Al-Manخool
Reading Group
Purpose
With many people at home with family, flatmates or on their own, we know that seeking knowledge is encouraged in Islam and something we should incorporate into our daily lives. Staying socially connected, and keeping your regular reading group meetings in your diary, is going to be very important in keeping up morale, Iman and supporting everyone’s mental health as we adjust to an Islamic way of living.
This is a great initiative to catch up with the Muslim community in the UK as we will be hosting regular reading sessions of selected Islamic books for non-Arabic speakers.
حHadeeth of the Month
Abud-Darda' (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "If three men in a village or in the desert, make no arrangement for Salat in congregation, Satan must have certainly overcome them. So observe Salat in congregation, for the wolf eats up a solitary sheep that stays far from the flock." [Abu Dawud].
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin, Chapter 191 : The Excellence of Performing Salat (Prayers) in Congregation
We're Reading...
Fiqh Us-Sunnah (I - V) (Arabic: فقه السنة) by the Egyptian scholar al-Sayyid Sabiq (1915-2000) is a book that is recommended to all Muslims and every Muslim household. In a 1 volume, the work offers opinions from the different Islamic law schools, judging each opinion objectively on its merits, going back to the Qur'an and Sunnah. An encyclopaedia to refer to when one has doubts on the practice of Islamic acts and faith. InshaAllah will put a definite stop to unnecessary misunderstandings, arguments and debates.
Shaykh al-Albani made some notes on the Fiqh us-Sunnah (of course there are some weak Hadiths which can be expected as usual from the shaykh) which can be read from here.
Al-'Aqida al-Tahawiyya (Arabic: العقيدة الطحاوية) or bayān 'ittiqād ahl al-sunnah wal jamā'ah (Arabic: بيان اعتقاد أهل السنة والجماعة) is a popular exposition of Sunni Muslim doctrine written by the tenth-century Egyptian theologian and Hanafi jurist Abu Ja'far Ahmad at-Tahawi.
Miscellaneous Topics From Previous Sessions
Are non-Muslims allowed inside mosques?
What is Qullah?
Are hyenas cats or dogs?
Is recycled water ritually pure?
The BIG question: who are Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah?
What is I'ilm al-Kalaam?
What is the difference between jurisprudence schools and factions?
Shaykh Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albanī's (1914 – October 2, 1999) methodology of Hadith authentication
The Madhab of Ahlul Hadith vs the four other Madhabs
Deductive vs inductive reasoning in Islamic Aqeedah
On the "Reduction to absurdity" (Latin: "Reductio ad absurdum") in Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Hanifah debates against atheists
Application of Hadith authentication process to the Bible
Can we criticize our rulers openly?
Is atheism based on science or deniance?
Chapters We Have Read
Rainwater, snow and hail are considered pure because Allah says (in Anfal:11):
وَيُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً لِّيُطَهِّرَكُم
Wayunazzilu AAalaykum mina alssamai maan liyutahhirakum.
And sent down water from the sky to cleanse you.
and again Allah says (in Al-Furqan:48)
وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً طَهُورًا
Waanzalna mina alssamai maan tahooran.
We send down pure water from the sky.
Sea Water is deemed pure as per the hadith of Abu Hurairah (Radi Allahu `anhu- رضي الله عنهم) that a man asked the Prophet (Sallallahou Alayhe Wasallam (SAW)) "O Messenger of Allah, we sail on the ocean and we carry only a little water. If we use it for ablution, we will have to go thirsty. May we use sea water for ablution?" The prophet (SAW) replied, "Its (the sea) water is pure..." (Al-Bukhari says it is grades this hadith Sahih )
Zamzam Water is pure as per the hadith narrated by Ali (Radi Allahu `anhu) the Prophet SAW called for a bucket that contained water from the well of Zamzam. He drank from it and then made ablution with it (this hadith is related by Ahmad).
“Leftover water” is what remains in a pot after some has been drunk. There are five different types of leftover water as follows:
Water leftover after people have drunk from the pot is considered pure regardless of whether the one who drank from the pot was a Muslim, an unbeliever, a person in post-sex impurity or a menstruating woman.
Although Allah says in the Qur'an, "Verily, the idol worshippers are impure" (at-Taubah), this is a reference not to their physical state, but to their false beliefs and creed. They may come into contact with dirt or impurities, but this does not mean that their possessions or bodies are impure. In fact, they used to mix with the Muslims. Their emissaries and delegations used to visit the Messenger of Allah and enter his mosque. The Prophet (Sallallahou Alayhe Wasallam ﷺ ) did not order that the objects they touched be cleansed. As for menstruating women, 'Aishah said, "I used to drink (from a container) while I was menstruating. I would then pass it to the Messenger of Allah and he would drink from the same spot where I had put my lips." (related by Muslim.)
IMPURITIES (Najasah) Najasah refers to impure substances that the Muslim must avoid and wash off if they should happen to contaminate his clothes, body and so on. Says Allah in the Qur'an, “Purify your raiment" (al- Mudathar: 4); and, “Allah loves those who repent and who purify themselves" (al-Baqarah: 222). The Messenger of Allah also said, "Purity is half of the faith."...read more