Imam ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Qurashi On Why There Are Only Few Female Hanafi Scholars

Imam ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Qurashi (696-775 AH) (1) wrote: In this section, I will enumerate the female scholars among our (Hanafi) companions that I have come across. I have come across only very few.   Undoubtedly, the situation of women is… Continue Reading

The Issue of Female Rulership – Muftī Muḥammad Rafī‘ ‘Uthmānī

What is Islām’s stance on a woman being made the sovereign ruler of a country? When Pakistan elected its first female prime-minister in December of 1988, many concerned individuals were asking whether this is permissible in Islām. Hence, Muftī Muḥammad… Continue Reading

Is Concern of Contracting the Coronavirus or Transmitting it a Valid Reason to not Attend Jamā‘ah or Jumu‘ah?

Some people are asking if it is permissible for men to not attend the masjid for Jamā‘ah or Jumu‘ah on account of fear of being infected by the coronavirus or transmitting it to someone else. “Sickness” is a valid excuse… Continue Reading

Questions Regarding a Wife’s Obligations in Sharī‘ah

Question Are wives responsible for housework? Answer The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: “Each of you is responsible and will be asked about his responsibility…The man is responsible for [maintaining] his household and the woman is responsible for [the upkeep… Continue Reading

Muftī Muḥammad Shafī‘: Limits of Muslim Non-Muslim Cooperation

What is the Islāmic ruling on forming alliances, joining or working together with non-Muslim political parties, or taking assistance from non-Muslim groups or individuals for state administrative purposes? What is the Islāmic ruling on taking the assistance of non-Muslim organisations to perform… Continue Reading

Muftī Muḥammad Shafī‘: Limits of Interacting with Non-Muslims

The following is the translation of an essay by Muftī Muḥammad Shafī‘ (1897 – 1976 CE)* written in the year 1932 CE. It deals with the subject of personal interactions/dealings with non-Muslims, outlining that such interactions should be respectful albeit… Continue Reading

Mawlānā Manẓūr Nu‘mānī on How his Father’s Opinion about Dārul ‘Ulūm Deoband Changed

Mawlānā Manẓūr Nu‘mānī (1905 – 1997) describes his father, Ṣūfī Aḥmad Ḥusayn (d. 1949), as someone whose “concern for Ᾱkhirah was greater than his concern for Dunyā, and while fully occupied in his work, he was from those who remembered… Continue Reading

Spiritual Connection between the Awliyā’ of Deoband and ‘Allāmah Ibn ‘Ᾱbidīn al-Shāmī

The great recent Ḥanafī jurist of Shām, ‘Allāmah Ibn ‘Ᾱbidīn (1783 – 1836), was connected to the Naqshbandī spiritual line via his teacher, Mawlānā Khālid al-Naqshbandī, a Kurdish-Damascene spiritual master. Mawlānā Khālid al-Naqshbandī (1779 – 1827 CE) spent some time… Continue Reading

Sins and the Danger of Sū’ al-Khātimah (Death upon Disbelief)

Explaining the importance of obedience, avoidance of sins and repentance for the preservation of īmān, Imām al-Ghazālī writes: Īmān is not one door but is over seventy doors, the highest of them the testimony that there is no deity but… Continue Reading

The Danger of Insincerity amongst the ‘Ulamā’

While discussing insincerity in Dīnī activities, Imām al-Ghazālī says: ‘The people most subject to this tribulation are the ‘Ulamā’ since the motive for most in sharing knowledge is the delight of being superior, and the joy of being followed, and… Continue Reading