Discussions in the Beliefs of Ahl al-Sunna
In this online course, we hope to thoroughly study the Arabic work Mabahith fi Aqa’id Ahl al-Sunna (Discussions in the Beliefs of the People of Sunna), known as Al-Muhannad ala ‘l-Mufannad (The Indian Sword on the Disproved) – authored by the renowned Hadith scholar of the Indian Subcontinent, Shaykh Mawlana Khalil Ahmad al-Saharanpuri (may Allah have mercy on him), and annotated by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari.
Who this course is for: Anyone who intends to have a thorough and balanced understanding of issues that divide the umma.
Kindly Note: You will receive an invitation to the Google Classroom within 48 hours from registration and access to recordings for this course will end four weeks from the date of registration.
Course Includes:
- 25+ Hours of Teaching Pre-Recorded Session
- Detailed course notes
- On-Demand Course
- Q&A via e-mail
- Google Classroom as Learning Portal
£40
Course Description:
- Understanding Ahl al-Sunna beliefs
- Background/context of the book ‘Al-Muhannad al ‘l-Mufannad’
- Fundamental and secondary aspects of Aqida
- Traveling to visit the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) grave
- Tawassul – Supplicating Allah through intermediaries
- Istigatha – Seeking help from other than Allah
- Reciting books such as Dala’il al-Khayrat
- Taqlid – following fiqh madhabs
- Concept of tasawwuf/sufism
- Principles of takfir
- Allah on the thrown or everywhere?
- Status and knowledge of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
- Finality of Prophethood and the Qadianis
- Celebrating the mawlid
- And much more…
Course Details
In this online course, we hope to thoroughly study the Arabic work Mabahith fi Aqa’id Ahl al-Sunna (Discussions in the Beliefs of the People of Sunna), known as Al-Muhannad ala ‘l-Mufannad (The Indian Sword on the Disproved) – authored by the renowned Hadith scholar of the Indian Subcontinent, Shaykh Mawlana Khalil Ahmad al-Saharanpuri (may Allah have mercy on him), and annotated by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari.
The book discusses a range of controversial issues (in a question and answer format) relating to mainly secondary aspects of aqida, as well as other topics. It consists of answers to 26 questions that were sent by Arab scholars to the Sunni scholars of the Indian Subcontinent affiliated to the Dar al-Ulum Deoband seminary on issues such as: using intermediaries in supplication to Allah (tawassul), visiting the grave of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), Prophets being alive in their graves, sending blessings in abundance upon the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), following one of the four Sunni Schools of Islamic law, tasawwuf/sufism, celebrating the mawlid, knowledge of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), and finality of Prophethood (khatm al-nubuwwa).
The answers were signed off by major subcontinent scholars, such as Hakim al-Umma Shaykh Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi, and sent to the scholars of Al-Hijaz (Makka and Madina), who approved and endorsed them. Scholars from other Arab lands, such as Egypt and Syria, also endorsed the answers.
Till today, much debate and controversy surrounds this book and some of the issues discussed therein. In this unique online summer course, to take place over five separate Saturdays, Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam will read through the Arabic text and scrutinize each issue in considerable detail, in a balanced and holistic manner. An English translation of the text will also be handed out, in addition to other course notes. (The Arabic text can be ordered from this website, see the books section). A great emphasis will be laid on avoiding extremes and having a balanced approach to issues that have unfortunately divided the umma for years on end. This course provides a unique opportunity to study the text with a teacher who edited, annotated and published the book in the Arab worldly.
Learning Outcome: Students will learn:
- The difference between definitive and secondary/speculative aspects of aqida
- How to deal with controversial issues that divide the umma
- The biographies of major subcontinent scholars
- The ruling on using intermediaries (tawassul) in supplication
- The detailed ruling on seeking help from other than Allah (istigatha)
- The Belief about Prophets being alive in their graves
- The high status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
- About the Knowledge of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
- Regarding the belief of Finality of Prophethood (khatm al-nubuwwa)
- The ruling on celebrating the mawlid
- About the attributes of Allah (is He on His thrown on everywhere?)
- Allah’s attributes of perfection
- The concept of following a fiqh madhab (taqlid)
- The true concept of tasawwuf/sufism
- And much more…
Discussion breakdown
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Session 1:
- Defining Ahl al-Sunna wa ‘l-Jama’ah and orthodoxy
- Background and context of the book ‘Al-Muhannad al ‘l-Mufannad’
- Difference between fundamental/definitive and secondary/speculative aspects of aqida
- Biographical notes on major subcontinent scholars
- Journeying specifically to visit the grave of the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)
- Questions and answers
Session 2:
Session 3:
-
Session 1:
- Tawassul – Supplicating Allah through an intermediaries
- Istigatha – Seeking help from other than Allah
- The issue of Prophets being alive in their graves
- Facing the Prophet’s (peace & blessings be upon him) grave during supplication
- Excessive salutations on the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) and reciting Dala’il al-Khayrat
- Questions and answers
Session 2:
Session 3:
-
Session 1:
- Following a fiqh madhab (taqlid)
- The concept and reality of tasawwuf/sufism
- Discussion around Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Najdi
- Questions and answers
Session 2:
Session 3:
-
Session 1:
- Is Allah on the throne/everywhere?
- Status of Allah’s Messenger (peace & blessings be upon him)
- Finality of Prophethood (khatm al-nubuwwa)
- Knowledge of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
- The Prophet’s knowledge of the unseen (ilm al-ghayb)
- Questions and answers
Session 2:
Session 3:
-
Session 1:
- Discussing prophetic biography (sirah) and celebrating the mawlid
- Attributing attributes of imperfection to Allah
- Can Allah lie?
- View on the Qadiyanis
- Endorsements on the book by scholars
- A list of twenty basic beliefs for a Muslim
- Questions and answers
Session 2:
Session 3:
Course Instructor
Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari
Shaykh Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari is a traditionally-trained Islamic scholar who has studied the Arabic language and various other traditional Islamic sciences including Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), Hadith and Fiqh in different parts of the world including the UK, Pakistan and Syria.
The Shaykh has taught many courses and lectured extensively on a range of topics, and continues to travel regularly teaching and lecturing both in the UK and abroad. Presently, he resides in Leicester, UK. He is a teacher of various traditional Islamic sciences, and Director and researcher at the Institute of Islamic Jurisprudence (Darul Iftaa, www.daruliftaa.com).
FAQs
We are using Google Classroom as our Learning Management Portal. Please sign-up to Google Classroom with same email address you will use during course enrolment. We will invite you to our course classroom.
Schedule for the classes is mentioned above under “Discussion and Breakdown” section.
You will be provided a recording of the session so you can catch up without missing any content.
We will be using Zoom.us. We will share zoom invite link with you on Google Classroom.
Yes. At the end of each day there will be long Q&A Session with Mufti Muhammad Ibn Adam.