Registration for the Zaytuna Distance Learning Program Spring 2008 Quarter is now live. Please visit: http://www.zikrcast.com/Distance_Learning/index.php

GETTING BACK TO BASICS: ISLAM 101 (NEW!)
by Imam Zaid Shakir
A course explaining the basics of Islamic belief and worship with a concentration on the elements and issues that are essential for the sound and practical practice of Islam in our time. Appropriate and beneficial for not only the new Muslim, but for any Muslim living in the West, this course will cover “the Five Pillars,” “the Articles of Faith,” aqidah, basic fiqh, and critical issues such as appropriate gender relations and how to defend oneself against the attacks currently being levied against Muslims.
(Registration: Audio – $40 / Video – $60)

THE PROPHETIC CHARACTERICS PART III (NEW!)
by Ustadh Yahya Rhodus
A study of the inward and outward characteristics of the Prophet, upon him be peace, from his practices and personal effects to his noble attributes, taking from the text of the late scholar Shaykh Yusuf al-Nabahani, Wasa’il al-Wusul ila Shama’il al-Rasul (“The Means of Arrival to the Characteristics of the Messenger”). Studying the characteristics of the Messenger of Allah, upon him be peace, fills one’s heart with love for him and inspires one to follow his great example.
(Registration: Audio – $40)

Also available: THE PROPHETIC CHARACTERISTICS PART I & PART II

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The Zaytuna Distance Learning Spring Semester will be launching soon. One of the new courses is “Getting Back to Basics: Islam 101″with Imam Zaid Shakir.

Course description:

A course explaining the basics of Islamic belief and worship with a concentration on the elements and issues that are essential for the sound and practical practice of Islam in our time.  Appropriate and beneficial for not only the new Muslim, but for any Muslim living in the West, this course will cover “the Five Pillars,” “the Articles of Faith,” aqidah, basic fiqh, and critical issues such as appropriate gender relations and how to defend oneself against the attacks currently being levied against Muslims.

Originally taught in Zaytuna during the Winter 2007 quarter, the Zaytuna team has released this course as part of the Spring 2008 quarter. Another new course is “The Prophetic Characteristics: Part III” taught by Sidi Yahya Rhodus.

Visit http://www.zaytuna.org/distancelearning.asp for more details. Video clips will be added to the Zaytuna Facebook Page.

Please share this post with your friends and family. Please encourage them to register for classes. Here is a testimonial from our brother & fellow activist:

“For years I have searched for an affordable distance learning program to quench my thirst for Islamic Knowledge. Finally, with the advent of Zaytuna Institute’s Distance Learning program, I have been blessed with the opportunity to learn from knowledgeable teachers who are inspirational individuals in their own right. I look forward to being a student of Zaytuna Distance Learning program for years to come inshAllah”

- Adam Soltani

Due to the *very* personal relationship with the Distance Learning Program Manager at Zaytuna, we have the exclusive honor of posting this announcement first.

Three members of the IslamCrunch team were volunteers at this past weekend’s Mawlid and Aqidah events in the San Francisco Bay Area. As we arrived, a long line of people eagerly waited in the cold to gain entry into the Muslim Community Association building for the Aqidah event.

Imam Tahir Anwar began the event by giving the attendees some background information on Imam al-Tahawi, author of the book being discussed. Imam Zaid Shakir was up next and gave us some practical advice to strengthen our aqidah. Ustadh Abdullah Ali was third in the line-up and provided definitions of our creed. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf then delivered a classic Shaykh Hamza lecture. Full of anecdotes, historical examples, important facts, lessons to be learned and several dimensions about aqidah.

As the amazing lectures ended, the team put as many of our friends in our cars and drove off to the Mawlid event. A small crowd had already begun to wait outside. The crowd grew into throngs of people, as they tried to acquire their tickets purchased online, to buy tickets at the door and to find their friends and family. By the grace of Allah, the event was sold out and still people were anxious to get into the venue. It was with much sadness, that we had to turn people away.

We were blessed to have attended to many of the night’s noble guests including Mouley Idris, Shaykh Abdurrahman Tahir, Sidi Aziz Baameur and many more.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a blessed Rabi’u Awal. May all of your gatherings be full of light and blessings. May we all remember to commemorate the importance of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.

To see more photos of the Aqidah event, click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14057667@N05/tags/aqidah/

To see more photos of the Mawlid event, click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14057667@N05/tags/mawlid/

Much thanks and love to Sidi Feraidoon of Rumi Bookstore for coordinating these events and allowing us to be a part of the joy.

Check out more photos at Barakah Life. Khadija O’Connell did an amazing job of beautifying the Aqidah event.

                                              For centuries, the vast majority of Muslims have gathered in celebration of one of the greatest events in the history of the entire universe, the Mawlid or the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu`alayhi wa sallam). Through the recitation of the Majestic Quran, readings from the Seerah (Prophet’s biography), and the recitation of the Qasidah Burdah (Poem of the Cloak) we have the opportunity to show our gratitude to Allah ta’ala for having sent amongst us His final and last Messenger.

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says, “Verily Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet (sal Allahu`alayhi wa sallam). O, Believers! Send blessings upon him and salute him with a worthy salutation.” (33:56)

Taking heed of this incredible verse, Muslims send their blessings upon the Prophet (sal Allahu`alayhi wa sallam) every day. And each year, on this special day, communities in every corner of the world come together to commemorate the miracle of his birth, the legacy of his life, and the station of perfection that he alone occupies in this world and the next (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

So, join us in celebrating the Mawlid of our Prophet (sal Allahu`alayhi wa sallam) in renewal of our faith and commitment to the way of our beloved Prophet (sal Allahu`alayhi wa sallam) and his heirs, the rightly-guided scholars of the past and the present. We look forward to your presence with our scholars and friends in a night filled with inspiration and continuous praise!

Speakers
* Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

* Imam Zaid Shakir

* Imam Tahir Anwar

* Ustadh Abdullah Ali

 
An Evening of Celebration, with speeches, nasheeds, Quran and poetry recitation.

Featuring the Moroccan Burdah Munshid Abdul Karim Liousfi

Mawlid: Celebrating the Birth of the Prophet (pbuh) (Conference Ticket)

Good news, an aqidah seminar will be conducted at the MCA by well-respected Muslim scholars. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Imam Zaid Shakir, Imam Tahir Anwar and Ustadh Abdullah Ali discuss the foundation of Islam: creed. Using Imam al-Tahawi’s book on aqidah as a guide, these 4 scholars will educate the community on the importance of learning our aqidah, without controversy.

In an age of bewildering spiritual and intellectual confusion, aqidah or creed, the formal statement of religious belief, has never been more important. Every
Muslim is obliged to learn it and is promised protection from deviant beliefs by following the unassailable texts of the scholastic community of Islam.

Of them all, The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi is the simplest, most effective, and least controversial. It serves as a sound basis for Islamic faith and is the most reliable of the early articulations of Muslim belief. Because Imam al-Tahawi avoided convoluted theological issues and systematically presented the most fundamental aspects of dogmatic theology, his creed has achieved an unusual degree of acceptance in the Muslim milieu. In the thousand years since it was written, many great Muslim scholars have penned commentaries on it and today it is still studied throughout the Muslim world and increasingly in the West.

We invite you to join us for a day of intellectual thought and deep insight with our esteemed scholars as they journey into the core of the Islamic faith with Imam al-Tahawi’s remarkable text as the guide.

Aqidah: The Foundation of Our Deen (Seminar Tickets)

We are so glad that the MCA, one of our favorite Islamic centers in the Bay Area, is hosting this event. We had a wonderful time working there in 2004. May Allah s.w.t. send abundant blessings to the MCA community.