Roots Of Knowledge ROK 😊

Everyone's Statements Can Be Scrutinised Even The Ulema Whenever I hear a statement from a scholar regarding a matter outside of their field of speciality, I always take it with a pinch of salt and never assume it to be a universal absolute rule. Humans are always going to be limited by their upbringing, their surroundings, and their own finite knowledge. Naturally, this means their takes on worldly life are often highly specific to their own context, not general rules for everyone. Even if a scholar genuinely believes their advice applies universally, those opinions rarely age well. For instance, a scholar might mention that a certain fruit is the best, and people will misinterpret that to mean it’s a religious recommendation for everyone. Or they might wear a particular style of clothing, and suddenly that design is believed to be preferred over others as if it were spiritually superior. In almost any other field, we only take someone seriously when they’ve done rigorous research, collected large amounts of data, and had their results tried and tested by others. Yet, it is incredibly common to find speakers on the pulpit making sweeping statements without much research or basing arguments entirely on a random quote from a past mufassir or pious person. What I truly admire about our classical tradition, though, is that the greatest scholars have always tested such statements through strict principles of research. They always mentioned that the Prophet's (peace be upon him) sayings to his companions were exact, accurate, and free of unnecessary exaggeration. Even then, the Prophet spoke to individuals on different levels. He tailored his advice to many audiences, including the entire Muslim nation, his family, his congregation, men, women, children, and non-Muslim communities. Many early experts made a clear distinction between words meant for a specific group at the time and those meant for the entire Muslim Ummah. Because of this, later scholars would look at the context to differentiate between universal laws and localised time-bound advice. This level of honesty in classical scholarly circles is something I have always deeply admired. I still remember the first time I heard Imam Malik’s famous statement: "Everyone is subject to being right or wrong except for the occupant of this grave [the Prophet, peace be upon him]." I believe this human fallibility must be constantly reiterated today, just in case people start buying into grandiose statements and treating a scholar's personal opinions as absolute truths. As students, we have to realise that a scholar’s opinion will always remain just that, the opinion of a human being. It can never come close to the divine weight of the statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him). For me, mixing the two up is dangerous; it ultimately opens the door to innovations and distorts the beautifully consistent nature of Islamic teachings.

Hanafi timeline of scholars https://ziyadasghar-git.github.io/hanafi-atlas/index.html

Why Madrasa Graduates Don't Write As Much As Those Who Have Been Uni I have recently been thinking about why today's graduates are not stepping up into the public domain and putting pen to paper, despite spending the better part of a decade studying various areas of the Islamic sciences. Generally, it is only when they go to university that they become more confident in writing articles, papers, and books. University seems to bring out their research skills and gives them the space to articulate themselves. Madrasa setups, unfortunately, lack the curricula to develop these research skills. Instead, students are encouraged to repeat what a few of their teachers and elders have written and said, without being given the opportunity to test whether those findings are unchangeable or if there is still room for disagreement. The graduates who do become prolific writers, actively engaging with contemporary topics and discussions, are usually the product of a passionate teacher or two who shaped the way they think and satiated their desire for unbiased research. I'd say there is a clear correlation between being a thinker and being a writer. There is nothing wrong with graduates spending the rest of their days simply teaching what they have learned without engaging in the contemporary discussions circulating in our communities. What is not okay, however, is when someone tries to criticise someone else's research simply because it does not align with what they were told in class. The difference between a graduate who has reached a conclusion through rigorous research and someone who relies solely on what they were taught is clear: the former will be content and secure in their position, while the latter usually feels insecure and is unable to counter points of contention themselves.

Why Madrasa Graduates Don't Write As Much As Those Who Have Been Uni I have recently been thinking about why today's graduates are not stepping up into the public domain and putting pen to paper, despite spending the better part of a decade studying various areas of the Islamic sciences. Generally, it is only when they go to university that they become more confident in writing articles, papers, and books. University seems to bring out their research skills and gives them the space to articulate themselves. Madrasa setups, unfortunately, lack the curricula to develop these research skills. Instead, students are encouraged to repeat what a few of their teachers and elders have written and said, without being given the opportunity to test whether those findings are unchangeable or if there is still room for disagreement. The graduates who do become prolific writers—actively engaging with contemporary topics and discussions—are usually the product of a passionate teacher or two who shaped the way they think and satiated their desire for unbiased research. I'd say there is a clear correlation between being a thinker and being a writer. There is nothing wrong with graduates spending the rest of their days simply teaching what they have learned without engaging in the contemporary discussions circulating in our communities. What is not okay, however, is when someone tries to criticise someone else's research simply because it does not align with what they were told in class. The difference between a graduate who has reached a conclusion through rigorous research and someone who relies solely on what they were taught is clear: the former will be content and secure in their position, while the latter usually feels insecure and is unable to counter points of contention themselves.

New lesson nadded to Sharh Qatr Nada Lesson 61: https://www.urooq.com/courses/18

What was the very first principle the Prophet ﷺ turned to when faced with a crisis? Whether he ﷺ was resolving a dispute or making split-second decisions on the battlefield, his actions followed a Divine blueprint. This Saturday, we aren't just looking back at what he ﷺ did—we are uncovering the "why" and the "how" so you can apply those same principles to the challenges you face in 2026. This is your final opportunity to secure a seat. If you want to move beyond theory and gain a practical roadmap for leading yourself, your family, and your professional life, this intensive is for you. Mufti Liaquat Zaman will be breaking down these core principles in detail. 📅 Date: Saturday 13th June 🕙 Time: 10am – 3pm 📍 Venue: As-Suffa Institute, 156 High St, B6 4UX 👥 Open to: Brothers and Sisters 💰 Fee: £15 (without meal) | £20 (with meal included) There are only a few places left. Don’t miss the chance to refine your leadership through the ultimate role model. 🔗 Register now at: https://as-suffa.org/education/prophetic-leadership-a-blueprint-for-today/

Can you do me a favour and share this message jzk

What was the very first principle the Prophet ﷺ turned to when faced with a crisis? Whether he ﷺ was resolving a dispute or making split-second decisions on the battlefield, his actions followed a Divine blueprint. This Saturday, we aren't just looking back at what he ﷺ did—we are uncovering the "why" and the "how" so you can apply those same principles to the challenges you face in 2026. This is your final opportunity to secure a seat. If you want to move beyond theory and gain a practical roadmap for leading yourself, your family, and your professional life, this intensive is for you. Mufti Liaquat Zaman will be breaking down these core principles in detail. 📅 Date: Saturday 13th June 🕙 Time: 10am – 3pm 📍 Venue: As-Suffa Institute, 156 High St, B6 4UX 👥 Open to: Brothers and Sisters 💰 Fee: £15 (without meal) | £20 (with meal included) There are only a few places left. Don’t miss the chance to refine your leadership through the ultimate role model. 🔗 Register now at: https://as-suffa.org/education/prophetic-leadership-a-blueprint-for-today/

Good News! The course will be available online too https://as-suffa.org/education/prophetic-leadership-a-blueprint-for-today/

Books on leadership These are the books I used for the upcoming Leadership Course next week for those interested in the topic The most useful ones to me by far are the following: > Muhammad (s): 11 Leadership Qualities That Changed the World > Leadership - An Islamic Perspective > Mirror Thinking - Fiona Murden > Leadership of Prophets - Syed Kazmi > Leaders Eat Last - Simon Sinek > With The Heart In Mind - Mikaeel Ahmed Smith Although this was not directly about leadership, it was very informative and highly recommend it. I wish someone wrote a muslims of the past version. > The 100 - A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons Michael H. Hart Ive added the list to googledrive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DSBNuTdBY84lRUIou6mrU38X7ohxYlRM?usp=sharing The list is in no special order: 1. A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Studying Leadership Brad Jackson & Ken Parry 2. Propaganda Edward Bernays 3. The Leadership of Muhammad - A Historical Reconstruction Joel Hayward 4. The Leadership of Muhammad John Eric Adair 5. The 100 - A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons Michael H. Hart 6. What Makes a Balanced Leader – An Islamic Perspective Noha El-siouny & Ahmed Amin (Editors) 7. Humble Leadership – The Power of Relationships, Openness Edgar H. Schein & Peter A. Schein 8. Leadership - An Islamic Perspective Rafik Issa Beekun & Jamal A. Badawi 9. Inspiring Leadership - Learning from Great Leaders John Eric Adair 10. Brain Rules John Medina 11. Spiritual Intelligence Danah Zohar 12. SQ21 Cindy Wigglesworth 13. Leadership of Prophets Syed Kazmi 14. Action-Centered Leadership John Eric Adair 15. The Battlefields of the Prophet Muhammad, with maps. Muhammad Hamidullah 16. Dare to Lead (Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.) Brené Brown 17. How to Grow Leaders - The Seven Key Principles John Eric Adair 18. Muhammad (s): 11 Leadership Qualities That Changed the World Nabeel Al-Azami 19. Servant Leadership Larry W. Boone 20. Leadership and Ethics Jacqueline Boaks 21. Trust-Based Leadership Dr. Charles du Toit 22. Leaders Eat Last Simon Sinek 23. Depth Leadership Helene Smit 24. Inspired Citizens Jennie Sweet-Cushman 25. Mirror Thinking Fiona Murden القدوة الحسنة في منهج الدعوة الى الله 26 Imam Alavi Maliki 27. With The Heart In Mind Mikaeel Ahmed Smith 28. Strategies of Prophet Muhammad Omar Sheikh 29. Leadership Lessons from the Prophet Yawar Baig 30. Islam between the East and the West Alija Izetbegovic 31. Revival of the Islamic Sciences Abu Hamid al-Ghazali 32. Hujjah al-Allah al-Baaligha Shah Wali Allah dihlawi 33. Islam and the World Abu al-Hasan Nadawi قيادة الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم السياسية والعسكرية 34 أحمد راتب عوموس

Why don't we teach strategy? I’ve almost finished reading 'Strategies of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him' by Omar Khayyam Shaykh, and it got me thinking about what you could call the Sunnah of Strategy. To really appreciate how good someone is at something, you actually need to understand the subject yourself. That’s why most people don't fully get why Seebawayh was a genius in Nahw, or the sheer skill Imam Bukhari had in Hadith, or how much Ibn Sina changed medicine. Usually, people are just blown away because they’ve been told a thousand times that someone was amazing or wrote a legendary book. But if you asked them to actually prove "why" that person was great, they’d struggle to explain it. It's as though we've become happy with parroting what we hear and adding our own glaze on top. Many would rather put everything down to some miraculous act, content to continue with a type of blind reverence. It’s the same with leadership. Most people are unaware of how outstanding Rasool Allah peace be upon him was as a leader because they do not pay careful attention to the key decisions that he made during battles, in foreign policy, or while managing internal issues in Medina. As Muslims, we tend to romanticise a lot of Islamic history. We often leave out the actual rationale, the logic behind why the Prophet peace be upon him or the Sahabah made specific, conscious choices. Their decisions were rooted in real experience, deep knowledge, and serious consultation. Nothing was done off the cuff or in a vacuum. When we read the Seerah, we must go beyond the dates and events to see how the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) made a lasting impression on his community by guiding his people through both easy and difficult times. The beautiful thing about the Seerah is that miraculous events were very few and far between compared to the tough decisions and hard effort he peace be upon him & the companions made. The mindset that shaped them was clear it's your effort Allah wants, not for you to sit around waiting for something magical to happen. When we start teaching the "whys" and the "hows" behind these moments, people finally see Islam for what it is: a sophisticated system of beliefs and values that requires real human ingenuity and strategy to actually work in the real world.

Leadership course prep

Leadership course prep

Eid mubarak to everyone ! Have a wonderful day May Allah accept our deeds and those of the people doing hajj

Ya Allah Forgive us, our parents , our families, our teachers and our students Give us upright leaders in our communities Unite the Ummah, Help the oppressed Cure the ill. Forgive our deceased remove our debts accept our deeds Enter us into Jannah Firdous without any account See less

If i cant see it i dont believe it ! 😅 Im old school i need to see all my thoughts and notes to make sense, adjust and organise them Almost near the end phase of making the leadership course notes Ill post the books i used for anyone interested

Dr Muhammad Hamidullah and His Contributions I remember when I was doing a bit of research for a book I was writing on the development of Fiqh from the time of the Prophet peace be upon him to the formation of the madhabs. Before you ask, no, it's still not finished; it's heavily under construction ;) Anyway, one of the chapters I was working on covered the official letters sent out to governors back in the early days of Islam. These letters had a wide range of instructions, covering everything from what Surahs to recite in the congregational prayers, all the way to how to issue a legal ruling on unprecedented, real-world matters. During that research, I came across a really unique book written by a brilliant Indian scholar named Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah (Hamidullah Haydarabadi), who later studied in Europe and authored several incredible works. He put together a book compiling the official administrative documents from the time of the Prophet ﷺ all the way to the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. The book is called مجموعة الوثائق السياسية للعهد النبوي والخلافة الراشدة In it, he references the famous Constitution of Madinah. Now, the exact details of this constitution are highly contested among historians, but what makes his work insane is how he reconstructed it. He stitched the entire thing together by digging through over 20 different source languages—ranging from Arabic and Urdu to English, French, Dutch, Italian, Turkish, and many more. In fact, it’s reported that he actually mastered over 17 languages in his lifetime just to do this kind of deep research. The constitution itself is made up of 47 specific clauses covering a broad range of laws designed to allow unity, security, and cooperation between the various warring tribes and religious groups living in Madinah at the time. I won’t be diving into the fine details of these clauses during the actual leadership course, but I think I’ll add them to the supplementary notes.