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Defects of the Tongue, Hope and Fear & Impoverishment and Abstinence

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Module Description

Defects of the Tongue, Hope & Fear, Impoverishment and Abstinence

This course is centred around Imam al-Ghazali’s insightful abridgement of his masterwork, ‘Revival of the Religious Sciences’, by Shaykh Salih Ahmad al-Shāmī

Muslim scholars have consistently focused on spirituality, particularly on the purification of the heart. This is not surprising given that the Quran and the Sunnah emphasize the importance of maintaining a pure spiritual heart. When the heart is in the right condition, it becomes the place where believers can attain Divine realizations and understand the higher aspects of existence. Rectifying the heart leads to both success in this world and in the afterlife. Achieving this goal involves learning from the Quran, the teachings of the Prophet, and the strategies suggested by knowledgeable scholars. Applying this knowledge means being open to understanding reality as intended by the Almighty.

Based on the abridgement, half of Imam al-Ghazali’s Ihyā’ ‘ulum al-din, “Revival of the Religious Sciences,” is covered over seven modules. The Ihyā is comprised of four sections.
 
The acts of worship
The norms of daily life
The qualities leading to perdition.  
The qualities leading to salvation. 
 
Each section is composed of 10 books, each with chapters. The complete course covers sections iii and iv of Ihyā’, namely, the qualities leading to perdition and the qualities leading to salvation, over seven modules.

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Module Outline

WeekTopic
Week 1The Quranic and Prophetic framing of the tongue and its’ role and the merit of silence
Week 2Useless talk – Excessive talk – Engaging in falsehood – Contention and argumentation – Dispute
Week 3Showing off erudition in speech – Foul language – Cursing – Singing and poetry – Joking
Week 4Mockery – Divulging secrets – False promises – Lying in Speech and oaths – Backbiting
Week 5Talebearing – Two faced – Launding over others – Flippancy – Speaking on matters needing knowledge
Week 6Hope [Explanation of Some Technical Terms] – The Reality of Hope – The Merit of Hope – How to Reach the State of Hope
Week 7Fear – The Reality of Fear – The Degrees of Fear – The Categories of Fear – The Merit of Fear – What is Better: Fear or Hope?
Week 8Treatment which Brings about Fear – The Meaning of a Bad End – Counsel – Martyrdom and a Good End – Examples of the Fear of the Righteous Predecessors
Week 9The Essence of Impoverishment – The Merit of Impoverishment – The Proprieties of the Poor Man Regarding his Impoverishment
The Proprieties of the Poor Regarding the Acceptance of Offerings – The Unlawfulness of Begging without Necessity
Week 10The Essence of Abstinence – The Merit and Degrees of Abstinence – The Divisions of Abstinence – The Signs of Abstinence

Module Text

al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad. lhya’ ‘ulum ai-din. Ten vols. Edited by lajnahtu Ilmiya Dar al-Minhaj Jeddah, Dar al-Minhaj (2011)
al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad. Lubāb al-lhya’.  Edited by Mahmud Bayrutī, Dar al-Bayrūti (2021)
Ahmad, Salih al-Shāmi. al-Muhadhab min lhya’ ‘ulum ai-din.  2 vols, Damascus, Dar al-Qalam (2018)

(Imam) Ghazali is Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad, Abu Hamid Hujjat ai-Islam al-Ghazali al-Tusi


(Imam) Ghazali is Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad, Abu Hamid Hujjat ai-Islam al-Ghazali al-Tusi, the Shafi’i Imam, Proof of Islam, and Sufi adept born in Tabiran, near Tus Gust north of present-day Mashhad, Iran), in 450/1058. The Imam of his time, nicknamed Shafi’i the Second for his legal virtuosity, he was a brilliant intellectual who first studied jurisprudence at Tus and then travelled the Islamic world to Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, Mecca, and Medina, taking Sacred Knowledge from its masters, among them the Imam of the Two Sanctuaries Juwayni, with whom he studied until the Imam’s death, becoming at his hands a scholar in Shafi’i law, logic, tenets of faith, debate, and in the rationalistic doctrines of the philosophical schools of his time, which he was later called upon to refute. When Juwayni died, Ghazali debated the Imams and scholars of Baghdad in the presence of the vizier Nizam al-Mulk, who was so impressed that he appointed him to a teaching post at the Nizamiyya Academy in Baghdad, where word of his’ brilliance spread and scholars journeyed to hear him. ...Read More

Module Instructor

“The scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.” [Abu Dawud]

Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood

Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood’s educational journey in the Islamic disciplines comprises a rich tapestry of experiences from the late 90s to 2007. He sought knowledge in many locations, benefiting from and receiving licenses in general and specific areas from scholars in Yemen, Syria, Morocco, Turkey, Mauritania, Makkah and Madinah.

The central place of studying abroad unfolded in Damascus, where Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood immersed himself in a traditional curriculum. He received one-on-one tutoring for particular subjects or was part of a small group of students. Over time, he studied various subjects to their advanced levels with various scholars. This led to a comprehensive study of the well-known and established scholarly works, showcasing the depth of arguments and positions representing the mainstream understandings of this Ummah.

Since his return to the UK in the last 17 years, Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood has been actively involved in teaching a broad spectrum of Islamic disciplines, from Sirah to Tafsir. In addition developing educational programmes at the various institutions he’s been serving. His significant contributions include a 9-year tenure as a Quranic Arabic tutor at the University of Oxford, where he designed and developed the Quranic Arabic programme, which was previously neglected, bringing it up to par with the other languages taught at the Faculty of Theology and Religion. He also played a crucial role in creating the first approved BSL (British Sign Language) Adhan, providing essential knowledge of the Arabic phrases that BSL can best capture. His academic achievements include a PGDip in teaching communicative Arabic and an MA in linguistics; he completed both postgraduate programmes at SOAS, which have further enriched his understanding and teaching of Islamic disciplines....Read More

Module Details

All our Saturday classes are available both in person and online. As an institute, we strongly encourage students to attend in person, as the benefits of in-person learning far exceed those of online attendance. The Friday sessions are conducted online via Zoom.

Location

Bury Park Community Centre, 161, 161b Dunstable Rd, Luton LU1 1BW.
Zoom: links will be provided via email

Date/Time

Starting – 5th October 2024 for 10 weeks
Saturday – 11.30am to 12.30pm

Module Content

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Course Material
The course is based on the text book below, 'Revival of the Religious Sciences'. Students are recommended to purchase this book, it can be bought from the location below at a slightly discounted price.  
https://thefountainbookshop.com/products/revival-of-the-religious-sciences

Imam Ghazali is Muhammad ibn Muhammad
ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad,
Abu Hamid Hujjat al-Islam al-Ghazali al-Tusi

 

 

 

Recommended Reading
The book below is recommended reading for this module.

Ibn ‘Atā, al-Sakandrī
trans. Jackson, S. (2012)  
Sufism for non-Sufis?
Oxford University Press. 

 

 

 

 

Class Notes:

Week 1 - Defects of the Tongue-Introduction- The tongues role in governing our spiritual and eternal success, and the merit of silence 2

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