This is a translation of a small booklet which has been distributed in various parts of Makkah. Its compiler is one of our professors at Umm al-Qura University in Makkah, and he is also part of an organization called Mashroo‘ Ta‘theem al-Balad al-Haraam [The Project for Venerating the Sacred City].
Al-Imaam Aboo Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Aajurree (d.360) compiled a number of narrations in his book Akhlaaq al-‘Ulamaa’ explaining the qualities befitting a true scholar, as well as how to deal with the people of knowledge. He also appended a section covering qualities which make one unfit to be regarded as a scholar. He cited the narrations in his book with complete chains of transmission – some of them being Hadeeth and others being statements from the Salaf.
The following translation is only his introduction to the book.
Download the translation here, or download the Arabic here.
سَمِعْتُ خَوْلَةَ بِنْتَ حَكِيمٍ السُّلَمِيَّةَ تَقُولُ …
سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ مَنْ نَزَلَ مَنْزِلًا ثُمَّ قَالَ أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّاتِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ شَيْءٌ حَتَّى يَرْتَحِلَ مِنْ مَنْزِلِهِ ذَلِكَ
…Khawlah bint Hakeem as-Sulamiyyah said:
I heard the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) saying, “When anyone stops at a place and then says ‘I seek refuge in the Perfect Words of Allaah from the evil of what He has created,’ nothing would harm him until he departs from his place of stopping.” [Collected by Muslim]
One of the explanations the scholars have given for the phrase “the Perfect Words of Allaah” is that it refers to the Qur’aan.
In the du’aa above, the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) directed us to seek refuge in the Perfect Words of Allaah. Since seeking refuge in any created being is an act of shirk, this means that the words of Allaah (including the Qur’aan) are not created because we have been instructed by the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to seek refuge in them.
And Allaah knows best.
See: Fath al-Majeed, by ‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Hasan, in the chapter entitled من الشرك الاستعاذة بغير الله (Types of Shirk: Seeking Refuge in Other than Allaah); and also Al-Mulakhkhas fee Sharh Kitaab at-Tawheed, by Saalih al-Fawzaan (same chapter).
One of our teachers here in Makkah, ash-Shaykh Muhammad Aadam al-Athyoobee, mentioned the following lines of poetry in passing during one of his classes a few months ago. I found them to be both motivating and funny at the same time:
وَسَامِعُ الْحَدِيثِ بِاقْتِصَارِ …… عَنْ فَهْمِهِ كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ
فَلْيَتَعَرَّفْ ضَعْفَهُ وَصِحَّتَهْ …… وَفِقْهَهُ وَنَحْوَهُ وَلُغَتَهْ
وَمَا بِهِ مِنْ مُشْكِلٍ وَأَسْمَا …… رِجَالِهِ وَمَا حَوَاهُ عِلْمَا
594 Someone who just hears Hadeeth without comprehension is similar to a donkey.
595 Rather, he should carefully study to know if it is da’eef (weak) or saheeh (authentic), as well as its fiqh (rulings derived from it), nahw (grammar), and lughah (other linguistic aspects),
596 And any contentious issues that may be present, along with the names of its narrators, and the knowledge it contains overall.
A bit of background: They are lines 594-596 from a poem called Nathm ad-Durar fee ‘Ilm al-Athar by Jalaal ad-Deen as-Suyootee, and more commonly called “Alfiyyah as-Suyootee“ which is a thousand-line poem based on the book Muqaddimah Ibn as-Salaah, one of the classical standard references in the field of Mustalah al-Hadeeth.
The similitude of a donkey in the first line was given by Allaah in the Qur’aan: The likeness of those who were entrusted with the responsibility of obeying and practicing the Tawraah, but subsequently failed to do so, is the likeness of a donkey who carries huge burdens of books but understands nothing from them [See Soorah al-Jumu'ah (62):5]. To this effect, others have written:
إِنَّ الِّذِي يَرْوِي وَلَكِنَّهُ …… يَجْهَلُ مَا يَرْوِي وَمَا يَكْتُبُ
كَصَخْرَةٍ تَنْبَعُ أَمْوَاهُهَا …… تَسْقِي الأَرَاضِي وَهِيَ لاَ تَشْرَبُ
Someone who narrates but does not really know what he narrates and writes,
Is like a rock from which water gushes out and irrigates the lands, while it does not drink any for itself.
Therefore, someone who takes it upon himself to read and listen to Hadeeth must be aware of its level of authenticity, and must also carefully study the Hadeeth in order to learn the rulings derived from it, the grammatical and linguistic nuances it contains, things in the chain or text which may not be readily understood at first, the narrators in the chain of transmission and their reliability, as well as have a holistic view of all the knowledge contained in the Hadeeth and drawn from it as well.
See: Is’aaf Thawee al-Watar bi-Sharh Nathm ad-Durar fee ‘Ilm al-Athar (2/128-130), by Muhammad ibn al-’Allaamah ‘Alee ibn Aadam al-Athyoobee
This is a translation of a passage from a book containing biographical information about the scholar ‘Abdur-Rahmaan as-Sa’dee (1307-1376 A.H.). The portion of the book containing this passage was authored by one of his sons, and it outlines the daily routine of the Shaykh at a point in his life where he had passed well beyond the stage of preliminary studies and was already an accomplished scholar.
Download the translation here, or download the Arabic here.
We have a class called “Nusoos Adabiyyah” where we study some pieces of Arabic literature, poetry in particular. A few days ago, we studied some verses from a piece of poetry composed by Hassaan ibn Thaabit (radiyallaahu ‘anhu), who was a Companion from the Ansaar. In Siyar A‘laam an-Nubalaa’, ath-Thahabee called him “sayyid ash-shu‘araa’ al-mu’mineen, al-mu’ayyad bi-rooh al-qudus” (the master of poets among the believers, and the one aided by the angel Jibreel).
As to some of the historical significance of the piece we looked at, Hassaan ibn Thaabit (radiyallaahu ‘anhu) was speaking about the preparations of the Muslims prior to the conquest of Makkah which took place in the 8th year after the hijrah. In his poetry, he responded to and disparaged Aboo Sufyaan ibn al-Haarith, who was still a mushrik at the time, and was one of those who gave his all to harm and abuse the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and the Muslims. Additionally, in his poetry, Hassaan also defended the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). There are narrations, collected by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim, where Hassaan sought permission from the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to lampoon the mushrikeen, and he was allowed to do so.
The piece we looked at had the following lines: Read the rest of this entry »
There is a passage I came across several years ago in the autobiography of Malcolm X, in the chapter where he discussed some of his experiences when he came to Makkah to perform Hajj. The passage highlighted certain roles and functions a prayer rug could have. Although prayer rugs possess no religious significance in and of themselves, I thought there were some interesting parallels between the potential functions of a prayer mat and the functions of a masjid… two things primarily viewed and thought of as a places of prayer. The following is what he said:
I began to see what an important role the rug played in the overall cultural life of the Muslims. Each individual had a small prayer rug, and each man and wife, or large group, had a larger communal rug. These Muslims prayed on their rugs there in the compartment. Then they spread a tablecloth over the rug and ate, so the rug became the dining room. Removing the dishes and cloth, they sat on the rug-a living room. Then they curl up and sleep on the rug-a bedroom. In that compartment, before I was to leave it, it dawned on me for the first time why the fence had paid such a high price for Oriental rugs when I had been a burglar in Boston. It was because so much intricate care was taken to weave fine rugs in countries where rugs were so culturally versatile. Later, in Mecca, I would see yet another use of the rug. When any kind of dispute arose, someone who was respected highly and who was not involved would sit on a rug with the disputers around him, which made the rug a courtroom. In other instances it was a classroom.
The current application form available for the Arabic Language Institute at Umm al-Qura University in Makkah is available for download here.
In Soorah al-Kahf, from verse 60 through verse 82, a story is told of an encounter between the Prophet Moosaa and al-Khadir, as well as the events which transpired in the time they spent together. Read the rest of this entry »
There is a hadeeth collected by both al-Bukhaaree and Muslim from ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas where he said, “The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said to me, ‘Read the Qur’aan each month,’ to which I replied, ‘I have strength (to do more).’ He said, ‘Then read it every twenty nights,’ to which I replied, ‘I have strength (to do more).’ He finally said, ‘Read it in seven, and do not go beyond that (making it less than seven).’”
Al-Imaam ath-Thahabee, in his book Siyar A‘laam an-Nubalaa’, recounted the same situation – though with a slightly different wording and less authentic chain of narration – and then commented on it in his biography of ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr.
