Simple tip. Nothing fancy-philosophical, super-sophisticated, or ultra-empirical. Simple but impactful, real.

When reading an Islamic book, orient yourself to search for deeds to add to your practice. Append a sticky note to the inner cover and record them as you go.

1/
When finished, return to your list. Make a plan to practice each item. Some might be long-term goals and some might be immediate habit-goals.

Don’t move onto another book until you’ve actualized your list. Keep the note in the book as a reminder the next time you open it.

2/
This is the real way to acquire sacred knowledge, because what you *know* isn’t what you’ve read, but what has become a part of you. This is true in many fields of study, but no more so than in Islamic studies.

The study of Islam isn’t academic, it’s transformative.

3/
If one absorbs sacred knowledge in this way, it won’t just enhance the mind. It will expand the heart and make the soul vast. It will grant perspective and wisdom and fill one up in ways that others can’t possibly imagine. In this way, the pursuit of knowledge becomes dhikr.

4/
Sacred knowledge is for Allah, alone. When the objective is pure, the pursuit bears fruit.

If we study Islam like any other subject, we might just find ourselves as undistinguished in the sight of Allah as we made our study.

Start with a sticky note. Let practice stick.

5/end
P.S. Do be advised, however, that sticky notes multiply rapidly over time, become fancy philosophical, super-sophisticated, and sometime even ultra-empirical. They might even end up changing the world.

Please use with caution.

Especially Hanafi ones. Dangerous stuff.
No, you may not read my sticky notes.

سبقك بها عكاشة

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More from @imanmbadawi

16 Nov
Let’s have some #Hanafi fun.

Look closely. The Imams differed on what we call PEMDAS or order of operations. Based on the placing of the parentheses, the ‘answer’ changes.

Am I saying the Imams were masters of mathematical thinking? Yes.

Don’t believe me? Check out case two.
Here, the Imams agree on the outcome. Consider how they reached their conclusion.

The rule is, if the condition comes after the proclamation of divorce it alters the main statement.

Look closely to the reasoning. It’s mathematical — the disruptive property of multiplication.
Abu Hanifa was a businessman. He must have known math quite well.

What do you say about a man who combined mastery of Arabic, math, logic and fiqh, employing them all to understand revelation?

I say, he’s a genius.

Allah’s mercy be upon him and all the Imams.
Read 5 tweets
16 Nov
#Hanafi is home, but for now we’ll return to our regularly scheduled spiritual programming.

#egothink (1) The “mafhūm al-mukhālafa” ego principle.

When we speak against something, the underlying premise is,

If I SAY -x, then I must be BE/DOING x

I call it counter-boasting
How many times have you liked/retweeted/followed while thinking,

“He said it doesn’t make sense. He must be smart.”

“He said it’s haram. He must be pious.”

“He used the word ‘non-expert’. He must be an expert.”

Um, not exactly.

It’s a logical fallacy.

It’s #egothink
The danger is in the false reassurance this provides the speaker and follower.

Reality check — there are plenty of people who speak out against the very things they do,

even more who have distorted conceptual understandings,

and a great deal more who are just…not very smart.
Read 5 tweets
9 Nov
Students of the Hanafi School often come to observe, with time, that the usūl, qawā’id, and dawābit of the madhhab are (in many cases) derived directly or indirectly from the Quran and Sunna. This is a magnificent aspect of the Hanafi thought system.

I gather these examples.
There are so many examples in which the Imāms tried squeezing as much ‘fiqh-juice’ from the Hadīth corpus as possible.

They’d derive whole principles from matters to which we’d scarcely give second thought.

I never ceased to be amazed by the depth of their reading of the Sunna.
Abu Hanīfa didn’t just take the contents of the Prophet’s actions as evidence but even their mode.

It’s so important to recognize how these Imāms employed their intellect. The Sunna wasn’t just texts to them. It was a comprehensive whole.
Read 12 tweets
6 Nov


Everything in creation has an opposite except Allāh

ليس كمثله شيء

All His Names & Attributes are of Perfection. He is the Irresistible, whom no one can overcome

Know, if there’s good in you, it’ll be met with its opposite

Know, turning to Allāh always yields good. 1/5
That’s why the Prophets met the greatest opposition. They brought the greatest good

عليهم السلام

That’s why Allah tests those whom He loves

That’s why the early Muslims were persecuted

That’s why “those who spend before the Victory” aren’t equal to those who spend after 2/5
The best of his ﷺ followers were tested with their opposites.

Abu Bakr was as-Siddīq. The first challenge of his caliphate was the Wars of Apostasy.

Umar was al-Fārūq. It’s reported he was the door against fitna. When he was assassinated the door of trials opened 3/5
Read 7 tweets
5 Nov
Insightful article and a subject I’ll be covering in my upcoming book, not just from the perspective of statistics, but from the Islamic perspective & my experience in counseling.

Another topic of exploration is the effect of the same parameters on the spousal relationship.
I’ve often made reference to causes of mental health issues in the Muslim Community.

Once again, reporting statistics is important to alert to the problem, but doesn’t offer a solution.

That’s the next step and is a major theme throughout my book.
*Religious experience* is strongly impacting the mental health of Muslims.

Healing our Community is less about the intersection of Islam & Psychology, an after-the-fact approach, as it is about rectifying the core elements of religious experience. Family is a major element.
Read 12 tweets
4 Nov
لو وهبك الرب محباً صادقاً
لا تجحدْ الهدية وكن لها شاكراً

If the Lord grants you a true friend
dare not deny the gift and show gratitude

1/5
واحذرْ فإنك لسْتَ برد الخير بالخير مكرماً
إنْ لمْ تزِدْ عليه جوداً وإلا فبالديْن وافياً

Beware of meeting goodness in kind, for in doing so you are not [as you may think] generous, until you meet it with more, for otherwise, a mere fulfiller of debts you are

2/5
فكيف نكافي من بالبر مبتدي
غير أنْ نقول أنّ المدح له ينبغي

How, then, are we to recompense one who begins with kindness, except to say that for them praise is deserved

3/5
Read 5 tweets

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