The Kaafiyah Channel

Ma'ṣūm vs. Maĥfūż: what is the practical difference?

Scholars have stated that Prophets are ma'sūm (i.e. infallible, protected from committing sins) and that the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are maĥfūz (literally; "safeguarded/protected"). A question does arise: what is the practical difference between two? No conclusive research seems to have been done on this issue.

We know through many reports that the Companions did commit sins, by their own admission. So how are they then maĥfūż?

A while back I read an interesting taĥqīq by a late Subcontinent scholar by the name of Ghulam Rasool Saeedi. One of the scholars in my locality wrote a PhD thesis on his tafarrudāt (anomalous opinions) and this issue was addressed in the section of creed.

Shaykh Ghulam Rasool writes that 'isma (infallibility) entails that Prophets, despite being physically able to commit sins, don't do so due to fear of the Divine [khashyat-e-ilāhī] being prevalent within their hearts. Hence their not committing sins is a perfection, whereas if it weren't physically possible for them to do so, it wouldn't make sense to oblige them to abstain from committing sins. At times Prophets had ijtihādi slip-ups [khaṭā'en]; however, through revelation they would be made aware of them and immediately rectify them. However, our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ never had ijtihādi slip-ups according to the researching scholars [muhaqqiqīn].

As for the Sahaba's being maĥfūż, it entails that, per human nature, they commit sins at times; however, they are always enabled [tawfīq de dī jātī hai] to repent from their sins prior to passing away.

So Sahaba's being maĥfūż means that they don't pass away prior to being enabled to repent from their sin. Take for example the Sahaba that wrongly accused our Mother Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), all of them repented prior to passing away. Likewise, all the wives of the Prophet ﷺ are maĥfūż too; at times they had slip-ups too, but they never remained upon them and immediately repented from them.

Shaykh Sharif Hatim al Awni’s new book on the topic of Tafwid. It has been praised by many specialists in the field including Shaykh Nizar Hammadi and Shaykh Muhammad Taqwa.

Islam and The Cultural Imperative

Finishing off this topic…

Why do we act surprised that the average working class white person has no interest in Islam?
-All he hears about us from the globalist mainstream media is that we are terrorists
- He has a secular mindset due to public school, like many Muslims do
- He sees our communities are filled with litter or crime
- He sees Muslim immigrants abusing the welfare system
- He sees the maulvi or dawah bro on the street or local mosque is poorly groomed, with a skull cap and unkept beard, and dressed in Arab/Desi garb and talks like an utter imbecile with no knowledge of Deen or Dunya
- He sees prominent Muslim speakers (not scholars) bragging about high Islamic birthrates (High birth rates are good. However, using them to scare native populations is NOT a good dawah tactic)

Education is the key. We must educate and build up our communities. And follow the examples of the Prophet (صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ) and Companions. And the Muslims who travelled to places like Indonesia, Malaysia, Mali, Senegal, Egypt, China, etc and were able to do dawah by inserting themselves into the local cultures and enriching them. Islam beautifies everything it reaches.

Some common sense and historical knowledge is required for dawah. When the Companions conquered Persia, they had no issue adopting Persian style dress.
Many of the scholars and saints in Indonesia and Malaysia even had no issue abandoning their Arabic names and adopting local ones to make it easier for the local population! If you study this history you will find many surprising examples of just how Islam assimilated and carved out its own space within whatever the local culture was, until the area itself became predominantly Muslim.

Contrast this attitude to shalwar kameez wearing uncles or thobe wearing roadmen screaming about how evil the West is, while living in comfort there. Annoying the locals with unnecessary stupid slogans. And trying to get converts to change their names to “Islamic” ones, change their clothes and their food, and calling basic human action “Tashabbu Bil Kuffar!”

For more information on these topics please see the work of Dr Naoki Yamamoto (a Japanese convert who writes about Islam in the Far East), Dr Umar Faruq Abdullah’s work “Islam and The Cultural Imperative”, (attached here) Shaykh Ruzwan Mohammed’s lectures, Sh Abdal Hakim Murad and Sh Hamza Yusuf’s lectures on Islam and the West and our shared history.

When the average white person learns that it is Islamic scholarship that preserved the writings of the ancient Greeks and expanded on them, and that we revere Prophet Jesus and Lady Mary (peace be upon them), and that we encourage rigorous classical education, produce cultured scholars and men/women of letters, are against immorality, and preserve cultural values and creativity, then he will at least have a more positive image.

[n.b. A funny note in many of our own discussions with non Muslims, we have seen people get surprised at just how fair Sharia law is and how it would cure many societal ills. But again, we have to take the initiative to educate people about it. When we do this, we will avoid falling into the Zionist/Globohomo/NWO plots.
This will allow our communities to live in harmony and protect us from the oppression that all of humanity has suffered from the same parasitical oligarchical enemies.]

A great opportunity for advanced students of knowledge to study with Mufti Monawwer Ateeq. Mufti Monawwer Ateeq is an extremely competent Mufti in the UK who studied under elite scholars. He will be teaching Al-Mutaqad al-Muntaqad (a text in Islamic theology) and Tadreeb al-Rawi.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgk52l7vETeoLcq9DdtW39LdAENkuS3_KCx1k_AaGDOE63Kw/viewform

Book 266: النبراس شرح شرح العقائد النسفية
Author: Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Firharwi
Topic: Aqeedah
This is a commentary in Arabic on Sharh al-Aqaid al-Nasafiya by Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Firharwi. The commentary is very detailed spanning over 750 pages. Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Firharwi was an amazing scholar and prolific author. His books include:
- الصمصام في ذم التأويل
- كوثر النبي فی اصول الحدیث النبوی
- النبراس في شرح العقائد
- مرام الكلام في عقائد الإسلام
- رسالة في الرد على الروافض
- الناهية عن طعن أمير المؤمنين معاوية
- الحاشية العزيزية على متن الايساغوجي

And several others. He passed away in 1239AH. This edition was published in Turkey.

Ibn Taymiyya, attributes and limbs

(I found the following in my notes; a brother had asked me a question about what Sh. Saeed Foudah discussed in his al-Sharh al-Kabīr:)

What I gather from this section is that the Taymis (as a group, in line with their leader) divide attributes into two types:
1. ma'āni (qualities)
2. a'yān (substances).

The qualitative attributes are the likes of 'ilm, qudra etc.
The substantial attributes are the likes of wajh, yad, 'ayn etc.

The point being made is that they claim that the substantial attributes are those whose names, in our experience, are that of limbs and parts. But Allah's attributes will never seperate from Him, so it's not called a "part/limb" for that reason.

The problem here is then that their definition of a ''part" is: "That which actually seperates from the whole." We say that a part is: "That which could be conceived to seperate from the whole, even if only imaginarily/hypothetically."

They are thus affirming parts (substances, i.e. a'yān), but such parts that will never seperate from God's essence, that is why they don't use the words "part" or "limb." These parts of God may not look like our parts, but they are distinct parts nonetheless (because wajh isn't yad, yad isn't 'ayn etc.).

This results in Allah's being composite, but a composition that is necessarily indivisible.

Book 261: Knowledge of the unseen theology: Arguments on The Scope of Prophetic Knowledge
Author: Mufti Monawwer Ateeq
Topic: Aqeedah
This is a concise book in English regarding the knowledge of the unseen of the Prophet ﷺ. Mufti Monawwer Ateeq talks about:
- The definition of Ghayb
- The different views regarding the scope of the Prophet's knowledge
- The context of the dispute in the Subcontinent
- The categories of the knowledge of the unseen
- The dispute between Imam Ahmad Rida Khan and Allama Barzanji
This is a comprehensive introduction to the topic in English but one must know Arabic to access the books of Imam Ahmad Rida Khan on this topic. Written in 2011.

Husserl’s Response to Kant’s Challenge, “Serious” Philosophy

Modern philosophy since Immanuel Kant has tended to deny the possibility of making a synthetic a priori claim about experience. Kant thought in his Prolegomena To Any Future Metaphysics, no necessary, a priori laws of experience could be posited—which are themselves the foundations of metaphysical claims, and, without these, metaphysics was no longer possible.

Kant boldly proclaimed
“If anyone thinks himself offended, he is at liberty to refute my charge by producing a single synthetic proposition belonging to metaphysics which he would prove dogmatically a priori; for until he has actually performed this feat, I shall not grant that he has truly advanced science, even though this proposition should be sufficiently confirmed by common experience.”

Edmund Husserl responded to this challenge in 1901 in his work Logical Investigations, Volume II, under Investigation III. Following on from Franz Brentano’s lead regarding mereology. Mereology is the logic of the relationship of parts to wholes. A “part,” Husserl argues, is anything which can be distinguished in an object, such as color, shape, or extension, in contrast to the intentional object as a whole. However, an important distinction must be made: some parts are independent, while others are dependent. A dependent part is defined according to “its inability to exist by itself.”

A head can certainly be presented apart from the person that has it. A color, form, etc., is not presentable in this fashion, it needs a substrate, in which is can be exclusively noticed, but from which it cannot be taken out.
Thus, Husserl argues, there can be no experience of independent color or form (shape), apart from an object of some kind, acting as its substrate. Following upon these lines, Husserl explains that there are foundational parts, in which it is posited that if A cannot be without B, then A requires the foundation of B. So, for example, extension in space requires some body upon which extension is predicated or founded. Extension cannot be without a substrate, and therefore substrata are foundational for extension. Likewise, a color cannot exist without some space that it covers.
With that in mind, it becomes clear that “red,” for example, would be a non-independent part of anything “colored.” “Redness” must have as its substrate some object as its foundation, as it is never the case that one experience’s “redness” without a foundational object of some kind. Likewise, “shape” and “extension” are never experienced apart from some object upon which these qualities are based. These facts, then, are clearly a priori. In other words, they are universally necessary, as we are constituted as humans to experience reality in this fashion. These facts, however, are also not truths bound up in the definition of color or extension or shape; they are thus synthetic. They tell us something about our experience—metaphysical facts about our experience.

Husserl, by a simple but profound analysis of mereology emphatically answered Kant’s charge.

[Serious students of Kalam will have noted here how all of the above is covered in basic introductory classes. Remember the jawhar and the arad? This is just one example of what Westerners today think is an advanced discussion, that was already covered centuries prior by Muslims. We could cite dozens of other such discussions. Don’t let morons larping as wannabe Mujaddids of the Ashari and Maturidi schools fool you with their intimidation through obfuscation tactics. They don’t know anything about Kalam nor do they know anything about Western philosophy or history or the world we live in. More resources on how to study these subjects seriously, from the Ancient Greeks to the Muslims to the Pittsburgh School in modern times, will be posted in the future. Insha’Allah.]

NEW BLOG

I have slightly edited some matters in the blog. Have a read.

https://kaafiyahchannel.wordpress.com/2024/11/16/do-asharis-deny-allahs-wisdom/

Sunni Identity & Rational Sciences

Following on from the above post,
this clip by Dr. Ali al Omari explains the regression in the past century of the Sunni Muslims in the rational sciences.

This is due to both the anti rational nature of Wahhabism and its influence on the Ummah as a whole, as well as the mistaken idea that European colonization meant that Islamic metaphysics was flawed.

As Dr. Omari states, a 17 year old kid at a top Shia Hawza can talk about Mulla Sadra and the degrees of existence just as we can talk about famous football players! They have made the rational sciences a part of their identity. It is ironic because in reality the earliest Shia were severely anti rational, and were heavily afflicted by anthropomorphism.

The Sunni identity is much more than simply loving Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar. It is an entire worldview and a way of thinking, rooted in consistent rational proofs. It encourages freedom of thought and does not stifle questions. The rational sciences are the foundations of every other science. Without these foundations we have no identity.


https://youtu.be/gqDDSydpj3g

https://bayhaqiyyah.com/2-year-kalam-programme/

A Discussion on Ilm al Kalam

Shaykh Abdurrahman Ali Mihirig recently gave this talk in Munich, Germany. A general overview of the importance on Ilm al Kalam. It’s a good introduction for those not familiar with the topic. The lecture is in English.

https://www.youtube.com/live/eXIajtcWLeA?si=_a-niUm5mJAru05t

Shaykh Saeed Foudah was asked regarding the translation of ambiguous verses in the Quran [ayāt mutashābihāt]: How should one approach that?

He says that if a particular word, like yad (literally: "hand"), when translated literally has the same figurative meanings in the target language, you could translate it literally. It would be useful to add a footnote that the figurative meaning is intended.

However, if that's not the case, like with sāq (literally: "shin"), then it shouldn't be translated literally. Because if it doesn't carry the same figurative meaning in the target language, why should one translate it literally to begin with?

The point of translation is to convey the meanings after all, not just merely the words.

An amazing lecture by Sh. Adham on how to instill love for the Prophet ﷺ within our children. He gives practical steps you can implement straightaway.

https://youtu.be/dLFq4IzxvWw

The Kaafiyah Channel pinned «Three 'aqida texts that I have translated: 1. The Qayrawani Creed https://t.me/kaafiyahchannel/301 2. The Creed of Ibn al-Hajib https://t.me/kaafiyahchannel/295 3. The 'Aḍudi Creed https://t.me/kaafiyahchannel/345»

Three 'aqida texts that I have translated:

1. The Qayrawani Creed
https://t.me/kaafiyahchannel/301

2. The Creed of Ibn al-Hajib
https://t.me/kaafiyahchannel/295

3. The 'Aḍudi Creed
https://t.me/kaafiyahchannel/345

To understand some points made by Ustadh Abdurrahman Mihirig (in the second paper) a bit better, you may want to read this. This piece touches upon the concocted division of حادث and مخلوق, as well as its entailments.

This paper has been compiled by a brother at Safina Society, refuting Jake Brancatella.
It focuses on Jake’s blatant plagiarism (he literally copy pastes arguments that are not his) , his misunderstanding of Arabic texts, his misattributions and slanders against Sunni Imams.

The 'Adudi Creed

I'm proud to present my translation (and as far as I know the only one) of Imam 'Adud al-Din al-Iji's credal text!

Many thanks to those who were involved in the proofreading process and gave me constructive feedback.

May Allah allow us to benefit from the Imam's legacy. Please share far and wide.

اللمع في الرد على أهل الزيغ والبدع للإمام أبي الحسن الأشعري

الحمد لله

After a long hiatus www.sunnipubs.com has reopened! To celebrate, they're giving 10% discount. Just add "10%" at checkout.

This Umm al-Baraheen course by Sh Suraqah is definitely worth the money. If you've studied the text and would like to go more in-depth, this is what you'll need to progress onto the next stage. Also good for recapping everything you have studied in case you're at the intermediate stage.

https://www.qandusi.com/offers/4eCB2hLs/checkout

Shaykh Adham al-‘Asimī's new channel where they will reupload his old videos after his channel got hacked and stolen

Subscribe and interact with the videos so that they can complete uploading the lessons archive as per YouTube regulations

https://youtube.com/@adhmasmi2?si=VPyG4xu8ZwDNUbkf

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

One of our teachers in Pakistan is in need of financial help for his mother's medical treatment, and in order to repay his debts. Anyone that can help, please dm me (@Mohammad_Amin123456).
He's a specialist in lugha, and he currently teaches six different books from different 'ulum of the arabic language, some at university and others outside.

From the books he's currently teaching:
- Al-Kafiyah of Ibn al-Hajib
- Al-Muqaddimah al-Azhariyyah
- Tasrif al-'Izzi
- At-Taftazani's mukhtasar in Balaghah
- section thirty from Al-Kashshaf of az-Zamakhshari

If you want, you can also support through signing up to some of the courses.
If you're unable to help yourself, please make du'a, and spread this to anyone you think could do so.
BarakAllahu fikum.

Alhamdulillah the proofreading of The 'Adudi Creed is nearly done. Just some final adjustments left. I hope I can share it with you guys before the end of the month.

P.S. The cover will be the one on the right!

الحمد لله
All his lectures are on Telegram too, so you can check them out here (under "Music"):

https://t.me/adhm_eagida