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As Salaamu Alaykum, Thank you for visiting stay a while and look around

The Sankore’ Institute of Islamic-African Studies International also called (SIIASI), is a non-profit, non-political educational institution founded for the sole purpose of researching into the educational, political, cultural and religious heritage of Islamic Africa.

The primary area of concern is that part of Black Africa traditionally known as the Bilad ‘s-Sudan (The Lands of the Blacks). These lands include all the regions located south of the Sahara desert and north of the tropical jungles, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.  The purpose of  SIIASI is to elucidate and evidence the Islamic traditions which were born out of African nations such as Takrur, Songhay, Mali, Ghana, Kanem-Bornu, Wodai, Fur, Funj, Sokoto, Segu, Massina and the Mahdist kingdom of the Nile valley.  More>

DIYA AL BAYAN

Tawfeeq Al Muslimeen

A COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF IMAN | SAWQ’L-UMMA

AL-`AQEEDA AS-SUGHRAA

an Image of the cover of a newly translated book from as-Sanusi regarding the aqeeda of ahl’s-Sunna wa Jamaat by Shaykh Muhammad Shareef

THE SECRETS OF RAMADAN

RAISING THE LAMP OF TRUTH | A SHEHU BIOGRAPHY

NEW ARABIC COMMENTARY ON THE SECTION OF PURIFICATION | SAWQ’L-UMMAH

A COMMENTARY ON THE KITAB’L-WIRD

ENJOINING THE GOOD AND FORBIDDING EVIL | SHAYKH UTHMAN DAN FODIO

The book of Commanding the Good and Forbidding the Evil by Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio (Kitab Amr Bi’l-Ma’ruuf Wa’n-Nahyi An al-Munkaar)…Arabic annotation by Shaykh Muhammad Shareef bin Farid

AL-MINHAAJ AL-FAREED

AL-MANHAJ AL-FAREED FEE MA`ARIFAT `ILM AT-TAWHEED
(The Unique Methodology in Knowing the Science of Divine Unity)
SHAYKH MUHAMMAD AL-WAALI IBN SULAYMAN AL-FULANI 1760

MIRAAJ AL-AWAAM

This work was written for the common Muslim in order elevate their knowledge and discourse regarding the essentials of scholastic theology in order to move them from the status of commonality, to being an intermediate student (mutawassit), to being one knowledgeable of the basic fundamental science of scholastic theology. 

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EVEN MORE LINKS

The Way of Salavtion

This concise work, Sabeel’n-Najaat (the Way of Salvation) by one of Black Africa’s leading statesmen, military generals and scholars, Shaykh Abdullahi ibn Fuduye`, is believed to have been produced after 1827 when he retired from active rule of the Gwandu region of the Sokoto Caliphate.

This work reflected the kind of instructions Shaykh Abdullahi was engaged in during this period. The two original manuscripts I used to translate this work were no less than 10 folios and no more than 13 folios respectively. Thus, the work is relatively small. It is divided into two chapters followed by a small conclusion.

  • The first chapter is on repentance and its conditions.
  • The second chapter is on guarding the five limbs which Shaykh Abdullahi enumerates as: the eyes, the ears; the tongue; the heart and the stomach.
  • In his conclusion, ‘the professor’ simply reiterates a quote presumably taken from the conclusion of his brother, Shehu Uthman’s Ihya’s-Sunna wa Ikhmad’l-Bid`a, where he quotes from an Andalusian scholar, Abu’l-Abbas al-Abyaani.

This work is thus an epitomizing of the fundamentals of spiritual purification for the transformation of character (tasawwuf li’t-takhalluq) composed for the beginner in the spiritual path.

In these last days and times when tribulation, injustice, hypocrisy and inequity have filled our planet, it is with pleasure mixed with a little irony that we at SIIASI present this very concise but dense work on the basic research of repentance and guarding ones limbs from everything other than that which pleases Allah.

The Education of Humanity

The Sankore’ Institute is honored to present to the reader a book which clarifies in the most concise and eloquent manner the reality (haqiqah) of the last and final Messenger to mankind, Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdu’l-Muttalib ibn Hashim, (may Allah bless him as long as the east wind blows and to the number of created things). Many writers in the past have written about the sublime reality of this noble Messenger.  However, this book was written by one of Africa’s leading scholars and revolutionaries.  Thus, we can get a glimpse as to how the people of the Lands of the Blacks viewed their beloved Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

The Character Traits of the Chosen One

salawaat ala nabi2

The Akhlaaq’l-Mustafa (the Character Traits of the Chosen One) byShaykh Abdullahi ibn Fuduye` is an exposition upon the personality of the most perfect creature that ever existed, our master, Muhammad ibn Abdullahi, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The title of the text is taken from the singular phrase ‘khuluq’ with the letter laam inflected with the damma, which means – one’s personal way of life, nature, and natural disposition.

The Support of the Dedicated Worshipers 

This text, `Umdat’l-Muta`abideen wa’l-Muhtarifeen (The Support of the Dedicated Worshippers and Skilled Professionals) by Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye`, may Allah engulf him in his mercy, is one of the most concise books composed dealing with the essential knowledge which is obligatory upon every responsible person to know and act upon. For the common Muslim who has not attained the station of scholar or student of knowledge, this text provides those necessary elements of the religion for which the servants will be questioned about on the Day of Judgment. For the student of knowledge, this text provides the sources from which the scholars derive their legal judgments: the Book and the Sunna.

The Hour of the Christians

On March 15, 1903 the armies of the Sokoto Caliphate were defeated at the hands of the British Imperialists. The Caliph (or ruler) of the Sokoto Caliphate at that time was Muhammad Attahiru, the twelfth ruler after Shehu Uthman Dan Fuduye’. After the ‘defeat’, Attahiru led a mass exodus (hijra) of his loyal supporters and officials on the famous ‘hijra to the east’, which had been foretold a century earlier by the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, Shehu Uthman Dan Fuduye’. >>

Risaa’lat Li’l-Amraad

This book was originally a letter of advice written for the regional amirs and officials of the Sokoto Islamic Caliphate. I believe that it was composed during the first year of his rule in 1818, when many regions began to revolt from under his rule, and many of the veterans of early days of the consolidation of the kingdom were becoming disillusioned either through longing for the asceticism that was the custom of the past, or being preoccupied with the responsibilities gained from their victories. >>



312 thoughts on “Home

  1. The important thing is that as we witness the fulfillment of prophecies transmitted by our master Muhammad, we can then say: Indeed Muhammad told the truth; in the same way that the Companions testified to his truthfulness. When we witness the Signs of the End of Time, we are actually testifying to the miracles of Muhammad, upon him be blessings and peace. As for the afflictions and fitna which will pervade the whole world; there is nothing you can do to stop it. The only thing you can do is revive the Sunna in your life. The seventy and something Signs of the End of Time are the opposite of the seventy and something traits of Iman which embody the character traits of the Chosen One,upon him be peace. BY being preoccupied with reviving the Living Sunna, it negates the fitna and afflictions of the Signs of the End of Time in your life.

    • Ameen Ameen Ameen. it’s time to put up or shut up O MEN! ALLAH is truly going to test, tempt, and reveal the real from the fake. And May Allah fortify our hearts in order to ensure such tribulations, Ameen .

      Peace to you brother and peace to all the lovers of truth!

    • A part of the Living Sunna of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace is the reciting of Surat al-Kahf on Fridays, along with the memorization and constant recitation of the beginning and end of the same Surat. This is a spiritual, psychic and psychological remedy against the most malevolent Sign of the End of Time – the DAJJAL. According to Shaykh Abd’l-Qaadir ibn Mustafa, the grandson of Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye`: “The Dajjal is the qutb of evil in existence and the outward manifestation of human animalistic evil intent.” The letters, the words, the phrases, the ayaat, the tashkeel, the pauses, the mandatory stops and all the divisions of Surat al-Kahf protects the person at their deepest inner levels. Surat al-Kahf keeps you HUMAN at a time when most humans will revert to being animals.

    • May Allah bring more ease upon your life in order to translate such a necessary read, Ameen. Jazarkarla khair As-salaamu alaykum wa hakeemutullahi wa barakatu

  2. As-salaamu alaykum wa hakeemutullahi wa barakatu!

    In Surah al-Qasas :-59 ALLAH says,

    “وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ مُهۡلِكَ ٱلۡقُرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ يَبۡعَثَ فِىٓ أُمِّهَا رَسُولاً۬ يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ءَايَـٰتِنَا‌ۚ وَمَا ڪُنَّا مُهۡلِكِى ٱلۡقُرَىٰٓ إِلَّا وَأَهۡلُهَا ظَـٰلِمُونَ (٥٩)

    “AND NEVER WILL YOUR LORD ANNIHILATE THE TOWNS UNTIL HE DISPATCHES WITHIN HER MOTHER TOWN, MESSENGERS (ra’soolaan) reciting to them our verses. And never will destruction come upon the towns, except when her citizens are corrupted (zaa’leemoon).”

    ALLAH revealed the word messengers in a pluralistic manner.

    Does this mean that there are minor messengers who are sent throughout history to recite the scriptures to the zalimeen people’s?

    Will there be minor messengers sent into the mother city of this American nation (D.C.)?

    * A follower of the messenger (SAWS) as Shehu Uthman (RA) was imitated the ways of his Messenger to the best of his ability.

    Allah says that Muhammad is no more than a Warner and one who gives admonitions. He acamels came with a book which makes him a messenger.

    Is someone who imitates the messenger (SAWS) in warning people and giving admonitions, not the same as Muhammad the messenger?

    * And what I mean is as Allah revealed it. ra’soolaan not ar-Rasool.

    • wa alaykum as salaam wa rahma from the time of the first human until the time of the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, there were 124000 prophets, of which 313 were Messengers who were sent with a law and a Book as a guide to a segment of humanity and creation. Our master Muhammad was sent to all humanity and jinn and was the seal and finality of all the messengers and prophets; and there will be no prophet or messenger after him. Those who inherit a portion of prophethood and messengership are the right acting scholars who revive the Living Sunna of Muhammad, upon him be blessings and peace and teach it to the Umma of Muhammad and the world. The right acting scholars are the sages and awliyya who know Allah as He should be known and imitate the Messenger in every state, movement and stillness. You should recite the tahleel 166 times and one Muhammadur rasuulullahi after each prescribed prayer. It will help.

      • SubhanAllah!!! I know this tahleel very well, and I testify to its benefits. yaaaaaa Muhammad shareef I tell you in truth Allah is doing miraculous things here in the west. Victory soon come my brother. Alhamduillah!

        • The ONLY miracle that is going in in the west is that its population are entering into Islam in large numbers. The miracle of that miracle is that many of the African American Muslims who themselves were descendants of enslaved Fulbe, Hausa, Yorube, Wolof or Fon speaking African Muslims are being RETURNED to the Way of their righteous Muslim ancestors. This is an ACT which Allah ta`ala Promised, our father and spiritual master Ibrahim, upon him be peace, that HE would do with all his descendants. That is the ONLY miracle happening in the west. But from that MIRACLE emerges many subsequent miracles and blessings. Other than that, it is in the west where the name of our master Muhammad is MOST maligned and disparaged. It is in the west where Muslim women are attacked because of their Muslim attire. It is in the west that everything Islamic is demeaned,marginalized and criminalized. Family norms defined by the Prophets are particularly denounced in the west, while the destructive social norms of the days of the Prophets are now normalized, mainstreamed and marketed boldly and vaingloriously in the west. The immigrant Muslim populations of the west have become cowed and intimidated into a false sense of gratitude expressed in an animated show of patriotism to America and all its flaws. At the same time, the indigenous American Muslim populations have not even started where al-Hajj Malik El Shabazz stopped. The indigenous American Muslim leadership actually backtracked to the same civil rights era rhetoric that al-Hajj Malik El Shabazz openly condemned. You would think that the leadership of the indigenous American Muslim populations should have begun where El Shabazz left off. Now THAT would be a miracle! If our people confederated with all the indigenous American Muslim groups were to collectively bring our case, history, social status and treatment in the west before the World Court and all international bodies. Al-Hajj Malik El Shabazz was martyred for doing just that. So one you all in the west implement THAT program, then I will concede that there are indeed MIRACLE happening in the west.

          • Yaaaaaa Muhammad Shareef!! In truth you speak o brother of truth! And still the light of Muhammad vanishes not! I tell you o brother that this miracle that you speak of. The cower that you mention of the mujjadin muslims, the lack of our indigenous brothers and sisters sticking to the rope of Allah and his Messenger, but following the was of pan-Africanism, and the complete lack of the desire to purse ture Islamic education, even still O brother the light and flags of the righteous flies high!

            O brother victory is coming and that is Allah’s promise! The children of the enslaved Fulani are indeed reforming, and being completely transformed back to their ancient roots. The outward representation of who we are as a distinctive Muslim national minority is being manifested in truth! And the natural rights accorded to the indigenous African American Muslim national minority will be accorded, INSHALLAH. Because there are still a few who believe here in babylon O brother! And we did not abandon the courageous actions of our late el-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz! And the noble actions of the late Imam Luqman (RA). And it was unjust what was done to you, and still Allah raises up another to carry on the legacy of we people. And you will be redeemed for the injustice done to you O Shareef!

            That miracle that you speak of O Abu Alpha! Is indeed coming…

            And Allah is with the believers!

  3. AS-SALAAMU ALAYKUM WA HAKEEMUTULLAHI WA BARAKATU!

    Muhammad Shareef, I wanted to know if you could point me in the direction as to where I can learn more about the constellations within the wisdom of this Jama’at Inshallah. I found some books written by Ibn Arabi (RA) on this subject, but they were not translated by muslim scholars.

    Jazarkarla khair

  4. As alaam Alakum
    I writing on behalf Aldullah Fodiwa I have been emailing Muhammad Share at their different emails you provided
    And they are being returned permanently failed is there any other way to get in contact with you

  5. As-Salaam alakum
    Abdullah Fodiwa we have tried to email you at http://www.siiasi @yandex .com and the email is being rejected and we try to print from the siiasiorg it won’t allow us to print it is there any other way we can get in touch with you without going on Facebook but we have no Facebook account

  6. wa alaykum as salaam wa rahma

    although entering into Islam is mainly a private inner matter that concerns you and Allah ta`ala; it also has a public aspect as well. As a Muslim, they have certain rights upon other Muslims. Among them being: [1] the right to be given and give the salaams: [2] when they die they have a right to have their bodies washed, wrapped and buried among Muslims; [3] the right to inherit from Muslims and be inherited by Muslims; [4] the obligation to give charity and have it divided among the 8 category of people; and [5] the right to recieve charity from Muslims if you are among the 8 category of people. So in order to enjoy these rights and give over these rights; you must first take a complete ritual bath called GHUSL and then in the presence of at least two Muslim men, or one Muslim man and two Muslim women declare your shahaada [saying: ASH HADU AN LAA ILAHA ILLAH ALLAH WA ASH HADU ANNA MUHAMMADAR RASUULULLAH] “I openly bear witness that there is no diety accept Allah and I openly bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”

    Send me you email address and I will have someone contact you and walk you throuh this. Remember, when you have taken.the ritual bath and pronounced the shahaada, your soul will be washed clean like the day that your mother ave birth to you. You will have a completely clean slate. Therefore, be careful to preserve and protect what you look at with your eyes; what you listen to with your ears; what you seize or take with your hands; what you ingest and taken in from food and drink; what you do with you private parts; more importantly you must protect your heart from arrogance, conceit, showing off, unjust anger, eccessive love of rank, leadership and .this worldly life, stinginess etc.

    Where are you from? In what city and state do you presently reside? SO send me an email to siiasi@yandex.com

  7. As-salamu alaykum. I am interested in learning about Islam. Can you recommend me books on this website that will help give me a core understanding of Islam?

  8. as-Saalamu Alaykum wa Hakeemutulaahi wa barakathu!

    I just witnessed a blood moon this night 12th Dhu’l-Hajj (1437) during the midnight hour. My calculations may be a day and night off, however my concern is pertaining to the hadith’s about the signs of the end of time and the blood moon with it’s meanings and explanations.

    Perhaps this could be the incoming year of much trial and tribulation amongst the Muslimeen?

    Will you please share with the lovers of truth the poofs that deal with the blood moon?

    Jazarkarlah Khair!

      • عن ابن سيرين قال لا يخرج المهدي حتى يقتل من كل تسعة سبعة

        Ibn Sirene said: “The Mahdi does not appear until seven out of every nine (human beings) die.”

        (Nuaim bin Hammad’s Kitab Al-Fitan)

        The enemies of al-Islam have a plan to exterminate 2/3’s of the world’s population, and their doing this by way of GMO food, Vaccines, GMO diseases, Chemical Trails, Planned Parenthood, and some more.

        What is the authenticity of this hadith mentioned above. Perhaps the plan of Allah is many people must die before the affairs of this world is recitified?

        • The important thing is that as we witness the fulfillment of prophecies transmitted by our master Muhammad, we can then say: Indeed Muhammad told the truth; in the same way that the Companions testified to his truthfulness. When we witness the Signs of the End of Time, we are actually testifying to the miracles of Muhammad, upon him be blessings and peace. As for the afflictions and fitna which will pervade the whole world; there is nothing you can do to stop it. The only thing you can do is revive the Sunna in your life. The seventy and something Signs of the End of Time are the opposite of the seventy and something traits of Iman which embody the character traits of the Chosen One,upon him be peace. BY being preoccupied with reviving the Living Sunna, it negates the fitna and afflictions of the Signs of the End of Time in your life.

  9. As Salaamu Alaikum
    Shaykh Abu Alfa

    This is Sidi Ismail. You may remember that you gave me an abundance of guidance and advice while I was in school in Houston approx. 20 years ago. I’m sure you will remember my father-in-law Saif. I am sending this message to you for no other reason than the fact that we miss you. We all love you. We thank Allah for your tireless work and sacrifices for the poor and simple Muslims like myself that need light. And I pray that Allah is covering with His Mercy and Protection.

    As Salaamu Alaikum
    Wa Rahmatu Allah

  10. There is nothing that you can take away from what I said above for use in your ibada and adhkaar through life. What I said was in answer to a specific question to a specific person concerning a specific text. I doubt that anyone else would understand what I was discussing without knowing the text and subject about which the question was framed. Ibaada and dhikr are outward actions of drawing near to Allah, drawing near to Allah can only be accomplished through sincerity, humility and recognition that Allah ta`ala is the Doer or Prime Agent in all affairs. Once sincerity, humility and recognition that it is Allah ta`ala and not the servant who brings about nearness then worship and remembrance of Allah becomes illuminated until the One worshipped and the One remembered is known. Once Allah is known then the fruit of that knowledge is increased ma`arifa of Allah and His creation. Allah ta`ala says: “Is the reward for Ihsaan not Ihsaan?” As for baraka and harmony in one’s life it is simply performing the above ibaada and dhikr because that is what Allah ta`ala created you for to worship, remember and know Him. The person who does these has baraka and harmony in their lives…and Allah knows best.

    honestly I know nothing about the lahut, hahut, or the nasut, as for the malakut and the jabarut they are common terms used in the lexicon of the Fudiawa sages..

  11. As-Salaamu alaikum Shaykh Muhammad Shareef
    May Allah increase you! Amen ! The last couple of days I have been going over Shaykh
    Dan Tafa’s ” oaths and Covenants ” . It is one particular covenant I don’t understand Dan Tafa
    Says I have taken an oath and covenant to closely reflect upon the establish precepts and and research theories regarding the majority of existing things and upon what emerges from the influence which some parts have upon others what does he mean by establish and research theories what does he mean what emerges from the influence with some parts have upon others may Allah reward you Abdullah

    • In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful, may Allah send blessings upon our master Muhammad, who was the first of the lights to overflow from the immense oceans of the Divine Essence, the first to be realized with absolute certainty in the worlds of the hidden and manifest with the meanings of the Divine Names and Attributes, the first to give praise and unequivocal devotion with all the varieties of worship and drawing near, the reinforcement in the world of spirits and corporeality to all levels of existence, the one sent ‘as a mercy to all the worlds’; and upon his pure family, the mines of Divine secrets and his Companions, the foremost of the champions of truth, the best of the martyrs, the leaders of the righteous and upholders of the banner of praise; and upon all those who follow them in spiritual excellence. To continue:

      Sidi Abdullahi, you asked a question regarding the meaning of the third oath and covenant which the knower of Allah, Shaykh Abd’l-Qaadir ibn Mustafa, who was known as Dan Tafa, took with his Lord to follow and adhere to and which constitute a part of the spiritual Path vouchsafed to him and his family from his spiritual master the realized gnostic sage, Shaykh Muhammad Sanbu who received it from his father, the light of the age, the reformer of the religion, the reviver of the living Sunna, the Sword of Truth, the Imam of the awliyya, the Amir’l-Mu’mineen and herald of the Seal of the Muhammadan saints, Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye`, may Allah engulf all of them in His mercy Amen; here he said:

      أَخَذَ عَلَىَّ الْعَهَدَ وَالْمِيثاقَ أَن أَتَأَمُلَ الْحَكَمَ الْمَوْضُوعَةَ فِي غَوَالِبِ الْكَائِنَاتِ، وَمَا يَصْدَرُ عَنْهَا مِن تَأثِيرٍ بَعْضِهَا فِي بَعْضٍ، وَلَا أُهْمَلُ الْفَوَائِدَ وَالْبَرَكَاتَ اَلَّتِي فِيهَا، وَلَا أَكُونُ كَكَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْخُصُوصِ الْقَاصِرِينَ عَلَى إِنَّ لَا تَأثِيرَ لِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْكَائِنَاتِ مُطْلَقًا مَعَ مُطَالِعَتِي لِلْحَقِيقَةِ اَلَّتِي يَصْدَرُ عَنْهَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ.

      “I have taken an oath and covenant to closely reflect upon the established precepts and researched theories regarding the majority of existing things and upon what emerges from the influences which some parts of existence have upon others. I have not disregarded the benefits and blessings which are in these precepts. Further, I have refrained from being like the mentally shallow who say that created existence has no effective influence, whatsoever. In holding this position, I remain completely acquainted with the fundamental Divine realities from which all things have emerged.”

      I say and success is with Allah, that this oath and covenant which Shaykh Dan Tafa took was among the oaths which constitute his cosmological belief and scientific view of existence. This view of existence was not based upon ratiocination, but it emerged from spiritual unveiling as a result of spiritual discipline (mujaahidaat) and spiritual exercise (riyaadiyaat). Shaykh Dan Tafa took an oath and covenant to examine the whole of existence (kaa’inaat) from the natural order that we see (tabee`iyya), the galactic and planetary orbital order above it (falakiyya), the spiritual order which enlivens it (ruuhaaniyya) and the Divine order which is its source (ilaahiyya); and to reflect upon the established principles (hakam mawduu`a) which govern them and the wisdom, sciences and advantages that emerge from the influences which the higher realms have upon the lower realms. His oath and covenant included him not being heedless of the innate spiritual, psychic, intellectual, medicinal and physical advantages and baraka which these influences provide humanity. Allah ta`ala says: “and He has subjected to you the rivers”; “Have you not seen that Allah has subjected to you what is in the earth”; “Verily We subjected the mountains to glorify with Dawud and the birds”; “for We subjected the wind to him which flowed by his command”; “and He has subjected to you the sun and moon”; “and He has subjected to you the night and the day”; “and He has subjected to you everything that is in the heavens and the earth”; “Glory be to Him who subjected this to us and we could not accomplished this ourselves”; “Likewise has he subjected these to you in order that you may glorify Allah for what He has guided you to”; “Likewise have We subjected these to you so that you will be grateful”; and other Quranic verses which clarify the subjugation (taskheer) which Allah ta`ala has given Adam and his descendants.

      The established precepts of existence which Shaykh Dan Tafa speaks of are principles governing the natural order around us which are subjugated under the four elements of: [1] fire (naar); [2] water (maa’); [3] air (hawaa) and [4] earth (turaab). It is the balance (mizaan) of these elements which determine the physical structure, psychic, intellectual and spiritual well being of everything around us. The order, health and well being or the disorder, illness and debility of everything in the natural order is determined by the balance or lack of balance of these four elements. The element of fire and the heat (haraara) it produces in the natural order is what gives nature its volition (iraada). The element of water and the coldness (baruuda) it produces in the natural order is what gives nature its knowledge (`ilm). The element of air and the humidity (ratuuba) it produces in the natural order is what gives nature its life (hayya). The element of earth and the aridity (yabuusa) it produces in the natural order is what gives nature its capacity and function (qudra).

      By reflecting upon and understanding the dynamics of these elements, the humors which emerge from their interactions with one another a person can comprehend the benefits and advantages within the natural order and know how to maintain the balance and harmony between them in existence. Adversely, a person can also learn to bring about a disorder or disharmony among these elements, especially with regard to defending the oppressed, overcoming enemies, and destroying tyrants. Allah ta`ala says: Allah ta`ala says: “and He has subjected to you the rivers”; He says: “Have you not seen that Allah has subjected to you what is in the earth”; He says: “Verily We subjected the mountains to glorify with Dawud and the birds”; and he says: “for We subjected the wind to him which flowed by his command”

      This natural order falls under the subjugation or governing influence of the realm above it, which is the galactic and planetary orbit (falakiyya). Just as the natural realm is divided into four elements, the galactic and planetary orbit is also divided into four: [1] the volition which governs the orbits (iraada falakiyya) and gives it its mandate (talab); [2] the knowledge which governs the orbits (`ilm falakiyya) and gives it its complex conceptions ( fikr murakkab); [3] the life which governs the orbits (hayyat falakiyya) and gives it its force (quwwa); and [4] the power which governs the orbits (qudrat falakiyya) and gives it its dynamic movement (haraka).

      By reflecting upon and understanding the volition, knowledge, life and power of the heavenly orbits and the impact and influences these have upon the elements of the natural order, a person can understand the advantages and baraka which the heavens have upon the earths production of food, water, wind, energy and other natural resources. Allah ta`ala says: “and He has subjected to you the sun and moon”; He says: “and He has subjected to you the night and the day”; and He says: “and He has subjected to you everything that is in the heavens and the earth”;

      Theoretically the subjugation (taskheer) which Allah ta`ala has given humanity over the heavens and the earth can be attained either through acquisition (kasab) or charisma (karaama). It is for this reason the outward knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages which the earth and heavens provide are open to those who believe in Allah and those who do not believe. However, those who disbelieve in Allah ta`ala and reject that Allah is the prime Agent of all existence and its phenomena, can only attain the outward or apparent principles of existence. Allah ta`ala explicitly says: “They know the outward from the life of this world, while they are heedless of the Hereafter”; He says: “and the majority of them only follow conjecture”; He says: “they only follow conjecture and what the souls crave after” and he says: “and they possess no real knowledge of it for they only follow conjectures.”

      It is for this reason the advantages which the disbelievers have made in exploiting, conquering and mastering the natural and heavenly orbits has been a double edge sword which has also created in mankind spiritual trauma, the development of corporatized medicine and processed foods partly responsible for the spread of degenerative diseases and epidemics, the development of weapons of mass destruction, the destruction of the biosphere of the planet, pollution of the air, the rivers and seas, and the fabrication of technological utopianism which has dislocated human beings from one another, but far worse has dislocated human beings from themselves.

      However, the approach to understanding the natural and heavenly orbits put forward by Shaykh Dan Tafa in this oath and covenant is the subjugation (taskheer) which Allah ta`ala gave Adam at the very beginning when He says: “When your Lord said to the Angels: ‘I am making a vicegerent in the earth’; they said:’Wiill you make In it someone who will cause corruption in it and shed blood; while we glorify You with praises and sanctify Your holiness?’ He said: ‘Indeed I know what you no know.’ He then taught Adam all the Names; and then showed them to the Angels and said: ‘Inform Me of the names of these if indeed you are truthful.’ They said: ‘Glory be to You we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed You are the Knowing the Wise.’ He said: ‘O Adam, inform them of their names.’ When he had informed them of their names, He said: ‘Did I not say to you that I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?”

      This level of comprehension is specific for the Prophets, the Messengers, and their inheritors from among the right acting scholars and awliyya. It is an intuitive understanding of the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, expressed as calm but accurate judgment, nurturing but piercing reflection and discerning but practical action in accordance and harmony with the Way which heaven and earth unfolds. This comprehension of the Unseen of the heavens and earth (ghayb’s-samawaat wa’l-ard) can only occur from the realm which is above and governs the galactic and planetary orbit.

      This realm is the spiritual order (ruuhaaniyya); and like the two realms below it, it too is divided into four: [1] spiritual volition (iraada ruuhaaniyya) which is the necessity of the essence of existence (muqtadaa dhaat’l-kaa’inaat); [2] spiritual life (hayyat ruuhaaniyya) which is the inviolable light of existence (nuur qudsiy’l-kaa’inaat); [3] spiritual knowledge (`ilm ruuhaaniyya) which is the light of the comprehension of existence (nuur mudrak’l-kaa’inaat) and [4] spiritual power (qudrat ruuhaaniyya) which is the perfection of the essence of existence (kamaal ‘d-dhaat ‘l-kaa’inaat). This is the realm of the Angelic spirits and the other pure spirits of the Unseen which have effective influence over the galactic and planetary orbit and the natural orbit. Allah ta`ala has arranged these realms in order where the higher worlds govern and influence the realms below them. Allah ta`ala says: “and We have elevated some of them above others in rank so that some of them can take subservient employ from others.”

      The realm of the spiritual order is completely veiled from those who do not believe and it is guarded and protected from demonic forces from the malevolent jinn. This realm constitute the instruments utilized by the Prophets, the Messengers and some of their inheritors from among the right acting scholars and perfected awliyya. When Allah ta`ala discloses this realm of knowledge to His servants their understanding of the lower worlds and the Unseen of the heavens and earth is precise.

      As Shaykh Abd’l-Qaadir Dan Tafa suggested that these worlds have influence upon one another, and are governed by or govern one another. The disbelievers are veiled to this dynamic relationship and influence and conclude falsely that agents which drive the terrestrial and celestial orders are self-induced and originate from themselves. While, the shallow minded among those who testify to the Agency of Allah ta`ala in His creation falsely believe that these realms do not have effective influence or regulation in of themselves over other parts. This incongruous because it denies vicegerency (khilaafa) in the creational order.

      It is for this reason Allah ta`ala created Adam as His vicegerent in order to indicate that each element of existence has a governing and influential capacity over those elements below it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said: “Every one of you is a shepherd and will be asked about those under his charge.” Thus, the mother will be questioned about her responsibility over her children, the husband will be asked about his responsibility over his family. The ruler will be asked about his responsibility over his subjects, Likewise in the order of existence, the spiritual realm is responsible for the celestial realm, and the celestial realm is responsible to the natural terrestrial realm. The natural terrestrial realm is influenced by the dynamics of the celestial realm above it; and it in turn is influenced by the spiritual realm above it.

      As for the spiritual realm, it too is governed and influenced by the realm above it, which is the Divine realm (ilaahiyya); and it is this truth which induced Shaykh Abd’l-Qaadir Dan Tafa to say: “I remain completely acquainted with the fundamental Divine realities from which all things have emerged.” Like the three realms of existence below It, this realm also has four aspects: [1] the Divine Will (iraadat ilaahiyya) which is the function of divinity (muqtadaa ‘l-iluuhiyya); [2] Divine Knowledge (`ilm ilaahi) which is the Self Disclosure of Divine Unicity (tajalli ‘l-waahidiyya); [3] Divine Life (hayyat ilaahiyya) which is the reality of existence (haqeeqat’l-wujuud); and [4] Divine Power (qudrat ilaahiyya) which is the Self Disclosure of the Divine Essence (tijalli’d-dhaat).

      If Allah ta`ala illuminates your heart, lifts he veil between you and Him and grants you the Great Khilaafa, you will be able to understand how existence emerges from non existence, as well as the immense influence the higher realms have upon the realms below them. This world of nature will disclose its secrets and wonders to you and the innate baraka which is in existence will inform you of its gateways and hiding places. I cannot say any more than what I have said to you, and Allah ta`ala is the Best Knower and is the Witness for what I have disclosed.

      wa as-salaam `ala man ittibaa`’l-hudaa

      • Amazing post. Knowing all this regarding Lahut, Hahut, Jabarut, Malakut, Nasut. What are some practical things we can take away from all this for use in our ibadat and adhkar through life? In order to bring baraka and harmony in our lives.

  12. It has been related by al-Haakim on the authority of Amir’l-Mu’mineen Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah ennoble his face that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said:

    “Supplication is the weapon of the believer, the support of the religion and the light of the heavens and the earth.”

    Allah ta`ala listens to the supplication of the oppressed who have no helper except Him.

  13. Thanks for that Sheik ElShareef…..the significance of the first Hijra seems to be underplayed compared to that of Madina….in many historical narratives about Islam it is hardly mentioned at all.I resent the email …hope you get it this time In Sha Allah

    • People normally give preference and emphasis to things which are significant to them as individuals and as a collective. Those matters which are important to a collective of people that have a specific demographic such as the same ethnicity, language, religion etc; they tend to try and preserve, and revive those matters.

      It is not significant to Arabs collectively to preserve or revive any aspect of Islamic history which excludes them, marginalizes them or de-emphasizes them. The hijra to Abyssinia was/is significant to Arabs and other non African Muslims to the extent that it highlights the Muhajiruun who went there. None Africans did not place emphasis on the otherside of the narrative; that is to say, the narrative of Prophet Muhammad’s definition of the value of Abyssinia (Africa); its role as a sovereign kingdom, its independence, its equity, justice and integrity; and its role as a persistent place of refuge, not only for the Prophets beleaguered community, but for Abraham, Ishaq, Yusef, Ya`qub and other sons; Mary and her son the Messiah Jesus.

      Because this narrative is our narrative, we are the ones responsible for preserviing it, reviving it and establishing it as transformative iconography.

      We have to understand the significance of the first hijra to our motherland and to relate its significance, symbolism, and transcedence to the rest of the world. This is not to be accomplished by merely acting like modern griots and presenting the narrative as some form of transformative entertainment; but we have to live that narrative and transmit it intergeneratioinally to our future generations.

      • Salam alaykum Sidi Shaykh, that was a powerful analysis al Hamdulillahi! I was trying to pin point the exact date of the first Hijra to Habesha. I have some info but do you have any info on this. So that I can compare?

  14. It was after the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as ordered by Allah ta`ala to warn his nearest of kinsmen, where some accepted the message of Islam and sone rejected it; that the persecution of the small Muslim community in Mecca began in earnest. This was after the revelation of Surat Saad [38: 4-8] where Allah ta`ala says:

    “4. So they wonder that a Warner has come to them from among themselves! and the
    Unbelievers say, “This is a sorcerer telling lies!
    5. “Has he made the gods [all] into one Allah? Truly this is a wonderful thing!”
    6. And the leader among them go away [impatiently], [saying], “Walk ye away, and
    remain constant to your gods! For this is truly a thing designed [against you]!
    7. “We never heard [the like] of this among the people of these latter days:
    this is nothing but a made-up tale!”
    8. “What! has the Message been sent to him – [Of all persons] among us?” … but
    they are in doubt concerning My [Own] Message! Nay, they have not yet tasted My
    Punishment!”

    It was after the revelation of these verses that the Quraysh began to institute systematic and systemic punishment and persecution of the believers, especially those who were oppressed, poor, dispossessed and had no protectors. It as during this period of persecution that Allah ta`ala revealed Surat al-Ghaafir, []. Imam at-Tabari related in his Tarikh on the authority of Muhammad ibn ishaq who said:

    “When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace saw the extent of the affliction suffered by his Companions, and the well being that Allah provided him personally, and the security he enjoyed due to his connection with his uncle Abu Talib; and how he realized that he did not have the ability to offer sufficient proptections for his Companions from the affliction of the Quraysh; he said: ‘If only you would leave for the lands of Abyssinia. Indeed in that land there is a ruler who does not oppress anyone under his authority. It is a land of integrity and honesty. Go there until Allah brings about some relief for you from what you are suffering’. It was then that some of the Companions of the Messernger of Allah left for the lands of Abyssinia fearing tribulation and fleeing with their religion to Allah `izza wa jalla. This was the first hijra in Islam.”

    There is disagreement regarding how many of the Companions made this first emigration to the lands of Abyssinia. Some historians say it was eleven men and four women. About this Imam Tabari said in his Tarikh on the authority of al-Haarith ibn al-Fudayl who said:

    “Those who made the first hijra to Abyssinia left secretly. They were eleven men and four women. Some of them mounted and some walking until they reached a place called as-Shu`ayba. Then Allah ta`ala provided them success by affording two merchant ships to arrive at that time, which they were able to take to the lands of Abyssinia, for half a dinar per passenger. The time of their departure was in the month of Rajab in the 5th year from the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Some of the Quraysh followed in their traces to the sea, but they were unable to catch them. The Companions said about that: ‘When we reached the lands of Abyssinia, they the Africans hosted us in the best manner. We were protected in our religion, we worshipped Allah, were not harmed in anyway, nor did with experience anything which we disliked’.”

    During the period in which the Muslims resided in Abyssinia, Allah ta`ala revealed Surat’l-Kaafiruun, Surat az-Zumar, Surat’l-Hajj, Surat’n-Najm and other chapters. In Surat’n-Najm particularly Allah revealed some verses which caused the disbelievers of Mecca to make prostration, and thus the news reached the Muhajirun in Abyssinia that the people of Mecca had accepted Islam. So some of them secretly returned to Mecca to discover that the acceptance of Islam on the part of the Meccans was false. Some of them remained in Mecca until the Messenger of Allah and the belivers made the hijra to al-Medina; while some along with others returned to Abyssinia and remained their until after the hijra to al-Medina in the year that the Messenger of Allah and his Companions conquered the jewish fortress of Khaybar. That was in the year 7 of the hijra. Thus the Muhajiruun resided in Abyssinia for approaximately 17 years. and Allah ta`ala knows best.

  15. Salam alaikum Sheik Shareef

    I have a question for you in regards to the first Hijra to Abyssinia. How many years did the Muslims live there for and how much of the Quran did they receive during that time? Also I sent you an article in Arabic about Arabs. Not sure if you received it.

    • The Bayan Wujub al-Hijra `Ala ‘l-`Ibaad by Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye` has already been translated by my professor the late Dr. Fathi el-Misri. It as publsihed in 1976 by the UNiversity of Khartoum Press; and can be gotten at almost any university library in the US. I know that there is a copy at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. because my first copy of the text was xeroxed from their copy. As for a commentary upon the text, there is no need for one because the text is laid out in 63 clear decisive chapters which are self explanatory. That was the text that gave me the impetus to leave AmeriKKKa in the first place.

  16. I wanted to share this article with our readers at SIIASI. I believe it is the most sober assessment of the present situation regarding ‘daesh’ and the American people’s response to it.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Giving Advice to a Presidential Candidate Who Wants to “Do Something”

    Cross-posted with TomDispatch.com

    How can we stop the Islamic State?

    Imagine yourself shaken awake, rushed off to a strategy meeting with your presidential candidate of choice, and told: “Come up with a plan for me to do something about ISIS!” What would you say?

    What Hasn’t Worked

    You’d need to start with a persuasive review of what hasn’t worked over the past 14-plus years. American actions against terrorism — the Islamic State being just the latest flavor — have flopped on a remarkable scale, yet remain remarkably attractive to our present crew of candidates. (Bernie Sanders might be the only exception, though he supports forming yet another coalition to defeat ISIS.)

    Why are the failed options still so attractive? In part, because bombing and drones are believed by the majority of Americans to be surgical procedures that kill lots of bad guys, not too many innocents, and no Americans at all. As Washington regularly imagines it, once air power is in play, someone else’s boots will eventually hit the ground (after the U.S. military provides the necessary training and weapons). A handful of Special Forces troops, boots-sorta-on-the-ground, will also help turn the tide. By carrot or stick, Washington will collect and hold together some now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t “coalition” of “allies” to aid and abet the task at hand. And success will be ours, even though versions of this formula have fallen flat time and again in the Greater Middle East.

    Since the June 2014 start of Operation Inherent Resolve against the Islamic State, the U.S. and its coalition partners have flown 9,041 sorties, 5,959 in Iraq and 3,082 in Syria. More are launched every day. The U.S. claims it has killed between 10,000 and 25,000 Islamic State fighters, quite a spread, but still, if accurate (which is doubtful), at best only a couple of bad guys per bombing run. Not particularly efficient on the face of it, but — as Obama administration officials often emphasize — this is a “long war.” The CIA estimates that the Islamic State had perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 fighters under arms in 2014. So somewhere between a third of them and all of them should now be gone. Evidently not, since recent estimates of Islamic State militants remain in that 20,000 to 30,000 range as 2016 begins.

    How about the capture of cities then? Well, the U.S. and its partners have already gone a few rounds when it comes to taking cities. After all, U.S. troops claimed Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s al-Anbar Province, in 2003, only to see the American-trained Iraqi army lose it to ISIS in May 2015, and U.S-trained Iraqi special operations troops backed by U.S. air power retake it (in almost completely destroyed condition) as 2015 ended. As one pundit put it, the destruction and the cost of rebuilding make Ramadi “a victory in the worst possible sense.” Yet the battle cry in Washington and Baghdad remains “On to Mosul!”

    Similar “successes” have regularly been invoked when it came to ridding the world of evil tyrants, whether Iraq’s Saddam Hussein or Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, only to see years of blowback follow. Same for terrorist masterminds, including Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, as well as minor-minds (Jihadi John in Syria), only to see others pop up and terror outfits spread. The sum of all this activity, 14-plus years of it, has been ever more failed states and ungoverned spaces.

    If your candidate needs a what-hasn’t-worked summary statement, it’s simple: everything.

    How Dangerous Is Islamic Terrorism for Americans?

    To any argument you make to your preferred presidential candidate about what did not “work,” you need to add a sober assessment of the real impact of terrorism on the United States in order to ask the question: Why exactly are we engaged in this war on this scale?

    Hard as it is to persuade a constantly re-terrorized American public of the actual situation we face, there have been only 38 Americans killed in the U.S. by Islamic terrorists, lone wolves, or whacked-out individuals professing allegiance to Islamic extremism, or ISIS, or al-Qaeda, since 9/11. Argue about the number if you want. In fact, double or triple it and it still adds up to a tragic but undeniable drop in the bucket. To gain some perspective, pick your favorite comparison: number of Americans killed since 9/11 by guns (more than 400,000) or by drunk drivers in 2012 alone (more than 10,000).

    And spare us the tired trope about how security measures at our airports and elsewhere have saved us from who knows how many attacks. A recent test by the Department of Homeland’s own Inspector General’s Office showed that 95% of contraband, including weapons and explosives, got through airport screening without being detected. Could it be that there just aren’t as many bad guys out there aiming to take down our country as candidates on the campaign trail would like to imagine?

    Or take a look at the National Security Agency’s Fourth Amendment-smothering blanket surveillance. How’d that do against the Boston bombing or the attacks in San Bernardino? There’s no evidence it has ever uncovered a real terror plot against this country.

    Islamic terrorism in the United States is less a serious danger than a carefully curated fear.

    Introduce Your Candidate to the Real World

    You should have your candidate’s attention by now. Time to remind him or her that Washington’s war on terror strategy has already sent at least $1.6 trillion down the drain, left thousands of American troops and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Muslims dead. Along the way we lost precious freedoms to the ever-expanding national security state.

    So start advising your candidate that a proper response to the Islamic State has to be proportional to the real threat. After all, we have fire departments always on call, but they don’t ride around spraying water on homes 24/7 out of “an abundance of caution.”

    We Have to Do Something

    So here’s what you might suggest that your candidate do, because you know that s/he will demand to “do something.”

    Start by suggesting that, as a society, we take a deep look at ourselves, our leaders, and our media, and stop fanning everyone’s flames. It’s time, among other things, to stop harassing and discriminating against our own Muslim population, only to stand by slack-jawed as a few of them become radicalized, and Washington then blames Twitter. As president, you need to opt out of all this, and dissuade others from buying into it.

    As for the Islamic State itself, it can’t survive, never mind fight, without funds. So candidate, it’s time to man/woman up, and go after the real sources of funding.

    As long as the U.S. insists on flying air attack sorties (and your candidate may unfortunately need to do so to cover his/her right flank), direct them far more intensely than at present against one of ISIS’s main sources of cash: oil exports. Blow up trucks moving oil. Blow up wellheads in ISIS-dominated areas. Finding targets is not hard. The Russians released reconnaissance photos showing what they claimed were 12,000 trucks loaded with smuggled oil, backed up near the Turkish border.

    But remind your candidate that this would not be an expansion of the air war or a shifting from one bombing campaign to a new one. It would be a short-term move, with a defined end point of shutting down the flow of oil. It would only be one part of a far larger effort to shut down ISIS’s sources of funds.

    Next, use whatever diplomatic and economic pressure is available to make it clear to whomever in Turkey that it’s time to stop facilitating the flow of that ISIS oil onto the black market. Then wield that same diplomatic and economic pressure to force buyers to stop purchasing it. Some reports suggest that Israel, cut off from most Arab sources of oil, has become a major buyer of ISIS’s supplies. If so, step on some allied toes. C’mon, someone is buying all that black-market black gold.

    The same should go for Turkey’s behavior toward ISIS. That would extend from its determination to fight Kurdish forces fighting ISIS to the way it’s allowed jihadis to enter Syria through its territory to the way it’s funneled arms to various extreme Islamic groups in that country. Engage Turkey’s fellow NATO members. Let them do some of the heavy lifting. They have a dog in this fight, too.

    And speaking of stepping on allied toes, make it clear to the Saudis and other Sunni Persian Gulf states that they must stop sending money to ISIS. Yes, we’re told that this flow of “donations“ comes from private citizens, not the Saudi government or those of its neighbors. Even so, they should be capable of exerting pressure to close the valve. Forget a “no-fly zone” over northern Syria — another fruitless “solution” to the problem of the Islamic State that various presidential candidates are now plugging — and use the international banking system to create a no-flow zone.

    You may not be able to stop every buck from reaching ISIS, but most of it will do in a situation where every dollar counts.

    Your candidate will obviously then ask you, “What else? There must be more we can do, mustn’t there?”

    To this, your answer should be blunt: Get out. Land the planes, ground the drones, and withdraw. Pull out the boots, the trainers, the American combatants and near combatants (whatever the euphemism of the moment for them may be). Anybody who has ever listened to a country and western song knows that there’s always a time to step away from the table and cut your losses. Throwing more money (lives, global prestige…) into the pot won’t alter the cards you’re holding. All you’re doing is postponing the inevitable at great cost.

    In the end, there is nothing the United States can do about the processes now underway in the Middle East except stand on the beach trying to push back the waves.

    This is history talking to us.

    That Darn History Thing

    Sometimes things change visibly at a specific moment: December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor, or the morning of September 11, 2001. Sometimes the change is harder to pinpoint, like the start of the social upheaval that, in the U.S., came to be known as “the Sixties.”

    In the Middle East after World War I, representatives of the victorious British and French drew up national boundaries without regard for ethnic, sectarian, religious, tribal, resource, or other realities. Their goal was to divvy up the defeated Ottoman Empire. Later, as their imperial systems collapsed, Washington moved in (though rejecting outright colonies for empire by proxy). Secular dictatorships were imposed on the region and supported by the West past their due dates. Any urge toward popular self-government was undermined or destroyed, as with the coup against elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in Iran in 1953, or the way the Obama administration manipulated the Arab Spring in Egypt, leading to the displacement of a democratically chosen government by a military coup in 2013.

    In this larger context, the Islamic State is only a symptom, not the disease. Washington’s problem has been its desire to preserve a collapsing nation-state system at the heart of the Middle East. The Bush administration’s 2003 invasion of Iraq certainly sped up the process in a particularly disastrous fashion. Twelve years later, there can’t be any question that the tide has turned in the Middle East — forever.

    It’s time for the U.S. to stand back and let local actors deal with the present situation. ISIS’s threat to us is actually minimal. Its threat to those in the region is another matter entirely. Without Washington further roiling the situation, it’s a movement whose limits will quickly enough become apparent.

    The war with ISIS is, in fact, a struggle of ideas, anti-western and anti-imperialist, suffused with religious feeling. You can’t bomb an idea or a religion away. Whatever Washington may want, much of the Middle East is heading toward non-secular governments, and toward the destruction of the monarchies and the military thugs still trying to preserve updated versions of the post-World War I system. In the process, borders, already dissolving, will sooner or later be redrawn in ways that reflect how people on the ground actually see themselves.

    There is little use in questioning whether this is the right or wrong thing because there is little Washington can do to stop it. However, as we should have learned in these last 14 years, there is much it can do to make things far worse than they ever needed to be. The grim question today is simply how long this painful process takes and how high a cost it extracts. To take former President George W. Bush’s phrase and twist it a bit, you’re either with the flow of history or against it.

    Fear Itself

    Initially, Washington’s military withdrawal from the heart of the Middle East will undoubtedly further upset the current precarious balances of power in the region. New vacuums will develop and unsavory characters will rush in. But the U.S. has a long history of either working pragmatically with less than charming figures (think: the Shah of Iran, Anwar Sadat, or Saddam Hussein before he became an enemy) or isolating them. Iran, currently the up-and-coming power in the area absent the United States, will no doubt benefit, but its reentry into the global system is equally inevitable.

    And the oil will keep flowing; it has to. The countries of the Middle East have only one mighty export and need to import nearly everything else. You can’t eat oil, so you must sell it, and a large percentage of that oil is already sold to the highest bidder on world markets.

    It’s true that, even in the wake of an American withdrawal, the Islamic State might still try to launch Paris-style attacks or encourage San Bernardino-style rampages because, from a recruitment and propaganda point of view, it’s advantageous to have the U.S. and the former colonial powers as your number one enemies. This was something Osama bin Laden realized early on vis-à-vis Washington. He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in drawing the U.S. deeply into the quagmire and tricking Washington into doing much of his work for him. But the dangers of such attacks remain limited and can be lived with. As a nation, we survived World War II, decades of potential nuclear annihilation, and scores of threats larger than ISIS. It’s disingenuous to believe terrorism is a greater threat to our survival.

    And here’s a simple reality to explain to your candidate: we can’t defend everything, not without losing everything in the process. We can try to lock down airports and federal buildings, but there is no way, nor should there be, to secure every San Bernardino holiday party, every school, and every bus stop. We should, in fact, be ashamed to be such a fear-based society here in the home of the brave. Today, sadly enough, the most salient example of American exceptionalism is being the world’s most scared country. Only in that sense could it be said that the terrorists are “winning” in America.

    At this point, your candidate will undoubtedly say: “Wait! Won’t these ideas be hard to sell to the American people? Won’t our allies object?”

    And the reply to that, at least for a candidate not convinced that more of the same is the only way to go, might be: “After more than 14 years of the wrong answers and the disasters that followed, do you have anything better to suggest?”

    Peter Van Buren, a TomDispatch regular, blew the whistle on State Department waste and mismanagement during the Iraqi reconstruction in We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People. A TomDispatch regular, he writes about current events at We Meant Well. His latest book is Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the #99Percent. His next work will be a novel, Hooper’s War.

    Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, Nick Turse’s Tomorrow’s Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa, and Tom Engelhardt’s latest book, Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

  17. wa alaykum as salaam wa rahma

    I spoke with Sultan Ali ibn Muhammad at-Tahir ibn Muhammad Bello Mairuno at about 5:30 Bamako time, and asked had they sighted the moon in Maiurno. He told me yes and that the Eid
    ‘l-Fitra will tomorrow Tuesday July 5, 2016. `EID’L-MUBAARAK to the entire Umma of Muhammad, and may Allah ta`ala shower His blessings upon all of the believing men and women and make this uear a blessed year for you!

  18. I truly believe in Allah and want to be among those who has adhere to the teachings of the Sankore Institute. I know without a doubt that it is the correct teachings that’s coming from the Sankore Institute and I was first introduced to these teachings in San Quentin Prison. I have a request is to receive some directions so that I can make the hijr away from this land that treats African Americans so bad into the hands of the Jamaat of the Sankore teachers can you brothers help? Thanks

  19. PUERTO RICO IS THE US’S LONGEST STANDING COLONY

    The United States Senate will soon vote to set up a federally appointed colonial control board with sweeping powers to run Puerto Rico’s economy to help the island cope with its crippling debt crisis. The only reason the island is in debt is because it has been an American colony since the end of the Spanish American War. According to http://www.democracynow.org this new colonial bill, known as PROMESA, passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 297 to 127. In the Senate, Robert Menendez has led the opposition to the bill. On Tuesday, he waged a four-hour filibuster to protest the bill.

    Sociology professor Michael González Cruz of the University of Puerto Rico explains in his A plena voz: nuestra resistencia 2005–2010, how Puerto Rico has been under repression from the United States since the island as invaded by US marines at the end of the Spanish American War. Mostly he discusses the present years from 2005 to 2010 with the FBI illegal actions in its attempts to destroy the Puerto Rican independence movement. Professor Cruz makes the connection between the historic struggles of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party (1930s–50s), the underground armed revolutionary groups (1960s–present), and the mass political resistance in Puerto Rico today. Despite continued repression from the police and FBI, current activists are finding new methods of struggle and new ways of breathing life into Puerto Rico’s historic revolutionary national movement of liberation.

    González Cruz spends a good deal of attention on the life and assassination of Puerto Rico’s legendary revolutionary fighter Filiberto Ojeda Ríos. From the 1960s on, Ojeda Ríos founded and led several underground revolutionary organizations on the island, including Los Macheteros, which was created in 1978 and carried out several assaults on U.S. military bases and other federal installations. Ojeda Ríos spent two major periods of his life underground and continued to call for revolutionary armed struggle to obtain Puerto Rico’s freedom. In 2005, the FBI located and confronted Ojeda Ríos, riddling his home with over 100 bullets. Ojeda Ríos was shot in the clavicle, but medical attention was denied him, and he bled to death inside his home. The attack outraged most islanders and galvanized the left. The death of Ojeda Ríos at the hands of the FBI highlights the themes of repression, colonialism, and popular struggle visited throughout the book.

    The FBI has been the agency that has most consistently targeted social and political activists in the United States and its colony, Puerto Rico. As recounted in the chapter titled “Fraticelli Partying? In the Rotary Club,” the agency’s former San Juan station director Luis Fraticelli publicly lamented, during a talk to Rotary Club members on October 3, 2006, that many Puerto Ricans consider Los Macheteros and the former Nationalist political prisoners heroes. Fraticelli did not explain how the agency planned to counteract this influence but took credit for ordering the assault on Ojeda Ríos’s residence and refusing him medical aid when he was injured.
    [see: https://nacla.org/article/resistance-struggles-national-salvation-puerto-rico%5D

    Today Puerto Rico remains the US’s longest standing colony.

        • Yes dear Shaykh. I (Hamzah Alameen) am head a of team of 3 researchers at the NIMHSP we are in exclusive control of the survey no one else will view the data until the research is complete. The surveys are anonymous and the data will be used to advance Muslim mental health. The data is stored in NIMHSP servers, and will be analyzed and reported upon in scientific peer reviewed literature. Additionally participating Muslim organizations limited at this time to siiasi.org, MANA, CAIR, NYC Majlis Ashurah, and the Mid-Hudson Majlis, are eligible to receive a early report or abstract related to this survey. I will edit the link to reflect this disclaimer at the test portal. It is our intent to determine some fundamental rates of occurrence of Muslim mental health needs.

          • Could you let our readers know what is the NIMHSP? As you know domesticaly colonized people are naturally weary of surveys. So explain the history of the organization, its objectives and a possible website link. thanks

          • The National Institute of Muslim Human Service Practitioners (NIMHSP) is a not for profit organization (est. 2012) which advocates for quality service provision to Muslims by Muslims. Additionally we provide trainings, research, and we disseminate information which aids Muslim professionals in the provision of competent human services and personal development.you can visit us at:
            https://nimhsp.wordpress.com/

  20. al-hamdulillah wa shukrulillah the African Union finally did something right by demanding that the apartheid Isreali state stop the seige of Gaza, release the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners, and allow the Palestinian people to have their own state with East Jerusalem as its capital. See the full story here: [http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/06/28/472541/African-Group-Israel-UNHCR-Palestinian] No doubt the United States and Europe is going to punish those African states that led this call for Palestinian justice and freedom.

  21. Well again thanks. One of the things I wanted to convey to you about modern psychology as transmitted by Sigmund Freud that it is suedo science and was developed as a modern substitute for tasawwuf or ihsan; which is real psychology. This can only be taken at the hands of a teaching shaykh who has been given idhn to transform the inner nature of mankind and bring them out of the darkness into the light. It is not a science that you can obtain in a college or university nor can it be subjected to the rationization of deductive reasoning. It is not a mistake that the one profession that has the highest suicide rate in the west are psychiatrist. The reason is that they are meddling in a realm which they do not have the correct tools are spiritual demeanor to engage properly. The idea of mapping the inner psychic of humanity based upon the warped and sometimes corrupt views of Freud and his inheritors is what has been creating the age of ‘do as thy will’ which definds post modern societies. When both Freud and his infamous nephew Edward Bernais were allowed to leave Ellis island and enter the US proper, Freud turned to his cousin and said: “Little do they know that they are letting in the plague.”

    • As Salaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh ya Shaykh! This is interesting. So
      How would you assess the psyche of one who 1) practices Tasawwuf without taking direction from the teaching Shaykh who’s silsilah is sound and 2) one who is actually
      anti-tasawwuf? Jazakallahu khayr!

      • Your question can only be answered at length. First tasawwuf is divided into two divisions. One division is an individual obligation (fard `ayn), and the other is a collective obligation (fard kifaya). As for the tasawwuf which is an obligation upon every mukallf (responsible person) it is also divided into two obligations: renunciation (takhalli) and adornment (tahalli). Renunciation is the removing from the heart of every blameworthy destructive character trait such as: arrogance, conceit, envy, showing-off, stinginess, unjust anger, false hope, love for leadership/rank, love of worldly things, etc. Adornment is the beautification of the heart with every praiseworthy redemptive character trait such as: repentance, taqwa, austerity, leaving matters over to Allah, patience, contentment, generousity, tolerance, fear, hope, praise/gratitude, etc. These two elements of tasawwuf is called tasawwuf li’t-takhalluq (spiritual purification for the transformation of character). It is an obligation upon every person whether he claims to be Sufi or denies the path of the Sufi, to both relinquish bad character and behave with virtuous character. In this regard the Shaykh is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah ta`ala says about the Prophet: “He is the one who reveals to His servant clear signs in order to bring you out of the darkness into the light.” In this regard, the Messenger of Allah,said: “I have not been sent except to perfect good character.” A person can be anti ‘sufi’, but they cannot be anti ‘good character’. Whoever abandons good character has abandoned the Sunna, and whoever abandons the Sunna is not a follower of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; who said: “Whoever turns away from my Sunna is not from me.” The best of the Sunna is perfection of good character. Allah has made some people different from others. Some people were raised properly with Islamic adab and courtesy and thus transforming themselves is easy because they were raised in that manner. They can simply learn the character of the Chosen one and follow it. While some people were raised without guiding parents, or their parents were disbeliever, drug addicts, etc who failed to transmit to their children the proper adab due to Allah and His creation. These people need a guide to assist them in the perfection of their character. It is rare that a person who was not raised or reared to obey Allah, respect parents, be kind to nieghbors, defer to friends, the virtue of humility, patience etc to be able to attain these virtues on their own. If they were raised in the west their character dysfunctions are compounded because in the west arrogance, conceit, showing-off, bullying, self aggrandizement, vanity, anger, etc are virtues. Everyone in the west desires fame, even if it is only 15 minutes of it. These people require a guide, a teacher, a shaykh who is aware of the mechanisms of the nafs and how to cure it in order to bring the person into the light of excellent virtue. As for anyone who denies this element of tasawwuf, he/she has denied an essential element of the Sunna. Whoever denies any aspect of the Living Sunna is in error, and every error will lead to the Fire.

        As for the second division of tasawwuf, it is called tasawwuf li’t-tahaqquq (spiritual purification for spiritual realization). This division of tasawuf is not only a collective obligation, but it is specific for the People of Allah, who have mastered their characters and have completely surrendered to the Living Sunna. It entails [1] knowledge of the spiritual states (ahwaal) of the disciples (mureed); [2] knowledge of the spiritual stations (maqaamaat) of the sages (awliyya); [3] knowledge of the Self Disclosure of the Acts of Allah; [4] knowledge of the Self Disclosure of the Divine Names and Attributes; and [5] knowledge of the Self Disclosure of the Divine Essence. The door to this division of tasawwuf is closed and locked to all except those who are deserving of it. Again, like the first division, the need for a guide depends upon the individual. If a person was raised in a house of baraka, the scion of the awliyya, it is concievable for them to attain this knowledge in an unmediated manner without the guidance of a teaching shaykh. However, individuals like this are rare. Abu’l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Mulkan al-Khidr, Abu Yazid al-Bustami, Uways al-Qarni, Abd’l-Azeez ad-Dabagh were a few who attained the highest stations of gnosis without the assistance of a living guide. They recieved assistance directly from Allah ta`ala via the lights of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace or via the Rijaal’l-Ghayb (the masters of the Unseen).

        However, most of the sages who attained mastery of the science of tasawwuf did so under the watchful and caring guidance of a spiritual guide, a Shaykh, a murshid who combined in himself/herself five qualities: [1] sound knowledge that is derived from the Book of Allah and the Sunna; [2] sound perceptivity based upon experience (dhawq); [3] an exalted appearance; [4] pleasing spiritual states conforming to the Book and the Sunna and in accordance with the shaykhs of the Path; [5] penetrating discernment by which he is guided from the outward appearances of things into their inner realities. If a Shaykh lacks these qualities then they are not teaching shaykhs. If a person is fortunate to find one, then he/she has found the philosophers stone, and they should adhere to them as if their lives depended upon it.

        As for those who deny the second element of tasawwuf, it is concievable and they can be divided into two groups; [1] those who are ignorant, who are slaves of their lower passions who like cows, goats and chickens are only concerned with their consumption, sex, and worldly status. They have no inclination for the higher subtle realities, nor do they ever consider death and what will come after it. They are humans outwardly but have inclined in their natures to animals and animal instincts. If these people deny the second element of tasawwuf, then they are excused, in the same manner that one excuses a dog or a cow for not stopping what it is doing when the call to prayer is given. Only death will awaken them to the haqaa’iq, but then it will be to late. As Allah ta`ala says that they will say: “My Lord let us return to the world so that we can then be among the muhsineen.”

        However, there are some human beings whose inclinations have fallen below that of the animals and have become completely chained by Iblees and his forces. They are devils in human form. They have adorned themselves with the adornment of humans, such as knowledge of the religion, the outward Sunna, but their arrogance, self inmportance, conceit, envy, showing-off and stinginess has rendered them malevolent. Ibless whispers into their ears and incites them to become enemies of the People of Allah and those who have been given a portion of the second element of tasawwuf. Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye` said about them:
        “Apart of Allah’s wisdom is that He has placed this clear warning upon the tongue of human beings from among the Prophets during the first times and the people of the reminder during the latter times. He has made for every guide from among them enemies from among the guilty (mujrimeen). They are the devils among men and jinn who deceptively advise one another with embellished teachings. Thus, it becomes necessary for there to exist a clear light by which the truthfulness of the guides can be distinguished from the lies of the devils. Therefore, Allah made that light for the Prophets in the form of miracles which break creational norms and for the people of the reminder in the form of righteous deeds. For there was no Prophet which Allah sent to His servants except that He made for him a clear light which clarified to them that he was upon the plain truth and showed that those who opposed and renounced him that they were astray and were leading others astray. Likewise, with the people of the reminder of this Umma until the Day of Judgment because Allah has made them as guides who establish clear proofs for this Umma just like the Prophets in past communities.” For this reason it has been narrated that at the head of every century Allah will send a scholar to the people who will revive the religion for them. Therefore it is necessary in every century that there be a scholar whose spiritual states regarding commanding good (al-‘amr bi ‘l-ma`aruuf), forbidding evil (an-nahyi `an ‘l-munkaar), rectifying the affairs of the people (‘islaah ‘umuur ‘n-naas), spreading justice amongst them (al-`adl baynahim), assisting the truth against falsehood (al-haqq `ala ‘l-baatil) and assisting the oppressed against the oppressors (al-madhluum `ala ‘d-dhaalim) – be completely contrary to the remainder of the scholars of his time. In this way, he becomes like a stranger (ghareeb) amongst them because of the uniqueness of the attributes of his spiritual state and the few who resemble him. It is then that it .becomes clear to all eyes that he is among the righteous and that whoever opposes and renounces him turning people away from him that they are among the corrupt. This is true in accordance with the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “Islam began as a strange thing and it will return to being a strange thing; therefore, joyous bliss to the strangers among my Umma.” It was said to him: “Who are the strangers O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “Those who remedy things during the corruption of the times.” Therefore, this trait is the clearest sign of the people of the reminder whom Allah revives His religion on behalf of people by means of them. Among the clearest signs of the evil scholars is that they do not bring about remedy nor do they leave alone those who seek to bring about remedy. Their likeness is like a big rock which sits at the mouth of a river. It does not drink from the river nor does it allow others to drink. Each of these evil scholars is more dangerous to the people than one thousand devils.”

        This is what the Shehu, may Allah engulf him in his mercy said regarding the evil and venile scholars who opposed the masters of the science of tasawwuf. He also said about those who deny this element of tasawwuf:

        “Nothing from this knowledge (ma`aarifa) will be opened up to the one who possesses two qualities innovation (al-bid`a) and pride (al-kibr). And everyone who is in-love with this world or is persistent in following his corrupt passions will never be able to realize or implement this knowledge, even though he may be able to realize and study the rest of the religious knowledge. And the least of punishments against the one who rejects this knowledge is that he will not be endowed with anything from it. And whoever does not have a share of this knowledge it is feared for him an evil ending (su’u ‘l- khaatima). And the least of shares from this knowledge is belief (at-tasdeeq) in it and handing it over to its people (tasleemuhu li ahlihi).”

        Please forgive me for being long winded, but I hoped to address the essence of your two questions and their implications.

        wa Allahu `aalim.

        • ASA Shaykh,can and will u teach this in some digital distance education format? (moodle)? I sat with Dar, Imam the Late Ismail Abdur Rahim, and Imam Yahya many years ago and then left their tassawuf teachings and began to worship at Masjid Mujahideen, years ago since then I have sat with some shuyukh but I would expand in this area.

          • Who is Dar Imam? And tell us about the late Ismail Abdur Rahim? Was he a teaching shaykh? With which tareeqa was he affiliated ? And Imam Yahya? Which one are you referring to? Why did you leave their tasawwuf teachings? Was it because of a relocation? Or dissatisfaction with their teachings? Which shuyuukh have you sat with since that time?

          • I took shahada in Sing Sing 1985, under Imam Tayyib of MIB, I learned from leaders of the Dar Islam movement,then I was involved in the Dhikr Bead case where DOCSNY was angered that brothers were getting better from their practice of Dhikr and the explosive 1000% growth of the mosque so they decided to beat me, and they took all the dhikr beads in NYS(. I was placed in solitary (SHU) without hearing and severely beaten in SHU and moved from prison to prison continually. They refused me pencil and sufficient writing materials. You may have heard that I was reduced to writing my pro se suit on toilet paper and I had it smuggled out and sent to the federal courts. Here is a review and some links to my case:
            In the United States, Muslim inmates are allowed to utilize prayer beads for therapeutic effects.[27] In Alameen v. Coughlin, 892 F. Supp. 440 (E.D.N.Y 1995), Imam Hamzah S. Alameen, a/k/a Gilbert Henry, and Robert Golden brought suit against Thomas A. Coughlin III, etc., et alia (Head of the Department of Corrections) in the State of New York pursuant to 28 USC @ 1983. The plaintiffs argued that prisoners have a First Amendment Constitutional right to pursue Islamic healing therapy called KASM which uses prayer beads. The rosary of oaths, which Alameen developed, was used to successfully rehabilitate inmates suffering from co-occurring mental health challenges and substance abuse issues during the 1990s. All people, including Muslims and Catholics, were allowed to use prayer beads inside prisons, lest their freedom of religion be violated when the prison administration forbade their possession as contraband in the penal system. The practice of carrying prayer beads became controversial when gang-members began carrying specific colors of prayer beads to identify themselves.” My case was successful and is the precedent case for determining the exercise of religion in prisons and in freedom under the RFRA.

            During this period (fuqra) Imam Ismail Abdur Rahim, NYSDOCS MCP, taught our circle the basics of Qadariya tassawoof, but he returned to Allah and thereafter 10 years I was released, and then I sat with Shaykh Amin Awad (Palestinian) who returned to Allah, and then Qadi Imam Tayyib of Sudan fi Montreal: soon after I was released and studied with Shaykh Ibrahim of Ikwa (BKNY) and after relocating to the Catskills of NY, I studied with Shaykh Abdus Salami of Ghana, for some time before he returned to Africa. I have long supported the mental recovery of Muslims. Upon my release I finished at Marist College with a BS in Computer Science, then at Lincoln a masters in Human Services and Counseling, and at Northcentral U., a Post masters in MFT. I worked to establish by Alllah’s permission, with other brothers Baitul Nasr Inc., Tauba House Inc., (for returning Muslim ex-offenders), NIMHSP, Islamic Charities of NY, and and I am currently Clinical Director at Crisis Recovery Network. I am finishing my Doctorate in DMFT shortly insha Allah, It is a long story and I regretfully admit that my studies have suffered since my release but I intend to never stop pursuing beneficial knowledge.

    • Yes Freudian psychology is a failed attempt to secularize religion and spirituality. The struggle to purify the nafs is an essential Islamic duty on each of us to maintain our sanity first and foremost and then there most be trained those that can assist others in this matter. Nice notes on this subject I am sure that many of us have with to have this knowledge available, Shukran.

  22. Salam shaykh,

    Any plans to translate “obligation of the princes by shaykh Maghili” and do you have any plans on producing a work on economics inspired by the muslim sages
    that can counteract western liberal capitalism that is so dominant now.

    • This work my the mujaddid Shaykh Abd’l-Kareem al-Maghili, may Allah be pleased with him, has already been translated, You can a copy here: [https://www.amazon.com/obligations-princes-essay-Moslem-kingship/dp/B00085KRYG]. As for any “work on economics inspired by the Muslim sages that could counteract liberal capitalism that is so dominant now”; I do not believe Muslim sages have ever been overly concerned about economic issues in that way. One of the sages, Sultan Muhammad Bello said in his an-Naseehat al-Wadeehat (Clear Advice Regarding the Clarification That Love for This World’s Life is the Fountainhead of Every Error):

      “I say, and success is with Allah, Allah ta`ala says, “Allah amplifies and straightens the means of livelihood for whom He wills; and they rejoice in this world’s life while this world’s life is nothing compared with the Hereafter but temporary enjoyment.” It has been related by ad-Daylami on the authority of Muhammad ibn `Aseer ibn ‘Ataar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said, “The greatest sin is that people do not ask Allah forgiveness from the sin of love of this world’s life.” It has been related by al-Bazaari and Ibn Habaan on the authority of Sa`d who said, the Messenger of Allah , may Allah bless him and grant him peace said, “My fear for you from the temptations of properity is greater than my fear for you from the tribulations of poverty and adversity. For you will be afflicted with the tribulations of adversity but you will be able to endure that. I have no fear for you more than I fear for you from the temptations of prosperity…”

      So clearly, that has never been nor should it be a concern of the sages (awliyya). Their business has always His business (shaanahu). However, if you want texts on halaal commerce and business transactions, I would direct you to the book of commerce of the Muwatta of Imam Malik; as well as the Books of buying and selling in the Mukhtasar and ar-Risaalat respectively. Shaykh Abdullahi ibn Fuduye`, composed an excellent poem called Kifaayat’l-Awwam Fee al-Buyuu` (What will Suffice the Common People Regarding Commerce). By the title itself the professor, Abdullahi is indicating to us that the concern of commerce and business is a necessary concern of the common people (al-awwam) and is not the concern of the spiritually elite (khawaas) except in order to guide the common people in what is lawful, highly recommended, obligatory, forbidden or reprehensible in business transactions.

      I disagree with your depiction of western commerce as ‘so dominant now’. This period is one of the worst periods in economic growth worldwide. The western system has collapsed. It is finished! Yiu newed to leave the umbrella of the west and go to Asia and other parts of the world. Western economic dominance has long been on the wane.

  23. ASA Dear Brother,After perusing, . DAWA’U ‘L-WASWAS. The Cure for Satanic Whispering by Shaykh Abdullahi ibn Muhammad Fuduye’, (Shareef, 1994) I was struck by the asbab nuzul concerning the publication of this small but informative manual during a period of Jihad fee Bilad As Sudani. The mental preparation and psychological purification illustrated in the text could assist people battling mental health issues. The Quran is a Shifa and thus a Health document beneficial to human development. Yes the text is very enlightening, the observation that, “this text was composed by one of Africa’s leading military commanders at a time when he was actively involved in jihaad, it goes without saying that the text is a study on the Art of War. Once the servant overcomes the psychic enmity of Satan and purifies himself of Satan’s whispering during the prayer, the recitation of Qur’an and supplication, then these three acts of worship are transformed into high tech weapons by which the believer can overcome his terrestrial and earthly enemies.” pointed to how believeers in recovery can be supercharged by this deen to defeat whatever ails us.(Shareef, 1994).

    See: DAWA’U ‘L-WASWAS. The Cure for Satanic Whispering by Shaykh Abdullahi ibn Muhammad Fuduye’, Trans. & ed. by: Shaykh Abu Alfa Umar Muhammad Shareef. Sankore’Institute of Islamic-African Studies International http://www.siiasi.org. (Russian & English) Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/11523157/Dawa_alWaswas_The_Cure_of_Satanic_Whispering_by_Shaykh_Abdullahi_ibn_Fududye_-_arabic_english_russian

  24. I am not sure how I can be of assistance. My only film work was the contribution I made to the documentary 500 Years Later. Even that was simply them interviewing me regarding certain aspects of African Islamic resistance to European slavery and colonialism.

  25. al hamdulillahi wa shukrulillah I was able to seal the Quran for the second time Thursday night during the taraweeh prayers. We all prayed for the entire jama`at of the Shehu and the entire Umma and asked Allah ta`ala to break the backs of those who do not love the honor of Islam. I as unable to call the Sultan when we sealed the Quran because it was 12 o’clock midnight in Maiurno when we completed the Quran in Mali. Hopefully with the assistance of Allah I will be able to seal it four times.

    • I’ve been trying to find an extant copy of Tarikh Kano for many years to no avail. I believe there may be extant copies at either Ahmadu Bello Univerisity or Bayero University. I did not find any copies in the Sokoto archives. There is a chance I may find one here in Mali. perhaps in Jenne` where I have been told there are many uncatalogued manuscripts in privates hands there. So we will see.

      • Thank you. I also am seeking information on the origin of the sword Takobi. Is it generally accepted to be a sword created by the Tuareg or is it originally a Hausa or Kanuri weapon? I apologise if this question is not for this community, but I am trying to do a video documentary on the history of the sahelian kingdoms on my YouTube channel.

          • At this current time there is no link for the film as it is still in the research phase. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. I will keep you posted on the films development.

    • That is a good question. We get a glimpse of what his days were like in the Infaq’l-Maysuur in chapters 12 and 13. However, no mention of how is daiuly routine was. The Shehu’s daily routine no doubt changed based upon his state. When he was a student of knowledge his routine was different from when was in a state of the `ubaad. When he was dedicated to teaching his routine was different from when he as involved in the jihaad. What we do know is that he prayed his five prayers in the masjid in congregation. We also know that he never neglected his awraad after the prescribed prayers. Because it was his custom to teach what he had learned, he was also preoccupied throughout the day in teaching. We also know that his profession by which he earned a living for his family is that he made rope made from the tall dry savanah grass which grew throughout the Sahel. He would make the rope while teaching, and then go to the markets to sell them or would deliver them to clients. We also know that he did the shopping for his four wives, carrying the commodities from the market to his home. We also know that he gave life to the night in prayer and study. Along with all this he composed books throughout his life from the age of twenty to sixty-three he composed relevant texts for the Muslim communities. There were periods in his life when he cut himself off from people and went into spiritual retreat; or when he would not talk to people except by sign language being preoccupied with the prayers upon the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. We also know that he a designated times of the days of the week in which he would go out to give sadaqa. For example on Mondays he would go out gove sadaqa during the fournoon between 9:45 and 10;15; while on Tuesdays he would go out at noon and do the same thing. On excellent text which will give a possible picture of the daily routine of the Shehu is the Diya `Uluum’d-Deen of Shaykh Abdullah where he describes the daily practices typical of a scholar, a student, a worshipper, a professional, or a ruler (or civil servant). Since the Shehu at one time was one of these at some point in his life, it describes the possible daily practices the Shehu could typically be involved with when he was in that stage of his life. And Allah knows best.

  26. al-Hamdulillahi wa shukrulillahi wa shukrulillahi wa hamdulillahi, we just sealed the Quran for the first time in the Zawiyya of Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye` here in Bamako and called Sultan Ali ibn Muhammad at-Tahir ibn Muhammad Bello Maiurno ibn Muhammad Attahiru ibn Ahmad Zaruku ibn Abi Bakr Atiku ibn Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye`, who made a long supplication for us, the jama`at and the entire Umma of Muhammad!

    • For those who are under the oath of allegiance, realize that I never pray a prescribed prayer without including the Sultan by name in my prayer during the tashahhud of the prayer. Sahl ibn Abdallah said: “The people will always remain in a good state as long as they elevate the Sultan and the scholars. For when they elevate these two Allah then corrects for them their worldly life and their Hereafter. However when the people disparage or undervalue these two, then their worldly life and Hereafter will become corrupted.”

  27. ASA Shaykh, Ramadan Mubaraka, The Secrets of Ramadan was informative illustrating the necessary inner mental model (Iman) necessary to benefit from fasting (saum) upon it highest stations. Contemplation and gnostic awareness is benefited by obviation, restraint, and removal of worldly distractions. I will add this article to pertinent literature reviews, etc. May Allah reward your work and make it prolific. I will share this writing with my clients and affiliates.

      • The Decisive Solution was a great piece that I must say is most accurate in its analysis of our journey as African American Muslims. I am part of the old guard now that pioneered in the north east and established bastions of Islam by Allah’s Mercy. Nevertheless I advise that all academics concerned with the struggle of advancing Islam in North America or wherever Allah (s) wills it to read “The Decisive Solution” by Shaykh Muhammad Shareef bin Farid.

        • shukran jazeelan for your kind words. Sidi Alameen we here at SIIASI have been considering creating a page specific for psychology the mental health and well being of those who have suffered under white supremacy and white chauvanism. Is it possible to email me copies of your works on this topic. We would like to post those that are relevant to SIIASI on our ebsite. thanks

          • Dear Brother, this is highly needed in this time when racism, discrimination, arabism, tribal caste systemic assaults on the minds, and families of African American Muslims and our brothers anywhere subjugated by euro-capitalist excesses in hedonism and neo-colonialism which have debilitated our mental health since the slave ships. Not just kind words but respect and proof that what you are communicating is beneficial to the people,

  28. wa alaykum as salaam wa rahma
    I asked several of the elders in Maiurno, Sokoto and Niger about this same question. All of them said that all three were very tall over 6’4″. The Shehu was lean and remained that way throughout his life. Abdullahi was lean, but became thick in old age. Bello also became thick in old age as well. When I say thick I do not mean fat or obese. As for there features, the Shehu was what we in the states call ‘red bone’ like the typically Fulani with fine curly hair. He had no facial hair except a little hair that grew under his chin. It is said that he most resembled his mother. Shaykh Abdullahi was jet black with a massive beard, and most resembled his father Fudiye Muhammad. Bello was very bright skinned with a thick beard and would be considered in Sudanic terms ‘baydaan’ like the Moors, the Sahrawi, the Banu Hassan and others from Mauritania. This description of these shuyuukh was corroborared by Shaykh Umar Ahmad Zaruk, Shaykh Abu Bakr Basambu both of Maiurno; , Waziri Junayd of Sokoto, Galadima Salihu if Niger.

    • thank you Shaykh. i read that the Shaykh ceasely engaged in sending blessings on the Prophet. is it the salatul Ibraheem. Jaza ka Lahu Khairan.

      • Yes from the age of ten the Shehu began to send blessings upon the Prophet profusely until Allah granted him with states of jadhab (spiritually magnetic attraction) which impacted him until he attained the age of thirty-one. By thirty-six due to his abundant sending blessings upon the Prophet he reached a state where he had complete mastery over his physical body and was capable of extraordinary feats such as seeing the far like the near, hearing what was far like hearing what was near, being able to grasp something with his hands which was journeys away without moving, being able to walk on his feet a distance that swift horses could not travel in months. He was made aware of his entire physical body, its bone structure, nervous system, circulatory system, muscles, hair etc and knew the advantages of evey part of his body. He could taste food and drink with his togue ebfore swallowing and determine whether that food or drink was permissible or forbidden. He could smell the odor of any individual and could determine by the sweetness or pungence of their smell exactly what good deed or bad deed they had committed. All this was the result of his abundant sending blessings uppn the Prophet. Then at age thirty-nine and some months he was overcome with a stste of yearning ()shawq) for the Prophet where he would weep often out of longing for him. In that same year on the 12 of Rabi al-Awwal he tok an oath and covenant that he would not speak with or communicate with anyone verbally except by sign language and committed himself to only articulating the prayer upon the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. he did this for an entire year, afterwhich he had his greatest spirituall unveiling where he was made the Imam of the Awliyya, the mujaddid of the religion, was given the Sword of truth and the rest, as we say, is history.

        • s for the particular expression of the prayer upon the Prophet utilized by the Shehu, he transmitted to his followers twenty diffrerent expressions in his Dalaa’il and the salaat’l-ibrahimiyya was one of the wtenty. Because he was a follower of the Timbuktu mujaddid Ahmadu Baba ithere is no doubt that he like most of the scholars considered the salaat al-ibrahimiyya to be the most superior forms of sending blessings upon the Prophet because that was what was transmitted by the POrophet to his Umma.

    • Assalamu shaykh can you give me a physical description of the Shaykh, his brother Shaykh Abd Allah and his son Muhammad Bello. Jazaka Lahu Khairan

  29. Salam alaykum, Shaykh, Sidi Muhammad Sharif. My name is Hasan Anyabwile and I live in the UK. I want to now how to give my Ba’ya to the new Aamir? There’s no Jamaat in the UK, so should I write to the new Imam/Aamir?
    Is it possible for me to get his address or that of his Wazir please.
    hasantnt@gmail.com
    Hasan Anyabwile.

  30. Happy 91 st birthday Imam al-Hajj Malik El Shabazz! may Allah illuminate your grave and endow us to have the nerve and bravery to complete what you started!

    It is the intention of SIIASI of posting several pertinent speeches of al-Hajj Malik El Shabazz which speaks directly to the problems African American and other national minorities in the US are facing.

  31. Salam alaykum. Are there any martial arts taught with a silsila back to Sahaba? Which martial art would recommend we study?

    • There are many martial arts systems developed within Muslim societies, such as Silat Harimau in Indonesia, Java, Malaysia and the Phillippines. There is the sytem of which I am a student under Amir Sifu Mwalimu Bomani Abd;l-Hamid Mugharibi, the Jeomen Wushu system developed by the Hui Muslim cmmunities of China. I am sure there are others because Islam, like Shinto and other far eastern religions, is a martial religion. The only martial system that I know of which can be traced back t the Companions, is a double broad sword form transmitted in Syria with its sanad ging back to the Companions. This is what my teacher Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi informed me.

  32. SALAAMU ALAYKUM akhi Shaykh Muhammad Shareef. greetings from the belly of the beast. May Allah release us from this… We have missed you and we periodically hear word of your doings and travels. May Allah continue to bless you and shine Nur upon you and your path. We have discussed recently one of your statement, “… Y’all need to… and get over here where people look like you and come start some businesses.” Akhi what type of businesses are available to start? Can they be started without us being present? You know the system ain’t letting some of us out of the sijjin however everthing is in Allah’s will and power. We do have finance and we want to try something abroad. Also what should we be studying while our time ticks away. Some of us are trying to be come huffuz/haafiz. That’s so that our worship can be extended and perpetual because we don’t want to get caught up in the filth of this world which is tricky being that the soul is inclined towards evil. Shukr akhi. Much love and respect.
    Ma’s salaamah
    Akhuk fi Islaam
    Ishmiel The Sufi

  33. as salaamu alaykum wa rahma

    Since Friday after juma`a prayer Mali time, I had been calling the new Sultan Ali in order to renew my oath of allegiance in the same manner that I took the oath of allegiance from his precedessor the late Sultan al-Hajj Abu Bakr. Each time I called, he would answer the phone and all I would hear were throngs of people making supplication and the new Sultan saying Amin and adding his own supplication. Finally, today at 8:15 a.m. Bamako, Mali time I was able to reach the new Sultan Ali ibn Sultan Muhammad at-Tahir ibn Sultan Muhammad Bello Maiurno ibn Sultan Muhamad Attahiru ibn Sultan Ahmad Zaruuq ibn Sultan Abi Bakr Atiku ibn Amir’l-Mu’mineen Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye`, may Allah elongate his authority until it reaches the Awaited Mahdi. I renewed by oath of allegiance based upon the Book and the Sunna and told him clearly that I recognize no other authority besides his authority and that I was under his command inwardly and outwardly to hear and obey in hardhip and ease. I informed him of the new Amir in the US, Amir Mustafa Ahmadu Baba and the new jama`at in South Africa and their Amir Rashid. he then made a long supplication for me to continue calling people to the minhaj and that this call will not cease. He prayed for the jama`ats and the Amirs with a long supplication. I also informed him that I would send him a letter recounting what happened and is happening with the jama`ats that follow the Shehu and those who broke their oath of allegiance. He said he would be expecting my letter. Let this be a notice to everyone of the renegades who claim that they are a part of the Jama`at of Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye` in the US – this is your wake up call! By Allah! there is bo barrier between my supplications and Allah and I know your names and addreses! You all have been served!

  34. Salamu Alaykum, Sheikh Muhammad Shareef.
    Thank you so much for the digitized archives. It’s a real pleasure to “know” the Fodiawa scholars through their works.
    Thank you again.

  35. I am deeply sorry for posting this so late, but I just recieved the news that on April 15, 2016 one of my mentors Dr. Akbar Muhammad the youngest son of Mr. Elijah Muhammad passed away. He was one of the first of the sons of Elijah Muhammad to go abroad and study. He was also the first to break from the teachings of his father.
    He died at the age of 76, and was the associate professor emeritus of history and Africana studies at Binghamton University from 1975 until 2014, when he retired.

    According to http://www.binghamton.edu Akbar Muhammad “taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses on African history, the history of Islam, the history of Africans in the Americas, and Africa and the West. His scholarship included a book, Racism, Sexism, and the World-System (1988), as well as scholarly articles on Muslims in America, Malcolm X, education in post-colonial Nigeria, and challenges to French colonialism in the 19th-century Ivory Coast. He served as chair of the Afro-American and African Studies Department from 1979-82 and 1985-88, president of the New York African Studies Association in 1985, and as a member of the editorial board of the African Urban Quarterly.”

    In addition, Akbar Muhammad was the first to explore the writings of the early Arabic scholars on the role of African and Blacks in early Islam. I had the occassion of keeping company with him back in 1991 when we both gave lectures on African Islamic traditions in Sacremento California. It was during that time that I had the chance to interview him regarding his role in helping to transform the political ideas of al-Hajj Malik El Shabazz. It was in 1959, as he informed me that Malcolm X invited Akbar Muhammad to address a gathering in Harlem. In fact Louis Lomax also spoke of this in his book. At the time Akbar Muhammad was dressed in complete Sudanese attire all white thobe with a white turban and shawl. It was during this lecture that Akbar introduced the idea to Malcolm about the need to utilize the same international conduits which the African independents and anti-colonial movements were using to gain their independence. In fact, Akbar Muhammad passed on to Malcolm X and proposal from the then president of Egypt, Gamal Abdul Nasser: “that if the NOI embraced Sunni Islam and took their case to the United Nations, that Egypt would supply the NOI with military training and financial assistance in their struggle for self determination.” Of course in 1959, this was not the narrative of the NOI, which at that time, and now believe that God would intervene in giving Blacks in America their independence. However, it was clear, based upon al-Hajj Malik El Shabazz’s post NOI political direction that he had taken up the offer presented to him by Akbar Muhammad.
    In fact Dr. Akbar Muhammad was pro-African, a pan Africanist in his ideas and a Sunni Muslim who leaned heavily towards an embrace of African Islamic traditions. It is for this reason that academically, he became my mentor. He saw the early written objectives of the SIIASI in collecting, preserving and translating rare African Islamic sources, and gave his full support and approval. of all the children of Mr. Elijah Muhammad, Dr. Akbar Muhammad was the person that I looked up to and followed closely. I pray that Allah ta`ala illuminate his grave, redeem him from its punishment, establish him with the correct answers to Munkar and Nakir, resurrect him under the banner of Praise of the Prophet along with all the African Muslim scholars and reformers of the past, redeem him from the tarment of Hell and enter him into Paradise without any reckoning. I pray that Allah will join me with him in the Paradise of Firdause where we can converse intimately about all the things of the African Islamic traditions that I have always been curious about.

  36. Saalam alaykum.
    I’ve read through all the works posted here in terms of what they are written about. However what I’m interested to know is, are there any books the Shehu wrote or you would recommend that mentions the virtues of various sura of quran and the fadila of reading quran?

    • There is no particular text from the Fudiawa scholars which address that particularly. However, Nana Asma, the daughter of the Shehu composed a text which was published by Dr. Beverly Mack and Jean Boyd called Tabshir al-Ikhwaan bi’t-Tawassul bi Suwar’l-Qur’an `Inda’l-Khaaliq al-Manaan in their Collected Works. She took this mainly from the teachings of Shaykh Muhammad Tukur ibn Muhammad, one of the leading disciples of the Shehu. There are several works which Shaykh Muhammad Tukur utilized or sourced and are the basis for many of the Sudanic scholars who teach the fadaa’il of the Qur’anic chapters. The texts are called Kitaab Fath al-Majid and Kitaab al-Mujaribaat. When I studied the fadaa’il and khawaas of the Qur;anic chapters and verses with Shaykh Muhammad Bello ibn Umar ibn Yusef ibn Muhammad Bello ibn Shehu Uthman Dan Fuduye’ in the town of Maiurno it were these two books which he sourced. However, these books because they are a part of what scholars call the elemental sciences (`ilm awaa’il) they are rarely translated into English. You will find these works translated into Hausa, Fulbe`, Kiswahili, Bambara etc, but not any of the European languages. There are some western scholars such as Robert Abdul Hayy Darr, Lloyd D. Graham, Noah Gardiner and others who have written extensively on this from an academic perspective, but not from the inside of this tradition.

  37. Salam alaykum. Thank you for the latest book. Reading the introduction, you mention Shehu’s fath at age 40. As someon fast approaching 40 can you go into the signifance of 40 for men in particular and the number 40 in general. (e.g. Musa fasted 40 days etc). Shukran!

    • wa alaykum as salaam wa rahma
      First my deepest condolences go out to the victims of the horrendous terrorist attack that took place in Mali and Brussels. The African Muslims, and African nations cannot allow themselves to be pulled into the destructive narrative of the Arab terrorists intent on detroying life and property!
      To continue:
      The cannon for measurement in human affairs is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The Messenger’s birth, life and death are the standard for how a person should be. if Allah ta`ala decress that a person shares in the resemblance to the Prophet in how he lived then this to the Poeple of Allah is an achievement. It is for this reason that the Shehu composed his Yimre’ Tanasabuje` (Song of Comparison) where he cited the many comparisons between his own life and that of the Messenger of Allah.

      One particular comparison was that at the age of 40 and some months, some say 41, the Messenger of recieved the first revelation and was designated as the Imam and Seal of the Prophets and Messengers. Likewise at the same age the Shehu, may Allah be pleased had his greatest opening and was designated as the Imam of the Awliyya, given the Sword of truth and was acknowledged by the scholars and laymen alike as a mujtahid and mujaddid of the 12th century hijra.

      Sultan Muhammad Bello said in a poem:
      “idhaa atamma arba`eena fa kahlun * wa kamaalun wa quwwatun wa tamaamun”
      “When a man completes the age of forty, then he is middle aged
      He has attained perfection, strength and completion.”
      In his an-Nishreen fi man Balagha `Arba`een, Sultan Bello also said: “It has been narrated in the prophetic traditions: ‘Allah ta`ala says to the Guardian Angels be kind and compassionate towards a person as long as he is in his youth. However, when he attains the age of forty be exact in verifying and recording his deeds’. It is because of this that some of the righteous weep when they reach that age and say as a result: ‘My years have become great. My bones have become thin; and the strict recording of my deeds have commenced!’ Masruq one said: ‘When you reach the age of forty then be very careful!’ An-Nakha`i once said that it is normally said to the one who reaches the age of forty: ‘Guard your soul!’It was the practice of the Salaf that when one of them reached the age of forty, they would extend themselves into the worship of Allah. `Umar ibn Abd’l-`Aziz once said: ‘The proofs against the one who has reached the age of forty are complete’. the wise say that when a man reaches the age of forty and his evils deeds out weigh his bad deeds then he should weep for his own soul! One poet said:
      ‘Are you not ashamed to act at the age of forty
      the way you were when you were twenty?!'”
      Here ends what Sultan Muhammad Bello said and in it is the good of the this life and the Next.
      I say: that the age of forty is a time when you reep what you have sowed. if you have sowed good deeds, it is at the age of forty that you began to see the benefits. If you sowed evil deeds, it is at the age of forty that you began to see the results and recompenses. In fact no matter what you do out of habit be it a profession, career, business; if you apply yourself to it for years it is usually around the age of forty that you start seeing the benefit of your work.
      In my own case, I began calling people to the minhaj of the Shehu at the age of twenty-five. It was when I reached the age of forty and some months that the Khalifa of Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye`, Sultan al-Hajj Abu Bakr appointed as Amir of those in the jama`at in the US, Canada and Europe.

      In fact the the spiritual station of forty (maqaam’l-arba`een), is a spiritual station well known with the People of Allah. Shaykh Muhy’d-Deen Ibn Arabi and Shaykh Abd’l-Qaadir ibn Mustafa spoke about this station in detail in their works. Howeever, what they discussed is of no concern here. What Sultan Muhammad Bello said above will suffice in understanding what is expected of you when you reach forty…
      …and success is with Allah ta`ala.

  38. No, I am not sure what you are talking about. I have never heard that prophetic tradition before, so I cannot comment on it or what it means. The Shehu was quite clear in his methodology. In fact any question that I raised to my Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin, he would always start by saying to me: “the pages have already been beautified”; meaning that there was rarely an issue in islam that the Shehu and his comrades did not write or compose a treatise about it.

    There was no issue that the Shehu wrote more about than the signs of the End of Time. The Shehu was quite clear about this age: “the zaman an-nasaara” and that it would only be removed with the appearance of the Mahdi. According to our traditions that the age would get darker and darker and the earth will be filled with oppression and injustice until the earth is completely filled with it; and the Mahdi would appear and fill it with justice and equity as it had been filled with oppression and injustice.
    This is a time for every individual to revive the Living Sunna in themselves, their families and their communities in preparation for the Coming Man.

  39. The flag, is it the same one that Shehu gave to his generals when they conquer their enemies? And why it is called a Provincial Government of the Islamic Emirates off the New Africa?

    • In the Rawd al-Janaan and in many oral traditions as well as Fulfulde poems it was reported that the Shehu’s green flags would be given victory for 100 years. From 1803 to 1903 the Shehu’s Caliphate governed the entire central bilad’s-sudan and his community were victorious. He also said on the eve of their victory at Tabkin Kwoto that one century after this victory would come the zaman’n-nasaara (the age or hour of the European Christians) and that it would remain until the appearance of the Awaited Mahdi who will bring victory for Islam like the waves.
      The Shehu also said as it was related in the Infaq’l-Maysuur of Sultan Muhammad Bello that his jihad will not cease until it reaches the Mahdi.
      I myself once asked my Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin about that statement and he said that the jihad of the Shehu began with the jihad of words and the jihad of the pen and ended with the jihad of the sword. In this time of the zaman’n-nasaara we have returned back to the jihad of the word and the pen and the Awaited Mahdi will re-establish the jihad of the sword.
      The Shehu’s flags were green and they written on them There is no diety except Allah Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. As for the flag posted on the siiasi.org site, I designed it myself and presented it to our Sultan al-Hajj Abu Bakr ibn Sultan Muhammad at-Tahir ibn Sultan Muhammad Bello Mai Wurno ibn Sultan Muhammad Attahiru ibn Sultan Ahmad Zaruuku ibn Amir’l-Mu’mineen Abu Bakr Atiku ibn Amir’l-Mu’mineen Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye`; and he blessed it and approved of it.

      A provisional government is a government on paper, a government in the minds of the people, a government which is yet to be given genuine outward sovereignty. Allah willing we pray that Allah ta`ala will allow this provisional government to exist until He manifest His proof on earth and khalifa, Imam al-mahdi Muhammad ibn Abdullahi…
      …success is with Allah.

      • Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah Shaykh Muhammad Shareef

        Does the explanation of Shehu’s assertion by Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin implies that in the absence of governance (hukm), the ummah in general and the jama’at of Shehu in particular should be preoccupied with developing effective scholarship that will act as a buffer between the Muslims’ deen and the divergent world in this electronic age? If it is so, what then is the political implication of the saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa salam,; “Islam is going to go knot by knot like a rope going to the heavens. Every time when one knot goes up, people cling to the knot that follows. The first thing that goes is the is governance (hukm) and the last thing to go is the salat (prayer)” in relation to the narrative that says “the hukm of Islam has been gone for a long time and is not coming back? I don’t know if I make sense here!

  40. Salamu alakum wa ramatullah wa barakatu

    Do you have good books in English that I can read to gain knowledge my Arabic is not that good

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