Recent Blog Entries

Apr

2018

An Amazing Description of the Noble Qur'aan

posted by Seifeddine-M on 20th April 2018 - 0 comments

Shaykhul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله said, "The Muslim Nation (Ummah) greatly needs to understand the Qur'aan which is the firm rope of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, the wise reminder and the straight path. Evil desires will never corrupt it. Wicked tongues will never distort it. Continuously studying it will never cause it to fade and its miracles will never cease. The scholars will never be able to reach its depths. Whoever utters it has spoken the truth. Whoever acts according to it will be rewarded. Whoever rules by it has been just. Whoever calls to it has been guided to the straight path. And whosoever arrogantly leaves it will be destroyed. And whosoever seeks guidance elsewhere will be misguided." Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen رحمه الله commented on the above, "Here the author (Shaykhul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله) comments that people are in need of understanding the Book of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى. This is something clear and apparent for they have been ordered to follow this Books. Were a person ordered to follow a book written by a man he would need to study and familiarise himself with it. What then, if this is the Book of Allaah, the Most High? The author رحمه الله then uses a number of attributes with which he describes the Qur'aan. He says: 'Which is the firm rope of Allaah.' It is the firm of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, as He is the One Who revealed it. The word rope (habl) linguistically refers to that which is used in order to reach something or somewhere else. Furthermore, it is mentioned as being the rope of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى as it leads to Him.

Apr

2018

Definition of 'Uloom al-Qur'aan

posted by Seifeddine-M on 13th April 2018 - 0 comments

The knowledge of 'uloom al-Qur'aan, or 'The Sciences of the Qur'aan', deals with the knowledge of those sciences that have a direct bearing on the recitation, history, understanding and implementation of the Qur'aan. It is, therefore, a vast field of Islaamic scholarship, and one that is of primary importance. Thus, for example, with regards to recitation, 'uloom al-Qur'aan deals with the science of pronunciation (tajweed), the different methodologies of reciting the Qur'aan (the qira'aat), the blessings of reciting the Qur'aan, and the etiquette of its recitation. With regards to the history of the Qur'aan, 'uloom al-Qur'aan deals with the stages of revelation of the Qur'aan, the compilation of the Qur'aan, the art and history of writing the Qur'aanic script (rasm al-masaahif), and the preservation of the Qur'aan. With regards to its understanding and implementation, 'uloom al-Qur'aan covers the causes of causes of revelation (asbaab an-nuzool), the knowledge of the makkee and madanee revelations, the knowledge of the various forms (ahruf) it was revealed in, the understanding of its abrogated rulings and verses (naasikh wal-mansookh), the knowledge of the various classifications of its verses (muhkam and mutashaabih, 'aam and khaas, mutlaq and muqayyad, etc.), the knowledge of the inimitable style of the Qur'aan (i'jaaz al-Qur'aan), the knowledge of its interpretation (tafseer), the grammatical analysis of the Qur'aan (i'raab al-Qur'aan) and the knowledge of those words whose usage has become uncommon over time (ghareeb al-Qur'aan). It has been said that the knowledge of the 'uloom al-Qur'aan is in reality the knowledge that one is required to know in order to properly interpret the Qur'aan. Therefore, to call this branch of Islaamic knowledge 'The Procedure and Methodology of Interpretation' ('Ilm Usool at-Tafseer) instead of 'Uloom al-Qur'aan would not be far from the truth.

Apr

2018

My Lord! Increase Me in Knowledge

posted by Seifeddine-M on 7th April 2018 - 0 comments

[color=#0000ff][b]My Lord! Increase Me in Knowledge[/center][/color] Allaah سبحانه و تعالى said,

[color=#ff0000]"Then High above all be Allaah, the True King. And be not in haste (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم) with the Qur'aan before its revelation is completed to you, and say: 'My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.'"[/color] (Soorah Taa Haa, 20:114) Qataadah رحمه الله mentioned: "Shaytaan does not spare anyone until he approaches them from every direction. He even approaches them through the doors of knowledge, saying, 'What are you going to do with pursuing knowledge? If only you would first practise everything you have already heard.' If anyone would have sufficed , Moosaa عليه السلام would have sufficed. Instead he requested [Khadir عليه السلام when he met him], [color=#ff0000]'May I follow you so that you teach me the guidance you have been taught?'" (Sooratul Kahf, 18:66) Hence, so long as a person has every intention to apply the knowledge they have acquired into their lives, they should constantly remain in the pursuit of knowledge, and ask Allaah سبحانه و تعالى to grant them more.

Mar

2018

Living in the Shade of the Qur'aan

posted by Seifeddine-M on 29th March 2018 - 0 comments

What one receives from the Qur'aan, how much one understands of the Qur'aan and how much one is truly guided by the Qur'aan is not a static process. It is indeed a dynamic process that is directly related to one's faith and willingness to apply the Qur'aan. As the person learns and applies the Qur'aan, his understanding of the Qur'aan increases even further. The one whose heart already has faith and a willingness to submit to and apply the Qur'aan is the one who really learns the Qur'aan. This was the case with the Companions رضي الله عنهم of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Indeed, Allaah سبحانه و تعالى calls the Qur'aan a guidance for those who are God-fearing and apply Islaam:

[color=#ff0000]"This is the Book, in it is guidance sure, without doubt, for those who fear Allaah; who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them. And who believe in the revelation sent to you and sent before your time, and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter. They are on true guidance from their Lord and it is these who will prosper."[/color] (Sooratul Baqarah, 2:2-5)

Mar

2018

Faith in the Hereafter and Fear of Allaah (the Exalted)

posted by Seifeddine-M on 26th March 2018 - 0 comments

Mufti Muhammad Shafi' رحمه الله wrote, "The belief in the Hereafter, among Islamic doctrines, is the one whose role in history has been what is nowadays described as revolutionary, for it began with transmuting the morals and manners of the followers of the Holy Qur'aan, and gradually gave them a place of distinction and eminence even in the political history of mankind. The reason is obvious. Consider the case of those who believe that life in the physical world is the only life, its joys the only joys and its pains the only pains, whose only goal is to seek the pleasures of the senses and the fulfilment of physical or emotional needs, and who stubbornly refuse to believe in the life of the Hereafter, in the Day of Judgment and the assessment of everyone's deeds, and in the requital of the deeds in the other world. When such people find the distinction between truth and falsehood, between the permissible and the forbidden, interfering with the hunt for the gratification of their desires, such differentiations naturally become intolerable to them. Now, who or what can effectively prevent them from committing crimes? The penal laws made by the state or by any other human authority can never serve either as real deterrents to crime or as agents of moral reform. Habitual criminals soon grow used to the penalties. A man, milder or gentler of temperament or just timid, may agree to forego the satisfaction of his desires for fear of punishment, but he would do so only to the extent that he is in danger of being caught. But in his privacy where the laws of the state cannot encroach upon his freedom of action, who can force him to renounce his pleasures and accept the yoke of restraints?

Mar

2018

Realising That One Is Reading the Word and Speech of Allaah the Exalted

posted by Seifeddine-M on 23rd March 2018 - 0 comments

Verses 190 and 191 of Soorah Aali-'Imraan read,

[color=#ff0000]"Behold, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding men who remember Allaah standing, sitting and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (with the saying): 'Our Lord, You have not created (all) this in vain (or for naught). Glory to You! Give us salvation from the punishment of the Fire.'" [/color] In these verses Allaah سبحانه و تعالى speaks about looking at this creation and its magnificence and wonders. Surely this should make any human conscious that this creation has not been created in vain or without a reason. There obviously must be some purpose and reason for this great creation. If that is what the perceptive person concludes from this creation, what must be his thought when he turns to the Qur'aan realising that it is the Word and Speech of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى? It is the Word of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى that Allaah سبحانه و تعالى revealed to the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and preserved for all of mankind until the Day of Judgment. The Word of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى - isn't that much greater than the wonders and magnificence of the heavens and earth? The Qur'aan is not a creation but it is the Speech of Allaah.

Mar

2018

The Qur'aan Has Been Revealed for the Sake of the Reader and Is Directed to Him

posted by Seifeddine-M on 20th March 2018 - 0 comments

Allaah سبحانه و تعالى says in the Qur'aan,

[color=#ff0000]"O mankind, there has come to you an admonition from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts and for those who believe, a guidance and a mercy."[/color] (Soorah Yoonus, 10:57) Hence, the Qur'aan is a mercy, healing and guide. The reader should approach the Qur'aan realizing fully the answer to the following questions: For whom is the Qur'aan a mercy? For whom is the Qur'aan a healing? For whom is the Qur'aan a guide? In fact, for whom has the Qur'aan actually been revealed? The answer to all these questions is one and the same. The Qur'aan is a mercy, healing and guide and has been revealed for the sake of every individual who wishes to believe in it and follow it. Hence, in essence, the Qur'aan has actually been revealed for the reader himself. Furthermore, by following it and accepting its teachings, he is simply helping his own soul while, on the other hand, if he turns away from it, he simply hurts his own soul:

Nov

2015

The Qur'aan Is Not Limited To A Certain Time Or Place

posted by Seifeddine-M on 16th November 2015 - 0 comments

The Qur'aan was revealed at a certain time and in reference, in many cases, to a certain people or incident. It is sometimes easy for the reader to become complacent and to think of the Qur'aan in terms of referring just to something that happened, something bygone. He thereby closes his eyes unconsciously to the fact that the Qur'aan was not revealed only for a specific era or for a specific people. Instead it is the guidance for all of mankind until the Day of Judgement. It contains lessons that transcend the constraints of time and place. The reader must open his eyes and realise that the Qur'aan, although it refers to specific events, is laying down lessons and principles that are valid for all times and places.

Instead of thinking only about the event referred to, it is must more important for the reader to think about how the Quranic lesson is being manifested in front of his own eyes or is to be applied in his times.

This is not meant to downplay the importance of the science of asbaab an-nuzool (the study of the events leading up to a specific revelation). In many cases, the actual meaning or proper intent of a particular verse cannot be fully understood without looking to the verse's asbaab an-nuzool. But that does not mean that the verse itself or its ruling or lesson is restricted to only that occasion or only to those individuals to whom it was originally referring. If that were the case, then perhaps much of the Qur'aan would have no validity today. This important point is why scholars agree upon the maxim: the ruling is determined by the generality of the text and not by the particularity of the occasion of the ruling.

That the text of the Qur'aan was not to be confined by time and place was something well known to the scholars of tafseer throughout the ages. Whenever they turned to the Qur'aan, they found guidance for their own place and time because they realised that the lessons and rulings of the Qur'aan were not to be restricted to the time of the Companions رضي الله عنهم of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. This was clearly reflected in their commentaries of the Qur'aan. Salaahud-Deen Al-Khaalidi notes,

"Each and every generation of Muslims found in the text of the Qur'aan a discussion of what they were passing through and what would improve their lives as if the Qur'aan was being revealed at that moment in particular. Every one of the commentators of the Qur'aan started from the texts of the Qur'aan to develop and train his people and make their situation better. And from every commentary on the Qur'aan one can derive the level of culture and civilisation, customs, social life, level of belief and behaviour for the period in which the commentator lived. That commentary was a recording of the civilisation and history of that period. That was only the case because the texts of the Qur'aan were applicable to the time and place of the commentator and were directed to the people around him." [1]

Nov

2015

Realise That Everything In The Qur'aan Is True And Have Complete Trust In It

posted by Seifeddine-M on 13th November 2015 - 0 comments

Allaah سبحانه و تعالى states,

"And who is more truthful than Allaah in statement?" (Sooratun-Nisaa', 4:87)

and,

Nov

2015

Dreams of the Prophets (peace and blessings be upon them all)

posted by Seifeddine-M on 12th November 2015 - 0 comments

The dreams of the Prophets عليهم الصلاة والسلام were all true - which was a valuable support to the veracity of their message. Whether they were sleeping or awake, Shaytaan was not allowed to make them envision falsehood.

Sa'eed Ibn Jubayr رحمه الله reported that Ibn 'Abbaas رضي الله عنهما said: "The Prophets' dreams are part of revelation." [1]

Imaam Ahmad رحمه الله said: "The dreams of the Prophets عليهم الصلاة والسلام were part of revelation. Only ignorant individuals would belittle dreams and claim that they have no consequence." [2]

Dreams are, therefore, included in the meaning of the aayah:

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