Dr. Tahir is one of the most erudite Sunni scholars alive in the Ummah today. He is a teacher of teachers and we are extremely fortunate to have him with us. Dr. Tahir has authored close to a thousand books. His contribution to Islamic scholarship has affected millions of people around the world. Dr. Tahir has agreed to this exclusive session with a select group of students who are interested in the affairs of our Ummah in the West and who desire to set it on a course that will ensure that the legacy we leave behind will put us in the good books of generations to come and that on the Day of Reckoning we will rise up among the righteous in the company of the Most Blessed of Allah's Creation -- The Beloved of Messenger of Allah (s).
10:30 - 11:00 Welcome and introduction 11:00 - 1:00 This session will explore the general theme of this gathering. The virtues that have long underscored Western societies are currently going through a revival of sorts. We've seen how President- elect Barack Obama used the ideas of ʻhopeʼ and ʻchangeʼ to lift up an entire nation wallowing in the slums of despair and anxiety. Hope and change are real human values that spring from the virtue of courage. Imam Al-Ghazali and others have acknowledged that all virtues spring from four cardinal virtues which the Blessed Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, embodied. These are: Wisdom, Courage, Temperament, and Justice. Our Prophet, for example, is described in the Quran as a “Mercy to all of Mankind.” The virtue of Mercy is linked not only to the virtue of forgiveness but it draws on all four of the cardinal virtues. Mercy is the prerequisite of all virtues -- without it a virtuous life is impossible. Shaykh Tahir will begin and perhaps end this session with Al-Hadith al-musalsal bil-awwaliyya. Traditionally, this is the first hadith that a teacher of the sacred Islamic sciences imparts to his student by way of Isnad (unbroken chain) to the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings.
1:00 - 2:00 Salatul Zuhr and Lunch Break (Lunch provided)
2:00 - 3:15 This session will focus on the classification of Hadith or the science of hadith -- usul al-hadith. One of the things we most often encounter at our masajid and at Islamic conferences are speakers introduced as scholars who brow beat us with their apparent knowledge of hadith so that we cower and submit to a suffocating approach to a religion we know to be life itself. How can the traditional understanding of the science of hadith help liberate us from the shackles of a narrow-minded approach and lead to a rich and textured life in the West firmly rooted in beauty?
3:25 - 3:45 Salatul ʻAsr
3:45 - 4:40 Question and Answer session.
4:42 - 5:30 Salatul Maghrib (Fruits, Tea and Coffee)
5:30 - 7:15 This final session will examine some prescient issues in the science of ʻAqida. Certain topics in ʻaqida have become divisive issues in our community and they can't be avoided. If we are unable to resolve them it will be impossible to forge any alliance, virtuous or otherwise. Anyone who read the recent Toronto Star article on the Khalid ibn Waleed mosque in Toronto must have had serious doubts about whether we are all journeying on the same path that our Lord has established for us.
The Participants These sessions are geared for college and university students, teachers, educators, khatibs, counsellors, activists, students of sacred knowledge including students who have attended Deen Intensives and Rihla programs.
The Venue Northern District Library. 40 Orchard View Blvd. Toronto. Ontario. Room 200. (Yonge and Eglinton).
The Sponsors This is a free event sponsored by Ihya Foundation (www.ihyafoundation.com) Al-Ghazali School (www.ilmfountain.com)and Jame' Mustafa. For more information please contact:
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or call 416-276-9515
To help us serve you better please confirm your attendance by the evening of Friday Nov. 28. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with Dr. Tahir, God willing, we will put an audio file of the Shaykh introducing himself and his work on Ihya's website & Al-Ghazali's website).
