Rabi ul Awwal

0 4SIGNIFICANCE

OF THIS MONTH

P R O P H E T S M O N T HP R O P H E T S M O N T HC O N T E M P O R A R Y L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N EC O N T E M P O R A R Y L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E

M A N A G E D amp P R O D U C E D L O C A L L YM A N A G E D amp P R O D U C E D L O C A L L Y

L U T O N M U S L I M Sjournal issue 21 dec 2016

0 8A POETIC SIRAH

SUMMARY

1 3NURTURING

CHILDREN

1 4AL MUQADDISI MAPS THEWORLD

In this issue

The Prophetic example withchildren

The perfection of manners

The Life of the Prophet ndash poem

The Peacemaker

Reflections on worship

Key to mental health

R E A D

L E A R N

S H A R E

0 5 0 9Rabi ul Awwal ndash Themonth of the Prophet(May Allah bless him)

The Life of theProphet summarisedin poetry

New Tajweed classesstarting in Luton

1 0 1 3The key to mentalhealth

The Propheticmanners withchildren

0 7

STORIES OF REPENTANCE0 3

Fudhayl ibn Ayyad wasHe was the head of agang of thieves whoattacked the tradingcaravans and robbedtheir monies Butnevertheless Fudhaylhad some principles - hedidnt rob the baggage ofwomen the weak or thepoor He was not proudbefore anyone of peopleAs for the reason of hisrepentance it has beensaid ldquoHe loved a woman buthe did not succeed tomarry her Whenever hewould pass by her house

he would becomeagitated and cry thinkingof his loss One night ashe was lamenting acaravan passed byreciting from the Qurrsquoan ldquoHas not the time yetcome for those whobelieve that their heartsshould be humble for theremembrance of AllahrdquoQuran 5716 When Fudhayl heard thisverse he came downfrom above the wall andsaid ldquoO my Lord Yes ithas come it has comerdquoHe walked crying

regretting beingconfused and unknowingwhere to go He reachedsome ruins in which therewere some people of oneof the caravans He heardthem saying ldquoLet us gofrom here It is the timeof leavingrdquo One of themsaid ldquoNo it is not thetime of leaving Fudhaylis in the road and he willattack the caravan androb all what we haverdquoThen Fudhayl cried ldquoOpeople of the caravan itis the good news Thisdangerous thief andpolluted robber hasrepentedrdquo

Tathkiratul Awliyardquo p79

0 5 0 9Rabi ul Awwal ndash Themonth of the Prophet(May Allah bless him)

The Life of theProphet summarisedin poetry

New Tajweed classesstarting in Luton

1 0 1 3The key to mentalhealth

The Propheticmanners withchildren

0 7

STORIES OF REPENTANCE0 3

Fudhayl ibn Ayyad wasHe was the head of agang of thieves whoattacked the tradingcaravans and robbedtheir monies Butnevertheless Fudhaylhad some principles - hedidnt rob the baggage ofwomen the weak or thepoor He was not proudbefore anyone of peopleAs for the reason of hisrepentance it has beensaid ldquoHe loved a woman buthe did not succeed tomarry her Whenever hewould pass by her house

he would becomeagitated and cry thinkingof his loss One night ashe was lamenting acaravan passed byreciting from the Qurrsquoan ldquoHas not the time yetcome for those whobelieve that their heartsshould be humble for theremembrance of AllahrdquoQuran 5716 When Fudhayl heard thisverse he came downfrom above the wall andsaid ldquoO my Lord Yes ithas come it has comerdquoHe walked crying

regretting beingconfused and unknowingwhere to go He reachedsome ruins in which therewere some people of oneof the caravans He heardthem saying ldquoLet us gofrom here It is the timeof leavingrdquo One of themsaid ldquoNo it is not thetime of leaving Fudhaylis in the road and he willattack the caravan androb all what we haverdquoThen Fudhayl cried ldquoOpeople of the caravan itis the good news Thisdangerous thief andpolluted robber hasrepentedrdquo

Tathkiratul Awliyardquo p79

RABI UL AWWALT H E M O N T H O F T H E P R O P H E T ( M A Y A L L A H B L E S S H I M )

This is the month where the best of all creation was bornthe one who brought a guiding light for humanity to comeout of the darkness of ignorance He was a champion forpeople living in all times Today Muslims must read and reflect upon his biography and sunnahto find relief and guidance for the current misery that has descendedupon them By studying his biography we will learn how to contributepositively and have a good impact on ourselves our family oursociety and our world We will learn how to live with different peoplehow to tolerate others and therefore create a harmonious society It is an opportunity to introduce our Prophet (May Allah bless him) tothe wider society and prove to people just how great of a spiritualpeaceful and just leader he really was

About Rabi ul AwwalBirth of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him) The only authentic narration from the Prophet about hisbirth is that he was born on Monday The rest of thedetails are based on different historical reports Hencethere are various opinions regarding such details Month Rabi ul Awwal This is the view of majorityscholars Although there are other opinions regarding hisbirth in Ramadhan and Rajab but they seem to be veryweak Day Monday The Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him) was askedabout why he was fasting on a Monday he replied lsquoIt isthe day on which I was bornrsquo and some narrationsmention with the addition lsquo And the day on which Ireceived prophet-hoodrsquo (Bayhaqi) This is the mostauthentic view supported by a number of narrations fromthe Prophet Date 12th ndash This is the most popular view amongst thescholars The other views are 2nd 8th 9th 10th 17th 18thand 21st Year Year of the Elephant This is the most authenticview This is the year when Abrahah the governor ofYemen came with an army of Elephants to destroyKarsquobah Allah in return annihilated him and his army Thisincident is recorded in the Quran in Surah Feel

How do we celebrate his birthEvery true Muslim will be happy with the advent of theFinal Messenger of Allah Even many non-Muslims holdhim in high regard along with millions of Muslimsworldwide The question is how should we express ourlove and happiness

The Messenger of Allah fasted on his birthday The Prophet himself used to fast on his birthdays and hevery openly answered the question as to why he regularlyfasts on Mondays and one of his replies was that lsquoI wasborn on this dayrsquo

This act of the Prophet clearly distinguishesthat in our religion when it comes toexpressing our joy happiness and thanks (toAllah) we should show it through our deedsrather than throwing parties The Messenger of Allah told us to fast on theday of Ashura when Musa (AS) and hiscommunity were saved Once again we haveexamples of lsquohow to express happiness andthanks to Allahrsquo True expression of love is by lsquofollowing onersquosbelovedrsquo Allah has very clearly explained how toexpress happiness and this concept is commonwithin the entire humanity lsquoyou follow andimitate your belovedrsquo ldquoSay if you love Allah then follow me as aresult Allah will love yourdquo (Aal-Imran) Thisverse tells us that if we want to express ourlove for Allah then we have to follow himSince Allah will not physically be present infront of us to be lsquoimitatedrsquo he has ordered usto follow His Prophet Islam is a pragmatic religion where our actionshave to speak louder than our words whichmeans that we have to do more than just saywe love the prophet but also our actions anddeeds have to back this up What about holding events for educational andinspirational purposes There are two extremes to this the first is thatto throw a big party with no regard to theSunnah and Islamic values where men andwomen mix freely without due Hijab unlawfulmusic and songs are played aloud etc This isall done under the excuse that lsquowe love theprophetrsquo Any sound minded scholar willregard this as Haram It is evident through the texts and earlypractices in Islam that having a birthday-likecelebration is baseless in fact most scholarseven disagree with celebrating birthdays bythrowing a party etc for normal Muslims letalone the ProphetThe other extreme is to completely avoid the

mention of the Prophet during this month andto regard any event although free from anyHaram activities purely for the remembranceof the Prophet his sunnah biography etc asbidrsquoah (innovation in Islam) This view is unsubstantiated as there is notextual evidence that any gathering held inRabi ul Awwal or any other month to mark theProphetrsquos life is prohibited in Islam Yes if people see events like this to becompulsory sunnah or regard others who donot formally mark Rabi ul Awwal with an eventto be sinning and acting wrongly then in thatcase it will become lsquobidrsquoahrsquo- an innovation inIslam which goes against Islam becausenowhere in Islamic sources does it mentionthat we shouldcommemorate his birthday withan event The birth and death of the Messenger of Allah(may Allah bless him) makes Rabi ul Awwal as amonth of joy and sadness Conclusion All Muslims must sense happiness over thebirth of the Messenger of Allah in Rabi ulAwwal The best way to express that is to livehis legacy Those who wish to seize thisopportunity to hold events or exhibitions onhis life and Sunnah will be rewarded for it withthe condition that they avoid organising anybirthday parties and abstaining from anyHaram in the event There is no specific worship for this month Thereaders are encouraged to send salat (peaceand blessings) upon the Prophet abundantlyparticularly when his name is mentioned - By Mawlana Muhammad Rayhan Bibliography lsquoMuhammad The Last Prophetrsquo by Shaykh AbulHasan Nadwi lsquoThe sealed Nectarrsquo by Shaykh Saifur RahmanLataaiful-Marsquoarif by Ibn Rajab Hanbali

0 7

A name that inspires many and a character so uniqueMuhammed ( ) is our Prophet whose path we wish to seek

In Rabi-ul-Awwal he came into this world as a great blessing

During a time of great trials and when the world was distressing

Born in Makkah the holiest placeA life full of challenges he was yet to face

Abdullah his father had by then passed away

Leaving Aaminah his mother in her arms he lay

Halima Sadia soon took over his careLooking after him she realised this child was rare

His mother then passed away and he was left all aloneAbdul Muttalib his grand-dad then made him his own

When our prophet was nine his grandfather died

Only for Abu Talib his uncle to become his new guide

In his 20rsquos a merchant Muhammed ( ) became by tradeAl-Amin (the trustworthy) became his grade

Soon after Khadija (RA) became his bride

And through hardship and worries shed stand by his side Over the next 23 years came the revelation the Quran

The purpose was to lead people from darkness to the light of Imaan

He preached to all people every creed every raceYet so many hardships he had to confront and face

When there were fears for his life the Hijrarsquoh took place

He entered Madinah by the Almightyrsquos grace

He was greeted by the Ansaris who were not like the othersthey treated the Muhajirs like their very own brothers

Then came the battles fought face to face

Then the conquest of Makkah Muhammed ( )rsquos birthplace

An-Nasr was revealed itrsquos message was clearMuhammed ( ) knew that his time was near

Everyone gathered to hear his very last speech

little did they know how far Allahrsquos message would reach

Muhammed ( ) gave us the miracle the QuranAnd now many people over the world follow the religion of Islam

He is our teacher role-model and the best of mankind

For us he left the Quran and his Sunnah behind

The Life of the Prophet

0 9So follow the prophetrsquos sunnah from eating to when dressing

And send him salutations as it will be a means of blessing

He came to mankind to show us the wayAnd Insha-Allah wersquoll meet him when we leave this world one day

- Mawlana Aminul Islam

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing andtypesetting industry Lorem Ipsum has been the

industrys standard dummy text ever since the 1500swhen an unknown printer took a galley of type andscrambled it to make a type specimen book It has

survived not only five centuries but also the leap intoelectronic typesetting remaining essentially

unchanged

T H E S T A N D A R D C H U N K O F L O R E M

1 0

This book is a treatise onthe theory of ethics very popularduring the Renaissance

Your Name

Whatever you do shapes you Even if no-one else knows ityou still have to manage the guilt of leading a double-life The key to mental health is honesty for this gives reliefand consistency Be sincere to yourself and in this you willfind happiness

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is arole model for us in every regard Heset a high standard for us whendealing with everyone includingchildren This focus on a childrsquos welfare went as faras him (SAW) encouraging careful selectionof a righteous spouse to provide a suitablenurturing environment for children Showing kindness and respectIt is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allahbe pleased with him) said We were praying lsquoIsha prayer with theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him Whenever heprostrated (his grandchildren) Al-Hassanand Al-Hussain would jump on his backplayfully He elongated his prostration soas not to disturb them and took care whenraising his head After the prayer he wouldsit them on his thighs respectfully Abu Musa Al-Ashrsquoari says I was blessed with a boy so I came withhim to the Prophet -prayer and peace ofAllah be upon him- where he named himIbrahim he moistened his lips with asoftened date and asked Allah to blesshimrdquo [Agreed upon] Shortening the prayersWhenever he (SAW) heard a child cryingduring the prayer he would lighten hisprayer so that the parents could tend totheir child and minimise their discomfortHe said ldquoI rise up to pray with the intention toelongate my prayer thereupon I hear thecry of a child which makes me shorten myprayer disliking to make it hard on hisher

motherrdquo [Reported by Al-Bukhari 868] Respecting their feelingsOne young companion Abdullah Ibn lsquoAmrrelates ldquoMy mother called me once when theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash was in our houseShe said ldquoHey come here I will give yousomethingrdquo to which the Messenger ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashenquired ldquowhat did you want to give himrdquoShe replied ldquoI will give him datesrdquo then theMessenger ndash peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him ndash said ldquoIf you did not give himanything (upon calling him) it would berecorded on you as a lierdquo[Reported by Abu Dawucircd 4991 Encouraging good manners anddiscipline with kindnessOmar Ibn Aby Salamah narrated ldquoI was a little boy sitting on the Prophetrsquos ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashlap eating from all over the plate TheMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash said to me ldquoO boysay lsquoBismillahrsquo (In the name of Allah) eatwith your right hand and eat from whatrsquos infront of yourdquo [Agreed upon] Caring for their wellbeingThe Prophet (SAW) emphasised theright of the child in inheritancethrough preparation of a will He alsostressed the rights of orphanensuring their care and protectionpreservation of their wealth andkindness towards them

1 3The Prophetic example with children

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

About Rabi ul AwwalBirth of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him) The only authentic narration from the Prophet about hisbirth is that he was born on Monday The rest of thedetails are based on different historical reports Hencethere are various opinions regarding such details Month Rabi ul Awwal This is the view of majorityscholars Although there are other opinions regarding hisbirth in Ramadhan and Rajab but they seem to be veryweak Day Monday The Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him) was askedabout why he was fasting on a Monday he replied lsquoIt isthe day on which I was bornrsquo and some narrationsmention with the addition lsquo And the day on which Ireceived prophet-hoodrsquo (Bayhaqi) This is the mostauthentic view supported by a number of narrations fromthe Prophet Date 12th ndash This is the most popular view amongst thescholars The other views are 2nd 8th 9th 10th 17th 18thand 21st Year Year of the Elephant This is the most authenticview This is the year when Abrahah the governor ofYemen came with an army of Elephants to destroyKarsquobah Allah in return annihilated him and his army Thisincident is recorded in the Quran in Surah Feel

How do we celebrate his birthEvery true Muslim will be happy with the advent of theFinal Messenger of Allah Even many non-Muslims holdhim in high regard along with millions of Muslimsworldwide The question is how should we express ourlove and happiness

The Messenger of Allah fasted on his birthday The Prophet himself used to fast on his birthdays and hevery openly answered the question as to why he regularlyfasts on Mondays and one of his replies was that lsquoI wasborn on this dayrsquo

This act of the Prophet clearly distinguishesthat in our religion when it comes toexpressing our joy happiness and thanks (toAllah) we should show it through our deedsrather than throwing parties The Messenger of Allah told us to fast on theday of Ashura when Musa (AS) and hiscommunity were saved Once again we haveexamples of lsquohow to express happiness andthanks to Allahrsquo True expression of love is by lsquofollowing onersquosbelovedrsquo Allah has very clearly explained how toexpress happiness and this concept is commonwithin the entire humanity lsquoyou follow andimitate your belovedrsquo ldquoSay if you love Allah then follow me as aresult Allah will love yourdquo (Aal-Imran) Thisverse tells us that if we want to express ourlove for Allah then we have to follow himSince Allah will not physically be present infront of us to be lsquoimitatedrsquo he has ordered usto follow His Prophet Islam is a pragmatic religion where our actionshave to speak louder than our words whichmeans that we have to do more than just saywe love the prophet but also our actions anddeeds have to back this up What about holding events for educational andinspirational purposes There are two extremes to this the first is thatto throw a big party with no regard to theSunnah and Islamic values where men andwomen mix freely without due Hijab unlawfulmusic and songs are played aloud etc This isall done under the excuse that lsquowe love theprophetrsquo Any sound minded scholar willregard this as Haram It is evident through the texts and earlypractices in Islam that having a birthday-likecelebration is baseless in fact most scholarseven disagree with celebrating birthdays bythrowing a party etc for normal Muslims letalone the ProphetThe other extreme is to completely avoid the

mention of the Prophet during this month andto regard any event although free from anyHaram activities purely for the remembranceof the Prophet his sunnah biography etc asbidrsquoah (innovation in Islam) This view is unsubstantiated as there is notextual evidence that any gathering held inRabi ul Awwal or any other month to mark theProphetrsquos life is prohibited in Islam Yes if people see events like this to becompulsory sunnah or regard others who donot formally mark Rabi ul Awwal with an eventto be sinning and acting wrongly then in thatcase it will become lsquobidrsquoahrsquo- an innovation inIslam which goes against Islam becausenowhere in Islamic sources does it mentionthat we shouldcommemorate his birthday withan event The birth and death of the Messenger of Allah(may Allah bless him) makes Rabi ul Awwal as amonth of joy and sadness Conclusion All Muslims must sense happiness over thebirth of the Messenger of Allah in Rabi ulAwwal The best way to express that is to livehis legacy Those who wish to seize thisopportunity to hold events or exhibitions onhis life and Sunnah will be rewarded for it withthe condition that they avoid organising anybirthday parties and abstaining from anyHaram in the event There is no specific worship for this month Thereaders are encouraged to send salat (peaceand blessings) upon the Prophet abundantlyparticularly when his name is mentioned - By Mawlana Muhammad Rayhan Bibliography lsquoMuhammad The Last Prophetrsquo by Shaykh AbulHasan Nadwi lsquoThe sealed Nectarrsquo by Shaykh Saifur RahmanLataaiful-Marsquoarif by Ibn Rajab Hanbali

0 7

A name that inspires many and a character so uniqueMuhammed ( ) is our Prophet whose path we wish to seek

In Rabi-ul-Awwal he came into this world as a great blessing

During a time of great trials and when the world was distressing

Born in Makkah the holiest placeA life full of challenges he was yet to face

Abdullah his father had by then passed away

Leaving Aaminah his mother in her arms he lay

Halima Sadia soon took over his careLooking after him she realised this child was rare

His mother then passed away and he was left all aloneAbdul Muttalib his grand-dad then made him his own

When our prophet was nine his grandfather died

Only for Abu Talib his uncle to become his new guide

In his 20rsquos a merchant Muhammed ( ) became by tradeAl-Amin (the trustworthy) became his grade

Soon after Khadija (RA) became his bride

And through hardship and worries shed stand by his side Over the next 23 years came the revelation the Quran

The purpose was to lead people from darkness to the light of Imaan

He preached to all people every creed every raceYet so many hardships he had to confront and face

When there were fears for his life the Hijrarsquoh took place

He entered Madinah by the Almightyrsquos grace

He was greeted by the Ansaris who were not like the othersthey treated the Muhajirs like their very own brothers

Then came the battles fought face to face

Then the conquest of Makkah Muhammed ( )rsquos birthplace

An-Nasr was revealed itrsquos message was clearMuhammed ( ) knew that his time was near

Everyone gathered to hear his very last speech

little did they know how far Allahrsquos message would reach

Muhammed ( ) gave us the miracle the QuranAnd now many people over the world follow the religion of Islam

He is our teacher role-model and the best of mankind

For us he left the Quran and his Sunnah behind

The Life of the Prophet

0 9So follow the prophetrsquos sunnah from eating to when dressing

And send him salutations as it will be a means of blessing

He came to mankind to show us the wayAnd Insha-Allah wersquoll meet him when we leave this world one day

- Mawlana Aminul Islam

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing andtypesetting industry Lorem Ipsum has been the

industrys standard dummy text ever since the 1500swhen an unknown printer took a galley of type andscrambled it to make a type specimen book It has

survived not only five centuries but also the leap intoelectronic typesetting remaining essentially

unchanged

T H E S T A N D A R D C H U N K O F L O R E M

1 0

This book is a treatise onthe theory of ethics very popularduring the Renaissance

Your Name

Whatever you do shapes you Even if no-one else knows ityou still have to manage the guilt of leading a double-life The key to mental health is honesty for this gives reliefand consistency Be sincere to yourself and in this you willfind happiness

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is arole model for us in every regard Heset a high standard for us whendealing with everyone includingchildren This focus on a childrsquos welfare went as faras him (SAW) encouraging careful selectionof a righteous spouse to provide a suitablenurturing environment for children Showing kindness and respectIt is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allahbe pleased with him) said We were praying lsquoIsha prayer with theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him Whenever heprostrated (his grandchildren) Al-Hassanand Al-Hussain would jump on his backplayfully He elongated his prostration soas not to disturb them and took care whenraising his head After the prayer he wouldsit them on his thighs respectfully Abu Musa Al-Ashrsquoari says I was blessed with a boy so I came withhim to the Prophet -prayer and peace ofAllah be upon him- where he named himIbrahim he moistened his lips with asoftened date and asked Allah to blesshimrdquo [Agreed upon] Shortening the prayersWhenever he (SAW) heard a child cryingduring the prayer he would lighten hisprayer so that the parents could tend totheir child and minimise their discomfortHe said ldquoI rise up to pray with the intention toelongate my prayer thereupon I hear thecry of a child which makes me shorten myprayer disliking to make it hard on hisher

motherrdquo [Reported by Al-Bukhari 868] Respecting their feelingsOne young companion Abdullah Ibn lsquoAmrrelates ldquoMy mother called me once when theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash was in our houseShe said ldquoHey come here I will give yousomethingrdquo to which the Messenger ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashenquired ldquowhat did you want to give himrdquoShe replied ldquoI will give him datesrdquo then theMessenger ndash peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him ndash said ldquoIf you did not give himanything (upon calling him) it would berecorded on you as a lierdquo[Reported by Abu Dawucircd 4991 Encouraging good manners anddiscipline with kindnessOmar Ibn Aby Salamah narrated ldquoI was a little boy sitting on the Prophetrsquos ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashlap eating from all over the plate TheMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash said to me ldquoO boysay lsquoBismillahrsquo (In the name of Allah) eatwith your right hand and eat from whatrsquos infront of yourdquo [Agreed upon] Caring for their wellbeingThe Prophet (SAW) emphasised theright of the child in inheritancethrough preparation of a will He alsostressed the rights of orphanensuring their care and protectionpreservation of their wealth andkindness towards them

1 3The Prophetic example with children

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

This act of the Prophet clearly distinguishesthat in our religion when it comes toexpressing our joy happiness and thanks (toAllah) we should show it through our deedsrather than throwing parties The Messenger of Allah told us to fast on theday of Ashura when Musa (AS) and hiscommunity were saved Once again we haveexamples of lsquohow to express happiness andthanks to Allahrsquo True expression of love is by lsquofollowing onersquosbelovedrsquo Allah has very clearly explained how toexpress happiness and this concept is commonwithin the entire humanity lsquoyou follow andimitate your belovedrsquo ldquoSay if you love Allah then follow me as aresult Allah will love yourdquo (Aal-Imran) Thisverse tells us that if we want to express ourlove for Allah then we have to follow himSince Allah will not physically be present infront of us to be lsquoimitatedrsquo he has ordered usto follow His Prophet Islam is a pragmatic religion where our actionshave to speak louder than our words whichmeans that we have to do more than just saywe love the prophet but also our actions anddeeds have to back this up What about holding events for educational andinspirational purposes There are two extremes to this the first is thatto throw a big party with no regard to theSunnah and Islamic values where men andwomen mix freely without due Hijab unlawfulmusic and songs are played aloud etc This isall done under the excuse that lsquowe love theprophetrsquo Any sound minded scholar willregard this as Haram It is evident through the texts and earlypractices in Islam that having a birthday-likecelebration is baseless in fact most scholarseven disagree with celebrating birthdays bythrowing a party etc for normal Muslims letalone the ProphetThe other extreme is to completely avoid the

mention of the Prophet during this month andto regard any event although free from anyHaram activities purely for the remembranceof the Prophet his sunnah biography etc asbidrsquoah (innovation in Islam) This view is unsubstantiated as there is notextual evidence that any gathering held inRabi ul Awwal or any other month to mark theProphetrsquos life is prohibited in Islam Yes if people see events like this to becompulsory sunnah or regard others who donot formally mark Rabi ul Awwal with an eventto be sinning and acting wrongly then in thatcase it will become lsquobidrsquoahrsquo- an innovation inIslam which goes against Islam becausenowhere in Islamic sources does it mentionthat we shouldcommemorate his birthday withan event The birth and death of the Messenger of Allah(may Allah bless him) makes Rabi ul Awwal as amonth of joy and sadness Conclusion All Muslims must sense happiness over thebirth of the Messenger of Allah in Rabi ulAwwal The best way to express that is to livehis legacy Those who wish to seize thisopportunity to hold events or exhibitions onhis life and Sunnah will be rewarded for it withthe condition that they avoid organising anybirthday parties and abstaining from anyHaram in the event There is no specific worship for this month Thereaders are encouraged to send salat (peaceand blessings) upon the Prophet abundantlyparticularly when his name is mentioned - By Mawlana Muhammad Rayhan Bibliography lsquoMuhammad The Last Prophetrsquo by Shaykh AbulHasan Nadwi lsquoThe sealed Nectarrsquo by Shaykh Saifur RahmanLataaiful-Marsquoarif by Ibn Rajab Hanbali

0 7

A name that inspires many and a character so uniqueMuhammed ( ) is our Prophet whose path we wish to seek

In Rabi-ul-Awwal he came into this world as a great blessing

During a time of great trials and when the world was distressing

Born in Makkah the holiest placeA life full of challenges he was yet to face

Abdullah his father had by then passed away

Leaving Aaminah his mother in her arms he lay

Halima Sadia soon took over his careLooking after him she realised this child was rare

His mother then passed away and he was left all aloneAbdul Muttalib his grand-dad then made him his own

When our prophet was nine his grandfather died

Only for Abu Talib his uncle to become his new guide

In his 20rsquos a merchant Muhammed ( ) became by tradeAl-Amin (the trustworthy) became his grade

Soon after Khadija (RA) became his bride

And through hardship and worries shed stand by his side Over the next 23 years came the revelation the Quran

The purpose was to lead people from darkness to the light of Imaan

He preached to all people every creed every raceYet so many hardships he had to confront and face

When there were fears for his life the Hijrarsquoh took place

He entered Madinah by the Almightyrsquos grace

He was greeted by the Ansaris who were not like the othersthey treated the Muhajirs like their very own brothers

Then came the battles fought face to face

Then the conquest of Makkah Muhammed ( )rsquos birthplace

An-Nasr was revealed itrsquos message was clearMuhammed ( ) knew that his time was near

Everyone gathered to hear his very last speech

little did they know how far Allahrsquos message would reach

Muhammed ( ) gave us the miracle the QuranAnd now many people over the world follow the religion of Islam

He is our teacher role-model and the best of mankind

For us he left the Quran and his Sunnah behind

The Life of the Prophet

0 9So follow the prophetrsquos sunnah from eating to when dressing

And send him salutations as it will be a means of blessing

He came to mankind to show us the wayAnd Insha-Allah wersquoll meet him when we leave this world one day

- Mawlana Aminul Islam

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing andtypesetting industry Lorem Ipsum has been the

industrys standard dummy text ever since the 1500swhen an unknown printer took a galley of type andscrambled it to make a type specimen book It has

survived not only five centuries but also the leap intoelectronic typesetting remaining essentially

unchanged

T H E S T A N D A R D C H U N K O F L O R E M

1 0

This book is a treatise onthe theory of ethics very popularduring the Renaissance

Your Name

Whatever you do shapes you Even if no-one else knows ityou still have to manage the guilt of leading a double-life The key to mental health is honesty for this gives reliefand consistency Be sincere to yourself and in this you willfind happiness

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is arole model for us in every regard Heset a high standard for us whendealing with everyone includingchildren This focus on a childrsquos welfare went as faras him (SAW) encouraging careful selectionof a righteous spouse to provide a suitablenurturing environment for children Showing kindness and respectIt is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allahbe pleased with him) said We were praying lsquoIsha prayer with theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him Whenever heprostrated (his grandchildren) Al-Hassanand Al-Hussain would jump on his backplayfully He elongated his prostration soas not to disturb them and took care whenraising his head After the prayer he wouldsit them on his thighs respectfully Abu Musa Al-Ashrsquoari says I was blessed with a boy so I came withhim to the Prophet -prayer and peace ofAllah be upon him- where he named himIbrahim he moistened his lips with asoftened date and asked Allah to blesshimrdquo [Agreed upon] Shortening the prayersWhenever he (SAW) heard a child cryingduring the prayer he would lighten hisprayer so that the parents could tend totheir child and minimise their discomfortHe said ldquoI rise up to pray with the intention toelongate my prayer thereupon I hear thecry of a child which makes me shorten myprayer disliking to make it hard on hisher

motherrdquo [Reported by Al-Bukhari 868] Respecting their feelingsOne young companion Abdullah Ibn lsquoAmrrelates ldquoMy mother called me once when theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash was in our houseShe said ldquoHey come here I will give yousomethingrdquo to which the Messenger ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashenquired ldquowhat did you want to give himrdquoShe replied ldquoI will give him datesrdquo then theMessenger ndash peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him ndash said ldquoIf you did not give himanything (upon calling him) it would berecorded on you as a lierdquo[Reported by Abu Dawucircd 4991 Encouraging good manners anddiscipline with kindnessOmar Ibn Aby Salamah narrated ldquoI was a little boy sitting on the Prophetrsquos ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashlap eating from all over the plate TheMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash said to me ldquoO boysay lsquoBismillahrsquo (In the name of Allah) eatwith your right hand and eat from whatrsquos infront of yourdquo [Agreed upon] Caring for their wellbeingThe Prophet (SAW) emphasised theright of the child in inheritancethrough preparation of a will He alsostressed the rights of orphanensuring their care and protectionpreservation of their wealth andkindness towards them

1 3The Prophetic example with children

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

0 7

A name that inspires many and a character so uniqueMuhammed ( ) is our Prophet whose path we wish to seek

In Rabi-ul-Awwal he came into this world as a great blessing

During a time of great trials and when the world was distressing

Born in Makkah the holiest placeA life full of challenges he was yet to face

Abdullah his father had by then passed away

Leaving Aaminah his mother in her arms he lay

Halima Sadia soon took over his careLooking after him she realised this child was rare

His mother then passed away and he was left all aloneAbdul Muttalib his grand-dad then made him his own

When our prophet was nine his grandfather died

Only for Abu Talib his uncle to become his new guide

In his 20rsquos a merchant Muhammed ( ) became by tradeAl-Amin (the trustworthy) became his grade

Soon after Khadija (RA) became his bride

And through hardship and worries shed stand by his side Over the next 23 years came the revelation the Quran

The purpose was to lead people from darkness to the light of Imaan

He preached to all people every creed every raceYet so many hardships he had to confront and face

When there were fears for his life the Hijrarsquoh took place

He entered Madinah by the Almightyrsquos grace

He was greeted by the Ansaris who were not like the othersthey treated the Muhajirs like their very own brothers

Then came the battles fought face to face

Then the conquest of Makkah Muhammed ( )rsquos birthplace

An-Nasr was revealed itrsquos message was clearMuhammed ( ) knew that his time was near

Everyone gathered to hear his very last speech

little did they know how far Allahrsquos message would reach

Muhammed ( ) gave us the miracle the QuranAnd now many people over the world follow the religion of Islam

He is our teacher role-model and the best of mankind

For us he left the Quran and his Sunnah behind

The Life of the Prophet

0 9So follow the prophetrsquos sunnah from eating to when dressing

And send him salutations as it will be a means of blessing

He came to mankind to show us the wayAnd Insha-Allah wersquoll meet him when we leave this world one day

- Mawlana Aminul Islam

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing andtypesetting industry Lorem Ipsum has been the

industrys standard dummy text ever since the 1500swhen an unknown printer took a galley of type andscrambled it to make a type specimen book It has

survived not only five centuries but also the leap intoelectronic typesetting remaining essentially

unchanged

T H E S T A N D A R D C H U N K O F L O R E M

1 0

This book is a treatise onthe theory of ethics very popularduring the Renaissance

Your Name

Whatever you do shapes you Even if no-one else knows ityou still have to manage the guilt of leading a double-life The key to mental health is honesty for this gives reliefand consistency Be sincere to yourself and in this you willfind happiness

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is arole model for us in every regard Heset a high standard for us whendealing with everyone includingchildren This focus on a childrsquos welfare went as faras him (SAW) encouraging careful selectionof a righteous spouse to provide a suitablenurturing environment for children Showing kindness and respectIt is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allahbe pleased with him) said We were praying lsquoIsha prayer with theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him Whenever heprostrated (his grandchildren) Al-Hassanand Al-Hussain would jump on his backplayfully He elongated his prostration soas not to disturb them and took care whenraising his head After the prayer he wouldsit them on his thighs respectfully Abu Musa Al-Ashrsquoari says I was blessed with a boy so I came withhim to the Prophet -prayer and peace ofAllah be upon him- where he named himIbrahim he moistened his lips with asoftened date and asked Allah to blesshimrdquo [Agreed upon] Shortening the prayersWhenever he (SAW) heard a child cryingduring the prayer he would lighten hisprayer so that the parents could tend totheir child and minimise their discomfortHe said ldquoI rise up to pray with the intention toelongate my prayer thereupon I hear thecry of a child which makes me shorten myprayer disliking to make it hard on hisher

motherrdquo [Reported by Al-Bukhari 868] Respecting their feelingsOne young companion Abdullah Ibn lsquoAmrrelates ldquoMy mother called me once when theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash was in our houseShe said ldquoHey come here I will give yousomethingrdquo to which the Messenger ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashenquired ldquowhat did you want to give himrdquoShe replied ldquoI will give him datesrdquo then theMessenger ndash peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him ndash said ldquoIf you did not give himanything (upon calling him) it would berecorded on you as a lierdquo[Reported by Abu Dawucircd 4991 Encouraging good manners anddiscipline with kindnessOmar Ibn Aby Salamah narrated ldquoI was a little boy sitting on the Prophetrsquos ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashlap eating from all over the plate TheMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash said to me ldquoO boysay lsquoBismillahrsquo (In the name of Allah) eatwith your right hand and eat from whatrsquos infront of yourdquo [Agreed upon] Caring for their wellbeingThe Prophet (SAW) emphasised theright of the child in inheritancethrough preparation of a will He alsostressed the rights of orphanensuring their care and protectionpreservation of their wealth andkindness towards them

1 3The Prophetic example with children

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

A name that inspires many and a character so uniqueMuhammed ( ) is our Prophet whose path we wish to seek

In Rabi-ul-Awwal he came into this world as a great blessing

During a time of great trials and when the world was distressing

Born in Makkah the holiest placeA life full of challenges he was yet to face

Abdullah his father had by then passed away

Leaving Aaminah his mother in her arms he lay

Halima Sadia soon took over his careLooking after him she realised this child was rare

His mother then passed away and he was left all aloneAbdul Muttalib his grand-dad then made him his own

When our prophet was nine his grandfather died

Only for Abu Talib his uncle to become his new guide

In his 20rsquos a merchant Muhammed ( ) became by tradeAl-Amin (the trustworthy) became his grade

Soon after Khadija (RA) became his bride

And through hardship and worries shed stand by his side Over the next 23 years came the revelation the Quran

The purpose was to lead people from darkness to the light of Imaan

He preached to all people every creed every raceYet so many hardships he had to confront and face

When there were fears for his life the Hijrarsquoh took place

He entered Madinah by the Almightyrsquos grace

He was greeted by the Ansaris who were not like the othersthey treated the Muhajirs like their very own brothers

Then came the battles fought face to face

Then the conquest of Makkah Muhammed ( )rsquos birthplace

An-Nasr was revealed itrsquos message was clearMuhammed ( ) knew that his time was near

Everyone gathered to hear his very last speech

little did they know how far Allahrsquos message would reach

Muhammed ( ) gave us the miracle the QuranAnd now many people over the world follow the religion of Islam

He is our teacher role-model and the best of mankind

For us he left the Quran and his Sunnah behind

The Life of the Prophet

0 9So follow the prophetrsquos sunnah from eating to when dressing

And send him salutations as it will be a means of blessing

He came to mankind to show us the wayAnd Insha-Allah wersquoll meet him when we leave this world one day

- Mawlana Aminul Islam

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing andtypesetting industry Lorem Ipsum has been the

industrys standard dummy text ever since the 1500swhen an unknown printer took a galley of type andscrambled it to make a type specimen book It has

survived not only five centuries but also the leap intoelectronic typesetting remaining essentially

unchanged

T H E S T A N D A R D C H U N K O F L O R E M

1 0

This book is a treatise onthe theory of ethics very popularduring the Renaissance

Your Name

Whatever you do shapes you Even if no-one else knows ityou still have to manage the guilt of leading a double-life The key to mental health is honesty for this gives reliefand consistency Be sincere to yourself and in this you willfind happiness

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is arole model for us in every regard Heset a high standard for us whendealing with everyone includingchildren This focus on a childrsquos welfare went as faras him (SAW) encouraging careful selectionof a righteous spouse to provide a suitablenurturing environment for children Showing kindness and respectIt is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allahbe pleased with him) said We were praying lsquoIsha prayer with theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him Whenever heprostrated (his grandchildren) Al-Hassanand Al-Hussain would jump on his backplayfully He elongated his prostration soas not to disturb them and took care whenraising his head After the prayer he wouldsit them on his thighs respectfully Abu Musa Al-Ashrsquoari says I was blessed with a boy so I came withhim to the Prophet -prayer and peace ofAllah be upon him- where he named himIbrahim he moistened his lips with asoftened date and asked Allah to blesshimrdquo [Agreed upon] Shortening the prayersWhenever he (SAW) heard a child cryingduring the prayer he would lighten hisprayer so that the parents could tend totheir child and minimise their discomfortHe said ldquoI rise up to pray with the intention toelongate my prayer thereupon I hear thecry of a child which makes me shorten myprayer disliking to make it hard on hisher

motherrdquo [Reported by Al-Bukhari 868] Respecting their feelingsOne young companion Abdullah Ibn lsquoAmrrelates ldquoMy mother called me once when theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash was in our houseShe said ldquoHey come here I will give yousomethingrdquo to which the Messenger ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashenquired ldquowhat did you want to give himrdquoShe replied ldquoI will give him datesrdquo then theMessenger ndash peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him ndash said ldquoIf you did not give himanything (upon calling him) it would berecorded on you as a lierdquo[Reported by Abu Dawucircd 4991 Encouraging good manners anddiscipline with kindnessOmar Ibn Aby Salamah narrated ldquoI was a little boy sitting on the Prophetrsquos ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashlap eating from all over the plate TheMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash said to me ldquoO boysay lsquoBismillahrsquo (In the name of Allah) eatwith your right hand and eat from whatrsquos infront of yourdquo [Agreed upon] Caring for their wellbeingThe Prophet (SAW) emphasised theright of the child in inheritancethrough preparation of a will He alsostressed the rights of orphanensuring their care and protectionpreservation of their wealth andkindness towards them

1 3The Prophetic example with children

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

0 9So follow the prophetrsquos sunnah from eating to when dressing

And send him salutations as it will be a means of blessing

He came to mankind to show us the wayAnd Insha-Allah wersquoll meet him when we leave this world one day

- Mawlana Aminul Islam

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing andtypesetting industry Lorem Ipsum has been the

industrys standard dummy text ever since the 1500swhen an unknown printer took a galley of type andscrambled it to make a type specimen book It has

survived not only five centuries but also the leap intoelectronic typesetting remaining essentially

unchanged

T H E S T A N D A R D C H U N K O F L O R E M

1 0

This book is a treatise onthe theory of ethics very popularduring the Renaissance

Your Name

Whatever you do shapes you Even if no-one else knows ityou still have to manage the guilt of leading a double-life The key to mental health is honesty for this gives reliefand consistency Be sincere to yourself and in this you willfind happiness

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is arole model for us in every regard Heset a high standard for us whendealing with everyone includingchildren This focus on a childrsquos welfare went as faras him (SAW) encouraging careful selectionof a righteous spouse to provide a suitablenurturing environment for children Showing kindness and respectIt is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allahbe pleased with him) said We were praying lsquoIsha prayer with theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him Whenever heprostrated (his grandchildren) Al-Hassanand Al-Hussain would jump on his backplayfully He elongated his prostration soas not to disturb them and took care whenraising his head After the prayer he wouldsit them on his thighs respectfully Abu Musa Al-Ashrsquoari says I was blessed with a boy so I came withhim to the Prophet -prayer and peace ofAllah be upon him- where he named himIbrahim he moistened his lips with asoftened date and asked Allah to blesshimrdquo [Agreed upon] Shortening the prayersWhenever he (SAW) heard a child cryingduring the prayer he would lighten hisprayer so that the parents could tend totheir child and minimise their discomfortHe said ldquoI rise up to pray with the intention toelongate my prayer thereupon I hear thecry of a child which makes me shorten myprayer disliking to make it hard on hisher

motherrdquo [Reported by Al-Bukhari 868] Respecting their feelingsOne young companion Abdullah Ibn lsquoAmrrelates ldquoMy mother called me once when theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash was in our houseShe said ldquoHey come here I will give yousomethingrdquo to which the Messenger ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashenquired ldquowhat did you want to give himrdquoShe replied ldquoI will give him datesrdquo then theMessenger ndash peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him ndash said ldquoIf you did not give himanything (upon calling him) it would berecorded on you as a lierdquo[Reported by Abu Dawucircd 4991 Encouraging good manners anddiscipline with kindnessOmar Ibn Aby Salamah narrated ldquoI was a little boy sitting on the Prophetrsquos ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashlap eating from all over the plate TheMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash said to me ldquoO boysay lsquoBismillahrsquo (In the name of Allah) eatwith your right hand and eat from whatrsquos infront of yourdquo [Agreed upon] Caring for their wellbeingThe Prophet (SAW) emphasised theright of the child in inheritancethrough preparation of a will He alsostressed the rights of orphanensuring their care and protectionpreservation of their wealth andkindness towards them

1 3The Prophetic example with children

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing andtypesetting industry Lorem Ipsum has been the

industrys standard dummy text ever since the 1500swhen an unknown printer took a galley of type andscrambled it to make a type specimen book It has

survived not only five centuries but also the leap intoelectronic typesetting remaining essentially

unchanged

T H E S T A N D A R D C H U N K O F L O R E M

1 0

This book is a treatise onthe theory of ethics very popularduring the Renaissance

Your Name

Whatever you do shapes you Even if no-one else knows ityou still have to manage the guilt of leading a double-life The key to mental health is honesty for this gives reliefand consistency Be sincere to yourself and in this you willfind happiness

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is arole model for us in every regard Heset a high standard for us whendealing with everyone includingchildren This focus on a childrsquos welfare went as faras him (SAW) encouraging careful selectionof a righteous spouse to provide a suitablenurturing environment for children Showing kindness and respectIt is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allahbe pleased with him) said We were praying lsquoIsha prayer with theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him Whenever heprostrated (his grandchildren) Al-Hassanand Al-Hussain would jump on his backplayfully He elongated his prostration soas not to disturb them and took care whenraising his head After the prayer he wouldsit them on his thighs respectfully Abu Musa Al-Ashrsquoari says I was blessed with a boy so I came withhim to the Prophet -prayer and peace ofAllah be upon him- where he named himIbrahim he moistened his lips with asoftened date and asked Allah to blesshimrdquo [Agreed upon] Shortening the prayersWhenever he (SAW) heard a child cryingduring the prayer he would lighten hisprayer so that the parents could tend totheir child and minimise their discomfortHe said ldquoI rise up to pray with the intention toelongate my prayer thereupon I hear thecry of a child which makes me shorten myprayer disliking to make it hard on hisher

motherrdquo [Reported by Al-Bukhari 868] Respecting their feelingsOne young companion Abdullah Ibn lsquoAmrrelates ldquoMy mother called me once when theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash was in our houseShe said ldquoHey come here I will give yousomethingrdquo to which the Messenger ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashenquired ldquowhat did you want to give himrdquoShe replied ldquoI will give him datesrdquo then theMessenger ndash peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him ndash said ldquoIf you did not give himanything (upon calling him) it would berecorded on you as a lierdquo[Reported by Abu Dawucircd 4991 Encouraging good manners anddiscipline with kindnessOmar Ibn Aby Salamah narrated ldquoI was a little boy sitting on the Prophetrsquos ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashlap eating from all over the plate TheMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash said to me ldquoO boysay lsquoBismillahrsquo (In the name of Allah) eatwith your right hand and eat from whatrsquos infront of yourdquo [Agreed upon] Caring for their wellbeingThe Prophet (SAW) emphasised theright of the child in inheritancethrough preparation of a will He alsostressed the rights of orphanensuring their care and protectionpreservation of their wealth andkindness towards them

1 3The Prophetic example with children

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

Whatever you do shapes you Even if no-one else knows ityou still have to manage the guilt of leading a double-life The key to mental health is honesty for this gives reliefand consistency Be sincere to yourself and in this you willfind happiness

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is arole model for us in every regard Heset a high standard for us whendealing with everyone includingchildren This focus on a childrsquos welfare went as faras him (SAW) encouraging careful selectionof a righteous spouse to provide a suitablenurturing environment for children Showing kindness and respectIt is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allahbe pleased with him) said We were praying lsquoIsha prayer with theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him Whenever heprostrated (his grandchildren) Al-Hassanand Al-Hussain would jump on his backplayfully He elongated his prostration soas not to disturb them and took care whenraising his head After the prayer he wouldsit them on his thighs respectfully Abu Musa Al-Ashrsquoari says I was blessed with a boy so I came withhim to the Prophet -prayer and peace ofAllah be upon him- where he named himIbrahim he moistened his lips with asoftened date and asked Allah to blesshimrdquo [Agreed upon] Shortening the prayersWhenever he (SAW) heard a child cryingduring the prayer he would lighten hisprayer so that the parents could tend totheir child and minimise their discomfortHe said ldquoI rise up to pray with the intention toelongate my prayer thereupon I hear thecry of a child which makes me shorten myprayer disliking to make it hard on hisher

motherrdquo [Reported by Al-Bukhari 868] Respecting their feelingsOne young companion Abdullah Ibn lsquoAmrrelates ldquoMy mother called me once when theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash was in our houseShe said ldquoHey come here I will give yousomethingrdquo to which the Messenger ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashenquired ldquowhat did you want to give himrdquoShe replied ldquoI will give him datesrdquo then theMessenger ndash peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him ndash said ldquoIf you did not give himanything (upon calling him) it would berecorded on you as a lierdquo[Reported by Abu Dawucircd 4991 Encouraging good manners anddiscipline with kindnessOmar Ibn Aby Salamah narrated ldquoI was a little boy sitting on the Prophetrsquos ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashlap eating from all over the plate TheMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash said to me ldquoO boysay lsquoBismillahrsquo (In the name of Allah) eatwith your right hand and eat from whatrsquos infront of yourdquo [Agreed upon] Caring for their wellbeingThe Prophet (SAW) emphasised theright of the child in inheritancethrough preparation of a will He alsostressed the rights of orphanensuring their care and protectionpreservation of their wealth andkindness towards them

1 3The Prophetic example with children

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is arole model for us in every regard Heset a high standard for us whendealing with everyone includingchildren This focus on a childrsquos welfare went as faras him (SAW) encouraging careful selectionof a righteous spouse to provide a suitablenurturing environment for children Showing kindness and respectIt is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allahbe pleased with him) said We were praying lsquoIsha prayer with theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him Whenever heprostrated (his grandchildren) Al-Hassanand Al-Hussain would jump on his backplayfully He elongated his prostration soas not to disturb them and took care whenraising his head After the prayer he wouldsit them on his thighs respectfully Abu Musa Al-Ashrsquoari says I was blessed with a boy so I came withhim to the Prophet -prayer and peace ofAllah be upon him- where he named himIbrahim he moistened his lips with asoftened date and asked Allah to blesshimrdquo [Agreed upon] Shortening the prayersWhenever he (SAW) heard a child cryingduring the prayer he would lighten hisprayer so that the parents could tend totheir child and minimise their discomfortHe said ldquoI rise up to pray with the intention toelongate my prayer thereupon I hear thecry of a child which makes me shorten myprayer disliking to make it hard on hisher

motherrdquo [Reported by Al-Bukhari 868] Respecting their feelingsOne young companion Abdullah Ibn lsquoAmrrelates ldquoMy mother called me once when theMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash was in our houseShe said ldquoHey come here I will give yousomethingrdquo to which the Messenger ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashenquired ldquowhat did you want to give himrdquoShe replied ldquoI will give him datesrdquo then theMessenger ndash peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him ndash said ldquoIf you did not give himanything (upon calling him) it would berecorded on you as a lierdquo[Reported by Abu Dawucircd 4991 Encouraging good manners anddiscipline with kindnessOmar Ibn Aby Salamah narrated ldquoI was a little boy sitting on the Prophetrsquos ndashpeace and blessings of Allah be upon him ndashlap eating from all over the plate TheMessenger of Allah ndash peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him ndash said to me ldquoO boysay lsquoBismillahrsquo (In the name of Allah) eatwith your right hand and eat from whatrsquos infront of yourdquo [Agreed upon] Caring for their wellbeingThe Prophet (SAW) emphasised theright of the child in inheritancethrough preparation of a will He alsostressed the rights of orphanensuring their care and protectionpreservation of their wealth andkindness towards them

1 3The Prophetic example with children

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Dinal-Muqaddasi known as al-Muqaddasi for short was born inJerusalem in the year 9456 Hecame from an educated family mostnotably his paternal grandfather ndashAbu Bakr al-Banna from Egypt wasknown as ldquothe builderrdquo because hebuilt the walls and forts at the port ofAkka (Acre) Al-Muqaddasi was educated in QurrsquoanQirarsquoat (forms of recitation) and was well-read in the works of earlier geographers Atthe age of twenty in 966 al-Muqaddasiperformed Hajj but he visited Makkah ontwo further occasions in 977 and 987 It isthought that during this twenty-year periodhe travelled extensively covering all of theregions that he describes in his famousbook The Best Divisions for Knowledge ofthe Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marsquoarifahal-Aqalim) His motivation for writing the book was inhis own words to follow in the footsteps ofscholars and the learned and the pious intheir ldquodesire to compose works so thattheir traces do not vanish from this earthrdquoAnd it was the subject Geography that hechose because he noticed that it wasneglected by others By Geography hemeant an accurate well-researchedldquoaccount of the Islamic regions with thedeserts and the seas in them the lakesand rivers there a description of theirfamous metropoles and notedsettlements the way stations that are wellused and the roads that are frequented hellipdiversity of peoples hellip their doctrinalschools hellip languages hellip measures hellip coins hellipfood and drink hellip fruits hellip tradehelliprdquo and so on

By the late tenth century (fourth century ofthe Islamic Hijri calendar) the Muslim worldwas vast spanning from Zaragoza (knownas ldquoSaraqustardquo at the time) in Spain in theWest to the Western provinces of China inthe East Such diverse lands peoples andcultures had the Islamic faith as itrsquos distinctand unifying factor from the non-Muslimportion of the world Al-Muqaddasi divided the Muslim worldinto two broad regions ndash Arab and non-Arab which he then subdivided intofourteen regions The Arabian regions were - Jazirat al-Arab (the Peninsula of theArabs)- Iraq- Aqur (land between the Euphrates andTigris rivers) al-Sham (Syria)- al-Misr (Egypt) and- al-Maghrib (North West Africa) The regions of the non-Arab Muslims are- al-Mashriq- al-Daylam- al-Rihab- al-Jabil- Khuzistan- Fars- Kirman and- al-Sind The book is an excellent source of accurateand detailed descriptions of conditions ofthese places in the tenth century whichrequires critical study There are also manythings we can learn from al-Muqaddasirsquosapproach to research scholarship andwriting which are briefly summarisedoverleaf nsistent with evidence that he had and

1 4

Lessons from Al-Muqaddasirsquosgeography of the worldrsquos regions

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

Al-Muqaddasi published the book atthe age of forty after a twenty-yearperiod of research and travelling Hegave himself the time to mature andgain enough exposure to become anexpert geographer and only then didhe decide to publish the book Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himselfwith and examined the major worksand authors in his field like al-Jayhani al-Balkhi al-Hamadhani al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih tounderstand their strengths andweaknesses This gave him criticalinsight into what he would need toproduce in order to contributesomething original that would standthe test of time For al-Muqaddasi itwasnrsquot enough to just follow thesame methods and approaches thatothers had done in the past Al-Muqaddasi often went out of hisway to learn new things and paidgreat attention to detail so that hecould properly analyse and classifythings For example when he arrivedin a new region he mentions that heenquired about the religiouspractices of people and theirlanguages so that he couldfamiliarise himself with them andeven did things like taste water inlakes so that he could accuratelydocument its quality

Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts andpeople of intelligence to check andvalidate drafts of his work He wasaware of the mistakes of others andbeing a devout man of belief andtrustworthiness meant he was evenmore keen to avoid error and be asaccurate as possible Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reportsonly from the most trustworthypeople who were consistent withevidence that he had and stayedaway from being excessive in hisarguments or censuring himselfWhile al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goalof producing knowledge that wouldensure the survival of his name heremained humble and did it he saysto worship Allah This includedenduring hardship sacrificing timeaway from home and spending moneytowards his research He also soughtto practice what was lawful avoidedsinning and dealt honestly withpeople Bibliography Al-Muqaddasi The Best Divisions forKnowledge of the Regions translatedby Basil Collins Ithaca Press 2000 - Br Dr Mamnun Khan

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ldquoWhich act in Islam is the bestrdquo He (Peace amp Blessings be upon him) replied ldquoTo give food and to greet everyone whether you know them or you do notrdquo

[Bukhari and Muslim]