السّلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
Excerpt of an interview of William Dalrymple..
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Wish we realised what we are missing out on. #Travel
Reference:
‘In conversation’ dt. Sunday Herald 20th March 2016.
وعليكم السلام و رحمة الله و بركاته
السّلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
That Maulana Qasim Nanotwi (rh) had laid down about eight foundational principles for Dar al Ulum Deoband was something I had heard in a speech of one of its scholars (who also taught at the institution) years ago, unfortunately he hadn’t elaborated on them, my curiosity grew and I asked him if he can refer me a book where I could read them in detail, the Maulana couldn’t recall.
Perhaps it’s a telling sign of the quality of its students who no more read, remember or reflect on the advices of its founders that believe it or not, in the past four to five years I have asked several of its graduates about these principles and none, absolutely none of them had either read about it or at-least could refer me to sources.
“The way to find a needle in a haystack is to sit down.”
The search continued when more than a year ago, when browsing Amazon I came across a book on Deoband titled “Islamic Revival in British India” by Barbara Daly Metcalf – and she had listed down these principles in detail and with context. Continue reading
السّلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
In this audio clip, Maulana Sajjad Nomani rips into people inclined towards eating food cooked from outside, remember this is not just about consuming Halal food, rather Maulana (also) speaks against eating Halal food not cooked ‘Islamically’. Continue reading
السّلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
Maulana Salman Nadwi (db) toured Doha, Qatar in April 2015 at the invitation of the Government controlled AWQAF board. Continue reading
السّلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
Couldn’t wait to share this after seeing what’s happening in the Middle East between Saudi Arab and Yemen. Another day another war. The times and lives of the Sahabah (may Allah ta’ala be pleased with them) have such great lessons for us but wish we realized. Continue reading
As salaamu alaii kumm wa rahmatullahi wa barakath,
Haji Abdul Wahab Saheb (damath baraka tuhum) – for those who don’t him yet, he is currently ranked as the tenth most influential Muslim in the world, yet, the post is not about him but rather his message to the Muslims across world, the leader of the Pakistan chapter of the Islamic renaissance and revivalist movement and perhaps the last surviving student and companion of Hadhrathji Maulana Ilyas (rahimahullah) was recently hospitalized due to illness due to which he even lost his voice, but Alhamdulillah, after regaining consciousness (and his voice), these were the first words that he spoke which were duly written down by one of his doctors.
As salaamu alaii kumm wa rahmatullah wa barakath,
The title of the post is inspired from an erstwhile (1913) English play and later Hollywood movie (1938) of the same name but believe me, after having read the story which I’m sharing with you today, I couldn’t come up with a better title than this, rest assured, the only similarity is in the titles and nothing else.
Set in the Arab lands, the story talks about love post marriage, the narrator is Hadrath Sharih (rh) wherein he relates to Hadrath Sho’bi (rh) an account of his marriage to one Zainab (rh) of the Banu Tamim clan, I could only get one reference but if I get more, I’ll update the post insha-Allah.
“A happy man marries the woman he loves, a happier man loves the woman he marries” ~ Susan Douglas
The story begins:
Hadrath Sho’bi (rh) says, “Sharih once met me and said, “O’ Sho’bi, marry the women of the Banu Tamim, I have found them to be very intelligent.” Sho’bi asked, “What sign of intelligence did you see in them?”
Sharih explained thus: Continue reading
As salaamu alaii kumm wa rahmatullahi wa barakath,
This incident occured in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
In the holy month of Ramadan, a pious woman gathered her children every day before iftaar (the time for breaking the fast after sunset) and asked them to pray with her. Then she raised her hands and said: “O Allah! Provide us with our own house by the side of a flowing canal.” The children then all raised their hands and repeated the prayer.
The woman’s husband laughed at them and said: “Your wish for a house is understandable, but what do you mean by a canal flowing beside the house? How will this canal come to our desert area?”. Continue reading
As salaamu alaii kumm wa rahmatullahi wa barakath,
When the effort of Dawah & tabligh was revived nearly a century ago, and because it was an effort that was largely neglected until then, there were people who were doubtful of its legitimacy, of its method in the light of the shariah. Yet, as they say that the proof of the medicine is in the cure, it was only after the sacrifices bore fruit, did people across the strata of society come to embrace it.
That was then.
Strangely enough, even now we find that there are people who still are in relentless doubts and uncertainties with regards to the work, so, is there a solution? In an age where everyone claims to know the truth and professes it at the top of their voice, how does one know who is right and who is on shaky ground? Continue reading
As salaamu alaii kumm wa rahmatullahi wa barakath,
Maulana Rahmatullah Kayranvi (may Allah have mercy on him) (1818-1891) – the Indian origin scholar of the Islamic sciences including jurisprudence best known for his magnum opus ‘Izhar ul Huq or The Truth Revealed!‘ was a honorable warrior in the battle for freedom (also known as the Sepoy Mutiny or The 1857 Uprising) from the British occupied India which took place in 1857. The uprising failed due to various reasons, and Maulana Kayranvi who also happens to be a descendant of the third caliph of Muslims, Caliph Usman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) migrated to Makkah Mukarrama via Mocha, Yemen (where he arrived aboard a ship from Bombay, India). He actually walked the distance of about 600 miles (970 kilometers) from Mocha, Yemen to Makkah which took him about 2 years !!
After having migrated to the sacred land, he intended to set up an Islamic seminary but scarcity of resources proved to be a real hurdle.
Then the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala descended. Continue reading
