Torch Bearers

Scholars of Islam

Taught by Shaykh Waleed Basyouni

o The methodology of the course is not to feed you names and dates from history but
to emphasis what we can learn from the scholars of Islam’s past

Some of the goals for this course:

1. Share at least 75% of the knowledge you learn with others

2. Learn the correct methodology of how to deal with scholars

3. Learn how to differentiate between the different levels of scholars – there are
some scholars who are Fuqahaa (scholars of Fiqh), others are Muhadithoon
(scholars of Hadith) and still others are Imams, etc.

4. To understand the social, economic and political influences affecting their lives,
so one can get a better understanding of their actions, statements, and judgments

5. Teaching Qiyaas (similar in concept to an analogy), studying their lives so that we

can practically apply the lessons we learn in our lives.

6. Identifying the underlying theme of each scholar’s life

7. Differentiating between acceptable and unacceptable ikhtilaaf (difference of

opinion)

8. Ability to analyze their lives and extract lessons, special qualities from all these
scholars

9. You can take the course material and create/organize something to spread to the
people and the community. For example, school curricula, bed time stories,
websites, etc
 10. The main goal is to bring about positive change at the personal, familial, and
global levels (in that order)

• Abu Haneefah was known to say that learning about the lives of the scholars was
more beloved to him than learning about their Fiqh

• Smart is the one who learns from the lives of others, including their mistakes

Read the Ground Rules before continuing to read these notes!

P. viii – x of notebook

• You will be actively applying those rules as you study and reflect upon the lives of the
scholars

• NOTE: If you wish to appreciate history correctly, do not look backwards upon the
events that have occurred but go back and look ahead. Live that time as you are
there, appreciate it and then you will understand the reasons why something
happened or reason why these figures acted the way they did.

• Imagine this situation: If your 9 year old brother drove the car today, how would you
feel if you found out? Obviously you would be concerned. But imagine if today I told
you that your 19 sister drove a car when she was 9 years old (i.e. 10 years ago).
Would you be concerned? Obviously Not. The emotion is lost. The heat of the
moment is long gone. That is why it is important to understand the current situation

• You will also learn some of the mistakes of the scholars with full respect. You must
learn 2 things from this:

– 1) However respectable a person may be, no one including the scholars, is perfect

– 2) Build a sense of filtration to take what is good from the person and leave what is
wrong. You will learn to do this while keeping respect for the person in question

• None of these people represent all of the characteristics you are seeking. The sheikh
will use a specific person for a specific trait. Each scholar will represent a specific
aspect of what we want to seek as Muslims
 ** These notes are intended to compliment the AlMaghrib-issued Torch Bearers Notebook **

I. Mutarrif

The Wise Worshipper

p. 1

Name

Mutarrif ibn ‘Abdillaah ibn Ash-Shikhkheer Al-‘Aamiree Al-Basree

o Al-‘Aamiree - his tribe. In the beginning it is a tradition to mention the tribe .

o Al Basree – the city of Basra in Iraq where he used to live. Scholars of narration
give the name of the city where the scholar has lived for more than 5 years, or a
city where the person died, or for which the person had become famous.

o Also very common to give the Kunya - i.e. Abu (father of) or Umm (Mother of). It
was the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam to give
others Kunyas even if they weren’t a parent – like Anas ibn Malik’s brother was
named Abu ‘Umayr or Abu Hurayrah

Birth

Born in Madinah in the year of the battle of Badr or of Uhud while Al-Mughlatay said it
may have been in the 3rd year of Hijrah

634 CE – Abu Bakr died. Umar ibn al-Khattab appointed khalifah and ruled for 10
years. During those 10 years, Mutarrif spent his youth.

Death

Lived a long life – Died 713 C.E. in Basrah having lived 92 years

Because of his long life, Mutarrif was witnessed many trends and events
Early Life

• His father, Abdullah ibn ash-Shikhkheer, was a well known companion and narrated
from the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam. Mutarrif met a lot of the
companions of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam and thus to
learn and grown up among them

• He moved to al-Basra with ‘Imraan ibn Husayn (appointed judge in Basra). He

stayed there and became a prominent scholar in the city.

Appearance and characteristics

What does it matter what he looked like?

The scholars cared because if you can picture the person in front of you, you can relate
to him even more. This is one of the reasons there are a lot of details regarding the
appearance of our beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam

• Used Blond dye for his beard and hair

• Wealth: very expensive clothes.

• He looked and he appealed to the eyes of the people just by the way he dressed
but also an easy person to approach (many build an ego and become arrogant but
he wasn’t).

• He rode horses which was the equivalent of driving a Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes
(i.e. Luxury Car) today. Horses have a short life-span so one needed money to
replace them. They also needed food and a lot of care which only a wealthy
person could offer.
 • He would wear long robes or full dresses. The dowry he gave to his wife was
30,000 gold pieces and a mule and a maid (who was a hair designer – a specialist
who can take care of his wife’s hair) this shows that he would take care of not only
himself but also his wife’s appearance. But still there was no arrogance in him
due to his clothing or wealth.

• How did he become so wealthy? He grew up during a time when Umar was
withholding money from the scholars but Uthman had a different approach
during his khilaafah. He would send the scholars to distant lands so the
knowledge would be spread but he would also pay for their expenses. Uthman
gave them all the money they needed so they not only support themselves but
also develop themselves. However on one condition if a scholar is sent
somewhere they will be provided for as long as they establish the teaching.

“I was wondering what the foundation of all good deeds could be. I found that good
deeds are many, such as praying and fasting, and they are all in the hands of Allah.
We have no access to what Allah has, except through asking Him, so I realized that the
foundation of all good deeds is Du’aa.” – Mutarrif

Factors that shaped his life

• His Father: growing up in Madinah and hearing from his father who had seen the
Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu `Alayhi-wasallam

o Uthman’s murder

• Mutarrif also witnessed the first deviant sects including the Khawarij, Shi’a, and
Qadariyyah
 To appreciate the wealth of his knowledge one need look no further than his students,
which include: Qataadah; Hasan Al Basri, Muhammad ibn Waasi’

Special Qualities

• If you look at the list of his teachers on p. 2 of the notebook, you realise he
studied with scholars upholding differing opinions during the fitnah such as
Aa’isha/Mu’awiyyah and Ali/’Ammaar radhi Allahu ‘anhum ajma’een. So he saw
first-hand how people could potentially fight one another and still be incredibly
good individuals. They were noble people who did not harbour malice in their
hearts for one another, but disagreed regardless.

• If you are the only one to refuse to get involved in fitnah. It would be hard to be
go against everyone but Mutarrif never got involved.

o What did he say? Don’t join any group, because you can’t really tell who is
on the truth

o When there is turmoil when you can’t tell what is what and who is who,
who is right and who is wrong. The safest position is to avoid the whole
situation.

o Mutarrif used to say that if you cannot make any change then it is even
better to not talk about it, so he would not stand for talking about the
fitnah.

• He never passed a judgement on any person

o There are people who label people; he was not looking to judge or label
anyone for any reason.

• He was always remembering the Aakhirah.

• He never lied even if given the wealth of the world. How is this significant? To
promote their cause all the sects would pay to people to lie - i.e. fabricate
 ahadeeth to support their cause, etc – which would require the support of learned
people.

• He was very gentle man. He would tell students that if you need anything leave
your request in a specific place (i.e. a box) and I will leave money for you. Why?
Because he knew that the students would be ashamed of asking their teacher for
money. So he was compassionate and empathetic was well as generous with his
wealth.

• He was always staying away from being part of the problem but never hesitant
from being part of the solution

• Excellent balance of implementation of the deen: He once said that Allah will
never ask you to challenge a thousand-strong army when you have nothing but
your own hands. Hasan al Basri said that the only person you should talk to
advise to is the person who will listen to you or who will respect what you have to
say.

o What is recommended to people is to enjoin righteousness when there is no

danger of death. Saving your soul is more important.

• Any extra time he would have he would spend in learning and teaching rather
than performing extra prayers.

• He said that He would prefer to sleep all night and miss the night prayer and
wake up in the morning with regret rather than stay awake all night and be proud
in the morning

Death

Died 95 A.H. – asked his brother Yazid not to publicize his death or funeral
 Although we are not certain for the reason why, some scholars say this is because
Mutarrif wanted to:

a) Prevent a gathering to avoid fitnah

b) Come to Allah alone

A Gift from Mutarrif ibn ‘Abdullah

“There is nothing a person is given, after faith, which is better for him
than a sound mind.”

Some lessons from the Life of Mutarrif

• Re: Wasting your time

o Set Goals write them down

o Form a schedule, Plan

o Think about your death

o Stay in atmosphere that will help you act productively

o Don’t watch too much TV or play too many games

 Evaluate where the time is being wasted – then reduce these things

o Use technology to help save time, i.e. pay bills online, etc

• Family

o Remember rights of the parents

 o Build trust among your family

o Before you ask them to obey you build respect.

o Take advantage of times when you are close to each other

Test Your Comprehension

1. How did Mutarrif earn his wealth?

2. List 3 of his special qualities?

3. What did Mutarrif consider the 2 greatest blessings given a person?

4. Name 3 of his students.

5. List 5 of his teachers. Considering the events he lived through, what is so unique
about his teachers?

6. True or false: his father was a sahabi?

II.Al-Hasan al-Basree
The Master Preacher
p. 8

Name

Al-Hasan ibn Yasaar Al-Basree

 He isn’t from Arabia originally.

 His father came as a slave from Persia.
 NOTE: He doesn’t have a tribe. Was not a tradition of the Persians to have tribes
in their last name

Kunyah
Abu Sa’eed

Birth
He was born in 22 AH (642 CE) in Madinah.

Death
He died in the year 110 AH (October 11th in 728 CE), in Al-Basrah

Early Life
His father, Yassar, was the slave of Zaid ibn Thaabit Al-Ansari (radi Allaahu’anhu). His
mother, Khayrah, was the slave of Umm al-Mu’mineen, Umm Salamah (radi
Allaahu’anha).

Hence, he was raised in a house that was close to the Prophet (Sallahu Alyhee Wa
Salaam)’s home. In some narrations, it suggests that his mother was busy and she left
him with Umm Salamah (radi Allaahu’anha).

On one occasion he was crying, to the point that she offered her breast to him, even
though there was no milk. But, Allah willed for there to be milk and some say that
because of this he became so eloquent in his speech.

He lived very close to the house of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam. He saw the
house of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam and the things he used to use.

His father brought him to ‘Umar (radi Allaahu’anhu) as a new-born, and Umar made a
dua’a for him: “Oh Allah, give him understanding of the religion, and make
him beloved by the people.”

He studied under the senior companions, such as:

1. ‘Uthman (radi Allaahu’anhu),

2. ‘Ali(radi Allaahu’anhu),
3. Abu Musa Al-Ash’aree (radi Allaahu’anhu),
4. Ibn ‘Umar (radi Allaahu’anhu),
5. Ibn Abbaas (radi Allaahu’anhu),
6. Mu’aawiyah (radi Allaahu’anhu),
 7. Jaabir ibn ‘Abdillah (radi Allaahu’anhu),
8. Anas ibn Malik (radi Allaahu’anhu).

 Most of his teachers were those that didn’t get involved in the fitnah. He learned a lot
from them and developed a correct and pure understanding of Islam.

He also attended classes of Mutarrif ibn ‘Abdillah ibn Ash-Shikhkheer.

He traveled with Anas ibn Malik (radi Allaahu’anhu), to al-Basra and settled there, till
he died.

Ibn Al-‘Arabee mentioned that Al-Hasan Al-Basree was married to a woman from
amongst the people of the book (most likely Christian). He didn’t have any children.

Abu Burdah said about him: “I have witnessed the companions of the Prophet (Sallahu
Alyhee Wa Salaam), and I have not seen anyone that resembled them more than this
Shaykh (referring to Hasan al-Basree).

Appearance & Characteristics

- He was a very good-looking man. He was tall; broad shouldered, and had a soft,
handsome look on his face.
- He had fair coloured skin and would dye his gray hair blond. He was muscular, so
that his biceps and triceps were a hand-span wide.
- Al-‘Awwam said about his appearance: “He was so good-looking, I cannot
describe him with anything more accurate than that he had the look of the
Prophets.”
 o “... Look of the prophets”, meaning he was perfect in his appearance. He
looked good.
- He used to wear a black turban, a long garment, and a Kurdish robe in the winter
and would wear linen Izaar (Pallium), a shirt, and a light shawl, that looked as
soft as silk in the summer.
o This is important to note because in that time if someone had different
clothes to wear for different seasons, it would imply that they are wealthy.
o He used to wear Tayla Sa’an (common in Iraq, which implied status).
- Salaam once said: “I saw a robe on Al-Hasan that shimmered like gold.”
- Al-Hasan’s food was known to be delicious; its smell was recognized and
described to smell better than perfume.
- He loved to host people in his house.
o His friends and students

Important Factors That Shaped His Life

1. Growing up in the home of Umm Salamah (radi Allaahu’anha), and thus, seeing
the people who lived with the Prophet (Sallahu Alyhee Wa Salaam).
2. Studying under the senior Sahabah. He was able to develop a correct and deep
understanding of the Deen.
3. Growing up in the golden era of early Islaam.
4. Witnessing the murder of ‘Uthman (radi Allaahu’anhu) and the fitnah that
ensued. He was 14 years old at that time.
5. Seeing the fitnah that occurred between the Sahabah in the time of Ali (radi
Allaahu’anhu), and its negative consequences. He learned that the fitnah did not
help Muslims in any way.
6. Living through the political changes that occurred when the Khalifah came in the
hands of the Umayyads, being passed down from Mu’aawiyah (radi
Allaahu’anhu) to his son.
7. Witnessing the economic changes that happened during the era of ‘Uthman (radi
Allaahu’anhu), and appeared even more strongly in the time of the Umayyads.
 Mu’aawiyah (radi Allaahu’anhu) gave without count. People live a very
comfortable life.
8. Witnessed Al-Hajjaj’s oppressive regime and the evil it caused.
9. The emergence of deviant groups, such as the Khawaarij, the Rawaafid, and the
Qadariyyah.
 He lived in al-Basra
a. All cities classified in one of two ways:

i. Built by Muslims.
Muslims had their own style of city-building. The masjid was in the centre of city;
(near it was the Governor’s house); stores were built around the Masjid, houses
around the stores, and finally the graveyards existed in the outermost parts of the
city. Masjid was at the centre ~ So that the dunyah doesn’t take one away
from the Deen. ‘Umar (radi Allaahu’anhu) ordered Basra to be built while he
was Khalifah.

Cemetery

Houses

Market

Masjid

Market

Houses s

Cemetery
 - Basra comes from the word ‘eye/eyesight’ – it was built as a military city as
there were battles going on with Persians.

- A place for Muslims to re-fuel.

- Basra was a lively city (think Toronto compared to Windsor = Basra vs.
Madinah). This is why Al-Basri talked a lot about the hereafter and brotherhood
because he felt the reminders were needed in the community.

ii. Built before Muslims.

10. Witnessing the era of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil-‘Azeez, the symbol of justice.
11. His wide experience:
a. Living through two generations – the Sahabah and Tabi’een.
b. Experiencing the cultures of Hijaz and ‘Iraq.
c. Living through stable times and times of political unrest.

Status
- Qataadah said regarding him: “I have never met a scholar without seeing that he
benefited from Al-Hasan. He was the most knowledgeable person in halal and
haram.” Also, he said that Al-Hasan al-Basree’s fatawa/’ilm was similar to that of
‘Umar (radi Allaahu’anhu).
- Anas ibn Malik (radi Allaahu’anhu) was asked about an issue, and he replied:
“Ask my slave, Al-Hasan.” They questioned: “We are asking you and you are
referring us to Al-Hasan?” He said: “Ask him. He heard what I heard, but he
remembered what I forgot.”
 - Ayyub as-Saqyani (one of the greatest scholars of Shaam) was asked: “What do
you think of al-Basree?” He said: “You have not seen with your own eyes anyone
more knowledgeable than al-Basree.”
- When al-Hasan came to Makkah, they made him sit on a high chair and everyone
was asking him questions. People of Makkah said: “We have never seen
somebody like this.” This means a lot because Makkah was a very active city,
which was visited by many from all over for hajj and umrah and so they
witnessed many scholars during their time. That he made such an impression on
them is an indication of the calibre of his scholarship.

His ‘ILM and FATAWA were similar to that of Umar radhi Allahu
‘anh.

Special Qualities
1. His broad knowledge of all aspects of the Shari’ah.
a. Al-Mugheerah said: “The most knowledgeable person when it comes to
judgement and is perfect in history is so-and-so. And one most
knowledgeable in Fiqh was so-and-so and one who mastered all these
fields was Hasan al-Basree.”
b. Ar-Rabi’a said: “I studied under al-Basree for 10 years, and I always
learned something new in each class.” This means al-Hasan was
constantly increasing his knowledge. He wasn’t shallow in his ‘Ilm; he
never repeated himself.
c. Abu Salama said: “I documented 8000 fatwa that Hasan Al-Basree had
given.”
2. His knowledge resulting in his own righteousness, and impacting other people by
instilling taqwa in them.
a. ‘Awf ibn Malik said: “I don’t know anyone who knows the way to al-
Jannah better than al-Basree. His knowledge takes you to paradise.”
3. His great eloquence and noble character.
 a. His talk was similar to the Prophets’ talk
“We would benefit from him even before he began his talk.” I.e. from his
manners/mannerisms.
4. His truthfulness and his practice of what he preached
a. Khalid ibn Safwan was asked: “Do you know al-Basree?” He said: “Yes, I
know him very well. Whatever he says it is what he is practicing. When he
preached people to do something, he did it first. When he asked to abstain
from someone, he abstained first. He needed no body, but everyone
needed him.”
5. His excellent manners and helpful nature towards others.
a. “Helping my brother in one thing was more beloved to me than spending
the entire day in the Masjid.” - Al-Basree.
Once, he stopped someone from speaking ill against Al-Hajjaaj. He said:
“Al-Hajjaaj is here because of our own actions.”
b. He would be in the first line in battles. People would hide behind him
when they got scared.
6. The moderation in his views and practice, and his good understanding of how to
deal with the changes in societal circumstances.
a. GEM: He never took zuhd as abstaining from good food or
clothes. The real zaahid is the one who avoids the
haraam, not the halal.
b. He understood the change in the society in his time. He recognized that his
fatwa had to go with that change. For example: earlier, it was not
permissible to sell the mushaf. Al-Basree wrote a fatwa and said it is
permissible to sell mushaf because (1) there are many people who are able
to read (2) there are many people/madrasah that need the mushaf and
people to teach others and they need to be paid.
c. He advised the rulers, he visited them, even if they were not righteous. He
said if we leave them and don’t advise them then how would change come
along?
d. He shared with people his concerns when people attacked.
 7. His great da’wah
a. He encouraged his students to make da’wah
8. His asceticism
a. A real Zahid is one who knows his Lord and knows his religion.

Al-Hasan Al-Basree used to cry when he related the Hadith, narrated by Anas ibn Malik
(radi Allaahu’anhu), which spoke of the tree trunk that the Prophet (Sallahu Alyhee Wa
Salaam) used to stand on when delivering his sermons. When they made the Prophet
(Sallahu Alyhee Wa Salaam) a minbar, the tree trunk was heard crying. The Prophet
(Sallahu Alyhee Wa Salaam) got down and hugged the tree trunk until it had stopped
crying. Al-Hasan used to say: “Oh, slaves of Allah! A tree trunk longs for the Prophet
(Sallahu Alyhee Wa Salaam), so you should feel more longing to be with him.”

An Event to Remember

In 103 AH, ‘Umar ibn Hurayrah Al-Fizaaree, the ruler of Iraq during the time of Yazeed
ibn ‘Abdul Malik, called Ibn Sireen, Ash-Sha’bee, and Al-Hasan Al-Basree and said to
them: “Allah has chosen Yazeed as His Khalifah on Earth and has ordered us to obey
him, and he has asked me to rule over Iraq, so what do you say?”

Ibn Sireen and Ash-Sha’bee said some tactful words, so as not to anger the ruler.

Ibn Hubayrah then said: “What about you, Al-Hasan? What do you say?”

Al-Hasan said: “Oh, son of Hubayrah. Fear Allah more than Yazeed, and do not fear
Yazeed more than Allah. Allah can protect you from Yazeed, but Yazeed cannot protect
you from Allah. Very soon, Allah will send to you an angel to strip you from your
kingdom and take you down from your throne to your grave. He will take you out of
your wide palace to a tiny hole. In that grave, nothing can save you except your deeds.”

Ibn Hubayrah accepted his advice. When he gave them each a gift reward, he doubled
Al-Hasan’s share.

Ash-Sha’bee and Ibn Sireen said: “We gave him cheap words, so he gave us cheap gifts.”

Death

On a Thursday night, the 1st of Rajab 110 AH (October 9, 728 CE), Al-Hasan fainted. He
later regained consciousness and said: “You have awakened me from gardens and
springs.” He died soon afterwards.

His funeral prayer was after Juma’ah prayer in the main Masjid in Al-Basra. All the
people of Al-Basra followed his procession to the graveyard, to the extent that no one
was left in Al-Basra to call the adhan for ‘Asr Salah.

A Gift from Al-Hasan al-Basree

“What terrible companions are the dirham and dinar; they do not benefit you until they
leave you.”

Lessons from the Life of Al-Hasan al-Basree

- His involvement in the fitnah of al-Ash’ath (seen as a mistake by some) didn’t
lessen his status in any way. Lesson: don’t hold people accountable for one
misjudgement and forget all the good that is in them.
- He was known as a Zaahid, yet he participated in the community. He advised
politicians, etc.
- It is not haram to wear the clothes of a land, as long as they’re fit the
requirements of the Shari’ah and they are not particular to people of a certain
faith.
- One shouldn’t get bored of knowledge. These days, we get bored so easily. After a
few halaqaat/seminars, we think we know enough and don’t need to attend
anymore. There were students who studied under Hasan al-Basree for 10 years
and learnt something new all the time.
- Hasan al-Basree was an extremely righteous and respected member of the
society, yet he interacted with people as if he was one of them.
- Beauty shouldn’t stop you from being humble and pious.
- Don’t allow people speak ill of others around you.
- One should feel passionate about giving da’wah

Test Your Comprehension:

1. His father was the slave of __________ and his mother was the slave of
Umm al-Mu’mineen, ____________.
2. Describe 3 of his special qualities.
3. True or False: He used to wear a black turban and long garment and a
Turkish robe in winter?
4. True or False: He witnessed the Caliphate of Umar ibn Abdul ‘Azeez?
5. What was his definition of zuhd?
6. How were Muslim cities constructed during his lifetime?
III. ‘Umar Ibn Abdil-‘Azeez

The 5th Rightly Guided Khalifah

P. 17

During his Khilaafah, ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab was walking in the streets of Madinah one
nigh, as was his custom, to ensure the needs of the Muslims were taken care of.

He came upon a house where a mother was asking her daughter to mix water with the
milk they intended to sell the next day (i.e. to increase profits illegally).

But the daughter objected and said that ‘Umar has forbidden this. The mother answered
that Umar was not present to see them do it. But the daughter said that if Umar does not
see, then his Lord is All-Seeing.
Umar radhi Allahu ‘anh went home and in the morning he called upon his sons and
inquired which of them desired to be married.

His son ‘Asim stepped forward and so Umar married her to the daughter of the milk-
seller because of her righteousness. Umar was also radhi Allahu ‘anh known to have said
that he saw a dream in which one from his progeny would unite the Muslim Ummah.
But the child of the couple he had joined was a daughter who named Laila.

Laila grew up and married a noble prince from the Ummayyids, named ‘Abdil-Azeez,
son of Marwan ibn Hakam. It was through this union that Laila gave birth to Umar ibn
‘Abdil ‘Azeez (i.e. great-grandson of Umar ibn al-Khattab).

Kunya

Abu Hafs

Birth

He was born in 60 AH (679 CE) in Madinah, during the reign of Yazeed, son of
Mu’aawiyah.

Early Life

• His father, ‘Abdul ‘Azeez, was a prince who was appointed as a ruler of Egypt in 65
AH (684 CE).

• He was from the royal Umawee family and grew up in Madinah.

• As a child, he used to tell his mother that his dream was to be like his uncle Abdullah
ibn ‘Umar, the scholar. She used to tell him: “You will be better than ‘Abdullah ibn
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab!” This was a very bold statement from his mother, because
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar was the most respected man in those times.

• His mother cared for his Tarbiyah/upbringing greatly. When his father was
appointed governor of Egypt his mother said she didn’t want her son to be raised in
Egypt; he should be in Madinah where the scholars are, where the deen is. Abdil
‘Azeez thus conceded.
• The relation between Laila and Abdil-Azeez was very strong and loving. He went to
Egypt alone, but later asked Laila to join him in Egypt. Eventually she moved to
Egypt and left her son with her family (i.e. the family of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab). He
was appointed a private teacher

• Salih ibn Kaisaan was a mentor tutor to ‘Umar ibn Abdil-‘Azeez – he would teach
him etiquette, manners, and the Qur’an

o Salih took his Abdil Azeez’s permission to discipline Umar according to his own
discretion and his father agreed. Once Umar was delayed for salah by only one
rak’ah and when questioned by Salih, Umar said he was delayed as he was taking
care of his hair. Salih shaved his head and told him that there is no good in
something that will keep you from Salaah

• Umar used to say that he would marry Faatimah bint Abdul-Malik, the daughter of
the khalifah, and he eventually did so. Theirs was a deep relationship and love.

• Had a very strong relationship with his kids – He had 11 children of which one died
when he was 18 (Abdul Malik)

• He had everything – He had clothing worth 100 pieces of gold.

o Wore the most expensive perfume whenever he would walk through the streets
people would know simply because of the smell

o He had a lot of luxury but he was righteous

Important factors that Shaped his Life

• He was privileged – had access to information that the common person would
not

• Learning from the scholars, interacting with them allowed him to have
knowledge from an early age. How did Madinah differ from the other cities in the
Muslim world?

1) Most stable of the entire region

 2) City of scholars

3) Huge Hadith movement

4) Muslims would pass through it after hajj/Umrah

• When he became a Caliph he wanted to be a role model and told his wife that if
she wanted to stay with give away all of her possessions. And through her
righteousness she did.

• After the time of Mu’aawiyah (before which the top priority was to secure the
final copy of the Quran) – the foremost task was documenting the sunnah of the
Prophet Muhammad Sall Allahu `Alayhi-wasallam and the one who took the
official stance on documenting the Hadeeth was ‘Umar ibn Abdil ‘Azeez – he an
official committee specially for this task.

The Effects of Undertaking Hadith Documentation

o His love for the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam would grow

o His implementation of the Sunnah during his time of Caliph

o He would implement the Sunnah in every aspect of his life

o Being a head of this committee would allow him to interact with the scholars

 He would become connected with more scholars

o The real knowledge is based in Sunnah – detailed rulings

o To be a scholar you have to be exposed to all the difference of opinions

o As you have more access to reference you see things from a broadened perspective

o The manners and etiquettes of the companions and the Prophet Muhammad
Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam comes with this responsibility
o He also knew what the Companions fatwa were

o His knowledge is pristine and accurate

• One of the scholars said that we would go to ‘Umar would teach him but soon we
would find that he was teaching us

Appearance & Characteristics

Umar was tan coloured and thinly built. He had a becoming beard on a small, gentle
face and his eyes lay deep. He had a few gray lines of hair in his beard and had a scar
on his forehead, but was described as being handsome.

He lived a life of luxury as a young man. He would wear clothing worth a 1000 dinar,
and would say: “It is good, but it’s a little rough.” He also used to wear expensive
perfumes, which would be recognized by the people of Madinah.

His Status

o The scholars considered him the best scholar. The leaders considered him the
best leader. The spiritual people considered him the most spiritual among them.

Special Qualities

• Studied under ‘Ubaidullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud

• As a Governor: Open doors to the problems of the people. One day of the week that
typically governors would see the Governor however ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez opened
his door everyday. This exposure gave him a lot of experience in dealing with people
and their problems
• As a governor, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez once ordered a man Khubayb ibn ‘Abdilllah
ibn Az-Zubayr to be in prison and lashed 100 times because he would narrate
hadeeth for political reasons that attacked the royal family and The Ummayyads to
which Umar belonged

o Khubayb’s wounds from the lashing became infected

o When ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez asked him to be brought but Khubayb
professed tiredness

o ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez thus ordered water to be thrown on him in order to
wake him

o When this was done Khubayb’s temperature rose and he died during the night

o This moved ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez so much that his remaining life he would
cry for this deed

o He would say that I would see paradise and in between me and the gates
would stand Khubayb

• Exposure to Damascus he was exposed to different scholars – he was exposed to

different cultures

o Why was Damascus so multi faceted? People migrated to Damascus from

different areas, Education & Finance capital, trade route for many caravans
travelling through

o This impacted the thinking and experience of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez

• ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez chosen as Khaleefah

o He was not supposed to be Khaleefah. Why? Because he was not in the line of
those who are heirs to the throne. The Khaleefah Sulaiman at the time of
Umar had an advisor (Rajaa) who informed him that if he passed leadership
to his children, they would not perform the role satisfactorily and encouraged
 him to appoint Umar instead. Umar agreed only on the condition that Rajaa
would also serve at his side.

o First official order Umar made: He fired himself. Went before the public and
announced that he was not their Khaleefah anymore (he wanted to revert to
the ways of the Muslims before the Ummayyads initiated the concept of
monarchies/dynasties where the khaleefah was chosen via public committee).

 Umar told the people they were free to choose whoever they wished from the
Ummah as their khalifah

 He was unanimously chosen by the Muslims

 His selection was therefore made by through choice of the people and not by
appointment

• Unlike Umar, very few leaders at the time could combine sound knowledge of
governance and with excellent Islamic scholarship

• No other Zahid like him:

o He had Tasted and Rejected Wealth: the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-
wasallam told Umar ibn Al Khattab that if you meet Uwais al Qarni ask him to
make du’aa for you. He was alive during the time of the Prophet Muhammad
Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam but he was in Yemen and served his mother. He lost
the opportunity to meet the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam but
never gave up the opportunity to serve his mother. He never had any attachment
to anything wordly.

o But scholars yet say that the real ascetic was not Uwais but was ‘Umar because
‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez had the wealth of the world under his feet as Khaleefah
and yet he chose to live simply

o He had access to all power in the world but he never used it for any personal gain.
 o He was young! This is amazing. When a person is older they don’t have the taste
for the things that one would have when they are young. ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez
diverted his attention to being a righteous person even as a young person

• Imam Malik said that ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez was an Imam– he could have his own
madhab

o Anas Ibn Malik said the I never prayed behind anyone who prayed like the
Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam except ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez

o His knowledge was taken by so many fuqahah and his opinions are chosen by
many scholars in their works.

• Highly motivated

o Abdullah ibn ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab revered as one of the most knowledgeable of
his time but ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez went further

o Whatever goals he set out he achieved them

o Today we are benefiting from his efforts to preserve and document the Sunnah

o How did he motivate people to spread the Sunnah? He announced that he would
give 100 pieces of gold per week to the one who spread the Sunnah

o Another rule: Anyone who dedicates his time to attaining knowledge would be
supported and would not have to worry about earning money

o Help would be provided to anyone who writes books

o Imam Malik said that ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez would write to all the governors all
over the world support the teachers the sunnah and the Fiqh

o Spread justice – raise the standard of the public and not just the elite. Normally
an elected official would focus on the middle class but he went further and
focused on everybody especially the poor
 Government spending control implemented

 The people came to him to sign release some funds to change the cloth
covering Ka’ba. He did not see the justification and said that I see a need
greater than covering the Ka’ba: The poor children in the deserts who don’t
have cloth

 He stopped free access to the wealth by the royalty

 He established that everyone should pay their zakah or jizya

 Anyone whose land taken from them through oppression would hae it
returned to them

 Stopped enslavement: passed order to free the Berbers that had been enslaved
in North Africa– with this the slaves were free able to work for themselves and
this raised the economic status

 All this happened in 3 years

 One of his uncles came to him asking for money and Umar asked him why.
He said: “I always ask for money and received it when I need it.” ‘Umar ibn
‘Abdil ‘Azeez said: “whenever you something you desire something in this
dunya so much remember death.”

 The non muslims living in the muslim countries before ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil
‘Azeez would pay Jizya whether they worked or not. When ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil
‘Azeez came to power he said that this is not fair. He established a welfare
system that any person who would become old and could not provide for
himself would be supported by the people

 The people of Samarqand were attacked by the Muslims before the khilaafah
of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez without warning (contrary to Islamic rules of
engagement) and when ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez came to power he ordered an
inquiry to check this claim. He ordered the army back and said to give the
keys back to the people of Samarqand.
 • The people were shocked and the Muslim army obeyed and said that we
will give you 3 days but the people of Samarqand opened their doors

• His wife, Faatimah, said: “I have not seen anyone who is more fearful of Allah than
my husband. He would keep praying and crying and I would see his tears.” His wife
would fall asleep and wake again and see him in that state

• Ali ibn Zaid said that I have not seen the likes of Hasan al Basree and ‘Umar ibn
‘Abdil ‘Azeez. They would think that hellfire created only for them

• ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab created a committee in Madinah during his khilaafah. His
advisory committee – no major decisions were taken without their approval

o When he became Khaleefah Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez did the same thing

• ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil ‘Azeez was given advice by Rajah when he became Khaleefah: look
at the older person in your society and treat them like you father and treat the
younger like you would treat your brothers and sisters and treat the youngest like
your children

His Death

• What Umar was doing was very hard for those who used to benefit earlier through
the corruption. They gave money to his slave to poison Umar. When he felt the
poison, he called his slave and asked everyone in the room to leave. In privacy he
asked: were you paid to do this? The slave replied in the affirmative. They promised
me freedom and 100,000 dirhams.
• Umar: you don’t deserve the money because you did something illegal. This money
will be given to the Muslim treasury and distributed among the poor but you are free.
Go ride your horse and ride till you reach the farthest corners of the city, because I
don’t want my children to find you and kill you as revenge for my death.
 Umar never asked the slave who hired him to murder him. He didn’t
want to die with any enmity in his heart towards anyone

Test Your Comprehension:

1. He hailed form which royal family?

2. Which famous sahabi and relative did Umar aspire to be like?

3. Was he appointed khalifah or chosen by the people? Explain.

4. Describe 4 social reforms Umar implemented during his khilaafah.

5. List the 8 greatest lessons you learned from the life of Umar.

6. List 3 difference between Umar’s life before his khilaafah and after it.
IV. Sulaymaan ibn Mahraan
The Mus-haf
p. 31

Name

Sulayman ibn Mahraan al-Asadee Al-Koofee, Al-‘Amash (the bleary-eyed)

 He was named Al-Asadee not because he was from the tribe but his father was a
slave of Banee Asad.

 The tradition of the time was that freed slaves would take the name of the tribe
they were freed from.

 Al-Koofee – because that was where he lived

Kunyah

Abu Muhammad

Early Life

o From the early age interested in learning the Quran and hadeeth. Never made a
mistake when reciting the Quran or narrating Hadith hence his name because
of his accuracy (i.e. the Mushaf). His teachers would say that we have never
seen anyone memorized Qur’an like Al A’mash.
 o Not much known about his youth simply because he is the son of a slave. His
family was poor.

Important factors

• Raised in Kufah. Very different from Basra in a number of ways as Basra was a
military city, with many soldiers carrying booty and a thriving economy. No
shortage of money.

• Koofah ~ countryside, quiet

• More than 200 COMPANIONS moved to Koofah – including Abdullah ibn

Mas’ud (23RD person to accept Islam) who built great schools and his students
later became great teachers. Abdullah ibn Mas’ud was the best among the
companions to make students – which include Sa’eed ibn Jubayr. His students
also went on to produce excellent scholars including Al-‘Amash.

• Living in the era of collecting narrations. In that time, if you wanted your name
to be remembered after your death, all you had to do was hear a few ahadith of
the Prophet (saws) and narrate them to others. This irritated Al-‘Amash alot as
people used this as Hadith as a menas to fame. He considered such people
unworthy of being narrators because of their impure intention.
• Ahl Ar-Ra’ee – a school that used a lot of logic, not a lot of Hadith. They also used
a lot of narrations of the Tabi’een. Al-A’mash did not agree with this
methodology. (This was in the time of Abu Hanifah). There was great resistance
towards this movement generally because if scholars weren’t dedicated to
preserve the Sunnah, then it would be forgotten and only the narrations of
Tabi’een would live on. This posed a serious threat for the coming generations.
• Learning the Fiqh of ibn Mas’ud and the Sunnah. Al’Amash was able to master
the Fiqh of ibn Mas’ud by learning directly from his students.

Status
 • Even though Mujaahid was a Tabi’ee and had learned directly from Ibn Abbas he
revered Al A’mash for his knowledge and expressed his desire to learn from him.

• One of the greatest Muhaddithoon (narrators of Hadith) of his time.

Appearance and Characteristics

• He was very messy and dirty-looking, not because he had dirty habits, but
because of his extreme poverty. He lived like a homeless man and didn’t have
money for oils, perfumes, soaps, etc. He never accepted taking money for
teaching knowledge. At the time near his death, when he was really old, he
accepted money from the governor to take care of his family. All he ever cared
about was spreading knowledge.
• “If I wasn’t a scholar, no one will even dare to come near me.” - Al-A’mash
because of the state of his body.

Special Qualities

• Isa ibn Musa sent him a letter with messenger containing 1000 pieces of gold and
asking him to narrate the best Ahadith. Al-A’mash read the letter and then fed it to
his goats, saying: my goats haven’t eaten all day. He wrote back with Surat al-
Ikhlaas. Isa ibn Musa was offended and wrote back saying: do you think I don’t
know the surah!? He wrote back: do you think I’ll sell the Ahadith? He never gave
Isa ibn Musa his money back but distributed it among the poor instead.
• He wouldn’t pass knowledge to those whom he didn’t think were serious
o Some scholars consider this a bit extreme. One should spread knowledge to
everyone, but give special attention to the special, serious ones.
o According to one of his students: when they used to take Hadith from him it
was like pulling out a tooth.
o Al-‘Amash used to say: Giving knowledge to those who don’t deserve it is like
giving gold to pigs.
 o Once he was asked: “Why don’t you go to the hairdresser to fix your hair?” He
said: “They talk too much and ask about hadith without caring about it”.
o Stationed a big dog in front of his house so the dog would scare people off.
Once his students killed the dog. Al’A’mash was seen crying. His students
asked him what happened. He said: “the one who used to do enjoin good and
forbid evil has died.”
• His mood changes quickly, His students had a very hard time with him

o He was once kidnapped by a student who forced him to narrate Hadith while
the student recorded it. But Al-‘Amash had the text with the ahadeeth written
on it returned to him by claiming it was stolen from him (stolen/forced from
him) because he could narrate all the ahadeeth on it whereas his kidnapper
could not.
• He was sarcastic: he was once asked why he wore sheep skin with fur on the
outside and the skin on the inside. Al-‘Amash responded, why don’t you give your
advice to the sheeps?

o Once someone he doesn’t like came to visit him and sat in his house. The
visitor said “I hope I’m not bothering you by being here.” Al-A’mash said:
“You bother me when you’re in your house.”
• Once a student came to his house and said I’m so hungry. Al-A’mash brought food
for him. They were still hungry. He gave him his wife’s soup. They were still
hungry. He brought them hay and put it in front of them. He said: You ate my food,
my wife’s food, now all that is left is my goat’s food!

Ask yourself: Have you ever been poor? Do you think poverty would affect your
mentality and personality? Of course it would. It is a valid reason behind some of
his behaviour.

Some Lessons from the Life of Al-‘Amash

• Don’t expect people, including scholars, to be perfect.

• Everybody has their own personality and each brings the flaws we have to accept
them for who they are.

• One should study Islam for Allah and not to become famous

• Help people to stay away from sin if you can

• If you have a belief, be firm in it

• Make knowledge accessible to people and don’t build barriers whether financial
or personal

• Scholars are like everyone else, some are rich and others are poor. And some
choose poverty in order to prevent a fitnah or uphold their beliefs.

• The Hadith of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam are not for sale

• Sincerity is an essential aspect of learning Islam. If you are not sincere, you will
find many road-blocks (some in the form of Al-‘Amash). As Allah says in Surah
Baqarah, in the longest ayah of the Qur’an: Fear Allah and Allah will teach
you.

o Ask your heart: Who is a better teacher than Allah ta’ala?

• Don’t be afraid to speak honestly and bluntly to people who are wealthier or
occupy a loftier status than yours. They, like yourselves, are made simply of flesh
and blood.

• Money isn’t everything. There is a greater purpose and aim in our lives and that is
pleasing Allah and attaining Jannah.

• If you have a teacher who has knowledge but has a gruff nature, take from his
knowledge but not his manners.
 GEM: How to increase memory? :

If you occupy your memory with non beneficial things you will have no
room for beneficial things. The best tool to increase memory is Taqwa.

Book recommended by Sh. Waleed BASYOUNI: Memory Power by Steve M.

Test Your Comprehension:

1. What does Al-‘Amash mean?

2. State 3 of Al-‘Amash’s special qualities.

3. State 3 Important factors which affected his life?

4. True or False: Al-‘Amash didn’t have many students.

5. Al-‘Amash once said, “If the people become corrupt they will have the
worst leaders.” Consider this statement. How does it relate to society
today?

6. If your child was going to study under Al-‘Amash, what 4 pieces of

advice would you give them?

V. Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee

The Scholar of the Public
p. 38

Name:

‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn ‘Amr ibn Yahmad Al-Awzaa’ee, Ad-Dimishqee

 Awzaa’ee – different opinions regarding his origin. There was a group of

Arabs who settled in Ash-Shaam called Al-Awzaa’. Debate exists whether he is
from this tribe or not.

 Al-Awzaa’ee – Awzaa’ is a place in Ash-Shaam.

  Ad-Dimishqee – lived there most of his life

Birth

• Born in 88 A.H. in Ba’labak – situated in present day Lebanon

Death

• 157 A.H. at nearly 70 years of age.

Early Life

• Once he was playing with his friends and someone mentioned: where is your
father? His eyes started tearing and he controlled himself and said: my father has
passed away.

• He said: My mother has raised me. She used to travel from one neighbourhood to
another looking for the best place where she could raise me according to 2
criteria:

a) A good place for a child to grow up – i.e. neighbourhood, friends, scholars

b) Employment – i.e. to support her son

c) Finally settled in the house of an elderly Arab man who volunteered to raise and
support Al-Awzaa’ee. He taught him and connected him with other teachers. This
man did not marry his mother which displayed he genuinely interested in
teaching Al-Awzaa’ee.

• In a way, his mother was his first teacher. Once she told him: Son, go learn. Any
knowledge that you’re going to learn under any teacher, if it’s not going to
improve your relation with Allah and won’t improve you in your manners then
it’s no good and you should move to another teacher.
 • Even when he was married, his mother looked after his son. She asked his wife
where he prayed. At fajr she would go and touch the place to see if it was warm to
check if whether or not he had prayed Qiyaam (if it was warm an indication he
prayed there).

• People used to say: “Aren’t you surprised that this young man who has been
raised by a single mother has better manners and etiquettes than those raised by
a noble royal family?”

• Son’s name was Mohammad, died when he was 27 years old. In his life, he was
recognized to be a very righteous man.

• Correction in Torch Bearers notebook p. 39: Al’Awzaa’ee married 3

women, 2 of whom were named Rawaahah and Juwairiyyah, but the third is not
Umm ‘Abdillah. Her name is unknown.

Important factors that Shaped his Life

• Lived through the Ummayyad dynasty, the Abbasids and finally the Ottomans

o He has witnessed what caused the fall of Ummayyads and what instigated
the establishments of the Abbassids

o When a ruler moves out and a new one comes in, usually the biggest
change is abrogation of everything the previous ruler did: for example a
well off person in one will likely suffer in the next regime and vice versa.

o ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee suffered the same consequence --- was

very well known during Ummayads but did not enjoy support from the
Abbasids because of this very fact.

o He saw many tough days

o 750 A. H. : A man named Abdulllah ibn Abbas entered Damascus after

surrounding for 50 days. Entered and killed crushed the Ummayads.
 Witnessing this, ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee saw how revolting
and deadly change in power is.

• This era of regime-change was also the Golden Era of Islamic knowledge:

o Imam Sufyan ath Thauree, Imam Hanifah, Imam Malik and every great
name in Fiqh, etc. well known. So many scholars equal to each other.
Many narrations collected. The concept of schools or madhabs was also
established in this time.

o Beginning of Abbasid area teachers had many followers

• Growing up in ash-Sham = centre of civilization

• People of this time paid great attention to the Arabic language. Why? Because
they were farther from the Prophet (saws) and the number of the Arab-
speakers/natives was decreasing. Wanted to preserve the language and make
sure people were experts in it. This allowed Al-Awzaa’ee to have the best teachers
of Arabic language.
• Increase in construction and the expansion of cities: Implies that the life was a lot
more materialistic. Bigger city = weaker relation within society – a decline of
brotherhood. Hence, his da’wah was focused on reminders of the hereafter and
the importance of maintaining ties with brothers. “Whoever remembers death
often; he won’t talk too much, but will show with actions.”

• There was debate about which school was stronger; Ahl al-Ra’ee lead by Abu
Hanifah in ‘Iraaq and Ahl al-Hadith lead by Imam Malik in Hijaaz (=Makkah and
Madinah). Ahl al-Ra’ee started in Basra and Ahl al-Hadith in Koofa. People in
Basra were experts at word structure/sentence structure; people in Koofa were
experts at the meaning of the words
• Non-Arabs were very fascinated about the Arabic language (grammar).
• These 2 schools were growing – one focusing on meaning, the other on structure

o Ahl-ar-Ra’ee: were using analogy to examine contemporary issues that

had not existed before and opinions of the Tabi’een whereas:
 o Ahl-al-Hadeeth: focused more on opinions of the Companions and
Hadith

o Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee saw both and wanted to integrate both

 However he was more influenced by Ahl-ul-Hadeeth and Imam

Malik

 He wanted to take the middle way and wanted to join both, but
didn’t accomplish that. His madhab ended up being closer to that of
ahl al-Hadith.

• Awzaa’ee is an expert when it comes to sects because he saw them being formed.
The last Umayyid Khalifah became Jahmi (deviant sect) :

 He said, “It used to be when so many successors would say that Allah is above His
throne, until this man (Jahm) came and claimed that Allah is not above His
throne.
“if the innovations appear in the society and we didn’t warn people about it then
in no time it would become sunnah.

Status

• One of the first to get the title Sheikh ul Islam

• One of the greatest scholars of his time

o One of the scholars said that if I would choose for the ummah of Prophet
Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam a mufti, and every man should be
directed to him for fatwa, then that man would be ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr
Awzaa’ee

• Scholars treatment of him

o Sufyan ath Thawree (from Iraq) used to be like Abu Bakr in his time – every
scholar would look up to Sufyan

o Sufyan visiting Madinah – when he heard that ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr

Awzaa’ee was also coming on his camel he ran outside with Imam Malik
grabbed the reigns of the camel of al-Awzaa’ee – and guided him to his house.
While they were leading him they are telling the people that make way for the
sheikh

o After ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee left students asked Imam Malik: how
was it? Is he better than Sufyan or is Sufyan better. Imam Malik concluded:
Sufyan memorized more narrations than ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee
but Awzaa’ee is more accurate than Sufyan

o When asked whose opinion he would go with, replied: Sufyan is strict towards
the people and Awzaaee is lenient. Therefore, Awzaaee was preferred.

o ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee had his own madhhab (religious school of

thought) and the courts used his ruling and taught his opinions in school for
more than 200 years

o Ibn Habban born 180 years after ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee. Ibn
Habban said that his fatwas most famous reference we used in our cities and
our schools.

o However ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee’s madhaab NEVER made it, never

lasted in the way that the Hanafi, Shafi’ee, Maliki, and Hanbali
madhaahib did.

o North Africa and ash-Sham also for 40 year after his death was practiced.

o WHY does a Madhab die? There were other madhaahib than the four
commonly known. So what made the other four more popular (listed above)?
We still have the other schools of thought. Any student of knowledge knows to
find opinion you will find opinions of other madhaahib as well.
 2 Reasons – for the spread of decline of a Madhhab

1. Ruler

o For example the Abbasids based in Iraq and for support of the people
take their madhab and make it the madhab of the country. Also to
Egypt when Abbasids came there. So they took Imam Abu hanifahs
madhhab and made it the norm.

o If one Madhab was preferred by the previous regime, i.e. Umayyads,

then the new leader will ensure it is wiped out or made inferior to the
Madhab the new leader adopts, i.e. Abassids.

2. Business

o We will give you money to spread this madhaab (if it suits us)

o Through endowments – I will build you school and you will teach
such and such madhaab

 Why did Al-Awzaa’ees madhab die out?

1. One man who came to Sham took the spotlight– Muhammad ibn Idrees al-
Shafi – very close to ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee – but in between
Maliki and Hanafi in terms of rulings – people accepted and were more
inclined to his opinions.

2. Last 10 years of his life he avoided the lime light and in the shadow and the
people forgot about him. His students continued with other people

3. After his death the publishing of books became more famous, so his madhab
couldn’t be preserved due to the power of the books. Al Hakam ibn Hisham
governor in N. Africa formerly supported and too the responsibility of
 preserving the Madhab of ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee’s madhab but
later switched to Imam Malik’s Madhab.

Special Qualities

• He more focused on Sunnah rather than philosophical arguments

• If he did not know the evidence he would not answer

• He gave more than 70,000 opinions and he would always start with
“Hadathanaa” (“He narrated to us” = commonly said when beginning to
narrate a Hadith. Therefore, would begin his answer with Hadith).

• It is said there are 6 people who saved the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad
Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam and one of these was ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr
Awzaa’ee

• He would not study under anybody who was not Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa’

• He travelled to meet Hasan al-Basree but he died before he could get to him.
• He visited Ibn Sireen when he was sick. He died 2 days after.
• He met a lot of scholars in hajj
• Once Awzaa’ee debated Imam Abu Haneefah and the latter beat him. Both were
very knowledgeable men, but just because you have the knowledge does not mean
you will be able to debate with it.

• Spent almost all his life giving fatawa – his first fatwa was given by him when he
was 13! By age 15, he was officially giving fatawa and continued to do so for many
years. What’s so special about this? This means he is a friend to the community
and knows what the society is going through. Judges for example are distant from
the community.

• One can tell situation of a community simply by the questions they ask when
seeking fatawa. i.e. you might find one community asking mostly about polygamy
 or halal meat issue an get a good background of the issues they are going through,
etc.

• Ask your heart: what were you doing when you were 13? How can you take
fuller advantage of your life to serve Allah? (we don’t all have to give fatawa).

• Excellent manners

o Honoured Pure speech: he once said to Ibn Baq’ee – do not use foul or false
language against anybody. If you hear someone who speaks ill of others you
should stay away from that person.

o Very humble – if he wore turban he would ask his students to wear as well,
not so that they follow him, but so that he is not the only one who is wearing
the turban

o When someone called him on the street he would respond quickly by saying
“Labbaik”

o Very cheerful but never laughing out loud

• Scholar of the public

o Interceding – Abu Jafa Al Mansoor the Abbasid Khaleefah – the roman took
as prisoners some muslims – people came to ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr
Awzaa’ee and he went to Abu Jafa complaining about their husbands,
children, sons have been taken as prisoners. He interceded on their behalf

 When the Abbasid took over – entered Lebanon took over a mountainous
area- the Christians of the area complained to ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr
Awzaa’ee – Imam ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee went to the
governor – and the governor said what do you care about this
  Once a Christian woman came to ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee to
engage him to speak to the governor about reducing tax but she presented
him a jar of honey. He responded you have 2 choices give me the honey
and I won’t talk to him or keep the honey and I will (i.e. He did not stand
for bribery).

 Businesses coming to him to go to the leaders to reduce taxes

o NOTE: Lenient fatwa does not mean making the haraam halal (i.e. saying
mortgages are halal). But it means understanding what the people are going
through and taking their situation into considering when deciding an
answer from the Shari’ah (Islamic law).

o Always invited people to his home and cooked with his own hand

• Avid Worshipper

o Made hajj with him 150AH and was never seen sleeping during the night

o One of his students said that he counted the number of Nafl

(extra/supererogatory) prayers Awzaa’ee made before Jumm’ah Salah and
he lost count. Another student counted 34 (remember the ground rules, the
actions of the scholars are not established proofs for our own acts of
worship. Just because Awzaa’ee prayed 34 raka’at before Jumm’ah salah
does not mean we are encouraged or obligated to do so).

o Ask your heart: How early must he have gone to the masjid in order offer
these prayers? What more can you do this week improve your Jumm’ah
salah?

• Prestigious look

o One of the rulers said – By Allah I will do such and such to him but when
‘Abdur-Rahman ibn-‘Amr Awzaa’ee came the rulers stance changed.
 o This was because Awzaa’ee his appearance compelled people to speak to him
with respect.

• Very generous and accessible scholar

o He always invited people to come and eat with him.

o He would always accept gifts despite the religion or social status of the
giver.

A Gift from Imam Al-Awzaa’ee

Practice the Sunnah with patience: stop where the companions had stopped, say as
they had said and abstain from what they had abstained from. What was sufficient
for them can be sufficient for you.”

Note: An Event to Remember covered in detail p. 45-49 of binder

Some Lessons from the Life of Imam Al-Awzaa’ee

- Travel to get knowledge

- Being brave and speaking with wisdom in the time of difficulty
- You can never be guaranteed the position tomorrow that you have today (re:
change of regime and its affect on him)
- Smile 
- Debate in a respectful way
- Good upbringing always pays off (re: care of his mother)
- Don’t fear people more than Allah
- Don’t only gain knowledge, learn how to use it. (re: don’t just read
these lessons, apply them personally and teach others)
- If the Sunnah was sufficient for the sahabah, it is sufficient for us.
- In Aqeedah, follow the footsteps of the sahabah
- First teachers are mothers
- Don’t acquire knowledge for the sake of acquiring knowledge.

- Often in the beginning students of knowledge isolate themselves in their bubbles

and do not interact with the public. Al-Awzaa’ee was always available to and
attended the needs of the public. A different world exists outside this bubble – a
world where people don’t understand what it means to have knowledge

- Acquiring knowledge has a responsibility – to pass the knowledge on to the

people so that people benefit and raise themselves from where ever they are.

Test Your Comprehension:

7. What was his kunyah? (hint: look in notebook)

8. Describe one important social event in his life and how it affected him.
9. List 3 people who had a major influence on his life.
10. Why was Al-Awzaa’ee was considered a scholar of the public?
(minimum 5 points)
11.Briefly describe the history of his Madhab (i.e. rise and fall).
12. What is the greatest personal gem you can derive from the life of Al-
Awzaa’ee. Share it with one other person.
VI. Baqiyy Ibn Makhlad

Al-Miknasah

p. 52

 Al-Miknasah (The Broom) ~ the scholar who could sweep anyone away. No one was
an equal in the terms of knowledge he had

Name

Baqiyy ibn Makhlad ibn Yazeed Al-Adaluse Al-Qurtubee

o Al Andaluse Al Qurtubee – from Andalus in a city called Cordoba

Kunyah

o Abu Abdur Rahman ~ very famous kunyah for Muhadithoon

Birth

Born in Ramadan, 201 AH or March, 817 CE

Early Life

o His family was poor. Most of the food they would eat was cabbage and they did not
have money to buy meat or other vegetables. This also meant he would travel
primarily by foot since he did not have a mule.

o Lived during time of Ummayads and witnessed the rule of 5 khulafah.

o He become seriously interested in Islamic knowledge when he was a teenager

o Al-Andalus was situated very distantly from the rest of the Muslim world; the closest
source of Islamic knowledge thus became North Africa which was nearest the Iberian
Peninsula.

o Very far away from Muslim land so closest place information comes from N. Africa –
Morocco – knowledgeable people only come as far as N. Africa – students come to
them and take knowledge from them

o When Ummayyids fell in 750 CE there was massive killings perpetrated by the
Abbassids. The Ummayyids, however, re-established their caliphate in Andalus
within 7 years.

o The Abbassids were known to support the Hanafi madhab but the Maliki madhab
developed strongly in Andalus. And neither were the Ummayyids fond of anything
the Abbassids adopted. Imam Malik taught primarily in Madinah – an international
city. The visiting students of knowledge were exposed to the fatawa of Imam Malik
and they would go back and teach and support his books and opinions. Where the
Maliki madhab stretched as far west as Iraq, North Africa, and Andalus - the Hanafi
madhhab was spreading eastwards. (Note: the Shafi’I madhhab gained prominence
after Imam Al-Awzaa’ee).
o Thus in Andalus, the knowledge of the people became limited to what Imam Malik
and his students said. Came to a dangerous point where the people developed a
mentality that was the only opinion that existed.

o This bothered Baqiyy. He therefore traveled to North Africa, where he studied under
under Sahnoon ibn Sa’eed in Tunisia, and continued in his travels to Egypt, Makkah,
Madinah, Ash-Sham, Iraq, where he studied under Imaam Ahmed. He embarked on
his journey for knowledge two separate times, both with Andalus as the starting
point.

o He was always excited about learning the Hadith

o Growing problem. People only quoted the opinions of scholars and mentioned their
names but never the original textual sources upon which the scholar had based his
ruling. The Sunnah was becoming an obscure thing, sure to be forgotten.

o This irritated Baqiyy a lot and he concerned himself with the science of Hadith and
became a collector of narrations.

o Later on he developed interest in collecting the opinions of companions fiqh of

sahabah and the later generations

o After going back to Andalus after his second trip, Baqiyy became famous

o When he settled in Andalus, he brought with him many books that contained the
madhaahib of various scholars and the opinions of the sahabah

o When he came back to Andalus he faced a real problem with the Maliki Fuqahaa –
whom from early age only learned what Maliki said and nothing else. When Baqiyy
came with information from all over the world it highlighted the Maliki jurists’
weakness and they therefore began to reject him. They went to the government and
spread false propaganda against Baqiyy– that Baqiyy studied in foreign places and
bringing innovations to spread in Andalus.

o Why this reaction? Imagine you leave Toronto and come back after 10 years and in
the mean time a friend who taught here during that time becomes very respectable
 but when I come back I start criticizing him? Understandably, my friend would not
take it well.

o He had one son Ahmed who was also a Muhaddith.

o Walked all this distance – tall well built – no fat on his body only pure meat and
muscle – he never rode an animal in his life

Important Factors Shaping his Life

• Study under Sahnoon ibn Sa’eed, Great Maliki Faqih. Used to live in current
Tunisia – imam of the Malikis, Great scholar in Hadeeth Died 265 A.H Wrote
more than 200 books. Sahnoon’s father was a great scholar as well. Sahnoon
would have a circle in the masjid and his father would have a circle next to his.
He would say something that his father did not agree with and they would start to
have a debate. This experience gave Baqiyy another picture of Maliki Shuyook,
that they could belong to the same madhab but still dissent and hold differing
opinions. In Andalusia, Malikis were of one opinion.

• While Sahnoon was Imam Malik student but would always present the evidence
and sometimes even criticize his teacher – based on evidence.

• For Baqiyy this unique – and that he could take route other than just being
Muqallid (blind follower).

• Travelling in pursuit of knowledge. Travelling great experience for anyone in life.

Exposure to many scholars – 284 of them. Variety of teachers – multiple
opinions. Tolerance to others. Exposed to Shafi’ madhab which was a middle
ground between the Maliki and Hanafi madhaahib, between ahl al-hadith and ahl
al-ra’ee.
 • Met Imam Ahmed Al Hanbal. Spent 34 years travelling to collect hadeeth of the
Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wa sallam. Travelled 20,000 miles. This
is one of the reasons other scholars regard him with esteem.

• Spread of rumours and falsehood. Famous line in poetry:

If Allah wants to spread good about a person he will make people

envious of him

• Those who envied him started to talk to ruler to the extent calling him apostate.

• Ruler was Abdur Rahman al Andaluse – was a just ruler. He called Baqiyy, Abdur
Rahman with a love for knowledge and having established a huge library. Abdur
Rahman called for his books. Baqiyy presented the Musannaf of Abu Bakr. Abdur
Rahman went through the book and loved it. He told Baqiyy that he had his word
and support and to go anywhere in the country and teach in any mosque. Thus
having his political support Baqiyy did not have to worry anything but spreading
the knowledge

• Political Stability in Ummayad state lasted for 260 years. Whenever a scholar
would come from Andalus they would say that you have Baqiyy in your land and
you do not need to come and travel to a foreign place.

• Adh Dhahabi gave him title of Shaikh ul Islam

Special Qualities

o Spread Hadith and sunnah in Andalus

o Believed people needed to know the sunnah and thus revived knowledge of the
sunnah in Andalus

o People with the Sunnah to the extent that he made a statement which some consider
a bit strong:

o “I have planted in Andalus knowledge that will remain until the false messiah will
come.”
o Authored 2 great books: a) Tafseer Baqiyy, Tafsir written by Baqiyy with no
comparison even At-Tabarani. This tafseer is lost – even though Imam Mubarakpuri
mentions that he has found a copy of this tafsir or at least a part of it in a Berlin
museum. B) AlMusnad

o Note: when scholars write books of hadeeth in 2 way :

o A) Divide books by the names of the companions – i.e. start with Abu Bakr then
Umar then Uthman and so on – narrate all the hadeeth that Abu bakr narrated and
then Umar’s narrations and so on. This is called a Musnad.

o B) Other way is to separate by chapter of Fiqh – i.e. At Tahara – As Salat etc. This is
called a Sunan.

o He came up with combination of both – so he would put Abu Bakr and instead of
putting all the Hadeeth Abu Bakr ever narrated he would put it in order of Fiqh.

o Very unique – shows that not only collection of data but also analyzing the data. This
had never been done before.

o He compiled narrations from 1,300 companions – and under each companion had
separate chapters. This book also does not exist anymore – although it was not any
less than Bukharis work

o He was also Mujtahid (able to give fatwa) and Faqeeh besides a Muhaddith

o Despite all this knowledge he was very approachable – would help the people, would
answer the questions, also participated in 72 battles.

o He loved people and cared about them. Whenever he heard of a funeral – he would
go there and walk until the dead were buried

o He would write to the king to intercede for other people

o Before he would go to Isha prayer – would go a little bit earlier and ask neighbour
about their life and how they were
o Avid worshipper – at the end of his life – would finish Quran once daily – fast
everyday except Fridays’ and Eid day. His son said that my father used to pray 100
Rak’ah during the day. (Recall: Ground Rules).

o Devoted to worship of Allah and completely detached from the Duniya. He realised
the reward of good deeds was that they brought about more good deeds.

Appearance & Characteristics

• He had a very big build and stature and was very strong; he was never seen upon
a riding animal. He had a hooked nose with a big beard. They used to say “there
is no fat in his body. It’s pure meat and muscle”
• Al-Imam Adh-Dhahabee said about him: “He was a great Imaam; truthful,
sincere, righteous, a role model in knowledge and deed, with no one to compare
to him.”

A Gift from Baqiyy

“I have planted, in Andalusia, the knowledge that will remain until the
emergence of the False Messiah

His Death

Lived in Cordoba until the end of his life and he died in 28 Jumaadah Al-Aakhirah,
276 AH (October 27, 889 CE) in Andalus (Cordova)

Some Lessons from the Life of Baqiyy ibn Makhlad

• Do not be afraid of criticizing your friends if they are wrong

• Travelling in itself will be a teacher and will give you great experience in your
life – different culture, different way of life – if you are exposed to only one
culture you will think everybody thinks like that. i.e. a woman who had never
travelled except to Makkah – She had an Indonesian Maid who didn’t speak
 Arabic but only Indonesian – When the woman heard Indonesian she thought
that the person was still speaking like a child.

• Learn from as many teachers as possible – however be wary of teachers with

incorrect ideas

• Learn the source of the religion – understand the evidence

• Be open minded

• If you have influence help those who cannot help themselves – If you can
stretch your hand to help someone do not hold back. Baqiyy would not pick
and choose – he would help whoever he could whether he knew them or not –
he would often walk with people he didn’t know.

• Managing time – standard routine of doing things – having a routine can be

good and bad – but routine gives shape and balance to life – without some
routine won’t be able to achieve what you want.

• Where there is a will there is a way – his obstacle was that he was far away
from everyone and poor but did that stop him.

• The statement that he planted his knowledge in Andalus – He was driven to

impact generation after generation – Ask yourself: How much have I done to
impact generation. Ibn Baz said that to live for the sake of Allah is much
harder than to die for the sake Allah

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator

• Do not let rumours stop you from doing good

• One Should always be easy to approach – smile, it’s sunnah 

Ask myself: How many Hadeeth have I memorized? If nobody knows a single Hadeeth
and everyone dies how many Hadeeth will I carry to my children?
How can you help spread the Sunnah in the community? (Ideas brainstormed in class)

1. Revive a unique sunnah and act upon it that will prompt inquiry

2. Have memorization Halaqas where take one book like Imam Nawawi’s collection
and memorize it

3. Read a chapter of Riyadh us Saliheen after Maghrib every day

4. Learn about the seerah of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam

to build love of the Prophet and his Sunnah – take CD’s of Anwar – al – Awlaki
and spread them

5. Create a schedule and analyze the way of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu
`Alayhi-wasallam during the entire day and spread to the people

6. Create videos and post on Youtube that highlight a specific Sunnah

7. Give Specific Sheikh’s CD’s to different people

8. Revival Sunnah day – bring the youth and call it revival sunnah day

9. Paste a daily hadeeth on facebook

10. On every special occasion spread sunnah about the occasion via email, cell text

11. Make Sunnah fortune cookies 

12. Make artwork that signifies a specific sunnah and spread

13. Put stickers with masnoon du’aas all over my home for specific actions (i.e. du’aa
for entering washroom taped on the bathroom door, etc)

14. Weekly halaqa dedicated to hadeeth or start with Hadeeth

15. Whenever give a gift educate with a sunnah

16. Email signature that changes every week with one sunnah

17. Hadith of the day setup through website

 18. Send SMS with Hadeeth and educate about the sunnah of the Prophet
Muhammad Sallallahu `Alayhi-wasallam

19. Buy books and place them in the masjid

20.Sponsor events that promote the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu
`Alayhi-wasallam

21. If writing for a column always mention sunnah

22. Bookmarks with ahadeeth written on them

VII. Zumurrud Jawlee

The firm and prudent

p. 64

Name

Zumurrud Khaatoon bint Jawlee, Safwat Al-Mulk

 Safwat al-Mulk – Cream of Royalty. She was a Queen. She was a daughter of a
king, sister of a king, wife of two kings, mother of two kings, and grandmother
of a king. Her half-brother from her mother’s side was a king
 From the Seljuk Turks (Turks of Iraq)

Why were there soo many kings?

o The region was divided in such a way that each major city would have its
own king.
o What about the khilafah? Yes it existed, but Abassid khalifahs didn’t
have anything to do with the rest of the world. It basically a name. Every
major city was ruled by its own governor/king and ran its own affairs
without having anything to do with the khilafah. The Turks, are taking
over that part of the Muslim country. That’s why the names are non-
Arabic.

Birth

o She was born in 470 AH (1074 CE) in Damascus, Ash-Shaam

o Ash-Shaam included: Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. The biggest cities
were Jerusalem and Damascus.

Death

She died in 557 AH (1161 CE), having lived almost 90 years.

Early Life
 • Her father was the king of Damascus.
• Her uncle was also the king of Damascus.
• Her step-father, King Tintish was a king.
• Her half-brother, King Daqqaaq (much older than her) was also a king in Ash-
Shaam before the Crusaders.
• Had a royal upbringing, but her father cared about raising her with knowledge
• She was an intelligent, smart woman. She memorized the Qur’an during her
childhood.
• She started studying Hanafi fiqh.
In that time, any kingdom would hold to one madhab and would consider as a
religion, they would hold on to it very strongly. They only knew madhaab abu-
Hanifah.
• She was raised in a pure Hanafi surrounding, hence mastered the madhab and
considered as a scholar in this field.
• Although her upbringing was in prestigious manner but her father cared about
her and concerned for her

• He encouraged to gain knowledge

• She memorized Quran during her childhood

• And then started to learn Fiqh

• She started learning hadith and sunnah. In Damascus, a lot of people from
different backgrounds came there, so she studied from them and got her ijaaza.
• Married King Booree – one of the greatest kings of his time, who also belonged
to the Seljuk Truks. He was known to be a great fighter in the wars against the
Crusaders and in fighting the Baatinees.
• Baatinees – ones who occupied Egypt at the time. Extreme shias who
came from north Africa and built Cairo and later Al-Azhar university.
Not like modern-day Shias, they were much more extreme in their
beliefs. Their king considered himself to be god and asked people to
prostrate to him when he would walk in the city. If he loved a fruit, he
 would make it unlawful for normal people to eat. These people were
number one supporters of the Crusaders. Gave them spies, money and
were responsible for bringing them to Jerusalem.
• Thus, the main goal of Muslims: cut off connection between Baatinees
and Crusaders in Jerusalem. This is why Cairo was important for
Muslims to take over.
• Her husband divided the work between him and his wife. He
concentrated on building army/allies, meeting delegates, and left his
wife responsible for education and affairs related to the public. She
looked after requests of the public. This made her very famous and
beloved by her community. She supported education.

Appearance & Characteristics

People commented about her intelligence and beauty.

Important Factors That Shaped Her Life

1. Growing up in a family of royalty made her well-educated with refined

manners. She was taught adab and akhlaaq. She had a lot of dignity.
2. She was surrounded by scholars at an early age and she memorized the Qur’an.
Besides the royal upbringing, she was also raised by the hands of the scholars
from an early time.
3. She grew up during the time of the Crusaders, who occupied their land for
more than 40 years.
a. Saw how crusaders preserved their occupation by using
counties/dividing up Muslim land
b. This weakened the economy of Muslims and caused divisions in Muslim
lands.
c. Crusaders demanded high taxes
4. She saw dissension among the Muslim Ummah: every city formed its own min-
government with its own king and they fought against each other
5. She witnessed the movement of ‘Imaad Ad-deen Zinkee. He had a dream of
reuniting the small cities under one leadership so that as one strong group,
they could attack the crusaders one county at a time. The only condition was
that the Muslims needed to be united under his leadership. If people didn’t
obey, he would by force invade the city and put them under his leadership
against Crusaders
a. Regarded Damascus as a problem – big army, lots of power. Hence,
their relationship with him wasn’t good
6. Death of her husband and her son Shams al-Mulook
7. Her son, Isma’eel, became king. He was a very corrupt man – given to wanton
behaviour like drinking. He would devour money that was to be put towards
building army, and spend it on his personal use.
a. He would torture his people and collect taxes
b. His older brother (Sunj) showed some objection to him. He locked up
his own brother without food or water, until he died.
c. People complained about him to his mother and to Zinkee
d. He was eventually killed
8. Her son Shihab ad-Deen Mahmood’s succession to the throne of Damscus
a. Because Mahmood had a very weak personality, Zumurrud was the one
really ruling while he served as a prop.
b. She had a lot of experience already. She changed the country 180
degrees, to the point that Damascus became a shining land at that time.
She abolished taxes, started the biggest school (al-Khatooniyya), and
thus the people tasted prosperity.
c. She was only weak at building the army and launching wars (recall: this
is the field her husband had dealt with during his lifetime while she
handled social issues like education)
d. Her advisors and those who previously benefited from the corrupt rule
of her deposed son Isma’eel did not take kindly to the reforms instituted
by Zumurrud. Since her son bent to her will, the only way they could
fulfill their needs was to get rid of her so that they might influence her
son the King for themselves.
 e. Her advisors found a solution by suggesting Zumurrud marry Zinkee.
Zumurrud thinking some benefit might come from this for her people
relented and agreed to marry Zinkee. When she married Zinkee and
went out of Damascus, the corrupt advisors locker doors of Damascus
on her and said “you betrayed us and married Zinkee who attacked us
before”
9. Zinkee abandoned her
a. She went to khalifah in Baghdad, but she couldn’t even see him, because
they were corrupt (either drunk, weak, etc.)
b. She gave up all the royalty and went to live in Makkah to spend the rest
of her life
c. She ran out of money and took up cooking, serving, sewing to support
herself
d. Near her death, she moved to Madinah because she knew the Hadith of
the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam stating that whoever dies in
Madinah, he sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam would intercede for that person
e. Very soon after, she died.
f. After her death, and after people had buried her, her servant told them
that she was the Queen of Damascus and told them about her lineage.
g. People never knew about her nobility before her death.

Status

1. She was a noble and righteous queen.

2. She was Haafidhah and Faqihah
3. She was daughter of a king, wife of two kings, sister of a king, mother of two
kings, and grandmother of a king.

Special Qualities
 1. Combination of knowledge and power: she was a haafidhah and faqeehah as well as a
queen.
2. She financially and politically supported the Hanafi scholars. This made her famous
amongt the hanafi scholars at that time
3. She was righteous in wealth and poverty, during power and when it was taken away.
No one knew her royal lineage in Madinah until after she had died. She was modest
and was not given to boasting.
4. She cared and loved her people profoundly and so she was well-loved and respected by
her people.
a. In spite of this, people forgot about her.
b. In general, people like to follow. When another ruler came, people just forgot
her and followed the new leader.
5. She firmly held on to the truth
a. Never compromised the truth

An Event to Remember

Her son (Isma’eel) started spreading rumours about his own mother - accusing his
own mother of zina (illegal sexual relations).

To take care of Zinkee, he told the crusaders “I’ll give you Damascus, if you fight me
against Zinkee and ride him out and keep me as a governor under the crusader rule”.

Zumurrud considered this the final straw. She ordered her servants and guards to lock
the palace doors, and when her son entered she ordered them to kill him. She watched
him scream: “Zinhaar! Zinhaar!” (“Protect me! Protect me!”) until he died. In the
morning, his body was taken and thrown out in front of the people. Thereafter, she
appointed her second son, Mahmood, as the new ruler.

When her son was calling out to her, Zumurrud didn’t even blink. She watched him
get killed.

After this, she was taken to the court because she killed the king.
Does this mean Muslims can just kill others without the ruling of a judge or leader of
the Muslims? Absolutely, NO!

o Recall Zumurrud was not just anybody. She belonged to the ruling class and
was a Queen in her own right.
o She was also a Faqeehah. Before she had killed her son, she had consulted a
judge regarding regarding whether or not she could implement the hudood
punishment for Isma’eel for having killed a man (recall he killed Sunj, his own
brother). The judge agreed that it would be permissible.
o When she was taken to court for the killing of Isma’eel she presented these
points and was therefore cleared.

A Gift from Zumurrud Jawlee

Dignity is the mark of a true royal upbringing

Lessons from the Life of Zumurrud Jawlee

• Maintaining dignity at every step of life – no matter what happens, people can’t
take your dignity away from you
• Not letting status and power corrupt you
• Standing up against falsehood regardless of who is committing it, even if it is
your own brother or son
• Using intelligence and wisdom in times of difficulty
• Never quitting, no matter what problems you are facing
• Never hesitating to do the right thing
• Always stay within the bounds of Shari’ah and never exceeding it to serve your
own interests
• Don’t ever marry for the wrong reason (marriage isn’t a political step!)
• Don’t think your kids will automatically be righteous if you are righteous
• People forget you quickly, so don’t rely on people for aid
• Not taking law in your own hands. Using Hikmah to deal with the situation
appropriately
 • Allah gives to whomever He wants and takes from whoever He wants, whenever
he wants

• Love the people and the people will love you

• Remain content with Allah’s wisdom because people will forget quickly

• Ask yourself? Have you been through problems like her? What excuse do I have?
No matter how difficult time I am having, I can overcome it. I can adjust.

• Behind every successful man is a woman

• Do not hesitate to do the right thing

• Have good advisors around you

• Don’t let emotions drive your decisions

• Give children the right education

• Sometimes doing the right thing is the hardest thing

• Can you play a role in making a change in your community?

• Don’t take the law in to your own hands as an average citizen

VIII. Faatimah As-Samarqandiyyah

The Beautiful Jurist

p. 71

Name

Faatimah bint Muhammad bin Ahmad As-Samarqandee

 From Samarqand, present-day Uzbekistan

Birth

o Date unknown, born in the village of Kaasaan in Samarqand, Bukhaara

o Kaasaan also pronounced as “Kaashan”)

Death

Exact date unknown, shortly before 587 AH (1191 CE – that’s when her husband died,
and in his biography, it is noted she shortly died before that)

Early Life

• Her father was a great Hanafee faqeeh. People travelled from all over the world
to come and study under him.
• The Hanafi School is spread over a huge area, which implies a vast
student body, and thus many different opinions within the school. Fiqh
of Abu Hanifah became very prominent.
• It became important for the student of knowledge to look for the best of
best Hanafi scholar, as there were a lot of Hanafi followers.
• He was well-known for his righteousness. He devoted his entire life teaching
not just his students but his family as well.
• He wrote “Tuhfatul-Fuqaha” – a famous book of Hanafi fiqh
• Fatimah proved her intelligence at an early age. Additionally, she had
extremely beautiful hand-writing. She would write letters for her father. Note:
the printing press had not been invented yet and so an excellent hand was a
great asset.
• She studied and mastered the entire Hanafi madhab under the care of her
father
• Once her husband was teaching and she was home (attached to masjid).
She heard him talking and corrected him on something in the madhhab
• Sometimes her father would refer his students to her.
• After mastering the fiqh of Abu Hanifah, her father allowed her to go and study
under several other shuyookh – science of hadith, etc.
 • Everyone would look at her and call her a great scholar.
• Because of her knowledge, beauty and father she was considered very eligible
in terms of marriage. Many rich, noble people, who had heard of her, even in
the middle-east, came to her father and asked for her hand in marriage. He
especially said no to anyone who would take her away from the circle of
knowledge around her father.
• Abu Bakr Al-Kaasaanee, a student of her father, proposed to her. He wasn’t a
rich, noble man. He said: “I’ll ask her”. She said: “I’ll marry him one condition,
that he must write an explanation for Tuhfatul-Fuqahaa”. This was another
way of preserving, respecting, and ensuring the book remains in circulation. In
a way, she has paid her father back for his knowledge. Her father’s book didn’t
make it, but the explanation she commissioned from her husband has survived
until this day. His explanation is known as the first reference for the Hanafi
madhab.
• Her husband was called “Malik ul-‘Ulama”, because of the amount of ‘ilm he
had
• She moved to Aleppo, Syria with her husband, after her father’s death
• She started teaching in the Umayyad masjid in Aleppo. She used to participate
with her father in issuing fatawa and with her husband as well.
• She became so famous that even the King (Noor-ud-deen Zinkee) asked
Faatimah to be one of his counsellors, so that he can consult her on a regular
basis.

Appearance & Characteristics

• She was known for her beauty and her beautiful handwriting.
• Note: Many ways of recognizing a woman’s beauty without her uncovering her
hijab, such as:

(1) Through family,

 (2) Through other women,

(3) From when she was younger – i.e. before puberty,

(4) It might be that she didn’t cover her face – although it is most likely
considering the times that she did.

Important Factors That Shaped Her Life

1. She grew up in a scholarly home.

a. She is righteous
b. She is committed to ‘ilm and she has access to ‘ilm from an early age
c. She is used to practice giving fatawa with her father. So, she understood
the situation of the people and was able to issue fatawa according to the
people’s problems and situation.
2. She married a student of knowledge
a. Guaranteed that she would continue her pursuit of knowledge
3. She held an advisory position to the great King of Aleppo, Nooruddeen Zinkee
a. It allowed her to know the problems in the community
b. She would know what general people won’t know. Before when she
practiced fatwa, she knew the problems on a societal level. But her
involvement with the leadership made her aware of problems at a
national and regional level, which would make her open-minded, and
gave her a bigger arena to participate in.

Status

1. Great hanafee Faqeehah and Mujtahidah (on who is able to issue fatwa
regarding new issues).
2. We know that she was a very wise woman. Rulers such as Az-Zinkee sought her
advice due to her great wisdom.
Special Qualities

1. She had an outstanding familial relationships with her father and husband
a. GEM: When you have a good relationship with your family, you can

also face the entire world. You’re able to concentrate more on what

you’re doing in the community, rather than worrying about your

domestic problems.
2. She had precise knowledge and understanding of Hanafi Madhab
3. She respected and cared for knowledge and scholars from an early age till her
death
a. When served as an advisor, she built schools
b. She invited scholars for iftar in Ramadan. Once she sold her bracelet to
feed some scholars in Aleppo during Ramadan
4. She had wisdom and a broad outlook. Note: Just because you are
knowledgeable does not mean you are wise.

An Event to Remember

When her father issued a written fatwa, it would always be signed:

Muhammad bin Ahmad As-Samarqandee

Faatimah Bint Muhammad As-Samarqandiyyah

After marriage, her husband’s name, Abu Bakr Al-Kaasaanee, was added underneath.
After her father’s death, their fatawa would be issued with her name first, followed by
her husband’s name.

• This was out of respect, admitting she is a knowledgeable woman, and also out
of love for his wife.
 Death

She wanted to go to Samarqand near her death so that she would die where her father
died. The king said he needed both of them. Her husband sent a messenger to go to
her while he spoke to the King about his request for her to stay back.

She sent the messenger back with a message for her husband. The message went
along these lines: “It seems like amidst all the governors, you’ve forgotten the Islamic
knowledge you had learned. How can you send a man to a woman in her house when
she’s staying alone to talk to her?” She told the messenger to go to her husband and
tell him to come and talk to her if he has a problem. She decided to stay back and died
shortly after.

When Fatimah died, her husband stopped teaching – everyday he would go after Asr
and would go to her grave and he would cry and stay for hours. Shortly after he also
died and was buried next to her. Such was the extreme love he had for her.

A Gift from Faatimah

Fathers, invest in your daughters

Lessons from the Life of Faatimah

• Develop a good relationship with your family

• Father’s invest in your daughters

• Sometimes women get lost in their vanity and forget their greater role.

• Stay humble and modest even when people everywhere are praising you.

• Not being afraid of taking opportunities

• Act on the advice of the Prophet sal Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Marry for Taqwa,
not primarily or only for wealth, status, or beauty.
 • Benefit your parents after their death – sadaqa jariyah
• Don’t let your status stop you from benefiting those around you
• Women can be great family members and still benefit their communities
• You don’t need to disobey Allah to be an activist and to give back to the society
• Husbands should let their wives participate in the community, even outside
their home if Shariah-compliant
• Don’t differentiate between sons and daughters (read in surah of Aal-e-‘Imraan
the ayaat regarding the mother of Maryam, grandmother of Prophet Isa)
• When you see someone very talented, make sure you value them and invest in
them because you’re investing in your ummah
• You don’t need to disobey Allah to be an activist or make a change or have a name –
some think that to get something done will have to give up a little of your hijab

• Knowledge raises you above gender, wisdom raises you above the status quo

• Take the advice of your father

• Be the change you want to see in the world

Many people mistakenly believe the only one to carry their legacy is
their son and so they don’t invest in their daughters. Guess what? You
don’t know who will bring benefit to you. Treat all your children with
the equality and propriety Islam demands.

• Give back to your parents – support them in any and every matter

• How am I going to keep his legacy or his name alive after he dies? Do we
think about this?

• Say: I don’t know when you don’t know!

• Learn good from whoever you can – humble yourself to learn from your children

• Refer to someone more knowledgeable even if they are younger.

 Test Your Comprehension:

13.How did Faatimah preserve her father’s work: “Tuhfatul Fuqahaa?”

14.What factors contributed to Faatimah’s expansive knowledge of Hanafi
Fiqh?
15.What prompted Faatimah’s father to accept Abu Bakr Al-Kaasaanee?
16.List reasons why Faatimah never became engrossed in worldly affairs
despite being sought after by rulers?
17.What is a Mujtahidah?
18.What factors contributed to the strong relations she enjoyed with her
father and later her husband?

IX. ‘Abdul-Ghanee Al-Maqdisee

The Bold Diamond

p. 76
Name
‘Abdul-Ghanee ibn ‘AbdilWahid ibn ‘Alee Al-Jummaa’eelee Al-Maqdisee, then Ad-
Dimashqee, As-Saalihee, Al-Hanbalee, Taqiyyuddeen

 Jummaa’eel – born there

 Maqdisee – from bait ul-Maqdis (Jerusalem)
 Dimishqee – lived in Damascus. Note: What was unique about Damascus at this
time?
o Muslims from all over started emigrated there due to the Crusaders,
Fatimids, etc in their homelands. It therefore became a very multicultural
area.
 Saalihee – his neighbourhood (by that time, the debate between the Madhaahib
was at its peak. Society was divided based on which madhab they followed. As a
result, people also chose the neighbourhoods they would live in depending on the
madhhab its inhabitants upheld.
  Hanbalee – It became the norm to mention one’s madhab in their names.
Because of the Fatimids (extreme Shi’as in Egypt), the Sunnis would put their
Madahab in their name to show that they are Sunni and not Shi’a. At that time, if
you followed any of the 4 madhahib, you were sunni, if you did not follow any
madhab, it implied you were shi’a.
 Taqiyyuddeen – means the righteous person
Kunyah
Abu Muhammad

Birth
541 AH (1146 CE) in Jummaa’eel in Naablus, Palestine

Death
600 AH (1203 CE) in Egypt

Early Life

• His whole family (full of people of knowledge) moved to Damascus. Their

neighbourhood became known as As-Saalihiyyah (due to the righteous people who
live there) – it was a community of knowledgeable people. They Introduced the
Hanbali madhab.
• His first teacher was his brother. The family started schools to teach Hanbali fiqh.
• Travelled with his cousin to Baghdad to study. Abdul-Ghani was interested in
learning the hadith (authenticity, narrators), whereas his cousin was interested in
fiqh, so they parted ways.
• On his way to Egypt, he stopped by Aleppo and Nooruddeen Zinkee heard him give a
talk in the masjid. He was impressed by him and asked him to settle in Damascus.
He offered to write a letter to the king of Egypt to intercede for him if he ever needed
anything. He kept the letter but had no need for the intercession (note: he would
later use this same letter).
• Al-Musal had a strong hold of Hanafi. Abdul-Ghanee was teaching a book “the weak
narrator”, and amongst the weak narrators, the author had included Abu Hanifa. (It
could be that a person was respected and very knowledgeable, but they made
mistakes in narrating Hadith). People in al-Musal were agitated because of this and
they captured him and jailed him. He thought he was going to die and he started
praying. All of a sudden he saw a very tall and strong prison-guard come to him with
a sword. Abdul-Ghanee thought he would be killed, but the man struck his sword to
cut his bounds and told him to “run, otherwise, they’ll kill you”. Abdul-Ghanee ran to
Damascus to his uncle’s house.
• He married his cousin, Raabi’ah. Her father, Ahmed ibn Qudaamah, was a great
scholar of his time. He had 3 children, all known scholars. He taught his children
Hadith and gave them ijaazah. He sent them to study under scholars he had studied
from, as well as his peers. Whenever he would travel to study, he would take his
cousins/family with him. He would always refer his students to other scholars where
they could go and learn from.
Appearance and Characteristics

o He was an enormous man: tall and broad. He had a tanned complexion with pleasant
hair and a thick beard.
o He had a large forehead and straight white teeth. It appeared as if light shone from
his face. His eyesight weakened in his later years due to extensive reading, writing,
and crying.
Important Factors that Shaped His Life

1. Conflict between practitioners of the different the Madhahib

a. In Damascus, the conflict had gotten to the point that they would only pray
behind people who would follow their madhab. They had 4 different adhan, 4
different muaddin, and 4 different Imaams to perform each salaah.
2. His family background – extensive family of scholars. His cousin and his family from
a line of scholars
 a. His cousin, Muwaffaq Ad-Deen Ibn Qudaamah
b. He travelled to Alexandria to study under Al-Haafidh As-Silafee
3. Moving to Damascus
a. After being arrested and escaping with the help of the guard.
4. Coming from a family of scholars

Status
o Abu Is-haaq Ibraaheem Al-Haafidh said: “Hadith spread in Ash-Sham only because
of Al-Haafidh ‘Abdul-Ghanee. Every Shaykh I met to question him about his first
Shaykh was, the response I would get was: Al-Haafidh ‘Abdul-Ghanee.”
o Adh-Dhahabee said: “He is a great Imaam and Haafidh, a role model, a truthful
person, a great worshipper, and a follower of athar.”
o Ad-Diaa’ said: “He was the Ameer Al Mu’mineen in Hadith.”
o A man once asked him (‘Abdul-Ghanee): “I said that I would divorce my wife if
‘Abdul-Ghanee had not memorized 100,000 Hadith, so is my wife divorced?” ‘Abdul-
Ghanee smiled and said: “No, and even if you had said more, she wouldn’t have
been.”
Special Qualities
1. Captured the hearts of people
2. Took special care in looking for Hadith
a. One of his cousins said that he was never asked of a Hadith unless he
mentioned the entire chain of narration until the Prophet Muhammad
Sallallahu `Alayhi- Wa Salaam
3. Pick out mistakes
4. Generosity
a. Whenever get money he would distribute to the poor people. There were
marks on his back because he would carry to distribute among the poor
b. Would give clean new clothes to neighbours and students
c. Would give in public and private
d. Salaahuddin Ayyubi gave him wealth but he distributed it all
 e. During a famine in Egypt he would give out his dinners to the neighbours
while his own family starving
5. Remembrance of the hereafter
6. Master of the Hanbali Fiqh
7. Short tempered
a. He would get angry quickly
8. Used his time very wisely
9. He was an excellent public speaker and his speeches would soften the hearts of
his listeners.
10. Wrote many books
o Including many books on the virtues of the companions and Seerah
o The sciences of Hadith did not enter Sham except through the blessings of Abdul
Ghanee
11. He was loved by the people
An Event to Remember
Al-Musal was a Hanafi stronghold. Abdul-Ghanee was teaching a book “The Weak
Narrator” and amongst the weak narrators, the author had included Abu Hanifa. (It
could be that a person was respected and very knowledgeable, but they made mistakes
in narrating Hadith). People in al-Musal were agitated because of this and they captured
him and jailed him. He thought he was going to die and he started praying. All of a
sudden he saw a very tall and strong prison-guard come to him with a sword. Abdul-
Ghanee thought he would be killed, but the man struck his sword to cut his bounds and
told him to “run, otherwise, they’ll kill you”. Abdul-Ghanee ran to Damascus to his
uncle’s house.

Death

o He took his family and moved to Egypt and used the recommendation letter from
Nooruddeen Zinkee from earlier to settle there. He became very famous again
because of his inspirational talks. Some were against him. A shafi’ee judge offered
5000 pieces of gold for his assassination, because he said Abdul-Ghani was
 converting Egypt to the Hanbali madhab (their motivation: if Egypt becomes
Hanbali, what job would a Shafi’ee judge have?). They asked the king to deal with
him. The king said: I can’t send him to Damascus or Iraq, so he put him in house
arrest for 7 days. He said: “these were my favourite days in Egypt. One of the nights,
I heard a widowed woman praying a prayer I hadn’t heard before.” He repeated after
her. Next day, the sultan said: I think you’re innocent and you’re a scholar, so go
ahead and teach.
o His health declined greatly during those 7 days.
o Once a judge called Abdul-Ghanee a kaafir (disbeliever) in front of the king. He said
that he was after the dunyah. The King said: I’ve never seen him come to my palace
to ask me anything once and I see you here everyday.
o Al-Maqdisee became very weak and could not even stand for Salah for a long time.
After Fajr Salah (led by his son), he leaned against the wall, faced the Qiblah, and
asked his son to recite Surah Yaseen, and after that made dua’a for his family. He
told his sons: I give permission to you and all your brothers to narrate the Hadith
you’ve learned from me. He advised them: Make sure you don’t waste the knowledge
that I’ve spent all my life collecting. Protect it, preserve it.
o After that, he talked with some people about business and affairs of the dunyah.
o After they left, he sat there and recited dhikr. He asked his son to get him a book of
Hadith because he wanted to recite Hadith. When his son returned with the book, he
had passed away.

Death

He died on December 2nd, 1203.

o A vast number of people attended his Janazah – king, princes, scholars, his enemies,
etc.
o He was buried at the place he used to visit in the cemetery.
Lessons from the life of ‘Abdul-Ghanee Al-Maqdisee

• Listen to your elders

• Don’t let people fool you or use you – or use your weakness against you
• Go on a regular basis to visit the cemetery or visit a hospital
• Stand up for what he believed in
• Give from what you love the most
• Don’t waste your time
• Don’t let difference of opinion lead to division
• Do not be extreme in the opinion of following a sheikh – the scholars are a
means not an end result – if you want to study madhhab as a means to
understand Fiqh this is acceptable
• Be more cautious of our actions because it can impact others
• Don’t waste the knowledge because people spend the time collecting it – how do
people waste the knowledge – when someone tells me about a seminar then I just
waste it – by not passing it to others
• Be wise about decisions to make – see to the consequences of what may happen

Test Your Comprehension:

1. What Madhab did Al-Maqdisi follow?

2. Which king granted him a letter of intercession to the King of Egypt?
Which other scholar we studied had connections with this king?
3. What science did Al-Maqdisi specialize in?
4. List 4 of his special qualities.
5. Describe his relationship or dealings with the people?
 6. What was his final advice to his son?

X. Al Qurtubi
The Sheikh of the Mufassireen
p. 85

Name
Muhammad ibn Ahmed ibn Abi Bakr Al Ansari Al Qurtubi

Kunyah
Abu ‘Abdillah

Birth
Born in the beginning of the 7th century (between 600-610 AH, 1203-1213 CE) in
Andalus

(Not from a famous family, so we don’t know exactly when he was born.)

Death
He died in 671 AH (1273 CE) in Al-Minyaa, in southern Egypt. He lived around 60
years.

Early Life

• He grew up in Qurtuba (Al-Andalus/Andalusia) in a simple home.

• At that time, Andalus was declining because the French, English and Spaniards were
attacking the Islamic states. Muslims started losing one kingdom after another.
Cordova was one of the last strong holds; after it fell, Muslims fled Andalus and
didn’t go back till recent times.
• Imagine the enemy coming from all directions and attacking with knights squadrons
and burn farms, steal property.
• His father was a simple farmer. He died when he was around 15 years old. A group of
Crusaders, from the North, killed his father while he was in his farm. He was
debating how to he would bury his father. Whether to bury him as a Shaheed
(martyr), and therefore without washing him and praying Janazah (funeral prayer).
Or to treat his father like a normal corpse, wash the body and pray Janazah’.
• He went to Rabi ibn Abdur-Rahman who told him to treat his father like a shaheed.
He wanted a second opinion so he went to visit a jurist in his neighbourhood (ibn
Husain), who was surrounded by other fuqaha. Ibn Husain told him to not treat his
father like a shaheed because he wasn’t defending in his property. He later said,
when he became knowledgeable and researched this issue, that his decision to bury
his father as a regular corpus was wrong. His father should’ve gotten the burial of a
shaheed. But the fact that he could seek different opinions from different scholars
indicates that he had access to knowledge.

o In his youth, he used to transfer sand to make pottery as a living to support his
family. He also used the money to gain knowledge. He studied Ibn Abi Hujjah
(d.1245) – a famous Shaykh in his area. Ibn Abi Hujjah was captured by the
Spaniards and tortured to death.
o He was 25 years old when Qurtuba started falling. He ran out of Qurtuba to save his
life – “I was running out and two soldiers were behind me and were trying to kill me.
I went to the farms where there were cornfields. I dived on the floor hiding in the
grass. One of the horses was just next to my neck and the soldiers were looking and
not able to see him and they were saying “This man must be a magician because he
has disappeared”. I was reading the beginning of Surah Yaseen, and I kept repeating
 till the soldiers left. I saw how they entered the city with no mercy in their hearts.
They took the Masjid down and put the cross up.”
o Majority of all the scholars that were in Al Andalus left Al Andalus and ran towards
North Africa. Some of the scholars never settled in North Africa later moved to
Egypt.

Why did majority of Scholars decide to leave North Africa and move to
Egypt?

• Al-Maghrib (North Africa) at that time was the State of Al-Muahidoon – established
by Tumurt – he mixed Asharism with Shi’ism. He claimed to be a Prophet himself
and that he received revelation. He also once claimed to be the Mahdi. He was
extreme to the extent that any scholars who were hesitant to teach his book would be
executed. He enforced his ideology upon others. He died before the Imam’s time, but
his influence was still there, which made Al-Maghrib not a suitable for Sunni
scholars to settle in.

Egypt was now the centre of the Muslim World. Why?

o Baghdad was falling at the hands of the Moguls (lead by Gengis Khan) at the
same time that Andalus was falling. They took over everything from Afghanistan
to Syria. A Shi’a minister betrayed the Khalifah in Baghdad and opened the doors
of Baghdad for the Moguls. It was estimated that about 2 million people were
massacred.

(Moguls were defeated in 1260 September 2nd (658 AH), during Ramadan, by a general
from Egypt, Saifidden Qudus – known as Ain Jalut).
 o When Baghdad, Syria, Damascus fell, the scholars fled to Hijaz, Egypt, Yemen,
etc.
o Note: Moguls were defeated in 1260 during Ramadan by a general from Egypt,
Saifidden Qudus – known as Ain Jalut).
o Al-Qurtubi was worn-out with all the problems and settled in the Southern part
of Egypt in al-Minyaa and lived there till he died. He was married and had 2
children.
o We don’t know much about his personal life because he had no students. He had
only 5 students and two of them were his sons. The more people you are close
to, the more people in the next generations who will know about your personal
life-- e.g. Prophet (Sallahu Alyhee Wa Salaam) married 9 wives
Appearance & Characteristics

o His clothes were neat and clean, but simple. He would wear only a kufi on his
head (and nothing else on his head).
Important Factors That Shaped His Life

1. He witnessed the fall of Andalus first-hand and lost his homeland.

o He held somewhat of an extreme position regarding the rulers of his time

 Main reason of the fall was the rulers
 The Khalifah was sitting with his female slaves and eating/drinking,
listening to singers, looking at dancers, while there was a war outside and
the Crusaders were attacking the castle. He sat there till one of the spears
hit one of his dancers. He started crying. One of his people asked him to
prepare an army and he said he didn’t care because his “love” just died.
 Is this a valid reason to denounce all rulers? No, because this was one
case. There were leaders who defeated the Moguls and they were good
leaders. Ahul us-Sunnah: the Khalifah isn’t picked to be the most
 righteous person in the community but the one who is best-suited to lead
the ummah.

1. He contemplated the reasons behind the weakness of the Muslims and the
means by which they can regain their power

“I believe that the reason that we lost Andalus is not just the rulers. Even the
citizens were unjust and only cared about fulfilling their desires. What
happened in Andalus was because of us. We used to kill each other, steal
from each other. We were never united. Because of our divisions, the
enemy was able to take over us.”

2. He became a historian

Describing the detailed incidents, cultures, the way events happened – E.g.
The reactions of the people when Moguls attacking or the mercilessness
of the Crusaders

4. He had exposure to new cultures and a variety of scholars.

5. He grew up in al-Andalus, and this gave him the following advantages:

o He learnt under numerous scholars of Andalusia

i. What does it mean to be in Andalus?

1. When his father died, he went to his Shaykh then to the judge who had many
fuqaha around him
2. Qurtuba was a main city and was surrounded with 3000 smaller suburbs – this
was called the area of Qurtuba
3. In each of these 3000 smaller areas, there was a judge and a mufti = 6000
people of knowledge in area of Qurtuba.
4. East side of Qurtuba had 170 female teachers, who had their own little school
where they taught.
5. There was no illiterate person in Andalus. Education was free for everyone.
 o He had access to the biggest library

ii. The public library of Qurtuba had 200,000 titles (books)

o He had access to numerous schools

o He adopted the unique culture of Al- Andalus

iii. For example, he said: “I was shocked by the people in the East.
They don’t care much about their look (dressing). Where I came
from, if we had a single dirham and a choice between buying
dinner or buying soap to wash our clothes, we would buy the soap
and sleep hungry, because the next day, we couldn’t wear dirty
clothes.”
6. He migrated to Egypt
o Combined culture/knowledge of east and west
7. He had good friends, such as the great Maalikee scholar Al-Qaraafee
o Travelled together a lot.
o Good friends always contribute to you in a positive way
8. Living at the time of the end of Muhideen
o Egypt was a Shi’ee state at that time.
o Even when Salahuddeen came and reverted the state back to its Sunni
origin, the south of Egypt still had a Shi’ee influence
o He had seen in his travels, Asharis, Shi’as, Sufis, etc, which allowed him
to write a lot about them and gave him the knowledge to refute them.

Status
1. Adh-Dhahabee described him as an Imaam and an ocean of knowledge who had
authored very beneficial books, which exhibited his broad knowledge and great
wisdom.
2. Ibn Farhoon said: “He was one of Allah’s righteous servants, an ascetic scholar, and
a person devoted to the Hereafter.”
Special Qualities

• He promoted the ‘aqeedah of the early Muslim generations

o He refuted a lot of allegations of Shi’as about the Companions

o He talked a lot about attributes of Allah (Subhana Wa Ta’la) and quoted
pages about refuting the idea of “Allah is everywhere”
i. Ibn Qayyim later on, quoted this imam and praised him
ii. Ibn Taymiyyah said about Imam Al Qurtubi that he has brought
forth an excellent interpretation of the Qur’an

• He possessed broad knowledge, which he acquired from a wide variety of scholars

that he met during his lifetime and from the numerous books he had access to

o Read books written by many scholars – public library of Qurtuba

o Quoted many scholars in his works

• His knowledge was based on a solid foundation, unique to his time:

o He combined all the opinions related to an issue in order to issue the

right ruling.
i. He was Maalikee, but he would bring together all related
evidence on an issue, and wouldn’t just follow the Maalikee
opinion
1. Recall when his father died, he asked around and
combined different evidences
o He was trustworthy in quoting others
i. Whenever you take knowledge from anyone, make sure you quote
them when you relate
ii. It was easy in those times to just take someone’s work, but he was
very strict on quoting others
 iii. It shows how trustworthy he was
o He studied Fiqh under Maalikee scholars, and had a strong
understanding of it. He was considered as an Imaam of Maalikee
madhhab
i. At the same time, whenever he found something that went
against the madhab and it had good evidence, he wouldn’t
hesitate to go against the madhab
o He would follow the evidence
i. Ex. A famous fatwa of Imam Malik, if a child hasn’t reached
puberty isn’t allowed to lead prayer. BUT in Bukhari, Amr Abi
Salama was a child and he led people in prayer and Prophet
(saws) approved that. He followed this evidence and went against
Imam Malik’s opinion
ii. Ex. Imam Malik said: whoever drinks or eats unintentionally
during Ramadan, the fast is broken. The imam quoted the
Hadith, which says that Allah has provided food for that person,
and he followed this evidence.
9. His knowledge was not limited to one field:
o He was a scholar of Tafseer, Hadith, Fiqh, Usool, ‘aqeedah, and an
Imaam in Qur’anic recitations
i. Wrote books on spirituality, mannerism, hereafter, etc
o He was a great preacher, writer and historian
o He wrote about medicine, geography, agriculture, sociology, and science
i. Andalus exposed him to many areas of knowledge, not just
Islamic
10. He was very just and stood up for the truth, even if it wasn’t in his own favour.
He was exceptionally tactful and gentle in his words.
o Criticize anyone who wouldn’t take the position of truth
o He had a big problem with a great Maalikee scholar – ibn ‘Arabi – his
problem was that he used improper language with the scholars.
i. He cared a lot about adaab
 11. He was interested in the current affairs of his time, and through his advice and
writing, he contributed to the solutions of many problems
o He didn’t just talk about problems but provided solutions as well
o Ex. Talked about reasons behind weakening of Andalus
o Talked about rulers and how their corruption can be fixed
o Talked about markets and how some wrong practices are done in sales
and trade
o Talked about the problem of prostitution in Egypt. He talked about it as
a social problem – what led them to prostitution? Where is their family?
He didn’t just say it was haraam and leave it at that.
o Talked a lot about modesty
i. Talked about al-Hammam (public spa). “I’m surprised, why don’t
they have the concept of towels in Egypt. If I knew they didn’t
have any, I would have brought some with me from where I came
from.” In public spas (men & women separate), people would
cover their private parts with their hands when going there.
12. He was an avid worshipper and an ascetic, and he stayed away from fame.
13. He wrote a lot of books in a broad spectrum of fields.
o Spent more time in writing than in teaching
o His most famous pieces of writings were his books of Tafseer, “At-
Tadhkirah fee Ahwaal Al-Mawtaa wal-Aakhirah”
o He wrote/talked about mawlid, different Qira’ah, explanation of
meaning of Allah’s names and attributes (not published yet)
o He also wrote an explanation of Muwatta’ Al-Imam Malik, which is
famous

An Event to Remember

He was traveling with his friend Al-Qaraafee to Al-Fayyoom. They were looking for a
place to stay and they were informed of an empty place. A local person warned them
that the place was inhabited by a Jinn. Al-Qaraafee told him to ignore this nonsense. Al-
Qaraafee ordered his servant to set up their beds while he went to town with him.

When they came back, they settled in the place, but all of a sudden they started hearing
strange voices that kept getting louder. Al-Qaraafee turned pale and was very scared.
The door opened slightly and they suddenly saw a billy goat’s head which was “baaing”
wildly.

Hearing this, Al-Qaraafee became even more terrified. Our scholar rushed to the billy
goat and held his horns and started saying “Bismillaah, A’oothu billah, reading the
verse:

Say (O Muhammad) “Has Allah permitted you (to do so), or do you invent a lie against
Allah? (Yunus: 59)

And blew on the goat. Suddenly, the servant came in and said: “Master. What are you
doing? Leave the poor goat. I just purchased it while you were in town so that we can
slaughter it to eat. Al-Qaraafee was very relieved and said: “O, my brother. You should
have told us. I almost lost my mind.”

His Death
On Sunday night, the 9th of Shawwal 671 A.H. (Friday, April 28th, 1273), in the city of Al-
Minyaa, this great scholar passed away and was buried in a place known as the Land of
the Sultan. Ashamedly, in 1971 C.E, a shrine was made for him inside a large Masjid
there.

A Gift from this Great Imaam

Eating smaller food portions has many benefits; among the benefits is that a person will
have a healthier body, better memory, and quicker understanding. The person will sleep
less and be in a better mood.

On the contrary, when a person eats too much, the person will have a full stomach and
they may increase in weight. Over eating can also cause many different diseases so the
person will need to consume more medication than the person who eats less.

Doctors say that the best medicine is to moderate your food. The Prophet (Sallahu
Alyhee Wa Salaam) explained this meaning in a better way when he said:
A person will not fill up something worse for him than his stomach. It should enough
for a person to eat a few bites with which to keep his strength. Bit if he needs to eat
more, then he should keep one third for his food, one third for his drink, and one third
empty for breathing. (At-Tirmidhi)

Lessons from the Life of Al-Qurtubi

• Translate your knowledge into action

• Have a care for the public, societal issues that surround you and actively seek
solutions for them through your knowledge and wisdom
• When you find an opinion with strong evidence, don’t hesitate to follow it, even
if it goes against what you’ve been taught
• Don’t just talk about problems, talk about solutions and work towards
implementing them
• Have good manners and say the right words
• Take advantage of opportunities. They may not always be there – your time,
freedom, health, access to knowledge, etc.
• Don’t get depressed and lose hope when you are struck with a calamity or when
you look at the state of the Ummah
• Correct your attitude
• Don’t limit your knowledge to Shari’ah knowledge. Get worldly knowledge as
well
• Don’t judge other people’s culture based on your own culture
• Read a lot! (Sign of a student of knowledge)
• Don’t be afraid to stand up for the Sunnah of the Prophet (Sallahu Alyhee Wa
Salaam)
• Don’t take someone’s opinion over Allah and his Messengers
• Don’t let arrogance stop you from doing good
XI. Ahmad ibn ‘Alee ibn Hajar
Al-Haafidh

p. 97

Name
Ahmad ibn ‘Alee ibn Hajar Al-Keenaanee, Al ‘Asqalaanee, Al-Misri, Ash-Shaafi’ee,
Shihaab Ad-Deen

 From Keenaan – tribe in Arab

 Asqalaanee – Palestine, in Gaza – origin of his family
(Family moved to Egypt because of the Crusaders)

Kunyah
Abul Fadl

Birth
He was born on 22nd of Sha’baan, 773 AH. (February 13th, 1372 CE) on the bank of the
River Nile in the Egyptian countryside.

Death
28th of Dhul-Hijjah, 852 AH at nearly 80 years of age

Early Life

1. He came from a noble family, known for their knowledge:

a. His father, Nooruddeen ‘Alee was a scholar. He died when Ibn Hajar
was 4 years old
i. Memorized Qur’an in 7 different qira’at
ii. Mastered Arabic language
iii. Excellent poet
iv. A very righteous person
v. Extremely rich person
1. Ibn Hajar’ family was extremely rich – had a very vast
business
 b. His mother, Nijaar Bint Fakhr
i. She was divorced and ibn Hajar’s father married her
ii. She passed away when Ibn Hajar was an infant
1. Ibn Hajar was left a lot of money
iii. She gave birth to a daughter (sister of Ibn Hajar), after which she
passed away
iv. Ibn Hajar had a half brother from his father’s side. His father was
really sad about his early death because he thought this would be
the son who would take care of his wealth and carry it on
v. His sister took care of him after his mother’s death. She was like a
mother to him. She was an extremely smart woman. She left
behind a son, who died soon after, and a daughter, who in later
times became insane. She wouldn’t remember anything, except
when she would hear the adhan, she would regain her sanity and
do wudu and pray, and then go back to insanity
c. His uncle, Fakhr ad-Deen, also known as Ibn-Hajar.
d. His grandfather was a Hadith scholar
2. Al-Kharroobee – was a friend of his father and the person he chose to raise his
son, Ibn Hajar
a. He was very rich so won’t be after wealth
b. He had a business, so had know-how about running a business, and
would carry his business further after his death
c. He was very righteous
d. Al-Kharroobee took him to Makkah to finish Qur’an memorization.
e. Kharroobee died after 3 years
i. Ibn Hajar started spending more time in taking care of the
business
ii. Ibn Hajar was fascinated by poetry and literature, so he started
spending a lot of time in their study
iii. This meant that he started becoming weaker in knowledge and
grew stronger in business affairs
 f. The other person whom his father had left to take care of him was
Shams Ad-Deen
i. Your father dreamt of you to be a good scholar. Don’t worry about
the business, we’ll take care of it, that’s why your father left you to
us.
ii. Introduced Ibn Hajar to Zain Ad-Deen Al-‘Iraaqee at 23 years of
age. He would become ibn Hajar’s most knowledgeable teacher.
3. When he was 25 years old, he married his first wife, Uns, the daughter of the
judge Kareem Ad-Deen. He gave her several ijaazaat in the books of Hadeeth.
Married her on the advice of Qattaan (his guardian). He would take her with
him whenever he traveled to study. He took her to listen to the same shuyookh
that he had studied under. She became so knowledgeable that he used to called
her “ya shaykha”. She would conduct hadith classes in her house (teach Sahih
Bukhari)
a. He had 5 daughters from her: Zain Khatoon, Farhah, Ghaaliya,
Raabi’ah, and Faatimah.
4. In 804 AH, he married the widow of Abu Bakr Al-Amshaatee in Egypt. She
gave birth to his daughter, Aaminah.
a. For some reason, Ibn Hajar was very eager to have a son because he
thought he would carry his legacy forward. This was one of the reasons
for him marrying again.
b. Aaminah was affected by a plague. The relationship with ibn Hajar and
her mother was not going very well. Ibn Hajar decided: If she dies we’ll
part ways, otherwise, we’ll stay together.
5. In 836 AH, he married Lailaa Al-Halabiyyah in Syria. They had no children
together.
a. She had 2 grown-up sons from an earlier marriage
b. He divorced her when he left Syria and went back to Makkah. He left a
letter for her with the judge. He felt very guilty afterwards and couldn’t
get it out of his head. He was emotionally disturbed and decided to
marry her again. Then they married again and went to Egypt. After 5
 years, he divorced her again, and then was regretful again, so he married
her for a 3rd time.
6. He had a slave girl named Khaas At-Turk, from whom he had his only son,
Muhammad Badr
a. Married her because it was a culturally known that women from there
gave birth to kids quickly.
b. She was a slave of his wife. He convinced his wife to let Khaas go, saying
“someone else wants her” while he meant himself. He married her
behind the back of Uns, and got a son. He even held the aqeeqah of his
son in the house of Uns. Uns didn’t know. She later found out and
confronted Ibn Hajar. She forgave him.
7. Ibn Hajar was wealthy, and never needed financial support from anyone; he
would instead help others. He was appointed to several high government
positions, such as Chief Judge of the Shaafi’iyyah.

“My sister, Sitt ar-Rakb was my mother after my mother, after my father’s death. –Ibn
Hajar

Appearance & Characteristics

• Not a person who gets fooled easily. He doesn’t just follow what people say.
• Casual walk – he’s just himself. He liked to dress casual
• He had a very close relationship with his students
o His students testified they’d never seen any sign of arrogance in him.
Getting older only made him a more approachable person. He became more
involved in public service as he got older
• Avid worshipper
Important Factors That Shaped His Life

o He lived in the time of the Mamluk State, in which there was no political stability.
However, there was a lot of wealth and luxury during their time, and there was a
social caste system.

a. They loved to honour the scholars

b. They supported the military
c. Egypt was still affected by the Fatimids (extreme shi’a) and their culture –
shrines, mawlids (of saints, ahl-e-bait, etc), death anniversaries, etc. Why do
people adopt these things? – The “fun/social” aspect of these events attract
people. Now ibn Hajar and other scholars want to bring Sunnah to the country
but people disliked that. The Mamlookis didn’t mind the social aspect of these
bid’ah events. They still let people celebrate and even supported it a little bit.
Even today Egypt is still full of these holidays, celebrations, etc.
d. People were socially divided in that time. The princes, governors, chief judges,
head of muftis were the elites in society - then the level of scholars, average
judges - and then the level of merchants and businessmen - then the level of
farmers, workers.

o Fall of Baghdad led to two things

1. Led a lot of families of scholars to Egypt. Even the khalifah moved to Egypt under
the Mamlooki rule. A lot of scholars/money. Cairo, Egypt became the head of
Muslim world.
2. The Moghuls burned all the libraries. The religion at that time was mainly
documented through books (sunnah, fiqh). This is different from the early times
(of Hasan Al-Basri, A’mash) when people documented through memorizing it and
writing it down. When Baghdad fell, books were lost and scholars were killed, so it
brought attention to this factor – scholars after that (Hajr) started the trend of
memorizing again to preserve the ‘ilm through many scholars of the society.

o His companionship with Shaykh ‘Iraaqee

 I. Motivated him to return to ‘ilm and then became an expert in the sciences of
Hadith
II. When ‘Iraaqee died, people asked who will take his place as teacher after his
death? He had a son studying under him, but he chose ibn Hajar

o He studied under Shaykh Muhammad Al-Wahdiyyah.

• When ibn Hajar met Al-Wahdiyahh all he cared about was collecting the
narrations. Wahdiyyah told ibn Hajr that he was more talented and should
consider doing more than documenting narrations.
o He possessed wealth which made him:

• Independent, not in need of anyone’s support, not even that of the

government. While people used to switch madhahib to get support from
government, businessmen. Ibn Hajar was not compelled to compromise on
his beliefs in order to make a living.
• Dignified
• Generous
• He knew how to use his wealth well. Able to purchase books of knowledge

o Once he was in Aleppo and he wanted to read Sahih Bukhari with someone.
They didn’t have a copy there. So he bought a horse, hired a horseman and
told him to go to Damascus and get the book
o Able to fund travel in search of knowledge

o Numerous trials in his life made him patient:

• Death took away most of his beloved family – children (all of his daughters died
in his life; his son lived after him), parents
• He had no family stability – many divorces ( a lot of his poetry expressed this
instability)
• His peers envied him and they were jealous of him – talked bad about him. Once
he decided to resign from all positions he had because of this.
 • A man that he suggested for the position of judge became jealous of him and
wanted to take his position of Chief Judge of Shafi’eea. He said to Ibn Hajar:
“You’re someone who only cares about fame!”
• Badruddin (wrote an explanation on Bukhari) – he was Hanafi, and when he
heard that Ibn Hajar was writing an explanation of Saheeh Bukhari, he started
writing it too.
• His relationship with the government – when he became judge, he said he hated
his position.

Status

1. Al- Qaayaatee said that all the noble traits that exist in various people have been
gathered in Ibn Hajar.

2. Al-‘Iraaqee called Ibn Hajar: “the Shaykh, the scholar, the Imaam, the Muhaddith, the
perfect, the Haafidh, the complete, the noble.”

3. Ash-Shawkaanee said that by consensus today, when we say the title “Al-Haafidh,”
everyone knows it refers to Ibn Hajar.
Special Qualities

1. Reservoir of Islamic knowledge:

o Sunnah and Hadith
i. His book is the main book of reference for narrators of hadith
ii. Mustalah al-hadith – first reference for sciences of hadith
iii. Buloogh ul Maram – book of Hadith
iv. Fath ul-Bari: explanation of Sahih Bukhari
v. For every area of hadith, his books are at the top of the list
vi. He finalized the level of the narrators... how strong/weak they
were
o Various resources of books
 i. Egypt was a central of knowledge because all scholars came there.
This is why he had access to a wide array of knowledge
o Mastered several branches of knowledge
o Critical thinker; a Mujtahid
i. Sometimes he would go against Imam Ash-Shafi’ee’s opinions if he found
evidence
1. Ash-Shafi’ee: if someone married a woman from a different social class,
and someone from their families went to the judge to complain, then the
judge could break the marriage. Ibn Hajar opposed this and refuted it
strongly.
2. His goals was to be like Imam adh-Dhahabee, but he would still criticize
their opinion with respect
o He was careful in quoting others and transmitting knowledge.
i. One of his scholars once wrote a book, and he found that it was a copy of
As-Sudki’s work. He said “may Allah forgive my shaykh for this”.
• He had multiple talents:
o He was eloquent in speech and poetry
o He had a sharp memory
o He was quick, intelligent and clear minded
o He was a fast reader and he was able to fully comprehend things.
o He was also a fast writer and his writing was always legible.
i. Took great notes: extra material on fast reading/writing email the
Ameer or Ameerah if you would like to receive a copy
2. He had good time management skills
o He always carried a mushaf with him, so that he never wasted time.
3. He was determined, highly motivated, and energetic
o He was a successful businessman, judge, scholar, traveled a lot, wrote
many books, grand mufti of Shafi’iyyah, khateeb of masjid
4. He cared about educating his family
o Taught his wife, daughter, son, cousins, etc.
 o When his daughter was two years old, he brought her with him to hear
hadith.
5. He was very caring about his students and the public
o Mamlookis: they reduced the value of the currency, which made
businessmen lose money. Ibn Hajar went and talked to the government
on behalf of the businessmen to reverse this
o He talked on behalf of the poor people when the government raised
taxes.

Was Ibn Hajar an Ash’aree?

A lot of people say that this great scholar’s ideology was Ash’aree in order to defend
this false theology. We know that:

• Ibn Hajar was from ahl ul-Hadeeth and not from ahl ul-Kalam. He was not into
philosophical arguments
• He had tons of advices in his books to follow the footsteps of early scholars –
that’s not what you find in the theology of Ash’aira
• There are many different phases of Ash’aira. This ideology was altered a and
developed over the ages and thus the original belief differ from the version in
existence today. For example:
• First generation affirmed that Allah is above his throne whereas
present-day Asha’ira deny Allah being above his throne as is stated
clearly in Qur’an (Surah TaHa verse 5 is one example).
• Ibn Hajar specifically refuted some of the Ash’aira’s opinions.
• He used hadith Ahad in Aqeedah and proved a lot of issues about it – a practice
that the Asha’ira reject (i.e. they never use Ahad Hadith in Aqadi matters).
• When he wrote about Ghazali, Ar-Razi, he wrote that they repented from what
they’d believed in before – which was Ash’aira philosophy
• Early books of Fath al-Bari has some Ta’weel of Sifaat (he wrote them earlier).
But you don’t find this in the later chapters.
 • Ibn Hajar never wrote anything to support other theological ideas. He stayed
away from this and only used the Qur’an and hadith as his basis.

An Event to Remember
On a trip back from Yemen, a storm hit and sank his ship. Holding on to a piece of
wood, Ibn Hajar made it to a nearby island. Mourning the loss of the many books he was
carrying, he hired specialized divers in hopes of retrieving his sunken books. The divers
brought up his books and forcibly took several pots of gold which Ibn Hajar has also
been carrying on the ship. Much of the gold had been a trust, which he replaced to Ibn
Muslim. People were amazed by his joy for his returned books and his disregard for the
money lost.

Death
In 852 A.H. (1448 C.E), in the month of Dhul- Qa’dah, Ibn Hajar began suffering a
stomach ailment. He did not tell anyone, but his sickness became so severe that he
became very weak and uncomfortable. Several doctors prescribed different medications
for him. His health improved for a short period of time, but the ailment returned more
severely in the month of Dhul-Hijjah, to the extent that he could not even attend the Eid
prayer. He barely made it to Jum’ah. He prayed while sitting and could no longer pray
his night prayers. He would occasionally fall unconscious. On Friday night, two hours
after ‘Isha’a prayer, his grandson and some of his students were surrounding him and
reading Surah Yaseen. When they reached the verse:

Salamun (peace be on you), a word from the Lord (Allah), Most Merciful. (Yaseen:58)

A Gift from Ahmad ibn ‘Alee ibn Hajar

Differing in opinion in permissible, but differing in the heart is forbidden.
Lessons from the Life of Ahmad ibn ‘Alee ibn Hajar

• Think before you divorce!

• Think critically
• Value the knowledge you have – go over it, respect it
• Cite the source of your knowledge
• Have good communication with your spouse
• Allah tests your righteousness and patience with trials
• Take advice from parents/guardians, and/or those looking out for you
• Don’t underestimate female scholars
• It’s not haram to be wealthy! Consider how much ibn Hajar was able to achieve
in his life because he had the money to support himself. A strong believer is
better than a weak believer and if you can help it, it’s better to be rich than poor
and use that money to spread the religion of Allah.

Note: Sh. Muhammad Alshareef has an upcoming seminar Feb. 28- Mar. 1, 2009 :
“The Millionaire who went to Jannah.” A resource regarding the Islamic view on
wealth (see: http://www.discoverulife.com/millionaire/ for more information).
XII. Ahmad ibn ‘Abdir-Raheem Ad-Dahlawee
Ash-Shaah Waliyyullaah

p. 111

Name:

Qutb ad-Deen Ahmad ibn ‘Abdir-Raheem ibn Wajeehiddeen

 Lineage traces back to ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab.

 He became well-known by the name of Ash-Shah Waliyyullaah Ad-Dahlawee

Birth

Wednesday, 4th of Shawwal, 1114 AH (Feb 21st, 1703 CE) in Phulat, Uttar Pradesh,
India

Death

In Delhi, 1176 A.H. at 62 years .

Early Life

• His grandfather saved the life of King Aurangzeb. How?

 o The Hindu’s huge elephant attacked the tent and attacked Aurangzeb. His
grandfather stood in front of the elephant to defend Aurangzeb. He turned
the elephant to the other direction. He stabbed the sword in the elephant’s
trunk.
o Aurangzeb wanted to appoint him as a general, but his grandfather declined.
He wanted to go back to his village
o This made Shah Waliyullah’s family very famous

• His father established a school named Ar-Rahmeeiyyah. Aurangzeb asked him

to join him, he said: “if you’re among the men of the king, you’ll never be
among the people of the Great King (Allah)”
• His father was a very famous Sufi in India. He was also a Hanafi scholar
• Memorized Quran when he was 7 years old. His father never let him miss a
salah or miss a day of Ramadan.
• Learned Islamic sciences in Arabic and Persian. Persian was the language of
the elite people in that time in India. The average person at that time didn’t
know how to read and write. Whereas Arabic was the language of the people of
religion.
• Superficially studied Sahih Bukhari with his father. Sufi belief: the ahadeeth
were read simply to obtain “blessing”
• Gained deeper knowledge later while learning fiqh
• He learnt Sufism, medicine, math, Arabic, and others from his father. His
father wanted him to specialize in Tafseer.
• His father supported him financially. He got him his own house and establish
his life
• When he was 14 years old married him to someone he had chosen for him

• When he was 17, his father gave him pledge of becoming a Sufi – taught him
certain supplications, don’t leave Sufism, learn special things to say that get
you closer to Allah, etc.
• After that, his father gave him the “scarf” (a shawl) which is a tradition of the
Naqshabandi tradition (a Sufi “tareeqah”)
 • His father died in that same year
• He was appointed as principal of the school

Important Factors that Shaped his Life:

• His knowledge was limited, and this became clear to him when students asked
him questions and he didn’t know the answer. At that time fiqh reached a level
that you’re not allowed to give an answer or fatwa if it didn’t exist in the hanafi
books. If a new issue came up you could not give a new fatwa to it.
• Ijtihaad was completely closed. People adhered soo strictly to their madhaahib
as though to suggest their Imam had all the answers (remember the Imam is
simply a man and scholar who errs as all humans do and does not have perfect
knowledge).
• This made Ad-Dahlawee realize that he had to go back to study more.
• When he was 30, he decided to move to Hijaz so that he could learn from new
Scholars such as Abu Tahir bin Ibraheem.
• He spent one year in Makkah and Madinah.
• All that he learned in India was what people understood from madhab
of Abu Hanifah
• He read al-Muwatta with al-Maghribi – Shah Waliyullah was the first
person to bring a copy of Imam Malik’s Muwatta (book of Hadith) to
India.
• Al-Kurdi – studied al-adab al-mufrat – it is about manners and
tazkiyyah according to Prophet’s (saws) life
• He had earlier learned tazkiyyah according to his father’s Sufi
tareeqah but it was full of Budhist practices and bid’ah (religious
innovations).
• He loved this Shaykh and it was because of him he was able to
transform his Sufism which was heavily influenced by
innovations and Buddhist beliefs to true asceticism or Tazkiyah
 (purification of the self/soul) according to the sunnah of the
Prophet sal Allahy alayhi wa sallam.
• In Hijaz he started seeing dreams:
• After this he contemplated: should he go back to India.
• It was a turbulent time and India and he was encouraged to stay
in Hijaz but his dreams gave him hope.
• He went back and established the school more. 2 main goals:
• (1) Serve the public – interact with them and change the people
• (2) Making teachers
• He sent teachers all over India to carry out his movement

His Experiences:

• Interacting with students for 12 years in his father’s school made him realize he
needed more knowledge (especially outside Hanafi Madhab)
• Getting introduced to Salaf us-Salih by scholars in Hijaz
• Exposed to works of Ibn Taymiyyah /Ibn al-Qayyim. Recall: he was brought up
with philosophy but their works were purely from the Sunnah.
• Saw spread of Shi’ism
• How purity of Islam was lost
• How culture overtook religion

Special Qualities

• Spent 45 years teaching the science of hadith to students of knowledge and the
public
• Called people to respect hadith – wrote letters after letters to scholars to
respect sunnah and not favour opinions of jurists over Hadith, and not to
respect Greek philosophy over Quran and hadith.
• He didn’t teach hadith for blessing, but emphasized the study of the science.
• He focused on Tawheed because it was a central issue. Wrote many works
against shirk
• i.e. People used to call upon the dead ones when in trouble instead of
Allah
• Developed the scholars
• Gave another image of scholars – educated in Hadith and therefore the
source of the Islamic Rulings.
• He changed the image of religious people since people believed a
righteous person was one half-naked by a shrine.
• Corrected way of Sufis
• Invited them to pure sunnah instead of clashing with them. He didn’t
ridicule them or grow hostile. He understood their situation because his
family was stuck there earlier and just as he left innovations after he
gained knowledge, knew the best route to get people to stop practicing
Sufi innovations was to teach and instruct them.
• For example:
• Instead of sufi wird, taught them supplications of Prophet (saws).
An-Nawawi’s book: Al wird RasulAllah – supplications of
RasulAllah.
• Emphasized how to recognize scholars (not those who shake their
heads, beg for money/food, sit near shrines)
• Avoid sufi terminology – used words like taqwa, eeman, zuhd
• Explained the correct meaning of the terminology which were
misinterpreted by the Sufis – such as the meaning of zuhd, wird,
etc.
• Criticized practices of Sufis – living off of public donations, etc.
• Brought change to Jurists – extreme Hanafis
• Talked about importance of ijtihaad
• Falsehood of closing the door of ijtihaad
• Ijtihaad is linked to the maqasid of shari’ah (intentions of the shari’ah,
things the shari’ah is meant to uphold)
 • Explained WHY scholars have a difference in opinions. Taught
mentality that one person can cover all the knowledge is incorrect. He
wrote Al-Insaf fee Ma’rifati Asbaab Alikhtilaaf to explain all of this. (The
book is translated in English). He based it on Ibn Taymiyyah’s book.
• He took the middle path between two extremes that existed at the time:
• A) – absolutely no madhab,
• B) - madhab only
• First one to bring Shafi’ee madhab to India
• One of his goals was to bring a new madhab by merging Hanafi and Shafi’i
thoughts.

• Explained difference between opinion of Abu Haneefah and the madhhab of Abu
Haneefah

• Fluent in Arabic and Persian

• Wrote 60 books – 39 in Arabic and rest in Persian – wrote in language that

people would understand.

• Cared a lot about da’wah

An Event to Remember

o One of the ways that the rulers would use to control the public – the general
public cannot read Arabic and whatever ruler says is in the Qur’an people is
taught by the “religious leaders” and so people have to believe and obey them
because they cannot verify or read it in the Qur’an for themselves.

o Ad-Dahlawee sought to solve this problem when he translated Qur’an in

Persian

o This was like a bomb in India. Some mullahs and princes hired gangs to kill
him

They brought the public to kill him and Ad-Dahlawee said he was unafraid.
 No one dared to touch him. His translation exists to this day.

A Gift from Ahmad ibn ‘Abdir-Raheem Ad-Dahlawee

Whoever comes to know of an authentic Hadith of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam, be he a scholar or a layman, he must act upon it. It is not permissible for him
to leave the Hadeeth for the opinion of any person. The Salah and the Imaams all
agree that doing such a thing is forbidden and is evil.

Some Lessons from the Life of Ahmad ibn ‘Abdir-Raheem Ad-Dahlawee

• Point out mistakes in a wise manner, through understanding the context of the
people
• Always give people alternatives. Don’t just say worshipping Allah this way is
Haraam, show them how they can worship Allah correctly according to the
sunnah of the Prophet sal Allahy alayhi wa sallam.
• Steer the negatives to positives
• When you realize you don’t know enough, don’t pretend and make things up;
go and learn more!
• Work with people you disagree with to improve the situation through seeking
common grounds
• Use the language of people to teach them
• Make tawheed the focus of your da’wah, organization, etc.

Test Your Comprehension:

1. Briefly describe Ad-Dahlawee’s methodology in dealing with bid’ah.

2. a) Which language did Ad-Dahlawee mostly write in?
b) What was the wisdom behind this?
3. List 3 things that had a major influence on his life?
4. While studying in Hijaz, what prompted Ad-Dahlawee to return to India
despite the danger (minimum 2 points)?
5. What was the focus of the da’wah of Ad-Dahlawee? Why?
6. a) In India, who benefited from the people living in ignorance?
b) How did they react to Ad-Dahlawee’s da’wah?

XIII. Ahmad ibn ‘Abdir-Raheem Ad-Dahlawee

Ash-Shaah Waliyyullaah

p. 111

Name:

Qutb ad-Deen Ahmad ibn ‘Abdir-Raheem ibn Wajeehiddeen

 Lineage traces back to ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab.

 He became well-known by the name of Ash-Shah Waliyyullaah Ad-Dahlawee

Birth

Wednesday, 4th of Shawwal, 1114 AH (Feb 21st, 1703 CE) in Phulat, Uttar Pradesh,
India

Death
In Delhi, 1176 A.H. at 62 years .

Early Life

• His grandfather saved the life of King Aurangzeb. How?

o The Hindu’s huge elephant attacked the tent and attacked Aurangzeb. His
grandfather stood in front of the elephant to defend Aurangzeb. He turned
the elephant to the other direction. He stabbed the sword in the elephant’s
trunk.
o Aurangzeb wanted to appoint him as a general, but his grandfather declined.
He wanted to go back to his village
o This made Shah Waliyullah’s family very famous

• His father established a school named Ar-Rahmeeiyyah. Aurangzeb asked him

to join him, he said: “if you’re among the men of the king, you’ll never be
among the people of the Great King (Allah)”
• His father was a very famous Sufi in India. He was also a Hanafi scholar
• Memorized Quran when he was 7 years old. His father never let him miss a
salah or miss a day of Ramadan.
• Learned Islamic sciences in Arabic and Persian. Persian was the language of
the elite people in that time in India. The average person at that time didn’t
know how to read and write. Whereas Arabic was the language of the people of
religion.
• Superficially studied Sahih Bukhari with his father. Sufi belief: the ahadeeth
were read simply to obtain “blessing”
• Gained deeper knowledge later while learning fiqh
• He learnt Sufism, medicine, math, Arabic, and others from his father. His
father wanted him to specialize in Tafseer.
• His father supported him financially. He got him his own house and establish
his life
• When he was 14 years old married him to someone he had chosen for him
 • When he was 17, his father gave him pledge of becoming a Sufi – taught him
certain supplications, don’t leave Sufism, learn special things to say that get
you closer to Allah, etc.
• After that, his father gave him the “scarf” (a shawl) which is a tradition of the
Naqshabandi tradition (a Sufi “tareeqah”)
• His father died in that same year
• He was appointed as principal of the school

Important Factors that Shaped his Life:

• His knowledge was limited, and this became clear to him when students asked
him questions and he didn’t know the answer. At that time fiqh reached a level
that you’re not allowed to give an answer or fatwa if it didn’t exist in the hanafi
books. If a new issue came up you could not give a new fatwa to it.
• Ijtihaad was completely closed. People adhered soo strictly to their madhaahib
as though to suggest their Imam had all the answers (remember the Imam is
simply a man and scholar who errs as all humans do and does not have perfect
knowledge).
• This made Ad-Dahlawee realize that he had to go back to study more.
• When he was 30, he decided to move to Hijaz so that he could learn from new
Scholars such as Abu Tahir bin Ibraheem.
• He spent one year in Makkah and Madinah.
• All that he learned in India was what people understood from madhab
of Abu Hanifah
• He read al-Muwatta with al-Maghribi – Shah Waliyullah was the first
person to bring a copy of Imam Malik’s Muwatta (book of Hadith) to
India.
• Al-Kurdi – studied al-adab al-mufrat – it is about manners and
tazkiyyah according to Prophet’s (saws) life
 • He had earlier learned tazkiyyah according to his father’s Sufi
tareeqah but it was full of Budhist practices and bid’ah (religious
innovations).
• He loved this Shaykh and it was because of him he was able to
transform his Sufism which was heavily influenced by
innovations and Buddhist beliefs to true asceticism or Tazkiyah
(purification of the self/soul) according to the sunnah of the
Prophet sal Allahy alayhi wa sallam.
• In Hijaz he started seeing dreams:
• After this he contemplated: should he go back to India.
• It was a turbulent time and India and he was encouraged to stay
in Hijaz but his dreams gave him hope.
• He went back and established the school more. 2 main goals:
• (1) Serve the public – interact with them and change the people
• (2) Making teachers
• He sent teachers all over India to carry out his movement

His Experiences:

• Interacting with students for 12 years in his father’s school made him realize he
needed more knowledge (especially outside Hanafi Madhab)
• Getting introduced to Salaf us-Salih by scholars in Hijaz
• Exposed to works of Ibn Taymiyyah /Ibn al-Qayyim. Recall: he was brought up
with philosophy but their works were purely from the Sunnah.
• Saw spread of Shi’ism
• How purity of Islam was lost
• How culture overtook religion

Special Qualities
• Spent 45 years teaching the science of hadith to students of knowledge and the
public
• Called people to respect hadith – wrote letters after letters to scholars to
respect sunnah and not favour opinions of jurists over Hadith, and not to
respect Greek philosophy over Quran and hadith.
• He didn’t teach hadith for blessing, but emphasized the study of the science.
• He focused on Tawheed because it was a central issue. Wrote many works
against shirk
• i.e. People used to call upon the dead ones when in trouble instead of
Allah
• Developed the scholars
• Gave another image of scholars – educated in Hadith and therefore the
source of the Islamic Rulings.
• He changed the image of religious people since people believed a
righteous person was one half-naked by a shrine.
• Corrected way of Sufis
• Invited them to pure sunnah instead of clashing with them. He didn’t
ridicule them or grow hostile. He understood their situation because his
family was stuck there earlier and just as he left innovations after he
gained knowledge, knew the best route to get people to stop practicing
Sufi innovations was to teach and instruct them.
• For example:
• Instead of sufi wird, taught them supplications of Prophet (saws).
An-Nawawi’s book: Al wird RasulAllah – supplications of
RasulAllah.
• Emphasized how to recognize scholars (not those who shake their
heads, beg for money/food, sit near shrines)
• Avoid sufi terminology – used words like taqwa, eeman, zuhd
• Explained the correct meaning of the terminology which were
misinterpreted by the Sufis – such as the meaning of zuhd, wird,
etc.
 • Criticized practices of Sufis – living off of public donations, etc.
• Brought change to Jurists – extreme Hanafis
• Talked about importance of ijtihaad
• Falsehood of closing the door of ijtihaad
• Ijtihaad is linked to the maqasid of shari’ah (intentions of the shari’ah,
things the shari’ah is meant to uphold)
• Explained WHY scholars have a difference in opinions. Taught
mentality that one person can cover all the knowledge is incorrect. He
wrote Al-Insaf fee Ma’rifati Asbaab Alikhtilaaf to explain all of this. (The
book is translated in English). He based it on Ibn Taymiyyah’s book.
• He took the middle path between two extremes that existed at the time:
• A) – absolutely no madhab,
• B) - madhab only
• First one to bring Shafi’ee madhab to India
• One of his goals was to bring a new madhab by merging Hanafi and Shafi’i
thoughts.

• Explained difference between opinion of Abu Haneefah and the madhhab of Abu
Haneefah

• Fluent in Arabic and Persian

• Wrote 60 books – 39 in Arabic and rest in Persian – wrote in language that

people would understand.

• Cared a lot about da’wah

An Event to Remember

o One of the ways that the rulers would use to control the public – the general
public cannot read Arabic and whatever ruler says is in the Qur’an people is
taught by the “religious leaders” and so people have to believe and obey them
because they cannot verify or read it in the Qur’an for themselves.
 o Ad-Dahlawee sought to solve this problem when he translated Qur’an in
Persian

o This was like a bomb in India. Some mullahs and princes hired gangs to kill
him

They brought the public to kill him and Ad-Dahlawee said he was unafraid.

No one dared to touch him. His translation exists to this day.

A Gift from Ahmad ibn ‘Abdir-Raheem Ad-Dahlawee

Whoever comes to know of an authentic Hadith of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam, be he a scholar or a layman, he must act upon it. It is not permissible for him
to leave the Hadeeth for the opinion of any person. The Salah and the Imaams all
agree that doing such a thing is forbidden and is evil.

Some Lessons from the Life of Ahmad ibn ‘Abdir-Raheem Ad-Dahlawee

• Point out mistakes in a wise manner, through understanding the context of the
people
• Always give people alternatives. Don’t just say worshipping Allah this way is
Haraam, show them how they can worship Allah correctly according to the
sunnah of the Prophet sal Allahy alayhi wa sallam.
• Steer the negatives to positives
• When you realize you don’t know enough, don’t pretend and make things up;
go and learn more!
• Work with people you disagree with to improve the situation through seeking
common grounds
• Use the language of people to teach them
• Make tawheed the focus of your da’wah, organization, etc.
 Test Your Comprehension:

19.Briefly describe Ad-Dahlawee’s methodology in dealing with bid’ah.

20.a) Which language did Ad-Dahlawee mostly write in?
III. What was the wisdom behind this?
21. List 3 things that had a major influence on his life?
22.While studying in Hijaz, what prompted Ad-Dahlawee to return to India
despite the danger (minimum 2 points)?
23.What was the focus of the da’wah of Ad-Dahlawee? Why?
24.a) In India, who benefited from the people living in ignorance?
b) How did they react to Ad-Dahlawee’s da’wah?

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Hadith!

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