Massoud Vahedi

My Memories of Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitou (may Allah envelop him in His infinite mercy) written by his student Hamza Karamali on 9 Ramadan 1447 Two nights ago, at the adhān of maghrib, on one of the blessed nights of Ramadan, when the gates of Paradise are opened wide, and the gates of the Hellfire are shut tight, my teacher Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitou left this world and passed on to the mercy of His Lord. May Allah Most High envelop him in His infinite mercy and enter him into the highest ranks of Paradise, and may He shower patience on his family, on his close students in Kuwait who were like his family, and on the entire Muslim umma. Read my memories of my teacher here: https://hamzakaramali.com/shaykh-hasan-hitou/

أصول فقه: أكثر المذاهب عملاً بأقوال الصحابة والتابعين هو المذهب الحنبلي إذ لم يحصر التلقي بفقهاء بلد كما فعل المذهب الحنفي والمذهب المالكي إذ حصر الأول الأخذ عن أهل الكوفة والثاني عن أهل المدينة (وقد صرح فقهاؤهم أنه ليس لأبي حنيفة قول يخرج به عن أهل الكوفة وليس لمالك قول يخرج به عن أهل المدينة) كما أنه لم يقيد الفقه بفقهاء عائلة واحدة كما فعل المذهب الزيدي مع أبناء زيد بن علي ، أو كما فعل المذهب الجعفري في حصر التلقي في أئمة اثني عشر. ولا توجد هذه الخصيصة إلا في المذهب الحنبلي والشافعي.

فائدة: "أهل المشرق يقولون الأصفهاني أو الإصفهاني، وأهل المغرب يقولون الأصبهاني أو الإصبهاني. فالفاء لغة أهل المشرق والباء لغة أهل المغرب." - الشيخ سامي الصقير

Note to myself and anyone who may see this as applicable to them: We will all die very soon. Ramadan is a rare opportunity for us to remove ourselves from the cycle of filth and nonsense (especially) online to which we have become accustomed. Delete or block some of those apps that are wasting your time. Even ghost those friends for a few weeks if you need to. If you are still arguing about politics, religious controversies, conspiracy theories, "Goylani", or any other sort of slop that Shaytan has gotten your system addicted to then you are seriously deprived of tawfiq and should be worried about the state of your iman and love for Allah ta'ala. Go read some Quran, or help your mother with her housework (if you are so fortunate to have a mother alive and close). Give your father a massage. Go to sleep if you have nothing else to do; sleep at least helps to avoid the negative spiritual effects of engaging in that which does not concern you.

Tafsir for Charity (Round Two) Ibn ‘Abbas, the cousin of the Prophet (ﷺ) says, “Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was the most generous of the people, and the most generous that he would be was in Ramadan when Jibril met him. Jibril would meet him every night of Ramadan, where he would revise the Qur'an with him, and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) would be even more generous than a strong wind.” (Sahih al-Bukhari) From this Hadith (and others), we see that Rasul Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلّم) increased two good actions in Ramadan: engagement with the Quran, and charity. Some commentators mention that this additional zeal to spend was from the effects of the Messenger's (صلى الله تعالى عليه وسلّم) elevated spiritual state from his time with Jibril, reciting more Quran, and naturally, the blessed nature of the month itself. In this vein, last year I had decided to try a somewhat novel idea: a tafsir series covering one surah (we had covered Surah Yusuf last year), with the optional "payment" of some charity to those in need. I had shared some links that I endorsed, but people were free to donate as they had liked. This year I will be trying to do the same. This year we will try to cover the entirety of Surat al-Anbiya'. I'll share the Zoom link(s) in the group. If you can't make it then don't let that stop you, as recordings will be posted daily in sha Allah. There is no registration process; just join at the link below (or with the QR code in the flyer): https://t.me/+6x5ze1fvRP8xMjJh May Allah ta'ala give us the good fortune of benefitting from his book and of being a means of relief to his creation. Waleed

A Detailed Analysis and Comprehensive Breakdown of the FCNA/AMJA Zakat Statement https://alnasafi.substack.com/p/a-detailed-analysis-and-comprehensive

هناك جماعة يريدون تضعيف كل حديث خارج البخاري بدعوى أن كل حديث أصل في بابه خارج البخاري فهو ضعيف عنده وهذا كلام لم يطرده أحد من أهل العلم المعتبرين وقد بيّن ابن خزيمة وهو تلميذ البخاري وشيخه أيضا إجماعا يهدم هذه القاعدة لما روى حديث البراء بن عازب وجابر في الوضوء من لحوم الإبل والغنم قال ابن خزيمة: "لم نر خلافا بين علماء أهل الحديث أن هذا الخبر صحيح من جهة النقل. وقال: "ولم نر خلافا بين علماء أهل الحديث أن هذا الخبر أيضا صحيح من جهة النقل لعدالة ناقليه". صحيحه رقم ٣١ و٣٢ ونقل الترمذي في العلل الكبير تصحيح البخاري لحديث جابر في أكل الضبع وحديث شكال الخيل وحديث تفطير الحاجم والمحجوم وحديث عمار في تقصير الخطب وحديث (هو الطهور ماؤه) وللبخاري نص مهم أيضا قال الترمذي: سألت محمدا عن هذا الحديث يعني: حديث عبد الله بن نافع , عن كثير بن عبد الله , عن أبيه , عن جده , أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كبر في العيدين في الأولى سبعا قبل القراءة , وفي الآخرة خمسا قبل القراءة فقال: ليس في الباب شيء أصح من هذا , وبه أقول. ,وحديث عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن الطائفي , عن عمرو بن شعيب , عن أبيه , عن جده , في هذا الباب هو صحيح أيضا , وعبد الله بن عبد الرحمن الطائفي مقارب الحديث .اهـ وفيه تنبيه مهم إلى أن المعروف عن البخاري تقوية سلسلة عمرو بن شعيب وسلسلة كثير بن عبد الله كما نقل أهل العلم في تراجم هذين الرجلين ولم يخرج شيئا من هاتين السلسلتين في صحيحه ولما روى الترمذي حديث اختصام الملأ الأعلى في جامعه قال: وسألت محمد بن إسماعيل عن هذا الحديث، فقال: هذا حديث حسن صحيح.اهـ وقد درس الشيخ الدريس في كتابه عن الحديث الحسن الأحاديث التي حسّنها البخاري فبين أنه إذا حسّن حديث فهذا يعني التصحيح فهذه الأحاديث تضاف إلى ما ذكرت وموقع الإشكال عند هؤلاء لمن صحت نيته منهم في إتباع الحق أنهم ظنوا أن البخاري ومسلما جمعا الصحيح وهذا غلط بل أصل شرطهما جمع أصح الصحيح ويلزم هؤلاء تعطيل الفقه فإن حديث القلتين وحديث بئر بضاعة في أن الماء طهور لا ينجسه شيء وحديث (هو الطهور ماؤه) كلها أحاديث في الحكم على طهارة الماء لم يخرج البخاري ولا مسلم منها شيئا فكأنهم يقولون أن رسول الله ﷺ لم يبين للأمة طهارة الماء أو أن الأمة اجتمعت على تضييع كلام النبي ﷺ في طهارة الماء وهو شطر الإيمان وكذلك فلم يخرج البخاري ولا مسلم حديثا في باب الوضوء من مس الذكر أو ترك الوضوء من مسه وغير ذلك من الأبواب ومن أراد التأكد من بطلان هذه القاعدة في فلينظر في أحد أبواب الفقه من كتاب فضل الرحيم الودود تخريج سنن أبي داود مثل كتاب الطهارة فسيجد الأحاديث التي صححها الإمام أحمد وابن معين وغيرهم من الأئمة الكبار وقد ذكرت في رسالة تعيين عدد الأحاديث الصحيحة عزو كلام الترمذي في العلل الكبير وبيان العدد الإجمالي لعدد الحديث الصحيح https://t.me/ibnsolimanalnagdy/597

The FCNA just announced that Ramadan will be on Wednesday based on astronomical calculations. Below is a quick summary before a brief comment and a quoted excerpt. None of this is disparaging the council, but rather evaluating the merits of their position. —— TL;DR: - For all intents and purposes, the moon can’t be sighted anywhere. - FCNA wants to remain consistent in their commitment (taqlīd?) to the ECFR criteria for calculating the moon, despite the likelihood that the ECFR will abandon it this year. - FCNA’s calculations will likely put Muslims in America in a minority position around the globe. - FCNA claims “ultimately, the decision rests with us.” They claim their position is defensible citing that they will complete 30 days of fasting. —— The FCNA’s focus on ensuring 30 days of fasting results in the abandonment of a principle of caution outlined by our scholars and based on Prophetic ﷺ Hadiths, namely the prohibition of fasting on the day of doubt, i.e. the last day of Sha’bān when the moon cannot be sighted due to interference. Ensuring 30 days of fasting is not a principle unless one is unable to sight the moon at the end of Ramadan. By applying this principle of completing 30 days of Ramadan pre-emptively, the FCNA ensures that they either: (1) fast the last day of Sha’bān as the first day of Ramadan, creating confusion surrounding liability for qadā’, kaffārah, and fidyah. (2) fast the day of doubt, thereby disobeying the Prophet ﷺ Below is the relevant portion where the council recognizes that the moon will be practically invisible to the naked eye and that they wish to maintain a faithful commitment to criteria that may be abandoned by the institution that put together the criteria.

“This explains the hesitation expressed by Diyanet (Turkey) and, following it, the European Council of Fatwa and Research, which concluded that despite meeting the geometric thresholds, the moon is not practically sightable anywhere on Earth on February 17. Consequently, much of the world may begin Ramadan on the evening of Wednesday, February 18 (and fasting on Thursday, February 19), when the moon will be older, brighter, and easily visible across wide regions. At this point, the decision rests with us. Declaring the start of Ramadan on the evening of February 17 is defensible, fully compliant with our long-standing criteria, and consistent with our previous announcements. It also ensures the completion of 30 days of fasting without risk of omission. However, it carries the possibility that we may be among the very few—or even the only—communities beginning Ramadan that night, potentially placing us at variance with the ECFR, whose criteria we have historically followed. Despite this possibility, we have decided to stick with the long-standing method and have established the dates of Ramadan and ʿEid al-Fitr based on the original ECFR criteria. May Allah (swt) keep us on the right path and accept our fasting and prayers. Ameen.”

The authors also write:

“While the Fiqh Council itself strongly encourages calculations for Ramadan, as it is the best option to bring about unity and avoid confusion and chaos”

Theoretically that may be the case, but it would require everyone to use the exact same standard. The FCNA itself is not willing to abandon the old ECFR criteria by expressing similar hesitation and awaiting a consensus decision among other institutions performing calculations. If calculations are also provincialized, what’s the difference between that and differences in local moon-sighting? In simpler terms, if different councils using calculations disagree, and commitments to council decisions are regional-based, what’s the difference between that and local moonsighting disagreements? Just some food for thought. Furthermore, none of this response is intended to denigrate the FCNA. Source: https://fiqhcouncil.org/ramadan-2026-announcement/

It is related that Mūsā alayhi al-Salam once said to Allah: “My Lord, who brings about illness and who grants cure?” Allah, Exalted is He, replied: “I do.” Mūsā then asked: “What, then, is the function of doctors?” Allah responded: “They earn their provision [through this work], console the hearts of My servants, and thereafter My healing or decree takes effect.” - Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din

All the hadiths that have been transmitted concerning the performance of mash (wiping) over the jabirah (dressing/splint placed over a wound to cause it to mend) are extremely weak, or fabricated. As al-Bayhaqi mentioned, nothing in this topic is established. Observing this fact, Shaykh Fahd al-Mutairi said, ironically: "The hadiths concerning wiping over the jabirah are so weak that they themselves are in need of a jabirah [to mend their weakness]!"

"Regarding the Hadith speaking of cows which says, 'Their milk is a cure and their flesh is an disease', it is inauthentic and goes against the principles of the religion... Our Shaykh [Ibn Uthaymin] said: 'If someone comes to you claiming that it is authentic, slap them on the face!'" - Shaykh 'Ubayd al-Baydani

Dr. Ahmad Snobar - كيف وصلت إلينا الأحاديث النبوية؟ - (personal notes - part 1/4) https://youtu.be/W18akFipdMg?feature=shared History of Hadith appears to be a relatively new field of study that does not seem to be given the same attention before this century. It has orientalist origins in terms of its dedicated field of focus. Hadith scholars were very critical in their assessment of hadiths, and demonstrated skepticism in a sense so cannot be described as naive. The Companions could easily have committed hadiths to memory as they often experienced the reports firsthand and then transmitted their personal experience making it very difficult to forget it. Most hadiths were transmitted naturally based on particular events that took place rather than a formal classroom setting. Some Companions narrated more than others due to their focus on teaching, number of students, region and dedication to learning, and age. Madinah, Kufa and Basrah were the main centres of learning. Abu Musa was a leader in Basrah; Aishah was in Madinah; Ibn Mas'ud in Kufa; Abu al-Darda' in Sham. Sham had a lower population of believers than non-believers. 'Adalah al-Sahaba The integrity of the Companions can be proven historically in several ways. One way is to say that there exists no single report demonstrating a lie or fabrication on their part, and that this is despite them having reasons to do so as it would provide their statement prophetic authority to impose on others. Another way is that despite the battles amongst the Companions, nobody fabricated a prophetic report from any side despite having every reason to do so. In fact, one of the Tabi'un who fought for Aishah actually narrates a report from Ali on qunut, indicating that he still trusted his transmission despite that. Even the famous report regarding 'Ammar ibn Yasir, when mentioned to Mu'awiyah he did not reject it on the grounds of fabrication (despite it being easy for him to do so by identifying a motive from the context), but he rather interpreted it. Furthermore, Mu'awiyah during his twenty years of leadership did not narrate any prophetic report citing his virtues when this could have supported his authority and position. (All the reports on his virtues are deemed inauthentic by most hadith scholars, and those reports do not come from him in any case.) The culture of the time also saw lying as a shameful act, as indicated in the incident of Abu Sufyan. Early critical attitudes The critical assessment of hadiths began right from the very era of the Companions. Several companions at times critiqued the reports of others on account of precision and error in transmission. This indicates that the early society had a scholarly and academic approach to reports rather than a superficial naive attitude. In fact, there are even instances of some Tabi'un critiquing the reports of Companions based on an error in transmission. These are limited instances, but the fact they exist indicates the critical approach right from the first century. Retention of Companions The retention of the Companions was primarily based on memorisation, and this reliance on memory naturally ensured greater retention through memory as a result. This is similar to people memorising phone numbers before being able to save them on their phones. The ability to memorise them was due to their reliance on memory (before relying on saved numbers). This point can easily be understood even today. Not only that, but the Companions would pay even more attention to the words and events surrounding the Prophet (peace be upon him) as a result of recognising him to be the most important figure in their life, and also the practical relevance of all that content to their lives. The task of compilation by Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was not completed by the time he passed away. Ibn Umar was relatively reserved in relaying reports, which is why his reports are mainly from Nafi' and his son Salim. Malik studied with Nafi' when he was young, while Salim had passed away earlier so Malik narrates from him through Zuhri.

Mufti Amin Kholwadia: "These historical precedents give us further reason to condemn a recent “fatwa” issued by the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) and the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA) allowing the use of zakat funds for political campaigns. Included therein is their implied critique of the many dissenting scholars who question their assumed juristic reasoning and its broader implications, implying that their lack of ijtihād fails to help Muslims progress in the USA. The opinion expressed by these two groups represents a minuscule minority, and the overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars in the USA are vehemently against the idea. I am not going to discuss the flimsy and shoddy scholarship in the fatwa as that has already been articulated by several popular Muslim scholars in the USA. Additionally, Darul Qasim College will soon be publishing a scholarly rebuttal of their position. What deserves emphasis here is a concern about methodology. Ijtihād requires immense dexterity in juristic nuances and principles. Superficial words of fiqh is not how an ‘ālim refers to ijtihād. The idea of allowing something based on ḍarūrah is something a high school student can use in his rudimentary essay. Scholars only turn to ḍarūrah if there is no other way to fulfill the command. I advise all Muslims reading the fatwa to not get caught in a web of deceit and to not acquiesce to an opinion which deserves no scholarly merit. Ask the hundreds of dissenting scholars why they object, and do not follow a very isolated view on this matter." https://darulqasim.org/statement-on-zakat/?fbclid=IwY2xjawP7bwFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEezw8dxdOjo78H0pyOi9OtEhTKLoHBtE2L7EFPDY5w74FPtEnr8rxBpdD4JZM_aem_HKPJoSCgT1xvmx1syyx1Aw

Analyzing Fatwas: When the Question is Part of the Answer A fascinating and powerful example from Imam Malik illustrates how the principle that "the Mufti is the prisoner of the questioner (al-mufti asir al-sa'il)" is applied. Paradoxically, in more than one sense, the question is part of the answer. Taken from my paper, "Coffee was once Ḥarām? Dispelling Popular Myths regarding a Nuanced Legal Issue."