at-Tahawi » Bilal Ali Ansari

Maraqi al-Sa’adat (Original Arabic for Ascent to Felicity)

Bilal Ali Ansari — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 04:25:20 +0000

Since the recent publication of Shurunbulali’s Ascent to Felicity (translated by Shaykh Faraz Khan), a number of people have been requesting the original Arabic text. In my knowledge, the attached copy is the only published version of the book and has been out of print for some time. I am not personally aware of any other editions.

Bilal Ali

Maraqi_al-Sa’adat

Book Review: The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think, Read, and Remember

Bilal Ali Ansari — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:48:32 +0000

by Robert Colvile
Published: 5:25PM BST 27 Aug 2010 by www.telegraph.co.uk

The Shallows by Nicholas Carr: Review

Think about what you did last week. You might remember the nice meal, the chat to the cousin, the blazing row. But odds are, you spent the most time doing the same thing as the rest of us: staring at a screen. According to the latest data from Ofcom, the average Briton spends 45 per cent of his time gazing at pixels, whether delivered via a TV, a phone or a computer. The youngest, and best at multi-tasking, can monitor so many data streams that they effectively squeeze five hours’ exposure into just two hours.

As Nicholas Carr argues in his latest book, The Shallows, all this is having a profound effect on our thought processes – what he found to be “the uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain”. Every time we surf the web, he argues, we are literally rewiring our synapses, training them to skip from topic to topic and task to task rather than focusing on one solitary goal or thought. And we are powerfully rewarded for this behaviour, via the torrent of new insights and facts offered by sites such as Twitter or Facebook, or the simple chemical hit that comes from seeing the “new mail” message pop up.

Many writers have regarded this process as a relatively unmixed blessing, with Google and its ilk training us in high-speed cognition, not to mention giving us access to an enormous library of information that we no longer need to ferry around in our heads. Carr, however, is more sceptical. The brain, he points out, is not a computer, which can be filled up with a limited amount of data. The very act of remembering, of consideration, builds up the capacity to think deeply. We are, he fears, entering a superficial age, when the ability to devote attention to long and challenging thoughts will be lost.

He cites studies which show that we learn better and retain more when focusing solely on the words of an article or lecture, rather than being given the chance to access connected material at the same time.

Such worries, as Carr admits, are not new. Nietzsche found his prose style becoming harder and terser as he moved from pen to typewriter. Centuries before, Socrates lamented the damage that a move to the written word would do – it was, he argued, “a recipe not for memory, but for reminder”, for minds “filled, not with wisdom, but with the conceit of wisdom”.

This idea that, as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, “things are in the saddle / and ride mankind”, is an intriguing one, and Carr makes some interesting points, for example that the medieval transition from lingua continua (unpunctuated sentences of unbroken words, dictated to or read by a scribe) to our modern grammar created a kind of writing that was more personal, open and honest. He has some challenging ideas, too, about how written style will develop in the future, raising the dread prospect that authors will sculpt paragraphs and chapter headings to be “SEO-friendly” rather than rigorously accurate.

Yet it is hard to avoid the feeling that Carr is over-egging things – or rather, applying his worries too widely. For example, he tells us that the recent sustained global rise in IQ is evidence not of our becoming more intelligent, but of concentrating on different things. Why, then, should we worry about that rise tapering off? Isn’t it just a sign that the web is training our brains for different tasks? There is also the problem of format. If we are losing the ability to concentrate, asking us to trawl through a 224-page book feels like a heroically counter-productive way of addressing the problem. Indeed, to this reader at least, Carr’s argument felt stretched at this length – though he would no doubt blame that on my inadequate attention span.

The Shallows: How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember by Nicholas Carr, 276pp, Atlantic,£16.99 T £14.99 (PLUS £1.25 p&p)

Malik’s Concept of ‘Amal in the Light of Maliki Legal Theory by Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah

Bilal Ali Ansari — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:22:57 +0000

One a number of occasions, some acquaintances and students have requested a copy of Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah’s thorough UofC PhD thesis on the concept of inherited practice (‘amal) in the light of Maliki legal theory (usul). Because I was once told that the work had been published, I withheld posting a pdf of the book temporarily. Unfortunately, I still haven’t been able to get a hold of a published copy and can’t seem to find any such book at the more well-known online bookstore sites. I am beginning to doubt that any published form of the book even exists.

In any case, instead of waiting to obtain a copy, I have decided to suffice with what I have and upload the typewritten pdf version of his dissertation here. The copy I have is divided into eight files. If anyone has a more condensed version of the book, please do share.

Review: The Essentials of Jumu’a by Shaykh Ibrahim Madani

Bilal Ali Ansari — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:14:04 +0000

Reviewed by Bilal Ali

Author: Ibrahim Madani

Publisher: Madania Publications

Pages: 89 Binding: Paperback

The Essentials of Jumuʿa, Madania Publications’ first work, is a pleasant and welcome addition to a growing corpus of Islamic literature written in English and aimed at the Western reader. At first glance, the reader will appreciate the excellence of its print and language. This is not insignificant, as many books on Islamic studies in English, whether original or in translation, are frequently overshadowed by sometimes appallingly poor quality in both material and style. Essentials is one of a number of recent publications that work to break this unfortunate standard.

The book’s language is lucid and succinct, the content, well organized. It begins with the importance, linguistic background, and history of jumuʿa and ends with a concise but thorough discussion of its legal aspects. The author discusses the conditions for establishing jumuʿa, the effects and consequences of missing it, the special time on Friday when Allah guarantees acceptance of all supplications, and many other relevant and interesting facts every Muslim should know regarding this weekly holy day.

The book concludes with a chapter discussing important contemporary rulings, including the language of the khutbah, delivering a speech before the sermon, women’s leadership the prayer, and the permissibility of performing two congregations in one masjid.

While the book caters primarily to a Hanafi audience, the author, Shaykh Ibrahim Madani, does not fail to mention rulings of other legal schools when relevant. More important, the author includes proofs from the Quran and prophetic tradition for nearly every issue discussed in the book, making it of value to readers who adhere to any school.

When quoting from Hadith works and legal texts, however, the author provides citations, but limits their usefulness by failing to include a detailed bibliography at the end of the work. An upcoming edition would do well to have this addition, as well as some mention of the status of the hadiths quoted. The author could also improve upon translations of some terms. Nevertheless, n the whole, if the The Essentials of Jumuʿa is any indication, Madania Publications’ forthcoming works will be highly anticipated and well received by the English-speaking community.

al-Kawashif al-Jaliyyah ‘an Mustalahat al-Hanafiyyah by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Ilah al-Mulla

Bilal Ali Ansari — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:59:31 +0000

The following treatise is a wonderfully brief but expansive work on the terminology of the Hanafi school of law. It began as an introduction to Shaykh ‘Abd al-Ilah’s (amongst the scholars of Ahsa’) doctorate on the first volume of ‘Allamah Siraj al-Din Ibn al-Nujaym’s al-Nahr al-Fa’iq and was later expanded upon to include more terms from those used by later scholars of the madhhab, including Ibn ‘Abidin and ‘Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi.

The work draws heavily from two more recent excellent resources on the Hanafi school, Ahmad al-Naqib’s al-Madhhab al-Hanafi and Maryam Zafiri’s Mustalahat al-Madhahib al-Fiqhiyyah, both of which devote chapters to the topic of Hanafi terminology but are not separate works. One of the more obvious benefits of this work, al-Kawashif, is that it is short and concise (approximately 56 pages), and therefore an excellent resource for students. Additionally, it is easy to print from pdf.

The author, may Allah reward him, divides the terminology covered in the book into the following chapters:

1.Terms for the categories of ahkam taklifiyyah

2. Terms used for the imams and scholars of the madhhabs

3. Terms used for the books of the imams and scholars of the madhhabs

4. Terms used for the legal issues of the imams and scholars of the madhhabs

5. Terms used as ‘alamat in ifta’

6. Terms used for the status of certain opinions

We have provided the pdf of the book here.

Farqiyyat of Imam ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Muhaddith al-Dihlawi

Bilal Ali Ansari — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:55:35 +0000

I must confess that due to a number of preoccupations we have not been able to post anything in a while. That said, I would like to put the readers of this blog at ease and assure them that regular posting should soon resume, in sha Allah.

In order to facilitate the uploading process, not all posts will be accompanied with introductory text. Some posts will simply be uploads of books and details of the book or author will be updated at a later time.

We appreciate the du’as and participation of all of our readers and contributors and encourage them to continue their support.

The following book is a short text by Imam Shah ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Muhaddith al-Dihlawi, the author of two famous commentaries of the Mishkat and a soon-to-be published (in sha Allah) short prolegomena to the science of the terminology of hadith, on the differences between apparent synonyms in the Arabic language.

It is still in manuscript form, but as I suspect it will not be published for quite a while if ever, I thought it wise to post it here for your enjoyment. I stumbled across this text while researching Imam Dihlawi’s life for an introduction to the translation to his Muqaddamah fi Usul al-Hadith.

Farqiyat ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Dihlawi

Treasures of Arabic Morphology (Min Kunuz al-Sarf) by Shaykh Ebrahim Muhammad

Bilal Ali Ansari — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:02:58 +0000

Attached is the now widely-used English book of Arabic morphology, compiled by Shaykh Ebrahim Muhammad of Camperdown, South Africa. It is used as the main text for Sarf in many madrasahs today. The book has been published by ZamZam Publishers in Karachi, albeit with poor printing. The margins are missing and the pages/binding are small and of poor quality. Students tend to prefer to print out the pdf and bind the book themselves. This gives them large margins to write notes on and allows for easier reading because of the larger pages.

The students at the Institute of Islamic Education, however, were given permission by the author to print these copies instead of buying the published book. I suggest that anyone who wishes to do the same obtain permission from the author.

Treasures of Arabic Morphology

Useful Charts for Students of Hidayat al-Nahw

Bilal Ali Ansari — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:19:39 +0000

While teaching Hidayat al-Nahw this last year, I chose to stick to the actual book as the text and not the Irani, revamped version entitled Al-Hidayah fi ‘l-Nahw which basically simplifies the text in certain places, adds practice questions and summaries, and inserts neat little charts for visualizing divisions and categories.

Because al-Hidayah fi ‘l-Nahw is relatively hard to find, I decided to retain Hidayat al-Nahw as a text, but instead chose to use Al-Bushra Publication’s version of the book which includes most of the exercises and summaries from the Irani version while essentially retaining the original text (with a few minor changes here and there). The only disadvantage of Bushra’s rendition is that it does not include the charts in the Irani version.

I had some students scan the charts and make a pdf of them. Special thanks to Adam Oraefo for scanning and Wali Shaheed for editing the scan to include only the charts.

Hidayat al-Nahw Charts

Ta’lim al-Muta’allim by Imam Burhan al-Din al-Zarnuji

Bilal Ali Ansari — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:22:40 +0000

Many readers may be acquainted with the translation of Imam Burhan al-Din al-Zarnuji’s famous collection of advices for the student of knowledge entitled Ta’lim al-Muta’allim Tariq al-Ta’allum (Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning).

Although the English translation of the book is generally sound, there are numerous instances in the translation where the Arabic expressions have been misunderstood, mistranslated, or lost in translation. The true meanings of the book and the power of the author’s prose (not to speak of the poetry) can only be understood in their original language.

Attached is a published version of the book in the original Arabic:

Talim al-Muta’allim Tariq al-Ta’allum

For those readers interested in a manuscript version of the book,I have also provided a link for them below:

http://makhtota.ksu.edu.sa/makhtota/2706/1

http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?t=35278

You can also find a commentary on the book by Imam Zayn al-Din ibn Isma’il in manuscript form. I believe work is being done (or may be complete) on publishing an edited version of this manuscript. For now, you can access the manuscript through this Saudi website:

http://makhtota.ksu.edu.sa/makhtota/2137/1

Useful Usul al-Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Books in English

Bilal Ali Ansari — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:19:42 +0000

Question:

I was wondering if you knew of any usul al-fiqh books in English that I could purchase or get from the library, so I can learn some of the basic usul words.

Answer:

There are quite a few books that have been published in the last two decades on the science of Islamic law (fiqh) and jurisprudence/ legal methodology (usul al-fiqh). Older publications, in my opinion, such as Abdur Rahim’s The Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence hold little value now that newer publications have incorporated their original material and improved on their language and terminology.

Of all the books that I have personally come across, I have found Dr. Mohammad Hashim Kamali’s Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence to be the most beneficial for seekers of knowledge in search of the English equivalents of Arabic legal terms. The book’s sequence of chapters and choice of terminology in particular make it most appropriate and suitable for their purposes.

Besides Kamali’s book, I have found publications that have come out of the International Islamic University in Islamabad to be particularly helpful as well (amongst them, the works of Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, such as: Theories of Islamic Law: The Methodology of Ijtihad, Outlines of Islamic Jurisprudence, and Islamic Jurisprudence). Of course, we are not speaking about content here as much as choice of terms and fluidity of language. Kamali’s book, however, is much more easily available.

You may also want to check out Shah Abdul Hannan’s online book, Usul al-Fiqh, although I have not compared the language of the work with that of other books. Additionally, you might find benefit in Dr. Taha Jabir al-Alwani’s book Usul al-Fiqh al-Islami: Source Methodology in Islamic Jurisprudence, or its online version (Usul al-Fiqh).

I realize that I am probably leaving out a lot of works that may be better than those I have suggested, but since I have not read many of such books in English, I will suffice with providing a list below of books on the topic from openlibrary.org and hoping that readers will also provide their input:

List of Books in Islamic Law

Bilal Ali