Recent Blog Entries

Jun

2009

Lesson 2: Basic terminology

posted by shahly on 17th June 2009 - 0 comments

As-salaamu'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh It was all I could do to stifle my laughter when a young student about to sit a TAJWEED exam asked me: "Miss, just one question: What's istihaadha?" Obviously, she'd unwittingly added the 'haa' and turned isti'aadha (seeking refuge in Allah) into istihaadha (abnormal vaginal bleeding) ! OK, on to the lesson... Blood / bleeding (in the context of women's matters) = any coloured discharge which exits through the vagina - yes that includes black, red, brown, green yellow and all non-white colours... I know, you're thinking GREEN ! ? ! ... trust me, it's not unheard of especially in the older generations when they're approaching menopausal age.

A compliment

posted by shahly on 5th June 2009 - 1 comment

As-salaamu'alaykum wa raHmatullah Is not the complexity of the fiqh of menstruation a compliment to the intelligence of womenfolk? That the fuqaha have derived and contrived such rulings which fall firmly within the category of our 'ilm-ul-haal surely lends favour to the recognition of our intellectual capacity. (If I'm sounding like a defensive feminist, be assured that it's for your amusement alone!) So, sisters, let's strive to acquire the necessary knowledge and understanding by which we can correctly conduct our lives according to that which has been passed down to us through our scholarly predecessors. Let us sharpen our intellect with that which truly concerns us. Alhamdulillah, I acquired a copy of the excellent work of Ustadha Hedaya Hartford and Brother Ashraf Muneeb: 'Birgivi's Manual Interpreted' when I undertook the introductory course on the Fiqh of Menstruation offered by Sunnipath. However, I confess to not having studied the book in much depth until recently. Revisiting the text with renewed interest, I've come to find the calculated logic of its rulings fascinating, and therefore hope to post a series of entries summarising what I've learnt as concisely and simply as I can. I humbly request that my respected elders and those who have studied this fiqh read my entries and notify me of any mistakes. Jazaakumullahu khairun. To begin - and all studies must begin with lesson one - I'd like to share this [url=http://www.muftisays.com/blog/files/18/Yearly_Menstrual-Lochial_Record.doc]record-keeping chart[/url], since the first principle is that every woman should maintain an accurate record of all her vaginal bleeding, because without it, the application of the rulings is extremely difficult! It might be tempting for those who have a regular, perfectly predictable habit to be lax in keeping a record, but it's only when things go awry that the record becomes indispensible.

When ascending a height...

posted by shahly on 8th April 2009 - 1 comment

Alhamdulillah, studying the words of our beloved Prophet Muhammad

is one of the most pleasing of all occupations. The depth and wisdom of his words can never be fully grasped, because his knowledge was divinely inspired. But occasionally, delicate rays of understanding cast their light through our conscious minds. Each hadith compilation one ever has the chance to study invariably becomes one's favourite... at least until they discover the next. Alhamdulillah, this year, we're studying Riyadh-us-Saaliheen, the famous compilation of authentic prophetic narrations as collected and recorded by Imam Abu Zakariyya Yahya bin Sharaf An-Nawawi Ad-Damashqi.----

In the Book of Travel, we learn that the Prophet

and his companions would pronounce takbeer on ascending any elevation in the land and pronounce tasbeeh upon descent into any decline or valley.