Hikma 182

With Sheikh Muhammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān Al-Būṭī, may Allah have mercy on him

تسبق أنوار الحكماء أقوالهم

فحيثما صار التنوير وصل التعبير

Courtesy of the Naseem Al Sham Channel.

The Creation of Man and Evolution Theory

By Sheikh Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān Al-Būṭī, may Allah have mercy on him, from his book Kubrā Al-Yaqīniyyāt Al-Kawniyyah

Alhamdulilah, the full section is now available in English and can be read and downloaded from the English Naseem Al-Sham site. Please scroll to the bottom to access the PDF version.

And with Allah alone is every success.

UPDATE: This translation is now available here.

An Important Announcement from the Family of the Great Scholar and Martyr

A translation of this announcement from Naseem Al-Sham:

 

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful

            The Ummah of Islam has suffered an immense loss, and we have suffered especially due to the loss of our master and teacher, the great scholar, Dr Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān Al-Būṭī, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him, who was martyred, and along with him his grandson Aḥmad and fifty students of knowledge, on the night of Friday,[1] the 10^th of Jumād Al-Awal, 1434 AH.

            First of all, for our part, we remember the families and children of these sincere brethren who accepted nothing but to attain the honour of companionship and martyrdom, and they are from the minority that stayed firm despite the circumstances that our blessed land is suffering under. Likewise, we ask Allah to heal and restore to health those who have been wounded and afflicted, and they are greater in number.

            We thank all the loving and sincere brethren who have offered their condolences and consoled us with regards to our loss, from within Syria and without.

            However, our first and last consolation is that the great scholar and his companions ascended to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in a gathering that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, described as, as related in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: “No people gather in one of the houses of Allah reciting the Book of Allah and studying it amongst themselves except that tranquillity transcends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them and Allah mentions them to those with Him.”

   

            The great scholar and martyr has attained martyrdom in the most magnificent of ways: in the miḥrāb of one of Allah’s houses while accompanied by students of knowledge who were studying the Book of Allah amongst themselves. When the wretch from amongst the wretched had blown himself up, shortly after the explosion the masjid was overcome with intense darkness while the great scholar and martyr remained sitting, undaunted, with his enlightened face like the full moon on the chair of teaching, embracing the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and sealing his life with the words: ‘O Allah.’

            Engraved on his face was a smile of pleasure to be meeting Allah the Exalted, and his blessed body remained tender and fresh as if he were sleeping until the time came to wash him, which was carried out by a group of loving and sincere people from amongst the people of knowledge. Meanwhile, his warm blood drained from a wound in his body up until the time in which he was buried.

            Indeed on this occasion, we decisively negate the lies that are being spread by a channel that is known near and far for lying and falsehood, and we make it absolutely clear that the virtuous scholar and martyr does not have any sons or daughters in Turkey. Likewise, we negate that any one of his sons, daughters or grandchildren have made any statement accusing the Syrian regime, and especially for the channel whose dubious background, along with its agents and lies, the great scholar and martyr warned tirelessly against.

            Whoever examines the internet will realise who was spewing threatening and menacing words towards the great scholar and martyr and who was inciting the killing of scholars, and are now gloating over the martyrdom of the great scholar. 

            Our sheikh, our master, our teacher: you lived well and you have died well… we ask Allah the Exalted to gather us with you and with our grandfather, Sheikh Mulla Ramaḍān Al-Būṭī, under the banner of the master of creation, our master Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

The Family of the Great Scholar and Martyr

30/03/2013

19 Jumād Al-Awal, 1434

This translation is also available on the English Naseem Al-Sham site.

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[1] (tn): please note that an Islamic day starts after sunset

The Life and Passing of the Imam, the Martyr, Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān Al-Būṭī

A short dars about the life of Imam  Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān Al-Būṭī in honour of his great contributions to this Ummah, following his martyrdom the day before.

Dars given by Al-Hajj Abu Ja'far Al-Hanbali

Venue: The Lote Tree Intstitute (معهد السدرة), Nottingham
Date: Friday, 11th Jumad ul-Uwla, 1434AH
Time: 19:00 - 21:00

Courtesy of the Reasons for Faith Channel.

Our Beloved Sheikh

A translation of this announcement from Naseem Al-Sham:

We remember our sheikh, our master, our beloved, our grandfather, the crown of our scholars:

“From the believers are men who are true to what they have covenanted with Allah; some of them have fulfilled their vow through death and some of them are still waiting, and they have not altered in the least.” [Al-Aḥzāb 33:23]

Yesterday evening (Thursday), during his jihād of conveying knowledge to his students at a time in which most scholars are refraining from this mission, in Masjid Al-Īmān in Damascus, our sheikh, our master, our beloved, our grandfather and the crown of the scholars, the great and virtuous scholar, Ustādh Dr Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān Al-Būṭī, was martyred, may Allah have mercy on him, when a wretch from amongst the wretched blew himself up amongst students of knowledge who were gathered attentively around the sheikh, listening to his tafsīr of Allah the Exalted’s statement: 

“Indeed those who disbelieve will not be benefitted in the slightest by their wealth and their children against Allah. They are the rightful inhabitants of the Fire and they shall remain therein forever.” [Āl-ʿImrān 3:116]

Martyred along with him were approximately fifty students of knowledge, including his grandson Ahmad, in a gathering that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, described by saying: “No people gather in one of the houses of Allah reciting the Book of Allah and studying it amongst themselves except that tranquillity transcends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them and Allah mentions them to those with Him.” Narrated by Muslim.

His pure body will be taken from Al-Jamiʿ Al-Ummawī after Ẓuhr prayers tomorrow (Saturday, 23/03/2013) and he will be buried in Bāb Al-Ṣaghīr graveyard.

We hope that they are all granted martyrdom, a good end and the companionship of the righteous, and we especially mention:

My brother Muḥammad Saʿīd Marwān Sakāf and my brother Usāma ʿAbdur Raḥmān Al-Murābiṭ from our website staff at Naseem Al-Sham.

Book Release: The Book of the Lawful and The Unlawful

Alhamdulilah, a translation of Imam Al-Ghazali's Kitāb Al-Ḥalāl wa Al-Ḥarām is now available. Please click here for further details. The book is also available from Firdous Books and Wardah Books.

Gun Control?

For a Muslim take on this controversial topic, this article comes highly recommended.

One should also note what Imam ʿAbdur Raḥmān Ibn Khaldūn says in his Muqaddima[1]:

5. Bedouins are more disposed to courage than sedentary people.

The reason for this is that sedentary people have become used to laziness and ease. They are sunk in well-being and luxury. They have entrusted defense of their property and their lives to the governor and ruler who rules them, and to the militia which has the task of guarding them. They find full assurance of safety in the walls that surround them, and the fortifications that protect them. No noise disturbs them, and no hunting occupies them. They are carefree and trusting, and have ceased to carry weapons. Successive generations have grown up in this way of life. They have become like women and children, who depend upon the master of the house. Eventually, this has come to be a quality of character that replaces natural (disposition).

The Bedouins, on the other hand, live separate from the community. They are alone in the country and remote from militias. They have no walls and gates. Therefore, they provide their own defense and do not entrust it to, or rely upon others for it. They always carry weapons. They watch carefully all sides of the road. They take hurried naps only when they are together in company or when they are in the saddle. They pay attention to every faint barking and noise. They go alone into the desert, guided by their fortitude, putting their trust in themselves. Fortitude has become a character quality of theirs, and courage their nature. They use it whenever they are called upon or an alarm stirs them. When sedentary people mix with them in the desert or associate with them on a journey, they depend on them. They cannot do anything for themselves without them. This is an observed fact. (Their dependence extends) even to knowledge of the country, the (right) directions, watering places, and crossroads. The reason for this is the thing we have explained. At the base of it is the fact that man is a child of the customs and the things he has become used to. He is not the product of his natural disposition and temperament.The conditions to which he has become accustomed, until they have become for him a quality of character and matters of habit and custom, have re­placed his natural disposition. If one studies this in human beings, one will find much of it, and it will be found to be a correct (observation).

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[1] Chapter 2, Section 5. The entire book, translated by Franz Rosenthal, can be read here: http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ik/Muqaddimah/. Points that should be considered have been underlined.

I, Pencil

How the market works

A Daily Wird

Question:

My beloved doctor and teacher, Sheikh Muḥammad Saʿīd, may Allah keep him firm upon the truth, can you please give me – briefly – a daily wird of adhkār that I can observe in order to rectify myself and another wird that the family can gather together for? How nice it would be if it were the same awrād as your father, may Allah have mercy on him.

Answer (Sheikh Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān Al-Būṭī):[1]

The awrād that my father stuck with and advised others to do were the following: seeking Allah’s forgiveness (astaghfirullah) one hundred times before Fajr, the shahāda of la ilāha illa Allah one hundred times after Fajr, glorification (tasbīḥ) by saying subḥān Allah wa biḥamdihi Subḥān Allah al-ʿAẓīm one hundred times,[2] sending prayers upon the Messenger of Allah (Allahumma ṣallī ʿalā Rasūlillah) one hundred times, and reciting the wird of Imam Al-Nawawī[3] every morning along with reciting whatever he could from the Qurʾān.[4]

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[1] Translator’s note (tn): The original Arabic of this fatwā can he found on www.naseemalsham.com and a copy of this translation can be found on the English version of that website. The source for the image is here.

[2] (tn): i.e. after Fajr before sunrise and before sunset, due to the āya in Sūrat Ṭaha (20:130): “So be patient with what they say and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the sun and before its setting. And glorify Him during part of the night and at both ends of the day, so that hopefully you will be pleased.”

[3](tn): An authentic copy of this wird can be found here while the translation, transliteration and sanad can be found here.  It should be noted that one does not need an ījāza, or license, from a sheikh to read this wird. Sheikh Al-Būṭī was asked in this fatwā:

May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you. Our distinguished sheikh, would you please be so kind as to grant myself and my family a license (ījāza) for the wird of Imam Al-Nawawī and explain when and how it should be read? May Allah reward you.

Answer (Sheikh Ramaḍān Al-Būṭī):

Indeed Imam Al-Nawawī did not obligate the reader of this wird of his to take an ījāza from him in order to have permission to do so, nor did he authorise me or anyone else to grant this ījāza that you are requesting of me. Despite that, here I am advising every brother of mine for the sake of Allah to persistently read this wird due to the innumerable blessings that it contains.

A copy of this translation can be found here.

[4] (tn) These would include Sūrat Yā Sīn in the morning and Al-Wāqiʿah and Al-Mulk in the evening. In addition to the abovementioned wird and adhkār, one should also read whatever one can from the Adhkār of Imam Al-Nawawī, as Sheikh Al-Būṭī has recommended in this fatwā, a translation of which, by Al-Hajj Abu Ja’far Al-Hanbali, can be found here as well as here. For further information on self-purification, please read Purifying the Soul.

Related Posts:
Recommended Adhkār for Friday

Beneficial Notes on Jawharat At-Tawḥīd

By Sheikh ʿAbdul As-Salām Shākir

Checked by Sheikh Adīb Al-Kallās
Lines 1-22

1.

الْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلَى صِلاتِهِ  ثُمَّ سَلامُ اللهِ مَعْ صَلاتِهِ

Praised be Allah for His gifts;

His blessings and peace be

2.

عَلَى نَبِيٍّ جَاءَ بِالتَّوْحِيْدِ   وَقَدْ خَلا الدِّيْنُ عَنِ التَّوْحِيْدِ

Upon a prophet who came with belief in the One God [tawḥīd]

when religion had become devoid of belief in the One God

In other words, we exalt our Master[1] and praise Him, He Who has blessed us with his gifts, followed by Allah’s salutations that are befitting of our master,[2] Muḥammad, may Allah’s prayers[3] and peace be upon him, along with His mercy – for indeed, ṣalāt from Allah is mercy, from the angels it is seeking forgiveness and from the believers it is entreaty and supplication – upon our master, Muḥammad, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him; as Allah sent him with the Pure Religion,[4] calling all those who are legally responsible[5] from amongst the thaqalayn[6] to the worship of Al-Wāḥid,[7] Al-Aḥad[8] at a time in which there were various false objects of worship and tawḥīd was absent. Tawḥīd means to single out the Object of Worship with worship while believing that He is One in His Essence, Attributes and Actions.

3.

فَأَرْشَدَ الخَلْقَ لِدِيْنِ الْحَقِّ  بِسَيْفِهِ وَهَدْيِهِ لِلْحَقِّ

He  guided Creation to the religion of The True Lord

By means of his sword and his guiding to the truth

In other words, our master, Muḥammad, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, guided[9] all of the thaqalayn and showed them the Dīn of Allah, which is affirmed and established by the Qurʾān, the Sunnah and the Muḥammadan light which illuminates hearts and minds. And it was also by means of the sword, which is the tool of jihād, since jihād is an obligation against the disbelievers who wage war against the Call to Islam.

4.

مُحَمَّدُ الْعَاقِبْ لِرُسْلِ رَبِّهِ  وَآلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَحِزْبِهِ

Muhammad, the last of his Lord’s Messengers

his family, his Companions and his party.

In other words, this is followed by the peace of Allah and His prayers upon a Prophet. He is Muḥammad, the last one, after whom there is no other Prophet. He is the seal of those sent and his Revealed Law abrogates all the Revealed Laws that came before him. ‘His family’ means every taqī[10] from amongst his Ummah when it is used in a general supplication.[11] ‘His Companions’ are those who gathered around him as believers and died in that state.[12] They are the best of the generations from the Ummah of our master, Muḥammad, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him. ‘His party’ are his group[13] and his followers, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him.