For anyone involved in Da‘wah, or even just ‘practising’ their Deen, one of the most common problems you’ll hear about are those Muslims who have unfortunately mixed too much with someone from the opposite sex – and naturally fallen in love.

There is arguably no emotion or feeling stronger than love (although the desire for chocolate will give it a good run for its money!) but seldom do the People of Knowledge give the problem of illicit love the respect, time and seriousness that it deserves.

How often when we are approached by Muslims who have fallen in love with someone in their class, college, at work or whatever, do we react in an (understandably) frustrated and angry fashion, perhaps even harsh fashion? We spend so much time warning against illicit and illegal contact, about licentious behaviour with the opposite sex, we lecture and write, we teach and preach and if often feels like we do nothing else except warn our men and women from too much contact with the opposite sex, and then it all gets thrown back in our faces when they turn up in love.

From the various Muslims I’ve dealt with, love leads the individual to various extreme behaviours from trying to go cold turkey (in avoiding the girl in question for example) to the extent he physically forces himself to hate her to try and rescue himself from her, to the other extreme of a sister who apostated from the Deen in order to be with her lover. What we often forget is the old truism that “Love Blinds” and by Allah, indeed it does. When someone falls in love, all rationale goes out of the window, all common sense is discarded, family ties are walked over an best friends suddenly have become the ‘enemy’. It is a truly desperate state of affairs.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for helping out illegal lovers; sure, we have to remind them of Allah and the Hereafter, remind them of the harms and then also the benefits of fidelity and the wisdom of the Sharī‘ah but we also need to be mindful of the weak and desperate emotional state of the afflicted.

Look at this beautiful but sad poem as narrated by Imām al-Asma‘ī:

On the authority of al-Asma‘ī, that he said, “I was once walking in the village when I came across a stone. Someone had written on it:

 

أيا معشر العشاق بالله خبروا **** إذا حل عشق بالفتى كيف يصنع

O lovers! By Allah, tell me!
If a young man is overcome by love, what should he do?

 

So I wrote underneath it:

 

يداوي هواه ثم يكتم سره **** ويخشع في كل الأمور ويخضع

Let him treat his desire, then conceal his secret
And humble himself in every matter and submit (before his Lord)

 

I returned the next day and I found written underneath it:

 

فكيف يداوي والهوى قاتل الفتى **** وفي كل يوم قلبه يتقطع

But how can it be treated when that desire fights the man
And every day his heart is torn to pieces?!

 

So I wrote underneath it:

 

إذا لم يجد صبراً لكتمان سره **** فليس له شيء سوى الموت أنفع

If he is unable to be patient with concealing his secret
Then there is nothing for him except death that will benefit!

 

I then returned on the third day to find a young man lying dead at the stone. I said, ‘Lā hawla wa lā quwwata illā billāhil-‘Alī’l-‘Adhīm!’ and found that he had written before his death:

 

سمعنا , أطعنا , ثم متنا فبلغوا **** سلامي إلى من كان للوصل يمنع

We have heard and we have obeyed; now we have died so tell everyone
My salām to the one who prevented me from attaining her.

 

(Narrated by al-Abshīhī in al-Mustatrif, 1/410)

 

So dear brothers and sisters, next time we give advice to such people, just remember you’re dealing with hearts full of love not vessels full of stone.

 

Now a little about al-Imam, al-Hafidh: Al-Asma‘ī.

Al-Asma‘ī was one of the early Imams and leading scholars of Arabic, Grammar and Poetry. He narrated from some of the greatest scholars in Islam such as Imām Mālik, Imām al-Shāfi‘ī, Ibn ‘Awn, Ibn Abi’l-Zinād, ‘Atā b. Abi Rabāh, Hammād b. Salamah, Shu‘bah and many others.

He was praised by the major Imams of the Salaf, including Imām Ahmed, Imām al-Shāfi‘ī and Ibn Ma‘īn who said about him, “Asma‘ī is the most knowledgeable of all in his field.”

It’s nice to see the importance of poetry and its status amongst the scholars of Islam but one should also temper that importance with the position of Hadīth when it comes to the Islamic sciences. Imām al-Dhahabi narrates in al-Siyar (7/212) that al-Asma‘ī narrated, “I never saw anyone more knowledgeable about poetry than Shu‘bah, but he told me, “I never used to leave the side of al-Turmāh (one of the famous Islamic poets) until I once passed by al-Hakam b. ‘Utaybah narrating Hadīth which greatly impressed me, and so I said to myself, “This is much better than poetry!” and it was then that I started to study Hadīth.”” Shu‘bah of course became one of the Imams of the Muhaddithīn, about whom Yahya b. Ma‘īn said, “He is the Imām of the Muttaqīn!”

One of al-Asma‘ī’s most famous (and most shocking statements) was narrated by Qādhi ‘Iyādh in al-Ilmā‘ (184) and al-San‘āni in Tawdīh’l-Afkār (2/294) when he said,

“What scares me more than anything that I fear for the student of knowledge who doesn’t know Arabic grammar, is that he comes under the statement of the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam), “Whoever lies upon me, then let him take his seat in the Fire” because he (the Prophet) never made a grammatical mistake; so whenever you narrate from him, and you make a grammatical mistake then you have lied upon him.””

May Allah protect us all and forgive us for our mistakes!

According to Imām al-Bukhāri, he passed away in the year 216h, rahimhullāh rahmatan wāsi‘ah.

(See al-Siyar, 10/175 for more.)

I previously published a little biography about the great Imām Sufyān al-Thawri (radhy Allāhu ‘anhu) which you should all go back and read again just to taste the barakah. The following are a few more statements that give us an insight into the wonderfully pure lives of those greatest generations of our religion.  

Imām Sufyān Abu ‘Abdillāh al-Thawri (radhy Allāhu ‘anhu) (died 167 AH), the Leader of the Believers in Hadith, The Ascetic of the Ummah, and its Faqīh, said:

 

“It used to be said that Good Character extinguishes the Anger of Allah, the Mighty, the Exalted.”

 

Indicating here not only the great virtue of having good character and manners, and not to under-estimate their worth in the erasing of sins, but also that the Salaf  used to consider that they were living in very bad times ie increased fitnah, a lack of sunnah, a lack of good character amongst the people. So if that was then, then what of our situation in these times!? Wa Allahu Musta’ān…

  

“Increase in (the knowledge of) Hadith as it is a weapon (for you).”

 

And this was the way of the early people. The strength of the religion was seen as what was authentic to the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), and authenticity in ones worship, was found in these correct traditions (hadith). That is why the Ahl’l-Sunnah have always been considered to be those who followed the People of Hadith.

 

“Wealth is called Māl because it deviates (yameelu) the hearts.”

 

Money is of course a necessity for daily life, but it is well known that it takes one away from the worship of Allah if the desire for it is not controlled and one starts to concentrate on increasing one’s wealth by sacrificing all of his precious time in this limited life. And know that wealth is the greatest of temptations, and that is why the māl makes the heart move, or incline, or deviate away (yameelu) from the path of righteousness and piety, except on him whom Allah showers His Mercy upon.

  

“Whoever is starving and does not ask (for food) and dies thereof, will enter the fire.”

 

Explaining the true reality of tawakkul and having trust in Allah. It is upon the people to take from the different ways (asbāb) made available to us to get through life safely and healthily, for this is not the religion of monasticism and extremism, but rather the Deen of the middle, balanced way.

  

“Decrease your fame with the people, and your being slandered will also decrease.”

 

Wanting to be popular amongst the people is bad enough, with all the risks of falling into Riyā’ and showing off etc, but also, the more well known that you are, the more the people will talk, and the more that people talk, the more they will end up “taking you down”. The Salaf always used to say, “To not be known to anyone is the greatest of blessings.”

  

“Oh Bikr, take from this world for your body, and from the Hereafter for your heart.”

 

What is meant here is to take and use just enough of what is necessary from this world from food, drink and clothing, so as to maintain your body and strength in its affairs. As for maintaining and indeed saving your heart, then it should be totally immersed in the remembrance of the Hereafter, and be away from the issues of the dunya. And this is from the greatest of advice.

(Taken from Hilyat’l-Awliyā’, V. 6 & 7)

Everyone’s being affected one way or the other by the economic chaos caused by the so-called Capitalists, something which we all knew was going to have to happen sometime due to the foundations of the entire system being based upon riba (which we discussed previously here).

But I’ve recently come to realise that actually the real reason behind the collapse of house prices everywhere and the associated stress is something far deeper. Let me allow our good friend Qādhi ‘Abd’l-Wahhāb (r) to explain:

 

يلومونني أن بعت بالرخص منزلي … ولم يعلموا جاراً هناك ينغص
فقلت لهم: كفوا الملام فإنما … بجيرانها تغلو الديار وترخص

They blame me that I sold my home too cheaply
But they don’t know the neighbour there who does so agitate!
So I said to them, “Stop your blaming! For indeed
It is because of neighbours that the prices of houses rise and depreciate!”

 

(And no sign of a woman anywhere! Except of course that the neighbour next door…but that’s another story…)

 

قال القاضي عبد الوهاب المالكي
Qādhi ‘Abd’l-Wahhāb al-Māliki said:

 

 

ونائمةٍ قبَّلتها فتنبَّهَتْ … وقالَتْ تعالَوْا فاطلُبُوا اللِّصَّ بالحدِّ

She was asleep. I kissed her. She awoke.
She shouted, “Help! Establish the law against this thief!”

فقلتُ لها إنِّي فَدَيتكِ غاصبٌ … وما حكمُوا في غاصبٍ بسوَى الرَّدِّ

So I said to her, “But I sacrificed myself for you! I took it by force I admit!
But they didn’t rule on the Usurper other than it is to be given back!

خُذيها وكُفِّي عنْ أَثيمٍ ظلامة … وإن أَنتِ لم ترضَيْ فأَلف على عدِّ

Take it and stop punishing this oppressive soul!
If that doesn’t satisfy you, then take a thousand instead!

فقالتْ قصاصٌ يشهدُ العقلُ أَنَّه … على كبدِ الجاني أَلذُّ من الشَّهْدِ

She said, “This kind of punishment, everyone bears witness no doubt
That it is sweeter for the Criminal than honey itself!

فباتَتْ يَميني وهي هميانُ خصرها … وباتَتْ يَساري وهي واسطَةُ العقدِ

So my right hand spent the night and it was her belt.
And my left hand spent the night and it was her necklace.

فقالتْ أَلم أخْبَرْ بأَنَّكَ زاهدٌ … فقلتُ بلَى ما زلتُ أَزهدُ في الزُّهْدِ

She said, “Was I not told that you were a pious man?!”
So I said, “Indeed! I am still a pious man when it comes to piety!”

 

 

Easy tiger.

This wonderful little poem needs a little bit of explanation so here goes:

 

She was asleep. I kissed her. She awoke.
She shouted, “Help! Establish the law against this thief!”

He goes up to a sleeping girl (who could be anyone, that doesn’t really matter here) and kisses her. It wakes her up and in anger she calls for someone to grab this criminal and give him the hadd (a prescribed punishment). She’s clearly angry and decides to call him a thief for what he’s done, probably because she can’t think at that moment which kind of crime he’s really perpetrated.

 

So I said to her, “But I sacrificed myself for you! I took it by force I admit!
But they didn’t rule on the Usurper other than it is to be given back.

He then responds and says, “Look, be fair. I did all this for you! I haven’t stolen anything so I can’t be a thief and therefore you can’t ask for a hadd against me can you?”

He wants to convince her that if he has done a crime, then it’s ghasb. Ghasb is “to usurp” and even that isn’t a very accurate translation. Ghasb is to forcefully and oppressively take something without “stealing” (sariqah) it as such, robbing it (tashlīh), pick-pocketing it (nashl) or harming the other party physically (qat‘ al-tarīq etc). All of these four categories have different punishments and likewise ghasb is a fifth category of many possible further categories. Now I know you’re thinking, “but they’re all the same thing aren’t they?!” but in the Sharī‘ah, the scholars differed much over these separate categories and the punishments associated to each type. For example, a pick-pocket takes something which isn’t guarded as such, whereas a thief who gets his hand cut must have stolen something which is properly guarded or closed off to the public according to the majority of the scholars such as breaking and entering into your home at night. The other categories have some force and violence attached to the crime.

As for ghasb: sometimes it can be fraudulent i.e. you ‘blag’ your boundary post and take someone else’s land or more practically another example is if I’m in the street and I shout you down and just snatch something off you whilst you’re holding it, but I don’t run off or anything, then you’ve got a better idea now of what ghasb is and how it’s different to the other categories of “stealing”.

The main thing to understand is that the mass majority of scholars have agreed that the Usurper has no punishment other than that he must return the item he usurped and then make tawbah. Others said he must ask for pardon from the aggrieved party as well, but other than that, the State does not get involved.

So, what our cheeky but clever Faqih romantic has decided to do is to ‘play’ this woman he’s just kissed. And he tells her, “Look, what I’ve done is only ghasb! Okay, I took a kiss from you by force – but I don’t know why you’re asking for the sword! All the scholars have agreed that the only punishment for the Usurper is that he gives back that what he’s taken!”

 

Take it and stop punishing this oppressive soul!
If that doesn’t satisfy you, then take a thousand instead!

He’s clearly got so far using his wits and now his real cheekiness comes out. Appealing to her sense of humour and excitement, he’s actually asking her to kiss him just once to take back what he has taken from her in usurpation. And like every artful dodger, he’s now turned the tables and assumed the role of the aggrieved party, the underdog, the miskeen, the oppressed one!

He then goes further and says, “If you’re not happy with what the scholars demand (i.e. like for like is given back in ghasb), then I tell you what, take extra from me as my punishment, no problem! In fact, kiss me a thousand times as my punishment!”

 

She said, “This kind of punishment, everyone bears witness no doubt
That it is sweeter for the Criminal than honey itself!

She’s clearly warming to this cheeky scholar now, and is only stating the obvious here that, “There is no way I’m going to give you exactly what you wanted all along! You call that a punishment?!”

But it’s far too late now, and she’s fallen for his charm; if you’re sixteen or under, please close this page now. Thanks.

 

So my right hand spent the night and it was her belt.
And my left hand spent the night and it was her necklace.

Is my central heating on too high or what?

Here is Arab poetry at its most daring: our romantic has completed his seduction of his prey and has now spent the night with her. Not just that, but what is being described (poorly in English of course and much more sensitively in the Arabic) is how he’s lying next to her and holding her very close, around her waist and very gently across her neck and what on Earth am I doing still talking about this line…

 

She said, “Was I not told that you were a pious man!”
So I said, “Indeed! I am still a pious man when it comes to piety!”

Perhaps the cleverest line of the poem, which could mean something else but I’ve translated it this way: as we said before, the woman has completely fallen for this chap and is now teasing him, “I thought I was told that you were an ascetic/pious man (Zāhid).” Normally, zuhd or ascetism as practiced by the masters of Tasawwuf is to completely renounce the dunya, almost like a form of monasticism but without that kind of extremism. But clearly she is claiming that enjoying oneself with women in such a way would be against the way of zuhd as such.

So our star of the show dead-pans a response playing on the fact that zuhd doesn’t have any agreed upon Shar‘i definition, decides to give the word his own definition i.e. piety and thus being good, praying, fasting and all those things that one would expect day to day from an ‘Alim – but don’t try and put the fun that I’m having with women in that category!

So there we are.

 

This poem was written by the inimitable Qādhi ‘Abd’l-Wahhāb al-Māliki al-Baghdādi (rahimullāh); he was one of the famous Imams of Iraq and from the leaders of Ahl’l-Sunnah. He was the student of the scholar Imām al-Bāqillāni and the Shaykh of the Māliki madhab. Al-Khatīb al-Baghdādi took from him and considered him to be the most knowledgeable of the Mālikis of his time.

He is most famous for his commentary to Ibn Abi Zayd’s masterpiece al-Risālah. Amongst many other books, he also has a commentary to the Mudawwana. Many quoted from Qādhi ‘Abd’l-Wahhāb especially Ibn Hajr, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, who uses him extensively as a reference in his Ijtimā‘ al-Juyūsh’l-Islāmiyyah.

He was not only a master of fiqh but a great poet, with over 165 books attributed to him. His intellect, eloquence and clear skill in the Arabic language and poetry was much admired in his time and until this day.

Ibn Khallikān reported in his Wafāyat’l-A‘yān the circumstances of the death of Qādhi ‘Abd’l-Wahhāb. He had suffered for many years in Baghdad, experiencing very difficult circumstances. Then he moved to Egypt where he was warmly welcomed and lavishly supported by the wealthy and good people. All new to him, he wrote of his happiness in various poems. Not too long after, he had an opportunity to eat some quality food that he had desired for a long time but he became deathly ill from it straight away. It was reported that as he was in his last moments, he said,

“Lā ilāha illallāh! Now that we are finally starting to live, we have died!”

Miskeen.

May Allah have mercy upon this great Imam’s soul and grant him the highest part of Paradise! He was born 362h in Baghdad and he left us in Cairo, 422h (see al-Bidāyah w’l-Nihāyah and Siyar al-A‘lām for more detailed information).

 

And the point of all this?

Well, just imagine that someone like Shaykh Shu‘ayb al-Arna‘ūt said something like the above poem, or Shaykh Muhammad Hasan al-Dadu, or Shaykh Muhammad al-‘Awwāmah, or Shaykh Taqi al-Usmani, or Shaykh Muhammad Mukhtār al-Shinqītī, or Shaykh Ibn Bāz. Or anyone for that matter.

My goodness. There’d be uproar. From the ignorant that is.

Firstly, have no doubt that these great and noble scholars of today wouldn’t reach half the standard of someone like Qādhi ‘Abd’l-Wahhāb al-Māliki, neither in ‘ilm or ‘amal.

So therefore secondly, let it just be a little reminder to everyone showing the vastness of our heritage and a reminder to the extremists to just take it easy a little bit, and a reminder to the modernists and “progressives” that we have no need for you to bring into our pure Islam all the new dreams you have in your inferiority-complex induced sleep in the houses of your Masters of disbelief and heresy.

Alhamdulillāh ‘alā ni‘mat’l-Islām, wa kafā bihā ni‘mah.

And Allah knows best.

Or the bus for that matter!

And not because of all the stares at my beard or thawb or my bag and all that stress. No.

It’s because “More than one in four commuters has bacteria from faeces on their hands, an investigation suggests.”

Wallah, I feel sick. In fact, I feel sick just being near all you lot, forget about being on public transport myself.

I’ve recently decided that it is enough of a ni’mah to not be dependent upon public transport. For those that are, my express sympathies.

Read it all below:

Faecal bacteria join the commute

Commuters in the north were dirtier than in the south More than one in four commuters has bacteria from faeces on their hands, an investigation suggests. Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine swabbed 409 people at bus and train stations in five major cities in England and Wales. The further north they went, the more often they found commuters with faecal bacteria on their hands – men in Newcastle were the worst offenders. Experts stressed the importance of hand hygiene for preventing illness. The bacteria found suggested people were not washing their hands properly after using the toilet, said the researchers. Toilet hands In Newcastle and Liverpool, men were more likely than women to show contamination – 53% of men compared with 30% of women in Newcastle and 36% of men compared with 31% of women in Liverpool.  We were flabbergasted by the finding that so many people had faecal bugs on their hands  Dr Val Curtis, director of the Hygiene Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine In the other three cities – London, Cardiff and Birmingham – the women’s hands were dirtier. People who had used the bus had higher rates of hand contamination than those who had used the train. Manual workers had cleaner hands than other professionals, students, retired people or the unemployed. Dr Val Curtis, director of the Hygiene Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “We were flabbergasted by the finding that so many people had faecal bugs on their hands. “The figures were far higher than we had anticipated, and suggest that there is a real problem with people washing their hands in the UK. DIRTY HANDS Newcastle - men 53%, women 30% Liverpool - men 36%, women 31% Birmingham - men 21%, women 26% Cardiff - men 15%, women 29% Euston (London) - men 6%, women 21% “If any of these people had been suffering from a diarrhoeal disease, the potential for it to be passed around would be greatly increased by their failure to wash their hands after going to the toilet.” Professor Mike Catchpole, director of the Health Protection Agency’s Centre for Infections, said: “These results are startling and should be enough to make anyone reach for the soap. “It is well known that hand washing is one of the most important ways of controlling the spread of infections, especially those that cause diarrhoea and vomiting, colds and flu. “People should always wash their hands after using the toilet, before eating or handling food, and after handling animals. And remember to cover all cuts and scratches with a waterproof dressing.” Winter vomiting The HPA’s monitoring of infections over recent weeks suggests that cases of norovirus – the winter vomiting bug – are rising and that the annual norovirus season is likely to have begun. Norovirus is the most common cause of gastrointestinal disease in the UK with peak activity in terms of numbers of cases and outbreaks during the winter months, from October to March. It has been estimated that between 600,000 and a million people in the UK are affected each year. Professor Catchpole said: “Norovirus is highly infectious and easily spread in settings where people are in close contact with one another so good hygiene, including frequent handwashing, is really important.” The study was part of the world’s first Global Hand-washing Day, dedicated to raising awareness about the importance hand hygiene plays in public health.

A Priest, an Imam and a Rabbi walk into a bar.

The bartender says, “What is this, a joke?”

 

Reflect upon the following hadith that I wrote about a few years back on the old site, and the lessons we can take from it:

 

On the authority of ibn ‘Abbās (radhy Allahu ‘anhuma) that the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) dispatched a military unit. Upon gathering the booty they found a man who said, “I’m not from them! I fell in love with a woman and followed her here – allow me to at least look at her then you can do with me as you wish!”

The woman, tall and ebony-skinned, came forward and he said to her,

“Submit to me O Hubaysh,
before life comes to an end.

Have you not seen how I found you and followed you
To Halyah, through tight mountainous ravines?

Is it not the right of the lover to yearn
After suffering the entire night in pursuit and heat of the noon?”

She said, “Yes! May I be sacrificed for you!”

Then they took the man and killed him. The woman fell on his body, gasped once or twice, then died.

When the unit returned to the Messenger of Allah (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and informed him of what had happened, he said, “Was there not amongst you even a single merciful man?!”

 

This narration, collected by Imām al-Nasā’i as well as al-Tabarāni has a hasan chain, as also opined by al-Haythami. Ibn Hajr declared the chain authentic in al-Fath, although there is a dispute about its strength amongst the Muhaddithīn.

A powerful and sad hadith, it contains many benefits for the interested reader. Before that, some explanation to the hadith itself:

- A sarīya is a military unit that would be sent out by the leader either to spread the message of Islam or in more acute battle scenarios. This unit had come across a rebellious group of Arabs who refused to accept the rule of law and hence they were taken as prisoners, except that the man in this narration wasn’t part of the original group of rebels – explaining as he does that he had fallen in love with a woman and followed her here – but yet was killed, mistakenly, along with the other criminals despite his protests.

- Such units were sent out often and unfortunately, mistakes would also occur, the most famous of them with a similar rebuke from the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is related in the Sahih of Imam al-Bukhari when Khalid b. Walid killed a man which led the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to invoke, “O Allah! I am innocent of what Khalid has done!”

- The place in which the above narration occurred was called al-Halyah (also said to be al-Halbah in some narrations). Halyah was though to be from the plains of Yemen yet it is more likely to be within Arabia itself, near a place called Tihama. This is supported by other ahādith which mention this incident with slight differences (see no.10356 of al-Majma‘ al-Zawā’id, also no. 8787 of Sunan al-Kubrā of al-Nasā’i).

- The name of this lady was Hubayshah but he referred to her with a term of endearment by shortening her name to “Hubaysh”, something done similarly by the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) when he would affectionately call Ā‘ishah simply “Ā‘ish” as narrated by Imam al-Bukhāri in his Sahīh.

- The man was infatuated with this woman, forgetting even death for a moment just to look at her one more time and even asked her to allow him this with his statement ‘submit yourself’ i.e. don’t begrudge me this last moment. Other scholars mentioned that it might mean ‘accept Islam’ or even ‘give me peace’ but the first position seems to fit the context and Allah knows best.

- The woman’s response ‘fadaytuka’ is a well known expression of love and sacrifice amongst the Arabs, being an extreme sign of love and commitment. Indeed, the companions would often come and express their loyalty to the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) with the same term.

The beauty of this narration is that it shows some of the excellence of the Arabs in their poetry, their concern for love and romance, and the overriding principle of ease and gentleness in Islam despite its strict disciplinary and penal code in times of necessity.

 

So, from the many lessons, points of law and indeed benefits of this narration as mentioned by our teachers:

1. The intrinsic gentle nature of the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

2. Pardoning precedes Punishment.

3. The power of love and its consequences, to the extent that it can make a man forget death.

4. Love (and its consequent sadness) can kill as seen with the woman.

5. A lesson to be learnt for those attempting to give fatwa for a death sentence – it is an unenviable responsibility despite its importance.

6. The virtue of mercy to the creation, even if they differ with you.

7. The concern of the leader for giving all people the possibility of hearing about Islam, and hence his emphasis on da’wah.

8. The strength of Islam today has been based on retaining the best attributes of those who were not Muslim, particularly culture – this is seen more clearly in the other narrations as well.

9. That the leaders should always be fully appraised by those under his command so that he can either confirm their actions or correct them.

10. Both men and women of that time were equal in their knowledge of Arabic language and culture.

11. It is permissible to look at a non-Mahram woman if there is a need; how else were the Sahābah able to describe her skin so accurately?

12. The intrinsic disadvantages of keeping continual company of such criminal disbelievers. The man wasn’t even from this group yet he was taken because he was with them.

13. The harshness of the Sahābah, radhy-Allahu ‘anhum, on kufr and the aggressive disbelievers.

14. There is no need for expiation/blood money if the Mujāhidīn make an honest mistake after their best efforts of ijtihād. There is discussion on this point.

15. The permissibility of killing a rebellious captive.

16. Punishment is not immediate; a delay for requests or other reasons is allowed.

17. Female captives are usually retained, to be freed or married as per the orders of the leader.

18. The execution of aggressive prisoners was by the sword and by the striking of the neck.

19. The Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would often reprimand his Companions, and as here, with severity.

20. The Sahābah are not ma‘sūm (protected from making mistakes and sinning).

And Allah ‘azza wa jall knows best.

I think everyone is fascinated by the American Presidential Race, but clearly the introduction of Sarah Palin truly jazzed up an already interesting situation.

But I have a problem: after my study of what Palin has to offer, I think I can sum up the key characteristics that she’s counting on:

1. She’s a girl. There’s clearly some kind of novelty factor there.

2. She’s a pretty girl (hey don’t be shy, admit it, just don’t look twice that’s all). No doubt Palin will look far better than Biden on the special design White House Xmas card.

3. She’s a family woman – sorry, I mean she’s a “hockey mom” (said in your most irritating Yank accent)

4. She’s got a record of giving people money back in her governing of the State of Alaska.

5. She’s got foreign policy experience because she can see the Russian tundra from her attic window.

6. She can seduce 3rd-rate foreign leaders when they come round for tea. Come on Zardari saab, it’s all over Youtube for crying out loud.

 

With that in mind, I wish to urge my fellow American brothers and sisters that Angelina Jolie will make a far more effective Vice President, at the very least because:

1. She’s definitely a girl.

2. She’s an oh-so pretty girl at that too, I’m told on reliable authority.

3. She’s most certainly a family woman. How many kids exactly?

4. She’s given more or her own money away in charity than Palin gave back to her people from their own money.

5. She’s got plenty of foreign policy experience. She actually lived in Pakistan for a while for crying out loud – surely she deserves a medal and the Presidency just for that alone! Oh, she also has the entire United Nations amongst her kids. Beat that Palin.

6. Well, she’s married to the world’s most desired bloke and she also has a track-record with 3rd-rate leaders. Ask Shaukat Aziz…

Gosh, this blogging bakwas is fun sometimes!

Now just wait a minute folks and let me get a word in edgeways here.

Firstly, this is not my title. Secondly, things have been very busy. Thirdly, I promised to post this interview that was carried out (and has been published in abdridged fashion) for “Muslim Matters” magazine here in Manchester (no relation to Sh Yasir Qadhi’s Yank website) without changing or editing a single word. So yes, it’s very informal (much more refreshing than some of the formal bakwas we do with non-Muslims), the spellings are theirs (Bro I and Sister N under their request but then it’s a hell of a lot of transcribing and a pretty good job too!), but I agreed because it’s kinda funny and I know all you miserable lot deserve a giggle after you Wahaabees cocked up ‘Eed again by doing it on Wednesday (or should that be the other way round? ).

More from me sometime over the next week on the latest news with PG insha’Allah.

 

 

“An Interview with Imam AE”

 

I: Assalamualaikum Ustadh!

 

AE: Walaikumsalam wa rahmatullah bro. What’s happening?

 

I: Thanks for agreeing to this interview although I hope you don’t expect any favours.

 

AE: Bro, you’re not exactly Letterman and you’re not exactly Oprah. And I’m not exactly Michael Jackson with a closet full of celebrity secrets either. Actually saying that…

 

I: Okay okay! Let’s start here with my list. Firstly, some of our readers will not know who you are so can we like start right at the beginning?

 

AE: As in right in the beginning?

 

I: Yes please.

 

AE: Err, okay. Well my name is Niamatullah but everyone called me either Nee-Mat or just Mat from all my lazy sod colleagues and mates and I was born in Barking, East London and spent my early years in East Ham before moving to Ilford in Essex just before starting secondary school there. I did okay with GCSEs and then did my A-Levels in a place called Seven Kings which is where I first started to practise Islam in a more substantial sense. Up until then I was a standard Muslim Brit-Pak, I used to attend the mosque regularly with my Father who is a strict conservative Muslim, and so I had a general appreciation of Allah and His Messenger (saw) but nothing too sincere or focused. My father had put me in a hifz-class whilst I was still in East Ham and before I moved to Ilford and I was doing well but then things slowed down in Ilford and my school studies took over.

 

I: What happened in this place called Seven Kings?

 

AE: Well, I met a few brothers there and I’ll protect their identities to preserve their reward and we started to hang out together, pray together and encourage each other to try and refrain as much as possible from all the dodgy things we’d get up to. It was a bit like going to Uni for me because it was quite a way away from home and I now had an excuse to be away from home until late so as you can imagine, it was hard work resisting.

 

I: You mean the DJ-ing? Tell us a bit more about that.

 

AE: Well, I know it might not fit with the practising Mum and Dad and the hifz and all the rest of it, but I was completely obsessed with music. I used to work at HMV and WHS as well which didn’t help. I had a ridiculously large music collection, a lot of old-skool stuff, hip-hop and R+B was starting to get big in those days, and I belonged to a club of DJs who were trialling the mixing of CDs instead of the normal 1210s that vinyl DJs would use to mix. So we’d get white-labels on CD which of course made me a very popular young man at the time.

 

I: Do you think that the DJing might play a part in your effectiveness as a speaker, because there seem to a be a few such brothers around who are involved in dawah who used to be DJs?

 

AE: Maybe, I dunno. Public speaking has never been an issue for me and perhaps being in front of people regularly possibly helped. But what I do know is that I was completely consumed with my music and not the people around me. After I took a year out to work in Central London and earn some cash, I decided to study Pharmacy in Manchester which was clearly a major stage in life for me, you know, being so far away from home and all the rest of it, but I started to take my music even more seriously, sampling, mixing and presenting in various places. Yet at the same time, I was living with some non-Muslims whom I was debating life, God and Islam with every night and I became stronger in my Deen slowly.

 

I: And then you got kicked out of the halls.

 

AE: God! You’ve really been preparing for this! Maybe you do have a future in this game…

 

I: Come on Sheikh, this is old news from years back you told us. But I think it’s really amazing what happened as a result, so please carry on for readers who won’t know anything about it.

 

AE: Basically I got into an argument with this drunk racist and unfortunately I have been burdened with a very poor patience threshold and so we had a fight and he got hurt and he copped me in and I got in a lot of trouble. So I was kicked out of my Uni halls and was therefore homeless, and I missed my parents visiting me for the first time since I left for Manchester which made them swear that they’d never speak to me ever again because I was actually in a cell being cautioned for what happened the night before, and I almost got kicked out of my course as well unless I fulfilled a number of conditions, which I did Alhamdulillah with a combination of hard work and the help and support of some of the practising brothers I had met around campus and in the Masjid.

 

I: Your darkest moment?

 

AE: Wallahee, you cannot imagine how dark that time was. If I wasn’t Muslim I would have committed suicide. I was on the street, my parents didn’t want to know me, the cell was freezing and had been a disastrous experience, and my Dean told me that he’d been asked to kick me off the course. Man, it was a disaster, just a disaster. And then Subhanallah as the saying goes, it is only after the darkest part of the night that we get the breaking Fajr of dawn. My dawn was a few brothers who not only put me up for a few days, prepped me for my ultimatum with my Dean, spoke to my parents for me and then found me a place to stay in for the remaining years of my degree course.

 

I: Ah, Zakariyyah Masjid right?

 

AE: Amazing man, amazing. I moved into the top floor of a Masjid for crying out loud. I never saw that one coming, and I don’t think they did either! Basically there’s this great Tablighi Masjid in Whalley Range in Manchester where the Imam would live upstairs but he then moved out because his family came over and so I had it to myself. And that was the beginning for me.

 

I: And then you became a Sheikh!

 

AE: Just watch it son! I’ll do a Bee Gees on you and just walk out you know…

 

I: Come on Sheikh, just kidding. But seriously, that was the start right of your proper studying Islam?

 

AE: It was the first day of the rest of my life. I met my teacher, the honourable Sheikh Kehlan a few days later and I’ve now been with him for nearly 13 years. I’d spend every moment possible studying with him, sitting in his circles in the Bukhari Centre (in Didsbury, Manchester) and the rest of the time I was learning Qur’an, Tajweed and Arabic with the Libyans who would teach at Zakariyyah Masjid every morning after Fajr. It was like being in an Islamic University! My Qur’an teacher was called Sheikh Abu Abdur-Rehman al-Leebee and to be able spend nearly every morning with him learning Arabic and Tajweed for a few years whilst I was meant to be studying Pharmacy was just incredible.

 

I: And then you went abroad?

 

AE: Throughout my University years I would go abroad for about 4-5 months at the end of term every year, and so I was able to go to Pakistan by myself and study Hanafi fiqh in my home area of Swat in the NWFP which is where my tribe of the Naser Kheil is originaly from and which is unfortunately being destroyed by lunatics at the moment, may Allah protect it. That was also the first time I performed Umrah by myself. The year after I went to Madinah and studied Arabic and the Qur’an there, and benefitted greatly from an old Afghani Sheikh there at the time and his students which was a nice experience for me. My Arabic was getting better and then returning with the scholars here in the UK including a hadeeth scholar who had just moved to Leeds at that time by the name of Sheikh Juday also started to broaden my horizons. After I finished my Pharmacy degree I was able to go to a few more countries properly for a 1-2 years including West Africa and Egypt and back to Pakistan again as well.

 

I: Do you advise all budding students of knowledge to do the same?

 

AE: That reuires a real long answer but basically I think it’s a must to go abroad, especially for the language and the nuances of studying and the adab related to it. But also the travelling, the different scholars you study from, the different methodologies, different madhabs, different beliefs even, the different people and cultures you are forced to make a go of it in – I wouldn’t swap my experience for anything in the world. But the reality today is that post 9-11, studying abroad properly for me has been ruined.

 

I: What do you mean?

 

AE: I’ll give you an example of Mauritania. I was lucky enough to be invited to go there before 9-11, I think in 1999, by a great scholar called Sheikh Muhammad Hasan al-Dadu who directed me to a madressah there belonging to his Uncle, a senior scholar by the name of Sheikh Salim Wald Wudud. Now it was hard work to get there then and that was considered a politically stable time then, but the few weeks I was there before I became severely ill was the most beneficial few weeks I’ve ever had. I learned more there and with such pure people and students and teachers than I did in perhaps one year being somewhere else. But that whole vibe has gone now. After 9-11 it became very difficult for practising Muslims to travel around like the free new-age hippies we used to be dallying around Europe. I tried to go back to Mauritania to in 2002 for extended study and they wouldn’t even let me into the country! And then on my return, I got arrested by the Moroccan authorities when I decided to study there instead and basically insisted that I return back home, for no reason whatsoever!

 

I: That’s mental.

 

AE: Hey, studying anywhere abroad whether Egypt, Syria, Saudi, Yemen wherever all have difficulties and problems and you shouldn’t be scared off by that as long as you’re straight-up and have nothing to hide. But I’d advise Western students to go Egypt for example instead of with the Shanqitis in Mauritania only for the reason that you’re likely to be harassed continuously there and the British Consul there is particularly unhelpful and a rather dodgy character, rather unlike the British Embassies normally in other countries who usually offer real help in difficult situations.

 

I: So what about Egypt?

 

AE: It’s a great place and I benefitted immensely there masha’Allah.

 

I: You’ve been lucky enough to meet many great scholars and probably still do now, so let me ask you 4 questions about your meeting the scholars: what’s been your greatest moment, your greatest regret, your worst moment, and give us the latest news the last time you were in contact with them.

 

AE: Ha ha, that’s not a bad set of questions! Okay, the first is easy: the best moment was to sit at the feet of Sheikh Muhammad Salim Wald Wadud. My biggest regret was not meeting Sheikh Uthaimeen. My worst moment was err… probably only recently, being told off by Sheikh Juday (don’t ask) and as for the latest news then being Ramadhan means everyone is very busy but I saw Sheikh Kehlan today and he was very well Alhamdulillah, and I spoke to Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah yesterday and he was well and sending his salams upon the brothers and sisters here. I was with Sheikh Salman al-Awdah at a conference a few months back and he was looking good too may Allah preserve them all.

 

I: Right then, let me have a look what’s next on this list.

 

AE: Come on surely that’s enough. This is taking ages!

 

I: Ok, I’ve got some less serious stuff here and then we’ll end with some current stuff.

 

AE: Ok.

 

I: Favourite food?

 

AE: Easy. Food is a Kansas spicy chicken-burger with cheese. Drink is a chocolate milkshake from Baskin Robbins which I can’t for the life of me remember the name of. Dessert is Haagen Daz Strawberry Cheesecake. Lovely.

 

I: Favourite sport?

 

AE: Don’t have one, I like all sport far too much. Obviously cricket and football are big favourites but I’m into golf and athletics and all the obscure stuff as well. I’ve just heard we lost to the Yankees in the Ryder Cup as well which is a big shame – I would have probably watched that if it wasn’t in Ramadhan.

 

I: Pet hate?

 

AE: What, just one? You know full well that I have many pet hates so you can’t play that game with me. Firstly, incompetence. Wallahi, I can’t stand incompetence. It makes my veins pop. Secondly, lame khutbahs and lame recitation. Thirdly, poor spelling, grammar, punctuation. Drives me bananas, especially from folks in the West who get a FREE education! And lastly for now with George Bush on his way out, my biggest pet hate is Sarah Palin. Pretty girl but Allahu Akbar I didn’t think it could get any worse. I have a Ramadhan confession to make: I saw her interview with Kate something from some Yank news channel on Youtube and when she was asked about foreign policy experience and she said something like, “Well, I’ve seen Russia from here on the mainland before” I nearly vomitted and broke my fast…

 

I: Hahaha!

 

AE: Not funny man, not funny. Wallahee that’s scary man.

 

I: Ok, ok. Right, who’s your favourite actress?

 

AE: Watch it bro.

 

I: What book are you reading at the moment? And what else is on your book list?

 

AE: Well, obviously it’s the Qur’an and nothing else at the moment. Next after Ramadhan will be the Qur’an again: the little lad Eesa has challenged me to finish the Qur’an from cover to cover according to the narration of Qaloon an Naafi by the second Friday after Eed so that’s going to be hard work.

 

I: And then?

 

AE: Then, it’ll probably be to revise the Sunan of Imam al-Nasai in preparation for a Maqra’a that we’ll be doing here in Manchester over the Christmas break insha’Allah.

 

I: You’ve really been pushing this Maqra’a thing haven’t you? Can you explain what it is for our readers?

 

AE: Firstly, I can’t completely take credit for being the first to introduce it in the UK – that belongs to Sheikh Haitham Haddad in London, as he was the one who committed to it first masha’Allah. Secondly, what we’re talking about is to effectively speed-read though a complete text in one sitting as such, and it has a number of benefits and many fans from famous scholars throughout Islamic history. You can find more about it in a detailed article I wrote about it on the PG site.

 

I: Which reminds me, what has happened to the Prophetic Guidance site?

 

AE: The PG folks have been busy working on it and I think it’ll be up soon insha’Allah. It’ll have hundreds of gigabytes of material on it so it’s taking a while to get up!

 

I: Busy with what? We haven’t heard of anything from you for ages! You were teaching here at Cheadle as the Imam and there were articles, lectures and conferences and it just seems that you’ve gone off the radar! Have you retired?

 

AE: Easy tiger! That was cheeky. Anyway, no not at all. As you know I’m still here at Cheadle Masjid. As for the public circles and stuff then a combination of lack of time and re-prioritising has meant that I’ve cut back on some of that. The ‘Uddah class will be taken over by one of the local scholars here insha’Allah and I’ve got a small Qur’an circle and an advanced fiqh circle in Arabic that I’ve been preparing for a few brothers who have shown particular proficiency. Also I’ve been busy preparing for lectures and courses in other places outside England. I’ve had to cut down general populist writing because of lack of time, and I want to finish off and get my other projects released as soon as possible and off my neck, as it’s been just far too long.

 

I: Is this Nur al-Basa’ir the fiqh book?

 

AE: Hahaha! You couldn’t wait to say that could you? Yes, that’s one of the pieces that has actually been translated but needs to be properly reviewed.

 

I: What else can we look forward to?

 

AE: One is a translation of a great book called “al-Ijma” by a scholar called Ibn al-Mundhir. The other is a complete study of the Qur’anic chapter al-Kahf which I’ve been working on for ages and will probably be a little while yet. I also hope to finish a complete commentary to al-Adab al-Mufrad of Sayyidina Bukhari insha’Allah.

 

I: Hey, what happened to that “Human Life” book?

 

AE: If you mean “The Sanctity of Human Life” then that’s a long, sad story. Basically I agreed to translate and edit a niece relevant piece on the issue but the Publishers didn’t allow me to actually even get half way through the job before they went ahead and printed it without informing me. It’s a shame really, a mistake, but an okay publication missed out on becoming a great and effective piece of work.

 

I: I have to ask this so don’t shout: why haven’t you given the Khutbah for so long? I don’t have dirt with me here but there’s very few Imams in this country who can affect people like you do masha’Allah.

 

AE: Hahaha! The fasting one is always delighted with water at iftar time.

 

I: Have I just been cussed there?

 

AE: Yeah.

 

I: Forget it, I can’t be bothered.

 

AE: So are we done here bro?

 

I: Nearly Sheikh, just a few more. Tell us a bit about your work with the non-Muslims, interfaith and the Government because we know that you’ve busy with that.

 

AE: Why, you want some PDFs written against me? Anyway, I’ve been working with a group called the C-100 and also the World Economic Forum for a few years on all various issues. It’s eye-opening and beneficial, and it’s an opportunity to deliver a message from my community in an orthodox manner instead of some regressive quacks misleading people, and it’s an opportunity to take advantage of the very latest research and study in anthropology and various social and political factors affecting our communities in the world today.

 

I: You studied anthropology and the social sciences here in Manchester before didn’t you, whilst you were studying Islam? I remember a lecture you gave about that once.

 

AE: I did and I tell you it’s a vital science. Too many Muslims believe that it’s enough just to read the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldoon and that’s enough anthropology and sociology to use with their little bit of fiqh and hadeeth, and then they want to teach the people and lead communities. No, it needs to be taught properly by experienced experts. And experience is probably the most important thing here.

 

I: Any advice on this now for our readers?

 

AE: Absolutely. After studying with some great teachers here in the UK such as Sheikh Juday and Sheikh Suhaib Hasan, Manchester has been blessed with the most insightful and profound social scientist scholar in this country in Sheikh Kehlan al-Jubury masha’Allah. And no that’s not bias, it’s just a fact. Everyone should go to all of his lessons and hang on to every single word that he utters. Sheikh Kehlan was the sole and single reason why I left London to move to Manchester to continue studying with him.

 

I: Sorry to take you back but I forgot to ask you about your time back in London. Just tell us a little bit about the dawah there because you were busy there as well weren’t you?

 

AE: Well I used to have a circle there called “Logical Progression” named after a favourite album of mine which was quite popular, probably because it was a very low-key informal kind of set-up. It was popular with non-Muslims too and we had a few Shahadahs masha’Allah… not martyrs by the way for any MI6 snoops out there, but new Muslims!! But yeah, then I got involved as a Khateeb and teacher for a new Masjid called al-Ansar Centre in Essex and before that I was the Khateeb in Basildon in Essex for a while, which was all good experience. I used my evenings to study with Sheikh Suhaib Hasan at the time which was extremely beneficial and I’m very close to him may Allah preserve him.

 

I: And what about his son Usama?

 

AE: What about him?

 

I: Okay. Forget it. Any final advice for us?

 

AE: (A long pause) Ok, here are three random things that I’ve had re-emphasised to me over the last month that have affected me deeply:

 

1. Don’t read the Qur’an in less than 3 days because it won’t make the impact it should, but make sure you at least try and finish it in a week to prove to yourself just what you can do when you put your mind to it. And then once you’ve got that monkey off your back, trying to do it again and becoming regular with the Qur’an will be much easier insha’Allah.

 

2. Read Sahih al-Bukhari from cover to cover, and then read it again, and then read it again. It is just the most profound and incredible book ever. I am becoming seriously consumed with this great piece of work 20 years after reading it first time round.

 

3. A Sikh friend of mine lost his 3 year old daughter to an asthma attack a few weeks back. He’s been inconsolable since and I was speaking to him and he just kept on repeating the same statement to me like a man possessed: look after your children. So let me say the same, your children are more valuable to you than you can ever imagine. Don’t let something terrible have to happen to you to realise it.

 

I: Wow.

 

AE: Yeah bro, Alhamdulillah ala kulli haal. Alhamdulillah li ni’matil Islam wa kafaa bihi ni’mah.

 

I: Sheikh, I know this was way out there sometimes and it took a lot of time and we haven’t had that from you for ages, but we’re really grateful jazaakallaho khairan.

 

AE: Hey no problem, it was fun to be honest, much better than all the formal rubbish we have to do sometimes. Don’t forget us in your duas either, wasalamualaikum.

 

I: Walaikumsalam.