KR

For folks in UK https://youtu.be/LKRJ0m8Qv10

Why any Muslim would pay the TV licence fee in the UK is beyond me https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bbc-slammed-pulling-film-humanised-palestinian-children

This is important for teachers to keep in mind. While the context is about teaching language, it applies to other subjects too.

United should now sack Amorim and hire this guy https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s3HIQvNLJAQ

الفقه الحنفي في ثوبه الجديد القديم

Announcement: I have never been ten-pin bowling in my life, nor do I have any current plans to do so.

The reality about students, graduates, and learning institutes Whenever I tell students to take responsibility for their learning, some may assume I have no criticisms of their learning institutes... So let me address this and say something about institutes and students that everyone needs to hear. As a student, the shortcomings of your institute are not in your control. You're not in a position of authority to enforce any change, and trying to do so just gives you a bad look. Any concerns you do have should be acknowledged, and addressed after you graduate... at a time you do have some influence and don't appear like a rebel undermining the institute. The reality, however, is that even with the shortcomings of an institute, students still have the ability to excel in their studies. And it only takes one student in your institute to demonstrate this. If one student from your institute can excel, then you have no excuse as it demonstrates it is possible. The problem is that most students are lazy. In most Islamic institutes, the students that graduate and actually have a passion for what they study probably make up 10% (and I'm being generous with the figure). And this really is no different to a university setting: In a university class of, say, fifty students, there are some who pass with a 50% grade across all their assignments; others 60%; others 70% or even 80% or 90%. Not all students in the same class are at the same level, even if they all "graduate" from the same institute. Some have a passion for what they study, and others simply don't. Some are lazy, and others are hardworking. Some won't even pick up a book again after they graduate. Now you tell me. Does that sound like a student, let alone an aspiring scholar?? No, it clear doesn't. Most graduates of Islamic institutes are not aspiring scholars, and anyone in an active state of learning will tell you the same. Does that mean they wasted their time in the institute? Absolutely not. Nobody who spent time studying Islamic knowledge has wasted their time. They've rather spent their time well, gained clarity on issues, and are more knowledgeable than the state they started in. May Allah reward them. But there's a difference between learning and aspiring to be a scholar. Merely graduating from an institute alone doesn't make you a scholar, especially if you have no passion for what you're studying and never continue to seek knowledge thereafter. And a title you receive doesn't change that. I say this all from a place of both love and transparency. But I sincerely believe that if students just studied properly and recognised they're the only ones who can control their learning, they'll be smashing it and take their learning more seriously. ❤️🙏

As a student, if you have a choice between blaming your institute or yourself, blame yourself. Exceptional students are exceptional irrespective of their environment and circumstance. They simply put in the graft and get the job done. - They don't need to look to others for motivation. - They don't need to be forced to pick up a book and read independently. By blaming yourself for your learning, you assign all responsibility to yourself. Your learning is now in your hands. And if you really view your learning that way, you'll strive to do your best regardless of the shortcomings of others or even your institute. You can't scapegoat anyone. It's all you, my man! 💪

European countries are worried that a European country is being carved up by outsiders without any consultation with the natives. Now where have we heard that before?

The Best Commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari? Students often ask what the "best" commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari is. While I don't like these types of oversimplified questions (almost every major commentary has something that the others will not), I felt it beneficial to shed some light on an underrated commentary that qualifies (in my opinion) to be the ideal commentary that one can use as a foundation for all further reading around the Sahih. This is by no means a comprehensive review, but a short introduction would not go amiss. The commentary is al-Talqih li-Fahm Qari' al-Sahih by Sibt ibn al-'Ajami (d. 841). Having been recently published, it has understandably flown under the radar of most students. However, it is an excellent combination of comprehensive and holistic commentary, well-organised presentation, lucid explanation, and succinctness. The excellent edition, complete with copious referencing (including places in the commentary referenced by the author) along with the volume size, margins, and page(s) at the end of each volume for notes, make it the ideal book to use. The author clarifies that it is not for scholars, but that he wrote it with the beginner student in mind; he makes it a point to leave no stone unturned in explaining difficult passages and ambiguities, both in the texts (mutun) of the narrations as well as in their chains of narration. This is something conspicuously absent in many other commentaries, including Fath al-Bari and 'Umdat al-Qari. Sibt ibn al-'Ajami will explain the narrators and mutun with the amount of detail appropriate for the occasion. If it is the first time it has been mentioned, he will provide more commentary, but he will still point out when the Hadith or name comes again later on. Narrators referred to by kunyah are consistently identified until the end of the book. Lexical commentary on words and their dhabt is detailed and comprehensive. Important points from other commentaries are mentioned with relative brevity as is needed, along with unique points of benefit from various other sources, along with his own valuable insights. The author draws on various sources, like the marginalia of Sharaf al-Din al-Dimyati (d.705), al-Zarkashi's (d.745) al-Tanqih (al-Talqih could be described as a much better version of al-Tanqih, with much more detailed commentary), his teacher Ibn al-Mulaqqin's (d. 804) al-Tawdih, and Huda al-Sari, Ibn Hajar's (d. 852) introduction to Fath al-Bari, which had not yet been completed at the time of Sibt ibn al-'Ajami's writing al-Talqih (he prays in the introduction that Allah allow Ibn Hajar, his junior, to complete it) This commentary is a step ahead of most others in that it is one of the few commentaries written by a muhaddith with a clear focus on the various elements of the Hadith sciences in the book. The author's writing style, as is clear in all of his other works, is very easy to understand and enjoyable to follow. If I was to describe this work in one sentence, I'd say that it is the ultimate hashiyah; if you want one commentary that can be your one-stop shop (at least as a start), then this is it. It has quickly become my favourite commentary of the book. This commentary, along with al-Mufhim of Abu al-Abbas al-Qurtubi (d. 656), make for an ideal foundation for a Hadith student.

Question: How can we say the scholarly ikhtilaf is rahmah (mercy) when our school says only x format of of wudu or salah is valid? Answer: There are two elements to this. Firstly, the Shariah as a whole is designed to remove the fetters that were placed on previous nations. A cursory look at how observant Jews to this uphold their traditions (notwithstanding the distortions therein) proves how easy our Shariah is in comparison. This is also why the Fiqh of the Khawarij has been repeatedly condemned warned against - they were a people who believed in an extreme form of piety and caution. The psychological fetters in the form of arbitrary superstition have also been removed by the Shariah. The second element is intra-Muslim scholarly difference, which falls largely into the Fiqh category but other subject areas as well. For these differences, the scholars devised a rule (which some mistakenly attribute to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم) that "the difference of opinion in the Ummah is a mercy." This is based on a number of precedents from the Tabi'un, Sahabah, and even from within the prophetic tradition in terms of how the Prophet himself dealt with difference. This mercy is a mercy of the Shariah holistically, not that the opinion of every scholar or Madhhab constitutes mercy. So, whereas your scholar or school might hold a strict view, whether in one issue or many, that does not translate to the Shariah being unmerciful. Now if someone is not confident enough to refer to scholars or schools outside his regular circle, then that is an issue of personal confidence, not an issue with the Shariah that is inherently flexible. This then begs the question whether holding any strict view falls foul of the mercy principle. The answer to this question is, again, that the mercy of the Shariah speaks to the body of law holistically and not just individual issues, or the opinions of an individual scholar. Therefore, in Ijtihad, one cannot leverage this principle as primary evidence to side with a lenient position. It can, however, be leveraged in the process of issuing Fatwa, or referring a questioner to another scholar who holds a lenient view, or the self-administration of a lenient view, so long as the view is seen to be based on valid, reliable, and acceptable scholarly precedent. The overarching rule of mercy can get lost in the nitty gritty discussions of Fiqh, but it is always there and cannot be superseded by anybody. The term "fatwa shopping" - which has been coined by some and is tenuously based on the condemnation of Hawa found in the Quran - does not override the mercy principle. On the specific of the question, there are a number of use cases where said mercy can be realised. One is by adopting the view from another school or scholar, especially if one feels that is more suitable, or if many people would be adversely affected by it. Another case is when Wudu/Salah is offered and it turns out it did not conform with one's school of default but it did with another, in which case it would not have to be repeated. Another is when one is praying behind an Imam who might have committed a mujtahad fih nullifier in the view/school of the person praying behind him. Again, such a Salah would be valid and it would be assumed, for the sake of conformity between Imam and follower that the follower had also adopted the Imam's view in order for validity to be established. To assume anything else is both a cause for Fitnah - which is the antithesis of mercy - and against the precedent of the Salaf who did not have the attitude of refusing to pray behind one another. Of course, hundreds of years of the mihrabs in Makkah, Madinah, Syria, Egypt etc. unnecessarily relegated the principle of mercy to the background in favour of Madhhab rigidity, as well as the proclivities of scholars and rulers to enforce a particular form of practice even in the domain of worship, but this is a discussion well beyond the scope of this query.

There are a whole bunch of muftis in this world who think it’s acceptable to pass fatwa from a classical Fiqh text, which based that ruling on a fabricated or baseless Hadith. Such Fatawa conveniently omit the faulty basis of the ruling and just mention the legal derivative, thinking that they have avoided fabricating a lie against the Prophet صلى الله على وسلم This is incorrect. This also falls under the threat of Hellfire. Being a Mufti doesn’t absolve you of that. Keep on citing from Mawsili, Quhustani, Zahidi, et al. You are being observed.

Assalamu'alaikum! The Ramadan Surah Al Mulk Challenge is returning. Please join and encourage others to join too. Join here: t.me/mulkchallenge

I’m now ready to say that the key subject of Arabic morphology (sarf) can be taught to a higher-than-average Arabic-reading and writing (though non-speaking) student on a one-to-one basis (or as part of a very small class) on a full time (at least eight hours) and structured basis over one week. That’s one week. I tried to get all the caveats in. Of course this needs to be supplemented with sarf application (ideally on the Quran, but also other language forms), to which I’m happy to allocate another three weeks on a more relaxed and flexible basis. I’ll be testing my assumption in the near future with some mature students in the near future.