Back to Basics (Hadith Jibril)…

Today, in The Essentials of Islam (Hanafi) course, we were taught the relevance of observing the Hadith Jibril. Though we were fortunate to learn this when we were a child it’s always beneficial to go back to the basics and recap what has been learnt, what needs to be learnt, and what requires more understanding:

Islam is “to testify that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to perform prayers, to give zakaah, to fast in Ramadhaan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so.” The science of Fiqh (correct understanding of ones worship) helps us to implement Islam to the best of our ability.

Iman is “to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in Divine Destiny (qadr), both the good and the evil of it.” The science of Aqeeda has come to help us truly testify to our Iman.

Ihsaan is “to worship Allaah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then (knowing that) truly He sees you.” The science of Tassawuf provides us the ability to gain spiritual excellence, to help purify our heart, and it also deters us from our nafs.

May Allah Provide knowledge that is good for us, a memory to retain the knowledge He Gifts us with, and the ability to implement that knowledge such that it becomes strengthened within us. Allahumma Ameen.

 

The Lineage of the Prophet (ص)

In the Full Moon Rising course, Shaykh AbdulKareem taught us to keep up the tradition of memorising and reciting the lineage of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus we all strived to memorise the 21 Grandfathers up to Adnan (may Allah be pleased with them all. Ameen) in particular taking note of the lineage of both the paternal and maternal side.

The only way that this student could memorise it was to say it in threes. So…

His (peace and blessings be upon him) name is

Muhammad,
ibn Abdullah, ibn AbdulMuttalib, ibn Hashim,
ibn AbdiManaf, ibn Qusayy, ibn Kilab (Hakim),
ibn Murrah, ibn Ka’b, ibn Luayy,
ibn Ghalib, ibn Fihr, ibn Malik,
ibn al-Nadr, ibn Kinanah, ibn Khuzaymah,
ibn Mudrikah, ibn Ilyas, ibn Mudar,
ibn Nizar, ibn Ma’add, ibn Adnan.

His (peace and blessings be upon him) mother is…
Aminah, bint Wahb,
ibn AbdiManaf, ibn Zuhrah, ibn Kilab (Hakim),
ibn Murrah, ibn Ka’b, ibn Luayy,
ibn Ghalib, ibn Fihr, ibn Malik,
ibn al-Nadr, ibn Kinanah, ibn Khuzaymah,
ibn Mudrikah, ibn Ilyas, ibn Mudar,
ibn Nizar, ibn Ma’add, ibn Adnan.

May Allah send blessings upon them all. Allahumma Ameen.

*Note that his paternal and maternal lineage meet at Hakim ibn Murrah, who was also nicknamed “Kilab”, and that Abdi Manaf in the paternal and maternal side are not the same person.

 

Mirror Mirror on the Wall… (dua for looking in the mirror)

Raise your hand up if you have ever looked in the mirror and thought “Masha’Allah! I look pretty fine!” or “dude, I so need to lose weight!” Come on, we’ve all done it at least once in our life - some more than others but khayr that’s individualism for you - don’t be shy, raise your hand up.

Habib Umar (may Allah preserve him in Birr. Allahumma Ameen) taught in the Attaining Good Character class (with Shaykh AbdulKareem Yahya translating) that

Just as a person has a bodily appearance, they also have an inward image. “Appearance (khalq)” is the bodily form; whilst “Character (khuluq, plural: akhlaq)” is the inward form.

Now, if the appearance of the body is ordered well and beautiful then it is noted as a beautiful body/appearance, i.e. someone’s outward image or outward form is said to be handsome. Similar to this is the inward form/image of the human being. If it is organised and fashioned from beautiful qualities and noble character traits then this person’s inward form is considered or is beautiful.

It’s this inward appearance which Al-Haqq (Allah, The All Truthful) gazes and this is the image in which the human being will be resurrected on The Day of Judgement, then surely it should become clear that ones bodily form or appearance is not equal in station to the inward spiritual image of the human being.

So maybe we should ask ourselves “how far are we from that thinking when we look into the mirror and check our self out?” Yes, we need to make sure that we present ourselves well in certain situations but we should also be wary that ultimately its our inner beauty (our khuluq - character) that we need to work on more.

A good tip to reduce ones vanity and be mindful of having to work on our self is to recite the following dua when looking into the mirror:

الحمد لله الهم كما حسنت خلقي فحسن خلقي

Alhumdu lillahi Allahumma kama hasanta khalqi fahassin khuluqi

“Oh Allah! As you have beautified my outward/physical appearance, then beautify my inward appearance (character)”

You’ll find that if you write it down on a post it note and then place it in a corner on every mirror in the house, it’ll act as a good reminder to you of your very existence and who really has given you that beauty. Then after a while of reciting it frequently it’ll just flow from your tongue such that even when you see something beautiful you’ll realise that that beauty is created by Allah.

… and Allah is The One we should Praise and The Fashioner of the worlds.

 

Marhaban (welcome) Shaykh AbdulKareem Yahya

Shaykh AbdulKareem Yahya

UK Tour - May 2008

Alhumdulillah by The Grace of Allah we’re fortunate enough to have the opportunity to finally sit and learn from Shaykh AbdulKareem and his wife here in the UK. Insha’Allah they hope to visit the UK from the 8th - 18th May 2008 and Shaykh AbdulKareem will be teaching at the locations listed below.

Just a bit about Shaykh AbdulKareem in case you hadn’t gathered from previous posts that this student has written. He was born and raised in California where he also embraced Islam. Thereafter he travelled with his family to Damascus where he spent two years acquiring knowledge of the Arabic Language and Quranic recitation. Since 1998, he has been in Yemen where he has been studying with Habib Umar and Habib Mashhour, as well as the other teachers of Dar al-Mustafa. He has also worked extensively as a translator for Habib Umar and Habib Ali. For a more indepth biography feel free to check on SunniPath.

We pray by Allah’s Tawfeeq that you all are able to attend any of the following lessons in order to gain benefit and spread the light…

Jummah Khutbah
Date: Friday 9^th May 2008
Time: 12.45
Venue: The Shah Jahan Mosque, 149 Oriental Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 7BA
Details: www.shahjahanmosque.org.uk

Magnificent Character of the Prophet of light
Date: Friday 9^th May 2008
Time: 19.30-21.00
Venue: The Shah Jahan Mosque, 149 Oriental Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 7BA
Details: www.shahjahanmosque.org.uk

For The Children: Who is Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him)?
Date: Saturday 10^th May 2008
Time: 10.00-13.00
Venue: CEI Childrens Education Support, Northgate Community Centre, Crawley RH10 8DS
Details: This is a workshop primarily to teach children the importance of who the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is as well as provide them with a tool to love him and strive to take on his beautiful character.

Loving the Prophet of Light in an Age of Darkness
Date: Saturday 10^th May 2008
Time: 16.30-18.30*
Venue: Faizan-e-Madinah mosque, 169-175 Gladstone Street, Peterborough PE1 2BN
Details: Insha’Allah the illumination of our hearts will start with nasheeds recited by Talib alHabib and then followed by Shaykh AbdulKareems teachings of wisdom.
*please note time change (previously was 15.30-17.30 as poster depicts)

Discipling the soul through following the example of Allah’s beloved (peace be upon him)
Date: Sunday 11^th May 2008
Time: 14.00 - 16.00
Venue: High Wycombe Jamia Masjid, 34 Jubilee Road, High Wycombe, Bucks HP11 2PG
Details: www.karima.org.uk

Qur’an Khatum for Meer Kabir, followed by Talk: Lessons From Meccan Phase and Conquest
Date: Sunday 11^th May 2008
Time: After Asr, 19.00
Venue: Broadfield Mosque, Broadwoodrise, Broadfield, Crawley RH11 9SE
Details: www.crawleymosque.co.uk

Short Reminder: Holding One’s Tongue
Date: Monday 12^th May 2008
Time: 19.00
Venue: Langley Green Mosque, 157 London Road, Crawley RH10 9TA

The Imperative of Connected Transmission (Isnad)
Date: Monday 12^th May 2008
Time: 21:00
Venue: West London School of Islamic Studies, Hounslow, Middlesex TW4 5JU
Details: West London School of Islamic Studies

Lessons From Medina Phase
Date: Tuesday 13^th May 2008
Time: After Maghrib, 20.35
Venue: Langley Green Mosque, 157 London Road, Crawley RH10 9TA

“Truth Has Come and Falsehood has Perished. Falsehood is Indeed Perishing”
Date: Wednesday 14^th May 2008
Time: 17.00-19.00
Venue: University of Bedfordshire (Lecture Hall will be signposted), Park Square, Luton, Bedfordshire LU1 3JU
Details: A day of understanding the collapse of our inward idols before the light of The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him).

Evening Mawlid - Luton
Date: Wednesday 14th May 2008
Time: Post 19.00
Venue: 45 Oakley Road, Luton LU4 9PT.
Details: This programme will be held in a house. Email aftikharahmed@hotmail.com for further information

Evening Mawlid - Slough
Date: Thursday 15^th May 2008
Time: 19.15
Venue: 34 Sussex Place, Slough SL1 1NR
Details: This programme will beheld in a house. Email affluentminds@gmail.com for further information

Jummah Khutbah
Date: Friday 16^th May 2008
Time: 12.45
Venue: Langley Green Mosque, 157 London Road, Crawley RH10 9TA

The Prophet’s Outward and Inward Beauty
Date: Friday 16^th May 2008
Time: 20.00-22.30
Venue: CEI Friday Programme, Northgate Community Centre, Crawley RH10 8DS

Education and the Three Objectives
Date: Saturday 17^th May 2008
Time: 14.30- 20.00
Venue: UCLAN University of Central Lancashire, Harrington Lecture Theatre, Preston PR1 2HE
Details: The Lancashire Micro-Madrasa is an ambitious initiative that aims to facilitate Sacred Education and the teachings of Traditional Islam. Free Admission, however, please book your seat in advance by calling 07872 835 284 or emailing unity-foundation@hotmail.co.uk

*The events above are confirmed but in case there are any minor details we’ll do our best to provide updates here on the blog. Insha’Allah you’ll also be able to find updates on the official www.ceiuk.com website.

Make dua please that Allah facilitates Shaykh AbdulKareem and his family with good health, safe journeys, and khimma for his stay here in England and beyond. Allahumma Ameen.

 

The SP conspiracy begins…

… whenever the leaf changes there’s got to be some reflection and thus I’m/we’re reflecting …

One of the first principles of what we’re taught in SunniPath is to make sure that we spell it right - it’s not sunnipath or Sunnipath but it’s SunniPath - in case you missed the point, there’s a capital “S” and a capital “P”. The next principal is to make sure that you serve others and in doing so you’ll be serving yourself. And another principal, if you’re in Shaykh AbdulKareems class, is to say “we” or “she/he” when referring to “me” rather than the nafsee me and nafsee I. Got it?

So based on these three principles you can imagine the shock and horror this British lass was subjected to when she found this mugshot:

OH MY GOSH>>>

a) there’s no capital “P” -

b) hold on, you Jordanians had a cake without us?! Right where’s the British SP clan - let’s get together and make a huge cake and scoff it down ourselves.

c) there’s only 5 people in SunniPath?! Am wondering if they’ve all got multiple personality disorders cos I swear I was talking to Sidi Imran, Sidi Ismael, Sidi Besim, Sidi Abdullah, Sidi Mumen, Sidi Farid one day about creativity/IT/learning issues… or were they all just one CD but with different kuffis on?
And maybe Sister Muzlefa, Sister Saudah, Sister Khadija, Sister Naielah, Sister Danya, and Sister Huma are all one sister with different coloured hijabs… they all sound so similar
And then that would leave the final “3″ - erm my calculations don’t sum up to “5″… we’re now left confused.

d) are we expecting the “SunniPath 5″ comic to come out? cos it kinda reminds me of Enid Blyton’s “The Famous Five” and they went on boat trips and stuff which was pretty cool.

Ah well, whatever occurs us Brits will be ready for you… she and her currently non-existent army of loony Brit SunniPath’ers. In fact I’m going to start recruiting now - the first mission is to make a cake that is bigger than what SP made… who wants to join me?