An Interesting an Blessed Journey to Egypt

From 23rd of January till the 5th of February, I was in a journey to Egypt to visit my family and more importantly my Shuyukh. Blessed more than what I thought, the journey was a big addition to me in many ways. Beside visiting the Cairo International Book Fair and getting quite nice and rare books from there, I had the chance of meeting my teacher Sheikh Shebl Matar (78 years old) and reading the narration of Qalun to him as well as the recitation of Hamzah Al-Kufi through Khalaf and Khallad all from Ash-Shatibiyyah. I have got Ijazahas from the Sheikh in these ways of recitation.

Besides, I met some of the eldest scholars of Tajweed and Qiraat in Egypt whose Isnad is considered to be of the highest; Sheikh Ali An-Nahhas who has read to `Amir `Uthman and Abder-Raziq Ahmed Al-Bakri and also narrates from his father Sheikh Muhammad Tawfiq An-Nahhas. I have got an Ijazah in Hafs from Asim and another Ijazah in Hadith from him.

I have also met Sheikh Abdel-Basit Hashim (Born 1928) and got Ijazah in Hafs from Asim and and in Al-Jazariyyah and At-Tuhfah from him. Sheikh Abdel-Basit is one of the highest Isnads in Egypt.

I have also met the blessed Sheikh Abdel-Fattah Madkoor (born 1932) who is the highest and strongest Isnad in Egypt nowadays. He read to Sheikh Ali Ad-Daba' Sheikh of Egyptian Qurra and Sheikh Ad-Daba' narrates from Ash-Sha`aar from Imam Al-Mutawalli. He also narrates highly from `Uthman ibn Sulayman Murad who narrates from Al-Jareesi Al-Kabeer.

I have got Ijazahs from the Sheikh in Hafs from Ash-Shatibiyyah and At-Tayyibah and an Ijazah in Matn As-Salsabeel Ash-Shafi which he narrates from the author directly and got an Ijazah in Manzoomat Qasr Al-Munfasil of Sheikh `Uthman Murad as well and Al-Jazariyyah as well.

With all these blessings, I have also had the chance to meet my brother and friend Sheikh Abu Shifaa Suhaib Webb whom I enjoyed the company of very much, he read to me Al-Jazariyyah and I gave him Ijazah in it as well as a general Ijazah. We also got an Ijazah from him in Shama'il At-Tirmidhi.

I have also met, by mere conincidence, Sheikh Yahya Hawwa one day when I was in the fair and it was a very nice and pleasant thing.

I also enjoyed the company of Br. Suhaib Saeed from Scotland who is studying Arabic at the moment in Egypt. May Allah bless all our Shuyukh and give them long life and benefit us with their knowledge.

Abu Muhammad

من عيون الشعر

قرأت هذه الأبيات وما أجملها

عظيم الناس من يبكي العظاما * ويندبهم ولو كانوا عظاما
وأكرم من غمام عند محْل * فتى يحيي بمدحته الكراما
وما عذر المقصر عن جزاء * وما يجزيهمُ إلا كلاما

وتطرب نفسي لهذه الأبيات

لا تدبر لك أمرا * فأولو التدبير هلكى

سلم الأمر تجدنا * نحن أولى بك منكا

In memory of my late father في ذكرى أبي رحمة الله عليه

أبي رحمة الله عليه عالم الأزهر البارع والشيخ الأصيل

اتصل بي أحد الإخوة ليخبرني أن والده توفي منذ ساعتين ولأنني فقدت أبي رحمة الله عليه منذ زمن لم يستطع على تطاوله أن ينسيني أو يأسو جروحي, فقد أحسست بلوعة ما يعانيه هذا الأخ وثارت لواعج الأسى في قلبي خاصة أن أبي كما قال القائل:

ما أبي إلا أخ فارقته..........وده الصدق وود الناس مين

وكنت قد كتبت منذ زمن أبياتا حول الإحساس باليتم - حال الكبر - وها هي أنقلها لكم:

في جوف ليل مظلم قد أرهقته الذكريات
لفلفت نفسي بالسكون, جلست أقتات السكات
و تلقفت عيناي خيطا من بعيد قد أتاها
سحبته نحو الروح حيث الروح في شغف تراها
و استلت الروح سويعات من الذكري القديمة
حيث الحياة بدت لها أما رؤومه
و تأملت ما كان من أمر الزمان وما أعتراها
كيف السبيل إلى سعادتها التي ترجو لقاها
أين الحياة؟ و أين معناها؟ و أين الخير أين؟
أم أين أيام الطفولة..أثرا غدت من بعد عين
حيث الأب الحامي الذمار..معلم الخير الكثير
من يملؤ البيت الصغير بحبه الفذ الكبير
حيث اجتماع الشمل و الستر وأحلام صغار
و لقاء حب في المساء يشيع في النفس القرار
حيث الجميع يرى الجميع ولا تطلع للمزيد
حيث السعادة حلقت في القلب مسكنها الجديد
في الصبح قرآن وبعد الظهر علم واطلاع
تتلوه ساعات التروح و التفرج والسماع
ها نحن صرنا بعدها- قد فرقتنا العاديات
وعدت علي أرواحنا في كل يوم نائبات
هدت عمود البيت لم تبق لنا الركن الركين
قد خلفتنا بعده بالحزن دهرا مثقلين
مرت سنون شيبتنا قبلما يأتي المشيب
غابت من الوجه النضير بسيمة كانت تطيب
ثكلي جميعا ليس من فرق سوى أنا صغار
غرقي جميعا في الهموم نعيش أيام السعار
عم تخلي بعد خال أشغلته الحادثات
فبقيت وحدي أصرع الدنيا وتصرعني الحياة
وصمدت رغم حداثتي وربطت قلبي بالإله
فوجدت عينا تحرس القلب وتحمي من عداه
ومضيت لا ألوى أحقق ما رجا منى الحبيب
عالجت جرحي آملا يوما قريبا أن يطيب
لكن جرحي بعد حين علني أدمى إعتلال
فرأيت أن البرء من جرحي بعيد الإحتمال
لا تحسبوا فقد الأب الحاني شديدا للصغير
إن افتقاد الرحمة الكبرى- أعز علي الكبير
و اليتم يتعب لا لأن الفقر يتبع بعض حين
فالفقد جرح غائر أيان تأسوه السنين

Sheikh Saad gets a new Ijazah

By the grace of Allah, finally the Ijazah from my honorable Sheikh Usama Shehab El-Din Al-Azhari in Al-Jazariyyah has arrived after long time of waiting

بعد طول انتظار وصلت إجازة شيخي أسامة شهاب الدين الأزهري في متن الجزرية بفضل الله تعالي ومنته وتوفيقة والشيخ أسامة مجاز بالقراءات العشر من عدد من الشيوخ وهو من أهل الرحلة في طلب العلم بارك الله في عمره وجزاه عني خيرا وهذه نسخة الاجازة

Plea to the Mighty Lord from the Weak servant

قصدت باب الرجاء والناس قد رقدوا

وبت أشكو إلى مولاى مـا أجــــــــد

وقلت يـا أملـى فـى كـل نائبــــــــــة

يامن عليه لكشـف الضـر أعتمـــــد

أشكو إليـك أمـــوراً أنـت تعلمهـــــا

مالى على حملها صبـر ولا جلــــــد

مــــــــددت يدى بـالــــذل مفـتـقـرا

يـا خيـــرمـن مـــــــددت إليـه يــد

فـلا تردنـــــــــهـا يـاربـى خائـبـة

فبحر جودك يروى كل مـن يـــــرد

To the door of hope, I turned while others asleep

And to the Mighty Lord, I discolsed what I keep

O My Unfailing Hope in all times of unease

On Whom I place my trust, to cure from disease

To You I complain of things, which you already know

My patience and will are out, and have no place to go

In need and humility, for sure, I do raise my hand

You are the Bountous Giver, at the door I do stand

Fail me not , My Lord, and never send me away

At the river of Your bounty, every soul does stay

(Translated from Arabic by: Sheikh Ahmed Saad)

Important Lecture with Distinguished Scholars from Damascus: Meet Them NOW

Meet Distinguished Scholars from Damascus

North London Central Mosque

Cordially invites you to lecture entitled

Muslim Manners in Western Contexts

By great distinguished scholars of Damascus

Speakers:
Dr. `Abdul-Fattah Al-Bezem
(Mufti of Damascus & Director of Al-Fatah Islamic Institute)
Dr. Husam Ad-Din Al-Forfour
(Head of the Academic Section at Al-Fatah Islamic Institute)

Lecture Moderated by:
Imam Ahmed Saad
(Imam of North London Central Mosque)
Date: Wednesday 28 November 2007
Time: After `Ishaa Prayer 6:00 PM
Venue: North London Central Mosque
7-11 St. Thomas Rd., N4 2QH
Nearest Tube Station: Finsbury Park
Buses: 254 – 259 – 253 – 29 – 106 – 236

*Lecture will be in Arabic followed by Q & A Session

From Darkness to Light

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful*

By: Imam Ahmed Saad Al-Azhari

All thanks and praise are due to Allah, the One Who taught man how to speak and express and enshrouded his heart in His eternal light, guided him by His light, educated him by His light and granted those who surrender to Him an eternal light by which they can easily find their way and lead their life and end up in Paradise, the abode of light.

The brothers of IFE are very dear brothers to myself and it is because of the love that connects me to them I am here amongst you today and since we are speaking about light and darkness, I pray to Allah to make this love a light that connects all of us to Him and help us live in His light on the Day when people will be suffering from the darknesses of their evil selves. Today's topic is "From Darkness to Light" and in fact, I loved such an inspiring title because it brings a lot of things into mind. My talk might sound a bit philosophical and a bit strange but these are thoughts on the topic which I thought I love to share with everyone here today.

Darkness vs. Light

When we think about darkness and light we can realize one important fact which is that darkness is in fact the lack of light. It is not just the opposite of light in a sense that it is the existence of a substitute for light; rather, it is the opposite of light because it refers to the non-existence of light. Therefore, if we substitute the word darkness with any other word, we can use 'lightlessness' or 'lack of light'. Therefore, someone who does not have light, has got nothing indeed. Almighty Allah refers to this fact in the Qur'an: (24: 40)
The second striking fact about darkness and light is that light is always mentioned in the Qur'an in a singular form while darkness is mentioned in plural form and that a significance indeed. Light whatever its source may be, has got one basic source which is Allah. The different reflections of light we see in this universe are normally the apparent causes but not the main or the initial source of light. Totally the opposite darkness has got many sources and each of these sources has got many reflections and many causes behind it. The word darkness and the stem from which the word in Arabic is derived namely dh-l-m is mentioned a hundred times in the Qur'an.

The third fact we can observe here is that Allah has adorned on of the Suras of the Qur'an with the name 'An-Nur' (The Light) and, if we go through the whole chapter we will find that all its sub-topics focus on the theme of light and how light is important in everything. For instance, the Sura starts by speaking about 'false accusation' and how do people sometimes slip into the abyss of accusing people falsely of doing things and it shows that everything should be brought to 'light' to judge those who have falsely accused others; we shall ascertain if they are true in their claim or not. Later on, it tells us about the etiquettes of visiting people and entering their houses and enlighten about the most suitable way of doing this. Further on in the same chapter, we are told about the way Muslim men and women should conduct themselves in public so that people maintain a light in their life and lead a life of purity and safety. More and more, the Sura touches on the source of this light and enlightenment, the Source of Light; Almighty Allah Who showers His eternal light on those who listen to His words and apply His teachings.
The fourth fact about light and darkness is that a plethora of words are normally associated with light and reveal its nature and another plethora of words are associated with darkness and very relevant to its nature. Whenever we mention light words like 'protection, safety, ability to see things and distinguish them, judgment, justice, brightness, the sun or the moon' will happen in our minds. On the contrary, when we mention darkness words like 'fear, danger, carefulness, injustice, prison, death and confusion' will be brought to our minds in one way or another.

About Darkness

Since we have already stated that darkness is the lack of light, we should speak about the state of darkness first and see what causes man to lack light and be deprived from it and then give some hints on how can we achieve light again. Darkness has got two main types; physical and spiritual. The concern we are giving today is to the spiritual one because the physical one is just a reflection and projection for the spiritual one. Darkness is normally caused by sins which lead to distancing oneself from Allah; the Source of Light. As for sins, they will normally happen when the person gives control to his whims and desires over his fear of Allah and mindfulness of Him and when he gives priority to his body over his soul and prefers to lead an animalistic life and enjoy whatever is available paying no attention to what should and what should not be done. It happens as well when the person deifies his desires and starts worshipping them with Allah; in which case, he will be torn between two masters and you cannot serve two masters at the same time. In fact, sins which we have just spoken about can themselves lead a person to gain light if he looks at them with regret and decides to re-direct his compass and get himself back on the track. It is because of this that Sidi Ahmed Zarrouk says, "When a servant is plagued with desires and heedlessness, it may either lead him to get closer to Allah or to be disciplined or to be distanced more from his Creator. If the sins caused him to feel regret and then repent, then it will lead him to draw nearer to Allah, if they caused him to remember Allah every now and then and feel down because of his sin, then they have disciplined him and if he attaches himself more to them, then he is surely distanced from Allah and driven from His mercy.

One important fact is that darkness – which is a result of addiction to sins- will normally cause a vacuum in the heart and lead to its death. You may find the person walking, eating, and talking but he is dead; his heart is not there, simply because it is enshrouded in darkness and swelled with demons.

Purify your heart, and see the truth clear,Showered on thy heart is mercy held dear.Hearts that live in delusion will never be sincere, Swelled by evil demons and haunted with fear

The reflections of darkness could be seen when you ask a person about the aim of his existence and the goal of his life and you find him either giving no answer or very material answer. In both cases, you can discern that he is 'blindly' leading a life of confusion in the darkness which he made around himself, simply because he has disconnected himself from the Source of light. When we do not charge the batteries of our faith, they will run out of power and the torch of our belief will not be able to save us because the batteries are dead. Thereupon, darkness will show its real gloomy face and we will realize that this darkness has started, long time ago.

About Light

Light is the only fixed fact in this universe and that is why it represents a measurement for important and significant things; therefore, we have the speed of sound but more accurate and important is the speed of light. Likewise, Almighty Allah tells us in the Qur'an about the significance of the exact position of the stars, simply because when light travels to us from a star, it takes time and as we see the light of that star it means that the star has already moved from the position where we are seeing him at the moment. In this way, light is very important because it is fixed and, mild as it is, it is very powerful. It is able to stop you from looking if it is very strong; it can change your life once it touches your heart. The only thing you need to do is to connect yourself with it, how?
1- Keep a daily wird of Qur'an to recharge your battery
2- Keep a daily wird of tasbih and seeking forgiveness
3- Be keen to change the darkness of your night by light rak`at, for this is what will enlighten your grave
4- Always remember that it is because Allah has connected you to Him, you should keep on praising Him.
I would like to conclude by quoting Ibn `Ataillah in his famous Hikam: "Light unveils and the inner eye judges; then the heart either advances or retreats.""The army of heart is light; the army of lower self is darkness. When Allah wills to help His slave, he reinforces him with the armies of light and cuts off the reinforcements of darkness and otherness.""Lights are the mounts of the hearts and the secrets."

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* This lecture has been delivered at Bethnal Green Technology College at one of the events conducted by Islamic Forum Europe, London on 29-4-2007