to people united by friendship, companionship, or a shared cause, rather than by family ties. In contrast, الإخوة usually denotes biological or familial brothers who share a common lineage.

How Taliban supporters look and sound when they use "economics" to justify the ban of female education in Afghanistan.

Any government that indiscriminately targets people, injures them without right, and arbitrarily detains them (especially women) will not last long, regardless of whether it calls itself a Republic or Emirate.

"Shocked by such words, we asked the people around us: ‘Where is the Qadi of this land?’ They said: ‘We have no Qadi, but there is a leader known as a mayor. He is a Muslim.’ We met the mayor, who just came from a parade he had attended. After informing him of what had transpired in the talk by ‘Libyano’, he said: ‘Nothing wrong with that, mate. That’s his freedom of speech.’ We reflected on this affair, not knowing what was stranger: the words of this ‘Libyano’, or the mayor’s. Disgusted by this sight, on Friday morning, we headed North towards Birmingham, where a great Maliki jurist is said to be ruling the Muslim community….” Al-Dhayl ‘ala al-Rihlah

Ibn Battutah said: “Then in 1448 AH/2026 CE we entered a land known as London, which is dark, gloomy, and said to be inhabited by dangerous beings known as the Frost Giants. But there are also – quite surprisingly – humans here. The city and its surrounding regions are said to be ruled by an old king, who despite being a Christian, is said to be a secret Muslim belonging to the Maliki madhhab. We tried to approach him and seek clarification regarding his creed, but we were blocked access by the palace authorities. Without many options, we entered a nearby lecture hall, where a Muslim preacher by the name of ‘Libyano’ was giving a talk on Islamic creed. We heard him say, ‘Allah descends just as I descend from this chair…’"

Facing the Qiblah can assume every one of the five legal rulings. It can be: 1. Obligatory (wajib): as in the case of prayer (salah). 2. Recommended (masnun): such as in du'a'. Ibn Muflih extended this recommendation to all acts of divine obedience, save those that can be excepted with a proof. 3. Permissible (mubah): in one's customary acts. 4. Hated (makruh): such as when the Imam is giving the khutbah for the Friday prayer. 5. Forbidden (haram): when a person is relieving themselves, without there being any barrier between themselves and the Qiblah. - Shaykh Khalid al-Kurayda'

Besides the examples mentioned by al-Zayla'i, one can also add the hadiths regarding saying the basmalah in wudu or the famous black flags of Khurasan hadith.

The way that many "Traditionalists" have been recently repeating ad nauseam the faulty maxim that "a weak hadith can be strengthened if it comes through a multiplicity of routes" only exposes their ignorance in the field. They are upset that Bashshar Ma'ruf rejects this principle, but unbeknownst to them, scholars like al-Zayla'i expressed the same sentiment centuries prior, even in more stern terms. Bringing up the names of later scholars like Ibn Hajar or Suyuti and then trying to anachronistically project their views to the gradings of past authorities is sloppy work and does not cut it.

من أصول الحنابلة التي خالفوا فيها الجمهور عدم تقدير ما لم يقدره الشرع وإبقاء تقديره للعرف في مسائل كثيرة منها: ١- انكشاف العورة المغلظة والمخففة المبطل للصلاة قدره أبو حنيفة بدرهم في المغلظة والربع في المخففة. ٢- الحركة المبطلة للصلاة: قدرها الشافعية بثلاث حركات.. وغيرها الكثير من المسائل يحكم فيها الحنابلة العرف.. قال ابن قدامة في المغني ٢ / ٢٨٨ : " إذَا ثَبَتَ هَذَا فَإِنَّ حَدَّ الْكَثِيرِ مَا فَحُشَ فِي النَّظَرِ ، وَلَا فَرْقَ فِي ذَلِكَ بَيْنَ الْفَرْجَيْنِ وَغَيْرِهِمَا . وَالْيَسِيرُ مَا لَا يَفْحُشُ ، وَالْمَرْجِعُ فِي ذَلِكَ إلَى الْعَادَةِ ، إلَّا أَنَّ الْمُغَلَّظَةَ يَفْحُشُ مِنْهَا مَا لَا يَفْحُشُ مِنْ غَيْرِهَا ، فَيُعْتَبَرُ ذَلِكَ فِي الْمَانِعِ مِنْ الصَّلَاةِ . وَقَالَ أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ : إنْ انْكَشَفَ مِنْ الْمُغَلَّظَةِ قَدْرُ الدِّرْهَمِ أَوْ مِنْ الْمُخَفَّفَةِ أَقَلُّ مِنْ رُبُعِهَا ، لَمْ تَبْطُلْ الصَّلَاةُ . وَإِنْ كَانَ أَكْثَرَ ، بَطَلَتْ . وَلَنَا ، أَنَّ هَذَا شَيْءٌ لَمْ يَرِدْ الشَّرْعُ بِتَقْدِيرِهِ ، فَرُجِعَ فِيهِ إلَى الْعُرْفِ ، كَالْكَثِيرِ مِنْ الْعَمَلِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ ، وَالتَّفَرُّقِ وَالْإِحْرَازِ ، وَالتَّقْدِيرُ بِالتَّحَكُّمِ مِنْ غَيْرِ دَلِيلٍ لَا يَسُوغُ".

According to a number of authoritative hadith critics like Yahya ibn Ma'in, Ibn Lahi'ah is ruled as a weak narrator in absolute terms, even before his books were burnt.

Besides being a proponent of Mu'tazilism, the Abbasid Caliph Ma'mun is also reported to have had strong Shi'i tendencies, even promoting the superiority of 'Ali (radiya Allahu 'anhu) over the rest of the Companions.

Shaykh Marʿī al-Karmī رحمه الله states in his blessed work Dalīl al-Ṭālib, regarding ṭahūr water whose usage is impermissible: ماء يحرم استعماله ولا يرفع الحدث ويزيل الخبث The translator rendered this passage as meaning that unlawfully used ṭahūr water neither lifts ritual impurity nor removes physical impurity. However, this is incorrect, as the negation “لا” was improperly extended to the second clause, thereby altering the intended ruling of the author. The phrase: ولا يرفع الحدث ويزيل الخبث only negates the lifting of ḥadath, while affirming the removal of khabath. Had the author intended to negate both, he would have stated: ولا يرفع الحدث ولا يزيل الخبث or employed similar wording explicitly extending the negation to both clauses. This understanding is explicitly clarified by Ibn ʿAwaḍ رحمه الله in his Ḥāshiyah, where he states that impermissibly used ṭahūr water does indeed remove khabath, even though it does not lift ḥadath. Ibn ʿAwaḍ رحمه الله states: قوله: (ويزيلُ الخبثَ) فتزول النجاسةُ بنحو مغصوبٍ؛ لأن إزالتها من قسم التروك، بخلاف رفع الحدث. This is further supported by the Muʿtamad Hanbali works such as al-Muntaha and its commentary, wherein the same 'Ibarah is found: فَتَزُولُ النَّجَاسَةُ بِنَحْوِ مَغْصُوبٍ، لِأَنَّ إزَالَتَهَا مِنْ قِسْمِ التُّرُوكِ، بِخِلَافِ رَفْعِ الْحَدَثِ Meaning: “Impurity is removed even by something such as usurped water, because its removal falls under the category of abstentions (turūk), unlike the lifting of ritual impurity (ḥadath).”