Renewing Religion: An Overview of Ghazali's Ihya

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.

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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.

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Shaykh Faraz Rabbani shares inspiring reminders on the vastness of Allah’s mercy, and the gratitude and joy a believer should experience when realizing the blessings and opportunities before them.

The Days of Dhu’l Hijja are special. The Day of Arafa is special. Eid is special.

Here are keys to truly benefit and rise through them.

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This sermon is a discussion around the sahih hadith 'All of you are [like] shepherds, and all of you will be asked about you flocks. The topics of parenting, fulfilling the needs and rights of children, and common parental malpractices are addressed here.

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In this new podcast series, Shaykh Ahmed Hussein El Azhary will discuss why the art of reading is critical for students of knowledge to master. One of the greatest barriers in mastering a science is the inability to read with structure and comprehension. In this series, Shaykh Ahmed will provide students with a detailed approach to rectifying this problem.

In addition to offering practical tips and guidance in improving one’s reading and learning skills, Shaykh Ahmed will also elaborate on the development of the instrumental (foundational) sciences within the Islamic tradition and how they compare to medieval and modern theories of literary comprehension.

In this fifth episode of The Art of Reading, Shaykh Ahmed Hussein El Azhary further elaborates on how a student can build an intimate relationship with a text. He provides a framework of surveilling a text on various levels, and also how to analyze concepts and propositions laden within the text. He urges the student to always try to determine the questions the author is trying to answer in a text.

 

 

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.

In this Friday sermon, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani gives a beautiful and uplifting reminder on how to respond to Allah's Call to the Believers regarding Friday prayer, with joy, gratitude, urgency, and resolve.

Allah calls us, "O you who believe, when the call to prayer is given on Friday rush to the remembrance of Allah and leave all trade..." (Qur'an, Surat al-Jumuah:9

Shaykh Faraz shares beautiful insights on how the believer, the Muslim, approaches life and work; what the true life is; who are the truly alive; our true homeland; the wisdom of religious duties; key outward and inward sunnas of Friday prayer, and more.

 

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In this talk, at the 24th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre of over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys--rightly classified as a genocide--Shaykh Faraz Rabbani shares reflections on some lessons for all believers:

One: Faith and how we view tests and tribulations.

Two. How we respond to tribulations, and how we ready ourselves to be able to respond.

Three: The critical need to learn from history, past and recent.

Four: The imperative of unity for Muslims, locally and globally.

 

Check out the SeekersGuidance Ramadan Portal: www.seekersguidance.org/ramadan

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Ustadh Amjad Tarsin looks at the closing chapter of Imam Haddad's Book of Assistance, on Divine Love and Contentment. He begins the section by explaining why we love Allah and the various degrees of love of God. He shows that other loves for the sake of God -- such as love of the prophets -- are in reality part of one's love for God, and discusses the signs of sincere love. Next, he discusses contentment with the Divine decree and leaving objection to Allah's Will, particularly in tribulation (though he warns against falsely applying this same outlook in relation to one's sins, from which one is obliged to repent). He closes by highlighting the importance of supplication (duʿa'), which in reality expresses the meanings of contentment with Allah and neediness to Him.

 

This is part of the series presented by SeekersGuidance Canada in Ramadan 2019.

Check out the SeekersGuidance Ramadan Portal: www.seekersguidance.org/ramadan

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The Sunna of Expressing Emotion -- Shaykh Faraz Rabbani explains some of the proper manners of expressing emotion and celebration in light of the sunna. He highlights that while the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) exhibited the best of character and experienced happiness and sorrow, inwardly his heart was always content with his Lord.

In this episode, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani looks at the chapter on pilgrimage (hajj) from Imam Haddad's Book of Assistance. He first highlights the importance of the pilgrimage and of performing it as soon as one is able. He also underscores the importance of properly learning the relevant sacred knowledge related to the pilgrimage in advance of the journey. He also discusses the virtue of visiting the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Next, Shaykh Faraz moves on to discuss how to make consultation and the istikhara prayer when making decisions. He also looks at the importance of fulfilling religiously sanctioned vows and oaths and warns against false oaths and testimony.