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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
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Fragrant Flowers: A Brief Biography of My Paternal Grandfather, Muḥammad Muṣtafā
This booklet was written by my father’s first cousin, Ḥāfiẓ Naeem Ahmed (Adeeb), the son of my Dādā’s brother. He resides in our ancestral town of Anwayan, near Belthara Road in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. In it, he records biographical details of my paternal grandfather, Muḥammad Muṣṭafā, drawn from his own interactions with him, though those… Continue reading
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ʿAllāmah al-Kawtharī’s List of Ḥanafī Hadith Masters
The following list a selection from notes that were compiled for one of the appendices to the forthcoming (in shā Allāh) translation of Imam ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Dihlawī’s Muqaddamah fī Uṣūl al-Ḥadīth. The list has had to be refined, edited, and truncated for publishing purposes. I thought the rough notes would still benefit certain interested readers,… Continue reading
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Measuring the Effectiveness of Distance Learning in Islamic Studies Programs
The following is a paper I wrote in 2011 as part of an Applied Behavioral Sciences program at National-Louis University. Much of my study, research, and writing was focused on andragogical theories and practice, in particular those within the Muslim community and in the field of Islamic or Arabic Studies. The paper is basic and also dated, especially given… Continue reading