Book Review: Bukhari Publications’ Two Arbaʿīn Collections on the Virtues of the Prophet and Prayers on Him
It has been over a month since I received three recently published books by a new and exciting publishing house, Bukhari Publications. Unfortunately, I haven’t found the time yet to give the books the detailed and meticulous review they deserve. That said, I have for a long time considered the necessity of producing less formal reviews that might not stand up to the standard of an academic journal but nevertheless satisfy the need of the common reader to get basic feedback on a new book and answer the pressing question of whether or not it is worth buying.
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Tasheel al-Nahw ver 2.1 – Several updates to the 2nd Online edition
Assalam ‘alaykum,
Mawlana Omar Salejee of Madrasah In’amiyyah, Camperdown, South Africa has pointed out a number of issues in Tasheel al-Nahw‘s 2nd online edition. May Allah reward him abundantly for his efforts. I have fixed these and updated the file. I am calling the new file “ver 2.1” because of the number of changes. I am also deleting the previous file from the website. From now on, only ver 2.1 will be available at this website.
Tasheel alNahw ver 2.1 updated
For those who have already printed out their copies of Tasheel al-Nahw, I am listing these issues below so that you can fix them manually.
- Page 11, 10th line from the top. The correct translation is: Twelve men came. (not ‘eleven’).
- Page 11, the last example on the page. The word الأمين should have a hamzah qat’iyyah after the alif-laam.
- Page 46, number 2.ii. The…
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How to Study Tafsir
Sadly, Quranic studies in general, and tafsir in particular, are often the weakest parts of the curricula of Islamic schools, institutes and universities. What follows is a suggestion on how to study this noble science.
As with all disciplines in Islamic studies, they are interrelated as part of a holistic curriculum. Thus, to truly benefit from tafsir, one must also study related sciences, especially lugha, nahw, sarf, balaghah, usul al-fiqh, and sirah. So, as one completes the elementary stage, one should have also completed elementary study in these fields too. This is very important so as to not leave any gaps in one’s understanding.
Elementary
The objective at this stage is to study completely an abridged and easy tafsir that gives one a general understanding of the Quran. This is a vital stage as it introduces the science of tafsir to the beginner. It must be emphasised that the book one chooses…
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Summer Reading List 2015
Upon several enquiries into what I’ve been reading this summer, I quickly put together a list of (i) what I have already read, (ii) what I am currently reading, and (iii) what I plan on reading before the end of the summer. This summer I am not teaching so I have been able to give more time to reading than normally my schedule can afford.
I have only included books that I am reading casually and have thus excluded reference works, hadith commentaries, tafsīr books, etc… that I am using for research purposes. Most the books will be read – or have been already – cover to cover, although some I may be reading only partially. One may notice the preponderance of English works. This year, for several reasons, I am doing much less Urdu and Arabic leisure reading. Descriptions for the books below are not my own.
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The Best Editions of Arabic Books
This page is continuously updated as more editions become available (last update 21st May 2015) One familiar with the Arabic publishing world knows that editions of texts can vary considerably in their accuracy and quality. Read here: https://attahawi.com/2009/05/12/understanding-arabic-book-publications-an-enlightening-conversation-with-shaykh-husain-kadodia/ One thus needs to know the best available edition of each text. As a rule one generally avoids Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyah (DKI), Dar al-Fikr, and Dar Ihya Turath al-Arab unless they have the only edition available. The best publishers are generally:
- دار طيبة
- دار عالم الكتب
- مؤسسة الرسالة
- المكتب الاسلامي
- دار المنهاج
- دار ابن حزم
Good editors are rare, but if you find a book edited by any of the following then usually it will be one of the best, if not the the best, available:
- عبدالله التركي
- محمد عوامة
- بشار عواد
- عبدالفتاح أبو غدة
- شعيب الأرنؤوط
- الأعظمي
- محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي
- نظر الفاريابي
- طارق عوض الله
- عبدالكريم الخضير
Here are what we have managed…
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Ṭaḥāwī 