We want to follow your classes and other programmes live but the time difference makes it difficult. What should we do?
Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)
The desire to follow these programmes is an expression of your heart being connected and this is not governed by time. It is not necessary that you follow these programmes live. You can listen to a recording whenever you have time.
Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)
All my time is spent raising my children and I feel I am missing out on worship and seeking knowledge. What advice can you give me?
For you to raise your children in the best way is an act of worship and is part of acting according to your knowledge. Try to follow a class when you have a bit of spare time. A pious woman from the Amudi tribe (in Hadramawt) wrote out the whole of Imam al-Subki’s three volume fatwa collection. At the end she wrote: ‘Please excuse any mistakes I may have made because I wrote this while I was breastfeeding’. The truthful person continues doing good works however small regardless of the situation.
Photo credit: mahabbah.foundation
Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)
Is it permissible for a male teacher to teach a woman the Qur’an?
This is permissible if the male teacher teaches from behind a veil and as long as the two are not alone together. It has been narrated that: “A man must never be alone with a woman even if he is teaching her the Qur’an and even if she is Maryam bint `Imran.” The Companions would take knowledge from the wives of the Prophet, the Mothers of the Believers from behind a veil.
Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)
Can we take lessons in tasawwuf from other shuyukh?
This is fine if there is benefit in those lessons whether they are in tasawwuf or in any other science then unless your shaykh has specifically forbidden you from doing so.
Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)
There is a shaykh teaching in our area. Can we benefit from him?
He must be someone of truthfulness (sidq) and taqwa. A sign of his truthfulness is that he praises the pious scholars of the Ummah and does not attack any of them. His taqwa can be gauged by looking at his dealings with women and with electronic devices.
Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him) met with a number of students who have been attending this year’s Dowra from South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
The students spoke of the sacrifices they had made coming to Tarim and what they had learnt in the Dowra. A student from Thailand said that all he possessed was three cows but he had sold them in order to buy a plane ticket to Yemen. A student from South Africa talked about the difficulties he had experienced on the journey to Tarim. He said that every hardship had been a means of purification and that in one of the first lessons he attended, Habib Umar explained the meaning of Allah’s saying in Surat al-Balad: We have created mankind in hardship. Continue reading Dowra Gathering
A Tunisian scholar asked Sayyidi Habib `Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him):
How does one balance between seeking knowledge and spending time in the remembrance of Allah (reading awrad or litanies)?
Habib Umar replied:
“The key to seeking knowledge is the soundness of one’s intention. If one’s intention is sound and pure, then seeking knowledge is one of the best acts of worship and one of the best forms of remembrance. Continue reading Balancing Seeking Knowledge and Remembrance of Allah
Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)
Should someone take money for teaching the Islamic Sciences?
Earning money should not be the intention and objective of the one teaching. Teaching the Islamic sciences should not be turned into a business. Rather, the teacher should be concerned about conveying the Sacred Law to people. Continue reading On Taking a Wage for Teaching the Islamic Sciences and the Qur’an
Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)
What should our perspective be on academic studies?
Academic studies should be seen merely as a means of attaining knowledge. We recognise that this is the system in place and that it encompasses various philosophies. There is no harm in using it as a means to attain knowledge as long as we do not contravene the Sacred Law in doing so. It is important to emphasise that academic studies do not take the place of Islamic studies. Thus anyone who enters into academic studies must also devote some time to studying the Sacred Law at the hands of those who are worthy of teaching it and possess sound chains of connection in the Islamic sciences.
Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)
Do you recommend we read the books of Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir al-Jaylani?
Yes, the Shaykh was one of the greatest knowers of Allah as well as being one of the descendants of the Prophet ﷺ. He has benefited people throughout the world. One of his best-known works is al-Futuhat al-Rabbaniyyah, which is a collection of transcripts of his speeches. It has a good effect on the reader and brings about purification and illumination. Another work of his, al-Ghunyah, is also beneficial but a few parts which are not his work have been added to it.
