Imam Shamail Al-Daghistani

Arabic cartoon not sure about subtitles

The Disputations

Part sixteen

1. Why do have to scream when we preach Islam? Does not the speaker know he has a microphone before him?

2. قال شعار لا أختار دموعا دموع تختارني the poet said, I did not tears they chose me.

3. Every era has events that uniquely define it

4. If you are never happy with your current state then you'll never be happy.

5. Be like a snowball ornament when it is shaken its beauty comes out.

6. Why are people who listen to lectures about love so full of hate???

7. We have yet to learn to lessons of Ihya Ulum Al-Deen.

8. How can we blame the youth for going astray? When we had the opportunity to teach them but failed! So those parents who kill their daughters because she is doing something that they do not like; should look no further and blame themselves.

9. Good weather means nothing unless you have someone to enjoy it with.

10. Even though you have lost one blessing you have many others to be grateful for.

11. The pen is nothing without paper and paper is nothing without the pen. Its only the combination of both these things can something beautiful come forth.

12. The most misleading emotion is love. How can you say you love someone and hurt them?

13. Its only by suffering do you realise the value of something.

14. Allah tested you when he gave you something of the Dunya and blessed you when he prevented you from something of the dunya.

15. Don’t say yes or no unless you know what you are saying yes or no to.

16. Expect to be disrespected and you'll never be disappointed!

17. نوم الظالمين عبادة The sleep of oppressors is worship – Syrian saying.

18. Servants whose service is for Allah, are not concerned about being seen. Servants who want to be seen are looking for positions and they service their own egos when they feed others.

19. When you lose something in this world know its loss means nothing compared to losing Allah. So keep faith in Allah and leave the world because there is always a replacement for what is lost in the world but no replacement for Allah.

20. The oppression of the oppressors always comes home...

Khalid Blankinship

Dialogue Between Civilizations: Muslims and the West

Sheikh Saad Al-Attas

Ways To Protect Yourself With Your Tongue from Imam Al-Ghazali

Imam Zaid Shakir

Seek the means of nearness

Sheikh Sayyid Muhammad Awali Al-Makki

Life in Barzakh

Sheikh Sayyid Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki

Visiting the blessed grave

Habib Muhammad Al-Saqqaf

Assia

Maryum

Fatimah

Sheikh Hamza giving salam

Aftab Malik informs us what happened at ISNA - A few years back...

 

"Shaykh Hamza and I were wading through the bazaar checking out the books on offer. One particular book caught his eye and he rushed to pick it up and his face lit up as he studiously studied the contents and flicked through the pages. 

 As he was reading the book, a small, old gentleman came on by and offered his salams to shaykh Hamza. "As-salam 'alaykum Shaykh Hamza," the man said in a humble, trembling voice against the buzz of some ten thousand bargain hunters. 

 The man stood there, waiting for a reply and I stood there thinking should I tap shaykh Hamza on his shoulder? I stood and the man stood but there was no response. The old man simply walked away. 

 Suddenly, Shaykh Hamza jolted his head out from the tome. "Did someone just say salam to me?" he asked me, as if he'd just snapped out of a daze. "Err ... yes. There was this old genetlemen who said salam to you, but ..." I didn't finish off my sentence. "We have *got* to find him," shaykh Hamza said as he placed the book back onto the shelf and literally darted across the bazaar stall area of ISNA. 

Now, for those who know ISNA, the bazaar is the most populated area. As we tried to navigate the tsunami of people present, I could barely keep up with shaykh Hamza, all the while thinking, how on earth are we going to find this one man amongst all these people. "Is that him?" Shaykh Hamza asked as we encountered each and every older gentleman present. "No." I replied. 

We ran and searched the whole bazaar, all the while fending off well-wishers and soon ended up outside the bazaar and into the lobby. I had no idea where we were going, but shaykh Hamza continued to run around looking for this gentlemen. 

Finally, we reached the outer area of the hall ... and ... we found the old man. He was with his son and his grandchildren. "That's him!" I excitedly shouted and shaykh Hamza slammed on his brakes and tapped the man on his shoulder. "As-salam 'alaykum," he said out of breathe, "I am so sorry that I didn't return your salam. I sometimes get lost in books and loose sense of where I am, " he said. "Shaykh, it's no problem," the gentleman said, "You needn't had bothered yourself." "No, no. I should have responded to your salam, it's your right."

 

Taken from Aftabs fb page

The Disputations

Part seventeen

1. Timing is important.

2. Instead of condemning people for their sins maybe you should try praying for them...

3. Why should you be hopeful of forgiveness? Because no matter how great your sin is the forgiveness of Allah is greater.

4. The era for heroes has ended so do not try to be a hero because people will walk all over you.

5. If you insult someone that you are trying to refute they will never listen to you; even if you are right.

6. If you are in a storm now as long as you keep walking you’ll get through it.

7. The lion will be slain at the gates justifying the fallen...

Top of Form

8. Its really strange how we live in a time where the average person talks about deep scholarly issues yet does not even know the basics of his wudhu!

9. Sooner or later you'll realise that you can only rely on Allah and everyone else will let you down.

10. Its not in your interest to be involved in interest...

11. Difference of opinion is only accepted from those with knowledge...

12. Belief in the divine decree is realisation that you are powerless.

13. When they say that the doors of ijtihad are closed they are lying. As this is an orientalist argument to say that Islam is backward. Ijtihad is ongoing and has not stopped.

14. قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلام (إذا فسد أهل الشام فلا خير فيكم،) حسن صحيح: الترمذي 2192

The Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessing upon him) said, “If the people of Syria are corrupt then there is no good in you. ” At-Tirmidhi.

15. Fear of the 'other' leads to injustice.

16. A man said to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), 'Fear Allah O Umar!' One of those present said, 'Do you say this to the leader of the believers?' But Umar scolded him for these words and said, 'There is no good in you if you do not say this and no good in you if you do not hear it.'

17. Finding pleasure in anything worldly veils one from Allah (the Exalted).

18. Only when someone is pure outwardly can someone pray and only when the heart is pure can it prostrate.

19. Allah is free from need and for you to be a wali your heart should be free from anything but Allah.

20. Large amounts of wealth do not help on the day of judgement but large amounts of faith do. So why are we so bothered about gathering wealth and so avid about neglecting our faith?

Sheikh Sayyid Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki

Life of the Prophets in their graves (upon them peace)

Sheikh Sayyid Muhammad Alawi Al-Maliki

The life of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) in the grave

Sheikh Ibrahim Osi Efa

Essence of Repentance

Martin Lings

Circling the house of God

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

The Critical Importance of Al-Ghazali in Our Times

Hamza Yusuf - "The Critical Importance of Al-Ghazali in Our Times" (Fons Vitae Press) from Fons Vitae Press on Vimeo.

Habib Umar ibn Hafiz

Futuwwa

Habib Kazim al-Saqqaf

The Blessings of time



Habib Kazim al-Saqqaf: The Blessings of Time. Part One from Ribat Films on Vimeo.




Habib Kazim al-Saqqaf: The Blessings of Time. Part Two from Ribat Films on Vimeo.

Karbala: What they do not want you to know

In the month of Muharram the tragic events of Karbala are re-enacted. This is not normal for the majority of Sunni communities but this is specific for some communities of the indo-paks and the Turks. Yet none go into the detail that the paks do, as others mention it briefly, and not in the agonising detail that is vividly painted for us.

To actually understand the events that transpired takes a lot of time and a lot of study. It is a gut wrenching and heart rendering event which fills even the most sternest Muslim heart with grief. The question that the heart begs to be answered is why? Why did they kill the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him)? This is something we hope to address.

Precursor

To understand the events that occurred we must look back before we look at the event. After the murder of Ali (may Allah ennoble his face) his son Al-Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) was given authority, caliphate.

During this time of tribulation he sensed that the same forces that had caused the death of both his predecessors might consume the fledgling Muslim community and cause civil war. So he gave up his right to the caliphate to bring peace. This was already predicted by the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “My child is a master. Allah shall reconcile two parties from a great sedition by him.” (Imam Ahmed 5/44), this occurred now. 

Al-Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) handed over his right to the caliphate to Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). This was something that pacified the disputing factions and meant that one side lost their rallying cry. Mu’awiyah had been keen to find the killers of his cousin Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). The first sect of Islam, the Khawarij, were causing much sedition and tribulation.

So when Mu’awiyah passed away Al-Hussain (Al-Hassan’s brother) (may Allah be pleased with him) was keen to assert his right to the caliphate. Yazid (Mu’awiyah’s son) instead asserted his own authority which was dissimilar to the manner that the previous caliphates were declared. As others were voted for by a group of the righteous. So Imam Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) had a rightful claim. Also due to the fact that Yazid was known to be unrighteous and all previous leaders were righteous. This was something synonymous in the early period of leadership. So this fact alone means that Yazid had no valid claim to leadership.

Karbala

The residents of Kuffans kept writing to Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) to affirm his right and that they would pledge their allegiance to him. So after sending one of his cousins to oversee the situation in Kufa, he himself went with a small group and members of his family.

When news of this reached Yazid he sent Ibn Ziyad to quell this ‘revolt’ which was quelled in the most brutal manner possible. He was sent to either take the oath of leadership from Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) or to finish his 'rebellion.' What followed would fill every believer’s heart with sorrow for many years to come. Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him), his party and all the males of his offspring were martyred with the exception of Zayn Al-Abideen (may Allah be pleased with him). Zayn stayed behind in Medinah because of illness.

Now this is where the story ends for most of the ‘historians’ who re-trace these events on a yearly basis. But the story does not end here.  The date of his death is the tenth of Muharram 680.

Events that followed

Al-Mukhtar Ibn Abu Ubayd Al-Thaqafi was in prison and when news reached him. He raised an army to avenge Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him).

When he would kill one of those involved in the murder, he would send the proof to the martyrs son. The severed heads of the killers of Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) were sent to Zayn Al-Abideen (may Allah be pleased with him) and then were placed on poles. Snakes would arrive and prod the heads until eventually entering the head by the nostril. This was a fitting end to those who had committed such a heinous crime as kill a grandson of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him).

Yazid would die a few years later in 683. One of the most regrettable practices of the Ummayyad caliphs was the cursing of Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) which continued until this practice was ceased by the pious caliph Umar ibn ‘Abdul-Aziz (d.720) (may Allah be pleased with him).

You have to understand that leaders commit heinous crimes, just to remain in power and this was no different. The Ummayyads saw his claim as invalid and would continue their revenge with curses.

So all the killers who were involved were killed but was this end of the punishment that the tribe of Ummayyad?  Yazid died a horrible death but the punishment was still due. In this time much talk of rebellion was banded about and this occurred when the Abbasid Empire came into power in 750.

They enacted the final revenge upon the tribe of Ummayyad. They killed every single member of the family of the Ummayyad tribe and the only one to escape was Abdurrahman Al-Dakhil (d.788). He was known to be pious and extremely generous and he was the only person to survive the slaughter. He would flee to Al-Andulus (Spain) and make a new home there.

The Ahl Al-Bayt were persecuted under the Ummayyads and the Abbassids. The change of leadership had not achieved anything.  

In context

Now, that we have taken the events in context and looked at the entire picture we see a sad event but it was not without its consequences. This is something forgotten when we arrive at the month of Muharram. Ponder these facts closely and you will see that Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) was avenged in such a manner that left little doubt to who did it.

Harming the offspring of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) has dire consequences and this was a total revenge. These points that we have explained you will not find mentioned by any of the speakers during this month. Instead you’ll find two types of speakers about this event. One that considered Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) as a rebel and another that considers him as a hero. The group that consider him a rebel have yet to understand that he was making a stand for justice and Islam. Yazid never had any rightful claim to leadership, ever. Nor was he (Yazid) a valid leader at the time. Imam Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) had more right to lead than anyone else.

Reasons of exploitation

This event caused what would become the group known as the Shia – the party of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to break off from the Sunni’s and form their own sect. At this point they were a political party and in favour of Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and his offspring. This event would lead them to more radical and extreme tendencies.

In the indo-pak communities this event is brought out each year in some misguided love towards Ahl Al-Bayt which basically translates as the shouting of old men in Masjids around the country. This is what some consider as a sign of love towards them and the Messenger (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him). This is something that looks ugly and its causes some people to make takfir (declaring a disbeliever) of Yazid. The soundest position of takfir of Yazid is not to involve yourself out of caution. (See Dohw Al-Maali p,133). The reason for this is based on two things. Did Yazid gave the command to kill Hussain or to take bayah alone? This does leave some doubt and for this reason many scholars have refrained from cursing him but you will find prominent scholars who curse him. There is no doubt that Yazid was an open sinner (because he was known to drink excessively) and had no right to rule. That is putting it mildly!

Yet this event is manipulated by the speakers during this period. The massacre at Karbala is one of the most shocking tales in Islamic history and it leaves a person cold. It is almost impossible to comprehend. How could they do it? Why did they do it? Are just some of the questions that are banded about. It is not something that I would like to re-live every year as reading it once a lifetime was extremely difficult. I do think that this event should not be used in such a visceral and agonising way, by week long television shows dedicated to this subject.
 

This is exactly what made me put pen to paper because one of my friends commentated on how I had explained something to him in five minutes what he had not got in a week’s worth of television programs on this subject. That was more than a shock but perhaps to be expected. As its a sign of manipulation not respect.

Re-living trauma is not good for you and not good for children. Explain to them briefly but not in detail. Childhood trauma can lead to greater harm in the future. The Habaib - the Ahl Al-Bayt scholars of Yemen are also not comfortable with people using this issue to illicit emotions and manipulate people. This is done by none more so that the Shia and some Sunni's.

Final remarks

We find this story difficult to comprehend at times and sometimes find it difficult to think about. We would like to see this event commemorated but in a rational and normal manner like the rest of the Muslim world. We do not mean to offend people but we really need to look how we manipulate people’s emotions because this is plainly wrong. If we really want to practice love towards the Ahl al-bayt them we should honour them instead of using the murder of one of forefathers as an event that we rally around them once a year and spend the rest of the year opposing them.

Imam Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) shall forever be remembered as someone who was uncompromising in his stand for justice. This stand for justice is one of the reasons why Imam Al-Hussain  (may Allah be pleased with him) is one of the masters of paradise.

Yet, how sad is that this martyrdom is manipulated in an inappropriate manner that increases grief and sadness. These are not part of the events and neither should they be. His killers were killed and they did not escape punishment nor would they. The main point of this event is that real Sunni's should support Ahl Al-Bayt and when they go against them then they join Yazid's army. There are many adherents to Yazid's army in this time. They go to Muharram gatherings weep during it and attack, slander and oppose Ahl Al-Bayt the very next day. There is no respect for Ahl Al-Bayt left because there is no respect for Muslims left. I am talking about corrupt 'sunni's' here.

The Shia have of course gone to the extreme of bodily harm during the commemoration of this event. One of my friends father once said they should not harm their shoulders and backs; they should slit their throats instead! You see that would be more effective than what they are doing or so he claimed. Even within the Shia they disagree about self harm and of course Sunni Islam totally rejects self harm in any circumstances as unlawful/haram.

We need a balanced mind and we do not go to extremes because the extremists are not just those who murder innocents they are those who see only one valid interpretation of events.

Imam Hussain and Imam Hassan (may Allah be pleased with them) never cursed or even slandered those who were responsible for their own fathers martyrdom but those who claim to follow them curse people? Its just another lie, if you love someone then follow them. Their way was truth and justice. Not excess harm towards yourself or others and certainly not cursing others.

We hope that this a balanced re-telling of the events that allows people to look at the entire event in the light of history without being boxed into one part of the story and wondering about its ending.

May Allah bless our master Muhammad, his family, his companions; an endless blessing and endless salutations.

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani (may Allah show him mercy) is one of the greatest scholars of Islam and we drew heavily from his work on Endless nobility of  Ahl Al Bayt click here to purchase a new version or email me on here.

Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi

Yearning for the Beloved (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him)

Ibn Al-Nafis