Assalamu alaykum All,
Ramadan Mubarak to all of you. We ask Allah to guide us to the best deeds and to accept from us our fasting and prayers.
Ramadan is the month of Quran and generosity. In Abbas says: “I have never seen anyone more generous than Rasulullah, and he would be most generous in Ramadan when Gibril would read Quran with him”
Imam Malik used to close the books of hadith and fiqh in Ramadan and devote his time to Quran.
Allah says: “The month of Ramadan in which Quran was revealed.” So the revelation of Quran began in Ramadan.
Therefore dear brothers and sisters we should focus on Quran during the holy month.
Lets not forget too that the month of Ramadan was a time when great battles were fought such as the battle of the criterion, the battle of Badr, and the greatest conquest, the opening of Makkah. There is also the important battle that saved the Muslims from the Mongol invasion, the battle of Ayn Jalut. So we should not forget our brothers who are carrying on this duty today from our dua and support.
Lastly, we need to keep in mind that while we are enjoying the blessing of freedom and having iftar with our families that we have thousands of brothers behind bars and only Allah knows what conditions they are in and there are thousands of families who are deprived the presence of their loved ones. Lets pray for them during this blessed month.
O Allah free our Muslim brothers from the prisons of the tyrants and shower on them and their families Your mercy. O Allah accept our good deeds and forgive us our mistakes.
Assalamu alaykum

Question:

Salam Alakum. What I understand from your lectures is that you believe the

method to re-establish Khilafah is through Jihad. Can you respond to this?

“Another view that is being addressed to the Ummah is the concept of fighting

the rulers and that through military struggle Islam will return to the world

stage. Again this is based upon a particular Hadith. It has been narrated from

many sources including Imam Muslim that the Prophet (saw) said, .Do not

challenge the people of authority unless you see explicit Kufr of which you have

clear proof from Allah(from Islam).. Ibn Kathir in his Tafseer states that if

the Khaleefah reverts to the rule of disbelief, he would be fought until he

returned to the implementation of Islam and the Shari’ah.

Ibn Hajr in his Fateh al-Bari also states that if he becomes a Kafir, or

changes the Shari.ah he should be fought and removed. This view is also

mentioned in Nayl al-Awtar and supported by Imam Shawkani. That is, if the ruler

rules by other than the Shari’ah he is fought until he either repents or is

removed. However that is the only situation that it applies to i.e. the ruling

of a Khaleefah who resorts to the Kufr ruling and disobedience to Allah. It does

not relate to the Khaleefah becoming tyrannical and also does not relate to his

personality becoming corrupt. In which case obedience to him is binding and the

Muslims should still pray behind him and fight Jihad behind him.

However, these Ahadith are not connected to the current situation. They are all

connected to revolt and rising against the Khaleefah and are titled under the

subject of .Khurooj min al Khaleefah. i.e. rising against the authority of a

Khaleefah or an Imam.

The current situation is not that of the Khulafaa’ who used to rule by Islam

and then turned away from Islam. The current problem is also not merely related

to removing a ruler by killing him. Rather, entire systems of Kufr have been

implemented over Muslims for over 76 years, none of the rulers have ever ruled

by the Shari.ah and none of them are Khulafaa’ within a Khilafah. The systems

that they are applying are either monarchies or Capitalistic with some sort of

democratic framework. Hence, the reality isn.t that of removing a bad Khaleefah

within an Islamic State. The reality is of uprooting an entire Kufr system,

including it.s ruler, to again establish Dar ul-Islam. The current rulers are

not comparable in any way to Khulafaa’ who have introduced one Kufr law into the

Khilafah. Hence these Ahadith, which have always been understood in the context

of Dar ul-Islam i.e. where Islam is implemented and the Muslims possess the

security, do not apply upon the current situation. The reality which they

address is that of removing a Khaleefah who rules with Kufr within the Islamic

State, not that of uprooting an entire Kufr system merely by fighting and

killing the ruler of that system.

The only situation that is comparable from the evidences is the establishment

of the Islamic State for the very first time by the Prophet(saw) and the

struggle which he (saw) went through in order to establish this State and change

Dar ul-Kufr to Dar ul-Islam. This is the struggle which he (saw) referred to in

the Hadith of Hamza and as is illustrated in the Books of Sunnah and Seerah. As

that is the only instance in which a complete system of Kufr existed and was

changed to a complete system of Islam. So the matter is regarding the changing

of a system, not merely a ruler. The Ahadith of fighting, apply to changing a

ruler i.e. a Khaleefah who has gone astray not a system, only the struggle of

the Prophet (saw) in Makkah applies to the changing of a system. So military

struggle is not the method of re-establishing the Khilafah.”

- Also, can you give me your views on Hizb ut-Tahrir. JazakAllah Khair. Salam

Alakum.

Answer:

Most Islamic groups that were founded after the fall of the khilafa recognize the importance of re-establishing al khilafa again. There was a time during the decades of the eighties and nineties when the Salafi’s, Ikhwaan, Jamaat Islami, HT, Jihad groups and even some of the sufi’s talked about khilafah. Since then and because of the fact that the West has made it clear that it doesn’t like that idea and would not tolerate it, some groups have backed off completely from any talk of khilafah while others toned it down. Only a few remained steadfast in their call to establish the Islamic system again.

The proposed methods that Islamic groups presented for re-establishing al Khilafah are:

1. Through tarbiyyah and then somehow when our condition changes the khilafa will be re-established again. While others say we will do tarbiyyah until the ummah is ready and then we will fight the enemies of Allah.

2. By reaching to power through participating in the democratic system.

3. The HT method of raising the awareness of the ummah of the importance of khilafa, educating the Muslims on politics, and searching for nusrah.

4. Fighting in path of Allah in order to establish the religion of Allah.

The proponents of the first method have never given the ummah any benchmark to when we have done sufficient tarbiyyah to move on to the stage of implementation and therefore will remain in a perpetual state of tarbiyyah while negating the duty of Jihad.

They also miss the point that tarbiyyah is within one generation and not multigenerational. Meaning the change that Rasulullah brought which started with dawa and ended with jihad was within the lifetime of one generation. It all happened within 23 years. Every other successful change in the ummah occurred within one generation. History is a testimony to this.

The promoters of change by participation in democratic elections started out by stating that democracy is kufr and we do not believe in it but we are using it as a vehicle to reach to power and after we reach to power we will implement Islam. This is what I heard from every single leading member of Ikhwaan in the late eighties and early nineties. I clearly remember the public discussions that were held on this issue because the Salafi’s back then were very much against Ikhwaan on this point. I also remember clearly the private discussion I had with some of the shuyukh of ikhwaan who would reiterate the same point again and again: Democracy is un-Islamic and we are participating in elections but our intentions are to change the system from within.

There are three problems with this method:

First: It is a deception and a lie to use democracy and claim to be adherents to the democratic system but not believe in it. Now deception is acceptable against the enemy if the Muslims are in a state of war with the them. The problem is that the particular groups that are involved in the democratic process do not believe that they are in a state of war with the disbelievers but believe that there is a covenant between the Muslims and the disbelievers. So if we are in a covenant with the disbelievers then it is not allowed to use deception against them and it is not allowed to lie to them. That’s the first problem.

The next problem is that when you repeat a lie long enough you end up believing it. For those who knew these groups from the eighties it is strange for them to see how much they have changed over time. Now they are saying and I have heard this more than once from their prominent members that now we genuinely do believe in the democratic system. We believe in the ballot not bullet. And if the ballot decides that a secular or disbelieving party wins we will accept that.

As Muslims we should not subject Islam to the whims of the people, if they chose it we implement it, if they don’t we accept the choice of the masses. Our position is that we will implement the rule of Allah on earth by the tip of the sword whether the masses like it or not. We will not subject sharia rule to popularity contests. Rasulullah says: I was sent with the sword until Allah alone is worshiped. That path, the path of Rasulullah, is the path we should follow.

The final problem is that the Muslims’ method is not a method of infiltration. Muslims do not try to infiltrate the system and work from within. It is just not our way. It is the way of the Jews and the munafiqeen but not the way of the Muslims. We are honest and straightforward with friend and foe. We make our intentions open and we declare our dawah publicly, “For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.” We do not want to infiltrate the system whether in America or in a Muslim country. The Jews are the ones who have infiltrated every government they lived under whether it was al-Andalus and the Ottoman khilafah or the Western governments of today. They have a hidden agenda, we don’t. The Jews and their brethren, the hypocrites, tried to infiltrate the government of Rasulullah and were exposed by Quran:

“And a faction of the People of the Scripture say [to each other], “Believe in that which was revealed to the believers at the beginning of the day and reject it at its end that perhaps they will return [i.e., abandon their religion]”

So they would become believers and come in to the community only to leave it at the end of the day. Allah also talks about the hypocrites who would sit among the believers and convey what they hear to the Jews.

Therefore for those who say that we should be involved with the system and change it from within are not following the path of the Muslims and if their character is that of a Muslim they would fail because infiltration just doesn’t work with Muslim behavior. But if they do succeed in infiltrating the system then that is proof that their character has become that of the Jews or the hypocrites and not that of the Muslims.

A point related to this is that those who come from Islamic backgrounds and have spent a long time working within the political systems of today end up becoming politicians, with all the negative meanings of the word: deceptive, changing colors, materialistic and Machiavellian in their methods. They may have been bred in the Islamic movements’ strong tarbiyyiah programs but after a while in the political arena they become the wolves they were trying to change. I have seen this with my own eyes happen to people that I know and as one leader of the Islamic movement in Yemen said: “We send them as sheep into a world of wolves only for them to come back to us as an eaten up skeleton.” If you want a live example of what working from within the system produces look no further than Sudan and Turkey. The ruling parties in both countries started out as Islamists only to end up just like everyone else in their rotten and corrupt environments.

Regarding the method of HT which you specifically referred to in your question, I first came in contact with HT members from Jordan in the early nineties and found them to be argumentative but well-mannered and polite. My first understanding of the Hizb was from them and they were core members of the group. HT has played an important role in raising the awareness of the ummah to the matter of khilafa. They also played a role in countering the false idea that politics and political awareness have nothing to do with Islam. However the method of HT to re-establish khilfah is simply not going to work. To wait for nusrah until it arrives is to wait for a miracle. Tribes or military generals that are supposed to give nusrah and establish the religion of Allah are not going to be won over simply by discussions. They will only be won over when they see a group of believers living by what they say and sacrifice all that they own for the sake of Allah. This is what will inspire others to join. The two success stories of powerful people giving nusrah to the religion are some of the former officers of the Iraqi baath regime who joined the insurgency and the former president of Chechnya, Dudayev, who was a high ranking officer in the Soviet army. Both these successful examples of nusra were not won over through debates, demonstrations and pamphlets but by them seeing a living example of men struggling in the path of Allah.

This leads me to the forth method of re-establishing khilafa and that is through Jihad fi sabilillah. The argument that you presented against this is that the only similar situation to our situation now is that of Rasulullah establishing an Islamic state first and then fighting Jihad. You are neglecting a serious difference and that is when Rasulullah established Madina there was no Islamic land that was invaded. Isn’t this a serious and major difference? Today the Muslim world is under occupation and the statements of our scholars are clear that it becomes fardh ayn on every able Muslim to fight to free the Muslim land. When something is fardh ayn it is fardh ayn. You cannot theorize or hypothesize otherwise. The ruling is clear and the implications of it are clear. So even if you do not believe Jihad to be the way to establish khilafah you must agree that Jihad is fardh ayn and that is not where HT stands. Also the jihad which is fardh ayn and is Jihad al dafa (defensive Jihad) does not require the one who wants to participate to seek the permission of the Imam, parents, husband, slave owner, or lender.

Also why should we argue on this point when we see the evidence of it in the real world. The two most successful examples, even though far from perfect, of Islamic rule in this past decade were the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Islamic courts in Somalia. In both countries only these Muslim fighters brought peace, security and rule of law in both countries. Both movements reached to power not through elections or debates but through war. They did not fall because they were failures but they fell because the ummah failed them. However, even though a battle here and there were lost but the war is not over. If you follow the current events and look at them with an attentive eye you would realize that it is the enemy who is bleeding to death not the Muslim fighters. Pretty soon the scales will tip.

Because confusion usually surrounds what is meant by Jihad whether it is the Jihad al Nafs or Jihad of the sword I do not exclusively mean one or the other and I do not exclude one or the other. What I mean by Jihad here is not just picking up a gun and fighting. Jihad is broader than that. What is meant by Jihad in this context is a total effort by the ummah to fight and defeat its enemy. Rasulullah says: Fight the disbelievers with your self, your wealth and your tongues. It is what Clausewitz would refer to as “total war” but with the Islamic rules of engagement. It is a battle in the battlefield and a battle for the hearts and minds of the people.

I am done with my book reviews, so now let’s take a culinary tour of prison. The first item on the list is kudam.
The definition of kudam is a unique creature that exists on Yemeni military bases and prisons. It is the plural of kudma or kidma. The unique thing about kudam is that no two are equal in shape or color. The color can range anywhere from off-white to black. The shape of kudam does not conform to known geometric shapes. To a first time observer, they might appear to be visitors from outer space. Their size is usually equal to a large fist.
Do you have any idea what kudam really are?
Kudam are the staple breads of prisoners and soldiers in Yemen. They are fascinating pieces of art.
Kudam are transported from bakeries to military basis and prisons around the country on open flatbed trucks and are therefore subjected to wind, dust, sun, rain and the various forms of life that would naturally want to devour them. However kudam are pretty resistant to the elements, with the exception of rain, which they never handle well.
Kudam are supposed to be multigrain. That is how it was in the old days. Now they are most likely whole-wheat. They are fermented so their taste resembles San Francisco’s sourdough bread (those who live in America would know what I am talking about). They consist of a solid crust (and I mean really solid); they could be used for fights. They are covered with a layer of loose flour plus whatever particles have become attached to them along their route to prison, such as dust. Inside this hard crust, they are soft and tasty. They are mouth watering when hot, but unfortunately we only received them hot for sahur during Ramadan.
The ration for every prisoner is 6 kudam, which works out as 2 for breakfast, 2 for lunch, and 2 for dinner, but you get them all before breakfast.
There is a traditional way of eating kudam that is unfortunately dying just like all other wonderful customs. The traditional way of ‘breaking in’ to kudam is that you hold one kudma in each hand and then slam them together as hard as you can. This takes care of breaking loose all the foreign particles and flour that is hanging on to the surface. It also breaks the crust. This tradition is mostly lost among the prisoners, who may not have had enough exposure to kudam before incarceration, but I used to see the prison wardens always do it.

Next: Food Review 2: Everything Else.

I have received the following question from one of the readers of my blog:

I am not sure how much you have noticed, but in the West, their is a campaign to undermine your personal credentials as an ‘Alim. The all-too-common tactic of attacking the ‘messenger’ rather than the message itself is being employed in these campaigns.
We want to be able to refute any false claims against you and support all of your works, wholeheartedly. Can you please provide us information regarding the Shuyukh that you have learned under in the past, and who you may be currently learning under? As well as, the source of your ‘ijaza, etc. This will be very important in refuting any slanderous attacks against your credibility.

I have received this question in various forms and the frequency of it increased lately. Here is my response:

Alhamdulillah I have had the chance to experience the various methods of gaining Islamic knowledge through studying directly under shuyukh in their general circles or privately. I have experienced the regular academic method of university study, studying by correspondence, and studying directly from books.

Studying under shuyukh in their general circles:

I have attended the circles of the scholars of Makkah and Madina for a combined period of a few months and for a short while attended the circle of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen.

Studying under shuyukh privately:

In addition to an ijaza in Quran recitation according to the recitation of Hafs I have read and completed Sahih al Bukhari with Shaykh AbdulRahman Shumailah al Ahdal and he has given me ijazah to narrate Sahih al Bukhari from him through three high isnaads, one of them being the highest existing isnaad in the world. The other two he has received from his shuyukh in Makkah.

I have also read and completed Sahih Muslim and al Muwata by Imam Malik with Shaykh AbdulRahman and he has given me ijazah on both books.

I have studied al Minhaaj by Imaam Nawawi on Shafi fiqh with Shaykh AbdulRahman al Ahdal and Shaykh Hamud al Ahdal and received ijaza from both of them.

The above mentioned shuyukh have also given me ijazah to narrate through their isnaad the six books of Hadith, al Adhkaar by Imaam Nawawi, al Shifa by Qadhi Iyaad, and some other books in Shafi fiqh.

I have studied, traveled and lived with Shaykh Hassan al Ahdal and it was through him that I got to study with other scholars from this blessed family of scholars who are descendants of al Hussain bin Ali may Allah be pleased with them. They are based in al Marawa’ah in Tihama which is in the Western part of Yemen on the coast of the Red Sea and this is the land of the Sahabi Abu Musa al Ash’ari. He has given me a general ijaza in the six books of hadith, Buloogh al Maraam by Ibn Hajjar al Asqalani, Umdat al Ahkaam by al Maqdisi, al Minhaaj by al Nawawi, al Ghaya wal Taqreeb by Abu Shuja, and al Waraqaat by al Juwaini.

I have spent a short time with Shaykh Salman al Odah.

I have benefited considerably from the scholars I met in the US during the 90’s, a time in which there was a great influx of scholars in America.

And last but not least, I have benefited and continue to benefit from the Shaykh whom I trust his deen and know him to be a scholar who does not fear in the sake of Allah and is willing to stand up for the truth, Shaykh Hussein bin Mahfoodh. He is a friend whose relationship with me extends over the years. Until this day, I consult with him on the various important aspects of Sharia that I am presented with and I have continued to benefit from his knowledge and wisdom over the years. I have accompanied him and traveled with him and consider him to be one of the best scholars that I have come to know.

Regular academic university study:

In 2002 I was given permission from the administration of the University of Eman in Yemen to attend any class at any level and I took advantage of this and attended classes in Tafsir and Fiqh for a period of a few months. I have also benefited from the teachings of Shaykh Abdul Majid al Zindani the Rector of the University.

Studying Sharia by Correspondence:

I studied for two years through correspondence with the Islamic university in France. I lost interest and discontinued my studies with them because I reached the conclusion that it was not a proper method of disseminating Islamic knowledge. This was in the mid 90’s so things must have changed now in the field of correspondence study due to advances in technology.

Studying from Books:

After receiving the basics from the scholars and the keys of knowledge, learning from books is a lifelong practice of the seeker of knowledge.

My Ijazah:

In addition to the ijaza’s I have mentioned above I have a general ijaza in Quran, Sciences of Quran, Hadith, Sciences of Hadith, Tafsir , Fiqh, Usool Fiqh and Arabic from:

Shaykh Hassan Maqbooli al Ahdal

Shaykh Hussein bin Mahfoodh

Shaykh AbdulRahman Shumailah al Ahdal

Shaykh Hamud Shumailah al Ahdal

There was a particularly mean Prison Head who decided to ban me from having any Islamic books. I then asked if I would be allowed to have English novels. He agreed. I have never been fond of novels. Most of my reading has been in Arabic. When I have read English, it has been Non-fiction, mostly related to current affairs. But, because any book that I ordered would have to be subjected to review by the prison administration, I was worried that if I ordered any current affairs books, that they would be banned. And that might lead to a temporary, or even permanent, ban preventing me from having any English books after that.

Before going to jail, I had received one book that I was eager to read: Michael Scheuer’s Imperial Hubris, but this would be too much for them to allow. I did read it after my release and I strongly recommend it.

So, I asked my family to bring me Moby Dick by Herman Melville. This book was given to me as a gift by a friend of my father in the US when I was a child. I was very young at the time and it would have made no sense for me to read such a book. This book had stayed on my shelf for over 20 years because it was written in destiny that I would read it in jail. Now, I cannot say that it was a good novel; but in jail, anything is good. Even local government newspapers, which I would never contemplate wasting my time with, made interesting reading.

Following Moby Dick, I asked for more books without specifying which ones, so my parents brought me whatever was lying around in the house. This time it was King Lear by Shakespeare and Hard Times by Charles Dickens. Shakespeare was the worst thing I read during my entire stay in prison. I never liked him to start with. Probably the only reason he became so famous is because he was English and had the backing and promotion of the speakers of a global language. On the other hand, I read Hard Times thrice. So, I ordered more Charles Dickens and read Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and his masterpiece: David Copperfield. I read this one twice.

What fascinated me with these novels were the amazing characters Dickens created and the similarity of some of them to some people today. That made them very interesting. For example: the thick and boastful Mr. Josiah Bounderby of Coketown was similar to George W. Bush; Lucy’s father, Mr. Gradgrind, was similar to some Muslim parents who are programmed to think that only Medicine and Engineering are worthy professions for their children; the amazing cruelness of Stephen Blackpool was similar to some people who appear on the surface to be decent and kind human beings; and Uriah Heep was similar to some pitiful Muslims today.

Another novel was Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge, which was an interesting imagination of the twists of destiny and the tragic ending for the evil and the favorable ending for the righteous.

Now, I want to stress that I do not encourage any serious Muslim brother or sister to waste time with novels. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was prevented from anything else, I wouldn’t have read them. And, I read them because apparently a person can begin forgetting his language, even if it is his mother tongue, if he does not use it for long time. There is even a joke that a man emigrated from an Arab country to America and did not learn English and ended up forgetting Arabic. Being in solitary confinement and not speaking English for a long time I needed refreshment.

So, there is some benefit in reading novels for those in the fields of public speaking and writing. And, once in while, there is a novel that is worth reading because of a pointed message that it tries to convey; such as the message in Animal Farm about communism, and the relevance of 1984 regarding how the West is treating Muslims today. But, for he who has the choice, there are better alternatives. There is so much out there to read. One should not spend the valuable time Allah has blessed them with on anything except that which will draw one closer to Allah.

I also read the memoirs of David Attenborough Life on Air. Having followed most of his documentaries, I felt it might be interesting to read about the experience of this Natural Scientist. I was disappointed to find out that such a person, one who has first hand knowledge and experience with some of the most amazing signs of Allah, is a person who believes in evolution and shows no signs of believing in a creator.

A final note: I believe that it is a problem to hear Muslim speakers extensively referring to disbelievers in their books or speeches. In fact, this may represent a problem with wala and bara (love and hate for the sake of Allah). If the quoting is relevant and beneficial and does not involve taking them as role models, then that is fine, such as al Bukhari quoting Heraclius’s conversation with Abu Sufyaan on Rasulullah or, in use of the abstract sciences and skills such as Salman al Farisi borrowing the idea of trenches from Persia. But, I believe that Muslims taking disbelieving ‘gurus’ and leaders as their shuyukh in fields such as management, time management or even learning from their success stories, leads to more harm than benefit.
Didn’t Ibn Abbass say to those referring to the people of the book: “How can they guide you when they themselves are misguided?”

And this is what Allah says about the disbelievers, including the brightest minds such as Plato, Einstein, Newton, and George Washington:

“They will further say: “Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we should not (now) be among the Companions of the Blazing Fire!”” (al Mulk: 10)

All of these great minds would stand in front of Allah and the creation and declare that they had no understanding and no minds.

So how can we learn from them?

Next: Food Reviews From Behind Bars

I would not have been able to order this book. There was a brother who was transferred from a prison in Saudi Arabia to our prison, and he had the fatawa with him. The original print of the fatawa is 35 volumes but this brother had a condensed version that was 5 volumes. The pages where very thin and the print was very small. The brother told me that he had the fatawa and that the prison was holding it. I really wanted to get a hold of it so I asked him to try his best to convince the Prison Head to hand it over to him. It took some time, but eventually he got it and was able to sneak it in for me. Having such a reference in prison is a rarity, and when some of the students of knowledge who where in there heard about this, they were adamantly asking me to lend them some of the volumes. In fact, when I was being released, while I was walking out of the jail, one brother risked walking out of the wing where he was housed to get within my line of sight to wave to me and yell out his request to leave the fatawa for him.  I did.  But because I had to ask the prison guard who was with me to give it to him, I wonder whether he received it or not. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to complete it all before I was released.

The fatawa are a recent compilation of various works by Ibn Taymiyyah. It mainly includes his verbal answers to fatawa that were presented to him. It also includes some of his books and letters. Contrary to what the title seems to suggest, it is not a reference on fiqh alone, but also includes aqeedah, tafsir, usool al hadith, usool al fiqh, fiqh and spiritual aspects.
The verbal answers Ibn Taymiyyah would give to the questions presented to him are a testimony of the vast knowledge of this great Imam. He would start by mentioning all the verses and hadith relating to the topic and then mention the opinions of the Imams of the four schools of thought. He would even mention the various opinions that might exist within the school itself. Then he would discuss the evidence and give his fatwa.
Ibn Taymiyyah led a life of study, teaching, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and also jihad. He participated in jihad against the Mongols. He was also courageous in his advice to the rulers of his time and spoke out about their mistakes. Ibn Taymiyyah was chosen by Allah to go through the trials of prison a few times. He was patient and steadfast, and wrote some wonderful letters from jail including comments about his experience as a prisoner. Ibn Kathir, in his ten-volume work on history, wrote a eulogy for Ibn Taymiyyah that happens to be the longest and most detailed eulogy in his entire work. He said that the janazah of Ibn Taymiyyah was the greatest janazah that Damascus has witnessed – a sign from Allah of the righteousness of this great Imam.
Next: Book Review 9: English Novels

Prisoner 650

A Pakistani Muslim woman had been held in the notorious Bagram Prison in Afghanistan for years and now her current whereabouts unknown. Have you heard about her? Most likely not. A Muslim woman is lingering in such a torturous jail and no alarms have gone off in her country or in any part of the Muslim world. How low have we, as an Ummah, stooped to not only allow such a thing to happen, but to be so oblivious about it?

Not much is known about her. Why is she there? What crime has she committed? She is a ghost prisoner. If not for eyewitnesses, such as the former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Moazzam Begg and interest raised about her case by journalist Yvonne Ridley, we wouldn’t have heard anything about her.

When some Jews dared to uncover a Muslim woman, it didn’t take long for the banners of the Muslim armies led by the Messenger himself to hover around their fortresses. They where defeated by the Muslim forces, and the entire Jewish Community, (not just the perpetrators) where driven out from Madina — all of them, down to the last man. This is how serious such a matter is.

Centuries later, a Muslim woman was taken prisoner by the Roman Army and called for help from the Abassid Khalifah of the time, al Mu’tasim. He immediately ordered a mobilization of forces and led those forces himself in an attack of Roman territory in response to the call of a single Muslim woman. The response to her plea from the Muslims of that time was the complete severance of diplomatic relations, and Declaration of War against the superpower of the time.

But today, no one knows or even seems to care about this woman who has disappeared into US custody for years.

The Messenger of Allah, as narrated in Sahih al Bukhari, said: “Release the prisoner.” It is a clear and direct order to Muslims until the end of time. The Scholars of Islam state that if a Muslim in the East is taken prisoner, it becomes mandatory on the Muslims of the West to seek his release, even if that would lead to them expending all of their wealth.

In addition to this sister being a prisoner, she is also a woman. Islam gives special protection for women and children, and the honor of the Muslim Ummah is in their protection of their women. The first ayah that allowed fighting in the path of Allah justified it for the defense of women, children, and the weak.

Allah says: And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)?- Men, women, and children, whose cry is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!” (al Nisa 75)

I pray to Allah to release our sister and all our brothers and sisters from the prisons of the tyrants.

This eight volume set falls under what is classified as the fiqh of hadith. There are books that concentrate on the fiqh derived from Quran, such as the books of Tafsir by al Qurtubi and AbuBakr bin al Arabi, and you have books of fiqh that are concerned with a particular madhab, and then you have books of comparative fiqh, and then there is the category that this collection falls into, and that is the fiqh of hadith. This collection of hadith was done by Majdudeen Ibn Taymiyyah, the grandfather of the famous ibn Taymyyiah, and al Shawkani wrote Nail al Awtaar as a commentary on these hadith.

Imam al Shawkani was born in year 1173 in Shawkaan, Yemen. He initially studied the Zaidi madhab, which is the closest of the Shia sects to the Sunnah. But, before the age of thirty, he left the madhab and became a mujtahid. He refuted the Zaidi scholars of his time and became a follower of the Sunnah.

In addition to being the carrier of the banner of Sunnah in Yemen, and offering the strongest critique of the Zaydi school of thought, his knowledge was so impressive that, at the age of thirty, he was also chosen to serve as the Supreme Judge for Yemen for the Zaidi Imam of his time: al Mansoor. He carried on in that post for three of the Zaidi Imams of Yemen for over 40 years. In addition to serving as the Supreme Judge and teaching students, he wrote 278 books and letters!

Al Shawkaani in Nail al Awtaar starts by studying the chain of narration of the hadith, and after that, all the books of hadith that narrated it. He then derives his conclusion regarding the classification of the authenticity of the hadith. He then explains the linguistic meanings of the hadith. After that he goes into mentioning not only the opinions of the four schools, but the opinions of the Sahaba, Tabi’een, and all other notable scholars (such as al Awza’ee, Sufyan al Thawri, al Tabari, Ibn Hazm, etc.). He then discusses the different views and frequently brought usool al Fiqh and Fiqh rules into his discussion.

Nail al Awtaar is an excellent resource for reference on both the evidence of every opinion, and the views of the different scholars on different aspects of fiqh. It is also a good study for students of knowledge to learn the tools of scholarship and how an opinion is derived in Islamic fiqh.

Next: Majmu’ al Fatawa by Ibn Taymiyyah

Imam al Nawawi is a fascinating scholar. He led an exemplary life. He lived exclusively for knowledge; he dedicated his whole life to it. The diversity of his knowledge made him an expert in many fields. His writings on fiqh are so important that when there is a difference of opinion among Shafi’i jurists, it is his opinion that becomes the official opinion of the Shafi’i School.

His book, Riyadh al Saliheen, (Gardens of the Righteous) is the most widespread book of hadith in the Muslim world. The Nawawi Forty Hadith is a household name. His book on the remembrance of Allah, al Athkaar, (The Remembrances) is one of the most famous books on the subject and his Commentary of Sahih Muslim is the standard in the field. He had begun writing a book on comparative fiqh, but died before its completion.

Isn’t it amazing that all of this knowledge came from a man who died at the age of forty-five?

He was a pious, ascetic, and unpretentious man. It has been mentioned that he lived in the library of Damascus for two years and read continuously. During that period he would not sleep on a bed but instead put his head down over a book and take a nap and then continue reading.

He started writing at the age of 30. One of the scholars said that the way Imam al Nawawi wrote all of these books in such a short time was that he would combine studying with writing. While he was studying, he would write notes about what he had learned. These notes would later become a published book. Without this methodology, it is hard to imagine how it would be possible for him to have authored such a large number of books.

The impression I have of Imam al Nawawi, is that he was a very serious person who was always doing what would draw him closer to Allah. He was a person who was not affected by temptations and did not slack-off or waver. He was someone who was consistent and deliberate. He was not diseased with jealousy or envy.

In his commentary, he described the isnaad, (i.e., chain of narration), then explained the meanings of words and phrases in the hadith and then gave a brief summary of rulings derived from the hadith.

Nawawi’s commentary of Sahih Muslim is brief, which may be the reason it is preferred by some Islamic universities for their curriculum despite the fact that Imam Ibn Hajar’s commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari, the most important book of hadith, is regarded as the best commentary ever written on any book of hadith.

Comparing the methodology of the two, Ibn Hajar elaborated on details of the hadith, much like an encyclopaedia, and Nawawi was concise. When defining terms in the hadith, Ibn Hajar would elaborate on the language used and Nawawi would define the meaning of selected vocabulary. Ibn Hajar would mention all existing narrations of the hadith, and Nawawi would not generally include other narrations. Ibn Hajar referred to fiqh derived from the hadith with quotations from various scholars of different schools of Islam and Nawawi would usually quote from scholars who had written commentaries on Muslim such as al Qadhi Iyadh, al Maziri, and al Khatibi. Both would mention the various benefits to be deduced from the hadith but Ibn Hajar would do so on a larger scale than Nawawi. At the end, Nawawi’s commentary leaves the reader with a clear understanding of the hadith and Ibn Hajar’s commentary leaves the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the hadith and all that relates to it from the other books of hadith.

May Allah reward our beloved Imam and grant him al Firdaws.

Next: Nail al Awtaar by al Shawkaani

All of the books I have mentioned until now were brought to me by my family. Because they were not ‘officially’ allowed to visit me yet, getting the books would take a long time. But at a later point, I had the added privilege of being able to place orders directly through a warden who made purchases according to the prisoners’ needs, such as clothes and books.

The first book I ordered was al-Tathkirah fi ahwaal al-Mawta wa Umoor al Akhira, (The Reminder of the Affairs of the Dead and the Situations of the Afterlife,) commonly referred to as “The Reminder” by al-Qurtubi. This was one of the books I used in the preparation of The Hereafter which I recorded in 1999. I ordered that book because we are always in need of reminding ourselves about the Afterlife. It covers the topics of: Death, the Grave, the Day of Judgment, Paradise and Hellfire. The book is excellent except for the inclusion of many weak hadith. There are other books that I could have ordered that cover the same topic, but I have a certain fondness for the scholars of Andalusia; there is something romantic about that land. Having seen Andalusia, I can imagine the places where al-Qurtubi, al-Shatibi, Ibn Hazm and others lived, taught, and authored their books. It is also amazing to see how many great scholars were produced in a relatively small Muslim state.

A few days after sending for the book, I received it. And as soon as I received it, I started reading it. But then the light bulb in my cell burned out. This meant that I was in almost complete darkness at night, except for a glimpse of light that would come in from the corridor. I was also in almost total darkness during the day, except for some light that comes in from a small window close to the roof. It was impossible for me to see the print day or night. I informed the wardens about it but nothing happened that evening. I didn’t mind staying in the dark because I had been in artificial light continuously for a few months at that point so it was a nice break to experience darkness again. We forget that everything is a blessing, even darkness.

I wanted to read the book and I was very eager to do so. I asked the wardens again and they said that the process includes informing their supervisor who will then write a report that will be submitted to the head of the prison and he will send a request to the electrician, who will apply for the lamp from the prison storage. It was going to be a while. What was I to do?

There was one warden who was polite towards me that offered to open the window on the iron door. This small window is used by wardens to pass small items to prisoners without opening the door. They also use it to peek in and see what the prisoners are doing. By leaving it open, a ray of light would come from the lamp in the corridor directly onto the floor about half a meter from the door. It was an inconvenient location, being very close to the door, but because I was so eager to go through the book I placed it under this ray of light and read that way for about 2 or 3 days until the light bulb was replaced.

For a period of about 4 to 5 days I was totally immersed in the Afterlife. Looking through the lens of the Hereafter puts everything in this world in the right perspective. We need to think about death and what will happen after death constantly. Rasulullah said: “Frequently remember the destroyer of enjoyment (i.e., death).” We ask Allah to wake us up from the state of unawareness we are in!
Next: The Commentary of Sahih Muslim by Imam al Nawawi