hanbali fiqh

February 27, 2023

Clothes that Scream Attention!

ONE HADITH STATES: ‘Whoever dresses in clothes of attracting attention (shuhrah, lit. ‘fame’) in this life, Allah shall clothe him in garbs of humiliation on the Day of Resurrection.’1 The way we dress can and often does, therefore, have to do with the inward state of our souls. We are told in the scholarly commentaries Continue reading

correctives & clarifications, ethics & morals, fiqh & usul al-fiqh, hanbali fiqh, modernity & muslimness

bid’ah in dress, clothes forbidden to Muslim men, dress of a Muslim man, Muslim dress code, Muslim dress must be dignified, Muslim guide to dress, Muslim mens’ dress
December 19, 2020

The Hanbalis & Merry Christmas: To Greet or Not To Greet?

Q. Is it true that Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal and classical Hanbali scholars allowed Muslims to offer Christmas greeting to Christians? Based on this, a few fatwas today now allow us to wish our Christian friends, family or colleagues a Merry Christmas. Is this correct? A. I’ll address the issue of whether Hanbali jurists allowed offering Christmas greetings Continue reading

contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, fiqh & usul al-fiqh, hanbali fiqh, theology

Bin Bayyah’s fatwa on Christmas greetings, Can a Muslim take part in Christmas parties and celebrations?, can Muslims wish others a Merry Christmas?, Hanbalis forbid Christmas greetings, Islamic ruling on giving Christmas greetings, the Hanbali view on offering Christmas greetings, what does the shari’a say about offering Christmas greetings?
June 9, 2020

Kalam & the Hanbalis: Is It Really Relevant Today?

Often rendered into English as ‘theology’, ‘ilm al-kalam (or kalam, for short) is the science which establishes and elaborates upon matters of doctrine and belief. Because it depends upon reason-based arguments, it is ‘discursive’: hence ‘ilm al-kalam is sometimes referred to as discursive theology. In its more conjectural or philosophical form – a form where it Continue reading

contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, hanbali fiqh, knowledge & learning, modernity & muslimness, orthodoxy & ahl al-sunnah, reason, religion, rationality, theology

Al-Ghazali on kalam, brief history of kalam in Islam, challenges of Muslim theologians today, contemporary issues in Islamic theology, difference between kalam and ‘aqidah, good books to critique modernity from traditional faith perspective, how a Muslim can best learn their ‘aqidah or beliefs?, Ibn Juzayy on kalam, Ibn Taymiyyah on kalam, is kalam relevant today?, Is the science of kalam obsolete today?, Islam and rationality, Islamic critiques of the post-modern secular world, proofs for God’s existence, questioning scientism, verifying the two premises of the kalam cosmological argument, what is the hanbali stance on kalam theology?, what is the kalam cosmological argument?, what relevancy does kalam have in the 21st century?
April 8, 2013

Hanbali Essentials: Purification

What follows is a presentation of the basic essentials of Hanbali fiqh. Rather than use any one text, I have distilled these rulings from four relied-upon (mu’tamad) primers in the school: Ibn Qudamah’s ‘Umdat al-Fiqh; Ibn Balban’s Akhsar al-Mukhtasarat; al-Qudumi’s al-Ajwibat al-Jaliyyah and al-Hajjawi’s Zad al-Mustaqni‘. The plan, God-willing, is to serialise these fiqh essentials over the coming weeks and months; commencing with purification. ♦ OUTLINE: Purification is Continue reading

fiqh & usul al-fiqh, hanbali fiqh

Ahmad b. Hanbal, Al-Hajjawi, Hanbali fiqh, Hanbali law, Ibn balban, Ibn Qudamah, taharah
December 31, 2012

Step-By-Step Study Guide to Hanbali Fiqh

In terms of studying any discipline so as to gain some degree of proficiency, two things must be born in mind: the need to learn step-by-step, as well as the need for a qualified teacher. Learning in stages/step-by-step (bi tadarruj) can be gleaned from the following words of the Prophet, peace be on him: inna hadha’l-dina Continue reading

fiqh & usul al-fiqh, hanbali fiqh

Hanbali fiqh curriculum, hanbali madhhab, how to study fiqh, levels of studying Hanbali fiqh, what books should be studied in Hanbali fiqh

About Me

My name is Surkheel Sharif (aka Abu Aaliyah). Born and raised in London, England, I began my more formal, but gradual studies of the Islamic sciences around the late 1980s (just a few years after having quit my degree in Astrophysics). I also gained an MA in Islamic Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, in 2009.

I’ve translated a few Islamic works from Arabic into English; one of them, a short text on Muslim spirituality, called The Exquisite Pearl (2000). I have also authored a few books, including: More Fish Please & the Earth’s Complaint (2011); Fussing Over the 15th of Sha’ban & the Golden Rule of Differing (2011); A Muslim’s Guide to Modernity (2025); and Salafism Reconsidered (forthcoming)

I am the founder and current Director of the Jawziyyah Institute (est. 1999): a non-profit organisation dedicated to cultivating an Islam true to its time-honoured tradition, relevant to its current context, and of benefit to wider society.

hanbali fiqh

Clothes that Scream Attention!

The Hanbalis & Merry Christmas: To Greet or Not To Greet?

Kalam & the Hanbalis: Is It Really Relevant Today?

Hanbali Essentials: Purification

Step-By-Step Study Guide to Hanbali Fiqh