Category / Sufism

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Why I Created U-Knowit

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My name is Shazad Khan and I’m passionate about learning and teaching. I founded U-Knowit to provide myself with an online platform to reach people that I couldn’t have reached otherwise. I’ve been teaching a range of subjects for nearly two decades now which include, Critical Thinking, English for Academic Purposes, Interactive Learning & Communication Skills, Arabic and Islamic Studies. I’ve also been blogging at micropaedia.org since 2010.  U-Knowit is basically an accumulation of my struggles, passions, reading, learning and meanderings; all systematically organised into modules for intellectual consumption.

 

But enough about me… I have a question for you – what type of person are you?

Are you passionate about empowering yourself?

Do you want to learn new skills and knowledge?

Do you struggle with the ability to write academically?

Do you struggle with being a Muslim in a Western context?

Do you find yourself in a pickle over pronouns and prepositions?

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Hujjatullah al-Balighah Course

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Are you struggling with why Islam has given us ‘strict’ rulings?

Learn the underlying theory of Islam in this course where Shah Waliullah’s masterpiece is explained.

 

Hujjatullah al-Balighah

Like the thread that slips through the holes of scattered pearls and brings them together as one exquisitely beautiful necklace, the Hujjah is what unites the sacred sciences allowing you to appreciate the Shari’ah’s beauty in its entirety.

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Shah Rafi Uddin’s Metaphysics

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John Godfrey Saxe’s (1816-1887) version of Blind Men and the Elephant:

It was six men of Indostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

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Shah Waliullah’s Hujjatullah al-Baligha

Shazad at Shah Waliullah's grave

At Shah Waliullah’s grave

Shah Waliullah’s project in his magnum opus, Hujjatullah al-Baligha, represents not only an intellectual synthesis of morality, law, theology, mysticism and philosophy but also an anthropological foray into capturing the intellectual, socio-communal, and psychological forces that shape Islam’s paradigm. Continue reading →

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Sayyid Habeeb Ullah Madani

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Shaykhul Islam Husain Ahmad Madani writes about his father, Sayyid Habeeb Ullah that in the field of taweez and amaliyaat he had notable skill and complete expertise. He used to mention, ‘There was a time when I had become so proficient that I used to write naqsh myself for curing illnesses and benefits were derived from them.’ At the time when my father granted me verbal ijazah to practice amaliyat and nuqoosh, he added, ‘I have fulfilled the zakah required for all the amaal within this common place book (his own hand-written compilation). There is no need for you to fulfil the zakah. I present you with ijazah; however, it will be better for you to carry out all the amaal in my presence once. Unfortunately, owing to my insolence and idleness I avoided this opportunity because I considered it an exertion and gave precedence to my Ilmi commitments. I was left regretting my decision thereafter.

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Weekly Dhikr Majlis

zikrShaykh Shazad Khan – Khalifah of the late Shaykh Syed As`ad Madani (rahimahullah) – recently started a weekly Dhikr majlis in Birmingham.

The majlis takes place every Sunday night at 6.oo pm;

the venue is:

Madrasa Taleemul Quran
12 Freer Road
BIRMINGHAM
B6 6ND

The Majlis starts with a short talk based on a commentary of Shaykh Ibn `Ata’ Allah’s “al-Hikam,” followed by a session of jahri (loud) Dhikr, consisting in the “Bara Tasbih” (12 tasbihat) of the Chishti Sabiri Tariqah.

Brothers only.

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Spiritual Lineage of the Tariqas

Sincerity%20Tatton%20Red%20RugIn Sufism, as in hadith studies, there exists a lineage that connects each disciple with their shaykh, who has also taken it from his shaykh, and so on, in a continous chain back to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace). The spiritual lineage of my own teacher, Shaykh Asad Madani, comes from its prophetic origin through a number of tariqas. The main ones are given below: Continue reading →

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No Gain Without Pain

mathnawiTo show that there is no gain without pain in the path Mawlana Rumi tells us the following tale in his ‘Mathnawi’:

The strong men of Qazwin were accustomed to have themselves tattooed. One customer calls for a lion to be emblazoned on his shoulder. The tattooist starts work on the lion’s tale; but the pain is too much for the customer who insists that the tale be left out. The same happens when the tattooist begins to draw an ear and again with the lion’s belly. Enraged, the artist flings down the needle: ‘Whoever saw a lion without a tale, ear and belly? Allah Himself never created such a lion.’ 

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Sufism: Distinguishing the Kernel from the Shell

sufism Any sane person would agree that having upright good-moral character is an objective of Islamic Law; that Ikhlas (sincerity) is a noble trait; that jealousy and pride are blameworthy characteristics. All and sundry would agree that ridding oneself of blameworthy traits and adorning oneself with praiseworthy traits are Shariah-countenanced aims. Yet the moment the word Sufism, Tasawwuf or any other of its synonyms is mentioned it becomes a bidah or reprehensible innovation.

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Ibn al-Jawzi: Having High Aspirations

Abdur Rahmān ibn al-Jawzī was born in 508 A.H. He was a profound scholar, orator and a prolific writer in tafsīr, hadith, history, and literary criticism. My first encounter with his writings was when I studied the Arabic anthology entitled Mukhtārāt min Adab al-‘Arab. Below is a translation of that very same passage taken from Ibn al-Jawzi’s book entitled Ṣayd al-Khātir.

May Allah grant us all the ability to achieve our optimum potential.

Shazad Khan   Continue reading →