There are currently several English-language classes taught weekly in the Islamic intellectual tradition. Prospective students should email classes AT asublimeway DOT com to enquire about joining them. They’ll then get a WhatsApp group invitation, and a number to send their full names to, and how they came across the class. The group will be how class times and details are sent out.
Generally speaking, they’re usually in person – but at present, they will be done via Zoom or some other online application – more information will be given in the WhatsApp group. Two of the following classes will usually be running at any one time.
Information on the instructor for those interested may be found here.
The classes are as follows (not all being offered as present):
- “Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din” (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) of Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, the renowned ‘Proof of Islam’. We will be using a summary (mukhtasar) that is reported to have been compiled by the Imam himself, aptly translated by Hajj Marwan Khalaf. The class aims to acquaint an English-speaking readership with the al-Ghazali’s magnum opus, which has been regarded as one of the most important writings of the Islamic tradition for nine hundred years.
- “Foundations and Methodologies”, based on an extensive commentary on the ‘Encompassing Epistle’ (Risalat al-Jami’a) of Imam Ahmad b. Zayn al-Habshi. The text itself is a condensed summary of the personally obligatory aspects of Islamic practise (fiqh/shari’ah), theology (kalam/aqida), and spirituality (tasawwuf/ihsan). Shaykh Hisham will also use the text to introduce students how to understand the basic methodology of religion, including what constitutes a madhhab (school of law), the different approaches in theology, Sufi orders, and other contemporary fundamental questions.Risalat al-Jami’a (“The Encompassing Epistle”) of Imam Ahmad b. Zayn al-Habshi, is the famous primer in the Tarimi curriculum, and has been used all around the world for centuries, particularly in Yemen, Southeast Asia, east Africa, and southern Africa. The text is in Arabic with English translation.
- Uyub al-Nafs (“The Infamies of the Soul”) of Imam Muhammad b. al-Husayn al-Sulami, the 10th century Iranian scholar. This text is a concise tract of advices given to spiritual aspirants on various ailments of the heart, and offers recommendations for their rectification. The text is in Arabic with English translation.
- Aqidat al-‘Awwam (the Creed of the Multitudes) of al-Sayyid Imam Ahmad al-Marzuqi al-Hasani al-Maliki, a noted primer in ‘aqida (creed), with the commentary of Sayyid Muhammad b. Alawi al-Maliki. The poem covers Attributes of God, Prophets, Angels, Divine Scriptures, the Prophet’s family, and the Night Journey & Ascension of the Prophet, alayhi salat wa salam. Imam Ahmad al-Marzuqi , a descendant of the Prophet, lived in Egypt, teaching at the Azhar, before relocating to Makka, where he was declared Mufti of the Maliki scholars. The text is in Arabic with English translation.