Martin Lings

Obituary

Dr. Martin Lings

Islamic scholar concerned with spiritual crisis

Gai Eaton
Friday May 27, 2005
The Guardian

Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din), who has died aged 96, was a public-school educated Englishman who converted to Islam, spent many years as keeper of oriental manuscripts and printed books at the British Museum, and is best known as the author of a life of Muhammad. Only 10 days before his death, he addressed an audience of 3,000 at the Wembley conference centre on the occasion of the prophet’s birthday; earlier this year, he travelled to Egypt, Dubai, Pakistan and Malaysia.
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Imam Bukhari

IMAM Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ismaeel bin al-Mughirah al-Bukhari was born on 13th of Shawwal 194 AH in Bukhara. a town in the eastern part of Turkestan. He died on 1 Shawwal 256 AH. at the age of 62 years in a small town near Samarkand, Tadzhikistan.

Works (Books and Compilations)

Imam Bukhari wrote many kitaabs (books) besides Shahih Bukhari (Al Jamius Sahih). Hereunder are some books written by Imam Bukhari

  1. Al Aadaabul Mufrad
  2. Juz – Raf-e-Yadain
  3. Juz – Qiraat-Kalful-Imam
  4. Kitabul Ashribah
  5. Kitabul Hibah
  6. Mabsoot
  7. Kitabul Ilal
  8. Kitabul Wuhdaan
  9. Af’aalul Ibaad
  10. Al Adab Al Mufrad ????? ??????- Book discussing the character and manners of the Prophet.
  11. al-Tarikh al-Kabir, The big history, containing biographies of narrators, with a rating of each
  12. al-Tarikh al-Saghir – The Little History, an abridged account of the lives of the Prophet, the Sahaba, the Taabi’oon and the Taba Taabi’oon
  13. Ad-Du’afaa As-Saghir – Book containing a list of the names of weak narrators and reasons why this narrator is considered to be weak.
  14. Asaamee As-Sahaabah – Book containing the names, lineages and biographies of the Prophet’s Companions.
  15. Kitab al-Waihdaan – Biographies of lesser known Companions that each related one hadeeth each.
  16. Kitab Al-Kuna – Book containing a list of kunya of hadeeth narrators so that one is able to differentiate between them.
  17. Khalq Af-aal Al-’Ibaad
  18. al-Tarikh Al-Awsat (no longer in existence but mentioned by ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad Al-Khaffaaf and Zinjawaiy Al-Libaad)
  19. al-Jaami’ Al-Kabeer (no longer in existence but mentioned by ibn Taahir)
  20. Al-Musnad Al-Kabeer (no longer in existence but mentioned by Al-Firabree)
  21. Kitaab Al-Ashribah (no longer in existence but mentioned by Ad-Daaraqutnee)

The Origin of Sufism

The Origin of the School of Sufism
Sejarah asal mula tarikat/tasawwuf

by Seyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha

The following article written by Seyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha is taken from the journal Sufism: An Inquiry.

In order to understand Sufism and its origin we must briefly touch on the elements of studies that have been undertaken in the hope of understanding Sufism, and so examine the accuracy of the conclusions that scholars have drawn. To do so, the reader should keep in mind a few important caveats while studying the information that has been collected concerning Sufism. Sometimes the lack of truly thorough research, or the difficulties inherent in translating from one language to another, have led to confusion instead of enlightenment.

As a result, Sufism is often only half understood, with that understanding further clouded by interpretations and the biases of commentators. These limitations have made tracing the road to Sufism’s origin difficult, even for accomplished scholars. Even should the scholar choose his sources very carefully, the barrier of language yet remains, an important factor hindering the passage of truth.

There have been many debates concerning the origin of Sufism and how this school of inner knowledge was established. In seeking the spiritual and intellectual ancestry of Sufism, some have looked toward Greek philosophy in general and Platonism especially, some to the Hermetic Christianity of the Gnostics of the late Roman Empire, and others to Buddhism or Yogism. But Sufism, as it has been practiced since its birth, is quite a different school of belief, practice, and goal than any of these preexisting ways of thinking. Even though Sufism as the school of spiritual knowledge based on self cognition as the door toward understanding the realities of Being is a school open to all humanity, but it was born out of Islam and is the heir to the treasures of knowledge from the sacred heart of the Prophet Mohammed, and has practiced its way accordingly. The actual birth of Sufism as a way of thought and practice is therefore subsequent to the advent of Islam.

The history of the origin of Sufism records that during the lifetime of the Prophet Mohammed, fifteen centuries ago, there was a group of pious individuals from different nations who, guided by the Laws of Islam, sought for the direct experience of the Divine. Companions of the Prophet, they were people of principles practicing certain disciplines and meditations for the sake of purification, the realization of Divine love, and the understanding of reality. They were the Lovers of God who sought union with Him through losing the limited self in His Divinity (fana), and remaining alive in that Reality (bagha).

These individuals met on the platform, or suffe, of the mosque where Prophet Mohammed used to pray in Medina, Arabia. They would meet there almost everyday to discuss the ways to inner knowledge, the truths of revelation, and the meanings of the verses of the Koran. Thus the platform of that mosque in Medina became the first gathering place of one of the most influential groups in the history of mankind’s spiritual civilization. They were called ahle suffe, the People of the Platform.

These individuals cultivated the seed of a school of spiritual practice based on knowledge of the self, and thus free of the trappings of tradition and superstition, a knowledge of the inner heart apart from the customary beliefs of their contemporary society as well as those of future civilizations. It is from this group that all the schools of Sufism that have ever existed owe their origin, for by pursuing the path of unsullied inner knowledge they were the founders of Sufism, and the binding link between its subsequent developments.

Among the most famous were: Salman Farsi, Ammar Yasser, Balla’al, and Abdullah Masoud; some historians have added Oveyse Gharani to this list as well. Avoiding proselytizing among the multitude, their gatherings were held in private, open only to true seekers of reality. Instead of preaching in public, these pious individuals were searchers for truth, not performers of rhetoric.

After the Prophet passed away, each of the people of suffe returned to his homeland to instruct students eager to follow upon the path of inner knowledge. There they became the great missionaries of Islam. History shows that within a century or two their style of self understanding and discipline were introduced by their students to nations as diverse and widely separated as Persia, India, Indonesia, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and North Africa. Their teachings were based on individual understanding and direct experience, not just on particular texts or rote learning. In this manner their fundamental teachings have been preserved in their style up to the present, instead of withering away into the empty formulas of scholasticism.

Through this process of diffusion, different schools and orders of Sufism gradually emerged from the single original group of suffe at Medina. Their practices differ from one another in emphasis and doctrine, but all legitimate Sufi schools trace their ultimate origins back to the original group of the Prophet’s spiritual disciples.

Courtesy: ias.org

Imam Muslim

Imam Muslim is Abul-Hussain `Asakiruddin Muslim bin Hajjaj AlQushairi An-Naisaburi. He belonged to the Qushair tribe of the Arab clan Rabi’ah. He was born in 202 or 206 H (819 or 821 CE) in Nishapur, a town of Iran. And died at the age of fifty-seven years in 261 H (875 CE) and was buried in the suburbs of Nishapur.

Imam Muslim travelled far and wide to collect the Ahadith (traditions) in the countries of Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Syria, and benefited from the prominent Hadith scholars of that time by attending the lectures and classes of those learned persons. His teachers included Ishaq bin Rawaih, Ahmad bin Hanbal, Ubaidullah Al-Qawariri, Qutaibah bin Said, Abdullah bin Maslamah, Harmalah bin Yahya and others.

Afterwards he settled down at Nishapur, where he came into contact with Imam Bukhari. Seeing the vast knowledge and deep insight of him in the Ahadith of the Prophet , Imam Muslim remained attached with him until the end of his life. He also attended the lectures of another scholar of Hadith, Muhammad bin Yahya AdhDhuhli, but when the difference of opinion arose between Imam Bukhari and Muhammad bin Yahya on the issue of the creation of the Noble Qur’an, Imam Muslim favored Imam Bukhari and left the company of Muhammad bin Yahya.

Works (Books and Compilation)

  1. Sahih Muslim
  2. al-Tamyiz

How to Write HTML Javascript Code in Blog Article or Posting

The main principle to make any html or javascript code appear in an article or post as you write it is you have to convert or encode the code. For that purpose you can either convert or encode it online or manually. Here’s how.

A. ONLINE COVERSION

1. Visit one of these Encode Decode HTML/JAVASCRIPT Converter here or here.

2. Enter the html / javascript codes you’d like to convert or encode, then click “Encode” or “Convert” menu.

3. Copy & paste the encoded /converted codes into your article / post.
Important: click HTML mode, not VISUAL before pasting the encoded html code.

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1. Change code < into &lt;

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Don’t forget posting box has to be in HTML mode, not VISUAL before entering the converted/encoded code.

Good luck!

The Richest People Forbes 2005

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68 August von Finck 74 6.3 Germany Switzerland , Thurgau
71 Eli Broad 71 6.1 United States United States , CA , Los Angeles
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Courtesy: Forbes.com

Cat Steven Yusuf Islam

I was brought up in the modern world of all the luxury and the high life of show business. I was born in a Christian home, but we know that every child is born in his original nature – it is only his parents that turn him to this or that religion. I was given this religion (Christianity) and thought this way. I was taught that God exists, but there was no direct contact with God, so we had to make contact with Him through Jesus – he was in fact the door to God. This was more or less accepted by me, but I did not swallow it all. I looked at some of the statues of Jesus; they were just stones with no life. And when they said that God is three, I was puzzled even more but could not argue. I more or less believed it, because I had to have respect for the faith of my parents.
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Pesantren

Pesantren or Pondok Pesantren are Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia. According to one popular tradition, the pesantren education system originated from traditional Javanese pondokan; dormitories for Hindus to learn martial arts and meditation. Institutions much like them are found across the Islamic world and are called pondok in Malaysia and Southern Thailand and madrasa Islamia (Islamic madrasa) in India and Pakistan and much of the Arabic speaking world. Pesantren aim to deepen knowledge of the Koran, particularly through the study of Arabic, traditions of exegesis, the Sayings of the Prophet, law and logic. The term pesantren derives from the root word santri or student — pe-santri-an or the place of the santri[1]

As social institutions, pesantren have played a major role over the centuries. They emphasise cores values of sincerity, simplicity, individual autonomy, solidarity and self-control. Young men and women are separated from their families, which contributes to a sense of individual commitment to the faith and close bonding to a teacher.[2]

It is therefore very ridiculous when a popular online dictionary such as thefreedictionary.com gives a very misleading meaning and definition of pesantren as

Noun 1. pesantren – a Muslim school in Indonesia operated by religious leaders; produces young militants skilled in jihad

Modern Pesantren
In the history of Islamic education in Indonesia, this type of pesantren is said to be the first institution to create the principles for reforming Islamic education within the pesantren system. Pesantren Darussalam Gontor Ponorogo, founded on September 20, 1926 by three brothers (KH. Ahmad Sahal, KH. Zainuddin Fannani, and KH. Imam Zarkasyi) was the first modern pesantren designed to provide education able to respond to challenges faced by the Muslim community amidst changes in the socio-cultural life in Indonesia in the modern-day period.[3]

–
[1] Wikipedia
[2] ibid
[3] Mbah Parto