The word Smara is in a hadith found in Sahih Muslim:

It has been narrated on the authority of Jabir who said:

We were one thousand and four hundred on the Day of Hudaibiya. We gave allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ and 'Umar was holding his hand under the tree called Samura.

Book 33, Hadith 104

A Poem on the Ten Categories
by Shaykh Abdullah al-Houzoui

Some scholars expressed the ten categories through poetry to make them easier to memorize. Among them is this poem recited by Shaykh Abdullah al-Houzoui:

وبعضهم بمنطق يستظهر
الكم والكيف كذاك الجوهر
ثم إضافة ووقت ومحال
وضع وصحبة وفعل وانفعال

In this lesson, the shaykh explains these ten categories, making them clear and accessible. It is especially beneficial for students studying logic (mantiq).

The “Neck Thread” Method in Determining Adulthood (Bulugh)

by Shaykh Hamu Awramo

When reading books of fiqh and coming on the topic of when someone reached adulthood, Maliki scholars mention the "neck thread" method. In this video the Shaykh Hamu demonstrations how this is done.

A video clip of a reading session of al-Mukhtasar al-Khalil with the commentary, Muyassar al-Jalil of Mahand Babah bin Ubayd al-Daymani conducted in the presence of the distinguished Shaykh of Morocco, Sidi ʿAbd al-Rahman ʿAlawi in his library.

From brother Hassan (Ma’arif Soussa page):

"This method is called al-Sard, and it is an authentic Soussi pedagogical practice adopted in the traditional schools of Souss.

In this method, the student reads the matn, its sharh, and the hashiyah to the shaykh, explaining each of them in turn. The shaykh corrects pronunciation, rectifies nahw when a grammatical error occurs, comments on the passages, and adds scholarly benefits, clarifications, and academic insights according to the context.

It is a method unique in its field, distinguished by combining comprehension, verification, and direct scholarly transmission."

Soon the the largest commentary on al-Shifaʾ by Qadi ʿIyad to come to bookstores!

At the Cairo International Book Fair it was announced the availability of the encyclopedic work Fath al-Ghaffar bima akrama Allahu ʿazza wa-jalla bihi Nabiyyahu al-Mukhtar (فتح الغفار بما أكرم الله عز وجل به نبيه المختار), authored by Mufti and Muhadith of Aleppo, Umar ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab ibn Ibrahim al-ʿArdi (950–1024 AH).

The work is seventeen volumes, including comprehensive indexes, drawing upon hundreds of authoritative Sunni sources.

Memorization is like a sword — you draw it quickly when you need it.

In this video, a student meets Shaykh Aamr Bahjat at the book fair and recites the poem, al-Ghazawat by Imam Ahmad al-Badawi al-Majlisi al-Shinqiti to him from memory. Shaykh Aamr grants him an ijazah on the spot back to its author.

Here is lines of the poem that he mentioned in the video:

أَوَّلُ غزوةٍ غزاها المصطفى = ودانَ فالأبواء أو ترادَفا

ثُم بواطٌ خرجوا لِعيرِ = أُمَيَّةَ بن خلفِ السَّفسير

ثمَّ العشيرة إلى عير أبِي = سفيان في ذهابها للأربِ

فَبَدرٌ الأولى بإثرِ ناهبِ = سرح المدينة مغذٍّ هاربِ

كُرز بن جابر وبعدُ استنقذا = لِقاحه ممن عليه استحوذا


Video from Ibrahim al-Manufi (إبراهيم المنوفي) from Facebook.

Shaykh ʿUthman ibn Sanad al-Waʾili, author of Awdah al Masalik fi Fiqh Madhhab al Imam Malik which is a poem of Muqadima al-Amrusi, mentions that he memorized Mukhtasar Khalil in four months, or slightly more during his studies under Shaykh ʿAli ibn Husayn ibn Kathir al-Ahsaʾi al-Maliki.

Source: Facebook page of فقِّه نفسك في المذهب المالكي

Imam Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi al-Andalusi said:

"I saw al-Ghazali in the open wilderness, walking with a staff, wearing a patched cloak, and had a water jug slung over his shoulder. I had previously seen him in Baghdad, where four hundred turbans belonging to the foremost nobles and noteworthy men attending his lectures, taking knowledge from him.

I approached him, greeted him and then said:

“O Imam, is not teaching knowledge in Baghdad better than this?”

He looked at me sternly and said:

تركت هوى ليلى وسعدى بمنزلي ... وعدت إلى تصحيح أول منزل

ونادت بي الأشواق: مهلا فهذه ... منازل من تهوى , رويدك فانزل

غزلت لهم غزلا دقيقا , فلم أجد ... لغزلي نساجا , فكسرت مغزلي

“I abandoned my longing for Layla and Suʿda (worldly desires) in my former home,
and returned to purify my first abode.

My desires called out to me: “Wait!
For these are the dwellings of the ones you love—so come down slowly (and join them)."

Source: Kitab al-‘Awasim min al-Qawasim

You can find this same poetry attributed to Imam al-Ghazali in the explanation of Ihya Ulum al-Din by Imam Murtada al-Zabidi but with one of the words used was (معزل). So the meaning of the words of Imam al-Ghazali is that he ran away from worldy desires to be isolated.

Recitation of the Qur'an by the shaykh of the Sahara, shaykh Muhammad BilKabir

Eid Mubarak to all the Muslims!

The Recommended Aspects (Mustaḥḥabāt) of the ʿId Prayer in the Madhab of al-Imam Mālik bin Anas (d. 179 A.H.) رحمه الله ورضي عنه

Al-Qāḍī ʿIyaḍ (d. 544 A.H.) رحمه الله ورضي عنه mentions ten actions in his book, the Foundations of Islam:

1) Bathing of the body (Ghusl. This is recommended on Eid day in the Madhab. Not for the Eid salah. So the Ghusl can be preform before or after the prayer)

2) Putting on scent (for men who are going outside)

3) Beautifying oneself with clothes

4) Using the Siwāk

5) Cleaning the body, including clipping the nails and trimming the moustache, as well as other actions, just as is done on the day of Friday (make sure done after the sacrifice)

6) To go back by a route other than the one that you went with

7) Eating before you set out for it on the day of ʿId al-Fiṭr

8) Delaying eating on the day of ʿId al-Aḍḥā and eating from the meat of your slaughtered animal

9) Reciting Sūrat al-Aʿlā and similar Suwar after reciting the Fātiḥah

10) Going to it on foot

قال العلامة الشيخ محمد الحسن بن أحمد الخديم:

في جُمعة حسن الثياب يُرعى
وهْو بياضها الجميل شَرْعا

ولو قَديما والجديد أجودُ
في العيد لو لَون الجَديد أسود

فيَوم جمعة إذا يَكون عِيدْ
في أوَّل النهار يُلبس الجَديد

لَو غَير أبْيضٍ والَابيض لُبِسْ
قبل دُخول وَقتها ولو دنس

Jummah and Eid on the Same Day

يقول العلامة محمد الحسن ولد أحمدو الخديم الشنقيطي حفظه الله:

أسقطَ جمعةً (عطًا) و(أحمدُ)
عمن منَ اَهل المصر عيدًا يشهدُ.
وساكنٌ خارجَ مصرٍ قد سعَى
للعيدِ إن يأذنْ الاِمامُ اتَّسعا
تخلفٌ عن جُمْعة لـه كمـا
(للأخوينِ)، و(ابن وهبٍ) انتمَى

The meaning of these lines of poetry by Shaykh Muhammad al-hasan al-Khadeem al-Shanqiti is that Ahmad ibn Hanbal and the Tabiʿi Ata ibn Abi Rabah hold that the obligation of the Friday prayer is waived for one who attended the Eid prayer.

However, ʿAtaʾ went further than that and said that both Jumuʿah and Dhuhr prayers are waived for one who attended the Eid prayer. This is considered one a "ghrib" opinion, as indicated by Shaykh Ahmad al-Badawi al-Shanqiti in his poem of Nasab:

والحبشيُّ بن أبي رباح ••• مولاهمُ المشهور بالصلاحِ
من علمه الغريب أن الجمعةْ •••وظهرها وركعتا العيد معه
توجب في اليوم صلاةَ العيدِ ••• وتكتفي عن ظهرها المعهودِ

This opinion differs from the the majority of scholars among the Shafiʿis, Hanafis, and Malikis.

Among the Malikis, however, there is a opinion attributed to:

Mutarrif ibn Abd Allah, Ibn al Majishun both known as al-Akhawayn (الأخوين) in Maliki terminology and Ibn Wahb.

They held that the Friday prayer is waived for one who attended the Eid if he resides outside the town such as people of rural or desert areas as long as the imam grants permission.

Special thanks to Shaykh Ahmad al-Shanqiti for the explanation.

Who needs rap battles when you have poetry battles?

A group of students from Mauritania have a poem battle on a train.

Astronomy Class 3

Alhamduillah I translated a new video on astronomy by our shaykh Abdullah al-Houzoui al-Sousi.

In this video the shaykh talks about about how the Moon orbits the Earth, the Earth orbits the Sun, and our solar system journeys around the galaxy’s center.