Hamzah Raza

This is because those who received it with acceptance and acted upon it could not reasonably be imagined to have agreed upon accepting it unless there were some factor that united them in doing so. And there is nothing that could account for this except the establishment of the truthfulness of those among its transmitters who were qualified [to transmit it]. However, we only came to know this through inference and reasoning. Therefore, we called the knowledge established through it acquired knowledge, even though it is absolutely certain, placing it on the same level as knowledge of the existence of the Creator. Do you not see that abrogation (naskh) is established through reports of this kind? For through them an addition to the Book of Allah Most High can be established, and an addition to a textual ruling (naṣṣ) constitutes abrogation. Yet the abrogation of something that produces certain knowledge cannot be established except through something that likewise produces certain knowledge.” Source: Page 291 and 292 of Usul Al Sarakhsi, from Dar Al Kitab Al Arabi

Imam Sarakhsi mentions in his Usul that Imam Jassas includes Mashur as a category of Mutawatir. Yet the other scholars of the madhabb reject this. And when متواتر بلا شبهة is used in Usul books for the definition of Quran, it is responding to Jassas’s understanding of Mashur as a category of Mutawatir, and thus to exclude Mutawatir transmissions ثمَّ اخْتلف مَشَايِخنَا فِيمَا هُوَ متواتر الْفَرْع آحَاد الأَصْل من الْأَخْبَار وَهُوَ الَّذِي تسميه الْفُقَهَاء فِي حيّز التَّوَاتُر وَالْمَشْهُور من الْأَخْبَار فَكَانَ أَبُو بكر الرَّازِيّ (رحمه الله) يَقُول هَذَا أحد قسمي الْمُتَوَاتر على معنى أَنه يثبت بِهِ علم الْيَقِين وَلكنه علم اكْتِسَاب كَمَا قَالَ أَصْحَاب الشَّافِعِي فِي الْقسم الآخر وَكَانَ عِيسَى بن أبان (رحمه الله) يَقُول لَا يكون الْمُتَوَاتر إِلَّا مَا يُوجب الْعلم ضَرُورِيًّا فَأَما النَّوْع الثَّانِي فَهُوَ مَشْهُور وَلَيْسَ بمتواتر وَهُوَ الصَّحِيح عندنَا وَبَيَان هَذَا النَّوْع فِي كل حَدِيث نَقله عَن رَسُول الله ﷺ عدد يتَوَهَّم اجْتِمَاعهم على الْكَذِب وَلَكِن تَلَقَّتْهُ الْعلمَاء بِالْقبُولِ وَالْعَمَل بِهِ فباعتبار الأَصْل هُوَ من الْآحَاد وَبِاعْتِبَار الْفَرْع هُوَ متواتر وَذَلِكَ نَحْو خبر الْمسْح على الْخُفَّيْنِ وَخبر تَحْرِيم الْمُتْعَة بعد الْإِبَاحَة وَخبر تَحْرِيم نِكَاح الْمَرْأَة على عَمَّتهَا وعَلى خَالَتهَا وَخبر حُرْمَة التَّفَاضُل فِي الْأَشْيَاء السِّتَّة وَمَا أشبه ذَلِك أما أَبُو بكر الرَّازِيّ كَانَ يَقُول لما تَوَاتر نقل هَذَا الْخَبَر إِلَيْنَا من قوم لَا يتَوَهَّم اجْتِمَاعهم على الْكَذِب فقد أوجب لنا ذَلِك علم الْيَقِين وَانْقطع بِهِ توهم الِاتِّفَاق فِي الصَّدْر الأول لِأَن الَّذين تلقوهُ بِالْقبُولِ وَالْعَمَل بِهِ لَا يتَوَهَّم اتِّفَاقهم على الْقبُول إِلَّا بِجَامِع جمعهم على ذَلِك وَلَيْسَ ذَلِك إِلَّا تعين جَانب الصدْق فِي الَّذين كَانُوا أَهلا من رُوَاته وَلَكِن إِنَّمَا عرفنَا هَذَا بالاستدلال فَلهَذَا سمينا الْعلم الثَّابِت بِهِ مكتسبا وَإِن كَانَ مَقْطُوعًا بِهِ بِمَنْزِلَة الْعلم بِمَعْرِفَة الصَّانِع أَلا ترى أَن النّسخ يثبت بِمثل هَذِه الْأَخْبَار فَإِنَّهُ يثبت بهَا الزِّيَادَة على كتاب الله تَعَالَى وَالزِّيَادَة على النَّص نسخ وَلَا يثبت نسخ مَا يُوجب علم الْيَقِين إِلَّا بِمثل مَا يُوجب علم الْيَقِين Then our scholars differed regarding what is “mutawātir in its branches but āḥād in its origin” among reports. This is what the jurists call reports that fall within the category of mutawātir and mashhūr. Abū Bakr al-Rāzī رحمه الله used to say: “This is one of the two categories of mutawātir,” meaning that it establishes certain knowledge (ʿilm al-yaqīn), although it is acquired knowledge (ʿilm kasbī), just as the followers of al-Shāfiʿī said concerning the other category. ʿĪsā ibn Abān رحمه الله, however, used to say: “Mutawātir can only be that which necessarily produces knowledge.” As for this second type, it is mashhūr, but not mutawātir, and this is the correct position according to us. The explanation of this type is that it concerns every hadith transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ by a number of people such that it is inconceivable that they could have agreed upon a lie, but which the scholars subsequently received with acceptance and acted upon. Thus, considering its origin, it is an āḥād report, while considering its branch/transmission, it is mutawātir. Examples of this include the report concerning wiping over the leather socks (khuffs), the report concerning the prohibition of mutʿah after it had previously been permitted, the report concerning the prohibition of marrying a woman while simultaneously being married to her paternal aunt or maternal aunt, and the report concerning the prohibition of unequal exchange in the six ribā commodities, and similar reports. As for Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, he would say: “When the transmission of this report became mutawātir to us through people concerning whom it is inconceivable that they could have agreed upon a lie, this gave us certain knowledge. It also eliminated the possibility that there had been an agreement [upon the report] among the earliest generation.

The Importance of Being Balanced There are many people who are extremely intelligent and well-read, but not balanced in their approaches. Studying the Islamic tradition and the rational sciences in particular teaches one to be precise in the way that one speaks. A proper spiritual guide also helps one be balanced and prevents one from jumping to extremes. Often those who speak in extremes(such as this post above) are saying something that has truth but they are over-exaggerating it. For the reader, it is sometimes important for them to see the kernel of truth in the statement, and unpack the exaggerations. For example, the truth of the statement above is that “Persian is an important language to accessing numerous aspects of the Islamic tradition.” The exaggeration is what was written above.

The longest Hadith in Bukhari https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2731

An example of why I have concerns with “mental health awareness.” The idea is kind and makes sense: people have disorders, let’s find them and treat them. But in practice, you get things like this. Healthy young adults attended an ADHD awareness workshop. Before the workshop: 28% already believed they had ADHD. After: 58% despite no increase in symptoms. (The same paper tested a “nocebo education” that reduced this effect - an interesting concept) Sandra et al., 2025 doi: 10.1017/S0033291725101979

“Seek pleasure in three things: the [ritual] prayer, the remembrance of God’s name, and in the recitation of the Quran. If you find pleasure in these, fine. If not, then know that the door is shut.” -Imam Hasan Al-Basri (As mentioned in the Risala Qushayriyya)

New link to book a one on one session with me: https://calendly.com/hamzahraza03

To Have Students is a Blessing Many know that the ability to seek knowledge is a blessing from Allah. The Prophet ﷺ tells us that “When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon them a deep understanding of Deen.”(Narrated in Bukhari and Muslim). This ability to gain a deep understanding of the religious sciences is a blessing that few people have. But amongst those given a blessing, even fewer get the blessing to be able to teach those texts. One of my first teachers in Egypt thanked me once after teaching me a text. He said he had studied this text many years prior, but he had never found anyone to teach it to until I arrive. Teaching has many blessings for the teacher. He is able to review the material and gain a stronger understanding of it. The questions of students also keep him on his toes. When the student practices what the teacher taught him or passes that knowledge on to others, it is also a Sadaqa jariya for the teacher. Students are an immense blessing. This knowledge is not something found between the covers of a book, but rather something found in the hearts of men and women. How blessed are the minority who have the opportunity to learn this knowledge. And even more blessed are the minority of the minority who have students who deem them to be vessels worthy of taking from. The one with the ability to seek ilm has been given a gift by his Lord. The one with ilm who has students has been given twice.

Going to start teaching a yearly class on marriage, divorce, and business transactions in Hanafi fiqh in case anyone is interested in joining. Link to register is below https://forms.gle/Nfv7XcXfphL7j4sr6

Ibn Abidin on musical instruments in his famous Hashiya(which generally collects the relied upon position of the Hanafi madhabb) “I say: This indicates that musical instruments are not intrinsically prohibited. Rather, they are prohibited because of the intention of wasting time(Lahow) associated with them, whether on the part of the one listening to it or the one playing it. This is also suggested by the genitive construction of calling them(instruments of Lahow). Do you not see that striking that very same instrument is halal in one instance and haram at another, depending on the difference in intention regarding listening to it? For matters are judged according to their intentions. In this is evidence for our Sufi masters who intend matters that they themselves know best. Therefore, the objector should not hasten to condemn them, lest he deprive himself of their blessings. Indeed, they are the noble leaders and the righteous people. May God the Most High support us through their spiritual assistance, and may He grant us a share of their righteous supplications and blessings.” أَقُولُ: وَهَذَا يُفِيدُ أَنَّ آلَةَ اللَّهْوِ لَيْسَتْ مُحَرَّمَةً لِعَيْنِهَا، بَلْ لِقَصْدِ اللَّهْوِ مِنْهَا إمَّا مِنْ سَامِعِهَا أَوْ مِنْ الْمُشْتَغِلِ بِهَا وَبِهِ تُشْعِرُ الْإِضَافَةُ أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ ضَرْبَ تِلْكَ الْآلَةِ بِعَيْنِهَا حَلَّ تَارَةً وَحَرُمَ أُخْرَى بِاخْتِلَافِ النِّيَّةِ بِسَمَاعِهَا وَالْأُمُورُ بِمَقَاصِدِهَا وَفِيهِ دَلِيلٌ لِسَادَاتِنَا الصُّوفِيَّةِ الَّذِينَ يَقْصِدُونَ أُمُورًا هُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِهَا، فَلَا يُبَادِرُ الْمُعْتَرِضُ بِالْإِنْكَارِ كَيْ لَا يُحَرِّمَ بَرَكَتَهُمْ، فَإِنَّهُمْ السَّادَةُ الْأَخْيَارُ أَمَدَّنَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِإِمْدَادَاتِهِمْ، وَأَعَادَ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ صَالِحِ دَعَوَاتِهِمْ وَبَرَكَاتِهِمْ (حاشية ابن عابدين : ٣٥٠/٦)

“The spiritual traveler (salik) should be aware that in order to reach Allah, the path is only through his (Prophet Muhammad) ﷺ guidance. A wali can possess the power of perfection and guiding others only through and only from the light of the Holy Prophet’s power.” - Al-Suhrawardi in Awarif Al-Maarif The note here is to know that the shaykh is always understood in light of the Prophet ﷺ and any violation of the prophetic way is a violation regardless of the esteem that we hold for a shaykh.

From Mufti Taqi Usmani’s autobiography. When his father had a heart attack and he was in the hospital, and the famous Shia scholar, Rasheed Turabi, was in the hospital across the hall from him

The Place of the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt within Ahlus Sunnah according to Imam Dhahabi “As for Mawlana Imam Ali, he is from the rightly guided caliphs who are guaranteed Jannah, may God be pleased with them. We love him with the most intense of love. We do not call to his infallibility nor that of Abi Bakr Al-Sidiq. And his two sons, Hasan and Husayn رضي الله عنهما, are the grandsons of the Prophet ﷺ and the two masters of the youth of paradise. Had the caliphate come to that, we would have welcomed it. And Imam Zaynul Abidin, he was a man of great stature from the honored scholars and practitioners of the religion. He was fit for the caliphate, and had numerous admirable qualities. He has more fatwas and narrations related from him than anyone one else. And like that is his son Imam Baqir, the father of Imam Jafar. He was a master, imam, faqih, and fit for the caliphate. And just like that was his son, Imam Jafar. He had a high status and was of the imams of knowledge. He had more right to be Caliph than Abi Jafar Al-Mansur(the Abbasid caliph of his time). And his son Musa Al-Khadim was a man of great stature. He was good in his knowledge and had more right to be Caliph than Harun Al-Rashid. He has numerous admirable qualities in terms of his honor and virtue. And his son, Ali Al-Ridha had a high status, strong knowledge, eloquence. Al-Mamun appointed him as his successor because of his eminence. He died in the year 203 AH. And his son Muhammad al-Jawad was one of the leaders of his people. He did not reach the rank of his forefathers in knowledge and jurisprudence. And similarly was the case for his son who was known as Hadi. He was a noble and honorable man. And similarly was the case of son Hasan Al-Askari. May Allah have mercy on them.” Source: Siyar A'lam al-Nubala

Mawlana Zakariyya Kandhlawi mentions in his autobiography that he would do 40 khatms of the Quran during the month of Muharram, and donate the reward to the martyrs of Karbala.

On the Hanafi position that touching one’s genitals does not break Wudu Imam Uthman Zaylai, the great Somali Hanafi, mentions that this was the position of Umar b. Al-Khattab RA, Ali b. Abi Talib RA, Abdullah b. Masud RA, Abdullah b. Abbas RA, Zayd b. Thabit RA, and other giants from the Mujtahidin of the Sahaba, as well as Tabiyeen such as Hasan Al-Basri, Saeed b. Musayyib(the student and son-in law of Abu Hurairah RA), and Sufyan Al-Thawri He then quotes from Imam Tahawi who says “I do not know of a single Sahabi who gave fatwa that touching one’s genitals breaks one’s wudu, except for Abdullah b. Umar and the majority of the Sahaba opposed him on that.” … He further states that [Those who say the Quranic verse of that refers to purifying oneself after touching one’s wife] have no proof in the verse; because what is intended by it is sexual intercourse. This is because touching (al-lams) is sometimes mentioned while meaning intercourse. Abdullah b. Abbas interpreted the verse as intercourse, and he is the interpreter (translator) of the Qur’an[meaning the chief Mufassir amongst the Sahaba], and this agrees with what the linguists say. Ibn al-Sikkit even said: when “touching” is mentioned in connection with a woman, it means intercourse. The Arabs say: “I touched a woman,” meaning “I had intercourse with her.” So interpreting it as intercourse is more appropriate.” What strong evidence the Hanafi madhabb has. قَالَ - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ - (وَمَسُّ ذَكَرٍ) أَيْ مَسُّهُ لَا يَنْقُضُ الْوُضُوءَ، وَهُوَ مَعْطُوفٌ عَلَى غَيْرِ النَّاقِضِ، وَهُوَ مَذْهَبُ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ وَعَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ وَابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَزَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ وَغَيْرِهِمْ مِنْ كِبَارِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَصُدُورِ التَّابِعِينَ مِثْلُ الْحَسَنِ الْبَصْرِيِّ وَسَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيِّبِ وَالثَّوْرِيِّ وَقَالَ الطَّحَاوِيُّ لَمْ نَعْلَمْ أَحَدًا مِنْ الصَّحَابَةِ أَفْتَى بِالْوُضُوءِ مِنْهُ غَيْرَ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، وَقَدْ خَالَفَهُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ وَ … وَلَا حُجَّةَ لَهُمْ فِي الْآيَةِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْمُرَادَ بِهَا الْجِمَاعُ؛ لِأَنَّ اللَّمْسَ يُذْكَرُ وَيُرَادُ بِهِ الْجِمَاعُ، وَفَسَّرَ الْآيَةَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ بِالْجِمَاعِ وَهُوَ تُرْجُمَانُ الْقُرْآنِ وَهُوَ مُوَافِقٌ لِمَا قَالَهُ أَهْلُ اللُّغَةِ حَتَّى قَالَ ابْنُ السِّكِّيتِ اللَّمْسُ إذَا قُرِنَ بِالْمَرْأَةِ يُرَادُ بِهِ الْجِمَاعُ، تَقُولُ الْعَرَبُ لَمَسْت الْمَرْأَةَ أَيْ جَامَعْتهَا فَكَانَ الْحَمْلُ عَلَى الْجِمَاعِ أَوْلَ

Can we pray behind a person with heretical beliefs? As long as those beliefs do not take one out of Islam, in the Hanafi school, this is Makruh Tanzihi, as relayed to me by Shaikh Ali Salih, Shaikh of the Hanafis in Egypt. On top of that, it is preferable to pray behind such a person than to pray alone so one can get the reward of praying in congregation. The great Egyptian Hanafi scholar, Ibn Humam mentions in Fath Al-Qadeer, لَوْ صَلَّى خَلْفَ فَاسِقٍ أَوْ مُبْتَدِعٍ أَحْرَزَ ثَوَابَ الْجَمَاعَةِ، لَكِنْ لَا يُحْرِزُ ثَوَابَ الْمُصَلِّي خَلْفَ تَقِيٍّ اهـ. يُرِيدُ بِالْمُبْتَدِعِ مَنْ لَمْ يُكَفَّرْ وَلَا بَأْسَ بِتَفْصِيلِهِ: الِاقْتِدَاءُ بِأَهْلِ الْأَهْوَاءِ جَائِزٌ إلَّا الْجَهْمِيَّةَ وَالْقَدَرِيَّةَ وَالرَّوَافِضَ الْغَالِيَةَ وَالْقَائِلَ بِخَلْقِ الْقُرْآنِ وَالْخَطَابِيَّةَ وَالْمُشَبِّهَةَ. وَجُمْلَتُهُ أَنَّ مَنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ قِبْلَتِنَا وَلَمْ يَغُلَّ حَتَّى لَمْ يُحْكَمْ بِكُفْرِهِ تَجُوزُ الصَّلَاةُ خَلْفَهُ، He starts by quoting from Burhani who said "If a person prays behind a fasiq(open-sinner) or person of Biddah(a person with heretical beliefs that expel him from Sunni Islam but not heretical enough that he is still a Muslim) will attain the reward of praying in congregation(Meaning he will get the 27 times the reward) but he will not get the reward of praying behind a Person of taqwa." Then Ibn Humam says "The person of Biddah is the one who we do not declare to be non-Muslims. There is no problem in detailing it. Following the people of whims is permissible except for the Jahmiyya, the Qadariyya, the extremists amongst the Shi'as, those who say that the Quran is created, the Khattabiya, and the Mushabihhah. The gist of it is that whoever is from the people who face Mecca in prayer and has not gone too far to the point that he is judged to be a non-Muslim, it is permissible to pray behind him."

A talk on Islamic Liberation Theology I did with Imam Jihad Abdul-Mumit, one of the last living members of the Black Panther Party The latter part of a talk is an interview I did with him on his journey from Black Panther to Muslim as well as his journey as a Muslim https://youtu.be/EXo4cz48L20?is=0-O5O26zXqCGh4Uz

How many mutawattir Hadith are there? An interesting answer that Dr Abdullah Hasan b. Muhammad Al-Qasim mentions in his Tahqiq of Nuzhat Al-Nazar of Ibn Hajar “The quantity of mutawatir (mass-transmitted) hadiths: The truth is that what has been mentioned in the specialized books on mutawatir is not much. Al-Kattani mentioned about (311) hadiths in his book Naẓm al-Mutanāthir min al-Ḥadīth al-Mutawātir, and al-Suyuti’s book before him contains fewer than this number. However, the reason— in my view— for this small number is the condition upon which each of them based the definition of mutawatir. For example, al-Kattani collected in his book only those narrations for which he found ten or more chains of transmission. However, there is another piece of evidence used to indicate the abundance of mutawatir hadith. It is what Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned, namely that the majority of the hadiths in the two Sahih collections are mutawatir or definitively authentic, due to the Ummah’s acceptance of them. He mentioned this in several places, including: Introduction to the Principles of Tafsir (pp. 66–67), and Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (18/17).” ^٣)في الأصل حاشية بخط المصنف ونصها:"بلغت قراءة بحث علي.كتبه مؤلفه".(^٤)مقدار الأحاديث المتواترة: الحق أن ما ذكروه في الكتب الخاصة بالتواتر ليس كثيرا؛ فقد ذكر الكتاني نحو(٣١١)حديثا في كتابه:"نظم المتناثر من الحديث المتواتر"، وكتاب السيوطي قبله أقل من هذا العدد، ولكن السبب-في رأيي- في هذه القلة هو الشرط الذي بنى عليه كل من هؤلاء تحديد المتواتر؛ فالكتاني مثلا جمع في كتابه ما اجتمعت عنده له عشرة طرق، فأكثر من الروايات.لكن، هناك دليل آخر يستدل به على كثرة الحديث المتواتر ذكره الإمام ابن تيمية، ﵀، وهو أن جمهور أحاديث الصحيحين؛ متواتر، أو ثابت قطعا؛ لتلقي الأمة لهما بالقبول، ذكر هذا في عدد من المواضع، منها:"مقدمة في أصول التفسير"، ٦٦ - ٦٧، و"مجموع الفتاوى"، ١٨/ ١٧.

“If I were to argue with one thousand knowledgeable people I would surely win the debate. But if I were to argue with one fool, I would lose the debate.” -Imam Shaafi