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Introducing Shāh Walī Allāh’s al-Maktūb al-Madanī fī Taḥqīq Waḥdat al-Wujūd wa-Waḥdat al-Shuhūd
One of the most sensitive and subtle theological and metaphysical discussions in the later Islamic intellectual tradition is the relationship between waḥdat al-wujūd and waḥdat al-shuhūd. The short monograph al-Maktūb al-Madanī, authored by Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī, addresses this question with a blend of the precision of the discursive theologians (mutakallimīn) and the deep insight of the spiritual masters,… Continue reading
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The Qualifications and Prerequisites for Quranic Commentary
What follows is a translation of a portion of Imam Jalāl al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Suyūṭī’s al-Itqān fī ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān, prepared for the Introduction to Islamic Disciplines course at Usul Academy. This is a well-known and oft-quoted passage from the Itqān and can be found in several contemporary works in Quran Studies. I chose to retranslate… Continue reading
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A Reading List: Great Books of Islamic Civilization
The intellectual tradition of Islamic civilization is both incredibly vast and delightfully diverse. Within this immense corpus of intellectual wealth, certain works enjoy an authority that endures time because these “great books” shaped entire disciplines, helped form curricula, or preserved modes of thought across centuries. The following list, produced by N.A. Baloch, comprises the table… Continue reading
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First Impressions: Dār al-Maʿrūf’s Recent Print of Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ
By Bilal Ali I had the opportunity to examine the first volume of the new eleven-volume edition of Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī’s celebrated commentary on the Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ. My access was brief, limited to a few days before returning the volume to its owner, yet the edition has recently been the subject of discussion… Continue reading
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The Preservation of Arab Culture in the Age of Ignorance
By Mawlānā Dr. Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Chishtī (al-Nuʿmānī) Supervisor, Department of Specialization in the Science of Ḥadīth, Jāmiʿat al-ʿUlūm al-Islāmiyyah, Banūrī Town, Karachi [In 2005, my mentor, Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Chishtī Ṣāḥib, gave me an English translation of this article for editing. An unnamed friend had prepared the translation. I do not recall whether… Continue reading
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Ḥakīm al-Ummah’s Shajarat al-Murād, or Schematic Outline of the Objectives of Taṣawwuf
The Shajarat al-Murād is a schematic outline of the objectives of taṣawwuf presented in Ḥakīm al-Ummah Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī al-Thānwī’s indispensable Urdu multi-volume work, Tarbiyat al-Sālik. In this work, Mawlānā Thānwī defines taṣawwuf as the disciplined application of the inward dimension of the Sharīʿah. He begins with first principles. The purpose of a Muslim’s life is to attain… Continue reading
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The Dars-i Niẓāmī Curriculum and the Principles and Premises that Must Inform any Revision
By Mawlānā Muḥammad Sālim Qāsimī (Rector of Dār al-ʿUlūm Deoband, Waqf) [This piece was written in Urdu by the late scholar Mawlānā Muḥammad Sālim Qāsimī, son of Ḥakīm al-Islām Qāri Ṭayyib Qāsimī. I came across it while working on educational projects for start-up integrated Islamic classical schools. I prepared the translation to help curriculum developers… Continue reading
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Ode to a Behavioral Sciences Cohort
While searching through old file folders, I stumbled upon this old poem I wrote for my Applied Behavioral Sciences cohort in the undergraduate program. It was intended to incorporate a wide variety of concepts learned in the program in the various behavioral sciences, including psychology, sociology, education, management, research, and so on, and I presented… Continue reading
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Commentary on the Hadith of Salat as a Cure
I found the following commentary on a hadith from Ibn Mājāh in Sharḥ al-Arbaʿīn al-Ṭibbiyyah: al-Aḥādīth al-Ṭibbiyyah al-Mustakhrajah min Sunan Ibn Mājah by the traditionist-physician al-Muwaffaq ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī (d. 629 AH), compiled by his student Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad b. Yūsuf al-Birzālī (d. 636 AH). The work is concise, yet the author provides a detailed commentary on this… Continue reading
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Khwājā Khān Muḥammad and the Spiritual Legacy of the Khānqāh Sirājīyyah
The following eulogy was composed by my intellectual mentor, Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Chishtī, on the occasion of the passing of my spiritual mentor, the incomparable Ḥaḍrat Khwājā Khān Muḥammad Ṣāḥib, in 2010. Despite its brevity, it occupies a singular place in my heart due to its connection to two of my most senior and impactful… Continue reading