Written by a student of the Qur’an – may Allah grant him success, forgiveness, and conceal his faults. 

Eid-ul-Fitr is one of the only two annual festivals recognised by the Shari’ah. Due to the current circumstances, Eid al-Fitr 2020 is going to be celebrated in lockdown, which may seem contrary to the spirit of Eid. However, this is not entirely the case. We can still keep the spirit of Eid alive!

Ramaḍān is indeed a month in which every soul yearns to connect with their Creator. As the Qur’ān states; ‘And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.’ These reminders aim to present a reminder in a graphical form which can be appreciated by all, followed by a short excerpt from a book relevant to the reminder in order to shed light.

Over the past few years, a significant number of friends and students have requested a list of suggested book readings for my various classes on Hadith Studies. Others over the past few years have asked my opinion about certain works or whether they are appropriate for the level of the enquirer. Recently, I was reminded of a promise to compile a short list of works I would consider useful reading material for a student and have thus decided to take out a few minutes to compose this post, keeping in mind the various levels of readers and the need for conciseness.

Rajab is the seventh month in the Islamic lunar calendar. This month was regarded as one of the sacred months (Al-Ashhur-al-hurum) in which battles were prohibited in the days of the Holy Prophet . It is also a prelude to the month of Ramadan, because Ramadan follows it after the intervening month of Sha’ban.

Tafsir is basically trying to understand the Qur’an. Generally, most people who read the Qur’an can understand something from the Qur’an. However, there is a big difference between a person who reads a translation of the Qur’an and between person who can understand it through the Arabic language.

Perhaps ‘love of knowledge’ is the most comprehensive description that characterises all truly successful people who seek it. This attribute —if planted within the heart of a student and allowed to take rest and settle —would cause the many obstacles he faces such as: disinterest, lack of time, different distractions and interruptions, etc — to crumble. For all of these issues stem from the same root, and it is the lack of true love of knowledge.

For the benefit of the English-speakers, I wrote a bit about the history of the Hanbalī Madhhab and its relied upon works:

The following is a translation of a lecture delivered in Urdu by Shaykh al-Islam Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (hafizahullah) on Friday 18th December 2015 in Karachi, Pakistan. Translated by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam

I am sharing this story because firstly, I know how lonely it is for those suffering from mental illness and how comforting it is for us to hear from others who have had similar experiences. Secondly, I’ve learned a lot from the past 4 years that I think will be useful for those who have just started experiencing symptoms. Thirdly, understanding mental illness from a theoretical perspective doesn’t do justice to what people suffering from it feel, especially when we consider how the suffering is invisible on the outside. The list of symptoms for these illnesses can often sound generic or trivial, but the person suffering from it distinctively knows that something is tangibly wrong with them. Lastly, I want to emphasize how much we Muslims need to take mental illness seriously, not just in confronting the stigma, but in approaching diagnosis, treatment, management and prevention as seriously as we would do any other health issue we encounter in our own lives.