Talks by Owais Al-Hashimi

Delivered 2021-03-15.  The polytheists worshipped various things, including the sun, moon, angels, prophets and righteous, as well as stones and trees. All of this is regarded as shirk regardless of who or what the object of worship is.

Delivered 2021-03-08. The two different categories of Intercession, and their relationship to Tawhid and shirk. Intercession is only sought from Allah. A mention of the ḥadīth describing the Grand Intercession granted by Allah to His Messenger ﷺ.

Delivered 2021-03-01. An explanation of the reason the polytheists did shirk, and its rejection by Islam. Seeking closeness to Allah or intercession to him by directing worship to intermediaries is the very definition of shirk.

Delivered 2021-02-22. Merely believing in the lordship of Allah is not sufficient to make a person a believer and an adherent of tawhid.

Delivered 2021-02-15. The purpose of our creation is to worship Allah alone, without partner. This is the religion of Ibrahim, and the reality of the shahadah, the testimony of faith. The serious consequences of shirk. The importance of knowing about Tawhid and shirk, and therefore understanding these four rules.

Delivered 2021-01-25. A brief introduction to the text. The importance of primer texts and committing them to memory.

Delivered 2020-12-21. Feigning knowledge and its manifestations. The ruling on people who pretend to have knowledge. The harms of feigning knowledge. The seriousness of speaking about Allāh and his religion without knowledge.

Delivered 2020-11-30. The requirement for a person of knowledge to be upright. The basis of the virtue of the true scholar. Increased piety and fear of Allāh comes with increased knowledge. The Salaf used to look at a person's behaviour before considering him a scholar.

Delivered 2020-11-23. Statements from the scholars about taking knowledge from books, recordings and the internet without learning from the scholars in person.

Delivered 2020-11-16. A scholar is someone who himself has taken knowledge from scholars. Knowledge is not to be taken from someone who only has book learning.

Delivered 2020-11-02. Categories that do not constitute knowledge: relying on opinion, kashf and taste in spiritual matters. The early criticism of Sufism by the great scholars. Conclusion of the topic.

Delivered 2020-10-26. Categories that do not constitute knowledge: argumentation, disputes and ineffectual debate about the religion.

Delivered 2020-10-19.  Personal opinion is not knowledge.  The incorrect use of opinion in the religion and its danger.  Pseudo-intellectuals and the opinionated pretenders to knowledge.  The use of opinion by scholars in the correct manner. 

Delivered 2020-10-12. What constitutes knowledge. Categories that do not constitute knowledge. Details on the bid'ah of the theology known as Kalam.

Delivered 2020-10-05 The need to be careful who you take your religion from. A concise reply to the question: who is a scholar in Islam? The reality of Islamic knowledge.

Delivered 2020-09-28. The Hadith of Abu Al-Darda About Knowledge - Concluded. Attributes of the true scholars in light of the hadith. Cultivation and care for the people. Disinterest in amassing wealth and worldly possessions. The greatest share to gain is the most beneficial and longest lasting: Islam and knowledge of it.

Delivered 2020-09-21.  The Hadith of Abu Al-Darda About Knowledge, continued.  The superiority of the scholar over the devout worshipper.  The scholars being the inheritors of the Prophets.  The ruling on reviling the scholars. 

Delivered 2020-09-14. The virtues of knowledge and its people from the hadith reported by Abu Al-Darda, continued. The angels and their association with the seeker of knowledge. Prayer of Allah's creation for the scholar. The benefit of having scholars for everyone and everything on Earth. Loving the scholars is part of the religion, and hatred of them is a great sin and evidence of enmity to Allah.

Delivered 2020-09-07. The virtues of knowledge and its people from the hadith reported by Abu Al-Darda, continued. The ruling on seeking knowledge. Topics that every Muslim must gain knowledge about.

Delivered 2020-08-31. The virtues of knowledge and its people from the hadith reported by Abu Al-Darda. Based on selections from Miftah Dar Al-Sa'adah of Ibn Al-Qayyim, Jami' Bayan Al-'Ilm of Ibn 'Abd Al-Barr and the dedicated commentary of Ibn Rajab.

Delivered 2020-08-26. The status of knowledge and its people from some of what is mentioned in the Quran. Based on selections from Miftah Dar Al-Sa'adah of Ibn Al-Qayyim.