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bint e aisha, abu mohammed, sipraomer, Taalibah
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#1 [Permalink] Posted on 13th April 2018 00:31

I have come to realize that we have lost our connection with the Quran and that is why we are facing these problems.

Everything is the explanation of Quran. Whether it is Tafsir, Seerah and Sunnah, Fiqh or Tazkiya. If we focus too much on the explanation and not the source (i.e. Quran) we will end up in losing the context of our knowledge, would take things out of proportion and will turn our respective school of thought into a cult. However, if we focus on the source alone without investigating it’s true meanings through the writings and explanations of our righteous elders then also will we lose the meanings of the words of Quran and what Allah meant by it.

Therefore, a correct balance must be established between the source and it’s explanation. After learning the essentials of deen like aqida, taharah, salah, sawm, zakah, hajj and tazkiyah to a fardh e ayn level, we must focus on Quran. First of all gain an over all surface level understanding of the whole text through the help of our ulema (of course) and then gain a step by step in depth explanation and details about those passages and chapters of Quran which apply to our life and which need our immediate attention.

I am not in the position of commenting on Dars e Nizami course and I also don’t question the wisdom of those who created it, but the education of a common Muslim must be structured around Quran. Unlike the alim course which starts from bottom to top, a common Muslims education should be from top to bottom. Instead of teaching a common Muslim, usul of tafsir, usul of hadith, usul of fiqh, he must be taught the tafsir itself, the sunnah and seerah itself and the essential fiqh itself in the language he can understand and at a mental level he can comprehend and digest.

I have also noticed that we as an ummah have lost the ability of “Taddabur”. Either we have gone too far that some of us have started questioning the things our elders never questioned and are having doubts or the majority of us have just left the dirty work of thinking, on the selected few. This has created two groups in us. The first group is leaving traditional Islam and either becoming athiests, secularists or radicals. The second group has become senseless hazrat worshipper.

I believe that lack of “Taddabur” is also due to leaving the quran and it’s essence. Instead of reciting it without understanding and trying to finish it cover to cover each month or every ten days or seven days, it must be recited with “tarteel”. After studying it completely the first time, one complete recitation with understanding per year is enough. We don’t need to tell others that I finish reciting the whole Quran every week or month and win a trophy of “Riya” for that. The Huffaz however, may divide their time in two parts. First for recitation for revision alone and the second for studying, pondering and reflecting on it.

The goal of education of a common Muslim should not be to train him in deciphering laws of Shariah from Quran and Hadith. In fact, he must be trained to think and ponder on the things he can and must think about, instead of making him a senseless robot. In other words, he must be trained to become a samajhdar muqallid instead of a na samajh muqallid. I think, the time has come now to draw a clear line between sense full taqlid and sense less taqlid.

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#2 [Permalink] Posted on 13th April 2018 20:57
The following is from Shaikh Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi's R.A. 4th vol of Saviour of Islamic Spirit on Shah Waliullah R.a. It seems that in regards to the masses understanding the Quran, instead of continuing on the Shah's methodology, we have gone back to the times before Shah Waliullah.


Quote:
The Remedial Measure

The remedial measure suggested by Shah Waliullah for the widespread corruption was study and contemplation on the Qur'an. It was not his intelligence or academic analysis or ingenuity that led him to this conclusion; it was a self-evident reality, a truth attested by the Qur'an, the history of Islam and experience of reformative endeavours in the past. The reality of tauhid and shirk could not bs expounded more forcefully and convincingly by anything than the Qur'an itself….......During his stay in Hijaz, Shah Waliullah must have keenly felt the differ nee between the authentic teachings of the Qur'an and Islam and the practices of Indian Muslims. The cradle of Islam-radiant with spiritual effulgence of the Qur'an, must have given rise to an overpowering impulse in him to make his country- men familiar with the true teachings of the divine scripture. We can also take it as an inspiration or divine hint usually felt by those purer in spirit for serving the cause of religion. This was perhaps the reason that the Shah commenced a Persian rendering of the Holy Qur'an under the title of Fathur-Rahman after he came back from Hijaz. 1 *

India was then intellectually a part of the landmass com- prising Turkistan, Iran and Afghanistan ; thoughts and attitudes of its neighbouring countries were exerting influence on the religious and educational circles of India. The then assumption in these lands was that comprehension of the Qur'an being dependent on a dozen or more branches of learning, only the learned were worthy of devoting themselves to the study of the Qur'an, scanning its meanings and contemplating upon its hidden wisdom. It was considered dangerous to allow the common people to take up its study or try to imbibe its teachings since that might open the doors of misinformation and blunder. The then scholars also feared that once the commonality had direct access to the Qur'an, it would start defying the authority of the learned besides getting self-conceited and involved in mental confusion. The dominant thought and the arguments advanced in the matter have been neatly summarised by Shah Waliullah in one of his brochures entitled Tuhfah al-Muwahhidin: 1 *

There are people who say that the Qur'an and the had\tl\ can be understood only by one who is conversant with different branches of learning and has studiously gone through a large number of books. In short he should be a master intellect of his age. To these persons God's reply is: He it is Who hath sent amorg the unlettered ones a messenger of their own, to recite unto them His reflations and to purify them and to teach them the Scripture and Wisdom. "**

'This means that neither the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor his companions knew the art of reading and writing but when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the Quranic verses before his companions they got themselves disabused of every vile and wrong. So, if an illiterate man cannot understand the Qur*an and the hadith, or is incapable of comprehending its teachings, how the companions were able to get rid of their corruption ? Lamentable are those who have the pretentions of getting to the bottom of the Sidrah and Qamus but plead their incompetence to follow the Qur'an and the
hadith. There are also those amongst them who plead that they are the rearmost of the ummah, unblessed with the purity of heart and spirit enjoyed by the companions and contemporaries of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then how can they grasp the substance of the Qur'an and the hadvh. To such persons Allah has already given an answer :
And also others of them who have not yet joined them. 1 * These words read in continuation of the verse cited earlier leave no doubt that all those to come later on, whether they are literate or not, will be cleansed if they decide to learn the Qur'an and the hadith and follow in the footsteps of the Prophet's companions.
Allah also says : And assuredly We have made the Quran easy for admonition ; is there any one who would be admonished." How fallacious this would be if those learned in the Kafiah and Shafiyah were incompetent to make out its meaning while uncivilized Arabs were able to grasp it. The Qur'an asks : 'Will they then not meditate on the Qur'an?' 1 * How could anybody meditate on the Quran if it were not easy or, as the Qur'an asks, are there locks upon their hearts? 19. But if there are no locks upon their hearts why have they become so impervious to every argument and evidence inviting them to ponder over the writ of God." Making a note of the then anomalous thought and deviant tenor bordering to the Quranic expressions about those who turned away from the way of Allah,* 1 the Shah resolved to render the holy Qur'an into an easy Persian idiom since it was the official and literary language and was extensively used by the educated people for their correspondence ever sine- the establish- ment of Muslim rule in India. Even those who were not so wellrversed in Persian could at least follow it thanks to the dominant position enjoyed by it for the last seven hundred years........

In short, after five years of his return from Hi jaz, and perhaps in consequence of the results achieved through his efforts to rectify the popular creed of the people through sermons and teaching and preaching, the Shah came to the conclusion that the most potent and effective method of popularising the teachings of the Quran was to have a Persian rendering of the scripture Shah Waliullah has given a detailed description of the reasons for his venture in the introduction to thcTafsir Fath-ur-Rahman.
"The times in which we are living and the country which we inhabit demand that the well-being of Muslims lies in an easy and idiomatic Persian translation of the holy Qur'an (without burdening it with an exquisitestyle and unnecessary stories and interpretations), so that it may be easily understood alike both by the commonality and the worthy. All should be able to get at the message of the Qur'an. Hence the heart of this mendicant was spurred, rather overpowered to take up this job.

It seems that the hurdle blocking the way to the translation and propagation of Quranic teachings was removed owing to the step taken by a luminary like Shah Waliullah (whose encyclo- paedia knowledge, sincerity of purpose and perfection of spirit had been unanimously recognised by almost all the scholars of his time). It has happened more than once in the history of Islam that the pioneering action taken by a master spirit of his age has cleared the misplaced apprehensions and doubts and
opened the way to the badly needed rejuvenation of the faith.
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#3 [Permalink] Posted on 13th April 2018 21:17
Alhamdulilah I have heard Mufti Abdur Rahman Mangera stress on the importance of setting aside some time for understanding the Quran. For e.g. if one sets aside one hour daily to read Quran in Ramadan, then divide the time into reciting, memorizing and understanding and contemplating. He has many videos on this topic. He constantly stresses on the importance of pondering over the meaning of the Quran, and how we as a community have abandoned this aspect.

I have also heard Shaykh Hasan Ali encourage Muslims to set up study circles with their friends and read the tafsir of the Quran.

I have heard another young british darul Uloom graduate explaining how dangerous it is to read the translation of the Quran and only allows one to learn the meanings of the Quran by attending dars of the Ulama. T0o many time I hear Maulana's and Mufti's say in their speeches how dangerous it is for a laymen to try to understand the Quran.

A Shaykh ul Hadith also publicly advised huffaz to be considerate of their jamat and read taraweeh quicker in the short summer nights! In a culture in which we already read as quick as we can in taraweeh, He should have told them to read less Quran a night and finish on the 29th, or better yet, read less Quran at an acceptable pace, even if you don't do khatam by the end of the Ramadan. Maybe have a second Jamat that does Khatam.

Nouman Ali khan also has a beautiful intro explaining why he started his tafsir lectures project. May Allah guide us and forgive us and use us for his deen. Ameen.
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#4 [Permalink] Posted on 13th April 2018 21:24
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Instead of teaching a common Muslim, usul of tafsir, usul of hadith, usul of fiqh, he must be taught the tafsir itself, the sunnah and seerah itself and the essential fiqh itself in the language he can understand and at a mental level he can comprehend and digest.


We also have a certain mentality of what sunnah and nafil means. We have restricted ourselves to understanding the terms in a Fiqhi sense. Most of the time a Maulana mentions following the sunnah or reviving the sunnah of the Rasul salalahu alayhi wasalam, he immediately mentions performing the sunnah and nafil salah, perform 17 rakahs for isha, the sunnahs of entering the toilet, of eating etc. He may then mention somethings which are subject to different interpretations like the sunnah of dressing etc. We hardly hear in these lectures on the Sunnah of the Sunnah of optional charity and how the Prophet Salalahu Alayhi Wasalam dealt with and behaved with the poor and people in general, and how he did business etc.
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#5 [Permalink] Posted on 14th April 2018 07:12
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Asalam o Alaikum, Yeah that is why I specifically mentioned the word Seerah so that the complete life of Rasulullah SAWS comes in discussion and teaching for a common man.
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#6 [Permalink] Posted on 14th April 2018 07:14
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I would be grateful if you share the links of those lectures of the ulema you mentioned.
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#7 [Permalink] Posted on 14th April 2018 18:59
Perhaps short summaries of each surah can be very helpful in quickly reviewing the core message and key themes of the Quran. Time is short and we need to review the most essential parts of knowledge. We need to prepare ASAP!. Malhamatul Qubra is very near.

The way he summarized Surah Kahf is an inspiration and guide for summarizing other surahs.
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#8 [Permalink] Posted on 16th April 2018 01:48
The lectures I mentioned are not online. Insha Allah if I get the recordings I can put them online.

Here is what is online from Mufti Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera:

Getting more from reading the Quran:

youtu.be/EUptnFaE36w

So close to the Quran yet so far:

youtu.be/clc3uUr-MYs

As I said before, Mufti Abdur Rahman and Shaikh Hasan definitely have a different mentality to what we accustomed to. Many a time I was bewildered at Maulanas and Muftis and Shaikhul Hadith who remain silent when Quran is being recited too fast, and in some cases encourage it or do so themselves. How can one understand or follow anything from the Quran at such unacceptable speeds? The argument put forward is that the tajweed is correct so the recitation is acceptable. Is reading at such speeds considered reading with tajweed? may Allah give me the ability to act on the message of the videos above, Ameen.
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#9 [Permalink] Posted on 16th April 2018 01:54
sipraomer wrote:
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This would be helpful but I think the most important thing to be done is to start teaching basic Arabic to children in maktab ( instead of Urdu in the west). As mentioned in the lecture, even recognizing basic words allows one to pick up some of the message of the Quran.

Something so simple is opposed by the argument that learning Arabic is more complex than rocket science. No one is saying every child has to come out being able to fully understand the language. Every little bit helps. We learn foreign languages up to a level at school, it doesn't mean we can speak it after getting an A in the exam.
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#10 [Permalink] Posted on 16th April 2018 02:05
On another note, I went through the entire maktab system learning from Hafiz, Maulanas and Muftis of all backgrounds and ages, often coming first place.Guess where I learnt that I was reading Quran wrong? From the Islamic Society at University! From people who never went maktab as kids! I know people after me who became Hafiz in the same maktab under qualified teachers, but weren't allow to lead salah because they don't know basic tajweed!

Alhamdulilah tajweed has since been introduced into the syllabus.
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#11 [Permalink] Posted on 16th April 2018 04:22
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I think Urdu should not be completely ignored as a lot of Islamic literature is in this language. However, teaching arabic should be must. I would also say that Hifz of Quran should not be merely memorization but word for word translation should be taught to the children so that they would understand what they are memorizing. This will also enhance and make memorization easy.
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#12 [Permalink] Posted on 16th April 2018 04:27
Concerned wrote:
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The Imam of my masjid has studied dars e nizami from Karachi. He has been an instructor in qirat in Iqra School of Jamia Ashrafia. He says that it was his job to instruct and correct the tajweed of qirat teachers in that school. These people were huffaz and qura' and were teaching qirat for years , yet did make major mistakes in tajweed themselves.
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#13 [Permalink] Posted on 16th April 2018 05:02
Yes the same two aalims mentioned above were emphasizing how important it is for Hafiz to make an effort to understand what they are reciting.

Well after Arabic language is put in place in the syllabus and given priority then I have no problem if Urdu can be accommodated as well. Although for the average english speaking Muslim, There is sufficient authentic literature available in English, and they are sufficient English speaking darse nizami graduates as well.

Quote:
These people were huffaz and qura' and were teaching qirat for years , yet did make major mistakes in tajweed themselves.


Alhamdulilah they are correcting themselves. At least they were teaching to the best of their ability. In the cases I mentioned, the teachers knew tajweed well, but they did not even teach the students the makhraj and how to differentiate letters.
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#14 [Permalink] Posted on 16th April 2018 05:48
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The argument put forward is that the tajweed is correct so the recitation is acceptable. Is reading at such speeds considered reading with tajweed?


May Allah forgive me if I am sinning by saying this but I become extremely bored during Tarawih.
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#15 [Permalink] Posted on 16th April 2018 23:48
This is a response I received a mufti a while ago. At the end of the day, taufiq is from Allah. May Allah give us the ability to practice on what is being discussed. Ameen.


Quote:
What can we say about the Ummah today, Ebadah is considered a burden to most. There are 3 types of speeds in which the Quran may be recited. 1 Tarteel extemly slow eg. Qari Abdul Basit. 2 Tadweer in between slow and fast eg. Qari Sudais and 3 Hadr fast eg. Qari shuraim or the Qari from Burma.
To recite at such a speed that the Muqtadees cannot understant what is being recited is not permissible. Allamah Ibn abedeen Shami writes in Radul muhtar 2/499 that the Imaan should avoid reciting so fastly that it is not understood.
It is preferrable to perform the daily prayers in the Masjid of ones locality, but the Fuqaha write that if the Imaam is not reciting correctly then there is no Karahat (undesirableness) in leaving the masjid of ones locality to go to another.
If they are making Lahnul Jali or grave Tajweed mistakes in trying to recite extremly fast as usual in most cases then the salah may even become fasid meaning it would become Wajib to perform it over again.
Performing 5 times daily Salah which is an Ibadah that diffreciates between a Mumin and a Kafir is a burden to the Ummah , May Allah guide us all so long Qirat will b agreater burden May Allah protect us. but this does not validate reciting so fastly that one considers it a rush. May Allah Guide us. ( from Fatawah Raheemiyah 6/269)


For those who , for some reason , can't handle twenty rakas of taraweeh in which one juz is being recited at a decent pace, then there is no need to feel guilty of any sin or make imams read super fast. Alhamdulilah there Is a lot of flexibility in taraweeh and how much is read, how much Quran is read in it, whether it is read individually or in congregation and whether it is read at home or in the masjid.
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