Was the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam) able to read or write? We know that Allah jalla wa ‘alā says in the Qur’ān: الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ Those who follow the Messenger, the Ummiyy (unlettered) Prophet… (al-A‘rāf, 157) And He ‘azza wa jall also says: وَمَا كُنْتَ تَتْلُو مِنْ قَبْلِهِ…
Al-Tabari narrates in Tārīkh’l-Tabari (4/72): Fātimah the wife of ‘Umar b. ‘Abd’l-‘Azīz said about his illness, “That night, his shivering became uncontrollable and he couldn’t sleep, so we kept a vigil over him and didn’t sleep either. In the morning, I told a servant of his known as Marthad, “O…
I just love this story about the great Muhaddith and Imām, Hāfidh Abu Bisṭām Shu‘bah b. al-Hajjāj. Imām al-Dhahabi relates in his Siyar that al-Asma‘ī said: “We were once with Shu‘bah whilst he was was narrating hadīth when he heard the sound of pens writing (on wooden slates). “Is it raining?”…
That title is cleverer than you actually thought by the way. The pause at the comma is obligatory. The inflexion applied to the last two words in the same sentence is a must. The understanding of “Treat” to mean “very well” or “significantly” is essential. After all that is done,…
You wake up to two text messages. The first says, “My beloved father has passed away”, and the second says, “We’ve had a beautiful baby girl!” Sadness, tears, send condolences. That’s then followed by joy, smiles, send congratulations. Close the phone. You go to the Masjid. The Imam asks everyone…
The greatest verse of the Qur’ān is Āyat al-Kursī,[1] as mentioned in the authentic statement [2] of the Prophet ﷺ. However, the question arises as to why it is not a chapter in its own right as many of the other passages of the Qur’ān
