Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an
The Conversion of Hamzah
Abu Jahl insulted the Prophet* and threw a stone on his head, causing some bleeding. This was witnessed by a slave girl. Hamzah, Muhammed's uncle was very strong and fear-inspiring. He was an avid hunter who would circumambulate the Ka'bah every time he returned from a hunting trip and before he entered his home.
On hearing of this abuse he became furious and went straight to the Ka'bah, straight to Abu Jahl and hit him very hard with his bow. Some members of Banu Makhzum rose to the help of Abu Jahl, but Abu Jahl calmed them down by admitting his error. Hamzah then declared his conversion to Islam out of pride. When he reached home he was confused and made a du’a to Allah to guide his decision – and the next day he went to the Prophet* to declare his Islam properly.
The Conversion of `Umer ibn al Khattab
[This happened after the Muslims had migrated to Abyssinia.]
Umer was a strong, capable and passionate man. He loved wine and amusement, and despite his very harshness of character, he was gentle and compassionate toward his loved ones. As for the Muslims, he was one of their strongest opponents in the early years.
Umer learned of the Prophet*’s meeting one day and went there after he decided he would kill Muhammed* and thus relieve the Quraysh of its burden, restore its ravaged unity, and re-establish respect for the gods that Muhammed* had castigated. On the way there, carrying his sword, he met Nu'aym ibn `Abdullah (who was secretly a Muslim). After he learned what `Umer was about to do Nu'aym said, "By God, you have deceived yourself, O `Umer ! Do you think that Banu `Abd Manaf would let you run around alive once you had killed their son Muhammed*? Why don't you return to your own house and at least set it straight?" When `Umer learned that Fatimah, his sister, and her husband, Said ibn Zayd, had already been converted to Islam he stormed over to her house.
Umer asked her what she was reciting but she refused to cooperate. Flying into a rage Umer attacked Said but managed to hit his sister as she protected her husband. She then exclaimed: Yes, indeed! We have become Muslims. Do what you will!". After calming down a little Umer asked his sister to let him see the manuscript which she and her husband had been reading together. He became impressed and was directed to where the Prophet* was teaching and became a Muslim despite the initial doubts of the other companions.
Hadith (Riyadh as-Salihin): On Repentance (seeking Forgiveness)
Allah Almighty says, "Turn towards Allah, O believers, every one of you, so that perhaps you will have success," TMQ 24:31
the Almighty says, "Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then turn in repentance to Him," TMQ 11:3
the Almighty says, "O you who believe! Turn in sincere repentance to Allah." TMQ 66:8
Abu Hurayra said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'By Allah, I ask Allah's forgiveness and turn towards Him in repentance more than seventy times a day."
Al-Agharr ibn Yasar al-Muzani said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "O people! Turn in repentance towards Allah and ask His forgiveness. I turn towards Him a hundred times a day."
Abu Hamza Anas ibn Malik al-Ansari, the servant of the Messenger of Allah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah is happier about the repentance of one His slaves than one of you would be about finding your camel which had strayed away from you in the middle of the desert."
In the variant of Muslim, "Allah has greater joy at the repentance of one His slaves when he turns towards Him than one of you would have over his mount, which, having escaped from him with his food and drink in the middle of the desert so that he has despaired of finding it and gone to a tree to lie down in its shade, suddenly appears standing by him while he is in that state, so that he takes its reins and then says out of the intensity of his joy, 'O Allah, You are my slave and I am Your Lord!' getting confused because of his intense joy.'"
From Abu Musa 'Abdullah ibn Qays al-Ash'ari is that the Prophet*, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah Almighty will stretch out His hand during the night, turning towards the one who did wrong during the day, and stretch out His hand during the day, turning towards the one who did wrong during the night, until the day the sun rises from the place it set."
Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah will turn towards anyone who turns in repentance before the time that the sun rises from the East."
The Second Phase of the Prophet*’s Dawa: Public Interaction
The following Quranic verse marked the transition of the call from its Private stage to that of public interaction: "Therefore proclaim (openly) that which you are commanded, and turn away from the polytheists. Verily, we are sufficient unto you against the scoffer. Who take with Allah another god but they will come to know." [TMQ 94-96]
Why did the Prophet* receive such a violent reaction?
This was because he challenged the major corrupt practices in the Meccan society, especially those practised by the ruling elite (the Malla’). He would, in straight-forward language, outline their evil ways with no compromise to the message or the audience. He was challenging the very order of society and their values by talking about Islam, believing in One Allah alone and submitting only to Allah (and His Messenger) and to no-one else. The ruling classes were threatened by these ideas. After all, the Prophet* was only challenging their ideas and did not physically fight against their evil practices. This was a struggle of ideas.
Hence, the Prophet* began to openly confront the system of ignorance (jahiliyah) within Quraysh.
Following the conversion to Islam by Hamza and Umer ibn al-Khattab the Prophet* arranged the Muslims into two columns, with Hamza heading one column and Umer heading the other, and then they marched around the Kaaba. This shocked the people of Mecca. For the first time they were confronted with the reality of the solid basis of the Muslims. Prior to this the Muslims prayed in private but now they prayed in the courtyard of the Kaaba.
So, the Prophet* presented the Muslims as an organised group that was challenging and changing the society, its values, ideals, practices, emotions and system of ruling and the organisation of life's affairs.
He attacked the aristocratic and money conscious values of the society:
"Woe unto every slander, traducer who accumulates wealth and counts it. He thinks that his wealth will render him immortal. Nay he will indeed be flund into the destroyer." [TMQ Al-Humazah: 1-4]
"Rivalry in worldly increase has distracted you. Until you visit the graves (as dead bodies). But nay, you soon shall know (the dire consequence of this practice)." [TMQ At-Takathur:1-3]
Concerning the hypocrisy & miserliness:
"Have you seen him who gives the lie to religion? That is he who repels the orphan. And urges not the feeding of the needy." [TMQ Al-Maun: 1-3]
"Woe unto the defrauders. Those who when they take the measure from mankind demand it in full, but if they measure unto them or weigh for them, they cause them loss." [TMQ Al-Mutaffifin: 1-3]
The leaders of Quraysh:
"The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish. His wealth and gains will not exempt him. He will be plunged in flaming fire. And his wife, the wood-carrier. Will have upon her neck a hacker of palm-fibre." [TMQ Al-Masad: 1-5]
"therefore obey not thou the rejectors. Who desire that thou would compromise, that they may compromise. Neither obey thou any insignificant oath monger. Slander, going out with calumnies. Hinder of the good; transgressor, deeply steeped in sin. Coarse (and thick) therewithal, ignore. It is because he is possessed of wealth and children. That, when our revelations are recited unto him, saith: mere fables of the men of old. We shall brand him on the nose." [TMQ Al-Qalam: 8-16]
“The pursuit of wealth has exhausted all your energies and preoccupied your life to the very end? But you will surely come to know-and you will surely come to know it well!-that your wealth will not avail a thing. Had you known it with certainty, you would have known of hell and you would have convinced yourselves of it. But it is on the Day of Judgment that you will be 'questioned concerning the moral worth of your deeds." [TMQ, 102:1-8]
“And whosoever does an atom's weight of good shall be rewarded therefore, and whosoever does an atom's weight of evil shall be punished therefore." [TMQ, 99:7-8]
Concerning society’s practice of killing their daughters:
“When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned, for what crime she was killed.” [TMQ 17:31]
“Kill not your children on a plea of want. We provide sustenance for you and for them. Come not near shameful deeds, whether open or secret. Take not life which Allah has made sacred”. TMQ :151
About their worshipping of idols:
“Have ye seen Lat. and 'Uzza, And another, the third (goddess), Manat? What! for you the male sex, and for Him, the female? Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair! These are nothing but names which ye have devised,- ye and your fathers,- for which Allah has sent down no authority (whatever). They follow nothing but conjecture and what their own souls desire!- Even though there has already come to them Guidance from their Lord!” TMQ 53.19
News
Another article taken from Saturday’s The Guardian tells the latest in the story of a lady who went to court to overturn her parent’s will. They had left part of their estate (worth £2.3million) in North Yorkshire to the charity RSPCA. She claimed the farm should have gone to her and successfully argued her case in the British courts (see Daughter wins £2.3m left to RSPCA). The RSPCA said it would appeal.
This shows how messy the inheritance laws are in the UK and this is not the first time that someone has left all their (or a lot of) wealth to a charity, or their pets or animals. Then, the surviving relatives have had to go to court to reclaim their inheritance. Very traumatic for all concerned and does not leave a good legacy for those that have passed away.
This problem is generally avoided in Islam as the laws of inheritance are quite well established, so that when someone dies it is known by everyone who is entitled to what wealth, as their wealth is divided according to a set formula. Muslims can stipulate a proportion of their wealth for a given reason or charity etc, but this is not more than a third of their total wealth. This avoids a lot of the nastiness involved in going to court to get your inheritance back.
Showing posts with label Public Stage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public Stage. Show all posts
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Monday, 5 October 2009
4 October 2009
Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an
Private and Secret stage
Ibn Qayyum talks about types of Revelation (Wahi) to the Prophet* ~
1 – Dreams: Before prophethood there was a period of true vision = dreams that came true the next day for 6 months (True Dreams that will happen or need interpreting; Dreams from Shaytan; Meaningless Dreams)
2 – Angel inspires Muhammed* (but does not appear): The noble spirit revealed that no soul will perish until in exhausts its due course so fear Allah and gently request Him and never get so impatient to the verge of disobedience to Allah, what Allah has can never be acquired but through obedience to Him
3 – Angel appears to Muhammed* in physical form of human being: Hadith Jibreel
4 – Angel came to Muhammed* as a toll of a bell: hold him tightly and he would sweat profusely, feel the weight of the angel and the sound like a ringing bell (sound of beating wings like dragging a chain on rocks), bending of the camel or Zaid bin Harithah’s thigh being crushed
5 – Muhammed* would see Jibreel in his actual form: happened twice, his wings would cover the horizon
6 – Allah would speak to Muhammed* directly: al-Miraj
Gap in the early revelation and the Prophet*’s initial doubts, but then Muhammed* went about inviting only close friends & associates and studied in the House of Arqam
Khadijah - first believer, first woman (one of the four greatest women – Khadijah, Maryam, Aasiyah, Fatimah)
Ali - first child
Zaid bin Harithah - first slave
Abu Bakr - first free man (male convert) with no hesitation (as-Saddiq)
Public Stage
“And warn your tribe (O Muhammad) of nearest kindred” TMQ 26:214
Then Muhammed* openly declared Islam. Ali & Muhammed* put on a banquet for elders and then stood on Mount Safa’ and called ‘Yah-Subaaha’ to gather all the people for a critical announcement. In a straight-forward manner he said: “O people! Will you believe me if I say there is an army marching behind this mountain which is about to attack you? They all answered, 'Of course we would, we have not heard a lie from you throughout your life.' Muhammed* then said, 'O people of the Quraish! I warn you to fear God's punishment. Save yourself from the fire…' then Abu Lahab ibn Abd Al-Muttalib, broke the silence saying, 'Give our oath to you? May evil befall you for the rest of the day! Have you gathered us here to tell us such words?'
Hence Allah revealed: “May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, may he (himself) perish. His wealth avails him not, neither what he had earned. Soon will he roast in a flaming fire, and his wife, the bearer of the firewood, upon her neck a rope of twisted palm-fibre." (TMQ, 111:1-5)
Hadith (Riyadh as-Salihin): On Sincerity and having an intention for all actions, words and states, outward and inward
Abu Bakra Nufay' ibn al-Harith ath-Thaqafi said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'When two Muslims clash with their swords, then both the killer and killed are in the Fire.' I asked, "Messenger of Allah, I can understand this with regard to the killer, but what about the murdered man?' He replied, 'He also was eager to kill his companion.
Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The group prayer of a man is some twenty degrees higher than his prayer in his business or his house. That is because when one of you does wudu' thoroughly and then goes to the mosque with no other object than that of doing the prayer, without being impelled by anything other than the prayer, Allah will raise him up a degree with every step he takes, and a wrong action will also fall away from him, until he enters the mosque. When he enters the mosque, he is in prayer the whole time he is waiting for it and the angels pray for him all the time he is sitting there, saying, 'O Allah! Show mercy to him! O Allah! Forgive him! O Allah! Turn towards him!' as long as he has not caused anyone injury and has not broken wudu'." [Muslim]
Abu'l-'Abbas 'Abdullah ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas ibn 'Abdu'l-Muttalib said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in what he reported from his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, "Allah wrote good actions and bad actions and then made that clear. Whoever intends to do a good action and then does not do it, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, will write a full good action for him. If he intends to do it and then does it, Allah will write ten to seven hundred good actions multiplied many times over. If he intends an evil action and then does not do it, Allah will write a full good action for him. If he intends it and then does it, Allah will write one bad action for him."
Another Hadith on a topic we talked about last week:
The hairdresser of Pharaoh’s daughter: While she was combing the girl’s hair, the comb fell from her hand, and she, unconsciously, uttered the name of Allah. “You mean father, don’t you?” asked the girl. “No, Allah is my God as well as yours and your father’s,” replied the hairdresser, and, being affected by Musa (AS) as well as following the sorcerers’ example, she spilled out all that she has kept secret. Immediately, the girl told her father, Pharaoh, about this. Consequently, he ordered for her four children to be fetched. Then he asked her, “Do you have another god besides me?” “Allah is my God as well as yours,” she would reply. He kept asking her the same question before he boiled each of her first three children alive, and she would give the same reply. Until the youngest one, who was a baby, was left. She was about to revert when her baby spoke out and told her she is on the right path and she shouldn’t be afraid. Then, they burned them both. Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) narrates that, as he was making al-mi’raj, he smelt the sweetest scent ever. When he asked Jibril (AS) (Gabriel) about it, he told him that it’s the scent of Pharaoh’s daughter’s hairdresser and her four children.
Topic: The Purpose of Knowledge
In this Saturday’s The Guardian there is an interesting article about how the Universities in England about how the UK Government will focus funding in the Universities for courses that can demonstrate they can have commercial benefit and be productive to society. (see In search of the next Stephen Hawking: Physicists warn Britain risks losing the next generation of great minds http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/02/search-for-stephen-hawkings-successor) and so what is the place of knowledge in Islam and the West?
Understanding Western development:
After the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century CE, European feudal states ("Dark Ages"), but the Muslims conquered Spain. Crusades then the Renaissance then the age of Enlightenment (18th Century) due to a weak Catholic Church and the increase in exploration and trade with the Old World nations, Capitalism slowly begun to replace feudalism and modern Science was starting to be developed and its findings were applied to technological advancements. The industrial revolution (19th Century), where changes in agriculture, transport and manufacturing caused a shift from an economy based primarily on manual labour to one based on industry. Political revolutions and the formation of nation-states, using Capitalist values.
Muslim Education
First & powerful words revealed to Muhammed* (and the Muslims) was Iqra (‘Read’ and‘Recite’)
“Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most Generous, Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not know.” TMQ 96: 1-5
Muhammed* did not read to ‘read’ but to ‘recite’ as he had direct information from Allah. It was Allah’s plan to ensure Muhammed* was illiterate & unfamiliar with scriptures [‘If you had known scripture before this or were able to write then this would cause doubts in the ones who want to make doubts’ ~ TMQ 29:48].
Reading is the key to knowledge for Muslims but Muhammed* getting taught by Jibreel. Muhammed prioritised learning (e.g., Badr Prisoners of War asked to teach). But there is Knowledge that Benefits: Umer was reading the Torah and Muhammed* criticised him, but later after many years, Muhammed* said ‘I had prohibited you from reading the stories of Bani Israel but now I am allowing you to read it, but do not believe in it and do not disbelieve in it’; Furthermore, Muhammed* used to make du’a: ‘Oh Allah I ask that you give me knowledge that benefits and I seek refuge in you from knowledge that does not benefit’
Knowledge is developmental: need to feed the students what they can understand easily. Then examinations will test the people according to their level
The Muslim world historically excelled in education and made huge contributions to science and technology. It was the Abbasids that first formalised education in the Muslim world setting in motion what is considered the golden age of Islam by historians, where substantial development occurred in many scientific spheres. The Khulufaa' attracted to their courts men of science, poets, physicians and philosophers whom they supported. Learning progressed and developed with differences of creed, colour, race and tribe being no barrier to learning.
The Masjid (Mosque) served as the fundamental educational institution of early Muslims. However, as the demand for learning grew, the Madrassah - modern day college began to appear. Prior to this period education was taught in mosques in an informal manner. At this early stage, people seeking knowledge tended to gather around certain knowledgeable Muslims – shaykhs who began to hold regular religious education sessions - majalis. With the creation of Madrassah's the Jamia (university) emerged. The University of Al-Karaouine (Jami'at al-Qarawiyyin) in Fez, Morocco as the oldest university in the world founded in 859 and Al-Azhar University (Cairo) in the 10th century, offered a wide variety of academic degrees, including postgraduate degrees, and was the first fully-fledged university.
The Islamic form of education, was eventually emulated by the Europeans - of which many of the similarities stand till this day - the term Chair in a university, reflects the Arabic Kursi, upon which the ‘alim (teacher) would sit and teach his students. The modern doctorate in Latin is termed "a licence to teach" and had already developed long before it was transmitted to Europe, being a direct translation of the Arabic Ijazat at-tadris. A permission to teach was granted by an ‘alim, who had studied with an ‘alim after he had resolved a problem by issuing a fatwa, then defending it in front of a panel of ‘alims.
Even the modern day graduation ceremony resembles the Islamic ceremony. The robes worn today, were called Jubba tul faqih, and were given when an ‘alim received his ijazah. The early Islamic State also created the first public hospital (which replaced healing temples and sleep temples) and the psychiatric hospital, the public library and lending library, the academic degree-granting university, and the astronomical observatory as a research institute (as opposed to a private observation post as was the case in ancient times). The first universities that issued diplomas were the Bimaristan medical university-hospitals, where medical diplomas were issued to students of medicine who were qualified to be practicing doctors of medicine from the 9th century.
Sir John Bagot Glubb wrote "By Mamun's time medical schools were extremely active in Baghdad. The first free public hospital was opened in Baghdad during the Caliphate of Haroon-ar-Rashid. As the system developed, physicians and surgeons were appointed who gave lectures to medical students and issued diplomas to those who were considered qualified to practice. The first hospital in Egypt was opened in 872 AD and thereafter public hospitals sprang up all over the empire from Spain and the Maghrib to Persia."
Madrasahs were also the first law schools, and many have suggested that the "law schools known as Inns of Court in England" may have been derived from the Madrasahs that taught Islamic law and jurisprudence.
Islamic purpose for education and learning includes:
- Building the Islamic Personality (aqliya and nafseeyah) by planting the Islamic culture in the hearts and minds of students
- Preparing the future generation to become scientists, specialists in all fields of life (Islamic sciences and natural sciences) so that they give rise to the Ulema and specialists who will lead the Ummah to become a great nation
“And He has subjected to you the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; and the stars are subjected by His command. Surely, in this are proofs for a people who understand.” TMQ An-Nahl 16:12
“And He has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth; it is all as a favour and kindness form Him. Verily, in it are signs for a people who think deeply.” TMQ Al-Jathiyah 45:13
*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an
Private and Secret stage
Ibn Qayyum talks about types of Revelation (Wahi) to the Prophet* ~
1 – Dreams: Before prophethood there was a period of true vision = dreams that came true the next day for 6 months (True Dreams that will happen or need interpreting; Dreams from Shaytan; Meaningless Dreams)
2 – Angel inspires Muhammed* (but does not appear): The noble spirit revealed that no soul will perish until in exhausts its due course so fear Allah and gently request Him and never get so impatient to the verge of disobedience to Allah, what Allah has can never be acquired but through obedience to Him
3 – Angel appears to Muhammed* in physical form of human being: Hadith Jibreel
4 – Angel came to Muhammed* as a toll of a bell: hold him tightly and he would sweat profusely, feel the weight of the angel and the sound like a ringing bell (sound of beating wings like dragging a chain on rocks), bending of the camel or Zaid bin Harithah’s thigh being crushed
5 – Muhammed* would see Jibreel in his actual form: happened twice, his wings would cover the horizon
6 – Allah would speak to Muhammed* directly: al-Miraj
Gap in the early revelation and the Prophet*’s initial doubts, but then Muhammed* went about inviting only close friends & associates and studied in the House of Arqam
Khadijah - first believer, first woman (one of the four greatest women – Khadijah, Maryam, Aasiyah, Fatimah)
Ali - first child
Zaid bin Harithah - first slave
Abu Bakr - first free man (male convert) with no hesitation (as-Saddiq)
Public Stage
“And warn your tribe (O Muhammad) of nearest kindred” TMQ 26:214
Then Muhammed* openly declared Islam. Ali & Muhammed* put on a banquet for elders and then stood on Mount Safa’ and called ‘Yah-Subaaha’ to gather all the people for a critical announcement. In a straight-forward manner he said: “O people! Will you believe me if I say there is an army marching behind this mountain which is about to attack you? They all answered, 'Of course we would, we have not heard a lie from you throughout your life.' Muhammed* then said, 'O people of the Quraish! I warn you to fear God's punishment. Save yourself from the fire…' then Abu Lahab ibn Abd Al-Muttalib, broke the silence saying, 'Give our oath to you? May evil befall you for the rest of the day! Have you gathered us here to tell us such words?'
Hence Allah revealed: “May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, may he (himself) perish. His wealth avails him not, neither what he had earned. Soon will he roast in a flaming fire, and his wife, the bearer of the firewood, upon her neck a rope of twisted palm-fibre." (TMQ, 111:1-5)
Hadith (Riyadh as-Salihin): On Sincerity and having an intention for all actions, words and states, outward and inward
Abu Bakra Nufay' ibn al-Harith ath-Thaqafi said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'When two Muslims clash with their swords, then both the killer and killed are in the Fire.' I asked, "Messenger of Allah, I can understand this with regard to the killer, but what about the murdered man?' He replied, 'He also was eager to kill his companion.
Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The group prayer of a man is some twenty degrees higher than his prayer in his business or his house. That is because when one of you does wudu' thoroughly and then goes to the mosque with no other object than that of doing the prayer, without being impelled by anything other than the prayer, Allah will raise him up a degree with every step he takes, and a wrong action will also fall away from him, until he enters the mosque. When he enters the mosque, he is in prayer the whole time he is waiting for it and the angels pray for him all the time he is sitting there, saying, 'O Allah! Show mercy to him! O Allah! Forgive him! O Allah! Turn towards him!' as long as he has not caused anyone injury and has not broken wudu'." [Muslim]
Abu'l-'Abbas 'Abdullah ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas ibn 'Abdu'l-Muttalib said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in what he reported from his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, "Allah wrote good actions and bad actions and then made that clear. Whoever intends to do a good action and then does not do it, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, will write a full good action for him. If he intends to do it and then does it, Allah will write ten to seven hundred good actions multiplied many times over. If he intends an evil action and then does not do it, Allah will write a full good action for him. If he intends it and then does it, Allah will write one bad action for him."
Another Hadith on a topic we talked about last week:
The hairdresser of Pharaoh’s daughter: While she was combing the girl’s hair, the comb fell from her hand, and she, unconsciously, uttered the name of Allah. “You mean father, don’t you?” asked the girl. “No, Allah is my God as well as yours and your father’s,” replied the hairdresser, and, being affected by Musa (AS) as well as following the sorcerers’ example, she spilled out all that she has kept secret. Immediately, the girl told her father, Pharaoh, about this. Consequently, he ordered for her four children to be fetched. Then he asked her, “Do you have another god besides me?” “Allah is my God as well as yours,” she would reply. He kept asking her the same question before he boiled each of her first three children alive, and she would give the same reply. Until the youngest one, who was a baby, was left. She was about to revert when her baby spoke out and told her she is on the right path and she shouldn’t be afraid. Then, they burned them both. Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) narrates that, as he was making al-mi’raj, he smelt the sweetest scent ever. When he asked Jibril (AS) (Gabriel) about it, he told him that it’s the scent of Pharaoh’s daughter’s hairdresser and her four children.
Topic: The Purpose of Knowledge
In this Saturday’s The Guardian there is an interesting article about how the Universities in England about how the UK Government will focus funding in the Universities for courses that can demonstrate they can have commercial benefit and be productive to society. (see In search of the next Stephen Hawking: Physicists warn Britain risks losing the next generation of great minds http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/02/search-for-stephen-hawkings-successor) and so what is the place of knowledge in Islam and the West?
Understanding Western development:
After the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century CE, European feudal states ("Dark Ages"), but the Muslims conquered Spain. Crusades then the Renaissance then the age of Enlightenment (18th Century) due to a weak Catholic Church and the increase in exploration and trade with the Old World nations, Capitalism slowly begun to replace feudalism and modern Science was starting to be developed and its findings were applied to technological advancements. The industrial revolution (19th Century), where changes in agriculture, transport and manufacturing caused a shift from an economy based primarily on manual labour to one based on industry. Political revolutions and the formation of nation-states, using Capitalist values.
Muslim Education
First & powerful words revealed to Muhammed* (and the Muslims) was Iqra (‘Read’ and‘Recite’)
“Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most Generous, Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not know.” TMQ 96: 1-5
Muhammed* did not read to ‘read’ but to ‘recite’ as he had direct information from Allah. It was Allah’s plan to ensure Muhammed* was illiterate & unfamiliar with scriptures [‘If you had known scripture before this or were able to write then this would cause doubts in the ones who want to make doubts’ ~ TMQ 29:48].
Reading is the key to knowledge for Muslims but Muhammed* getting taught by Jibreel. Muhammed prioritised learning (e.g., Badr Prisoners of War asked to teach). But there is Knowledge that Benefits: Umer was reading the Torah and Muhammed* criticised him, but later after many years, Muhammed* said ‘I had prohibited you from reading the stories of Bani Israel but now I am allowing you to read it, but do not believe in it and do not disbelieve in it’; Furthermore, Muhammed* used to make du’a: ‘Oh Allah I ask that you give me knowledge that benefits and I seek refuge in you from knowledge that does not benefit’
Knowledge is developmental: need to feed the students what they can understand easily. Then examinations will test the people according to their level
The Muslim world historically excelled in education and made huge contributions to science and technology. It was the Abbasids that first formalised education in the Muslim world setting in motion what is considered the golden age of Islam by historians, where substantial development occurred in many scientific spheres. The Khulufaa' attracted to their courts men of science, poets, physicians and philosophers whom they supported. Learning progressed and developed with differences of creed, colour, race and tribe being no barrier to learning.
The Masjid (Mosque) served as the fundamental educational institution of early Muslims. However, as the demand for learning grew, the Madrassah - modern day college began to appear. Prior to this period education was taught in mosques in an informal manner. At this early stage, people seeking knowledge tended to gather around certain knowledgeable Muslims – shaykhs who began to hold regular religious education sessions - majalis. With the creation of Madrassah's the Jamia (university) emerged. The University of Al-Karaouine (Jami'at al-Qarawiyyin) in Fez, Morocco as the oldest university in the world founded in 859 and Al-Azhar University (Cairo) in the 10th century, offered a wide variety of academic degrees, including postgraduate degrees, and was the first fully-fledged university.
The Islamic form of education, was eventually emulated by the Europeans - of which many of the similarities stand till this day - the term Chair in a university, reflects the Arabic Kursi, upon which the ‘alim (teacher) would sit and teach his students. The modern doctorate in Latin is termed "a licence to teach" and had already developed long before it was transmitted to Europe, being a direct translation of the Arabic Ijazat at-tadris. A permission to teach was granted by an ‘alim, who had studied with an ‘alim after he had resolved a problem by issuing a fatwa, then defending it in front of a panel of ‘alims.
Even the modern day graduation ceremony resembles the Islamic ceremony. The robes worn today, were called Jubba tul faqih, and were given when an ‘alim received his ijazah. The early Islamic State also created the first public hospital (which replaced healing temples and sleep temples) and the psychiatric hospital, the public library and lending library, the academic degree-granting university, and the astronomical observatory as a research institute (as opposed to a private observation post as was the case in ancient times). The first universities that issued diplomas were the Bimaristan medical university-hospitals, where medical diplomas were issued to students of medicine who were qualified to be practicing doctors of medicine from the 9th century.
Sir John Bagot Glubb wrote "By Mamun's time medical schools were extremely active in Baghdad. The first free public hospital was opened in Baghdad during the Caliphate of Haroon-ar-Rashid. As the system developed, physicians and surgeons were appointed who gave lectures to medical students and issued diplomas to those who were considered qualified to practice. The first hospital in Egypt was opened in 872 AD and thereafter public hospitals sprang up all over the empire from Spain and the Maghrib to Persia."
Madrasahs were also the first law schools, and many have suggested that the "law schools known as Inns of Court in England" may have been derived from the Madrasahs that taught Islamic law and jurisprudence.
Islamic purpose for education and learning includes:
- Building the Islamic Personality (aqliya and nafseeyah) by planting the Islamic culture in the hearts and minds of students
- Preparing the future generation to become scientists, specialists in all fields of life (Islamic sciences and natural sciences) so that they give rise to the Ulema and specialists who will lead the Ummah to become a great nation
“And He has subjected to you the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; and the stars are subjected by His command. Surely, in this are proofs for a people who understand.” TMQ An-Nahl 16:12
“And He has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth; it is all as a favour and kindness form Him. Verily, in it are signs for a people who think deeply.” TMQ Al-Jathiyah 45:13
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