17: Commanding the Good – Renewal by the Book: Quran Tafsir Based on Imam Ghazali’s Ihya – Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

In this reminder, Shaykh Yahya Rhodus counsels on how to seek sacred knowledge. He particularly emphasizes making seeking knowledge a priority and taking everything in life as a learning opportunity. He looks at the four components of learning: a teacher, intelligence, correct books, and perseverance. Shaykh Yahya gives specific suggestions on making time for knowledge and offers guidelines on how to review and process one’s notes and dealing with boredom when studying. He closes by emphasizing the importance of the foundations throughout one’s life.   Check out all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting https://seekersguidance.org/podcasts/. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

4 Okt 201945min

In this podcast Shaykh Faid Mohammed Said calls the believers to realize the real wrongdoing, is in not repenting and turning to Allah when one errs. He also defines what repentance is. Shaykh Faid goes on to emphasize that Allah is always watching and that we should be heedful of that. He also explains the state of those who do not make repentance, and how their lack of repentance is a turning away from Allah Most High. Conversely, repentance is one of the key traits of the believers. Shaykh Faid Mohammed Said is the resident scholar at the Larayb Institute For Education, in the UK. Check out all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting https://seekersguidance.org/podcasts/. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

27 Sep 201940min

One of the key sunnas of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he was always positive and full of hope in Allah Most High. It didn’t matter what was happening to him or around him, the Prophet’s positive attitude and hope were unconditional. In this Friday khutba, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani highlights Allah’s call to all believers to have unconditional hope. He explains how the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) maintained unconditional hope in Allah. Shaykh Faraz points out that most people are hopeful only when matters seem to go according to their plan or seem to be in their control. However, he explains that the reason behind the Messenger’s unconditional hope was the complete realization that ultimately all matters are absolutely in Allah’s control. Allah is the Lord who is absolutely Merciful, Caring and Cherishing. Shaykh Faraz encourages us to place our trust and hope in Allah and call upon Him while bringing to our consciousness those meanings. He calls us to not at all have fear or lose hope about how things are. Allah promises in the Qur’an that “whoever places their trust in Allah, then Allah is their sufficiency” [Surat al-Talaq, verse 3]. Therefore, to the extent one places their trust in Allah, to that extent He will be sufficient for them. Shaykh Faraz counsels us to have trust and hope in Allah by seeking the good from Him and then taking the means to attaining that good. Whether the matter is personal, communal or global, one should first direct themselves towards Allah and asking Him for the good. Finally, Shaykh Faraz highlights lessons from the hijra (migration) of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as an example of true hope in Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) took the means outwardly to perform the migration. And all while there were multiple dangers on the way, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had absolute trust in Allah and reassured Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) with what was revealed to him from The Lord of the worlds, “fear not, for Allah is with us”. This Friday khutba was delivered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani in March 2017 at the the Jame Masjid Oakville, Noor-ul-Haram. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

20 Sep 201929min

In this final episode of The Art of Reading, Dr Yusuf Patel asks Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary to holistically summarize all the various points and aspects which were discussed in the previous episodes. Shaykh Ahmed provides a comprehensive plan of how to coalesce all the skills of reading so that a student of knowledge is able to master the art of reading and ensure maximal extraction from a text. SeekersGuidance would like to thank Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary, Dr Yusuf Patel and Nabiel Mohammed for facilitating this podcast series. We look forward to more beneficial podcasts by Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary in the near future.   Biography of Shaykh Ahmed Hussein El Azhary: Shaykh Ahmed El Azhary is a researcher in Islamic intellectual history and a teacher of Islamic traditional sciences. He’s currently a teacher of Hadith, Usūl, Logic, and Kalam at Rawdatul-Na`īm under the supervision of Habib `Ali al-Jifrī; and at Madyafat Shaykh Ismaīl Sadiq al-`Adawī (RA), a prominent learning center by al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. Formerly, Shaykh Ahmed worked as a Lead Researcher at Tabah Foundation. He was appointed by Habib `Ali al-Jifrī to architect the philosophical framework of Suaal initiative – an initiative concerned with modeling an Islamic philosophical response to contemporary existential questions, supervised by Shaykh `Ali Jumu`ah, Habib `Umar and Shaykh Usama al-Azhary. Shaykh Ahmed continues to participate in Suaal initiative through essays, public lectures, and workshops. Shaykh Ahmed studied Anthropology at American University in Cairo and received his training in Leadership Communication from Tulane University and The University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is also a life-long learner. He holds a diversified portfolio of almost 50 certificates in a variety of subjects – extending from Teaching Character and Clinical Psychology of Children and Young People to Complexity Theory, Model Thinking and Conflict Analysis. Shaykh Ahmed began his journey of studying traditional sciences about 20 years ago. In addition to studying with scholars from al-Azhar, he had the privilege of studying with visiting scholars from Algeria and India in a one-on-one format and was thus given an exceptional opportunity to study and discuss advanced-level texts of different sorts and over a long period of time. Shaykh Ahmed has more than 70 Ijazas from scholars from all over the Muslim world.

19 Sep 201942min

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani discusses salat al-istikhara (the prayer of guidance) by defining it, debunking misconceptions regarding it, the best way to perform it, and easy ways to integrate it into our lives in a meaningful manner Some of the common misonceptions include Istikhara is a prayer in matters of marriage The signs come in the form of dreams A sinful person must ask a pious person to perform the prayer on his behalf Istikhara is only for the big decisions, not small matters   Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

14 Sep 201956min

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani discusses the lessons of the great day of Ashura – the 10th of Muharram. This is one of the greatest days of the year – a day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) highly encouraged us to fast. This is the day in which… Prophet Adam was absolved of his error; the day in which Prophet Nuh was saved from the flood; the day in which the people of Prophet Yunus were forgiven; the day in which Prophet Musa and Bani Israel were saved from the Pharaoh It is from the days in which Allah has favoured and honoured those whom He has tested with trials and challenges – and who responded right through the right choices. Shaykh Faraz explains the sunnahs related to fasting and devotion on the 10th of Muharram, as well as how the great historical events that happened on this day can help us respond right to the challenges in our life. The importance of knowing the history of faith – the life of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself, the past Prophets, the righteous, scholars, saints, and virtuous – is that it gives us embodied examples of turning to Allah through the tests of life, towards becoming of His honoured and beloved servants.

7 Sep 201932min

In this Friday sermon, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani reminds us of the great bounties and blessings that God has bestowed upon us in this sacred month of Hajj. Shaykh Faraz calls upon us to recognize and appreciate the moments of life that God has gifted us with. The scholars of Islam state that the greatest moment that a believer finds him or herself in is the moment of the present. By returning and repenting to Allah with sincerity and a firm resolve we can elevate our ranks to that of a friend of God. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

25 Aug 201916min

The Many Benefits Hidden in Trials. This sermon looks at the concept of trails and the hidden benefits within them. It is based on a work by Imam 'Izz al Din Ibn 'Abd al-Salam, and introduces the Islamic understanding of 'tribulation' and the first four points covered in the work: 1. Realizing that Allah is in charge. 2. Realizing the humility and lowliness before Allah that servanthood entails. 3. Learning sincerity to Allah. 4. Returning back to Allah. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

18 Aug 201932min