Ta’leef Collective Presents:
The Essentials of Islam
with Shaykh Abdul Kareem Yahyaa

The Essentials of Islam is a detailed study of the blessed text, ‘Al-Risalah al-Jami`ah,’ by al-Habib Ahmed bin Zayn al-Habashi (may Allah have mercy on him and spread his benefit), a foundational text that covers what is personally obligatory for a Muslim to know regarding matters of faith, purification, prayer, and some essential points related to our everyday life in accordance with the Shafi’i school.

It is hoped that by the end of the course, students will be able to understand the essentials of making their worship valid, sound and proper in accordance with the Prophetic sunnah.

About the author and text:

Habib Ahmed bin Zayn al-Habashi’s al-Risalah al-Jami`ah is a brief text that covers the essentials that every Muslim must know about faith and practice according to the Shafi’i school.

A descendant of the Prophet, Habib Ahmed al-Habashi was a spiritual guide of the Ba `Alawi path and a great scholar of the Sacred Sciences who studied with the greatest teachers of his time in Hadramawt, Yemen.

Al-Risalah al-Jami’ah has spread far and wide since it was written and is now studied around the world including in Yemen, Egypt, Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Hijaz.

The scholars of Hadramawt place special emphasis on this text, making it the first text studied by students of knowledge.

Text: Al-Risalah al-Jami`ah
Fees: $20, includes class handouts
Time: 4 – 6pm
Start date: Sunday, January 25th, 2009.
Duration: 6 weeks
Venue: Zawiya (send email for address and directions)

Registration: “First come, first served”. Limited seats are available. Only 35 seats! REGISTER NOW.

To register, please send an email to admin {at} islamcrunch [dot] com
Please include your name, number of people attending and contact information.

Ta’Leef Collective provides the space, content, and companionship necessary for a healthy understanding, embrace and realization of Islam. Ta’leef Collective is an expansion of the program formerly known as Zaytuna Outreach.

Shaykh Abdul-Kareem Yahyaa’s Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70541755603

This is an audio rip of the BBC Radio 3 show Belief in which Joan Bakewell interviews various people about their beliefs. In this show, she interviews Cambridge Don Tim Winter (aka Abdal Hakim Murad) who converted to Islam as a teenager. First broadcast Friday 2nd January 2009 – to read articles by Tim Winter see http://www.masud.co.uk

Joan Bakewell Interviews Cambridge Don Tim Winter about his conversion to Islam

You will need to install a torrent software if you don’t have one. IslamCrunch recommends uTorrent.com (for Windows and Mac).

Once you have downloaded the file, please allow the file to seed so others can grab it quickly.

Much thanks to Sidi Mas’ud Khan for directing us to this audio gem.

UPDATE: Here is a download link (no software needed): http://rapidshare.com/files/182161792/Belief_-_Series_4_-_Tim_Winter_-_edited.mp3

Link supplied by the same beloved Sidi Mas’ud Khan.

Today, a new Muslim wrote to me and asked me about whether a certain practice was innovation or sunnah. Up front, I informed him that I am not a scholar and not in a position to give him an answer. I offered my opinion and then shared with him some notes that I had taken from a class with Sidi Yahya Rhodus.

Here are the 5 levels of bidah (innovation) in 5 minutes or less:

• necessary (wajib)
• acceptable (mandub)
• neutral (mubah)
• disliked (makruh)
• forbidden (haram)

Wajib: Understanding theology
Mandub: building schools, writing books of knowledge
Mubah: Wearing different styles of clothes, taking airplanes
Makruh: Overly decorating mosques
Haram: Changing integrals of prayer

Before we decide to label an action or deed as an innovation, consider the 5 levels.

innovation, bidah, bida, yahya rhodus, theology, clothes, mosques, prayer

All praise is due to Allah, and may endless blessings be upon His Beloved Messenger Muhammad, his Kin, and his Companions.

These are excerpts taken from the book “Kenz Al-Najah wa As-Suroor” (The Treasures of Success and Happiness) regarding the benefits and special qualities of each month and how one should take advantage of them.

Please verify when the month of Dhul Hijjah will begin. One recommended website is http://www.crescentwatch.org/

Know that Dhul Hijjah is a great and sacred month in which the Holy Pilgrimage takes place. It is a month in which blessings are plentiful, du’as are answered, and Allah takes care of people’s needs. In it are the “ten nights” which Allah swears by in the Qur’an: {By the daybreak and ten nights}. The majority of Tafsir scholars have stated that Allah is referring here to the ten nights of Dhul Hijjah.

Some scholars state that there are 3 groups of 10 days/nights which are the most preferred by Allah: the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, the first 10 days of Muharram, and the last 10 nights of Ramadan. According to some scholars, the best group amongst the 3 are the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah because in them are the days of ‘Arafah and ‘Eid. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him stated, “There are no days more preferred by Allah than the ten days of Dhul Hijjah; and there are no nights more preferred than its nights.”

Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased them both, said, “There are no days more preferred by Allah the Exalted than these ten days, so make plenty of tahlil (saying “La ilaha illa Allah”) and takbir (saying “Allahu Akbar”), for these are days of tahlil and takbir and remembrance of Allah, Mighty and Glorious is He.”

• It is also highly recommended to fast the first nine days, especially the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah (the Day of ‘Arafah).

Things to do:

• Fast the first nine days:

  Our Beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said, “One fast during these days is equal to the fasting of one complete year, and the worship of one night during this period is equal to worship during Laylat al-Qadr.” [Tirmidhi]

• The 9th Day:

  It is particularly important to fast the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah (known as the Day of ‘Arafah).The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I have hope in Allah the Exalted that the fast of Arafah will be an atonement for the sins of the past and the forthcoming year.” [Tirmidhi]

• La ilaha Illa Allah:

  The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whosoever says during the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah this supplication 10 times each day:

  La ilaha illa Allah ‘adad ad-duhoor, la illaha illa Allah ‘adad amwaj al-buhoor, la illaha illa Allah ‘adad al nabat wa al-shajar, la illaha illa Allah ‘adad al-qatri wa al-matar, la illaha illa Allah ‘adad lamh al-’uyoon, la illaha illa Allah khairun min ma yajma’oon, la illaha illa Allah min youmina hadha ila youmi yunfakhu fi al-sur – all of his future and past sins will be forgiven.” [Tabarani]

The Day of Arafah:

• It is very beneficial to repeatedly say: “La illaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharik la, lahu al-mulk wa lahu al-hamd, wa Huwa ‘ala kul shayy’in Qadir.” This is related in many ahadith.
• Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Whosoever reads Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad (Chapter 112 of the Quran) 1,000 times on the Day of ‘Arafah will be given whatever he/she asks for.”
• The best thing to occupy oneself with during this day is du’a. Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari, may Allah be pleased with him, “They are days in which du’a is not turned back. How would du’a be turned back during these days when the Day of ‘Arafah is amongst them, which was narrated as being the best day in the world?” [Ibn Hibban in his Sahih collection]

May Allah give us the success to benefit from these blessed days. Just consider how seriously you take things during the last 10 nights of Ramadan and try to exert a similar effort to these days. {And I only created jinn and humans for them to worship Me}. This is what we were made for and Allah gives us times like these so that we can excel great distances in a short time. Don’t let it pass you by. The glorious treasures of your Lord are there for the taking, you just have to expose yourself to His Grace.

NOTE: In order to be concise, the exact strength of certain hadiths have not been mentioned. It is agreed upon by the vast majority of scholars to use hadiths of various levels of authenticity to encourage people to do extra acts of worship and goodness.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was written by our friend: Sidi Amjad Tarsin.

Alhamdulillah, we have launched a new group on Flickr called Islam in the 21st Century: http://www.flickr.com/groups/21stcenturyislam

To launch this group, we are conducting a photo contest!

To enter, submit photos to the new Flickr group. Photos must depict Islam with elements of modernity and/or Muslims interacting, engaging or using technology.

After submitting your photos, post the link to your photos on our contest page. You can submit more than one photo but only one contest entry per email address. So if you plan on submitting more than one photo, please ensure you share all of the URLs to your photos on your entry form. All photos and your entry form must be submitted by December 1st, 2008.

Prize: A Flickr Pro account valid for 2 years!
A Flickr Pro account gives you:

• Unlimited uploads and storage
• Unlimited sets and collections
• Access to your original files
• Stats on your account
• Ad-free browsing and sharing
• Video uploads

Some ideas for the contest: reading the Quran on your iPhone, viewing an Islamic studies class on your smartphone, using a laser-guided compass to find the qibla, using GPS to find the resting places of Islamic saints. This is the 21st century, technology surrounds us.

Visit the contest page for contest rules and more details.

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