We were honoured to have hosted a Poetry Competition following the An Introduction to Poetic Metres webinar that introduced the topic to the English speaking audience. We extend our gratitude to all those who had submitted an entry and congratulate our winning poet and finalists for their excellent submissions.

The various teaching methods of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Education is one of the most universally discussed topic, the process of exchanging knowledge and values from one generation to the next.

Words are a string of sounds represented in some languages with symbols that together represent a concept, an object, or a person. In Arabic, three letters with distinct shapes and sounds come together to form the word “heart,” قلب, while at the same time reflecting the nature of the heart; it is easily swayed. Changing any letter in this little parcel will definitely alter the meaning. It is not just so with Arabic, but with English as well, saying “I love roses” is not the same as saying “I love noses.”

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

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