Lecture on Pathway to Islamic Authorship
In the name of Allah, The Merciful, The Compassionate.
In March 2023, Allah Almighty blessed me with a visit to New Zealand. Whilst there, I was invited by brother Owais Ali of Sydney to visit Australia for a few days. The details of this journey are outlined in my travelogue entitled: One month in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. As part of the programme of events, brother Owais requested that I deliver a talk entitled Pathway to Islamic Authorship to share some of my experiences and tips. This talk took place at Madina Masjid in Sydney on Sunday 12 March 2023. Al-Ḥamdulillāh, my dear colleague and student, Mawlānā Usman Sidat of Preston has now transcribed this talk and made some minor edits including adding sub-headings for the sake of clarity and readability. May Allah Almighty accept the publication and reward brother Owais and Mawlānā Usman for their efforts and bless them in their noble endeavours. Yusuf Shabbir, 28 February 2025 (29 Shaʿbān 1446), on the Emirates flight from Islamabad to Dubai.
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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
نحمده ونصلِّي ونسلِّم على رسوله الكريم، أمَّا بعد
Introduction
My dear respected brothers, mothers and sisters listening at home:
Today’s topic is the Pathway to Islamic Authorship. When I saw this title, I thought to myself that although we have published a few books and written a few works, I am in no position to advise others on the path to Islamic authorship. Then I thought that I should share with brothers and sisters some of the learnings of our teachers and some of my own experiences when attempting to write articles and books. I have also brought samples of some of our publications, which the brothers can see after the programme Inshāʾ Allah.
Nothing happens without the tawfīq of Allah ﷻ
Firstly, my dear brothers and sisters and this is not said out of humility or out of tawāḍuʿ, this is said out of reality, that whatever we have written Al-Ḥamdulillāh thumma Al-Ḥamdulillāh has only happened with the tawfīq of Allah ﷻ.
So many times, we attempt to write something, and the pen just does not move; the keyboard just does not move. On my laptop, I have so many incomplete, unfinished articles. Sometimes on very simple and easy topics, where a person would think that this should not be difficult to write, but for one reason or another, sometimes due to time constraints and sometimes due to other reasons, it just does not happen.
At other times, there are complicated issues of fiqh or ḥadīth, difficult issues, and Allah ﷻ decides that that work has to happen and it happens. A person looks back, and it happens many times, you look back at your own writing and you think that how did I write this? I say, not out of humility but genuinely, you look back and you think that you wrote this article or did this tahqīq (research) on this issue; how did I do it, how did it happen. It only happens with the tawfīq of Allah ﷻ. Allah ﷻ gives a person tawfīq and it happens. It is therefore most important that a person makes duʿāʾ to Allah ﷻ for tawfīq at all times and does not think that it is due to my effort, my achievement or my intellect that I am able to do this.
I have heard the same from our respected teacher, Shaykh al-Islām Muftī Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī who has authored hundreds of books in multiple languages; Arabic, English, Urdu, these three languages in particular. I have heard him say the same that sometimes you sit down and the pen just does not move.
Al-Ḥamdulillāh, I do not mention this for boasting purposes but just to share amongst our brothers and taḥdith bi al-niʿmah (وأمّا بنعمة ربّك فحدّث). Over the past few years, I personally did not think or plan that I am going to write books or that I am going to write articles, it happened by the taqdīr of Allah ﷻ. In our language, we say by coincidence or by accident, although nothing happens by accident. We started to write a few fatāwā and a few articles in 2015, without any intention whatsoever of making them global. Initially, we had a blog which gathered some of these articles just to preserve them and then we established a website (www.islamicportal.co.uk). Al-Ḥamdulillāh thumma Al-Ḥamdulillāh, we now have more than 1,200 or 1,300 fatāwā online, in addition to articles, travelogues and research papers, in English, in Arabic and a few in Urdu. Al-Ḥamdulillāh, people from all over the world benefit and access the website. All of this has only happened through the qadr of Allah ﷻ and through Allah’s tawfīq. Al-Ḥamdulillāh, over the years we have published a few books, predominantly in Arabic and some in English which we have brought with us here today.
My first message, to myself and to my brothers who want to embark upon writing, authoring and publishing, and indeed any work of dīn is that we ask Allah ﷻ for tawfīq at all times; we make duʿāʾ to Allah ﷻ.
Lessons and experiences
Thereafter, my brothers and sisters, I thought I should share some thoughts and some experiences in relation to writing and authoring books.
(1) Subject Matter: Focus on areas of need
One issue and one area to consider is the subject matter. Many ṭullāb al-ʿilm, students of knowledge, ask: what should we write about, what should we focus on? I say to students, and I say to myself that as ʿulamāʾ, as students, people of knowledge, we should try and fill a gap, fill a void. We should try and address an issue, a challenge that may be facing the ummah at a global level, at a national level, or at a local level. Generally speaking, there is no right or wrong; all topics of dīn are important. If Allah ﷻ has blessed a person with a particular expertise in a particular area, they should focus on that.
However, if a gap can be filled whether the gap relates to an academic matter, for example that there is a particular book on ḥadīth or fiqh and it features ḥadīths of Rasūlullāh ﷺ and historically nobody has done takhrīj for the ḥadīths of that work, then that would be filling a void.
Today, we have many issues in the ummah in relation to education, Islamic education, LGBT and many other challenges facing the ummah, so if somebody embarks upon authoring something to fill the void, to add value, to address a challenge facing the ummah, this would be commendable. We have many challenges in terms of fiqh, in terms of mental health, in terms of ḥalāl and ḥarām, in terms of division and unity within the ummah and the causes behind it; a whole range of challenges. So, subject area is one issue that a person needs to think about.
Al-Ḥamdulillāh thumma Al-Ḥamdulillāh, in terms of subject area, there is no one area that we are focused on. Many people ask masāʾil, ask questions in relation to the Quran, ḥadīth, fiqh, ʿaqīdah and we attempt to address these issues and inevitably have to look at a wide range of disciplines for this.
(2) Language: Write in Arabic
One other issue to consider is the language; what language should we write in. Generally, within the Asian context in India and Pakistan where we originate from, people write in Urdu. In the UK and Australia and the Western countries, there is an emphasis on writing in the English language.
My advice to people who author books is to try and write in the Arabic language. Arabic is our universal language and although in the short-term the benefit to our immediate community in the UK or in Australia may be limited, the long-term benefit will be more. Books written in the Arabic language over the centuries exist with us today and people benefit from those books.
Many of our Arab brothers here cannot benefit from the Urdu works. There have been many books written in non-Arabic languages. Just a short while ago, we were talking with a Shaykh about the books of Mujaddid Alf Thānī, Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindī who authored the Maktūbāt and other books. However, the benefit of the Maktūbāt was limited until it was translated into Turkish and other languages. Shāh Walīyullāh Muḥaddith Dehlawī was a great author, a great scholar in the Indian subcontinent. His books in Arabic are accessible for the entire world. But his books in Persian are not even accessible to us, because a time came within the Indian subcontinent wherein the mode of teaching changed from Persian to Urdu. So, predominantly, most of the ṭullāb al-ʿilm within the Indian subcontinent are unable to benefit from the Persian works of Shāh Walīyullāh, Mujaddid Alf Thānī, and other scholars.
Today, there is a whole bank of knowledge in the Urdu language, particularly in areas of Fiqh within the Indian subcontinent. Great authors wrote in the Urdu language, but the benefit of that is restricted to the people of India and Pakistan. I travelled to Afghanistan recently, and I was quite surprised that Urdu is hardly spoken or understood there. Sometimes, the scholars from our fraternity over-emphasise on Urdu but the reality is that Urdu is restricted to India and Pakistan. As a result, the consequence is that ʿulamāʾ and ṭullāb al-ʿilm from outside of India and Pakistan are unable to benefit from the huge wealth of knowledge and resources that exists in Urdu.
I was recently in South Africa (www.islamicportal.co.uk/one-week-in-zimbabwe-and-south-africa-dec-2022), and met with some graduates who had developed a research centre (Al-Maʿrifah ʿUlamāʾ Resource Centre) and were asking for my advice about what to focus on and what books to consider for publication. I suggested to them that avoid translating books just for the sake of translating books. I am not saying that it is not of benefit; of course it is of benefit. But in terms of priorities, in terms of adding value, translating Fatḥ al-Bārī or translating Sharḥ al-Nawawī is good Māshāʾ Allah, but these books are for advanced students who should already know the Arabic language.
However, one of the things I suggested to them, in addition to bringing manuscripts to publication, is to translate Urdu books into Arabic. Because they also understand Urdu, they were thinking of translating Urdu books into English. I said to them that is good Māshāʾ Allāḥ but it would be better to translate them into Arabic. The likes of Aḥsan al-Fatāwā of Muftī Rashīd Aḥmad Ludhyānwī who is not commonly known outside India and Pakistan because his books, almost all of them are in Urdu. But some of the research articles in Aḥsan al-Fatāwā are unprecedented which would be of benefit not only to students of the Ḥanafī school of thought, but to all students, all ṭullāb al-ʿilm. So that book deserves to be translated into Arabic, so that students, ʿulamāʾ and scholars from different parts of the world can benefit. He has research on measurements (the ṣāʿ and the mudd), various aspects of falakiyyāt (astronomy), of awqāt al-ṣalāh (Ṣalāh times). He was a master of falakiyyāt, of ṣalāh times, of determining qiblah using the traditional methods. It is only now that we have the various apps. How to determine the qiblah without the compass, and many other topics which add real value and reflect a significant contribution. What I am trying to get across is that when looking at subjects, if there are topics related to contemporary issues, contemporary challenges, areas where we are adding value, then that will be of immense benefit to the ummah.
So, on language generally, especially when authoring books, we try to do it in the Arabic language. Then sometimes we translate it or publish summaries in English. English holds a lot of currency, so the benefit is huge.
I stress on Arabic more than English because English is not commonly understood across the Muslim world. For example, I visited Turkey where English is not commonly understood. Māshāʾ Allaḥ, our Turkish brothers have pride in their language. I visited South America where Spanish is the prevalent language; people do not understand English. So, having our turāth and literature in Arabic has immense value.
Of course, at the same time, we are faced with issues that are local issues so we will inevitably have to also write in English. 95% of our fatāwā and articles online are in the English language because that is the audience that we are serving. People ask us in English, so we write in English. However, we try to write books in the Arabic language so that they have a universal appeal with longevity.
(3) References and originality: Use primary sources
One other area that I want to touch upon is originality. What I mean by this is that we try and refer to the original sources, the earlier sources. I will try to give one or two examples to illustrate this.
Al-Ḥamdulillāh, we are very honoured that we have access to books that 30-40 years ago the ʿulamāʾ and ṭullāb al-ʿilm did not have access to. In the Ḥanafī fiqh, as an example, we now have access to the books of Imām Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī. So, as ṭullāb al-ʿilm, authors and scholars, we should try and read the books of Imām Muḥammad and identify and trace the issue which is mentioned in Radd al-Muḥtār for example. Likewise, we should do the same with the books of the other schools of jurisprudence. For example, we should trace what is in Tuḥfat al-Minhāj to the founder Imām Shāfiʿī and earlier books. This has many benefits.
Example of referring to Al-Aṣl of Imām Muḥammad
There was once a question that is it permissible for a revert sister to make her non-Muslim father a wakīl in nikāḥ. The sister is at home and she wants somebody to represent her in nikāḥ as a wakīl. Can the non-Muslim father become a wakīl for the Muslim daughter who is a revert?
A friend of mine contacted me from Leicester explaining that he has not been able to find an explicit text for this issue in the Ḥanafī books and that he has used the general principles of Wakālah mentioned by the Ḥanafī fuqahāʾ and the jurists and concluded that it is permissible. He said that as I have not found an explicit text, can you have a look at what I have written and give me your opinion in this regard.
Now the issue was straightforward, it was not a complicated issue, a non-Muslim can be a wakīl; there is no issue as our masāʾil of wakālah are quite flexible. So, he sent me the article and I affirmed the conclusion therein.
I have a habit that in most of the masāʾil we write, although the general trend within the Ḥanafī ṭullāb al-ʿilm is to rely on Radd al-Muḥtār of ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿAbidīn al-Shāmī and Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ of Imām Kāsānī, I try to trace the issue in the books of Imām Muḥammad, which is a difficult task because it takes time, but it has many, many benefits.
My friend had spent days in researching this matter and had looked at many Ḥanafī texts that were available to him but he was unable to find an explicit text. A few days later, I was reading Kitāb al-Aṣl of Imām Muḥammad for another issue and I found the explicit masʾalah. And Subḥānallāh, for some strange reason, the later Ḥanafī texts do not mention it, as far as I am aware, because no one can claim istīʿāb, no one can claim that they have looked at all the texts. Thus, the explicit text of Imām Muḥammad, that if a Muslim makes a non-Muslim father a wakīl for Nikāḥ then it is valid, was found. This is just one example.
The methodology of Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī
Thus, we should not rely solely on secondary sources, we should also try and look at primary sources. Our respected teacher, Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mawlānā Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī – who taught Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī in its entirety with the detailed explanation for fifty years, meaning fifty times in his role as Shaykh al-Ḥadīth and then beyond that many times – taught us this and we learnt this from him. He would not rely even on Fatḥ al-Bārī. If Ḥafiẓ ibn Ḥajar had quoted an explanation of ḥadīth or a fiqh related view, he would not rely on it. He would go back to the sources. If Ibn Ḥajar had quoted Imām Nawawī, he would go back to the Sharḥ of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim of Imām Nawawī to see what exactly Imām Nawawī has written. Because Ibn Ḥajar’s style of writing is of synthesis. He summarises, he synthesises, and sometimes within that process, when you are not quoting directly, misunderstandings can occur.
When we look at the commentary of Imām Nawawī, who has a different style of writing to Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī; Allah ﷻ had granted Imām Nawawī a lot of barakah and qabūl (acceptance) due to his ikhlāṣ and sincerity. Imām Nawawī relied heavily on Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ al-Mālikī’s commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim which is now published. Allah ﷻ gave acceptance to Imām Nawawī’s commentary. Although our teacher Shaykh Yūnus would say: Qāḍī Aʿlam (is more knowledgeable) and is more sophisticated than Imām Nawawī, but Allah ﷻ had given Imām Nawawī a qalam sayyāl (flowing pen), Imām Nawawī simplifies difficult concepts and simplifies Qāḍī’s commentary. So, Imām Nawawī quotes Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ heavily in his commentary of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. So, one should not rely solely on what is in the Sharḥ of Imām Nawawī if he is quoting from Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ. The commentary of Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ is now available, it is published; go to the original source.
Likewise, I have found sometimes that Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ quotes from ʿAllāmah Ibn Baṭṭāl al-Mālikī without mentioning his name. This was not something which was done deliberately to mislead, nowadays the perception of this is different. So, in this instance, we go back to Ibn Baṭṭāl’s commentary. Sometimes, Ibn Baṭṭāl also quotes earlier commentaries.
Using earlier works holds more weight
Trying to trace the issues throughout that where has this explanation come from is important, because our dīn is primarily based on the understanding of the salaf, the understanding of the earlier scholars. So, whether that is in matters of ḥadīth, or whether that is in matters of fiqh or tafsīr, we benefit from works of ʿulamāʾ from all the centuries, including contemporary scholars. However, sometimes I see ṭullāb al-ʿilm referring to, or quoting from commentaries of modern-day scholars, which is good, but if that same explanation has been given by Imām Nawawī, by Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī and scholars before them, then we should be quoting them because it holds more authority and it gives more weight to what we are saying and to what we are writing.
Errors in transmission
In this process, sometimes we find that mistakes do occur. We are not doing this to expose people’s weaknesses, errors or mistakes, this should not be the intention, but sometimes mistakes do occur, we all make mistakes. So many times, because we write a lot, sometimes we make mistakes including spelling mistakes, and people email me and contact me to say that you have made this mistake, can you please correct it. We should have no hesitation whatsoever in accepting our mistakes and correcting them. So, one of the advantages of referring to the original sources is that sometimes mistakes are identified and sometimes the mistakes are material.
An example of an error in Hadiyyat al-Mahdiyyīn
We are in the process of publishing a work on khatm al-nubuwwah, the challenge posed by the Aḥmadīs, Qadiyānīs, they are not as active in Australia, but in many parts of the world they are very active, and they are not Muslim as far as we are concerned. I gathered 100 ḥadīths a few years ago on the subject of the finality of prophethood, so I thought that we should publish it, but we should also attach to it a work of Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ ʿUthmānī, the father of Muftī Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī, who authored a book on khatm al-nubuwwah in Arabic which was published in Pakistan, so it did not reach the Middle East and the wider world. This example is not being mentioned to undermine any scholar, Allah forbid, Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ was a great scholar, but at that time they did not have access to many books.
I was reading a ḥadīth therein and it states that it is from Abū al-Faḍl, and whilst there are some Abū al-Faḍls from the tabiʿūn, my heart said that there is a mistake here, something just does not seem right. I was on the aeroplane to New Zealand and I was looking at this and I thought that something is wrong. I looked up the ḥadīth and found that there is a similar ḥadīth from Abū al-Ṭufayl, the final Ṣaḥābī to pass away, in 110 Hijri. So, he is the transmitter of the ḥadīth. I looked at Kanz al-ʿUmmāl which is a main marjaʿ, source for Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ ʿUthmānī in that book; he used Kanz al-ʿUmmāl and al-Durr al-Manthūr extensively, both are secondary sources. In Kanz al-ʿUmmāl, the narration is attributed to Abū al-Fuḍayl. Then I understood that Shaykh ʿAlī al-Muttaqī al-Hindī (the author of Kanz al-ʿUmmāl) wrote Abū al-Ṭufayl, but the kātib (scribe) or the ṭābiʿ (publisher) or the printer changed it, because Ṭufayl is not a common name, he thought that it is Fuḍayl. And when Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ ʿUthmānī wrote Abū al-Fuḍayl, the kātib (scribe) changed it to Abū al-Faḍl. So, I opened up Kanz al-ʿUmmāl and noted that there was a mistake there and Kanz al-ʿUmmāl has taken it from the primary sources, and when you open all the primary sources, you find that it is Ṭufayl.
Other examples of errors
Now al-Ḥamdulillāh thumma al-Ḥamdulillāh, we have most of our primary sources. Whether it is in ḥadīth, fiqh, or aqīdah, they are published, and if not published then it is not difficult to obtain the manuscripts. I can give you numerous examples where mistakes have occurred even from senior scholars like Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī. Our respected teacher Shaykh Yūnus Ṣāḥib would comment that Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī when writing, particularly the first few volumes of Fatḥ al-Bārī, relied on his memory and thus made some errors. In ʿazw al-madhāhib (attribution of madhāhib) and in others, there are many examples of this.
We do not do this to set out to find mistakes. Tatabbuʿ al-awhām should not be a maqṣūd (primary objective), but where you find that a mistake has occurred, then it is from amānah that we mention that a mistake has happened here.
Understanding how a concept has developed
The other benefit of referring to earlier sources is that we can understand how a concept, for example, an explanation that was written by Imām al-Khaṭṭābī or Ibn Baṭṭāl al-Mālikī, has evolved over the centuries. So, in sharḥ al-ḥadīth this is very pertinent, very relevant. I was reading the works of Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr al-Mālikī and I was trying to understand his sources. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr al-Mālikī is a great authority, a great scholar who wrote Al-Tamhīd and Al-Istidhkār and many other books. I sensed that in relation to the Ḥanafī fiqh, he was relying on Ikhtilāf al-ʿUlamāʾ of Imām Ṭaḥawī (its abridgement by Imām Jaṣṣaṣ is published).
These are things that you will pick up with muṭālaʿah and extensive reading of various books, and this makes it necessary to understand tārikh al-wafayāt (dates of demise) and asmāʾ al-rijāl.
Dates of demise of scholars
I have tried in my writings in English, almost 99% of the time, that whenever a name of a scholar or companion comes, to mention the tārikh al-wafāt (date of demise) in Ḥijri and also the equivalent in the CE, in our normal calendar that we use, so that we understand and appreciate the era of the scholar.
If there is a view that is mentioned by ʿAllāmah Ibn Baṭṭāl al-Mālikī, Qāḍi ʿIyāḍ, Imām Nawawī and there is another view of a contemporary scholar, then you understand that who is this scholar, where is he coming from, which century was he from. There may have been some context, there may have been some background, there may have been some challenge, there may have been some issues within that century or within that era.
Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ is not a primary source
So, tracing the origins and using primary sources and not relying solely on secondary sources is important. For example, Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ is a book that is taught within the Dars Niẓāmī curriculum. Without studying Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, you cannot enter into the final year wherein the Ṣiḥāh Sittah are studied. Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ is a secondary source; it is not a primary source of ḥadīth. It mentions the ḥādīths and attributes them to the primary sources.
Razīn ibn Muʿāwiyah is not a primary source
One such source that it attributes hadiths to is Razīn by saying رواه رزين. Razīn ibn Muʿāwiyah al-ʿAbdarī wrote a book, Tajrīd al-Ṣiḥāḥ. But Tajrīd al-Ṣiḥāḥ is also not a primary source of ḥadīth, it does not feature the asānīd of narrations. So, historically some scholars would write رواه التبريزي في المشكاة or رواه رزين but this is not precise because Razīn ibn Muʿāwiyah al-ʿAbdarī himself is not a primary source of ḥadīth. This is why whenever Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī uses Razīn ibn Muʿāwiyah al-ʿAbdarī’s ḥadīths in Jāmiʿ al-Usūl, he tries to locate Razīn’s source in the earlier books of Imām Bukhārī, Imām Muslim, Imām Tirmidhī and others. If he is unable to locate the ḥadīths mentioned by Razīn, then he leaves a blank space; he does not mention Razīn’s name. Khaṭīb Tabrīzī relied on Jāmiʿ al-Uṣūl, however wherever he could not find the source, he mentioned Razīn’s name, so that ṭullāb al-ʿilm can refer to Razīn’s book and then try and find the ḥadīth.
So, when it comes to the ḥadīths of Rasūlullāḥ ﷺ, when it comes to issues of fiqh, issues of ḥadīth, sharḥ al-ḥadīth, tafsīr, we are now in a privileged position that we have access to the PDFs and to the primary sources. We should try and make our writings as authentic and as original as possible and try and go back to the original sources.
One of the criticisms of certain groups is that our writings are not evidence-based or as authentic as others. So, if we go back to our tradition and connect ourselves to our primary sources, then automatically some of these accusations will be removed; and we do not do this because of the accusations, we do it for the right reasons; and in so doing, the misconceptions will automatically go away.
(4) Read widely and benefit from other madhāhib
Another naṣīḥah (advice) that I give to myself and I share for the benefit of ṭullāb al-ʿilm is to read widely. We need to be grounded in our manhaj, in our fiqh. If we are students of the Ḥanafī school, then we must first embed ourselves within our school. Thereafter, once we have completed the various stages of learning within that school, we should not restrict ourselves to the Ḥanafī books. This is particularly when writing, we should benefit from the Shafiʿī fiqh, the Ḥanbalī fiqh, and the Mālikī fiqh. We live in a very diverse community, and sometimes if we restrict ourselves to one fiqh, then we may not appreciate the practice of others, we may become disadvantaged by jumūd; we may think that things are black and white when in reality they may not be black and white due to the fact that the Shafiʿī school, the Ḥanbalī school may have a different opinion on the matter.
Sometimes there are juzʾiyyāt and nuances within a madhab that the other madhabs do not have. I have found at times that the Ḥanbalī madhhab for example, has an answer to a contemporary issue which the Ḥanafī madhhab does not have (refer to the following: Can a business partner take a salary or extra profit?). There is no need to become a mujtahid yourself when the hard work has been done by earlier scholars.
Using saliva to turn the pages of the Quran
Every madhhab has its own strengths and weaknesses, and every madhhab will have certain juzʾiyyāt, certain furūʿ which the other madhhabs may not have. There are examples of this within our fatāwā collections where the views of the other madhhabs have been cited. A recent example comes to mind, whether one can use their saliva to turn the page of the Quran. I have not been able to find this issue in the Ḥanafī fiqh, although the Ḥanafī fiqh is renowned for juzʾiyyāt of the moon and the sun and of all sorts of hypotheticals, which are appreciated today in light of technological advancements. This issue of the saliva has been mentioned by Imām Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī al-Mālikī in his writings.
(Another recent example is whether the solar eclipse Ṣalāh should be performed if the eclipse is not noticeable due to clouds).
Wearing a mask during Ṣalāh
Similarly, when Covid occurred, the question arose regarding covering the mouth and wearing a mask in ṣalāh, and the default position when there is no need. If there is a need, that is a separate issue. The question was about the default position. In our Ḥanafī books, it is mentioned that it is makrūh, تغطية الفم (to cover the mouth) is makrūh. The question under discussion was whether it is makrūh taḥrīmī or tanzīhī? Imām Ṭaḥṭāwī has mentioned (from ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Abū al-Saʿūd, d. 1172/1759) that it is taḥrīmī, because when the word makrūh is used على الإطلاق, then generally the default is that it is for taḥrīm.
We were asked about this issue, and this is where tracing the origins of an issue became practically relevant. It was not a hypothetical issue; it was not just an academic issue. During Covid, particularly within South Africa and within the UK amongst our Ḥanafī ṭullāb al-ʿilm and ʿulamāʾ, the issues became very contentious and very personal. There were many saying that it is prohibited to wear the mask for example, because Imām Ṭaḥṭāwī is saying that it is makrūh taḥrīmī.
We looked at the issue and we thought to ourselves that what is the basis for Imām Ṭaḥṭāwī saying this. Imām Ṭaḥṭāwī with all the due respect that we give him, is a scholar of the recent two-three centuries, just before ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿĀbidīn al-Shāmī. So, if Ibn ʿĀbidīn al-Shāmī or Imām Ṭaḥṭāwī mention something which the earlier scholars have not mentioned, it may not hold the same weight.
Back to our point of benefiting from the works of others, we found that Imām Nawawī, a Shāfiʿī scholar, is mentioning that the karāhah is tanzīhī. Imām Nawawī is a great master of ḥadīth, a great master of fiqh, and when there is no explicit naṣṣ from the founders of the madhhab, or from the aṣḥāb al-tarjīḥ and from others thereafter, then we suggested that there is scope to take into account the view of Imām Nawawī (who passed away a few hundred years before ʿAllāmah Ṭaḥṭāwī and ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Abū al-Saʿūd) on this particular issue.
This does not mean that we start to pick and choose, and wherever we find any flexibility in any school that we simply adopt it. The dīn becomes a mockery with this mentality. However, sometimes there may be a certain case and there may be a need. This is just one example; my wider point is simply that we should not deprive ourselves from the other madhāhib. There are many benefits of reading other madhāhib and understanding their perspective. Sometimes there are many errors that have been made in attributing madhāhib to each other so many of these errors can be remedied as a result.
I hope that some of these experiences that I have shared are of benefit.
(5) Consult with your teachers and seniors
One very important thing that I share with ṭullāb al-ʿilm is always make mashwarah with your teachers and show your writings to them. Al-Ḥamdulillāh, I have been (actively) writing fatāwā since 2015, we have more than 1200-1300 fatāwā online, I make every effort to show my writings to my respected father Muftī Shabbīr Ṣaḥib and to my teacher Muftī Ṭāhir Ṣāḥib. Even on simple issues where you know that it is straightforward, as ṭullāb al-ʿilm, we should show our writings to our seniors. Not only for the blessing, because there are huge blessings of this, but sometimes they will give certain advices from their experience. They have a lot of ḥilm and a lot of ḥikmah.
Sometimes it is not that the answer is incorrect or what you have written is incorrect but the wording could be better. Sometimes it is not appropriate to say that it is Ḥarām; you might say that it is not permissible or it is not lawful. The terms that you use, the way in which you write certain things, the way in which you address certain things. Sometimes it may not be appropriate to make public something that you have written because people will not be able to digest it, or people will misuse it, or misunderstand it. كلّموا الناس على قدر عقولهم. I myself have approximately 100 or 200, if not more, writings and fatāwā which we have not published online. Sometimes the issues are sensitive; there a whole range of other reasons.
So, it is always good to get a second and third opinion. If we have access to our own teachers, then that is the best. If for some reason we do not, then the senior scholars within our community. If we do not have access to our seniors, then we can show our writings to our contemporaries, so that we get a second opinion. This is very important, sometimes a person does not realise and one becomes blind to his own errors. Sometimes it is just as simple as spelling mistakes, iʿrāb mistakes, but sometimes it could be more severe.
(6) Make time for writing
Many ṭullāb al-ʿilm and colleagues say that we are very busy, we have many commitments, we have a family to support, and unfortunately within our society we do not have the infrastructure to support authors and writers. To those students, I say that dedicate a time in the day, every day, even if it is just one hour or half an hour, for reading and writing. Inshāʾ Allah, this will be of huge benefit, even if it is just 30 minutes, but do it every day.
I once asked Muftī Muḥammād Taqī ʿUthmānī regarding doing a PhD and mentioned my commitments to him, including in relation to other writings, so he said: Just allocate half an hour or one hour every day consistently and Inshāʾ Allah you will see the blessing of this and Allah ﷻ will take work of dīn and writing from you.
(7) Be objective and fair
Another naṣīḥah that I give to myself and to others is to be objective and fair. Sometimes we make our mind up on a particular issue and we look for things accordingly. If we then find after research that the evidence is challenging the view that we held, be open to it, be objective, be fair.
Muftī Muḥammad Shafī ʿUthmānī gave advice which Muftī Muḥammād Taqī ʿUthmānī has quoted at the beginning of Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim, the commentary of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: إيّاك وأن تجعل الحديث النبويّ حنفيّا, or something along these lines. Do not try and twist and make every ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ into Ḥanafī or into Ṣhafiʿī or into Mālikī. Accept that these are different schools of thought and that Imām Ṣhafiʿī has an evidence, Imām Mālik has his evidence; do not try and misinterpret or try and squeeze a ḥadīth and impose it onto your understanding or impose a verse of the Quran on your understanding; be careful in this regard.
Just because you have a view in any aspect of dīn, but there is another view also; so be careful regarding this and maintain adab al-ikhtilāf. Especially with the nuṣuṣ, that we avoid takalluf (pretentiousness) and mubālagah (exaggeration), and trying everything to impose a meaning or discredit a ḥadīth just because it does not match with our view. The ḥadīth is in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, muḥaddithūn have said it is ṣaḥīḥ, but just because it does not accord with our view, that we use every arm and leg that exists in the world to try and discredit a ḥadīth just for the sake of discrediting the ḥadīth, or just for the sake of proving that the other school of thought’s ḥadīth is weak.
This is not doing justice to ʿilm. We need to be objective; we need to be fair and if there is a genuine basis for a critique then that is a separate issue. However, if this is just because something is not matching with our view, then this is a sign of insecurity and immaturity that we cannot accept that there is another view out there which is mainstream and which has its evidences. Yes, we engage in discussion, in debate, in evidences and counter evidences, this is all healthy, but this is a general principle that I mention to ṭullāb al-ʿilm, otherwise the consequence is that people then start to think that my view is the only view, and we start to think that the other views are incorrect and baseless.
This is a reason why jumūd unfortunately exists. Taṣallub is not a bad thing, where you hold on to your view, but jumūd is not praiseworthy. For example, a Shāfiʿī is not performing ṣalāh behind a Ḥanafī because he is not raising his hands, and a Ḥanafī is not performing ṣalāh behind a Shāfiʿī because he is raising his hands.
Many people enquire that can we perform witr ṣalāh behind the Imām when we travel to Ḥaramayn. We are Ḥanafīs, and in the Ḥanafī school of thought, the witr ṣalāh is three rakʿāt without faṣl, and you will find many fatāwā suggesting that as a Ḥanafī you cannot perform witr ṣalāh behind a Shāfiʿī or a Ḥanbalī or a Mālikī because of the faṣl and the salām breaking the ṣalah. Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Rashīd Nuʿmānī who was a great muḥaddith of Pakistan was once asked regarding this. Shaykh Muḥammad ʿAwwāmah has quoted this in one of his books. He said: If Imām Aḥmad was to come and lead witr ṣalāh, would you not perform witr ṣalāh behind them? This is what he said.
(I have no hesitation in suggesting that Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and his two students Imām Abū Yūsuf and Imām Muḥammad would have had no hesitation in performing witr ṣalāh behind a follower of another school. The mizāj (temperament) of these three luminaries is understood from the following text of Kitāb al-Aṣl: (قلت: أرأيت الإمام إذا كبر في العيدين أكثر من تسع تكبيرات أينبغي لمن خلفه أن يكبروا معه؟ قال: نعم، يتبعونه إلا أن يكبر ما لا يكبر أحد من الفقهاء وما لم تجئ به الآثار.). I also have no hesitation in suggesting that if Imām Mālik was leading Witr Ṣalāh, his student Imām Muḥammad would perform Ṣalāh behind him, and Allah knows best. This nevertheless is a differed upon issue as detailed in our answer entitled: Witr Ṣalāh in Makkah and Madīnah.)
So, being fair, being objective, accepting that there are evidences on the issue on both sides. When somebody approaches issues of furūʿ with balance, fairness and objectivity, then whilst he may hold on firmly to his own opinion, he will recognise that actually things are not always black and white as it may appear.
May Allah ﷻ give us all the tawfīq. May Allah ﷻ take the work of dīn from each one of us.
(8) Do not be a perfectionist
Another tip I share with friends is do not be a perfectionist. What I mean by this is that sometimes Shayṭān comes to us and says that you will not be able to do it. Do it, write it and then Al-Ḥamdulillāh as you know we have the benefit of editing it easily. Historically, they would not have the advantage of the computer where we can edit and make changes very easily. A thought has come to your mind to write an article about an issue, write it, do not worry at this stage about it being perfect. Once the initial draft is ready, then revise it, edit it, find the references, show it to your teachers, make the corrections. Do not let this perfectionist thought that I will not be able to do it, or I will make a mistake, or that I cannot do it, prevent you. Do it in the name of Allah, make istikhārah, make duʿāʾ to Allah ﷻ and do it; and Inshāʾ Allah, Allah ﷻ will make it happen.
The book on the aḥadīth of Hidāyah
I say this not out of any tawāḍuʿ or humility whatsoever, most of our writings have occurred like this. This book that we have here, two volumes on the ḥadīths of Hidāyah, it has a story which Inshāʾ Allah I will share tomorrow because the organisers have kept a session on this book (the transcript of the session is available on this link: www.islamicportal.co.uk/lecture-on-al-inayah-fi-tahqiq-al-ahadith-al-gharibah-fi-al-hidayah). I will conclude on this because I have taken a lot of time.
Somebody from Pakistan emailed us regarding some of the ḥadīths of Hidāyah, and the question was in Urdu, asking: What are the ḥadīth credentials of Imām al-Margīnānī; what is the status of the ḥadiths in Hidāyah that are not found in the ḥadīth books, are they mawḍūʿ (fabricated) or otherwise, and so on, a few questions. The questions came via the website, so I wrote the answers in Urdu. This was in 2019. It was about 25-30 pages and was sent to the questioner. And that was it at the time. (This is available on the following link: www.islamicportal.co.uk/queries-regarding-hadiths-of-hidayah)
A year later, a thought came to my mind that maybe we should try and look at those ḥadīths and give it some more attention. So, I started examining one ḥadīth after the other, the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, and there was no intention that it would become what it has become; I continued searching and Al-Ḥamdulillāh thumma Al-Ḥamdulillāh, this resulted in this publication. However, if you were to ask me today to do this work; if somebody said that, can you look at the garīb ḥadīths of Hidāyah which Ḥāfiẓ Zaylaʿī and Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī were unable to locate and do some work on this, I would probably refuse and say that it is beyond me, it is not possible. But it happened! I am just mentioning this for motivation, that do not let the severity of the task or the complexity of the matter deter you. Take the name of Allah ﷻ, make mashwarah with your teachers, work under their shade, start it and Inshāʾ Allah, Allah ﷻ will make it happen.
وما علينا إلا البلاغ
Question and Answer session
Q1: The first book that you compiled, what was the idea behind it? What kickstarted it, just for motivation?
A1: When I was a student; I graduated in 2005; one of my teachers (Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mawlānā ʿAbdurraḥīm Limbādā Ḥafiẓahullāh) requested that I write on the issue of congregational tahajjud ṣalāh in the month of Ramaḍān, which in the Ḥanafī school of thought is not allowed. By tahajjud ṣalāh, I am referring to anything beyond twenty. If it is just two or three people (in the congregation) then later Ḥanafī jurists permitted this, but as a full congregational ṣalāh with larger numbers, it is not allowed. Some of our mashāyikh, mainly Shaykh al-Islām Mawlānā Ḥusayn Aḥmad Madanī, the great freedom fighter of India, who was also a sayyid, and had spent a lot of time in Ḥijāz during the end of the Ottoman era, was a champion of this probably because he had resided in Madīnah Munawwarah. It was practiced then in Masjid Nabawī and remains the practice to date. This was an issue because in our madrasah Darul Uloom Bury UK this was practiced and some of our Ḥanafī colleagues were not happy. So, this teacher requested me to write on this.
I was a student. I wrote something in Arabic and this treatise is now published; it is not very prevalent because we published it from India. You could say that was the first booklet. It is about 50-60 pages; we discussed the issue from various perspectives and angles. It has several mistakes which are to be corrected in a subsequent print. It was written nearly two decades ago. A person matures and develops over time. (A brief overview of the book is available on the following link online: www.islamicportal.co.uk/congregational-tahajjud-salah-in-ramadan-book-query and also refer to our answer online: www.islamicportal.co.uk/congregational-tahajjud-salah-in-ramadan). This was however not the first book to be published in terms of sequence of publication.
Tanshīt al-Ādhān fi Kitāb al-Arbaʿin fi al-Adhān
The first book to be published was this book (Tanshīt al-Ādhān min Kitāb al-Arabaʿīn fī al-Adhān). My respected father wrote a book, Kitāb Al-Arbaʿīn (40 Ḥadīths) on adhān.
There was a program in the UK organised for the muadhdhins to recognise their efforts and achievements and highlight the faḍāʾil (virtues) of adhān. My father wrote this for that majlis where approximately 100-200 muadhdhins of the city of Leicester were gathered. Adhān is not appreciated within our communities, the muadhdhins are also the cleaners in India and Pakistan; they are the bangīs as they call them. They are not given the respect and the dignity they deserve. So, a special program was arranged for them. My father gathered the 40 ḥadīths on adhān called Kitāb al-Arbaʿin fi al-Adhān and I wrote a commentary on them called Tanshīt al-Ādhān fi Kitāb al-Arbaʿin fi al-Adhān). This book was self-published.
Tadhkirat al-Aʿlām al-Sūd
In terms of our publications in the Arab world, meaning the first book to be published from Beirut which had circulation in the Arab world was this book (Tadhkirat al-Aʿlām al-Sūd). Again, this has a story; the shaykh (who asked the question) asked for motivation.
In 2017, I travelled to Malawi, a country in East Africa, where you have the indigenous African Muslims, and also the Asians. Sometimes within Africa, the indigenous Muslims have a sense of inferiority complex where they think that dīn came from India. It is true that the Indian mashāyikh and the Asian ʿulamāʾ did a lot of work in Africa. Thus, one of my friends (Mawlānā ʿĀrif of Lilongwe, Malawi, the founder of Al-Mahmood Foundation and Darul Uloom) requested me to gather some profiles of Ṣaḥābāh رضي الله عنهم who were of black complexion, because it will be of huge benefit for African Muslims and will serve as motivation and inspiration; they will be able to take pride in that dīn has not come from India or Pakistan; we have a legacy, we have a tradition, we have a heritage to take pride in. It is human nature that you take pride in your own area and your own ethnicity, and these things do act as motivation.
I am generally very busy due to charity work, travels and other commitments. I returned home and forgot about the matter. Whilst returning from Malawi, I wrote a few points on my phone. After a year, I travelled to Makkah al-Mukarramah and remembered the request and thought that maybe I should do something. I started to gather some profiles and Mawlānā ʿĀrif’s intention was perhaps profiles of ten Ṣaḥābāh رضي الله عنهم and some prominent personalities, culminating in a short booklet or small article. That was what he probably had in mind and that is what I had in mind.
As I started to gather the profiles, I started from Bilāl and other Ṣaḥābāh رضي الله عنهم. Then before the Ṣaḥābah, I found that Luqmān al-Ḥakīm was also black, Dhū al-Qarnayn was also black, Nabī of Aṣḥāb al-Ukhdūd عليه السلام was also black according to some narrations and then identified others from the Ṣaḥābāh رضي الله عنهم and then the tabiʿūn, the tabʿ tābiʿūn, until today. Eventually, it became a compilation of profiles of 101 personalities from the time of Dhū al-Qarnayn to date; of course, from the recent centuries only a few are featured therein. The purpose was not istīʿāb; it was not an attempt to gather all of them; it was just to give a bit of an insight mainly on the Ṣaḥābāh رضي الله عنهم and the earlier scholars; that was the focus.
From amongst them was also Ḥāfiẓ Zaylaʿī. Many people are not aware that Ḥāfiẓ Jamāl al-Dīn al-Zaylaʿī who wrote what is known as Naṣb al-Rāyah – although there is a question mark on the name of the book – was from Zaylaʿ which is in north Somalia. Ḥāfiẓ Jamāl al-Dīn al-Zaylaʿī is a great muḥaddith who the Ḥanafīs take pride in because all the other madhhabs rely and take benefit from Zaylaʿī’s work. He was from Zaylaʿ, so he is also profiled in this book. We also included the profiles of two or three contemporary Ḥadīth scholars from Ethiopia who are in Makkah al-Mukarrmah; one is a Shāfiʿī and one is from the Ahl al-Ḥadīth background.
This book was, I believe, a result of the ikhlāṣ (sincerity) of Mawlānā ʿĀrif who had requested this. Al-Ḥamdulillāh; I did not expect this, but due to the whole issue of the black movement, the black lives matter (BLM) and race issues, Al-Ḥamdulillāh, Allah Almighty gave acceptance to this book.
Al-ʿIqd al-Thamīn fī Ḥubb al-Nabī al-Amīn ﷺ
There also some other books such as Al-ʿIqd al-Thamīn fī Ḥubb al-Nabī al-Amīn ﷺ which was written after the French cartoons. I thought that this is the least that we can do. We cannot do what we should do; the least that we can do is write something on the love of Rasūlullāh ﷺ.
Initially, it was just 40 ḥadīths and then I thought maybe I should write a commentary. The 40 ḥadīths are published stand alone at the beginning and then a detailed commentary follows it. The book features various mabāḥith (discussions) on a whole range of issues; sunnah, bidʿah, ziyārah, sabb al-Rasūl, ḥubb al-Rasūl, aḥādīth, āthār, faḍāʾil of ṣalāh ʿalā al-Nabī, ashʿār fī ḥubb al-Nabī, Ahl al-Bayt and various topical issues are discussed. As I said, predominantly the books are in in Arabic; this is also in Arabic.
Juzʾ fī Aḥādīth Umm Ḥarām bint Milḥān and Sharḥ al-Ṣudūr bi Qirāʾat al-Kutub ʿinda al-Qubūr
We travelled to Cyprus with Muftī Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī in 2019 and I organised the full travel. A day before we travelled, I thought that as we are planning to visit the grave of Umm Ḥarām bint Milḥān رضي الله عنها I should gather the aḥadīth transmitted by her and her family members and also document some of her story. We read the aḥadīth in the Masjid in Cyprus where it is suggested her grave is; we cannot say 100%, but it is suggested that it is there. We cannot say 100% because it was located after many years and some pious people suggested that it is there. Inshāʾ Allah, it is that grave and you will experience the anwār when you go there but we cannot say with 100% certainty. So, this is the background to the first treatise in this booklet.
The background to the second treatise in this booklet is that prior to this in 2018, we travelled to Uzbekistan with Muftī Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī. Whilst there, we visited the graves of Imām Bukhārī, Imām Tirmidhī, Hakīm Tirmidhī, and many other mashāyikh of taṣawwuf, fiqh and ḥadīth. Whilst there, we read some ḥadīths at the graves of Imām Bukhārī, Imām Tirmidhī and Hakīm Tirmidhī. Some people objected whether this is permissible or not. A few months later, we were in Makkah al-Mukkarramah, and Shaykh Niẓam Yaʿqūbī of Bahrain who is a great Shāfiʿī scholar, a ḥadīth expert, and also an expert on Islamic finance and economics, was also there. He is someone who is very balanced; he is not extreme in his inclinations. Although many of his teachers are from the Ahl al-Ḥadīth background, he himself is a Shāfiʿī. He suggested that I should write on this because he travelled to Fās and recited some parts of Ibn al-ʿArabī al-Mālikī,’s treatise at his grave and some Ahl al-Ḥadīth brothers objected to this; that how can you read by the graves of the people. He thus suggested to me to write on this and gather some examples from earlier generations. I thought to myself that I do not know anything about this topic as it is very niche. Al-Ḥamdulillāh, I started upon returning home. Nowadays, al-Ḥamdulillāh we have the benefit of Google and computer searches so we should benefit from it; there is no harm. It is good to benefit from open sources and also from Shamela and other databases, although we have to exercise caution and not become reliant on them; sometimes they also have mistakes.
So, this short treatise Sharḥ al-Ṣudūr bi Qirāʾat al-Kutub ʿinda al-Qubūr is published in this booklet. We found examples of the likes of Imām al-Farāwī who is the narrator of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, he says that we read Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by the grave of Imām Muslim in Nayshāpūr (Nishapur). And also some other examples; there are maybe 10 or 12, maybe more examples in here. ʿAllāmah Jazarī, Ḥāfiẓ Sakhāwī and others. We are not saying that it is Sunnah to go to the grave and recite the books authored by the deceased in the grave, but we are saying that there is an aṣl (basis) found that books or aḥādīth can be read by the graves of the authors. This was also the background to this risālah (treatise) which was published.
Other Published Books
This (Birr al-Wālidayn: Being Dutiful to Parents) is an English book; I wrote a commentary of Birr al-Wālidayn of Imām Bukhārī. One of my students translated it, I wrote the commentary of it. It is in English and is widely available in the English market.
This (An Expositive Treatise on the Six Fasts of Shawwāl) is an English book on the six fasts of Shawwāl from a ḥadīth and fiqh perspective. It is in English but with a lot of mawād (material) and references in Arabic. I self-published this book, similar to the Adhān book from Turkey. We have many copies of these two books so if anybody is coming from the UK, I can send as many copies as you want for free. The other books are published by others, so you have to contact the publishers.
This book (12 days in the Balkans); we travelled there and the book features some travelogues.
This (A Commentary of Jami At- Tirmidhi: Chapters of the Adhan) is in English summarising the Urdu lessons of my father’s lessons on Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī. This is just Kitāb al-Adhān which was published. Dr Ismail Lala authored this, and I edited it. My father has taught Sunan al-Tirmidhī for more than 25 years and, bi-l-istīʿāb, from beginning to end with commentary.
There are also some other publications. Towards the end of the work on Hidāyah, I have listed all of my publications, including those that are not published. There are approximately 50 in Arabic and there are others in English and other languages. May Allah ﷻ accept and give us all tawfīq.
Q2: What would you say to a person that feels a bit shy that why should I write when there are the likes of Muftī Taqī and Shaykh ʿAwwāmah alive, who are experts in their fields, and have the power to speak in their language?
A2: بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي وَلَوْ آيَةً and ليُبَلِّغ الشَّاهِدُ مِنْكُمُ الْغَائِبَ. Tablīgh of dīn is ordained upon us. If Imām Muslim thought that Imām Bukhārī is alive and I should not gather ḥadīths, then we would not have had Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Also, sometimes Allah ﷻ blesses a person as the ḥadīth mentions: نضر الله امرأ سمع منا شيئا فبلغه كما سمع، فرب مبلغ أوعى من سامع. Sometimes the person whom you are conveying to has more reach and more impact. Who knows Allah ﷻ might take you to the level beyond Muftī Taqī ʿUthmānī. When he was young, he wrote many of the books that he wrote, and at that time he was not as prominent. There were many great scholars who were alive, including his own father who was the Grand Mufti of Pakistan. Allah ﷻ then granted him the status that he granted him.
With ikhlāṣ, sincerity and with the correct intention that we are conveying the dīn of Allah ﷻ and His Rasūl ﷺ, benefiting myself and others, Inshāʾ Allah, we do it. Also, the benefit of writing is that it could stay forever so Inshāʾ Allah it will act as Ṣadaqah Jāriyah. Look at al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, a very simple and easy text. Imām Ṭaḥāwī probably wrote it within minutes but يوضع له القبول (acceptance was placed for it and him). You look at Sharḥ al-Mushkil al-Āthār which is his masterpiece, but it is not as prominent. We do it with ikhlāṣ and sincerity and then Allah ﷻ decides.
Q3: If someone is in the middle stages of their studies, in the second to fourth year for example, what sort of advice would you give them to push ahead with research? You get the feeling that you need to do dawrah or takhaṣṣuṣ to actually write on anything, to have a base.
A3: In the earlier years, the focus should be study. Study the texts that you are being taught; become a master in those texts, the mutūn and other texts. Gain as much from your teachers. I do not think that the earlier years are the years where you start to write on advanced topics. If it is something basic then that is fine; you may translate a few hadiths, make a poster on Faḍāʾil of Ṣalāh, Faḍāʾil of Zakāh, with the mashwarah of the teachers, then that is good, so you get some practice of writing. Generally, in seminaries, they make you practice verbally how to lecture and also writing articles.
As you progress into the later years and wish to embark on advanced research, you can ask your teachers to give you some topics or questions for practice. You should write under their guidance. A very good way to enhance your research skills is to ask your teachers to give you questions. For example, the Imām made a mistake instead of reciting this; instead of standing up from the fourth rakʿah he stood up to the fifth rakʿah, what is the answer. You go and find the sources and then present your findings to your teachers. Slowly and gradually, you build your research skills and knowledge.
There are also other tips. Take benefit from the libraries, that is very useful. I do not know what the situation is in Australia in terms of access to Islamic libraries, but becoming familiar with books that exist across the various disciplines is also very useful. Sometimes it is not about knowing everything, but it is knowing that if you have a problem then how can you resolve it. What resources do you need to access, what kind of books do you need to access, and that comes with time and experience Inshāʾ Allah.
Q4: If a person wants to write on a particular topic and he feels that to do justice to it, he should read everything on that topic and as a result he feels that is a task beyond his capacity, what would you say to him?
A4: Knowing which book to access at what time comes from experience. It is not about reading all the books or all the content on that matter, but it is knowing which book is going to be most beneficial or which selection of books is going to be beneficial for that particular task.
For example, tafsīr. You are writing the tafsīr of a verse or the tafsīr of a sūrah. Now there are thousands of tafsīrs, which tafsīr do you choose to address the tafsīr issue or a particular dimension that you are looking at in tafsīr? If your purpose is general tafsīr then you might look at Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, you might look at Tafsīr al-Qurtubī. If your focus is more on the ḥikam, the wisdom, the taṣawwuf and the spirituality, then you might look at another tafsīr, you might look at Ruḥ al-Maʿānī. If your focus is on authenticity and ensuring that whatever tafsīr you are giving is mustanad (reliable and authentic) then you will look at Tafsīr Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī or it’s summary; Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr is more or less a summary of Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī with additions.
Knowing which book to access and what your purpose is the key. You cannot read everything; it is not possible. Nowadays, books are being printed very fast, every day there is a new book being printed so it is impossible. Intelligent selection of books and then intelligent reading are key, and both these aspects come with experience and time.
Generally, unless the issue has a contemporary dimension or a contemporary author has something new that he or she is adding, the earlier sources always provide a good basis, but it just depends on what you are looking at. Sometimes if you are looking into a fiqh issue, then looking at a later source could be more beneficial because that author may have examined the earlier sources. It depends on what you are looking at but the selection of books is very important.
There are hundreds of commentaries of ḥadīths, do you look at all of them? Unless you are doing particular research, and you want to look at as many, so that you cover everything. Every book will have something that another book does not have, especially the earlier books. You look at the commentaries of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī; for example, if you look at Fatḥ al-Bārī, then you do not need to really look at Kirmānī or some of the earlier ones, generally it covers most of the mabāḥith (discussions). But you may look at it for referencing and to look precisely what has been said by the early sources so that could be your starting point. Fatḥ al-Bārī is a very good starting point in ḥadīth. (Ibn Hubayrah’s al-Ifṣāḥ ʿan Maʿānī al-Ṣiḥāḥ sometimes has points not mentioned in Fatḥ al-Bārī, I think Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar did not use it).
In tafsīr, I rely heavily on and benefit from Tafsīr Ibn Jarīr because I have a particular focus on istīnād, making sure that everything is mustanad. So, if I am quoting a tafsīr, I do not want to just quote that Ibn Kathīr said that Suddī has said. What is the sanad (chain) for it; and now we have access to it. That is my ẓawq (taste) and preference. There are different aspects; if you look at it from a fiqh perspective, the fiqh of the Quran, then Tafsīr al-Qurtubī is probably the best tafsīr. There are also several published works on Aḥkām al-Quran.
One useful suggestion is to select books in each area and become familiar with those. For the Ḥanafī fiqh, Radd al-Muḥtār, Imām Muhammad’s books, two or three other books. If you are not a Ḥanafī, then Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ and Radd al-Muḥtār. Make similar selections in other Fiqhs and also other disciplines, ʿAqīdah, Tārīkh, ʿIlm al-Rijāl. Use those books regularly, become familiar with those books and then over time these books will Inshāʾ Allāh lead you to other books.
Q5: What is your advice in terms of publication? Should we go to self-publication, or go to a famous publishing house, or does it depend?
A5: I will share my own experience. The first book we printed on adhān was self-printed, we printed it from Turkey and at the time I personally did not have much knowledge about how the publishing market works and the costs. We realised that we made a mistake. We should not have self-published because I am not a distributor, nor a businessman, nor someone who is going to proactively market his own book. Our book reached the UK and that is it; it did not automatically go anywhere else.
The market for Arabic books in the UK is limited, especially when the book does not relate to a Dars Niẓāmī book. Unless a book relates to Hidāyah, or Miskhāt al-Maṣābīḥ which the ṭullāb al-ʿilm study, then the Arabic book is not going to sell. If the author is not famous and we were not famous then and we are not famous now either, to the level that people will run to your books, so the book does not sell in the thousands, maybe a few hundred copies sold. We still have copies left.
We realised that if we want an Arabic book to reach the world and the Middle East, then you need to find a publisher with access to the Middle East. This is why our later books like Tadhkirat al-Aʿlām al-Sūd and Al-ʿIqd al-Thamīn were published by Dār al-Sammān. Now our books are being published by Maktabah Ismāʿīl who are based in the UK, but they have their books printed in Beirut with access to the Middle East market.
My advice generally for Arabic books is to try and find a publisher that has penetration and market access, so that the effort that has been put into it reaches people from different parts of the world. Al-Ḥamdulillāh, brother Uways has my book Al-Sirāj al-Wahhāj, so I asked him where he got it from and he said maybe I got it from South Africa or somewhere else; so, it is in circulation. Kitāb al-Arbāʿīn fī al-Adhān does not have similar circulation so it is difficult to obtain a copy.
Then I printed another book, the six fasts of Shawwāl book was also self-published. That was a bit better because it was an English book and there is an English market in the UK. But even then, I am not a distributor or a businessman, and I do not have an established distribution network. Thus, the book has probably not had the kind of distribution that the other English books of ours have had, that were published by Turath Publishing. Turath Publishing publish many books, they have access, they have connections, their books are transported to other parts of the world. The Birr al-Wālidayn commentary as well as the English commentary on Kitāb al-Adhān mentioned above were published by them.
Therefore, unless you have a huge following and good market access, my general advice is that if you can find a publisher who has access in different countries then that is better than self-publishing. Sometimes you will find that publishers will not take on your work because at the end of the day, whether we like it or not, it is about money. If the publisher feels that it is going to generate revenue, it will sell, they will take your work. If they feel that it is not going to sell, they will not take your work, unless you finance it; this is how it is.
The topic and title are also relevant. If you write a book on marriage, it will sell; any publisher will take it. Then what is inside does not really matter because it will sell. People will look at the title and it will sell. Publishers also look at who the author is; is the author prominent, is he famous, because books sell either because of the author or because of the subject matter.
For example, I can tell you from the books I have brought with me today that the book on Hidāyah will sell. This is because Hidāyah is a Ḥanafī fiqh book, it is an important book from our turāth, it is a book taught and studied in our seminaries, it is an important book. This book on adhān will not sell as much because the author is not a world-renowned scholar; he is not Muftī Taqī ʿUthmānī, he is not Shaykh Niẓām Yaʿqūbī, he is not Shaykh Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī. The topic is adhān which is a standard topic, like ṣalāh, ṣawm; it is not marriage, it is not even black Muslims which is currently topical.
Distributors and publishers will look at the title and also the author. If you are producing something unique, then Inshāʾ Allāh, they will take it on.
Nowadays, we also have the advantage of the internet, e-books can be published online easily. Al-Ḥamdulillāh, some of our articles have been read tens of thousands of times; you post an article and within days 20,000, 30,000, 50,000, 100,000 people have read it. These books that are printed in the Middle East; they usually publish 1,000 copies. Unless the book is very prominent like Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhāri or Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, otherwise the quantities are only 1,000 or maximum 2,000. When I mention this to people, they get surprised.
Through the internet and social media, your message can reach thousands of people within hours. During Covid, we wrote articles and masāʾil, because Covid was a huge issue, our articles would be read by tens of thousands of people, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people, from 70-80 countries within hours. Ṭullāb al-ʿilm now have this added benefit that even if they cannot publish their work in print, they can upload it online and it is free; there is no cost or hardly any cost to set up a blog. A basic blog only costs $20-$30 and if you have money or you have access to money then there is no limit to what you can publish.
سبحان الله وبحمده، سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك، نشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، نستغفرك ونتوب إليك
