It has always amazed me how easily the average person is swayed by propoganda, often to the point of undermining their own beliefs. Take the term religious fundamentalist, for example, which is often used with negative connotations. Someone can be a practicing conservative Christian yet, due to media propaganda, be against "Muslim fundamentalists," then go on to speak about how fundamentalism is bad in any religion. However, if you break down the term and look at what that person believes, you will find they are religious fundamentalists themselves, and they have undermined their own beliefs by the way in which they chose to attack Islam.

This is very normal with Christians specifically and probably the biggest reason almost no Christian appologist is particularly impressive or exciting in their critiques of Islam. They have been subtly condiitoned—psychopped—into essentially accepting atheism wrapped in Christian termonology. In reality, they're just cultural conservatives struggling with their shallow commitment to faith. They are wannabe fundamentalists.

What are you studying for?Alhamdulillah, over the past few years specifically, it seems like there is a steep rise in people with careers and degrees outside the Islamic Sciences who are studying traditionally using all mediums available to them: local teachers, online studies, and even traveling to sit at the feet of the masters of the sciences. After a few years, someone who was an average Muslim with a career all of a sudden finds that they may have studied Ibn Malik's Alfiyya, various sciences to an intermediate/advanced level, memorized a sizable amount of the Qur'an, and more all out of the passion to seek knowledge and nothing more.

For this group, it usually starts with a few classes in the masjid, then Arabic studies, and one thing leads to another. Eventually they are met with the question, "What is the end goal with all these studies?"

This usually causes this group to start reflecting. Yes, they sought knowledge for the sake of Allah and out of their passion for knowledge, but is there more they should think of?

Usually, those who have shown dedication to the uloom find that they process and speak about Islam much differently than before, and if they studied correctly, those around them see a positive change in them. Due to that and their unassuming position in the community, they have combined being a person of knowledge and being someone accessible to people who might not otherwise ask about matters of the religion. Therefore, they have become a valuable resource for those around them. The more accessible people with knowledge and connections to scholars that the wider community has access to, the more the community as a whole improves.

Those with doubts they are afraid to approach the masjid imam with; those with questions they are too embarrassed to ask; those who might be heedless but now have someone in their friend group who might inspire them to recommit to the religion. All of these people now have someone around them who they trust with these matters they did not have before.

So to all of those students of knowledge who are not serving the community in any official capacity, just keep being you. Be the same approachable friend and family member to people you always were—a day will come when you are in a position no one else can be in to help someone. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "People are upon the religion of their friends" (Sunnan Abi Dawud).

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Imam al Haddad's dua for studying:

All praise to God, Lord of the Worlds. And salutations and greetings upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions. I intend to study and teach, take and give a reminder, take and give benefit, take and give advantage, to encourage the holding fast to the book of God and the way of His Messenger, and calling to guidance and directing towards good, hoping for the countenance of God and His pleasure, proximity and reward, transcendent is He.
https://seekersguidance.org/articles/general-artices/the-intentions-for-seeking-knowledge-imam-abdullah-al-haddad/

Scholars and students of knowledge must be careful not to be drawn into the pointless disputes that often take place among those who attribute themselves knowledge. Their role is to lead and prioritize the most important discussions, not to be led into distractions.

Learning legal maxims (qawaid fiqhiyya) and being able to apply them are two totally different things. One may understand some maxims however misapply them or not know enough to know which ones to apply when. This is one of the issues we have today with people who give fatwa based on their limited understanding of qawaid. Even worse is when they thing they are more enlightened that others.

Take the example of the qaaidah "what is known by culture/norms is as if it is conditioned [in contracts] (المعروف عرفا كالمشروط شرطا). One might mistakenly apply this to marriage contracts. This would be a complete misapplication because the things which allow خيار or the option to annulment are things which are defined by the shariah regardless of if it is something culturally acceptable or not. This is why the fuqahaa say that other than what is explicitly stated as something that gives the option to annulment can only give the option to annulment if it was stipulated in the contract.

Al Amrousi says in his commentary on Qareebat al Masalik

وظاهر قوله إن شرط أن العرف ليس كالشرط هنا وهو ظاهر كلامهم ولعل الفرق بينه وبين جعله في كثير من أبواب الفقه كالشرط أن النكاح مبني على المكارمة

"The apparent meaning of his statement "if he conditioned" is that a customs are not like conditions [here he is referring to the maxim I referenced earlier], and this is the apparent from their statements. Perhaps the distinction between this and how [customs] are treated like explicit conditions in many chapters of fiqh is likely because marriage is founded on generosity."

So we see here that the overarching maxim for the chapter of marriage in the Maliki school which is that marriage is built upon generosity overrides the usage of the principle that what is known by culture is as if it is conditioned in contracts.

After noticing one of my teachers answering a lot of questions using various maxims to explain the reasoning for the rulings I asked him how do we know which maxims to use where. He said "there are maxims that govern how to use these maxims." In other words one needs to study deeply to truly understand how to use them.

A person who has barakah in their time will experience this world slowly, being able to capitalize on their living moments, so they come to have a swift reckoning in the next life.

But the person who has no barakah in their time will experience this world quickly, feeling as if time is always wasting and slipping away, and their reckoning will seem longer in the next life.

The books of kalam the Sunnis wrote are indeed relevant to today’s intellectual challenges that face Muslims. Anyone who’s studied them will see that the intellectual failings of popular western discourse are ineloquent rehashes of what the Muslims responded to in the past.

Reposting since tonight there in a lunar eclipse:

Since tonight we will witness a lunar eclipse here is a summary of lunar eclipse prayer according to the Maliki school:

It's ruling: faadila (meritorious)

How it is preformed?

As a normal qiyaam prayer, prayed loudly, recommended to be done individually and at home. It is disliked to preform it in a congregation as well as at the masjid.

It should be prayed from the beginning of the eclipse (meaning from the beginning of the partial eclipse) until one of the following occurs 1) end of the eclipse 2) beginning of subh time 3) setting of the moon. If any of these three happens it is no longer prayed.

If one completes their prayer before the time is up then it is simply a recommendation to continue doing sets of 2 rakaas (kept short) until the end.

Sources:
https://al-maktaba.org/book/21607/534#p1
https://al-maktaba.org/book/21604/401#p1

Some of the works that the great Haafidh Muhadith Muqri' Faqih Shaykh Abu al Hassan al Manufi al Azhari al Shadhuli (d. 939 AH) wrote:

Maliki Fiqh:
- Umdat al Saalik 'ala Madhhab Malik
- Al Muqadimah al Iziyya lil Jama'ah al Azhariyya (summarized from the previous)
- Tuhfat al Musli and a commentary on it
- 6 full commentaries on the Risala of Ibn Abi Zaid they are
Ghayat al Amaani
Tahqiq al Mabani
Tawdeeh al Alfaadh wal Maa'ani
Talkhis al Tahqiq
Al Fayd al Rahmani
Kifayat al Taalib al Rabaani <- this is the one which is known and studied today
- He also wrote a commentary dedicated to the intro of the Risala
- A commentary just on the Aqida section of the Risaha
- Commentary on Al Mandhumah al Qurtubiyya
- Two commentaries on Mukhtasar Khalil (One of them is printed Shifaa' al Ghalil fi Lughati Khalil)
- Manaasik al Hajj

Arabic:
- Al Jawahir al Manawiyya ala al Muqaddimah al Ajrumiyya
- Al Durrar al Mudi'ah fi Sharh al Ajrumiyya
- Sharh Murshid al Tullab
- Sharh Shawahid al Ajrumiyya
- Sharh al Madkhal fi Al Maa'ni wal Bayan

Hadith:
- 2 commentaries on Bukhari
- 1 commentary on Muslim
- 1 commentary on Targhib al Mundhiri
- A 40 hadith collection
- Al Wasaail al Saniyya min al Maqasid al Sakhawiyya wa al Ziyada al Suyutiyya

Aqida/Kalam:
- The commentary on Ibn Abi Zaid's Aqida mentioned above
- Hashiya on Sharh al Aqaaid by Al Taftazani
- Sharh Umm al Baraheen

Tassawuf:
- Commentary on Manazil al Saaireen
- Zaad al Saafir
- Najaat al Mukallafeen
- Haadi al Arwaah
- Rawdat al Muta'abideen

Adhkaar:
- Al Najat fi Al Adhkaar fi Amal al Layli wa al Nahaar

Tajweed:
- Al Waafi li ma fi al Tayseer
- Al Kaafi
- Al Wiqayah fi al Tajweed
- Al Bidayah

Some people are only students of contraversial issues. Their knowledge starts and stops only at these hot topic issues which get discussed on repeat every year at the same exact time between the same exact people. The only "knowledge" they gain is knowledge which allows them to continue arguing. Ask them what they have learned outside of these issues and you will find they are quite shallow. Don't be one of these people. If you want to study Islam properly then you should reflect every year on the following questions:

How many surahs, hadiths, mutun did you memorize? How many books were studied cover to cover with a teacher? How many commentaries did you spend significant amounts of time with trying to master?

If the answer to all of these is 0 then you really have to reevaluate why you are doing this.

If someone is constantly disparaging others know they are only calling to themselves.