An-Nawawi: Aqeedah and Works October 11, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in Hadith, Islam.Tags: Jamaal Zarabozo
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Aqeedah
An-Nawawi never wrote a book on aqeedah. His aqeedah may, however, be derived from his commentary on Sahih Muslim.
When talking about difference of aqeedah, at least from what I noted in the chapter, the author is referring to the Names and Attributes of Allah subhaana wa ta’aala. Whatever Allah and His Messenger have said about Allah’s Attributes is accepted and true; without needing to reinterpret. Reinterpretation is known as ta’weel. For example, interpreting “Allah’s Hand” to mean His Power or Mercy would be ta’weel. Allah says He has a Hand, therefore, we believe that He has a Hand. wAllahu ‘Alam (Allah knows best).
An-Nawawi made ta’weel in his commentary of Sahih Muslim, but it would seem that An-Nawawi (more…)
An-Nawawi: The Life October 7, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in Hadith, Islam.Tags: 40 hadith An-Nawawi
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We can learn a lot by looking at the lives of the pious predecessors. They should be our role models and the ones we strive to immitate. I personally love to read about the companions, scholars and prophets. Their stories are so uplifting and really make me feel shameful for how much time I waste and the life I live. Their examples are such an inspiration for Muslims everywhere.
Their examples demonstrate that in every age, there were pious Muslims who followed the way of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam without compromise and without giving into the desires of this world.
A lot of the time, I think we tend to see scholars and companions as in a far off world, as if they lived in a Eutopic world in which they didn’t have to face the real life problems that we face. On the contrary, I believe that their problems were far worse than ours.
The author says that he kept the chapter on the Imam’s life brief, but it’s 40+ pages long, mashaAllah! And worth reading every letter Alhamdulillah 
I split the chapter on the Imam’s life into three parts: his life, his aqeedah and works, and lastly his bravery (which I believe are mostly stories of him standing up for justice to the rulers). A lot of it is just taken straight from the book, because his life was so amazing, I just didn’t want to leave anything out
An-Nawawi: The Life
Background and Childhood
An-Nawawi lived during very turbulent times for the Muslims. In the 7th Century after Hijra (or 11th century A.C), the Mongols were invading the Muslims from the East and the Crusaders from the West. Despite these difficult times, the scholars of Islam kept the light of Islamic knowledge strong. Noor al-Deen Zanki (d. 569) revived Islamic studies in Ash-Shaam (“Greater Syra”). He opened many schools, including the first Dar al-Hadith in Damascus, Aleppo.
His name was Muhi al-Deen Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Hizaami al-Nawawi.
Muhi al-Deen means (more…)
Mama, I’m waiting for you in Jannah October 7, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in AlMaghrib, Awesome Lectures, Pregnancy and Children, Women and Islam.add a comment
I was soooo happy to see that someone would be doing a lecture for sisters (and brothers) who have had to lose a child. I personally know a few sisters who have had to go through a miscarriage…inshaAllah this will be what they have been waiting to hear.
You have to sign up for it, because they have limited seating, so hurry!
UPDATE: audio available here.
Discovering Mars October 5, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in Marriage, Women and Islam.Tags: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
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I figure writing about Martians would make sense as they are the ones I want to understand 
One thing I repeatedly hear from my husband is that just because he is quiet does not mean he’s ignoring me. When I talk and he doesn’t reply or even acknowledge that I’ve spoken, that is a good thing. Why? Because martians are Mr. Fix Its.
Let me explain. On Mars, power, efficiency, competency and achievements are valued.
Their sense of self is defined by their ability to achieve results.
Men are more interested in objects and things rather than people and feelings. For example, while a woman may fantasize about (more…)
The 40 Hadith of An-Nawawi (Intro) October 4, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in Hadith.Tags: Sunnah
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We just moved recenlty, alhamdulillah. Today I was unpacking my hubby’s very nice mini Islamic library in search of An-Nawawi’s 40 hadith. I just realized how many many books I really need to read…O_o
The one I’m reading is this 3 volume set by Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo. InshaAllah for my own benefit (and others’!) I’ll be putting up each hadith in English and what gems I gained from it.
This intro includes the 2 introductions at the beginning of the book (by Dr. Jaafar Sheikh Idrees and Dr. Zarabozo).
Bismillah.
An-Nawawi’s 40 hadith are known to be amongst the most important sayings of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa salam. The book is well known by all Muslims – who hasn’t heard of Imam An-Nawawi? These ahadith are considered to be some of the most comprehensive and important hadith for the individual Muslim.
Allah willing, if a Muslim truly understands them and implements them, then the path to Paradise will be made easy for him.
The Prophet’s speech was very special. He sallallahu ‘alayhi wa salam said so much in very few words. His words had a lot of depth. The layman (you and I) may be unable or unqualified, often, to derive meaning from his words, and that is why it is so important for us to read such scholarly works as this one. Many of the ahaadeeth (which is just the plural of “hadith”) can only be understood in context of other ahaadeeth and ayaat of the Qur’an. Have you ever just randomly opened up Bukhaari and read a hadith? (more…)
Men are from Mars October 1, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in Marriage, Women and Islam.1 comment so far
They really are. They don’t have a clue as to what goes on down here on earth
Oh, ahem, sorry. On Venus.
I finally started to read the book, as per my hubby’s requests. He seemed to be the relationship guru when we got married – he knew what to say, what to do, and when. What shocked me most, probably, was that he knew how to react to tears. I thought tears freaked out all guys, but not Azeem! Later on, when I asked him how he knew, he said that he read up on it. So for all those brothers out there married, single, about to get married, still looking — READ! Your wife will appreciate it.
One of the books which helped him was the oh so famous Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Even though we’ve been married almost 4 years, I have just recently heeded his begging me to read the book.
So inshaAllah I’ll be putting up a short series on the amazing bits of advice I got from the book (hopefully without too much input on my part ) If you can, READ THE BOOK. I’m just putting this up in hopes of getting others to read and also to get brownie points from the hubby (I’m only half-kidding 
)
As you can guess from the title, this book is all about how men and women are from different planets 
That should not have a negative connotation in our minds, though. We can be different without one being better than the other or one being victimized by the other. We’re just different; Allah made us that way! We are different in many aspects – from the way we communicate, to the way we think, feel, perceive, react, love, appreciate….
We shouldn’t try to resist or change our differences; just understand that they are.
Problems are inevitable in relationships. It’s not like it’s always going to be hearts and butterflies (unless you’re a newly wed… ) It’s easy to love someone when everything is going smooth. When there is tension in your relationship, it’s truly tried. How we deal with our arguements and problems is what will either enrich our relatonships or ruin them. This book will help us understand the opposite gender and give practical tips on how to deal with situations.
inshaAllah
Section 4: Men’s Clothing September 20, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in AlMaghrib.Tags: men's awrah, Precious Provisions, Yasir Qadhi
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Precious Provisions
taught by Yasir Qadhi
‘Awrah
What is a Man’s ’Awrah?
This is regarding the man’s ‘awrah in front of other men, and not during salah. There are two opinions on this matter. (more…)
Section 4: ‘Awrah September 17, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in AlMaghrib, Islam.Tags: Islam, Precious Provisions, Yasir Qadhi
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Precious Provisions
taught by Yasir Qadhi
‘Awrah
What is ‘Awrah?
Awrah comes from the Arabic word ‘aara, which means to criticize or find fault. Awrah is that which people would criticize if you were to expose. It is something which you are embarrassed to tell others about, or your deficiencies. Of course, when we apply it in Islamic sciences, we are talking about our physical awrah.
Hayaa` is a Branch of Imaan
Bahz ibn Hakim asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what are we allowed to show of our ‘awrah?” He replied, “Guard your ‘awrah except with your wife or your right hand possession.” I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what if the people are tightly congested?” He said, “If you are able to hide it such that no one is able to see, then do so.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah! What if we are alone?” He replied, “Allah has more right that you be ashamed of Him than other people.” [At-Tirmidhi]
The only person you can show your ‘awrah to without any restriction is your spouse.
Another very important thing to note from this hadith: the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that you should be more shy of Allah. You should not walk around naked even when you are alone also because it causes you to be shameless. Such actions are also disrespectful to Allah.
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Prophet (may peace be upon him) said: Iman has over seventy branches, and modesty is a branch of Iman. [Muslim, 1/55]
A Perfect Ruling
The concept of ‘awrah varied from place to place and civilization to civilization. Allah did not place a very strict rule on the nations before us, in particular the laws (more…)
Mommy, wow, I’m a big kid now! September 17, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in Pregnancy and Children.Tags: potty training, toddlers
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This one is for you, Areej lol and Apsari
I didn’t think it was a very big deal that Ibraheem was potty trained. He’s going to be 3 in November. Actually, I thought becoming potty trained at 2 years and about 4 months was late. Especially considering how much effort I put into trying to Infant Potty Train him. It did work…as long as he stayed an infant The moment he started to crawl/walk…boom! All that hard work, out the door…
It’s not really their fault; they’re just so caught up in exploring and discovering that their limbs can take them places that they couldn’t care less whether or not they have a wet diaper.
Once Ibraheem hit two, I kicked back into trying to potty train him. It was a particularly difficult struggle for me, because I had just had my second - Khadeejah. But once that rough patch of adjusting to two babies passed, my husband told me to just leave Ibraheem in his underwear for a few days.
That did it. I think the biggest thing that accomplished was getting me to kick into I-mean-business mode. I couldn’t just have him peeing all over the carpet; it was too much hassle to clean!
A few things that helped: (more…)
Section 3: Chemical Changes & Gelatin September 14, 2009
Posted by ummibraheem in AlMaghrib, Islam.Tags: gelatin, halaal, haraam, istihaala, Precious Provisions, Yasir Qadhi
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Precious Provisions
taught by Yasir Qadhi
Section 3: Miscellaneous Issues
Chemical Changes (Istihaala)
We are going to mention a few issues here that are often forgotten in the books of halaal and haraam, such as the issue of alcohol in food or gelatin.
If you change something that is haram chemically so that it is not the same, is it pure? There are two opinions:
- Malikis, Shafi’ees and Hambalis: It does NOT become pure, except in two circumstances:
- Tanning in leather, using dead animals.
- Wine changing to vinegar by itself. Vinegar is a byproduct of wine. That is why wine is always sealed with that cork – otherwise it’ll become vinegar over time.
In Sahih Muslim, the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “What a good condiment is vinegar.” [Muslim] That shows that it is halal.
These scholars said that the vinegar was allowed as long as it happened by accident, not when someone purposely made it vinegar. The reason they said this, they may have said this so that Muslims wouldn’t get into the business of wine. FYI: Red Wine Vinegar will tnbe haraam, unless the wine was added to it. The reason it says “Red wine vinegar” is because the red wine was the intermediate state before becoming vinegar.
- Hanafi, Dhahiri, ibn Taymiyyah, every single Muslim body of scholars at this time[1]: Chemical changes do purify.
- What happens to a dead body? It decomposes and becomes fertilizer. We know najas becomes tahir for a fact now.
- What gives you the right of making vinegar and leather exceptions? That is the rule. The very fact that a chemical change has occurred and we can use those things shows that any chemical change can make najas tahir.
- The change of the name. How can you apply the ruling? Allah prohibited pig, but He didn’t forbid the fertilizer that comes from it.
Bottom line when dealing with products that come from najas sources (more…)
