Expressions in the Qur’an and in the sayings of the Prophet should not be isolated from their whole context. Doing that means that their general purpose is obscured. In the later period of Islam, jurists, as well as theologians and Sufis, did this in order to extract what they wanted to extract from the texts… Continue reading Expressions in the Qur’an and Sunnah
A Condition for the Mustaftī and a Condition for the Muftī
Yesterday, I wrote an article under the title “Taqlīd.” It was found very useful not only by Muslims of the subcontinent but also by those in Europe and America. Some friends expressed the intention to publish it separately. Wa’l-ḥamdu lillāh ʿalā dhālik. In this context, the perceptive scholar Mawlānā Muḥyī al-Dīn Ghāzī posed an important… Continue reading A Condition for the Mustaftī and a Condition for the Muftī
If someone wishes to take your shirt, let him have your cloak as well
One of the well-known wise admonitions of ʿĪsā ʿalayhi al-salām is: “And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well” (Gospel of Matthew 5:40). In the same sense is another of his counsels: “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”… Continue reading If someone wishes to take your shirt, let him have your cloak as well
A Letter: The Tale of My Student Days at the Nadwah
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم My dear one, You asked a simple question that, like a sudden spring upon an autumn-stripped tree, flung open the closed shutters of my heart: what were my days as a student like? Is it really true that we lived for knowledge day and night, heedless of sleep, food and comfort?… Continue reading A Letter: The Tale of My Student Days at the Nadwah
Richard M. Weaver’s Famous Book Ideas Have Consequences
During my recent journey to America (September 2025), I had the opportunity, at the invitation of Dr Abu Zayd in New Jersey, to speak directly on Kitāb al-Ḥiyal of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. At the outset of that lecture, I explained the relationship between the lafẓ (word), maʿnā (meaning) and ḥaqīqah (reality), and clarified the distinction between… Continue reading Richard M. Weaver’s Famous Book Ideas Have Consequences
The Method of Teaching Arabic Language and Literature
Our esteemed colleague, Mawlānā Ṣafwān Aḥmad Ḥalīmī Qāsimī, has asked what is the correct method for teaching Arabic language and literature. The Arabic language is not merely a collection of words; it is the cradle of civilisation and thought. It is the language in which the Qurʾān was revealed, without which access to the true… Continue reading The Method of Teaching Arabic Language and Literature
Balancing Confidence and Humility in Serving the Dīn
A student’s questions My student, a sincere seeker of knowledge and dedicated teacher, Nilofer Ahmadi, wrote to me: Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh, dear Ustadh. Please take your time in responding, as I know your time is very precious. May Allah جل جلاله accept all of your efforts for His dīn and place abundant… Continue reading Balancing Confidence and Humility in Serving the Dīn
Who Are You?
You say that with but a single gesture of yours lamps are extinguished, lanterns go dark, stars hide themselves, the moon vanishes into eclipse, the sun sets, the earth is plunged into darkness and the dominion of gloom prevails. But if you had lit the lamps, kindled a light, protected the flames from the winds,… Continue reading Who Are You?
Cold is Cold and Heat is Heat
The history of humankind is such that in every age of reason we have invented chains of the scaffold and the gallows. From the early days of schooling until graduation from Nadwah, in the hours devoted to composition and essay writing, we were made to write on many worn-out topics. These topics were generally uninteresting,… Continue reading Cold is Cold and Heat is Heat
The Origin of “Kāhil”
Professor Mushīr Ṣāḥib, of Lucknow University (may God preserve him), wrote the following query: al-salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmat Allāhi wa barakātuh. I hope that you and your family are well, and, as usual, engaged in religious and scholarly pursuits. May Allah, exalted is He, grant you long life with health and strength. Doctor Ṣāḥib! One… Continue reading The Origin of “Kāhil”