All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds; and peace and blessings be on our master Muhammad, and his family and companions.

Great people achieve greatness because they adopt the qualities and character-traits of the greatest man ever: our Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). One such example – at least for me – is my dear and beloved Shaykh Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (hafizahullah).

This write-up is based on the treatise of Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar rahimahullah.

Mishkāt al-Maṣābīh (lit. the niche of lanterns) is a hadith collection originally compiled as Maṣābīḥ as-Sunnah (lit. the lamps of Sunnah) by Imām Muḥy as-Sunnah Abū Muḥammad Ḥusayn ibn Masʿūd al-Farrāḥ al-Baghawī (d.1122) rahimahullah, a famous Tatar muḥaddith and mufassir from the senior Shawāfiʿ scholars. It was later refined and expanded by Imām Walī ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Khaṭīb at-Tibrīzī (d.1248) rahimahullah, who named the revised compilation Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, as we know it today.

Many seem to complain when the importance of language skills is raised to them. “Since when did being eloquent in English/Arabic become a sign of intelligence?” they ask.

Based on Shaykh Mufti Taqi Usmani’s notes in the introduction to Dars Tirmidhi (1/80-86), compiled by Shaykh Waqar Gulam Dastaguir and checked & edited by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam.

How does a Muslim scholar, serious student, and others who have devoted their lives to the service of Islam and the Muslims support himself/herself? I ask because this is perhaps one of the main reasons why parents don’t wish for their children to become scholars of Islam -they are usually poor, they don’t get paid much at all (if at all), and they attract trouble from different extremist groups.

I come from an upper middle-class family. How can I convince my parents that I can become a Muslim scholar and have sufficient finances to support myself and my family?

Translated by Zameelur Rahman

Translator’s note: The following is the translation of an Arabic speech delivered by ‘Allamah Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri when Shaykh Rashid Rida visited Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband in 1912 CE. He explained the historical and intellectual background to the seminary and the school’s methodology in hadith-commentary.

Ramadhan is indeed a month in which every soul yearns to connect with their Creator. As the Qur’an 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.

We present you a new series. The #DuaSeries. The objective of which is to allow us as students to not only read through the numerous supplications made by the Prophet (peace be upon him) when reading aḥādīth, but to also learn them ourselves with its meaning to then include as part of our life.

Treading this path of I’lm brings with it a package of goodness and ease. Having corrected the intention of seeking ‘Ilm solely for the sake of Allāh, each action of learning becomes the Dhikr of a student.