Excuse Me, Have You Seen Beauty?
February 8, 2006
This book maps out the moderate–puritan divide with astonishing clarity, a product, no doubt of the years the author spent meditating on the subject — in his personal quest for Beauty. El Fadl outlines, very methodically, how distant the puritans are from the moderate, middle way. While the puritans may be shouting the loudest slogans and burning the most flags, it is refreshing to listen to the quiet deliberate voice of a moderate academic who has decided to draw the line in the ‘battleground for faith’.
It is also important to note the author’s background in law, for nothing polarises the moderate and puritan more than the subject of the nature and function of (Islamic) law. While all muslims believe in the centrality of Sharia, the puritans — in their understanding of the law — have given it a bad name. The word ‘Sharia’ now conjures so many negative images in the minds of people that it evokes genuine fear. However, we intuitively know that this should not be the case. Law must be understood before it can be applied in any meaningful way. The goal of law is godliness (not ugliness). When the puritans ignore the jurisprudential tradition, they are turning their backs on the collective effort of 1400 years of scholarship and sophistication. It is no wonder that the ‘law’ they enforce is literalistic and crude, ushering ugliness.
The search for Beauty continues, for that is what HE Loves.
Title: The Great Theft, Wrestling Islam From the Extremists
Author: Khaled Abou El Fadl
Best Reads of 2005
December 28, 2005
The year 2005 saw a bumper crop of good books, largely due to the efforts of premier independent publisher, Fons Vitae. It is thus no surprise that most the best books in the year’s round-up are from Louisville, Kentucky— home of Fons Vitae. At Wardah Books, we make it our business to make available and to feature good books for the benefit of all who are ‘Reading Islam’. The books we have selected here are what we consider the best reads of the year.
Here is the list:
A Return to the Spirit: Questions and Answers
Author: Martin Lings (Sidi Abu Bakr Siraj al-Din)
Publisher: Fons Vitae, USA
The respected British-Muslim scholar, Martin Lings, recounts the lessons learned from a lifetime of devotion and contemplation. Answering complex questions which he himself poses, such as, ‘Do religions contradict one another?’, ‘What is the spiritual significance of tears and laughter?’, ‘What is the spiritual significance of civilisation?’, the author’s language is remarkably straightforward. This book may well prove to be the most accessible original work on the spiritual way in the 21st-century.
The Book of Illumination
Author: Shaykh ibn Ata’ Allah al-Iskandari
Publisher: Fons Vitae, USA
Shaykh Ibn Ata Illah al-Iskandari talks about the ego’s disposition for self-calculation, anxiety and worry. With intricate arguments, logic and rhetoric — all infused with Islamic principles from the Qur’an and Sunnah — he coaxes the reader to reflect upon the futility of self-calculation. Self-calculation is, at best, self-delusion as the Shaykh reminds us that God has been arranging our affairs from before we came to be. Self-calculation, or our belief that we can arrange our affairs in any meaning way, is actually detrimental to our physical and spiritual well-being.
It has to be said that this book is not about radical asceticism or about being fatalistic. It is about checking our persistent ego-centric tendencies, such as greed, hoarding, self-interest, vanity, etc. This ‘checking’ is an important area of study within traditional Islamic Spirituality. It is especially relevant now when the ‘un-checked’ habit of acquisition, consumerism and egotism is couched in newspeak as ‘market-forces’, ‘progress’ and ‘freedom’. In a sense, this book goes to first principles and addresses our Ego’s desire to plan for itself, unchecked, without a second thought towards the Creator.
The Sufi Science of Self-Realization
Author: Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
Publisher: Islamic Supreme Council of America
This book contains a guide to the seventeen bad character traits such as anger, envy and malice as described by the Masters of the Naqshbandi Sufi way. The sufis have always concerned themselves with perfecting moral character and this book is a step in this direction. This thoughtfully written book is a useful introduction to the Islamic methodology for becoming and being.
Sufi Sage of Arabia (The Life of Imam Abdullah ibn Alawi al-Haddad)
Author: Mostafa Badawi
Publisher: Fons Vitae, USA
This book, while a biography of one of the greatest saints in Islamic history, is more than that. It is a book of alchemy itself, filled from start to finish with the science of tasawwuf, which is and has always been the heart of the Islamic tradition. — from the foreword by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
Defending the Transgressed
Author: Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti
Publisher: Aqsa Publications, UK
The full title reads, Defending the Transgressed By Censuring the Reckless Against The Killing of Civilians. This important work is, in essence, a fatwa according to the Madhhab of Imam as-Shafi’e by an Oxford-based Malaysian scholar. This fatwa was written in response to the strife and troubles afflicting the Community of Muslims, and humanity at large. Stress and confusion have been created by Muslims who, intentionally or not, have misinterpreted the legal discussions on warfare in Islamic Law. They set them outside their proper contexts and abuse them, turning them into justifications for their hate-inspired crimes.
The key Islamic concepts and rules pertaining to the conduct of war and its jurisprudence, its arena and boundaries, and the subject of suicide bombings and the reckless targeting of civilians have probably never been presented in English with such depth, clarity of thought, and breadth of scholarship in Muslim Law.
The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam From the Extremists
Author: Prof. Khaled M. Abou El Fadl
Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco, USA
In his new book, Prof. Khaled explores the poorly-understood divide between what he calls the ‘moderate’ and ‘puritan’ strains of Islam in the world today. The former, he says, is a religion of mercy; the latter, an unbending ideology with dire consequences for nations struggling with post-colonial identities and living under oppressive regimes. He calls on Muslims to join in a counter-jihad against sects such as Wahhabism, a radical branch of Islam that has influenced the Taliban and al-Qaeda. He seeks, for instance, to liberate the word ‘jihad’ —which has classically meant a spiritual struggle to serve God—from its narrow use by terrorists and politicians to connote a holy war against non-Muslims. — excerpt from Mother Jones Magazine
The Psychology of Terrorism
Author: John Horgan
Publisher: Routledge, UK
Is there a terrorist personality or profile? Are terrorists psychopaths? What are the individual factors and group factors that perpetuate the terrorist cycle? Are the current hypotheses of ‘frustration- aggression’, and ‘narcissism and narcissism-aggression’ helpful in understanding and preventing the terrorist cycle? If our reaction to terrorist acts is confined to, ‘they must be mad,’ are we not, in some way, limiting their responsibility and accountability?
This work is a fresh attempt at analysing what it is to become and be a terrorist, from the point of view of a growing sub-discipline within psychology.
Waymarks of Benefits
November 11, 2005
Waymarks of Benefits, The Dalail al-Khayrat
The Dala’il al-Khayrat is the most celebrated manual of blessings on the Prophet (s.a.w.) in history, and was composed by the Sufi, wali, scholar of Prophetic descent, Imam Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli.
This edition is produced by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller and features beautiful naskh script written by the celebrated master calligrapher, Uthman Taha. It is completed with an ijaza or authorisation that traces back to Imam Jazuli, through the Sanusiyya of Libya.
The book is beautifully bound in hardback.
“Its {the Dala’il al-Khayrat} celebrity swept the Islamic World from North Africa to Indonesia. Scarcely a well-to-do home was without one, princes exchanged magnificently embellished copies of it, commoners treasured it. Pilgrims wore it at their side on the way to hajj, and a whole industry of hand-copyists sprang up in Mecca and Medina that throve for centuries. Everyone who read it found that baraka descended wherever it was recited, in accordance with the Divine command: “Verily Allah and His angels bless the Prophet: O you who believe, bless him and pray him peace” (Qur’an 33:56).
In the post-caliphal period of the present day, Imam Jazuli’s masterpiece has been eclipsed by the despiritualization of Islam by “reformers” who have affected all but the most traditional of Muslims. As the Moroccan hadith scholar ‘Abdullah al-Talidi wrote of the Dala’il al-Khayrat: “Millions of Muslims from East to West tried it and found its good, its baraka, and its benefit for centuries and over generations, and witnessed its unbelievable spiritual blessings and light. Muslims avidly recited it, alone and in groups, in homes and mosques, utterly spending themselves in the Blessings on the Most Beloved and praising him—until Wahhabi ideas came to spread among them, suborning them and creating confused fears based on the opinions of Ibn Taymiya and the reviver of his path Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab of Najd. After this, Muslims slackened from reciting the Dala’il al-Khayrat, falling away from the Blessings upon the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in particular, and from the remembrance of Allah in general” (al-Mutrib fi awliya’ al-Maghrib, 143–44).” — taken from the accompanying information sheet written by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller
Note: You can see a beautiful handwritten copy of the Dala’il al-Khayrat at the Asian Civilisations Museum at Empress Place, Singapore. Handwritten copies may also be viewed at the Islamic Arts Museum, Kuala Lumpur. These beautiful copies were written in the Malay lands a few centuries ago. The Dala’il al Khayrat is part of the Malay/Muslim Heritage. It is time we bring the Dala’il al-Khayrat out of the museums and into our homes and hearts.
May the latent love for the Most Honoured Prophet (s.a.w) flower once more in all our hearts. Amin.
Title: Dala’il al-Khayrat
Author: Imam Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli
What Salad Are You?
October 3, 2005
Are you an “ill-equipped traditional-minded” Muslim or a “modern-leaning, anti-traditionalist” Muslim? Between these two poles is the ‘resulting salad’ as Shaykh Gibril puts it.
Well, traditional or modern, all should agree that the path ahead should be the path of re-discovering the Science of Hadith: a path of learning from specialists that have been given permission to teach by their own teachers.
This book is made up of two parts. The first part is made up of essays by Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad who has devoted his life to studying Hadith from authorised traditional Ulema. The second part is a translation by Musa Furber of Shaykh ibn Hajar al-Asqalani’s Nukhbat al-Fikar (Chosen Thoughts on the Nomenclature of Hadith Specialists)
“The present work is a tribute to those prestigious Predecessors {who had strived to preserve and record Hadith}. It is intended as a presentation of their thought on some of the core issues and principles of the Sunna. The first article, “The Story of Hadith,” is a brief description of what we mean by that term and the genesis of its genres in response to a layperson’s question. The next two articles address the epistemic relationship of learning, understanding, and practicing in the view of the early Ulema of Hadith and Fiqh: “Have You Seen a Faqih?” and “The Superiority of Fiqh Over Hadith,” summarises what we know of the schools of Law the compilers of the Musnad, two Sahihs and Sunnan followed. The fifth article, “Strictness and Laxity in Hadith Criticism,” diagnoses the two extremes that distinguish the derogators and the unscrupulous from the careful hadith critic. The sixth article, “Isnad and the Sects,” takes a glimpse at the lose/lose scenario of ill-prepared tradition-minded Muslims facing Western-minded Muslims and their agendas.”
— From the Author’s Introduction
Contents
The Story Of Hadith
Have You Ever Seen a Faqih?
Superiority of Fiqh Over Hadith
Madhhahib of the Imams Of Hadith
Strictness and Laxity in Hadith Criticism
Verifiable Transmission (Isnad) and the Sects
“Famous-Hadith” and “Forgery” Compilations
The “Disclamed” Munkar Hadith
Use of Weak Hadiths In Islam
Weak Hadiths in Sahih al-Bukhari?
Lone-Narrator Reports
Hadith Narration ad Sensum vs. ad Litteram
Hadith Authentication by Kashf
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani’s Nukhbat al-Fikar
Defending the Transgressed
September 29, 2005
A Fatwa According to the Madhhab of Imam Shafi’e by the Oxford-based Malaysian jurist, Shaykh Muhammad Afifi Al-Akiti
This fatwa was written in response to the strife and troubles afflicting the Community of Muslims, and humanity at large, in our age, day in and day out. Stress and confusion have been created by Muslims who, intentionally or not, have misinterpreted the legal discussions on warfare in Islamic Law. They set them outside their proper contexts and abuse them, turning them into justifications for their hate-inspired crimes.
The key Islamic concepts and rules pertaining to the conduct of war and its jurisprudence, its arena and boundaries, and the subject of suicide bombings and the reckless targeting of civilians have probably never been presented in English with such depth, clarity of thought, and breadth of scholarship in Muslim Law.
Clear, concise, authoritative.
Read this fatwa and tell all your friends about it
Title: Defending the Transgressed By Censuring the Reckless Against the Killing of Civilians
Author: Shaykh Muhammad Afifi Al-Akiti, with an Introduction by Shaykh Gibril Haddad
17 Bad Traits, 1 Lifetime to Cure Them
August 22, 2005
The Sufi Science of Self-Realization: A Guide to the 17 Ruinous Traits, The 10 Steps to Discipleship, 6 Realities of the Heart
From the moment I picked up the book and flipped to Mahmoud Shelton’s* Preface, I had the beginnings of the sense that this was no ordinary book.
The ruinous traits within us all are described in this book. Who needs to know this? Well, everyone. No one is safe from these traits and everyone is obliged to try to rid himself or herself of these traits.
I think its also worth mentioning that the book is very well-structured and can thus be approached by almost anyone, including those who are otherwise unfamiliar with this branch of Islamic knowledge.
Title: The Sufi Science of Self-Realization
Author: Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
*Mahmoud Shelton wrote the book, ‘Alchemy in Middle-Earth: The Significance of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings’.
To Succeed, Don’t Plan
August 15, 2005
The main theme of the Book of Illumination is ‘desisting from selfish calculation’. The rather awkward phrase, ’selfish calculation’ is a translation of the concept of administrating/arranging for one’s self.
Shaykh Ibn Ata Illah al-Iskandari talks about the ego’s disposition for self-calculation, anxiety and worry. With intricate arguments, logic and rhetoric — all infused with Islamic principles from the Quran and Sunnah — he coaxes the reader to reflect upon the futility of self-calculation. Self-calculation is, at best, self-delusion as the Shaykh reminds us that God has been arranging our affairs from before we came to be. Self-calculation, or our belief that we can arrange our affairs in any meaning way, is actually detrimental to our physical and spiritual well-being.
It has to be said that this book is not about radical asceticism or about being fatalistic. It is about checking our persistent ego-centric tendencies, such as greed, hoarding, self-interest, vanity, etc. This ‘checking’ is an important area of study within traditional Islamic Spirituality. It is especially relevant now when the ‘un-checked’ habit of acquisition, consumerism and egotism is couched in newspeak as ‘market-forces’, ‘progress’ and ‘freedom’. In a sense, this book goes to first principles and that is, our Ego’s desire to plan for itself, unchecked, without a second thought towards the Creator.
We also compartmentalize things around us. We view our work, religion, affiliations as separate compartments. In this way, we do not see the disharmony in being at once a pious muslim and an unethical executive. Perhaps it is this disharmony that has made us find little solace in worship and has led to a slew of problems that are outwardly manifested in depression, anxiety, insomnia and marital instability. If this is happening at the individual level, can you imagine the ramifications on the society as a whole?
The Book of Illumination makes the case, with evidence and argument, that desisting from selfish calculation is vital for our spiritual healing and growth. At the same time, it gives us advice on living and working in this world, without unduly attaching our hearts to it. Our hearts are to be content with God and His calculation, then perhaps, there may grow in our hearts — illumination.
Title: The Book of Illumination
Author: Shaykh Ibn Ata Illah Al-Iskandari
Knowledge and Wisdom — Mini-review
June 15, 2005
Information, knowledge, then wisdom. These are the three stages through which the rational mind progresses. Modern man hardly looks to religion as a source of knowledge and wisdom in this age of technical prowess. Information has become commodity, knowledge is a means to a better economy, and wisdom has been reduced to catchphrases in bite-sized morsels by the media. This is not to say that the information, knowledge and wisdom of this world is worthless, that is not what is meant. Rather, the life-to-come is so immeasurably important and so devastating real that ignoring it is, in the words of Imam al-Haddad, “extreme foolishness”.
In this book, the Imam characteristically imparts sincere and practical advice to those yearning for meaning in their lives.
Title: Knowledge & Wisdom
Author: Imam Abdullah ibn Alawi al-Haddad
Translator: Mostafa al-Badawi
