Islamic Studies Notes

ISLAMIC STUDIES

Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed’s acceptance of Islam

Khalid Bin Waleed accepted Islam in 627-629 AD i.e. between 6th to 8th Hijri. However, it is believed that he accepted Islam in 627 AD and joined the Prophet (SAWW) during the conquest of Makkah in 629 AD i.e. 8th Hijri.

Shortest Surah of the Qur’an Surah Kausar

It is the 108th Surah, has only 3 verses and it was revealed for honoring the daughter of the Prophet (SAWW) – Hazrat Fatima (RA). The Surah talks about abundance. It tells the Prophet (SAWW) to not be upset that he has no sons to continue his lineage because Allah has given him Fatima (RA) to continue his lineage for him so he should pray to Allah and thank him and sacrifice a camel in celebration.

Prophet Shu’ayb (AS)

The Prophet Shuʿayb (AS) was appointed by Allah to guide the people of Midian in Arabia. These people were robbers and cheaters who were blessed by Allah but they still stole from others and cheated excessively. This is mentioned in Surah Al A’raf, the 7th Surah of the Qur’an.

Sunnah:

Sunnah is a 2nd primary source of Syariah. Importance of Sunnah in Quraan: “And we have sent down unto you also the message: that you may explain clearly to men what is sent for them & that they may give thought “(16:44) “obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you”. (4:59)

Importance of Sunnah in Hadith:

The Prophet has reported to have said

“Undoubtedly, I am given the Al-Quran & the like of it (i.e. Sunnah) with it.”
“I have left 2 things among you. You shall not go astray as long as you hold on to them: The Book of Allah & my Sunnah.”

Types of Sunnah:

The first type of Sunnah is Sunnah Qauliyah which is saying of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to explain about a ruling or to tell the people of what to do and what should not.

The next one is Sunnah Fi’liyah that is all prophet’s deeds and actions such as religious, social, administration, family matters and etc.

Lastly, Sunnah Taqririyah is a tacit approval. This is the actions or saying of the companions of Plaintiff which receive tacit approval of Prophet with practice by the people.

Six authentic collections of Hadith:

Sahih al-Bukhari

Imam Muhammad bin Ismail Bukhari.

Sahih Muslim

Imam Muslim bin Hajjaj ibn Muslim.

Sunan Abu Dawood

Imam Abu Daud Sulaiman bin Ash’at.

Sunan al-Tirmidhi

Imam Abu Isa Muhammad bin Isa.

Sunan al-Nasa’i

Imam Abu Addur Rehaman Ahmad bin Ali al-Nisaiee.

Sunan ibn Majah

Imam Abu bin Abdullah Muhammad bin Yazid bin Majah al-Kazdini.

Qiyas:

Literal meaning is Comparison i.e. comparing something with another.

Technical meaning:

“Applying a case whose rule is not found by the text to a case whose rule is found in the text on account of equation of both cases in respect of effective cause of the rule.”

4 Conditions of Qiyas:

The original case is not a parallel case. This means that the new case shall not be the original case.
The legal ruling should be one which is based on effective cause that can be rationally understood. In case if legal ruling based on effective cause that cannot be understood, qiyas is not allowed.
There is no explicit legal ruling mentioned by the text on parallel case. There shall be no qiyas in case where there is legal ruling mentioned by the text.
Effective cause must be an apparent attribute.
It can easily be perceive by sense.

Justification of Qiyas as a source of Islamic law:

The majority of Muslim jurists are of the view that Qiyas is a source of Islamic law. It is relied upon in deriving legal rules.
Muslims are obliged to follow the legal ruling Which is validly derived from qiyas.

The justification of Qiyas as a source of Islamic law is established by the Qur’an and Sunnah.

The Qur’an

“O ye who believe! Obey Allah and Obey the Messenger and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger…” (al-Nisa’(4):59

The Sunnah

There are many cases in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in response to queries of the Companions tried to give answers in a form that was supposed to train them in legal thinking and in many such cases the method is quite similar to analogy.

Angels

Angel Jibril

Angel Jibril always brings good news. He is mentioned in both the Qur’an and the Hadith. He revealed Allah’s words (the Qur’an) to Muhammad on the Night of Power so he is known as the ANGEL OF REVELATION. He played a vital role in communicating the final version of Islam to humanity.

Angel Mika’il

The ANGEL MIKA’IL is a friend to humanity and known as the giver of rain and food. He is believed to reward people who do good deeds.

Other angels

There are other angels in Islam, such as IZRAIL, the ANGEL OF DEATH, who takes the souls from bodies when people die so they can enter the afterlife.

ISRAFIL is another angel. It is believed that he will blow a trumpet to announce the Day of Judgement.

Muslim Spain:

During the caliphate of the Caliph Al-Walid Ibn Abdel Malik, Islamic forces led by Tariq ibn Ziyad disembarked in early 711 in Gibraltar. After defeating the king Roderick at the Battle of Guadalete, Tariq was reinforced by an Arab force led by his superior wali Musa ibn Nusayr and continued northward. By 717, the combined ArabBerber force had crossed the Pyrenees into Septimania.

CITIES OF MUSLIM SPAIN

Cordoba
Granada · Madinat al-zahra · Valladolid · Guadalajara
Toledo

SPANISH MUSLIM SCHOLARS:

Ibn e Hazm
Ibn e Hisham
Mundhir ibn Sa’īd al-Ballūṭī
Abu Ghalib Tammam ibn Alkama
Ibn Hayyan
Ibn al-Qūṭiyya
al-Khwarizmi
Ibn al-Saffar
Al-Zahrawi
Ibn al-Kattani
al-Mutatabbib
Ibn Abd Rabbih
Muhammad ibn Hani al-Andalusi al-Azdi

Islamic Learning Centers

Jamia al-Azhar (al-Azhar University):

Al-Azhar University was the chief centre of Islamic and Arabic learning in the world. It was founded by the Fāṭimids in 970 CE and was formally organized by 988. It is considered to be the oldest university in the world.

Famous Grand Imams of al-Azhar:

Mustafa Al-Maraghi
Muhammad al-Khadi Husayn
Mahmud Shaltut
Abdel Halim Mahmoud
Ahmed El-Tayeb

University of al-Qarawiyyin:

It was founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 857–859 in Fez, Morocco and subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the historic Muslim world. Scholars consider that the Qarawiyyin was effectively run as a madrasa until after World War II.

The Qarawiyyin is considered as the oldest continually operating higher learning institution in the world.

Islamic Places

Jabal al-Noor:

Jabal an-Nour ‘Mountain of the Light’ is a mountain near Mecca in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia. The mountain houses cave of ‘Hira’ which holds tremendous significance for Muslims throughout the world, as the Islamic prophet Muhammad S.A.W is said to have spent time in this cave meditating, and it is widely believed that it was here that he received his first revelation. First revelation consisted of the first five verses of Surah Al-Alaq.

Jabal Uhud:

Mount Uhud is a mountain in north of Medina, Saudi Arabia. It was the site of the second battle of Uhud between Muslim and unbelievers. The Battle of Uhud was fought on 19 March, 625 CE, between a force from the small Muslim community of Medina and a force from Mecca.

Jabal Thawr:

Jabal Thawr (Mount Bull) is a mountain in Saudi Arabia, located in the lower part of Mecca to the south of the district of Misfalah. Holy Prophet S.A.W stayed here as a refugee with his companion Hazrat Abu Bakr R.A.

Jabal Arafaat:

Mount Arafat is also called by its other Arabic name, Jabal ar-Raḥmah is a granodiorite hill. According to Islamic traditions, the hill is the place where the Prophet Muhammad stood and delivered the Farewell Sermon, also known as the Khutbat al-Wada’,to his Sahabah (Companions) who had accompanied him for the Hajj towards the end of his life.

The mountain is especially important during the Hajj, with the 9th day of the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah, also known as the Day of ‘Arafah after the mountain itself, being the day when Hajj pilgrims leave Mina for Arafat; this day is considered to be the most important day of the Hajj.

Mosque Quba:

The Quba Mosque is a mosque located on the outskirts of Medina, Saudi Arabia. Initially, the mosque was built 6 kilometres off Medina in the village of Quba, before Medina expanded to include this village. It may be the first mosque in the world that dates to the lifetime of The Islamic Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE, (1st Hijri ).

Mosque Qiblatain:

It Built by Sawad bin Ghanam bin Kaab during the second year of Hijra, it is historically important to Muslims because it is where the Qur’anic revelation for Prophet Muhammad to change the direction of the qibla took place.

Mosque al-Aqsa:

Masjid Al-Aqsa was the first Qibla for muslims. Historians believe that Prophet Ibrahim, peace and blessings be upon him, was the one who built or ordered Al-Aqsa to be built. It was demolished during the conquests of Jerusalem. `Umar Ibn AlKhattab, may Allah be pleased with him, is the first one then who restored Al-Aqsa. He recognized the sight but nothing was built. When abdul-Malik Ibn Marwan held the office in the year 66 A.H., he rebuilt Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock.

Al-Aqsa is one of the largest and most important mosques in the Muslim world, and the earliest in Palestine.

Qisaas

Qisas is an Islamic term meaning retaliation. In the case of murder, it means the right of the heirs of a murder victim to demand execution of the murderer.

Allah says in Qura’an :

“O you who believe, equivalence is the law decreed for you when dealing with murder – the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the female for the female. If one is pardoned by the victim’s kin, an appreciative response is in order, and an equitable compensation shall be paid. This is an alleviation from your Lord and mercy. Anyone who transgresses beyond this incurs a painful retribution”

(Al-Baqarah- 178)

Diya

Diyya – compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic the word means both blood money and ransom. Diyaa is part of private rights due to the victim(s), and could not be waived by the sovereign. For a free Muslim, the diyah value of their life was traditionally set as the value of 100 camels. This was valued at 1000 dinars or 12000 dirhams, corresponding to 4.25 kilograms of gold, or 29.7 to 35.64 kilograms of silver.

Tazir

Tazir means”to punish”, sometimes spelled as taazir. It is the third category of punishments according to Islamic Law, and refers to offense mentioned in the Quran or the Hadiths, but where neither the Quran nor the Hadiths specify a punishment. In Tazir, the punishment is at the discretion of the ruler, or a Qaadi ( Judge ).

SPREAD OF ISLAM IN INDO-PAK REGION

Umayyad Era – Muhammad bin Qasim

The very first expansion of Islam into the Indo-Pak subcontinent came about through Muhammad bin Qasim.

Arab trading ships on their way to Sindh had been pillaged and attacked by pirate ships, and to deal with this problem, the then-ruler of the Umayyad dynasty, Hajjaj bin Yousuf, decided to send a small military expedition.

In 712 AD, a 17 year old general Muhammad bin Qasim was given the responsibility of leading the Umayyad forces to deal with the pirates and extend their control into the Sindh region.

Muhammad bin Qasim led an army of about 6000 soldiers far into the Makran. His expedition was what led Islam into the Indo-Pak region through Sindh.

Bin Qasim faced little resistance while on his expedition. In most of the cases, cities willingly came under Islamic rule without any violence.

Even though many among the population were very willingly entering the fold of Islam, the then ruler of Sindh, Raja Dahir, opposed the Muslim expansion and sent his army to deal with the expanding influence of Islam in the region.

The two armies met in the field of battle in the year 712 AD, resulting in a decisive victory for the Umayyad forces. And with this victory, all of Sindh came under Muslim control.

Successive Rulers

The successive Muslim rulers that came to India, such as Mahmud Ghaznavi or Muhammad Tughlaq, followed the same pattern of expansion as employed by bin Qasim – the Muslim political domains were expanded, while the people were not forced to convert to Islam.

The religious or social fabric of the society was not altered forcefully. Instead, the population was left to convert of their own free will.

Since the society of pre-Islamic India was broken into castes, sometimes entire castes would convert to Islam. This provided people who had belonged to castes which were deemed ‘socially inferior’, with the opportunity to move up in society.

Role of the Scholars

It is alleged that Islam spread in South Asia by force. However, if that were true, Islam would be limited to a small number of areas today. The existence of small Muslim communities in far reaching areas of countries such as modern-day Myanmar, Sri Lanka etc. clearly suggests that Islam spread organically throughout the region.

Thus, Islam spread through the region due to political expansion along with people willingly accepting Islam. This second aspect i.e. people willingly accepting Islam, was greatly influenced by the Sufi scholars and mystics of the time.

These Sufi scholars, (the ‘Auliya’, as they are popularly known) served as wandering teachers, spreading the message of Islam. They preached ideas of peace and compassion which greatly appealed to the masses and were thus highly influential in spreading Islam throughout the people of the region.

Islamic Reformers and their Eminent Work in Indo-Pak History (1564-1898):

Hazrat Mujadid Alf Sani (1564-1624):

His real name was Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi. He was born in East Punjab on 26 June 1564. He was a disciple of Khwaja Baqi Billa.
He strongly opposed the Din-i-Ilahi proposed by Emperor Akbar.
He wrote letters to nobles of Royal courts. These letters are known as Muktunat-i-Islam Rabani.
Sheikh Ahmed was imprisoned in the fort of Gwalior by Mughal Emperor Jahangir because Sheikh Ahmed forbade to perform sajda to Jahangir however he was released after two years.
Later Sheikh Ahmed became a guide to Jahangir on religious matters and Jahangir built a mosque on his advice.

Shah Wali Ullah (1703-1762):

He was born on 21 February 1703 in Delhi. He is also entitled to Imam ul Hind. ● His father’s name was Abd-ur-Rahim who established Maderessah e Rahimya.
He translated the Holy Quran in the Persian language.
To counter sectarianism he introduced the concepts of Izalat-al-Khafa and Khilafat-ul-Khulfa. He also wrote a book Qurat-ul-Ain in this context.
In his book Hujjat-Ullah-il-Bilagah he identified reasons for the socio-eco deterioration of Muslims.
Shah Walli Ullah called upon Ahmad Shah Abdali. Ahmad Shah Abdali responded to his call and defeated Marathas in 1761.
He introduced the concept of Fak-ul-Nizam which aimed at the Islamic Revolution.
His notable books include Tafhim and Sarat-i-Mustaqeem.

Syed Ahmed Shaheed (1786-1831):

He was born on 29 November 1786 in Rai Barelvi.
He is well known for his struggle against Sikhs in Punjab and NWFP.
He is the forerunner of the Mujahideen Movement aimed at the religious and political revival of Muslims.
Owing to his struggles he became the founder of Tariqah-e-Muhammadiyah (The Way of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) )
He is credited for making efforts to collect Usher (Islamic agricultural tax).
He launched his Jihad against Sikhs from NWFP.
The first battle between Sikhs and forces of Syed Ahmed was fought near Akora on 21 December 1826 in which Muslims defeated the Sikhs. Sikh forces were led by Budh Singh.
Peshawar was captured in 1830.
Syed Ahmed was martyred in Balakot (1831) when forces led by Sikh commander Sher Singh occupied a strategic position at hilltop known as Mitti Kot to attack Syed Ahmed in the valley of Balakot.

Haji Shariat Ullah (1781-1840):

He is well known for his Faraizi movement initiated from Bengal.
It was aimed at a religious revival. The Faraizi movement tried to uplift the most depressed class of Muslims by asking them to abandon un-Islamic practices and emphasis was laid on performing obligatory religious duties.
He encouraged Muslims to denounce some traditional practices that were known as Riwaj. Such as praying at shrines of Saints and adoption of certain Hindu traditions.
Moshin al-Din Ahmed (Dudu Miyan) was the only son of Haji Shariat Ullah.
Dudu Miyan organized the Faraizi movement in a way that he divided Bengal into units and appointed a Khalifa for each unit who would inform him about the particular units.
Dudu Miyan strongly rejected the ban on cow slaughter and taxes imposed on poor Muslim farmers by their landlords.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898):

He is known as the Father of the Two-Nation Theory. It was after the Hindi-Urdu controversy in United Provinces when Sir Syed realized that the gulf of differences between Hindus ad Muslims cant be bridged.
He is well known for laying stress on western education for Muslims and opposition towards Muslims taking part in politics as it would have agitated the British.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was the forerunner of the Aligarh Movement, an educational movement. Due to the prominent leaders that the Aligarh Institute contributed to the Muslim League and the independence struggle, it is known as the “Ammunition of Muslim League.”
His famous writings include:

‘Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind’ (Causes of Indian Revolt) in which he explained that instead of laying the blame on the Muslims for the War of Independence of 1857 (which was the common notion at the time), it was the suppressive policies of the British and their total ignorance regarding the local culture which are to be blamed. Another important work was ‘Loyal Muhammadans of India’ in which he explained loyal services rendered by Muslims in India. Tehzib ul Ikhlaq is another famous work of Sir Syed, aimed at the social uplifting of Muslims. He wrote Tabeen-ul-Kalam and Risala-e-Ahkam to reduce discrepancies between Muslims and Christians.

He established Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College of Aligarh in June 1875 and it was raised to the status of University in 1920.
Lord Lytton inaugurated Aligarh college in 1875. It was an attempt by Sir Syed to engage the British in his educational reforms for Muslims.
Sir Syed established a Scientific society in 1864.
Sir Syed established the Muhammadan Educational Conference in 1886 aimed at enhancing the scope of the Aligarh Movement.
Sir Syed played an eminent role in preventing Britishers from replacing Urdu with Hindi as an official court language in UP in 1867.

Related Information from exam perspective: