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Hanafi Fiqh Intensive |
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On the weekend of October 27th, the Muslim community of Knoxville was blessed with Shaykh Hussain Sattar, a Hanafi scholar who underwent a greater part of his education in a well known madrasa in Pakistan. He was also blessed to have studied under the tutelage of the Syrian scholar, Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqubi and the American scholar, Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller. Early Friday morning, when I went online to check my email, Imran IM'ed me asking me to accompany him to the airport due to his awe of being in the presence of the shaykh alone. Unsure of what to expect, I decided to go along with Imran to the airport. We arrived at the airport a few minutes early to diligently await his arrival. His flight actually arrived earlier than expected, and we had no trouble identifying him in the crowd. His long Hanafi beard, and his traditional Pakistani clothing gave him away, along with the light on his forehead and the serenity on his face. Our frenzied state soon melted away in his presence, and we began to experience the light which was emitting from his breast. Even though this was the first time we had met him, it felt like we had known him all our life. Every soul remembers the state of fitra it was created in before the four evils overpowered it, and it longs to return to it when it comes across a soul which is in the state of fitra. This is the nature of the indescribable attachment that we felt towards Shaykh Hussain. The day was still young, and there was quite some time remaining until the Jumah Khutba, so we decided to head for the mosque, where we engaged in a long fruitful conversation with the shaykh. We discussed the state of the ummah, the problems in Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir, and other places where the Muslims are being oppressed since these were the biggest problems which were burdening us at the time. He was able to provide a lot of insight into the issues which eventually led us into acquiring a type of inner peace, which comes from placing one's trust completely upon Allah. The shaykh later delivered a khutba, which was based upon the hadith: "From the Beauty of the Islam of a believer is leaving that which does not concern him." During the khutba, the shaykh gave us sincere advice on how to beautify our worships for Allah and how to build a relationship with Allah. Later on that day, the news of a tragedy came to the Knoxville brothers and sisters who were waiting for the program to start. The news left the people distraught, in utter helplessness, and the tears began to roll down the cheeks of the brothers. Our beloved sister, Zaynab Khattabi had passed away to the next world that afternoon. She was coming to the Friday prayer along with Haroon, when her car was hit on the driver's side. She had succumbed to the injuries, while Haroon was in critical condition. After regaining consciousness, Haroon informed those close to him that his mom was in the remembrance of Allah in her last moments. May Allah raise her to the levels of the shuhada on the Day of Judgement. Haroon has been discharged from the hospital now, and he is recovering at home. The mood of the day had suddenly shifted from one of excitement to despair. After the initial shock, the reality of our existence began to sink in, and the brothers decided to perform Hizb-al-Bahr for the speedy recovery of Haroon. Some of the brothers were sent to check on the condition of Haroon and to comfort him, while the rest were told to stay behind for the lessons. After all, what could have been more affective to calm the distraught souls except the remembrance of Allah? This reminded me of a story which Shaykh Yaqubi told us once, signifying the love for sacred knowledge. It was an event which had occurred in the lifetime of his father, the great Allama, Shaykh Ibrahim al-Yaqubi, about whom Shaykh Abdullah said that if you see a man walking and a man flying, the one flying will be Shaykh Yaqubi's father. His father used to teach classes in the morning. On one occasion, his infant child had passed away the previous night. The shaykh conducted the classes as usual the next morning, while his wife was crying in the next room. After the lesson, he looked at his students and said, "My son passed away last night, please come with me to bury him." The story reminded me of our true origin, which is from Allah, and our return is back to him. So the program started as scheduled. Shaykh Hussain began by emphasizing the hadith on intention: "verily acts are but by intentions..." He chose this hadith because correct intention is a prerequisite for the acceptance of any deed. He said that the hadith was a guide for the students and a warning for the teacher, and it is always placed first in books of hadith, signifying the importance of devoting an act to Allah alone. As the shaykh said, "worship Allah for Allah." The point being that one should Worship Allah to seek Allah alone, not the rewards, which are gifts given to those who worship Allah. After clarifying the importance of intention, he went on to talk about the significance of purifying the heart. This brief session gave some enlightening insights into doing effective dawah. The shaykh said that when a heart is pure, it is receptive to the light of Allah. This light not only fills the heart, but it emanates out and affects other souls around it. People automatically begin to come to this light, and they feel empty in its absence. The purpose of emphasizing the heart was to remove the dryness of fiqh and to open the hearts of the students to the greater aim of Islam. After covering the basis of knowledge, the next day was spent learning the details of fiqh, namely: ritual purity, prayer, and fasting according to the Hanafi madhab. The shaykh was bombarded with numerous questions from the brothers and the sisters, but I must say the sisters won this round. The shaykh's immense knowledge became apparent to everyone when he answered the questions with eloquence and exacting proofs. He later emphasized further on building a relationship with Allah and said that if people build a relationship with Allah, they will not have many questions. The lessons continued throughout the day, greatly increasing the knowledge of the students. Later Saturday night, we went to Imad's house, where a great feast awaited the attendees of the program. This was a great opportunity to increase the sense of camaraderie for the brothers and the sisters. The Knoxvillian brothers were able to build lasting bonds with the brothers who had traveled long distances, some from New York, to attend the program. We also had the opportunity to talk to the shaykh about his experience in the Muslim world as a student upon which he told us various stories about his experience. We heard about Shaykh Yaqubi's billions of dollars worth of book collection, and his numerous ijazas in sacred sciences.
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Shaykh Hussain called him the "Ijaza PacMan" due to his immense knowledge. We heard about Shaykh Hussain’s great teachers, their miracles, and their ability to transform people with just a few words. The brothers decided to stay up late, but eventually they all fell asleep crammed in the masjid's library. Shadab and I decided to go sleep in the musallah where the shaykh was sleeping a short distance from us. I had the great opportunity of watching Shaykh Hussain perform his tahajjud prayer that night. I had approached him the previous night regarding the tahajjud prayer, and he had instructed me about the performance of this beautiful prayer and that the best time to perform it is half an hour before the time for fajr comes in. That night during one of my dreams, the word ruku' came into my mind, and subsequently the next word which woke me up was Salah. Wondering if it was time for Fajr, I looked at my watch and learned that there was exactly half an hour left before the time of Fajr was supposed to come in. I immediately recalled the advice of Shaykh Hussain from the previous night and decided to go make wudu. As I came back and opened the door to the musallah, I saw Shaykh Hussain getting up (no alarm clock!). He looked at me and walked out of the musallah. I was struck by fear so I quickly performed the minimum 4 rakas and went back pretending to sleep. I saw Shaykh Hussayn walk in after a while, wrapped in a mantle. He looked around and then he started praying. He made his prayer so long that I eventually fell asleep again. All I can say is that the tahajjud prayer is really exceptional. I didn't wake up again until the adhan for Fajr, which marked the beginning of our final day with the shaykh. The sessions started soon after Fajr covering the topic of fasting and ended with a nasiha (advice) by the shaykh to the students, which left many of the sisters crying and the brothers in tears. The shaykh's flight back to Chicago was shortly after the last session so we quickly embraced him and said good bye before he left. The students really did feel an emptiness in his absence, which is a proof for what the shaykh said about those who are close to Allah. Ya Allah, shower Shaykh Hussain with your blessings and bring us closer to you. Ameen. - Obaid Rahman |
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