2 Year Islamic Studies Course for *Brothers*

Brothers can download an application form by clicking here
All forms must be handed in before 15th July 2011 as induction/enrollment will take place on 21st & 23rd July 2011

Lantern of Knowledge Educational Institute Present:

2 Year Islamic Studies Course for Brothers

Taught by qualified Ulamah

Study:

Tajweed (how to recite the Qur'an properly)
Tafseer (commentary of the Qur'an)
Aqeedah (beliefs)
Hadith (the traditions of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam)
Fiqh (jurisprudence)
Arabic
Seerah (the life of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wassallam)

Attendance: 2 days a week for two hours.

Cost: £5 a session or payable in instalments.
Venue: Jamia Siraj ul Uloom, 30-36 Lindley Road, Leyton, London, E10 6QT

Enrolment and Enquiries:

Please ring: 020 8539 5183
or e-mail: info@jamia.co.uk

www.jamia.co.uk

Bidayatul Hidayah: Chapter on Staying Away from Sins - Part 1

I have translated the following from 'Bidayatul Hidayah' of Imam Abu Hamid al Ghazali rahimahullah. It is a very nice book, I think it has published in English recently aswell. Here is a chapter on staying away from sins. I will divide it into two posts due to its length.

Know that religion has two conditions:

1) To leave that which is forbidden
2) To do actions of obedience

The leaving of that which is forbidden is harder to do. This is because obedience is carried out by everyone (to some extent) but only the pious leave their desires. This is why Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam, “The Muhajir (one who migrates) is he who migrates from evil and the Mujaahid (warrior) is he who fights against his desires.”

Know! That you will only disobey Allah Ta’ala with your limbs and your limbs are only a bounty from Allah Ta’ala upon you! They are a trust given to you so seek help in the bounties of Allah Ta’ala against His disobedience which is the utmost snub. To behave treacherously with a trust that Allah Ta’ala has given you is an extreme form of haughtiness (arrogance)!

Your limbs will look after you make sure you look after them. It comes in a hadith, “You all are guardians and you all will be questioned over those things that you looked after.”

Know that your limbs will bare testimony against you in a presentation given by a eloquent tongue on the day of Qiyamah. You will be led by it at the forefront of all the creations. Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an, “On that day, their tongues, hands and feet will bare testimony against them as to what they used to do.” (Surah Nur) and He further states, “On the day there will a seal on their mouth and their hands and legs will testify against them as to what they used to earn.”

Therefore look after your body and especially look after 7 parts of your body; for Jahannam has seven doors and for every door there is a part categorised. And these doors are not specified for any person except that person who disobeys Allah Ta’ala with these seven body parts. They are:
1. The eyes
2. The ears
3. The stomach
4. The tongue
5. The private parts
6. The hand
7. The legs/feet

Inshallah we will continue with this in the next post...

Lesson from Hadith #5

اذا كانوا ثلاثة فلا يتناجى اثنان دون الثّالث
“When there are three people, two should not converse together at the exclusion of the third.” (Adabul Mufrad: Hadith #1166 pg 722)

This is straight forward, two people should not exclude the third and speak because this will make him feel unwanted and lonely. Sometimes, two people sit together and begin a conversation in such a manner that the other feels that they are talking about him. The behaviour of a group of Muslims should be such that they make everybody feel wanted. In the modern day, this can also apply to the usage of mobile phones. For example, if two people are sitting and one of them gets a phone call, he should not have a half an hour discussion with the person on the phone and discard his friend in that period. Rather he should host the person whom he is with.

In the same manner, it is not permissible for a person who sees two people talking and then butts into their conversation. Once Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was speaking to a man privately when Sa’eed al Maqbari (may Allah have mercy upon him) entered upon them. Ibn Umar pushed him away and said, “When you see two men talk to each other, you should neither stand near them, nor should you sit there unless you have their permission to do so.

Quran on iPhone (or any other smartphone)

The following has been taken from our sister site: Imaan Boost

Salaam,

I'm often asked by brothers for "The name of that app" when reciting the quran from my iPhone in the masjid.

It's not always easy to explain it as it's not as simple as that, so here I will explain how you can get it for yourself!

Firstly let me show you what it looks like:

and here's an actual screenshot taken with my iPhone:

..of course it works well on an iPad too, or any other smartphone/tablet device:

There are 2 simple steps really:

1. Get the pdf files.
2. View in a pdf reader on your device.

You can get the quran as a set of 30 pdf files from here.

Unzip the file to create a folder called Quran which has all the PDF files in it.

Then just get any app that can read PDF files from the app store.

I use "GoodReader". - Perhaps the best app on the iPhone in my opinion. It's not free though, so if you want a free PDF reader I would recommend "Files Lite"

You'll need to set up the app with your pc/mac to transfer files. It shouldn't be too difficult, just follow the instructions that come with the app.

Let me know if you have any probs.

Happy reading, and pass it on...

EDIT: I Have included surah yaseen + surah khaf inside the zipped folder

Part 8 - Walking

When a student first begins his/her (Islamic) studies, the first thing which is taught to them is that they cannot expect to learn everything by simply reading a textbook. Many of the things which a student picks up comes from observing his teacher. Thus, when it comes to the time of graduating, a student has many sifaat (characteristics) which are incredibly similar to his teacher(s). This can be in the manner of dress, smiling, speaking, walking, talking and the list goes on. It is thus noticeable that those students who are extremely close to their teachers are the ones who are able to mirror their ways in totality and this is praiseworthy. So then what can be said in relation to the Sahabah radiallahu anhum who noted every movement and characteristic of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam? The reason they were so great was down to the fact that they spent their entire life reflecting the ways of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam. If you follow a great person then you too will become great.

With regards to the walking of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam; his movement was very swift and smooth. Hazrat Abu Hurayrah radiallahu anhu says, "I did not see anyone more handsome as Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam. It was as if the brightness of the sun had shone from his auspicious face. I did not see anyone walk faster than him, as if the earth folded for him. A few moments ago he would be here, and then there. We found it difficult to keep pace when we walked with him, and he walked at his normal pace." This hadith highlights a great lesson for us; many people loiter the streets so that they may be seen or walk in such a way that attracts attention. This was far from the ways of our beloved Nabi salallahu alayhi wasallam. His walk was immensely humble and he did not walk with his chest pushed outwards as many arrogant people do today. From reading the ahadith in relation to the walking of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam it can picked up that Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam had a sense of calm to his walking, his body emitted a feeling of detachment from worldly interests.

Many people today like to take their time lingering up the road and enjoy having a good ogling session as they do so. Others like to stamp their feet to connote a sense of power and intimidation so that they can be observed and seen as people of dominance! Then there are some bechare, who like to walk up the street with a particular ‘bop’ and that is to make them look ‘gangster’. It is unfortunate that such characteristics have seeped into the lives of many Muslims! What makes it even worse is the fact that we have the example of the greatest man to have ever walked the earth (salallahu alayhi wasallam) yet we still remain heedless.

Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam would lift his legs off the ground with vigour which would highlight that there is vitality in his body and he would not resort to dragging his legs on the ground. His head and shoulders would be slightly tipped forward and he would be swift in his movement. Those who saw him would say it is as if he was descending from a high place. The hadith mentioned above also highlighted that Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam would walk so quickly that if a person was to look away from him for a mere second, he would look back only to find Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam at a greater distance. This highlights the fact that Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam didn’t hang around but he would get on with his business. In the other narrations it is mentioned that his eyes would be lowered and this too points towards the fact that he did not continuously stare at people. This is very beneficial for our times, we live in such a time that if we look at someone in the wrong way, it could result in a fight! May Allah Ta’ala protect us!

May Allah Ta’ala give us the ability to follow the Sunnah of our beloved Nabi salallahu alayhi wasallam meticulously. Ameen.