An Introduction to Fiqh (2) | Partial & Full Ijtihad

Watch Here: https://youtu.be/DdAO2RmwgAg

0:00 Introduction
3:00 The definition of a mujtahid
7:30 Tajazzi in ijtihad
9:25 Response to proponents of tajazzi in ijtihad
11:05 Response to critics
16:00 Personal anecdote from class
20:35 Discussion on tajazzi in ijtihad when appointing the Wali al-Faqih

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عدوُّكَ من صديقك مستفادٌ
فلا تستكثرنَّ من الصِّحابَ
فإن الداءَ أكثرَ ما تراهُ
يحولُ من الطعام أو الشرابِ
إذا انقلبَ الصديقُ غدا عدواً
مُبيناً والأمورُ إلى انقلابِ
ولو كان الكثيرُ يَطيبُ كانتْ
مُصاحبةُ الكثير من الصوابِ
ولكن قلَّ ما استكثرتَ إلّا
سقطتَ على ذئابٍ في ثيابِ
فدعْ عنك الكثير فكم كثيرٍ
يُعافُ وكم قليلٍ مُستطابِ
وما اللُّجَجُ المِلاحُ بمُروياتٍ
وتلقى الرِّيّ في النُّطَفِ العِذابِ

Your enemy is acquired from your friend,
So do not count the number of companions you have.

For the disease you often find,
Comes from food or drink refined.

When a friend becomes a foe,
It becomes clear, as things will change and go.

If abundance were good, then surely,
Having many friends would be right and worthy.

But rarely do you gather much,
Without falling prey to wolves dressed as such.

So leave the many, for how many are there,
Who are avoided, and how few bring care.

The vast seas, though beautiful, may not quench your thirst,
But the small, pure drops are what satisfy first.

- Abbasid era poet, Ibn al-Rumi (d. 896 CE)

Condolence Letters, Remarks & Brief Analysis from Iranian Scholars

I will be sharing translations of several letters, analysis and remarks published by Iranian scholars in the comments of this post.

https://t.me/c/1861218218/583

Inferiority and superiority between the sexes
The question of whether man is superior to woman or vice versa lacks meaning in the context of our conversation here. In fact, the question only becomes meaningful, or at least appears to become meaningful, if we adopt the modern mentality wherein human nature is at root a homogenous, sexless thing to which sex is superadded accidentally. In such a view, it would be possible to ask which superadded accident is superior or more desirable or more noble, and to judge by some such criteria. But since we view sex as a fundamental differentiation, we must insist that man and woman are two different natures and this implies their own superiorities. It is therefore invalid to ask if woman is superior to man for the same reason that it makes no sense to ask if air is superior to water, or water to fire, or apples to oranges. A man can be superior only by the standard of the ideal man, and in comparison to other men; and the same is true of woman. They cannot be measured against one another without unconsciously adopting some standard that either applies to one sex only, or else applies to neither and so confuses the issue completely.

Source: This Dark Age - A manual for life in the modern world, by Daniel Schwindt

Reclaiming an Imamite Poet: Abu Tammam and His Ode for Imam Ali (as)

Ḥabīb ibn Aws al-Tā’ī (188-231 AH), better known by his nickname Abū Tammām, is widely regarded as one of the most celebrated and highly esteemed Arab poets of the Abbasid era. His status in Arabic literature is such that he is easily regarded one of the most prolific Arab poets of all-time, ranking up with al-Mutanabbī and al-Buḥturī as the “Lāt, Manāt, and ‘Uzza of Arabic poetry.” His prowess over the Arabic language was so deep that despite being a poet of the post-Islamic period (al-muḥdath), some grammarians such as al-Zamakhsharī would rely on his couplets as linguistic evidence of Arabic idiom. In addition to his copious poetry, he was the composer of a famous anthology entitled “Kitāb al-Ḥamāsah,” which assembled 884 specimens of early Arabic poetry in 10 volumes and quickly became a classical work in Arabic literature to the present-day.

Up until recently, great speculation existed regarding his religious views, although several Shī’ah biographers have clearly mentioned that he was an Imāmite. These doubts existed because his printed diwan has suffered from significant manipulation, to the extent that his poetry expressing clear wilāyah for the Ahl al-Bayt had either been completely removed or distorted. Nonetheless two adept Iranian researchers, Habib Rasi Tehrani and Azra Yazdi Mehr, recently extracted three important qaṣīdahs praising the Ahl al-Bayt from 11 ancient manuscripts of Abū Tammām’s diwan, the earliest of which is transcribed from a copy dated to 381 AH. In addition to the below qaṣīdah regarding Imām ‘Alī (as), which we have translated in rhyming verse, Abū Tammām has two other qaṣidahs that are specifically for the Ahl al-Bayt and leave no shadow of doubt about his Imāmite persuasion. As usual, we have attempted to adhere as closely to the original meanings as possible, and furnished footnotes to our translation derived from our own observations as well as the authors’ Persian commentary of the poem.

Read the Ode: https://iqraonline.net/reclaiming-an-imamite-poet-abu-tammam-and-his-ode-for-imam-ali-as/

From the Narration of Ghadir to Eid of GhadirThe ḥadīth of Ghadīr or the day of Ghadīr is a reference to an event that took place in 10th hijri on the 18th of Dhi al-Ḥijjah, near a location called Ghadīr Khumm. As historical reports transmit, the Messenger of Allah was returning to Medina after completing his Hajj Tamattu‘ and asked people to stop near this pond and described ‘Alī (a) as a Walī of the believers in his famous statement, “Man Kunto Mawla Fa-Hadhā ‘Alīyun Mawla” – ‘Of whomsoever I am their mawla, Alī is (also) their mawla.’ Thus, the narration and day of Ghadīr became rooted in this event.

Continue Reading: https://iqraonline.net/from-the-narration-of-ghadir-to-eid-of-ghadir/

The Story of the Martyrdom of Shahid Thani by a Witness, Qutb al-Din Muhammad Nahrawali (917-990 AH)

Qutb al-Din Nahrawali [1] is one of the notable historians of the tenth century hijri, several of whose historical and literary works have survived. His book al-I'lam bi-A'lam Bayt Allah al-Haram is one of his significant historical works about Makkah. His literary work includes al-Tamthil wa al-Muhadara, which has been published, and another, al-Fawa'id al-Saniyyah, which is a travelogue with extensive literary and historical information. Al-Fawa'id al-Saniyyah, sometimes called Nahrawali's memoir, was published in 2022 by the German Institute in Beirut and contains a report about the event of the assassination of Shahid Thani on the 8th of Sha'ban in the year 965 AH by order of the Ottoman Prime Minister [Rustam Pasha].

Nahrawali writes:

On the eighth of Sha'ban [965 AH, coinciding with 25th May 1558], the Prime Minister ordered the assassination of Shaykh Zayn al-Din Jabal Amili. He was brought to the court, and they asked him nothing; they ordered him to be taken for execution and there, his head was severed, and both his legs were cut off with the sword. While his head was being severed, he was reciting the Shahada.

His story was that during the days of Hasan Beg Efendi [the judge] of Damascus, he was accused of Rafdh. He was arrested and brought before Hasan Beg Efendi. Zayn al-Din said: I am Shafi'i. They debated with him academically, and they found him learned and proficient. He also used "May Allah be pleased with them" for the companions and spoke of the virtues of them and the two Shaykhs. Efendi favoured him and set him free. When he left, someone told Efendi: This person is one of the great scholars of the Rafidha and a jurist of their sect, and he has several books on the Rafidi sect. Efendi called for him again. This time Zayn al-Din went into hiding and did not appear. This remained as a grudge in the heart of Hasan Beg, the judge of Damascus, and he was upset about having set him free. He was dismissed from the judgeship of Damascus and then became the judge of Makkah.

It was precisely when Shaykh Zayn al-Din had also settled in Makkah. Efendi, learning of his presence in Makkah, ordered his arrest. They arrested and imprisoned him. Many people tried to secure his freedom and gave money. The judge took the money and asked, "Whose money is this?" They said, "It's from Khwaja Muhammad Makki." He summoned him and questioned him, but he denied it. The money was lost, and the Shaykh was not freed. Hasan Beg sent him bound with Hussein Beg, the steward of Jeddah, to the city [Istanbul] and instructed him to hand him over to the Prime Minister. He delivered him to the minister, and as said, they killed him. Zayn al-Din was a man who outwardly was the epitome of integrity, and God knows his inner truth. And he had complete virtue, good neighborliness, and pleasant conversation. May God forgive him and pardon his sins. The sword wipes away sins. (al-Fawa'id al-Saniyyah, pp. 484-485)

[Source]

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[1] From Empires Between Islam and Christianity, 1500-1800 by Sanjay Subrahmanyam, pg. 331:

The Hanafi jurist Qutb al-Din Muhammad Nahrawali (1511-82) hailed from a great medieval town in Gujarat (Anhilwada-Patan or Nahrawal), and was one of a fair number of figures whose intervention helped cement relations between Gujarat and the Muslim holy cities in the century of the Mughal conquest of South Asia. Richard Blacbkburn has written of Nahrawali: "Indian by birth, Meccan by adoption, Arab in culture, and Ottoman in political adherence, Shaykh or, as the Ottomans referred to him, Mevla Qutb al-Din al-Makki was recognised among later writers for his depth and breadth of learning and for his skills in Arabic, particularly in poetry and epistolary composition."