Massoud Vahedi

Engaging with orientalists and critics of the Islamic tradition takes time. Dr. Wahbah al-Zuhayli said: "These sciences [i.e. of the Din] are interlinked. Build your foundations first. After having these foundations, you will be able to intuitively respond to these [claims and misconceptions] by having immersed yourself in the tradition." [Source: Dr. Omar Qureshi]

Zalmay Khalilzad's wife is Cheryl Benard, who wrote the infamous RAND report on reforming Islam ("Civil Democratic Islam"). Based on his writings, Khalilzad harbours similar views to his wife regarding changing and reforming Islam from within. You have to honestly ask yourself why a man with this type of background and ties is given so much respect and sittings by an ostensibly Islamic government.

Umm, are the peer reviewers and the Editor with us in the room right now?

فائدةٌ نفيسة للفقهاء من أصحابنا الحنابلة:

لما كنتُ أقرأ كتابَ "المبدع" للبرهان ابن مفلح رحمه الله، لحِظتُ فيه أمرًا حسنًا جدًّا، لم أرَه في غيره من كتب أصحابنا في الفروع، وذلك أنه يعتني بحكاية الإجماعات مقرونةً بذكر سندها من النُّصوص، وقلَّما يُخلي إجماعًا من ذلك، وكأنَّه كان يرتسم طريقة شيخ الإسلام رحمه الله في قوله: "عامَّة موارِد الإجماع منصوصة" فأبان بصنيعه هذا عمقَ استقراء شيخ الإسلام رحمه الله، على أنَّ شيخ الإسلام لا يمنع انعقاد الإجماع عن قياس وغيره، فليس هو ممن يشترط في الإجماع أن يكون مستندًا إلى نصٍّ، لكنه -من جهة الواقع- يرى أنَّ عامَّةَ الإجماعاتِ الصحيحةِ مستندةٌ إلى نصوصٍ، وقلَّما يخرجُ إجماعٌ صحيحٌ عن ذلك. وأما طريقة البرهان ابن مفلح-رحمه الله- في سياقة هذه الإجماعات مع أسانيدها؛ فإنها جاريةٌ على مَهْيعٍ واحدٍ وصيغةٍ واحدةٍ غالبا، بأن يقرِّر الحكمَ ويعقبه بقوله: (إجماعًا، وسندُه كذا) وقد ساق نحوًا من ثلاث مئة (٣٠٠) إجماعٍ في المبدع على هذا الوجه. وهذا يمهِّد إلى الإشارة والاقتراح بفكرة علميَّة مفادها: أن ينتهض باحثٌ إلى جمع هذه الحكايات الإجماعيَّة المقرونة بأسانيدها من النُّصوص، ويرتبها على الأبواب الفقهيَّة، ولو خرَّج ما فيها من الأحاديث مع الحكم عليها؛ لكان هذا زيادةً في الإحسان، ولكنَّ المقصودَ بالأصالةِ هو جمعُ هذه الإجماعات ومستنداتها النصيَّة، حتَّى تكون منارًا للحنبليِّ في حفظ جملةٍ وافرةٍ من الإجماعات الفقهيَّة مقرونةً بنصوصها الشرعيَّة، فيتحصَّلُ له من ذلك فائدةٌ علميَّةٌ جليلةٌ، لا تقع له -في العادة- إلا بتتبُّعٍ شديدٍ، وخبرةٍ بالنُّصوص ومظانِّها الجليَّة والخفيَّة، والله الموفِّق.

I am genuinely baffled by a person who lives in the general orbit of talab al-ilm for many years without attaining fluency in Arabic. Other than memorizing Allah's noble Book, the greatest investment that you can make with exponential returns in this context is fluency in Arabic. It gives you access to multiple universes of knowledge that are inaccessible to non-Arabic speakers, and it allows you to bypass many of the unneeded (and oft-unreliable) intermediaries between you and the classics. Relatively speaking, there is a point in the non-Arabic speaking student's journey where everything except the study of Arabic is a background noise and a distraction. This is not to undermine the good content out there in English for Muslims of all backgrounds, but an actual talib al-'ilm must recognize this reality.

If an advertisement for a class or program has been produced using AI, I would be highly unlikely to consider enrolling in it or signing up. So many of these ads have the same generic features and dull visual style, which makes them feel artificial, impersonal, and, frankly, somewhat lazy. The use of AI-generated promotional material reflects poorly on an institution, especially when hiring a professional graphic designer to create an authentic and thoughtfully designed advertisement would be a relatively modest investment. You're saving short-term, but losing out on the long run.

For us Afghans to talk about Syria in this way is totally foolish and insensitive. Sneako is not even Syrian, and Syrian/PartisanGirl is mocked most by other Syrians, which shows how fringe her views really are. This interview does not reflect any "traction". Right now, there is a stronger level of resistance, grievances, and pushback against the government in Afghanistan, but will we be consistent and blame them for their policies (e.g. restrictions on female education) and the weird "cult following" from the manosphere that they have?

BREAKING: President Ahmad Sharaa Signs Up for Muslim Skeptic, Chooses “Monthly Installments” at Checkout DAMASCUS — In what financial analysts are calling an unprecedented development in the history of ideological subscriptions, Syrian leader Ahmad Sharaa has reportedly enrolled in Daniel Haqiqatjou's Muslim Skeptic’s premium membership program, pledging to make his monthly payments using a credit card. The announcement came shortly after Sharaa was mocked by Muslim Skeptic founder Daniel Haqiqatjou over the introduction of credit-card infrastructure in Syria. Rather than retreat from the controversy, Sharaa apparently decided to embrace the system wholeheartedly. According to sources familiar with the transaction, Sharaa selected the “Non-Compassionate Faith” payment plan, accepted the terms and conditions, and authorized automatic monthly billing.

Give Sneako a blackboard and marker, and he will become the Muslim Professor Jiang.

“The science of Arabic grammar has a door of iron, but its corridors are made of reeds. In other words, it is extremely difficult when one first begins studying it. But once the door gets opened and the seeker gets through that initial difficulty, the rest becomes easy, and what once seemed hard becomes simple.” — Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn

"There is no such thing as 'Fiqh of Minorities'. But yes, there is the fiqh of necessities, whereby a state of necessity allows one to perform a forbidden act. The concept of necessity is found in the Islamic Shari'ah, and applies wherever you are. However, the claim that simply living in Europe [or North America] entitles you to a specific hukm which coheres with your lifestyle is something which we do not find evidence for in our Shari'ah or Islamic history in any form." - Dr. Muhammad Sa'id Ramadan al-Buti

FIQH OF MINORITIES? "There is no such thing as 'Fiqh of Minorities'. But yes, there is the fiqh of necessities, whereby a state of necessity allows one to perform a forbidden act. The concept of necessity is found in the Islamic Shari'ah, and applies wherever you are. However, the claim that simply living in Europe [or North America] entitles you to a specific hukm which coheres with your lifestyle is something which we do not find evidence for in our Shari'ah or Islamic history in any form." - Dr. Muhammad Sa'id Ramadan al-Buti

When you take an Usul al-Fiqh class with Daniel Haqiqatjou and he starts teaching the section on Qiyas.

As for reversing the order (tankis) of the Qur'an, it can assume three forms: 1) The first is reversing the letters of the verses, meaning that one recites an individual verse backwards. This is prohibited by consensus. The person who does it is sinful and receives no reward for such recitation. If he does it mockingly, he becomes a disbeliever, because the meaning for which the Qur’an was revealed cannot be maintained by reciting it in this manner. For example, he might recite Qul huwa Allahu ahad backwards, beginning with the end and continuing in that fashion. This constitutes mockery. If the person intends it as mockery, then he has committed disbelief, may Allah protect us from that. 2) The second type is reversing the order of the verses. In this case, the individual does not reverse the letters themselves, but reverses the verses, starting from the last and finishing with the first. For example, he recites Lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad before Allahu al-samad, and then making the last verse he recites Qul huwa Allahu ahad. This too is prohibited and is an innovation in the religion. 3) As for the third type, it is reversing the order of the surahs: namely, reciting a surah that comes later in the order of the mushaf before the surah that precedes it. This is permissible without disagreement, whether in prayer or outside of prayer, as has been transmitted from Qadi 'Iyad and others.” - summarized from Shaykh Salih al-Shamrani

Shaykh Joe should have just said, "Shaykh al-Albani said it was weak." Then he would have said, "Doesn't mean anything, it could be authentic....Oh, no no no." Stumped.

(وَلَا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ وَاصْبِرُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ) قال الشيخ محمد باجابر: "جاء التعبير في قوله تعالى (فَتَفْشَلُوا) بفاء التعقيب الدالة على السرعة، للدلالة على سرعة حدوث الفشل بعد التنازع، وأنه ليس هناك فاصل زمني طويل بينهما، فهما متلازمان متلاحقان."

I was on the fence for a long time. What pushed me off it wasn't the other side's arguments, it was the contradictory messaging and the absence of any strategic vision. They don't know what they are doing. I have a teenage daughter. The idea that after grade six she sits all day with no schedule, no friends, no challenge to keep her mind working ...I can't stand behind it. There's a lot she could learn at home, but keep in mind it's 2026 and everyone in the city has a smartphone. So: let them scroll reels all day, or put them in a girls' school with a decent curriculum where they're reading and writing? The whole matter can be reconciled under the qaida fiqhiyya إذا ضاقَ الأمرُ اتَّسَع، وإذا اتَّسَعَ ضاق — "when a matter becomes constricted it expands, and when it expands it becomes constricted." In the absence of real options, you got to go with what is possible out there (without breaking the Shariah). There are little options as of now." - @Move to Muscat

"...the psychological toll of a girl sitting at home learning nothing is not a small thing. There are no decent parks, no recreation, no free programs, not even a serious madrassa system for girls — because there are very few qualified women scholars, and you don't produce them by keeping girls at home. And strategically you are behind neighbors who happen to antagonize you. You will keep sending your women to them for treatment. Meanwhile the Afghans who care about their daughters' education will leave, and many already have. Then there's the part nobody seems to have counted. These schools employ women. Teachers, administrators, staff, and for a lot of households that salary is the difference between getting by and not. Families are willing to pay the fees. It isn't money coming out of the government's pocket. You've shut down something that paid for itself and pulled women out of poverty while it did....

"...an established morality is as necessary as good government to the welfare of society. Societies disintegrate from within more frequently than they are broken up by external pressures. There is disintegration when no common morality is observed and history shows that the loosening of moral bonds is often the first stage of disintegration, so that society is justified in taking the same steps to preserve its moral code as it does to preserve its government and other essential institutions." - Patrick Devlin