knowledge & learning
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Scholars, Speakers & the Culture of “Edu-Tainment”
In an age where craving for fame, recognition and celebrity-like status has found new outlets, “practicing” Muslims have found that they are not immune to such egotistical impulses. In fact, society and social media are currently awash with wannabe shaykhs, speakers and religious spokespersons – many (maybe even most) who are simply unfit for purpose. The Prophet… Continue reading
al-Ghazali on sincerity, can fees be taken to teach Islam?, can money be charged for da’wah?, da’wah organisations following business models, dignified humour in da’wah, du’a and callers to islam who corrupt more than they rectify, effects of celebrity culture around Muslim scholars and preachers, fitness of having fans and a large following, how sincere are today’s da’wah organisations?, how to convey sacredckniowledge and da’wah, how to determine who is a scholar, Ibn taymiyyah on taking monet for da’wah, Islamic ruling on scholars charging extortionate money for lectures, joking in Islamic talks, scholars of the hereafter vs worldly scholars, scholars promoting their egos, sincerity in calling to Allah, when is praising people not allowed?, when to praise a scholar or da’i -
Knowing Qualified Scholars from Cowboy Speakers
How do we distinguish a scholar from a da‘i, motivational speaker or ‘knowledgeable brother’? What are the proper qualifications for true scholarship? How serious a sin is giving fatwas and religious rulings without appropriate knowledge? What dangers are there in the Islamic ‘edu-tainment’ and ‘celebrity’ culture we are now in, especially where poorly qualified (or even unqualified) speakers take to social media to promote themselves and attempt… Continue reading
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Beware Pseudo-Scholars & Half-Baked Knowledge!
The best proverbs manage to capture important ideas in just a few words. One well-worn Arab proverb has it that: nisf al-‘ilm akhtaru min al-jahl – ‘Half-baked knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance.’ ‘The greatest enemy of knowledge,’ insists Steven Hawking, ‘is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.’ In the scholastic tradition of Islam there is… Continue reading
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Teaching & Purification: the Two Prophetic Tasks
The Prophet ﷺ once said: ‘I am the prayer of my father Abraham and the glad tidings [proclaimed by] Jesus to his people, and the vision of my mother who, while pregnant with me, saw a light issue forth from her which lit up the castles of Syria.’1 The good news of Jesus, referred to above, is mentioned in the… Continue reading
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“We Only Follow the Qur’an & Sunnah.” Really?
In an earlier post (it can be read here), I discussed how the words of the Four Imams (Abu Hanifah, Malik, al-Shafi‘i and Ahmad bin Hanbal) concerning taqlid (incorrectly translated as “blind following”) continue to be misunderstood and misused by many groups and individuals today. In this post, I wish to tie-up some loose ends on the subject of… Continue reading
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The Four Imams: Did They Forbid the Layman from Taqlid?
Let me clarify two issues before I explain the point of this post. The first issue that needs clarifying is: what is taqlid? The second one is: who are the Four Imams? [1] As an Arabic word, taqlid stems from qallada, meaning: ‘To place a collar (qiladah) around the neck.’1 It is called this because the person who does taqlid, the muqallid, entrusts his affair… Continue reading
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Legitimate Islamic Learning: Being People of Isnad
One cannot worship God with loving submission, save with sound sacred knowledge or ‘ilm. The Golden Rule in this regard was stated by Imam al-Bukhari in these terms: al-‘ilmu qabla’l-qawli wa’l-‘aml – ‘Knowledge comes before speech and action.’1 If we don’t possess sound knowledge, we could make something a part of the religion which can never be… Continue reading
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Did Abu Hurayrah Have Secret Spiritual Knowledge?
Al-Bukhari records in his Sahih, no.120, that Abu Hurayrah stated: ‘I preserved from the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, two vessels of knowledge. The first I have disseminated among people. If I were to circulate the other, my throat would be slit.‘ Some contend the vessel of knowledge Abu Hurayrah, may God be pleased… Continue reading