contents

a note from

Interview with Instructor

3

There is No Sleeping in
Muhammad Alshareef's Class!

Reflections
4
5
!

The Big Picture

Simply Something Else

Articles

5!!Fatwa Shopping!
8!! Got a Minute?!
!

Cover Story
6!!!Standing Under One Shade!
!

Fiction
9!!!What's All the Hype About
AlMaghrib? !
!

Arts & Entertainment

10
10
10
11

What Am I?
A Scholar's Quest
Recommended Resources
Gems

By Haroon Malik, Ameer

Assalamu alaikum wa
rahmatullahi wabarakatuhu,
Alhamdulilah, The Code
of Scholars: Usool AlFiqh could not have been as
successful as it was without all the volunteers that
helped along with all of you
who attended. Alhamdulillah, Qabeelat Ittihaad is greatly
appreciated by Muhammad
Alshareef for our excellent hospitality,
and insha' Allah we should keep that
up.
Soon enough insha' Allah we will be
hosting a promotional event for our
upcoming class. For those of you who
have not gotten the chance to attend an
AlMaghrib Institute class, I encourage
you to have a look out for our promo,
and attend it to meet up with Sheikh
Mohamed Ibn Faqih, and be enlightened by his knowledge masha' Allah.

credits

By Sarrah Buageila, Ameerah

E d i t o r - i n - C h i e f : Iman Kouvalis
A s s i s t a n t : Marium Hussain
Editors:

Insha' Allah everyone is still reaping

the benefits from our last class;
however, it is now time to look
forward to our future activities. First, I
would like to welcome you all to our
next class, Route 114: Sciences of the
Qur'an, taught by Sheikh Mohamed
Ibn Faqih. Insha' Allah this class will
be held at the University of Michigan
Dearborn, June 9-11 and 16-18.
Registration is already available at:
http://www.almaghrib.org/enroll.php.
Dont wait until the last minute; I have
a feeling this class will quickly fill up.
With much needed topic, a great instructor, wonderful location and Qabeelat Ittihaads awesome hospitality
there is no reason not to attend!

Ghazala Choudhary, Arij Elmi,

Sarah Mushtaq

Layout Designer:
Iman Kouvalis

Front and Back Cover:

Ala Fahmy

Illustrator:
Amna Fiaz!
Writing Coach:
Aishah Douglas!
Writers:
Ayesha Alvi, Sarrah Buageila,
Sana Chaker, Ghazala Choudhary,
Aishah Douglas, Hanaa Elmi
Amr ibn Muhammed Gharib,
Ola Alhasan, Haroon Malik,
Jasmin Malik, Thana Numan,
Bisma Parvez, Mariam Raza,
Asma Youssuf

known in SE Michigan and Windsor. It

is still crucial for us all to work together
in spreading our experiences to others.
Can you even remember your life before
AlMaghrib? How has AlMaghrib made a
difference in your life? Keep these
things in mind when telling other people
about who we are and what exactly we
do. AlMaghrib is more than just a learning experience; it is a life changing
experience.
What better way to introduce people to
AlMaghrib than to invite them to a
Qabeelah event? Insha' Allah we will
have events for brothers and sisters to
keep the sisterhood and brotherhood
alive between classes and to give our
communities a chance to get to know us.
Visit the forums for information on
future events and to suggest possibilities
of your own.
Finally, Qabeelat Ittihaad would not and
will not exist without YOU! If you are
interested in helping out, whether it is
volunteering for a task or just passing
along an idea, please let us know. You
may email me:
Sr. Sarrah Buageila
ameerah.ittihaad@almaghrib.org
or Br. Haroon Malik:
ameer.ittihaad@almaghrib.org.

With that in mind, our qabeelah is still

in the process of making ourselves
2

There's no sleeping
in Muhammad
Alshareef's class!
By Thana Numan, Illustration by Amna Fiaz

An Interview with
Sheikh Muhammad Alshareef
We realize the great difference we can
make even as individuals when we
look at teachers such as Muhammad
Alshareef, who is the founder of
AlMaghrib Institute.
He has successfully motivated hundreds of students to appreciate and
understand the importance of knowledge in Islam, and to convey the
knowledge to others.

Q. What motivated you to start

AlMaghrib and did you ever
imagine it would come this
far?
Knowledge of our deen should not
stay with one person, but should always be conveyed to others, which I
always wanted to do first through a
night school and eventually started
AlMaghrib instead. AlMaghrib has
not come as far as I wanted it to. I
envision bigger and better goals for
AlMaghrib, like opening classes in
fifteen countries around the world with
the best Islamic degree available for
working Muslims who do not have to
stop their jobs.

Q. What was the hardest part

of establishing AlMaghrib institute?
Getting the Muslims to honor studying
Islam and convincing them that it is
the best thing they could do in their
life was the hardest part. Knowledge
of Islam is often taken for granted
because of culture and society.

Q. Is this the
last time The
Code of the
Scholars
Class will be
taught? Why?
The Code of the
Scholars class was the
second class that AlMaghrib
started and I would rather teach some of
the newer classes that are on the curriculum to the cities that havent had
them yet. The older classes will be reproduced again after all of the classes
have been taught.

Q. Tell us a little bit about your

side business and how you
started it?
I have always had an enjoyment to help
people to do something great and my
Peek Performance business helps people
that want to accomplish a project goal
that would take a longer period of time,
and I would help them with the drive and
motivation to accomplish it in a much
shorter period of time.

Q. What are your best memories

from studying in Saudi Arabia?
Memories of itikaaf at the kabah are
some of the best memories I have
because of the intimate feeling with the
surroundings of the kabah. This is an
experience that I wish everyone could

have a chance to do. Other good

memories I have are the opportunity to
visit Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem with
some of my classmates.

Q. Do you have any recommended

resources for the student of
knowledge?
The student of knowledge should meorize the Qur'an, because its benefits to a
person are fundamental.

Q. What did you enjoy most about

Qabeelat Ittihaad and what do
you think they should improve
on?
Qabeelat Ittihaad is the second strongest
qabeelah in Canada so far. I feel the
brother/sisterhood between the students,
and that they have worked very hard. As
a teacher I feel blessed to teach a class in
Windsor, but the students should

also stop sleeping in class, become

more studious, and not fall into
stagnation.
3

Reflection: The Big Picture

reflection

gained a deeper understanding

of the 5 Ws of Islamic
lawmaking. I have left this
class with a greater gratitude
for what all the people
involved in analyzing and
explaining what Allah (swt)
expects from us and how
each day we fall short
because we never really
fully understood.
I
learned about binding commands, lawmakers, cash and
credit fard in a new
context and how
the laws
are
enacted
for
humankind.

By Hanaa Elmi

Wow! Masha Allah. Windsor,

we did it! Successfully hosting our second Windsor based
AlMaghrib class is definitely
something to be proud of.
Countdown for Route 114
has already begun. But wait
Im getting ahead of myself. Its what my grandma
says our generation is known
for. We zoom through things
without getting the full value
of what we experience. So
what did I really get out of
this class? I cant even begin
to explain how awesome the
class was. It was like dj vu
of the eman rush that I
experienced from the History
of Khulafaa' class all over
again.
This time around, it being
only my second class, I
learned many issues that in
my mind were only a light
haze and once the fog had
cleared there stood Muhammad Alshareef saying,
Wheres your proof!
I

Now ask me
what I really
learned. This
experience was like
taking off my rose-colored
glasses and taking a closer
look at the big picture. The
big picture to me is that it is
our responsibility to seek
knowledge wherever it is. We
must step outside our comfort
zones and areas of expertise
and learn things that will
insha' Allah benefit us in this
life and in the next. Its like
my grandpa says that ideas are
things we can all learn but
they dont do people any good
when their still in their heads
and dont ever reach their
finger tips.
I want to thank everyone who
made this experience an extra
awesome one for me. Yes,
that means you cheese people
and those of you who helped
me out during the grueling
brothers versus sisters competition and those of you who
made me feel at home once
again, ignoring my loud and
sarcastic ways. Also, those of
you who made those awesome
snack packs they were
ingenious. Thank you to
everyone new that I met. Oh,
one more thing: always
choose the banana.

FATWA S h o p p i n g
By Asma Youssuf

"Why should I grow my beard? Shaykh says that you don't have
to." "But Imam Abu Haneefah said that women can show what is
beneath their ankles." Sound familiar? It's called "fatwa
shopping".
sensus by all of the
scholars, ijma'a carries more weight as
a legal opinion to
be followed. Islam
has no central authority such as a
pope, though there
is some hierarchy
the difference being
that the layman has
access to scholarly
proof. The first
scholar you ask
should be qualified
and should underA shopping fad, very popular among
Muslims, is not online shopping or
window shopping, but fatwa
shopping! This is when one asks
advice from a variety of imams and
chooses the interpretation of shariah
one likes best. This illustrates the
challenges faced by all Muslims in
the West as we try to practice the
teachings of the Qur'an and follow
the sunnah of the prophet (saw).
Muslims who do go "fatwa shopping" have already made a decision
and are looking for something that
supports their opinion.
A fatwa is a legal opinion upon a
matter and should only be issued by
someone who is qualified to do so.
One who issues a fatwa is called a
"mufti". A fatwa that reaches con-

stand your circumstance.

Choosing a fatwa to follow because
one likes it, rather than looking at
the evidences is very dangerous.
Imam anNawawi said, The mufti in
delivering fatwa of two views,
doesnt have the right to choose a
view that appeals to him without
research, but he should choose the
preferable one. The questioner has
the same obligations of the mufti: he
cannot choose an interpretation.
Fatwa is a sensitive issue and has a
high status in Islam. So the next
time you hear someone ask for a
second opinion because he/she is not
satisfied with the fatwa that was
given to them, direct them to the
nearest supermarket.

Mufti qualities

He should have a good intention.

He should be knowledgeable, forbearing, dignified and calm.
He should have a strong grasp of knowledge.
He should have a strong personality and not be affected by criticism.
He should know what people are like.

Simply

Something Else
By Amr ibn Muhammed Gharib, Durbah

So it is finally over: Usool Al-Fiqh. Thirty

hours of instruction condensed into six
days, and what do I have to show for it?
Perhaps a spiral notebook with scribbles in
the spaces in between the print. Perhaps a
couple of new numbers to take up space
in my phonebook. But perhaps the most
valuable thing that I have gained can not
be seen, smelled, or touched, only tasted the sweetness of which is unparalleled.
Not only gaining the knowledge but also
gaining the friendships and the experiences
that will last a lifetime, insha' Allah, was
for many simply "something else".
For myself, however, these past two
weekends have been more than just the
usual eman rush felt at an AlMaghrib class.
These past two weekends (and the days in
between) have been an opportunity to
experience AlMaghrib outside of New Jersey, the site of my only AlMaghrib encounters. Subhan Allah, I never thought
that I'd say this but I actually could see
myself living outside of New Jersey. The
hospitality, warm brotherhood, and relaxed
atmosphere really impressed me. Many
times throughout the class I couldn't help
but smile at the little things that they would
do such as the rabbits we had for dinner,
the lunch bags that the sisters made for
everyone, or the cheese (you really can't
beat the cheese).
Experiencing Usool Al-Fiqh in Qabeelat
Ittihaad was a very rewarding experience,
walhamdulillah. It taught me many lessons
such as sabr (with the border patrols), the
value of knowledge, and of course the
ruling on eating a banana.
I feel like I have left a part of me in
each and every one of the hearts of the
brothers I have met and shared this
experience with. It is going to be
hard to go back to the mundane activities
which constitute my daily life. May Allah
help us all to manifest and exemplify what
we have learned in class these past days.
Ameen.

*Formulated by Imam Ahmed

cover story

By Umm Abdullah

Shadde
Standing Under One Sha
Salatul Jumuah is about to start but Mr.
Ahmad is still stuck in traffic. If he tries
to catch salah at the masjid where he
usually prays, he would probably miss
Jumuah prayer. Mr. Ahmad thinks hard
and decides to pray in the masjid at the
next exit instead. He pulls his car and
joins the salah right when iqamaah is
being pronounced. Imam begins salah
and recites AlFatihah. As usual, Mr.
Ahmad says ameen loudly at the end.
Huh? What is this? Only Mr. Ahmads
voice echoes in the entire masjid. Mr.

Ahmad continues to pray inaudibly until

the Imam says, Assalamu alaiykum wa
rahmatullah. As soon as the Imam
finishes salah, an army of men jumps on
Mr. Ahmad and starts beating him up
until he passes out.
What did Mr. Ahmad do? He said
ameen loudly after AlFatihah, which was
against the norm of that masjid. What
does he get in return? A kick storm!
Today, unfortunately, different groups
even among Ahlul-Sunnah-wal-Jamaah

live in fear and hatred of each other.

Some of them avoid praying in each
others masajid unless they know the
code of ethics of the masjid. Alas!
Most of us are influenced by the if-youdont-follow-me-youre-misguided
approach.

Disagreements the Reality

Disagreements are a part of human nature.
Two famous companions of the prophet

(saw), Abu Bakr and Umar, used to

disagree with each other. After the
Battle of Badr, the messenger of Allah
asked his companions their opinions
on the prisoners of war. `Umar said, "I
think that it would be better to allow
us to kill them. Allow `Ali bin Abi
Talib to kill `Aqeel and allow me a
member of my family, for these people
are the leaders of unbelief." Abu Bakr,
on the other hand, disagreed and said,
These are our uncles and families. I
think it would be better to take ransom
from them to strengthen ourselves
with funds; perhaps Allah will guide
them into Islam." Although the
prophet liked Abu Bakrs decision, the
verses of Quran came down approving Umars viewpoint. We see
that the sahabah disagreed and although one was more right than the
other, it didnt lead them to call each
other kafir, hypocrite or misguided.

about the other mans sheep that grazed

in his pasture during the night. Dawud
gave a hasty judgment, but Sulaymaan,
Dawuds son, spoke up, "I have another
opinion. The owner of the sheep should
take the field to cultivate until the grapes
grow, while the other man should take
the sheep and make use of their wool
and milk until his field is repaired. If the
grapes grow, and the field returns to its
former state, then the field owner should
take his field and give back the sheep to
their owner." Allah says in the Quran,
"So we gave the proper understanding to
Sulaymaan, while giving both of them
wisdom and knowledge. (21:79)

Some people think they can somehow

solve the infamous moonsighting problem while even the sahabah disagreed
among each other on this very topic.
The people of Sham started fasting on
Friday but the new moon wasnt seen
in Medina. Kurayb, the slave of Abdullah bin Abbaas, told Ibn Abbaas
that Muwaaiyah and Ahlul-Sham
fasted on Friday. Ibn Abbaas said,
But we shall continue fasting until
we've seen the moon (showing the end
of the month) or until we complete
thirty days

Allah says, "If you differ in anything

among yourselves, refer it to Allah and
His messenger, if ye do believe in Allah
and the Last Day." (4:59)

Respect for Differences in Practice

Once Umar heard Hishaam bin Hakim
reciting Surat-ul-Furqaan in a manner
different from the way he had learned
from the prophet (saw). So, the matter
was brought to the prophet. He heard
and approved the recitation of both
sahaba and then said, "Verily, this
Quran has been revealed in the seven
huroof." (Bukhari) Hence, it is not
appropriate for Muslims who claim to
follow the path of rasul (saw) to fight
regarding matters and actions in which
variation is permissible.

Respect for Ijtihaad

Once two men approached Dawud (as)
and one of them asked his judgment

Hence, differences in comprehending a

given situation are not from the forbidden disagreements, even though one
was more right than the other was and
Allah did not chastise Dawud.

The Basis of Unity

Allahs guidance has come to us in two

forms: Quran and sunnah. Therefore, in
case of disagreements, we should try to
follow those who have stronger evidences from Quran and sunnah. When
differences and debates do not go against
Quran and sunnah, at the same time are
healthy, disciplined and share a strong
common ground that everyone respects,
then there is no problem.
Nonetheless, once the proofs have been
established, it is inappropriate to stick to
the opinion that contradicts Quran and
sunnah because Allah says, And do not
be like those who split up and differed
after the clear proofs came to them, for
them is a great punishment. (3:105)

misguidance among the people

although her success in bringing women
to Quran and sunnah was enormous.
It is now time for us to open our minds
and hearts to learn how to respect
disagreements that Islam permits. Strict
self-interpretation of Quran and hadith
as well as blind allegiance of ones
school of thought (that creates hatred
towards other schools) can lead to immense discord. It is now time to appreciate diversity, to seek the truth and
to help one another in righteous and
piety.

Danger Zones
1. Disagreement Against Islam
If someone argues that obligations of
Islam such as hijab or salah are not
obligatory, then there is a problem.

2. Disagreement Promotes Division

Such a difference is not from Islam
because the Quran says, "Verily those
who split up their religion and became
sects, you have absolutely nothing to
do with them (6:159).
3. Desire to Win the Argument
The solution is if one finds that the
opinion one follows is incorrect then
one should readily accept the right
opinion.
4. Disagreements Lead to Bashing
This is an ignorant technique which
we must avoid.

Allow Oxygen to reach the Mind

and Heart

5. Respecting Differences leads to

avoidance of preaching Islamic Law
One can respect legitimate differences,
yet preach the righteousness, but, this
requires some wisdom. For this, I
recommend listening to Fiqh of
Dawah series by Sheikh Muhammad
Alshareef.

Recently, some major ulema of Pakistan

declared a well-known female Daiee a
heretic. After researching, I found out
that the reason of this condemnation was
she primarily followed Hanbali opinions,
while majority of the country is Hanafi;
therefore, according to ulema she was
implanting discord and spreading

6. Layperson Criticizes Scholar

Saeed bin Musayyib said, There is
no noble scholar or esteemed person
who does not have a fault, but people
should not needlessly mention
scholars faults. If a scholars merits
are greater than his short comings, the
former outweigh the latter.
7

But do we really know the answers to

the questions that are posed to us? Do
we know why a woman must wear
hijab or why the inheritance laws are
different for men and women? These
exact questions are one of many
reasons it is imperative to understand
Usool Al-Fiqh.

Dawah to Muslims

By Aishah Douglas and Jasmin Malik

Got a Minute?
Why do women have to cover
themselves in your religion? Why is the
distribution of inheritance not equal
between men and women in Islam?
Why are men one degree higher than
women? What is the status of women in
Islam?

Dawah to Non-Muslims
These are commonly asked questions we
as Muslims are faced with and it usually
catapults the starting points of our dawah
efforts. Unfortunately by the time we
are through answering these questions
we have accomplished nothing more
than to just answer these questions. We
have not brought them that much closer
to the message of Islam, the message of
tawheed. This is because in a limited
amount of time we cant possibly discuss
all the complex peripheral issues and be

completely successful. Sheikh Yasir

Qadhi once mentioned that as long as
they (non-Muslim) devise the scale, our
dawah attempts would have a minimal
chance of success. So how does one
give dawah in a limited amount of time?
What we have to do is devise our own
scale and give dawah according to that.
Muhammad Alshareef mentioned in a
previous AlMaghrib class a useful
technique. When one is faced with any
one of those types of questions, he or she
should say, In order for me to explain
that, I have to explain Islam to you. Got
a minute? In reality what this does is
tip the scale in your favor and opens up
the doors to starting with tawheed.
When you have firmly established the
oneness of Allah (swt) and Him being
the Lawgiver and made that the focus of
your conversation, you can then go back
and explain the oft-repeated questions.

Whether Muslim or non-Muslim, we

all need one form of guidance or
another. With non-Muslims the key is
to bring attention to tawheed and the
hereafter, but what about the Muslim
who knows tawheed and about the
hereafter but is confused about the
different rulings? The key to clearing
up the confusion is to attempt to
understand the principles of fiqh. The
sciences of Usool Al-Fiqh attempts to
explain to us the who, what, where,
when, and why. Armed with this
knowledge we can than begin to repair
our ummah one word, one step, and
one person at a time. We as a nation
are too quick to jump to giving
prescription fatwas a one size fits all
type of mentality. Based on certain
principles, the scholars of the past and
present are able to extract rulings
according to case-by-case situations.
Ibn Abu Hassan said about Imam
Maalik, Once, Maalik was asked
twenty-two juristic questions, yet he
did not answer more than two
questions of them, saying every now
and then, There is neither might nor
power except with Allah."
His reluctance to answer the other
questions had to do with him wanting
to be absolutely certain that what he
said was correct and he did not want to
be held accountable for any misguidance. It is such a stark contrast between people like us and the great
Imams.
What a grand eye opening and enlightening experience it was to find out that
we know the equivalent of a dust spec
in the grand spectrum of Islamic
knowledge. In the words of our teacher Muhammad Alshareef, if there is
anything he wanted us to leave with, it
was Allahu talaa aalam!
8

What's All the Hype

About AlMaghrib?

By Bisma Parvez

fiction
Allah, our teacher is so funny. I love
this class already, Summaya replied.
Woah! I can't believe that
Summaya is laughing. She never finds
anything funny. I guess I could pay
attention for a while. If Summaya likes
the class then it can't be that bad.
So for the rest of the class Aisha
paid attention. She was quite interested in what her teacher was saying
and she even took notes. The best part
was that the teacher did not make
them sit and write notes for three
straight hours. He gave the class a 10
minute break every hour and it
was really fun. The students
discussed the class and Aisha got
to meet so many new people.
When class was over, everyone
was walking out and signing up
for the class. Zaina came running
behind Aisha.
Are you going to sign up? I
really liked it.

It was Friday afternoon and Aisha was

lying down on her bed, legs waving in
the air, reading The Da Vinci Code.
She was so excited because she finally
got her hands on the novel just that
morning. The second she turned to the
first page, her sister, Zaina, came
barging in her room. Where is your
dark green hijab? I can't find it
anywhere, she exclaimed.
You should probably ask me if you
can wear my hijab before you start
looking for it, Aisha answered
annoyed by the disruption and the fact
that Zaina just assumed that she
would let her borrow it. Zaina simply
ignored Aisha and began to look
through her closet until she finally
found it.
Hey! Why aren't you dressed
yet? The class starts in an hour,
Zaina nagged at Aisha.
What class?
AlMaghrib. I'm sure it will be
fun, Insha' Allah.

Why do you always assume things?

This is my reading weekend. You can go
by yourself.
It's free today so just come to check
it out. That's what I'm doing. And
anyway, Mom said that you have to go or
she'll yell at you.
Ugh! Well I don't even like
AlMaghrib! Why should I waste two of
my precious weekends sitting in some
dumb class when I can be sleeping in? It's
going to be a shoot-me-in-the-face boring
class. I am not going!
***
An hour later, Aisha and Zaina
were sitting in class while the teacher
was introducing himself. I cannot
believe I got sucked into this, Aisha
thought. She pulled out her novel and
decided that she might as well start
reading and zone out of the class.
As soon as she pulled it out, the
entire class started laughing.
Aisha looked around and asked
her friend why everyone was
laughing.

Aisha did not want to admit that

she liked the class since she had said
so many bad comments about it in the
first place. She felt bad for having
such an ignorant opinion. She did not
know anything about the class, never
attended one, and did not even listen
to what other people had to say about
it. She simply made judgments.
Alhamdulilah, her mother and sister
practically forced her to take the class
because she ended up really enjoying
it and learning a lot of things she
would have never known otherwise.
Well if you're going to keep
nagging me about it, I guess I might
as well take it, Aisha replied sneakily
as she walked off to the sign up table.

Muhammad Alshareef just

told the funniest joke! Masha
9

arts & entertainment

What
Mix and Match

I?

AlMutlaq
Fard fi Dhimmah
Khaas Ruling
Rukhsah
Fard fil Adaa

2. It is a word that is neither limited nor qualified in its

application.
3. To connect two things by enacting one of them to
be a cause, condition or hindrance to the realization of
the other.
4. An attribute that is evident and constant (meaning
it can be measured), which the Lawgiver has tagged
as the indicator to a hukm is such a way that its
presence necessitates the presence of the hukm and
its absence means that the hukm is also absent. (The
cause).
5. An act or an attribute whose presence either
nullifies the hukm or the cause of the hukm.
6. The condition is separate from the action.
(The condition).

Shart
Hukm Wadee
Sabab
Aam Ruling

By Sana Chaker

7. The ruling applies directly and unmistakably to the

khaas, so as long as there is no other interpretation.
8. Does not apply to certain parts that would have
normally been encompassed in the general statement.
9. To do it immediately. (Cash fard)
10. You can do it later. (Credit fard)

Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, by Mohammad

Hashim Kamali
This is the first book on Islamic Law (Usool Al-Fiqh)
available in English. This volume is concerned with the
way in which the laws of Islam are derived from the
Qur'an and the sunnah. It is written as a university
textbook. Its clarity and readability make it an essential
reference work for students of Islamic law.
Al-Waadih Fee Usool Al-Fiqh for Beginners,
by Mohammed Soleiman Abdullah Al-Ashqar
This book, written in Arabic, offers the detailed principles of
Usool Al-Fiqh and their implications. Furthermore, it
contains sample cases and problems for students, making it
an excellent review tool for the Usool Al-Fiqh class.
Al-Shafiis Risala, by Majid Khadduri
Written in the year 204 Hijree (820 CE) by Imam AlShafiee, this book outlines the principles by which scholars
can come to their conclusions about Islamic cases. This was
the first book to gather all of these principles in a single
volume. For those wishing to gain tremendous knowledge
on the subject of Usool Al-Fiqh, reading this translation of
Arabic book is an optimal way to start.

By Ghazala Choudhary

By Ayesha Alvi

1. Facilitation and ease.

Maani'

Recommended
Resources

Am

B!Tdipmbs't
Tdipmbs t!Rvftu!
Rvftu!
He walked in search of the truth.
His feet were in pain,
His body ached.
Sweat trickled down his face.
His mouth was dry.
But, his heart longed for knowledge.
He was a student and would only be satisfied
with true wisdom of his deen.
He walked for miles
before finally arriving at his destination.
He sat down, in front of his teacher;
very respectful of him
and the knowledge he was about to receive.
Listening to every word,
and each sound uttered;
his thirst was satiated.
He wrote down each word
with his pen
the tool that captured the words forever.
Listening so attentively,
he did not dare interrupt his teachers speech;
keeping his inquiries to himself until the end.
He would not decide when the lesson was over
His teacher would.
If it ended soon, he would yearn for more.
If it ended later, he would be eternally thankful
for the opportunity to have learnt.
After the lesson, he kissed his teachers hand with
gratitude.
With that, he made his way home.
He would return again tomorrow to study more,
if Allah willed.
He made this excursion every day
until his teacher was satisfied.
After gaining this knowledge,
he humbles himself before his Lord,
Tears roll down his face.
He knows nothinga realization that comes with every ounce of
knowledge gained.
People ask him questions.
But he is afraidafraid to be held accountable
if he speaks ignorantly.
Even more-he is terrified
at the thought of pride entering his heart.
His lips part to speak.
The most precious words to leave his mouth are:
Allahu taala Alim Allah knows best.
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GEMS
GE MS
By Ola Alhasan

There are two kinds of fatwas: prescription fatwas and overthe-counter fatwas. There could be serious consequences if one
shares prescription fatwas.

Wisdom is to know the limits to your knowledge, so if you dont

know, dont try to answer. Just say wallahu a'alam!
Aww. The snacks. You
can't have an Ittihaad
class without them!

Wajib and fard in the end are like those who say trees and those
who say forest.

Consistent actions in the long term will give us more benefit.

You will never go higher than the highest expectation of
yourself.

Don't say, "But my brain told me so!" You're brain isn't always
right. You will not always understand everything!

Tawbah is never to be made hard on people.

Aiming for just the passing mark is risky. You do not want to
risk your akhira. Aim higher.
The infamous cheese

The losers in life live in the effect stage. The secret to life is to
live in the cause stage.

Islam is hard, until it becomes your habit.

Casual opinion does not establish Islamic law.
You cannot win over someone's heart by disobeying Allah.
If intelligence alone could decipher right and wrong then we
would not need the prophets or the Qur'an to guide us.

And just when everyone gave up cheese!

If your directions are vague, you will get vague results.

Everything in the Qur'an and sunnah is literal until proven
otherwise.
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