AE

Firstly then, from a Muslim point of view in 2007: war, murder, bloodshed, corruption, terrorism and all the rest of it.

So no change there then.

Which means that it’s down to cricket to save the year as usual. Hence, your must-read cricket review for 2007 written by the skilled Osman Samiuddin, is right here:

Streaks and freaks, spats and prats

Allow me the liberty to add a few extra categories that Osman missed, some serious and some not so serious:

Team of the Year: Australia. This year. And every year. And too right.

Post-Match Speech of the Year: That one by Malik. “O Muslims! Say Ho!”

Most Predictable Post-Match Speech of the Year: Anything by Malik. And it will be lame.

Most Missed Post-Match Speaker: Assalamulaikum. Bismillahi-Rahmani-Rahim…

Baisti of the Year: Stuart Broad. Don’t be stepping sonny boy. Inzi was better than your dad, and that’s not even a cuss!

My Personal Batsman of the Year: Yuvraj Singh.

My Personal Bowler of the Year: Dale Steyn.

Umpire of the Year: Billy Bowden.

Most Noble Cricketer of the Year: Kumar Sangakkara

Greatest Tournament in Sporting History Ever: Twenty20 World Cup 2007

Bid’ah Hasanah of the Year: Twenty20 Cricket

Bid’ah Bid’ah of the Year: Those utterly pathetic dancers.

Worst Camera Recording of the Year: Twenty20 World Cup 2007. Come on, how many shots went for six that looked like they were out? And vice versa. And think of Osman’s “best shot” of the year in his review, and I rest my case.

Test Team of the Year:

Matthew Hayden, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Ricky Ponting (c), Mohammad Yousuf, Mahela Jayawardene, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dale Steyn, Brett Lee, Muhammad Asif.

ODI/20:20 Team of the Year:

Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Ricky Ponting (c), Kevin Pieterson, Jacques Kallis, Yuvraj Singh, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shaun Pollock, Brett Lee, Muttiah Muralitharan, Muhammad Asif.

Sport of the Year: What else?

Is there anyone not working this Friday with a car in the Manchester area to help the Hhugs team?

I know it’s a bit short notice, but I’d appreciate if there is anyone who can transport a sister with her two children for a prison visit from Salford on Friday morning to Long Lartin in South Birmingham. The driver would need to leave Salford about 10am, and then they usually get back about 6.30pm so it is an all day job but the reward is all yours too. Ideally, the driver needs to take a mahram with him, but we have sent the sister in a car with two brothers before now so don’t let that put you off contacting me all the same.

We will of course cover all costs of petrol and food etc.

So if you’re looking for a bit of ajr this Friday, please email manchester@hhugs.org.uk and/or Abu_Eesa at propheticguidance or send me a message on my personal email. Alternatively, leave a comment below and leave your email address or phone number in the relevant field above the comment box and that way we’re the only ones who see it and no-one else can – we’ll then get in touch straight away.

Thanks for reading in any case.

This is absolutely hilarious. I just wish I could have been the bloke “Mike” leading the fight back…

Turning the tables on Nigeria’s e-mail conmen

If you’re not laughing your head off when you see “Prince Joe’s” breasts, then there’s something wrong with you.

I’m joining Mike’s coalition right here.

The very happiest of Eid Greetings to all of you from myself and my family – may Allah accept our righteous deeds, and bring us joy and glad tidings all year, every year. Ameen!

My khutbah to the community this year can be summarised in a few paragraphs (he said!):

The disregard that the Muslim community in the West gives to Eid al-Adha is further undermined by at least two negative factors which effect the Muslim psyche. 

Firstly, because this Eid is traditionally seen as the one that 2nd generation Muslims don’t take a holiday for, or don’t make much of a fuss about, the importance of the event as a religious celebration and an exclamation of Allah’s greatness is decreased in our hearts and the hearts and minds of our families, particularly our children.

Naturally, it’s not easy when this particular Eid isn’t preceded by a tiring, difficult month of fasting, when the celebration itself is spread over 3-4 days, when the people (quite incredibly) celebrate the Eid day itself over three different days, when the day itself is freezing cold, dark and dreary etc etc.

Add to this the second negative factor, that of Eid’s proximity to Christmas and you soon realise we’ve got a real problem. When you see the most consumer-focused materialistic society on Earth totally close down over Christmas, people prepare so much for it, spend so much on it and mentally psyche themselves up to celebrate it so much, it really does leave the Muslim community in the West looking at their own Eid and feeling rather sad, particularly for our children. It is little surprise then that our children love and value their birthday, Easter and Christmas parties at school so much, and why they talk about it so much at home with their parents who have no-one else to blame but themselves.

Yet all these factors should surely encourage the Muslim community to wake up and start to make both Eids something really worthwhile, both with respect to the men so as to not let Eid al-Adha become a token Eid prayer in the morning followed by a day at the office and a night out with the lads in the evening, and most importantly their children so that our kids really have something to talk about, be proud of, and wait and dream about in anticipation for weeks in advance.

Also, when you do find yourself spending some rare quality time with your family this Eid, take another look at how the non-Muslims ear-mark Christmas as the big family reunion and remind yourself that even such a single huge effort is unacceptable for a practising Muslim. If Eid is becoming our only time that we remember the family and so on, then be warned that Allah jalla wa ala demands the very highest standard of maintaining family ties, all the time, every time.

Know that our relations with our extended families are at an all time low. As the elders become older, and we become more wealthy, independent, professional and isolated from our traditional ghettos of first generation Islam, the apparent need to keep in touch doesn’t seem important any more. Perhaps this is because we’ve forgotten that Allah has promised the tie of kinship (al-rahim) that He will cut off he who breaks family ties, and will maintain those who maintain family ties. Perhaps we’ve forgotten that the one who doesn’t maintain family ties will not enter Paradise. Perhaps we’ve forgotten that mercy will not descend upon a nation that has within it those who don’t maintain family ties. This is all authentic from the one who we claim to follow unreservedly sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Perhaps the most shocking development is our disintegrating relationship, adab and manners with our parents. Not only is our frequency of contact decreasing, but our manner of interaction is at an all time low despite this being from the most deadly of the destructive sins and that the the one who continues in ill-manners with ones parents being condemned to the hell-fire. We seem to have forgotten as in the last ten years, with the increasing percentage of Muslim parents entering old people’s and residential homes, the absolute right they hold over us, the fact that we are humiliated by not getting to Paradise by not looking after them ourselves, and indeed the startling fact that Allah jalla wa ala emphasises care of the parents only second to worshipping him (al-Isra, 23). Again, this is all authentic from the one who we claim to follow unreservedly sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Finally, it’s back to our children. If we don’t give them the same concern we show them on Eid everyday, we’re only going to allow something else to replace that, something which will invariably be more damaging in the long run. Undoubtedly, this will take great effort on our behalf but this is what communal gatherings and celebrations help us to do: remind us of what we need to prioritise and sort it out before it’s too late.

Let’s ensure that our family become our absolute priority in these times, in the very best of manners, and that we then carry on these sentiments that we find in a correctly celebrated Eid or a Christmas or simply in the example of individuals fulfilling their family obligations in a worthy and responsible way.

And that’s that. Summarised in just a few paragraphs. Plus some. Rather like the Khutbah itself. Sorry.

May I also thank those who have been asking about my family, particularly my parents. They are safe alhamdulillah but this is not the case for many good practising Muslims in the Swat area of NWFP, Pakistan. Due to the fitnah and true terrorism of the militants who of course have now fled, the army and secret services have entered all the village and tribal areas and are rounding up any practising Muslims they feel could have been involved, carting them off to secret prisons for to be tortured. This means hundreds of peaceful tablighi jamat and ahle-hadees brothers who haven’t been involved whatsoever, those who might wear a turban, those who have beards and especially those who are attending the prayers regularly have already been carted off wa la hawla wa quwwata illa billah. As you can imagine, the congregations have dropped shockingly and the barbers are in booming business as many shave off their beards to protect their families.

Even worse are those tribal enemies who are now rubbing their secular little hands in glee and are reporting names of innocent people to the secret services as those who were involved in terrorism, so that they are also tortured, all because of some ancient perceived grudge or enmity, or because one looked at the other in the ”wrong way” or even passed wind in his presence. May Allah protect us from this ignorance and transgression against the Believers of Allah.

Please remember those other Muslims around the world in your du’as as we sit and enjoy our Eid with our families in safety, security and luxury. May Allah give this Ummah strength to cope with its burdens and allow them to be a purification for us and enter us into His Garden, ameen. 

PS: on an infinitely lighter note, can I just say that I will literally have a psychotic fit if anyone else asks me how Kif is doing in the Emirates. Can I ask: how on Earth do you think he’s doing?!? Let me tell you: he’s doing absolutely fantastically swimmingly fine, that’s what! Has everyone forgotten that it’s me who has to work all week and earn jack squat, wake up in the dark, come back in the dark and be cold at the same time, have to put up with all those lot all week (you know who you are!) etc etc. And then I’ve got to put up with all the rest of life’s bakwas at the same time. I think everyone has forgotten that he’s the one in the sun, working 2 hrs a day 3 days a week or something similarly ridiculous, with the sand, sea and halal Hijrah Hardies at hand. Yeah.

Bitter and Jealous? Me?

Is it just me or does Ryan Babel look like a black Yuvraj Singh?

Hmm.

Hey, I’m just trying to find some positives for my fellow neighbour scousers…

In these blessed days, we normally concentrate on fasting, charity, dhikr, sacrifice and reading the Qur’an as our chosen forms of worship.

Alhamdulillah, I’m very happy to be able to link to another form of worship, equal to much of what’s above – namely the seeking of divine knowledge. Here is a priceless video of Shaykh Abdullah al-Judai (hafidhahullah) giving a timely reminder to all (arabic speaking) students of knowledge, Imams, callers and scholars on the importance of purifying our intentions for the sake of Allah alone, the importance of the Sunnah of our Prophet (upon whom be peace) and the need for the science of hadith.

I advise all those who fall into the aforementioned category to give this rare video the haqq it deserves, from a mighty scholar of the field. It’s going to be the most beneficial 25-odd minutes you’ll spend in front of your PC for ages…

(Video currently unavailable)

For those in our Cheadle community, let me wish you all the very happiest of congratulations for the onset of Dhul-Hijjah – may Allah jalla wa ala enable us all to benefit from these blessed days. Let us remain busy in dhikr, reading the Qur’an and fasting, and in particular the Day of Arafah on Tuesday 18th December insha’Allah.

We will be celebrating Eed on Wednesday 19th December insha’Allah. I shall lead the first prayer at 8.30am, Shaykh Abu Islam will do the second prayer at 9.30am and Hafiz Salim al-Astawani will lead the third prayer at 10.30am.

I hope you all have a great few days. Also, may Allah accept our Hujjaj and through them, allow us to share in His Infinite Mercy, ameen.

He is Ahmed b. Abdillāh Abu Nu‘aym al-Hāfidh al-Asbahāni al-Shāfi‘ī.

Ibn Khallikān said: Asfahāni with the bā replaced with fā is also correct.

He was Persian, born 336h in what is modern-day Iran, son of an ‘Ālim and a Muhaddith, ‘Abdullāh b. Ahmed. He studied under the many scholars present in Persia at that time and then travelled to Makkah, Basrah, Kūfah and Naysabūr. He took from Abu ‘Ali al-Sawwāf and Abu Bakr ibn al-Haytham al-Anbāri in Baghdād, Abu Bakr al-Ājūri in Makkah as well as Fārūq b. ‘Abd’l-Karīm al-Khattābi in Basrah.

His main teachers include the great Imām and Muhaddith Abu al-Qāsim al-Tabarāni, from whom he took many Hadīth, and also Abu Ahmed al-‘Assāl, the Hāfidh and Qādhi of Asbahān. Abu Nu‘aym also studied under the leader of the Muhaddithīn, Shaykh’l-Islām and author of the magnificent “‘Ilal”, Imām al-Dāraqutni, may Allāh have mercy upon them all.

He also had many students, some travelling great distances to take Hadīth from him. The greatest of these students was undoubtedly the Muhaddith of the East, Abu Bakr al-Khatīb al-Baghdādi.

The scholars have agreed on his excellence and status as an Imām, a Faqīh and his status as a Muhaddith. He was also an expert in the Qirā‘āt as mentioned by Ibn al-Jawzi. He is also considered as one of Islam’s foremost Historians, with the “Hilyah” and “Tārīkh Asbahān”.

Al-Khatīb al-Baghdādi said, “I only saw two people that deserved the title Hāfidh: Abu Nu‘aym al-Asbahāni and Abu Hāzim al-‘Abduwi al-A‘raj.”

Al-Subki said about him, “al-Imām al-Jalīl, al-Hāfidh al-Sūfi, the one who combined between fiqh and tasawwuf, the pinnacle of preservation and accuracy…”

Hamza ibn al-‘Abbās al-‘Alawi said, “The people of Hadīth said, “Abu Nu‘aym was unrivalled in Hadīth for 14 years; none could be found in the East or West who had more preserved than him and with a better chain…””

Al-Dhahabi referred to him as Shaykh’l-Islām in “Siyar” and also said, “al-Hāfidh al-Kabīr, the Muhaddith of his time…”

Ibn ‘Asākir said, “The Shaykh, Imām, al-Hāfidh, the best in his time with respect to his excellence, his collections and his knowledge; he authored famous pieces of work, was known to all and many benefitted from his books due to their quality.”

Ibn Kathīr said, “al-Hāfidh al-Kabīr, author of many, famous beneficial works, from them “Hilyat’l-Awliyā’” in a large number of volumes, indicating his great knowledge of narrations and high number of scholars he took from…”

He was criticised by some scholars for the many weak and even fabricated Hadīth that Abu Nu‘aym narrated such as by Ibn Taymiyyah, yet he still said about Abu Nu‘aym, “Hāfidh, Thiqah, Narrator of many Hadīth, broad in his knowledge of narrations…”

Ibn Taymiyyah also said, “He is from the greatest of the memorisers of Hadīth, of the most prolific authors, with the people benefitting from his works; it is not enough to say that he was just thiqah, for he was a level above that…”

Abu Nu‘aym was involved in the normal controversies of his time due to his Ash‘ari leanings, harshly criticised by some of the Hanbali scholars of his time such ibn Mandah and later ibn al-Jawzi (to which he also responded in a harsh way), but he was still respected for his status and as al-Dhahabi mentioned, such criticisms of contemporaries for one another due to differences in creed are not normally used against a scholar. Indeed al-Dhahabi in conclusion praised Abu Nu‘aym describing him as one of the Imams yet said that he spoke against Ibn Mandah “according to his desires” and that he “narrated fabricated Hadīth without indicating such.”

Also, Imām al-Dhahabi (in al-‘Uluw, 1305), Ibn Taymiyyah (in al-Majmū‘, 60/5) and Ibn al-Qayyim (in Ijtimā‘ al-Juyūsh’l-Islāmiyyah, 279) went to great lengths defending Abu Nu‘aym and his ‘aqīdah against some of the more critical Hanbali scholars of his time (such as ibn al-Jawzi), affirming for him the ‘aqīdah of Ahl’l-Sunnah.

Abu Nu‘aym wrote over 50 books, the most famous and beneficial of them the collection of sayings and narrations of many of the early Muslims in his book “Hilyat’l-Awliyā’ wa Tabaqāt’l-Asfiyā’”, starting off with the ten promised Paradise, then the Ahl’l-Sufah, then the Ascetics of the Companions, then the Tābi‘īn and their followers and then some of the Imāms, Scholars, Sūfis and Awliyā’ after them, in no particular order of name, age, place of birth or excellence, as is usually the case in other historical works.

Ibn Taymiyyah said, “His book the Hilyah is from the best works of the later historians with its narrations of the ascetics…”

He passed away at the age of 94 in the year 430h, rahimullāh.

Sources: Siyar, Tabaqāt’l-Shāfi‘iyyah 18/4, Tadhkirat’l-Huffādh 1092, al-Ahādīth al-Mu‘allah fi Kitāb’l-Hilyah 4/1

Again, like last week’s Sufyan al-Thawrī, we’re talking about another huge Imām, someone who could easily have had his own madhab, a contemporary of both Imam Mālik and Imām al-Shāfi‘ī, who said about him, “he is more afqah (knowledgable) than Mālik, except that his companions did not support him” i.e. propagate his madhab.

His pedigree is first class, studying under some of the greatest Successors to the Companions, including Imām al-Zuhri and ‘Atā. He was not just a renowned jurist and hadith scholar, but also a great man of worship, and a great servant of the poor and the needy.

Some of the Salaf of the time would say, “We have never known anyone greater than him.”

Ibn Abi Maryam said, “Every possible trait (khaslah) that one would expect to become closer to Allah with, were combined in this man.”

His scribe said, “I stayed with him twenty years and never saw him eat alone.”

His famous letter to Imām Mālik, indeed their whole series of letters between them, collected and beautifully explained by the late Faqīh ‘Abd al-Fattāh Abu Ghuddah is a classic example of who this Imām really was. In these letters they discussed much of what they differed over between themselves, rather what one would wish the power of the internet, emails and forums should be for but indeed 99.9% of the time are anything but.

But they were close to each other despite their fiqhi differences, never letting that get in the way of the larger objectives of the spreading of ‘ilm and the rectification of people’s hearts – ensuring unity and strength at all times, especially in times of difficulty etc.

Imām Layth b. Sa‘d can be considered a great example of a scholar who was involved with the people and the society at every level; he was their esteemed scholar, the one they turned to for guidance in the affairs of the Next Life as well as those in this life. He held positions of public office, judged between the people, did business with them and was seen as one of those who practised what he preached with respect to his famous acts of charity.

Imām Layth b. Sa‘d was clearly blessed with excellent business interests, earning much money and being very generous with it. They used to say that he’d earn over 80,000 dinars in a year which is a phenonmenal sum and yet he was never obligated by Allah to pay Zakāh – that’s how much he would give away!

He didn’t just give in charity but he would also give many gifts to the people of ‘ilm and students etc. They said that when he heard of some kind of problems that the scholars had fallen into etc, he’d get money to them. The house of ibn Lahī‘ah burnt down so he sent him 1000 dinars. Imām Mālik wrote to him once asking for the best saffron from Egypt for his daughter’s wedding – they said he sent 30 camel loads! The historians then also said that Mālik used all he could with his family and sold all the rest for hundreds of dinars! And Allah knows best.

That’s the point with the Imams and the leaders. Wealth, ease, luxury never got to their hearts – they remained in the right place, to make things easier, to make things smoother, more honourable, etc. – as long as ones wealth stays in the pocket and not in the heart as Imām Ahmed famously said.

Imām Layth b. Sa‘d was born in 94h and died in 175h and buried in present day Cairo, may Allah jalla wa ‘ala have mercy upon him.

Allah knows best.

If you don’t know about the biggest fight for ages that’s going to kick off in Vegas tomorrow morning, then you’ve either lived in a hole for the past 4 months or you’re a Muhaddith.

Yes, Shaykh Judai didn’t know about the fight. But he did say that it was a waste of time to watch it. Woops.

Anyway, I just want to thank Pretty Boy and the Hitman for providing some hilarious entertainment over the last month as part of HBO’s 24/7. Hatton’s mimic of Mayweather’s shadow sparring was a classic, and as for Mayweather’s all-time classic statements of arrogance – well, the guy is a legend:

“What can I say? He’s (Hatton) stepping up to another class. Look (pointing to his fingers), there’s 250 on the ring, 300 on the Pinky….”

Ok, Pretty Boy might have a million dollars of bling on his hands but will he use those hands to good avail against our local Manc boy? You can’t tell me that “Wonderland” isn’t catchy, and you can’t tell me that every Brit who loves sport didn’t laugh their heads off when they saw Mayweather’s face at the weigh-in as the Mancs gave it the classic footie chant, “Who are ya! Who are ya! Who are ya!”

So, in the best of Manc tradition, “Let’s ‘av it.”

Disclaimer: I don’t promote boxing whatsoever. It is haram. It is damaging to your health. And it’s addictive. That means bad. And yes, I can’t wait to see the Yank get battered either.