Each person is born in a religious environment that is not of his/her own choice. From the very beginning of human existence in this world, they are assigned the religion of their family or the ideology of the state. By the time individuals reach their teens they usually accept the beliefs of their parents or that of their particular society. However, when some people mature and are exposed to other beliefs and ideologies, they begin to question the validity of their own beliefs, and search for the truth.
Author: Majed S. Al-Rassi - Majid Bin Sulaiman Al-Russi
Reveiwers: Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
In this classical treatise, Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) discusses the differences between advising and condemning, which is an extremely important topic since it is very common that the two are confused for one another. For the most part, his talk revolves around the dealings and affairs of the scholars, and how it was from their way to advise and accept the truth from one another. And he shows how condemning was not from their characteristics, but rather from the signs of the evil and wicked people who held hidden goals and objectives.This book is especially important in these days due to the wide scale confusion that exists on this subject amongst the Muslims. So today when we find scholars of the Sunnah refuting weak opinions of other scholars from the past, they are quickly accused of hating those scholars of the past and just condemning them, when in fact they are really advising the ummah and warning the Muslims against following a man in his error. So, we hope that these matters become clear to the reader upon studying this treatise and that he is able to distinguish those who are truly advising from those who are just condemning.
Author: Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali
Translators: Abu Maryam Ismaeel Alarcon
Publisher: http://www.almanhaj.com - Almanhaj Website
The Islamic definition of Bid’ah: Imaam Ash-Shaafi’i, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “A Bid’ah is anything that has no basis in the Qur’aan, Sunnah or sayings of any of the companions.” Ibn Al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “A Bid’ah is any form of worship that did not exist (at the time of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his companions) then later it was innovated.” Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “A Bid’ah is any form of worship which has no basis in the Sharee’ah which would warrant its legislation.”
Author: Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali
Reveiwers: Muhammad AbdulRaoof
Generally regarded as the single most authentic collection of hadiths, Sahih al-Bukhari covers almost all aspects of life in providing proper guidance from the Messenger of Allah. This book is the work of over 16 years by Imam al-Bukhari who before writing any hadith in this book performed two rak'ahs prayer of guidance from Allah and when he was sure of the hadith's authenticity, he wrote it in the book.
Author: Muhammad ibn Ismaeel al-Bukhari
Publisher: http://www.islamspirit.com - Islam Spirit Website
The prescribed book for the course is Subulus-Salaam by the 17th century Yemenite scholar Muhammad ibn Ismaa‘eel as-San‘aanee which is a commentary on Buloogh al-Maraam written by Haafiz Ibn Hajar al- ‘Asqalaanee. In Buloogh the author gathered the majority of the hadeeths which are commonly used as the basic evidences for the Islamic legal system. The course material is comprised of the Chapter on Fasting (Kitaab as-Siyaam) from Subulus-Salaam.
Author: Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Reveiwers: Muhammad AbdulRaoof
In this book, Dr. Abdur-Rahman Dimashqeyyah shows and discusses the wrong believes in Shii doctrine. He said in his introduction, "… My intention is simply to make clear to every Shia what the books of their religious leaders contain. These are things that many people still do not realize. My intention is to maintain an objective position, far from bigotry and blind allegiance to traditions. My only reason for writing it is to earn the pleasure of Allah and to clarify the truth to all who are interested to hear it. We should all free ourselves from prejudice and wild ideas, and avoid making inflammatory and insulting charges that fuel the emotions, block the path to truth, and widen the chasm between us. These things do nothing but dissipate the spirit of peace and harmony."
Author: Abdur-Rahman Demashqeyyah
Publisher: Defense network for the Sunnah www.dd-sunnah.net