TRADITIONAL STUDY BEFORE WESTERN ACADEMIA

The general rule is that you should take sacred knowledge seriously from authoritative texts studied under the guidance of traditional scholars before entering or engaging with the Academy lest it knock the sunna—or Islam—out of you. Actually learn your field well so you can enter the space with authority, and engage, contribute, and defend as a fard kifaya. You will not become an authority except by learning the works of the tradition which made previous masters. Anything else is folly parading as nuance.

«الصلاة عليه صلى الله عليه وسلم من العبيد وسيلة للتقرب منه عليه الصلاة والسلام، كما جُعلت هدايا الفقراء إلى الأمراء وسائل؛ ليتقربوا بها إليهم، وليعود نفعها إليهم؛ إذ هو صلى الله عليه وسلم بعد صلاة الله عليه لا يحتاج إلى صلاة أحد، وإنما شرعت تعبدًا لله تعالى، وقربة إليه، ووسائل للتقرب إلى جنابه المنيع ومقامه الرفيع صلى الله عليه وسلم».

نقله الزبيدي عن بعض العارفين.

NEWLY PUBLISHED TITLE: AL-MUQADDIMA AL-SUDANIYYA BY BADR AL-DIN AL-ʿAYNI

Hot off the press is the newly released primer by Badr al-Din al-ʿAyni (d. 855) titled al-Muqaddima al-Sudaniyya fi al-Ahkam al-Diniyya. It’s interesting for two reasons: firstly because it was written for a military commander, and secondly because it thus contains topics which are rare for such a relatively short primer. The ten chapters are as follows: purification, prayer, alms-tax, fasting, pilgrimage, supplications, proprieties, hunting, governance, and penal punishments. In light of its ten-chapter brevity, it almost rivals Razi’s (d. 666) Tuhfat al-Muluk, though the latter still remains much more authoritative and well-known. The manuscript used was from the Ayasofya in Istanbul, and the book was published in 2025.

قال السيوطي رحمه الله :
"والعَالِمُ عند العوام من صعد المنبر".
[تحذير الخواص من أكاذيب القصاص، 278]

*ليس كل من صعد المنبر، أو ألقى موعظة، أو محاضرة، عالمٌ يرجع إليه:*
قال الشيخ عبد السلام بن برجس رحمه الله:
"في هذا الزمان اختلّ معيارُ كثيرٍ من العامة في تقييم العلماء، فجعلوا كلَّ من وعظ موعظة بليغة، أو ألقى محاضرات هادفة، أو خطب الجمعة مرتجلا .. عالمًا يرجع إليه في اﻹفتاء، ويؤخذ العلم عنه، وهذه رزية مؤلمة، وظاهرة مزرية، تطاير شررها، وعمّ ضررها؛ إذ هي من إسناد العلم إلى غير أهله، وإذا أسند اﻷمر إلى غير أهله فانتظر الساعة". [عوائق الطلب, 33]

LAST REMAINING SPACES: HLCP LEVEL TWO

There are only a handful of spaces left for new students in the next opening of the flagship HLCP Level Two course–a two-year intensive study of Hanafism through a reading of primers in law, legal theory, creed, ethics, and more!

We are now accepting applications at the link below. Unfortunately, there are no openings for Levels 0, 1 or 3 at the present time. This is a call for applicants for Level 2. If you are unsure whether the course is for you, you can submit an application and it will be reviewed.

Please note that if you have expressed an interest in being part of the cohort and you have been accepted on to the program, you have made it to the final list and you will be contacted when registration opens. This call is for new applicants only—the application deadline is September 1st 2025.

Full course details are available here: https://irshad.org.uk/course/the-hanafi-legal-code-level-two/

Applications are being accepted here: https://forms.gle/2k4VhSQJs8MthtW6A

من بركات قراءة سيرة سيدنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على شيخ الإسلام تقي الدين السبكي رحمه الله:

قال شيخ الإسلام: كنت أقرأ سيرة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لابن هشام في سنة ست وسبع مئة، فعرضت لي حُمّى في بعض الأيام، وجاء وقت الميعاد، فأتى كاتب الأسماء وقال -وأنا محموم-: قد اجتمعتِ الناسُ، فكدتُ أبطل ثم قلت: «لا والله، لا بطلت مجلسًا تذكر فيه سيرة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم» فتحاملتُ وأنا محمومٌ، وقرأتُ الميعادَ، ووقع في نفسي أني لا أحَمُّ أبدًا، فما حصَلَت لي حُمّى بعدها!

قلت: ونحن في شهر المولد، شهر قراءة وإقراء السيرة النبوية، فلتحسن النيات لتقضى الحاجات.

https://www.tg-me.com/mmf_azhary2/267

قيل:ابذل العلم لأهله ولغير أهله ؛فالعلم أمنع جانبا من أن يصل إلى غير أهله.

أمنع جانبا أي:أرفع مقاما وأعلى مراما.

ملا علي القاري

IZMIRI’S HANAFI-MATURIDI CREED: AL-ʿAQAʾID AL-JADIDA

Muhammad b. Wali al-Izmiri’s (d. 1165) al-ʿAqaʾid al-Jadida is a beautiful presentation of creed in accordance with the way of the Hanafi-Maturidi masters. It is different to other plain text creeds in the sense that he begins with some of the foundational investigations (mabadiʾ al-ʿashara) of the science, and then he introduces some foundational discussions in logic before presenting the creed. The shaykh is the author of numerous authoritative texts such as the famous gloss on the Mirʾat al-Usul and a lengthy commentary on the Multaqa al-Abhur, and he also wrote a commentary on this short primer.

There are only a handful of spaces left for new students in the next opening of the flagship HLCP Level Two course–a two-year intensive study of Hanafism through a reading of primers in law, legal theory, creed, ethics, and more!

We are now accepting applications at the link below. Unfortunately, there are no openings for Levels 0, 1 or 3 at the present time. This is a call for applicants for Level 2. If you are unsure whether the course is for you, you can submit an application and it will be reviewed.

This call is for new applicants only—the application deadline is tonight!

Applications are being accepted here: https://forms.gle/2k4VhSQJs8MthtW6A

THE MAWLID IS ONLY A MEANS

Commemorating the mawlid in the month of Rabiʿ al-Awwal is only meaningful when it is sincere and religiously fruitful. The sign of genuine love and faithful following is correspondence to the shariʿa in one’s life and commitment to the sunna. If it’s just vibes, it’s time to hit the dars.

A SHORT COMPREHENSIVE WORK ON THE SIRA

This relatively short work by the Hanafi hadith scholar, Mughlatay b. Qalij al-Bakjari (d. 762), is a beautiful, chronological record of the sira which he abridged from his lengthier compendium titled, al-Zahr al-Basim (also in print). They used almost a dozen manuscripts and printed it with useful footnotes and along with the gloss of Sibt b. al-ʿAjami (d. 841). He ends the work with a section on the shamaʾil and a brief history of the caliphs.

«كان سيدي إبراهيم المتبولي -رحمه الله- يقول: العوامُّ وإن نقصوا من حيث عدم تحقيقهم مراتب العلم.. فقد أكرمهم اللّٰه تعالىٰ بأمورٍ تكمِّلُهم:

[1] منها: صحة اعتقادهم في اللّٰه ورسوله،
وكثرة اعتقادهم في العلماء والصالحين.

[2] ومنها: سلامة عقائدهم من الشُّبَه الكلامية والاعتقادات الفلسفية التي تطرق غالب المتكلمين.

[3] ومنها: عدم ادعاء أحدهم العلم والتكبر به علىٰ الناس.

[4] ومنها: إذا وقعوا في ذنبٍ لا يزال أحدهم في خجلٍ وحياءٍ من اللّٰه -عزَّ وجلَّ- حتىٰ يلقاه، لا يرى أنَّ ذلك الذنب مُحي عنه بطاعةٍ من الطاعات، بخلاف الفقيه مثلًا؛ فربَّما عمل طاعةً وظنَّ أنَّ ذنبه قد مُحي بها».

سيدي/ عبد الوهاب الشعراني -قدس الله سره-

THE PASSING OF SHAYKH MUHAMMAD AMIN AL-FARUQI (1935–2025)

Shaykh Muhammad Amin al-Faruqi was a scholar of Kurdish heritage born in the south-eastern region of Turkey. He was dedicated to spreading knowledge and he helped build many mosques and even opened Islamic schools for boys and girls; he had hoped to open a college for further studies but it didn’t pan out. He was a student of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qadir ʿIsa (d. 1991) and he received a license from him, and subsequently a license from Shaykh ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Shaghuri (d. 2004) too. The shaykh worked on numerous titles including the relatively unknown abridgement to Ghazali’s Ihyaʾ titled, ʿAyn al-ʿIlm wa Zayn al-Hilm by the Hanafi scholar, Muhammad b. ʿUthman al-Balkhi (d. 830). This work has a famous published commentary by Mulla ʿAli al-Qari (d. 1014). May Allah benefit us through the lives and works of the righteous, and may He have mercy on Shaykh Amin and grant him the highest stations of closeness, amin!