Shaykh Ninowy

Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

I hope you are all doing well inshaAllah.

For those of you who couldn't make it to the halaqah on Thursday, here's a summary of what Shaykh Ninowy spoke about:

-The Shaykh explained how pleasing people is impossible, yet pleasing Allah will cause people to be pleased with us.

-The word "Aqeedah" is actually not mentioned in the Quran or sunnah. It comes from the Arabic word "Aqada" which means to tie. Aqeedah is what you tie your heart on believing.

-The word "Assamad" in surat Al-Ikhlas means: the one who is not in need of anything, yet everything in creation is in need of Him.

-"need" usually implies imperfection and dificiency, our creator is not in need of anything. We are in need of Him.

-Another attribute of Allah (swt) is that He is not subject to change.

-The Shaykh mentioned that the most two famous schools of Aqeedah are "Al-Ashari" and "Al-Matureedi". It's important for us to study one of them.

-The attributes of Allah have no beginning, no end, and are not suject to change.

-The Shaykh also gave some advice on how we shouldn't "label" people, we are all Muslim. He also mentioned how we should worry about our own faults, not the faults of others.

-He also said that the best way to learn sacred knowledge is from a shaykh who studied with a shaykh who studied with a shaykh...Reading books without someone explaining them to us is not recommended.
The Shaykh said: "learn from someone who is authorized, trustworthy, and knowledgeable".

-Finally the Shaykh gave advice on how to speak to non-Muslims who approach us with endless questions regarding hijab, why men can marry more than one wife, etc. He said we should talk to them about Aqeedah first, then we can answer their other questions.

I'm sorry that my notes are not that detailed. For anyone else who did attend, please post any additional notes you may have! :)

wassalamu alaikum,
Dana