KR

Sharing this at the conclusion of some superb selfless advice for final year students of Alimiyyah studying the Kutub Sittah. Directions for Dawrah (Part One) Directions for Dawrah (Part Two) Directions for Dawrah (Part Three) Directions for Dawrah (Part Four) Directions for Dawrah (Part Five)

The legacy of Shah Wali Allah is one of great insight (so we are told by people possessing far greater knowledge than ourselves), but while that legacy must be meticulously studied with dedication, that dedication must be coupled with true erudition in the sciences upon which the Shah was building: the rational sciences that were taught and studied in his milieu; the tradition of tasawwuf that he had lived; the exposure that he had to fiqh and hadith across schools, as can be seen in his Ithaf al-Nabih, al-Insaf, and Iqd al-Jid; as well as the problems that he had seen facing students of these sciences, both in and of themselves, but also in how they were to be applied in a Mughal India that was changing very rapidly. This is not a claim to expertise, nor is it a call to lay down arms; it is a proposition (borne of great hope, not disdain) to raise the standard of discourse that we have been accustomed to vis-à-vis the Shah in particular and the tradition in general, something that the heirs of the Shah (and others) are more than capable of achieving.

Studying the Shah: Navigating the "Waliyullahi" Corpus There has recently been much discussion about Shah Wali Allah al-Dehlawi and his legacy. It is a tradition that is contested by various parties, each professing to accurately represent the thought and methodological roadmap that the Shah and his heirs had left behind. Be that as it may, it is extremely difficult to say that his thought has been faithfully and holistically transmitted, much less manifested and operationalised. This holds especially true for the Anglosphere, despite bold claims to the contrary. In that vein, I thought it beneficial to share a recommended program of study that Shaykh Ubaid Allah Sindhi had offered for one seeking to approach the intellectual and spiritual heritage of the Shah and his sons. The advice of Shaykh Sindhi, a man who had dedicated much of his life to the study of the Shah and his thought, should be understood as the culminating reflections of a lifetime of companionship with the Dehlawi oeuvre. The curriculum is intended for one who studied the commentaries of the Sullam al-Ulum of Muhibb Allah al-Bihari, a condition absent in today's enthusiasts. He says:

The rank of one who has studied the commentaries of the Sullam today is the same as those scholars who had studied the Sharh al-Matali' in their time.

He then outlines his proposed course of study, of which I have shared a paraphrased translation below (if the author of the book is not mentioned, it is written by Shah Wali Allah himself):

An intelligent young student, upon completing this stage (the commentaries of Sullam al-Ulum) should begin with Shah Rafi' al-Din's Takmil al-Adhhan. After this, he should read Abaqat (by Shah Isma'il), followed by Sata'at (Shaykh Ubaid Allah's lectures are found here). After this he should read al-Budur al-Bazighah , excluding the introduction, after which he may read Hujjat Allah al-Balighah (Shaykh Ubaid Allah's lecture notes are shared here). Then, he can read al-Fawz al-Kabir, followed by Fath al-Rahman (the Shah's annotated translation of the Quran in Farsi). When reading Fath al-Rahman, one should keep at hand as many tafsir works as one has access to; when encountering any point that appears strange or at odds with the majority of tafsir scholarship, the reader should give it special attention and research it in all of the available tafsir literature, attempting to find the underlying consideration that may have led the Shah to adopt a position lacking strong exegetical precedent, taking care to document the resulting conclusion."

Shaykh Sindhi then mentions that he considers Shaykh Qasim Nanotwi's books to be beneficial in rendering the Waliyullahi tradition more accessible, in that a student who repeatedly reads them (even if that means skipping parts that prove to be too difficult), will have nurtured within themselves the ability to read the Shah's works. He says that the final work on this list should be al-Tafhimat al-Ilahiyyah, which "should be understood to be an important work for resolving issues of great controversy in the world, but one's outlook at the time of studying this work should be so open-minded that they can take wisdom from Satan himself."

Awwamah on Abd 'l-Rashid al-Nu'mani on a Hanafi reading Salah behind a non-Hanafi

(Updated with link)

Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War, airing now on ITV1, UK First-hand Israeli testimony on its genocidal barbarism.

‏هل للفقهاء منهج في تصحيح الحديث وتضعيفه مخالف لمنهج المحدثين

Please take from me and from my opponents, and decide for yourselves. I’m not going to force my opinion on you.

Except you don’t get to magnanimously play the “neutral party”, the “sane head in the room”, the “voice of reason”, or the “bigger person” - not after having laid the groundwork to undermine the intellectual fundamentals of Islam. You don’t get the privilege of lecturing everyone else on staying calm after having torched the house. It’s manipulative theatrics masquerading as humility and neutrality. You do not get rise above the conflict that you yourself set in motion. Rather, you are the conflict.

Clement Attlee, former Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Source: http://pdfs.jta.org/1958/1958-10-09_191.pdf

Also Shah Abd 'l-Aziz

Shah Abd 'l-Aziz

Shah Abd ‘l-Aziz on allowing praying behind people of other schools without qualification. He also alludes to the fact that people on the Haramayn at his time would routinely rest behind Imams of other schools despite having the option of praying behind the imam of their own school.

Every town/city/county in the UK needs to follow the lead of Preston. Great to see cooperation across previous sectarian divides.

A reference in the Shafi'i School for when a non-Arabic sermon for Friday is allowed. From حاشية الشرواني: (وَيُشْتَرَطُ كَوْنُهَا إلَخْ) وَجُمْلَةُ شُرُوطِ الْخُطْبَتَيْنِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ الْإِسْمَاعُ وَالسَّمَاعُ وَالْمُوَالَاةُ وَسَتْرُ الْعَوْرَةِ وَطَهَارَةُ الْحَدَثِ وَالْخَبَثِ وَكَوْنُهُمَا بِالْعَرَبِيَّةِ وَكَوْنُ الْخَطِيبِ ذَكَرًا وَالْقِيَامُ فِيهِمَا لِقَادِرٍ عَلَيْهِ وَالْجُلُوسُ بَيْنَهُمَا بِالطُّمَأْنِينَةِ وَتَقْدِيمُهُمَا عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ وَوُقُوعُهُمَا فِي وَقْتِ الظُّهْرِ وَفِي خِطَّةِ أَبْنِيَةٍ وَلَا يُشْتَرَطُ فِي سَائِرِ الْخُطَبِ إلَّا الْإِسْمَاعُ وَالسَّمَاعُ وَكَوْنُ الْخَطِيبِ ذَكَرًا وَكَوْنُ الْخُطْبَةِ عَرَبِيَّةً وَمَحَلُّ اشْتِرَاطِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ إنْ كَانَ فِي الْقَوْمِ عَرَبِيٌّ وَإِلَّا كَفَى كَوْنُهَا بِالْعَجَمِيَّةِ إلَّا فِي الْآيَةِ It goes onto say: قَالَ ع ش قَوْلُهُ: م ر، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْهَا إلَخْ قَضِيَّتُهُ أَنَّ الْخَطِيبَ لَوْ أَحْسَنَ لُغَتَيْنِ غَيْرَ عَرَبِيَّتَيْنِ كَرُومِيَّةٍ وَفَارِسِيَّةٍ مَثَلًا وَبَاقِي الْقَوْمِ يُحْسِنُ إحْدَاهُمَا فَقَطْ أَنَّ لِلْخَطِيبِ أَنْ يَخْطُبَ بِاللُّغَةِ الَّتِي لَا يُحْسِنُونَهَا وَفِيهِ نَظَرٌ بَلْ الظَّاهِرُ أَنَّ الْخُطْبَةَ لَا تُجْزِي حِينَئِذٍ إلَّا بِاللُّغَةِ الَّتِي يُحْسِنُهَا وَقَوْلُهُ: م ر، فَإِنْ لَمْ يُحْسِنْ أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ التَّرْجَمَةَ أَيْ عَنْ شَيْءٍ مِنْ أَرْكَانِ الْخُطْبَةِ كَمَا تَقَدَّمَ عَنْ سم فِي قَوْلِهِ حَتَّى لَوْ لَمْ يُحْسِنْ الْخُطْبَةَ سَقَطَتْ كَالْجُمُعَةِ ع ش It's lawfulness/validity therefore is a discussion that is not exclusive to the Hanafi School.

A reference in the Shafi'i School for when a non-Arabic sermon for Friday is allowed. From حاشية الشرواني: (وَيُشْتَرَطُ كَوْنُهَا إلَخْ) وَجُمْلَةُ شُرُوطِ الْخُطْبَتَيْنِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ الْإِسْمَاعُ وَالسَّمَاعُ وَالْمُوَالَاةُ وَسَتْرُ الْعَوْرَةِ وَطَهَارَةُ الْحَدَثِ وَالْخَبَثِ وَكَوْنُهُمَا بِالْعَرَبِيَّةِ وَكَوْنُ الْخَطِيبِ ذَكَرًا وَالْقِيَامُ فِيهِمَا لِقَادِرٍ عَلَيْهِ وَالْجُلُوسُ بَيْنَهُمَا بِالطُّمَأْنِينَةِ وَتَقْدِيمُهُمَا عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ وَوُقُوعُهُمَا فِي وَقْتِ الظُّهْرِ وَفِي خِطَّةِ أَبْنِيَةٍ وَلَا يُشْتَرَطُ فِي سَائِرِ الْخُطَبِ إلَّا الْإِسْمَاعُ وَالسَّمَاعُ وَكَوْنُ الْخَطِيبِ ذَكَرًا وَكَوْنُ الْخُطْبَةِ عَرَبِيَّةً وَمَحَلُّ اشْتِرَاطِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ إنْ كَانَ فِي الْقَوْمِ عَرَبِيٌّ وَإِلَّا كَفَى كَوْنُهَا بِالْعَجَمِيَّةِ إلَّا فِي الْآيَةِ It goes onto say: قَالَ ع ش قَوْلُهُ: م ر، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْهَا إلَخْ قَضِيَّتُهُ أَنَّ الْخَطِيبَ لَوْ أَحْسَنَ لُغَتَيْنِ غَيْرَ عَرَبِيَّتَيْنِ كَرُومِيَّةٍ وَفَارِسِيَّةٍ مَثَلًا وَبَاقِي الْقَوْمِ يُحْسِنُ إحْدَاهُمَا فَقَطْ أَنَّ لِلْخَطِيبِ أَنْ يَخْطُبَ بِاللُّغَةِ الَّتِي لَا يُحْسِنُونَهَا وَفِيهِ نَظَرٌ بَلْ الظَّاهِرُ أَنَّ الْخُطْبَةَ لَا تُجْزِي حِينَئِذٍ إلَّا بِاللُّغَةِ الَّتِي يُحْسِنُهَا وَقَوْلُهُ: م ر، فَإِنْ لَمْ يُحْسِنْ أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ التَّرْجَمَةَ أَيْ عَنْ شَيْءٍ مِنْ أَرْكَانِ الْخُطْبَةِ كَمَا تَقَدَّمَ عَنْ سم فِي قَوْلِهِ حَتَّى لَوْ لَمْ يُحْسِنْ الْخُطْبَةَ سَقَطَتْ كَالْجُمُعَةِ ع ش

I think it is high time for every single mosque, Islamic seminary, and Maktab in the UK to be trained to defend their lives and places of worship and education. It’s a ticking time bomb before - God forbid - something like Christchurch happens again.

https://fxtwitter.com/I_amMukhtar/status/1983971224695849069 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gj927l64qo