The Beginning of Guidance for Muslim Women

Alhamdulillah, All Praise is for Allah, Lord of the Worlds, The Most Merciful, Gracious and Generous. May His peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad and his noble family and companions.

We have reached the end of our presentation of Imam al-Jawi's commentary Maraqi al-'Ubudiyyiah on Imam al-Ghazali's Bidayat al-Hidayat, The Beginning of Guidance. This book is 395 pages long, and for the majority of listeners, will have been the first time they have studied a full classical text with commentary. Anything that you have found to be good is only from Allah and I ask you for your forgiveness for my shortcomings and errors throughout the presentation and study of these texts. May our time spent studying be a witness for us on the Day of Judgment, and may we attain the intercession of the two noble and distinguished authors for the time and effort that each and every person has spent seeking to learn and benefit from their knowledge, Ameen.

In this final episode, Imam al-Ghazali counsels us on how to deal with acquaintances, warns us of the pitfalls of seeking what they appear to have and directs us towards suitable conduct in their company.

In conclusion, he reiterates what he mentioned at the beginning of the book about being inclined to want to act on and implement the knowledge in the text, and that the desire to seek what it calls to is a tremendous Divine favour and blessing and is indeed, the beginning of guidance.

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Jazakum Allahu khairan and may Allah bless you and your loved ones abundantly.

Your sister, Umm Abdullah.

In this episode, Imam al-Ghazali explains the characteristics and qualities you should look for in a companion, then he advises on how to uphold your duties and responsibilities to that person as their friend.

In summary, seek to be in the company of those who remind you of God and help keep you firm on the Straight Path,. If you are blessed with such company, treat them with the best manners and prefer them and their needs over your own.

Finally - remember that in the next life you will be with whomever you love...so choose wisely and treat them how you would want them to treat you.

The final section of the Beginning of Guidance on Etiquette with the Creator and Creation begins with advice on how conduct oneself and be in the presence of the One Who never leaves you, Mighty and Majestic is He.

Then we discuss the advice of our Master and Guide, Imam al-Ghazali and the significant contributions of Imam al-Jawi, on the best comportment of:

• The scholar
• The student
• Children with parents, and
• The appropriate etiquette one should maintain with the general public.

This is the first part of three episodes on the most beautiful and pleasing Adab / Etiquette that Islam cultivates and refines in the believer.

In this episode, we discuss the blessed Hadith of the great Companion, Sayyidna Mu'aath bin Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, which summarises the transgressions of the heart and the journey of one's deeds towards Divine acceptance.

As this is the conclusion of the second section of the book, Imam al-Ghazali offers his final advice to the student of knowledge about purifying the heart and warns sternly against using religious knowledge for worldly gain.

Assalamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Welcome back to the MISK women podcast series on Imam al-Ghazali's "Beginning of Guidance"!

After a longer break than expected, we are back to complete the book, seeking to benefit from the great knowledge, wisdom and advice of the author and our noble and beloved commentator, Imam al-Jawi, may Allah have mercy and be pleased with them both.

This episode is the recording of the last class we did on Zoom in October 2020.

At about 53 mins the statement "Whoever knows himself knows his Lord" is briefly mentioned. As a confirmation of the status of the statement, please note that the great scholar Imam Jalaluddin al-Suyuti wrote a short treatise on this statement and confirmed that it is NOT a Prophetic hadith, and is in fact attributed to a Sufi named Yahya ibn Mu'ath al-Razi.

Jazakum Allahu khairan.

Imam al-Ghazali begins the next section on guarding against the three transgressions of the heart addressed in this book; envy, ostentation and conceit.

The introduction looks briefly at the animalistic qualities inherent in a human being and how they are overcome by developing angelic qualities, through knowledge, wisdom and certainty. Two extremely important points are also mentioned for their relevance to the ideologically dominated time in which we live.

Thereafter, the first of the three transgressions, envy, is discussed in detail with the comprehensive commentary of Imam al-Jawi.

This section on transgressions of the limbs ends with Imam al-Ghazali's advice on guarding the hands and feet from unlawful and unpraiseworthy acts.

This part of the book is concluded by reminding people of the need to act positively and constructively to seek knowledge and sustenance, and to know that God's blessing upon you is facilitating that for you.

The question and answer session at the end of the class has been edited out.

This week's class continued with the study of the transgressions of the limbs with a focus on the stomach and private parts - the two desires or two carnal appetites.

Imam al-Ghazali approaches the topic of eating with a perspective based on consuming pure and halal food, and avoiding products about which one is doubtful.

The topic of al-War' / scrupulousness regarding one's consumption was then discussed by looking at the famous hadith: "The halal is clear and the haram is clear and between them are doubtful matters, which few people know...".

The class finishes with a discussion on sexual relations within the context of the Maqasid al-Shari'ah / Objectives of the Shari'ah, of which the preservation of the means of reproduction and producing the next generation is one of the five central goals.

The question and answer session at the end of the class has been edited out for brevity.

The final five types of transgressions of the tongue are explained in detail according to Imam al-Ghazali's text and Imam al-Jawi's commentary and contextualized for contemporary times.

This class deals with:

• Disputation, Argumentation and Competitive Debate
• Ascribing Goodness to Oneself
• Cursing
• Supplicating Against Creation
• Jesting, Ridiculing and Making Fun of People

This episode ends with the example of Sayyidna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, and how he prevented himself from indulging in speech that was not beneficial in the dunya or akhira. May we follow his lofty example of self discipline and the advice of Imam al-Ghazali and refrain from speaking words that might be harmful to others and ourselves.

This lesson takes us into the first of the types of speech that are hazardous and sinful for a Muslim who is concerned about their conduct in this life and the consequences of it in the next.

Imam Al-Ghazali counsels us to avoid lying, which is one of the foundational sins of the tongue.

Then breaking promises is discussed, with the hadith on the qualities of a hypocrite who is unable to rid oneself of the blameworthy qualities mentioned.

The subtleties of backbiting are also examined, along with the four reprehensible qualities that are often mixed with it.

May we learn well from our scholars and apply what we learn, in sha Allah.

The lesson begins at 6:05 minutes, after an introduction, the dua for seeking knowledge and a brief mention of the outline of the book for those who were joining for the first time.