Asalamu alaykum,

Dr. Munir Farid Wasil was the former Mufti of Egypt and happens to live less than a block from my house. He prays Jum’ah near my home and I try to pray there so I can, at least, ask him one question a week or hear him answer someone other person’s question. Today, after Jum’ah, he gave an important reminder about Hajj. Dr. Wasil is a real humble person, la uzaki ‘ala Allah ahad. He walks to the mosque, wears simple, but nice, dress and sits with the people after prayer.

Some nice points from his talk today:
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By Faisal JustaMuslim
Dear Hajj 2007 Pilgrims…

Dear Hajj travelers of 2007…

Kaba

As I stepped into the sphere of the Masjid-Al-Haram under a desert night sky in the city of Mecca; I hurried closer and closer, closer towards the magnetic pulse of the house of the one true God on earth, and finally as my eyes set upon the Kaba (House of God) built by Abraham and Ismail some 3000 years ago, a planet of peace fell upon my heart and all the desires of my heart came temporarily crashing down; worry and anxiety, silver and gold no more weighed heavy upon my heart. And then I had an arcane vision of meeting Allah; that I felt so close to my Rab (Lord) and as I looked up I could not take my eyes off the Kaba. A heat wave of love and awe and the thought of Allah (Gods) throne up above me and who knows how many light years up into the abyss of the sky belay the throne of my Creator. I began to remember that I was there to beseech Him and make amends for the sins, the horrible sins that I committed, weighing heavy on my heart. What do I say? What should I say? I could not remember a thing as my senses were in tuned with the peace and serenity of the black shrouded house as if I were walking through a golden field where upon the sky breathed red, purple and yellow tints billowing out of an October sky.
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Brief Notes On The Fundamentals Of Islamic Revival

Brief Introduction To The Matter At Hand

In the struggle for interpretative dominance and the debate regarding how to proceed in the process and activity of da’wah and education (both core aspecs of Islamic Revival) many issues present themselves and often in a quite unsystematic, frenzied matter. At this point we need clarity, i.e., this stage of da’wah demands clarity and order. The irony of those who would have us label all things modern as Dajalic or Shaitanic is that they have flourished in the very system that they demonize, frankly many have benefited from our demonization of the other (West) it only feeds the claim to our Orientalness (otherness), to our being totally alien to the process of the civilized world and the free society.

We are not in need of a new theory of apology to defend Islam nor in need of a rhetoric of protest to castigate the West and its henchmen but rather we are in need of orientation and purposed action.

The Guiding Principle Of Islamic Revivalist Thought
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by WAJAHAT ALI
Wajahat Ali speaks to American political scientist and writer Dr. Norman Finkelstein about the denial of his tenure at DePaul University, anti-Semitism, and challenging the academic status quo on the Palestine-Israel conflict.

WAJAHAT ALI: In the recent DePaul University tenure controversy, you and a vocal community of supporters suggested coexternal pressures forced the University to deny you tenure despite your overwhelming popularity and respect amongst your peers and students. What is your response to this denial?
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A Call For Integrity And Introspection: Revival, Responsibility And Education
Dr. Abdul Hakim Murad (h) said:

“In the twentieth century, however, the traditional pragmatism of Sunnism seemed to generate an ulema ethos that was certainly not quietist, but had nothing in common with Qutbian Islamism either.

Hence the Deobandi movement in India, and its Tablighi offshoot, supported the Congress party, and generally opposed Partition.

Arab religious leaders sometimes resorted to force, as with the Naqshbandi shaykh Izz al-Din al-Qassam in mandate Palestine; but the independence movements were overwhelmingly directed by secular modernists.

The ancient universities, al-Qarawiyyin, al-Zaytuna, al-Azhar and the rest, regarded the modern period as a mandate for doctrinal retrenchment and the piecemeal ijtihad-based reassessment of aspects of Islamic law.

In other words, mainstream Islam’s response to the startling novelty of a modernity that was forced on its societies at the point of an imperial or postcolonial bayonet was self-scrutinising and cautious, not militant.”

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1. Rabbaniya [The law is based on a connection with the Creator]
The evidence:

The statement of Allah, “And be rabbaniyin [men of God].”

2. Comprehensive
The evidence:

The large number of verse of Qu’ran and Hadith that illustrate the comprehensive nature of Shari’ah. In addition, most books of fiqh are not regulated to acts of worship but the greater body of legal work is dedicated to the daily interactions that take between people.

3. Balanced and Moderate
The evidence:

The statement of Allah, “And thus We have made you a balanced nation.”

4. Current and Practical
The Evidence:

The hadith of the Prophet [may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him], “Oh ‘Aiesha if it wasn’t that your people [the Qureish] had not just recently accepted Islam, I would order the K’aba to be torn down and built on the foundations of Ibrahim.”

5. Universal
The evidence:

The statement of Allah, “Say Oh Mankind I’m the messenger of Allah sent to you, all of you!”
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