Bismi Llah…

as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu Llah, wa ba’du:

Presented to you, here, is a recording of this week’s Mawlid at Dar al-Mustafa [salla Llahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam]. It comprised of a moving speech on the effect of reminders and da’wah, as well as an insightful and succint yet comprehensive speech by al-Habib Kazim, followed by that of al-Habib ‘Umar b. Hafiz. Hafizahum Allahu jami’an.

Download HERE

was-salam

 

Bismi Llah, alhamduli Llah, wa salla Llahu wa sallama ‘ala rahmati Llah ‘l-muhdaah, wa ‘ala aalih wa man walaah,

as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu Llahi wa barakatuhu, wa ba’d:

By the tawfiq Allah, the recording for tonight’s mawlid is presented to you. It represents the culmination of a long period of travel for Habib ‘Umar, and the contents of the speech were striking for that reason amongst others. A translation will be in the pipe-line, in sha’ Allah.

Download MP3

was-salam

 

 

bismi Llah…

as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu Llahi wa barakatuh,

presented to you, here, is a recording of the mawlid which took place yesterday, at Dar al-Mustafa, comprising of recital of qasa’id as well as a speech by Habib ‘Umar b. Hafiz hafizahu Llah, available to download:

Download

was-salam

bismi Llah…

as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu Llah,

alhamduliLlah, wa salla Llahu wa sallama wa baraka ‘ala habibina wa Rasulina Muhammad, wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi tasliman kathiran ila yawmiy-yab’athuna al-Wahid al-Ahad, wa ba’du:

We cought, by the grace of Allah, a portion of the speeches delivered after yesterday’s Mawlid at Dar al-Mustafa salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, including those of Habib Husayn as-Saggaf, Habib Kazim as-Saggaf and Habib ‘Umar b. Hafiz, may Allah preserve them. We pray that you benefit from the recording, and that you keep us in your duas.

Download

was-salam

دواؤك فيك وما تشعر *** وداؤك منك وما تُبصر

و تحسب أنّك جرم صغير *** وفيك انطوى العالم الأكبر

الإمام علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام

Your cure is within you, yet you do not sense it!

Your sickness is from you, yet you do not see it!

You consider youself a small body;

Yet encapsulated within you is the entire universe!

Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (‘alayhi wa ‘ala nabiyyina as-salam)

– from Habib ‘Ali al-Jifri, on the importance of purifying one’s soul.

Bismi Llah…

as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu Llah,

The khulasah, as some may be aware, is a concise book of selected adhkar (litanies), to be recited at various stages throughout the day and week, compiled by Habib ‘Umar b. Hafiz. Existing prints do exist, though often these are without harakat (the signs above and beneath Arabic script), and in a script unfamilliar to many of us, particularly those of subcontinental origin.

A solution to this was devised, designed to enable those less familliar with Arab script, particularly those with heritage from the Indian subcontinent, to access the beautiful selection of Adhkar present in the Khulasah. Since the script utilised in virtually all the Qur’ans and other religious texts from the subcontinent was the mughal one, it was decided that the khulasah should too have a mughal scripted version.

This, of course, requires a professional calligrapher – and as many of us are aware, traditional arts such as calligraphy, due to the amount of time and effort put into them, do not come at a cheap price. We therefore need your help. Those involved have sent us a message, with the following information on the preferred method of donation:

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,

In response to the call of the Prophet, peace be upon him, ‘The best of deeds are those that are small but consistent.”

We are a group of brothers from the United Kingdom who are intending to put together a Mughal Script Khulasa that will in sha Allah serve the Muslim communities worldwide. The intention here is to first raise £4200 and then ask a specialist calligrapher in Pakistan to complete the first Mughal Script Khulasa.

Khulasa al-Madad al-Nabawi (The Essence of the Prophetic Support) is a book of duas, adhkar, awrad and qasa’id (spiritual odes) which are used in Tarim, Yemen. It is further read across the world by those who follow the Ba’Alawi tariqa (spiritual path) and by those who have no particular way but nevertheless follow the Prophetic methodology. The book has been compiled by Sayyidi al-Habib Umar b. Muhammad b. Hafiz (may Allah (Exalted is He)  help us to benefit from him). It is a book of Prophetic invocations that is read by Muslims to connect to Allah (Exalted is He) and the Prophet (upon him be peace and blessings) from the beginning to the end of the day.

The idea itself is simple; for a group of us to begin depositing into an account a small amount of money each week/month (as little as £5 a month), each of us would set this up as a standing order making the process efficient and easy to run. From this we can then develop our intentions of creating a Mughal Script Khulasa.

Details of the account are as follows;

Name; Ghafar Sher

Bank; Natwest

Sort code; 56-00-45

Account Number; 21947198

We ask that everybody finds at least three other people to sign up to this. For those who want to donate but not set up a standing order, you’re welcome to do this as well in sha Allah.  In addition, it would be appreciated if you could please contemporaneously submit an email to the following address khulasaproject@hotmail.co.uk and provide your name in full and how much you have kindly donated.

For those who require more information, please read the previous post. Also, feel free to contact us on khulasaproject@hotmail.co.uk

We thank you all for your willingness in wanting to spread good.

JazakAllah Khair

The Khulasa Project

For more information, see this.

was-salam

Bismi Llah…

as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu Llah,

This is the second installment of commentary on the primer in the Hanafi fiqh of worship, ‘Nur al-Idah’, based on the lessons of Shaykh Atabek an-Nasafi and the Maraqi al-Falah. Find the first installment here.

The primary topic covered in this installment corresponds with the chapter ‘On Purification of Wells’.

If one wishes for a larger, clearer and better formatted Arabic and English text, see the PDF version.

***

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

اَلْحَمْدُ للهِ ، وَصَلَّى اللهُ وَسَلَّمَ وَبَارَكَ عَلَى حَبِيْبِهِ الْمُصْطَفَى ، وَآلهِ الطَّاهِرِيْنَ الشُّرَفَاء

نُوْرُ الْاْيْضَاحِ – فَصْلٌ فِي اَحْكَامِ الآبَارِ وَتَطْهِيْرِهَا

Chapter: On the laws pertaining to wells, and their purification

Reasons for Removal of Water – from a Small Well

تنزح البئر الصغيرة بوقوع نجاسة وإن قلت من غير الأرواث كقطرة دم أو خمر

The small well has all its water withdrawn (in order to purify it), if a ritually filthy thing enters, regardless of the amount, and this includes even a drop of, for example, blood or ‘khamr’. However, [a small amount of] dung is an exception to the rule.

The verb ‘nazaHa’ refers to removal, as well as having connotations of ‘defending’. Here, the former meaning is intended. The reason for a small amount of dung being an exception to the rule will be discussed further on within this chapter.

وبوقوع خنزير ولو خرج حيا ولم يصب فمه الماء

[All the water will also have to be removed due to] the entrance of a pig, regardless if it left the well alive, and its mouth did not touch the water.

The reason the possibilities of ‘being removed alive’ and ‘the mouth not touching the water’ is due to this having a bearing on other types of animals, which are not filthy in and of themselves. Pigs are the exception, since they are filthy intrinsically.

وبموت كلب أو شاة أو آدمي فيها

 …and due to the death of a dog, sheep or human.

In these cases, the water only has to be removed if the animals died. The reason these three were mentioned in specific was due to their classes: dogs are examples of animals whose meat is haram; sheep are examples of animals whose meat is halal; and finally, this applies to humans.

وبانتفاخ حيوان ولو صغيرا

…and due to the bloating of an animal, regardless of its size.

Removing Water from Larger Wells

ومائتا دلو لو لم يمكن نزحها

If it is not possible to remove all the water (due to the size of the well), then 200 buckets of water must be removed.

The question which should always come to your mind would be pertaining to the definitions: in this case, the definition of a ‘large well’. It is the incapacity to remove all the water which defines the well as large, and thus a different ruling is taken.

As for the different ruling taken, ash-Shurumbalali, the author, asserts that 200 buckets of water are to be removed, and this was the position of Imam Muhammad. However, this is not the mu’tamad (relied-upon) position of the madh-hab. Imam Abu Hanifah – as you may recall from the earlier chapters – had a particular principle within his usul which stated that one could not specify a number for something which was not explicitly narrated from sayyiduna Rasulu Llah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa alihi wa sallam. Since the ‘200 buckets’ does not have a textual basis, Imam Abu Hanifah refused to assign it a number; instead, he was of the opinion that one would have to contact an expert who would estimate how much water had been affected by the filth, and one would have to remove that amount. Imam Abu Yusuf considered that one would have to remove exactly the amount affected by the filth – and this is to be done by creating another hole by the well, and observing how many buckets of water would fill it, removing that amount of buckets from the original well. The mu’tamad is either Abu Hanifah’s or Abu Yusuf’s opinion.

 وإن ماتت فيها دجاجة أو هرة أو نحوهما لزم نزح أربيعن دلوا

If a chicken, cat or something like that (of that size) dies, 40 buckets have to be (is wajib to be) removed.

وإن ماتت فيها فأرة أو نحوها لزم نزح عشرين دلوا

If a rat or other such animal dies, 20 buckets have to removed.

The mustahabb (recommended) number would be an additional 10, i.e. for a chicken, 50, and for a rat, 30.

وكان ذلك طهارة للبئر والدلو والرشاء ويد المستسقي

The well, bucket, rope and hand are all purified by this.

This is the opinion of Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad, and is the mu’tamad.

ولا تنجس البئر بالبعر والروث والخثي إلا إن يستكهره الناظر أو أن لا يخلو دلو عن بعرة

The well does not become filthy as a result of the dung of camels, horses, sheep, donkeys [and other common animals which freely roam about], except if a large amount is visible, or if every bucket’s worth is not free from a piece of the dung.

It was mentioned at the very beginning that the reasoning behind a small amount of dung not making the well filthy would be explained.

There are two conditions for something to be considered heavily filthy (najasah ghalidhah):

1)      That it be established by the Qur’an and Sunnah explicitly without any sort of contradiction – and this was Abu Hanifah’s position; or that it is agreed upon by the scholars – and this was the position of the sahibayn.

2)      That it be easy to avoid. . .

Since wells are often open holes on the ground, without any barrier as such, they are thus prone to the entrance of dung pieces as a result of the action of the wind. Thus, it would not fulfil the second condition, and hence does not necessitate the removal of the water from the well.

However, if the number of pieces of dung reach such an extent that many are visible or that every bucket load contains a piece, this indicates that more than just the natural action of the wind has occurred – e.g. it has been used to dump the pieces. That being the case, the second condition is indeed fulfilled, as such a situation could have been avoided. Hence, the ruling reverts back to its origin, and the water will have to be removed from the well.

ولا يفسد الماء بخرء حمام وعصفور

The water is also not made filthy if the excrement of a pigeon or sparrow.

Firstly, they are animals permissible to eat.

Secondly, although we have mentioned the two conditions for establishing najasah as ghalidhah, there are two separate conditions for establishing the excrement of birds as najasah ghalidhah:

1)      That the smell be strong

2)      That it be easy to avoid

If none of these conditions are fulfilled, it is not najasah (filth) at all; if one of these conditions is fulfilled, it is najasah khafifah (light najasah), and if both conditions are fulfilled, it is najasah ghalidhah (heavy najasah). The excrement of pigeons and sparrows do not fulfil these two conditions.

ولا بموت مالا دام له فيه كسمك وضفدع وحيوان الماء وبق وذباب وزنبور وعقرب

The water is also not made filthy by a presence of that which does not have blood flowing through it, such as the fish, the frog, aquatic creatures, mosquitos, flies, wasps and scorpions.

All these animals do not have blood, hence their death does not make the well filthy.

ولا بوقوع آدمي وما يؤكل لحمه إذا خرج حيا ولم يكن على بدنه نجاسة

…nor by the presence of a human, or an animal whose meat is permissible to eat, provided they come out alive, and there is no filth on their bodies.

In the case of the animal not coming out alive, its ruling will be discussed next.

ولا بوقوع بغل وحمار وسباع طير ووحش في الصحيح

…nor by the presence of a mule, donkey, predatory bird or any other wild/predator animal – according to the sound position.

This is the mu’tamad, though there is an opinion which states that wild animals make the well impure which is not relied-upon.

This is, again, providing they come out alive.

وإن وصل لعاب الواقع الى الماء أخذ حكمه

If the saliva (of that which has fallen in) touches the water, the water will take the ruling of what has fallen in.

Applying this principle, we would say that if a dog’s saliva had come into contact with the water, the water would become filthy due to the dog being filthy; similarly, if a sheep’s saliva came into contact with the water, it would remain pure due to the sheep being pure.

ووجود حيوان ميت فيها ينجسها من يوم وليلة

The presence of a dead animal in the well makes it filthy for the duration of one day and one night.

Thus, according to this opinion, a day’s worth of salah performed with wudu’ from this water would have to be repeated.

ومنتفخ من ثلاثة أيام و لياليها إن لم يعلم وقت وقوعه

If the dead animal present in the well was bloated, the water is ruled as filthy for the duration of three days and three nights – provided one does not know when [the death] occurred

The animal being bloated is an indication of the longer duration the animal has been dead for, in the water. One would repeat three days’ worth of salah if one made wudu’ from this water; if one washed his clothes using this water, he would have to wash them again.

The last two sentences from the Nur al-Idah, pertaining to the presence of a dead animal in the well, is typical of the mutun (primers) of our madh-hab – this particular opinion was that of Imam Abu Hanifah, as mentioned in the dhahir ar-riwayah, and the opinion found in all the mutun.

Imam Abu Hanifah’s reasoning was that the only way for a dead animal to appear in the well would be that it died in the well, and thus – out of caution (ihtiyatan), according to the author himself in his commentary of this work, Maraqi al-Falah – he ruled that the water would be considered impure for one day and night if not bloated and three days and nights if it was.

However, Imam Muhammad was of the opinion that nothing was obligatory unless one knew, for certain, exactly when the animal died in the well.

Imam Abu Yusuf was initially of the same opinion as Imam Abu Hanifah; he once, however, witnessed a crow carrying a mouse in its beak, and dropping it in a well. He thus adopted Imam Muhammad’s viewpoint.

The reason behind his change of mind was the very real possibility that the presence of a dead animal in a well may not be due to its death in the well – instead, it could have been dropped in the well by a bird, as Abu Yusuf witnessed. Since it is the death in the well which makes the water filthy, and one does not know for certain that this occurred, nothing would be obligatory upon the person – this was Imam Muhamamd’s opinion. This is also the mu’tamad, in Shaykh Atabek’s estimation. Imam ash-Shurumbalali, the author, mentions himself in his commentary that the position of Imam Abu Hanifah was out of caution, and he also mentions the position of the sahibayn.

***

was-salam

bismi Llah…

as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu Llah,

Attached are two documents, the first of which details the various practices and ad’iyyah for both the day of ‘Arafah, as well as the takbiraat of tashriq in anticipation of ‘Id. The second contains a dua spanning several-pages, in Arabic and English, by Habib ‘Umar for recital this year on the day of ‘Arafah — both documents are courtesy of Ustadh Amin Buxton, may Allah preserve him.

‘Arafat, ‘Id and Tashriq

Dua of ‘Arafah

was-salam

Bismi Llah…

as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu Llahi wa barakatuh,

No doubt, many will be aware of the ongoing political and social changes in the Middle East – and ‘changes’ is an understatement. In addition to the statement issued by al-Habib ‘Umar very early on, [regarding the role of scholars, and their neutrality, and in condemnation of the killing as well as the necessity to help in whatever way possible, keeping those injured in our duas], Habib gave a khutbah on the 30/09/11 at Jami’ ‘Umar, al-Mukalla. He gave comprehensive advice, covering the necessity of maintaining taqwa, begining from our hearts and manifesting in our leaving of the prohibitted, whether it was killing, using interest or any other violation of rights.

In the second khutbah, he gave us the basis upon which we interact with these changes. Reflect sincerely on these insights, and recognize their value! Read it here. What follows is the relevant excerpt:

Oh believers: Indeed, binding on us are numerous obligations, pertaining to the individual, the family, organizations, groups, citizens and rulers – young or old, male or female, yet they all interact with life in various ways. Verily, the established criteria – the criteria which can be applied to every minute detail*, of the young and old, of all those legally responsible – is the criteria of: “Then shall anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it.” (99:7-8)

It is indeed these criteria which inform us, precisely, of how we should act and interact, if we wish to support he who is oppressed, if we wish to advise the young or old, if we wish to make straight and put right something diverted. All of this is part and parcel of the way Allah deals with creation (sunnatu Llah), though it occurs via our will and power. We have the ability to do so, and [incumbent upon us is to do it] with excellence, a pure heart, and sincere truthfulness with The Most Merciful (ar-Rahman: Allah). As for with other than these qualities, then we shouldn’t be decieved by forms [without reality].

* : a non-literal translation of the Arabic phrase: [لا يترُكُ لَفْتَةَ ناظِر ولا فَلتة خاطِر]

Keep those oppressed from amongst our brothers and sisters in your duas, in Syria, Yemen and everywhere else.

Worthy of note is Habib ‘Ali’s interview, where he goes into further detail regarding the uprisings, and various other issues of importance.

was-salam

ahmadu Llaha, wa usalli wa usallim ‘ala al-mab’uthi bil huda, sayyidina Muhammad rasuli Llah, wa alihi ash-shurafa’, wa ba’du:

as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu Llahi wa barakatuh,

We are about to enter the blessed month of Dhu`l-Hijjah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that there are no days in which righteous actions are more beloved to Allah than the first ten days of this month.[1] For that reason some scholars have ruled that these days are better than the final ten days of Ramadan, although the nights of Ramadan are superior to these nights. Allah Himself swears by “the Ten Nights” in Surat al-Fajr, which is sufficient evidence of their greatness. Most of the scholars say that these are the first ten nights (and days) of Dhu’l-Hijjah.

Read on. . . [courtesy of ustadh Amin Buxton and Sh. 'Abd al-Karim Yahya]

Adhkar to be recited during the 10 days of Dhu’l-Hijjah

Duas for ‘Arafah — from Ahadith and Habib ‘Umar’s Recommendation

Habib ‘Umar [may Allah preserve him], having completed his ziyarah of Egypt — visitting the numerous resting-places of its saints, as well as a number of its living scholars — has arrived in Jeddah; he will be preparing and helping others prepare for the season of Hajj, which has arrived upon us, in addition to undertaking the pilgramage himself. We shall record and post from the trip (via the live stream) whatever is within our ability – of course, only Allah has the Power, with Him do we seek assistance, and upon Him do we depend.

Pictures: Day 1 | Day 2 – 1, 2 | Day 3 – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

[Pictures courtesy of Sayyid 'Ali al-Bayd]

Recordings — Audio

Habib ‘Umar | Residence of the al-Jifri Sayyid family

Habib ‘Umar [and others] | Residence of the al-Qadi as-Saqqaf Sayyid family

Recordings — Video

Habib ‘Umar | Residence of the al-Jifri Sayyid family

Habib ‘Umar | Residence of the al-’Aydarus Sayyid family

Habib Abu Bakr | Residence of the al-’Aydarus Sayyid family

Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani | Residence of the al-’Aydarus Sayyid family

Habib ‘Umar | Residence of the aal al-Qadi as-Saqqaf Sayyid family

Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani | Residence of the aal al-Qadi as-Saqqaf Sayyid family

Habib Abu Bakr | Residence of the aal al-Qadi as-Saqqaf Sayyid family

Habib Muhammad | Residence of the aal al-Qadi as-Saqqaf Sayyid family

Habib Husayn al-Haddar | Residence of the aal al-Qadi as-Saqqaf Sayyid family