[vanillawafer]

"Key to the Garden" is a book by Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad. What the book is about:

A completely revised second edition of a very popular volume. Key to the Garden is an elaborate exposition of the Prophet Muhammad’s teaching that the inner life must pass through three stages: affirmation of faith with the tongue, then the mind, and finally the heart. The Muslim Testimony of Faith, that “there is no deity save God,” is at once the essence and the highest principle of Islam. This book is a demonstration, by one of the greatest recipients of the Prophet’s heritage of knowledge, of how the whole spectrum of Islamic thought and worship unfolds naturally from these few words.

It is now forty years since this book was written, twenty since it was translated into English, and twelve since the translation was first published. The issues that had caused the author so much concern at the time have become, without exception, all the more pressing today. The need to convey the Islamic concept of Tawhid to the world at large in clear unequivocal terms has been and shall remain the Muslim's first duty. Now that there is renewed worldwide attention toward Islam, it has become even more urgent to convey its core concept, without which there is no religion : the Oneness of God.

To die believing in Tawhid and Islam is the ultimate happiness this life has to offer. A Muslim continually implores and asks God to make him die as a Muslim, and this is how God has described His Prophets and the righteous among His servants. He has stated that Joseph (peace be upon him) said, "You are my Patron in this world and in the next; make me die a Muslim, and make me join the virtuous"(12:101). He has exhorted that Abraham and Jacob (peace be upon them) exhorted their children to die as Muslims.

One should strive properly to guard one's Islam and to strengthen it by complying with God's commands. A person who neglects God's commands exposes himself to the risk of dying outside Islam, for his lack of obedience is proof of his low opinion of the rights religion has over him.

One should avoid transgressions and sins, for these weaken one's Islam, shake its foundations, and put one in danger of it being snatched away at the time of death. Likewise, one should continually ask God for a good ending, so that one dies with the Testimony, and one should dread a bad ending, for it leads to perdition. [Key to the Garden]

salam

[vanillawafer]

Know that a large proportion of those who suffer an evil end consists of people who neglect their obligatory ritual Prayer and Zakat, ferret out the hidden faults of other Muslims, and who cheat when giving measure and weight (Quran,11:84), and deceive, defraud, and delude other Muslims in matters of religion.

Similar are those who detract from the Prophetic Sunna, and call for a reduction in its status by creating suspicions and doubts about it, despite the fact that it is the greatest collection of Prophetic literature in the human history. No Prophet has had so much preserved of his sayings, acts, and states as our Prophet Mohammad (may blessings and peace be upon him). The Sunna contains an unrivaled collection of legislation, social organization, extraordinary concepts, and comprehensive sciences.

The Sunna consists of the sayings, acts, and approvals of the Messenger of God (May God's blessings and peace be upon him and his family). The Sunna is a clarification and an explanation of the Qur'an.The Prophet (may blessings and peace be upon him) elucidated and explained in detail, in his words, deeds. and approval or disapproval of other people's acts, what had been sent forth in more general terms in the Book. The obedient servant who follows the example of the Greatest Beloved (may God's blessings and peace be upon him), becomes beloved by God, by virtue of his love of His Beloved. [Key to the Garden]

salam

[Blue_Phoenix]

So can the sunnah be equated with the quran?

[sixpakistan]

I've had this book for a while. Been meaning to read it. I think I will on my next trip iA

[Sim]

Originally Posted by Blue_Phoenix

So can the sunnah be equated with the quran?

"The Sunna consists of the sayings, acts, and approvals of the Messenger of God (May God's blessings and peace be upon him and his family). The Sunna is a clarification and an explanation of the Qur'an."

its an incorrect question. the Quran is the word of Allah. the sunnah is the way of Rasool Allah (saw).

the word of Allah is superior to all else, and that is not to the discredit of the sunnah but to the credit of the Quran.

sixpak - its a great book. all of imam haddad's (ra) collection that have been translated are packed to teh rims with wisdom. habib ali jifri came to teach parts of imam haddad's book "mutual reminders" ...the adab of a mureed. it was awesome...

[nooni]

Originally Posted by Sim

its an incorrect question. the Quran is the word of Allah. the sunnah is the way of Rasool Allah (saw).

she just asked the question, no rolling of the eyes are needed....

[vanillawafer]

Originally Posted by Sim

sixpak - its a great book. all of imam haddad's (ra) collection that have been translated are packed to teh rims with wisdom. habib ali jifri came to teach parts of imam haddad's book "mutual reminders" ...the adab of a mureed. it was awesome...

If I'm not mistaken, they aren't the same person. The author of "Mutual Reminding and Good Manners" is Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi al Haddad and the author of "Key to the Garden" is Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad.

In His Book, God the Exalted has commanded that the Sunna of His Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) be followed. This was made a duty and an obligation, and therefore no faith can be sound without it. To deny that the Sunna should be followed is disbelief because it is a denial of what has been stated in the Qur'an.

This is the reason why Muslims have taken such great care with hadith, from the days of the Companions until the present. These were recorded and transmitted verbally and in writing, and researched in the most profound manner as regards their memorization, accuracy, recording, and freedom from flaws.

Only those whose faith is defective regarding the one who brought the Sunna would detract from its value or altogether snub it; by so doing they would set themselves outside the consensus, method, and doctrine of the Muslims, and would show themselves to be either ignorant of Islam or its blatant foes. [Key to the Garden]

salam

[Sim]

Originally Posted by vanillawafer

If I'm not mistaken, they aren't the same person. The author of "Mutual Reminding and Good Manners" is Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi al Haddad and the author of "Key to the Garden" is Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad.

salam

oh snap your right, i totally forgot. but yeh both authors are good

blue phoenix - i apologize, it was bad adab.

[zzze]

assalamu alaykum

You choose the most beautiful books A sheikh spent 2 days on this book at a retreat, well, on chapter 15. It has the most beautiful cover , too

[ameen]

Originally Posted by vanillawafer

In His Book, God the Exalted has commanded that the Sunna of His Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) be followed. This was made a duty and an obligation, and therefore no faith can be sound without it. To deny that the Sunna should be followed is disbelief because it is a denial of what has been stated in the Qur'an.

With all issues of authenticity / reliability aside, this is totally an utter lie about the Qur'an. No Verse in the Qur'an refers to a particular 'Sunnah' of Prophet Muhammad. Whenever the word 'Sunnah' is used in the Qur'an it is in reference to the 'Sunnah of Allah', ie. the way of ALL the Prophets including Prophet Muhammad, not to an idolization of his personal life.

[vanillawafer]

It is necessary for anyone who wishes to derive judgments of Shari'a from the two sources, which are the Book and the Sunna, to be fully versed in both, in the way set out in the science of the Principles of Jurisprudence (Usul al Fiqh).

He must also have a mastery of classical Arabic, including rhetoric and other well-known disciplines, for this is the indispensable tool for understanding the "Clear Arabic Book," whose supremacy of style and variety of expression attain to the level of the miraculous; and (it is required also) for understanding the Sunna that has been transmitted from the most eloquent man ever to speak Arabic and from his Companions, who were unsurpassed in their eloquence.

It is not permissible for anyone lacking any of these tools to undertake this grave matter, for he would go astray and lead others astray, thereby committing a monstrous sin. [Key to the Garden]

SubhanAllah, I had this typed out before I read the previous post.

salam

[vanillawafer]

No translation could possibly do justice to the Quran's meanings, purposes, and aims. It would be devoid of its qualities of eloquent clear expression, the secrets of its inimitable miraculousness, the awe it inspires, and its majesty. This is why the scholars all agreed that it is impossible to translate the Quran literally in any way that would truly correspond to it and reproduce its meanings and intents, or convey its secrets and special properties. The productions of those who have had the audacity to try are very far-off indeed from the Quran, and represent an obvious attempt to tamper with its holiness.

As for literal translations which lay no claim to an identical status, they are less perilous than the sort discussed above, but are still incapable of reproducing the meanings of the verses or of possessing the unique aspects of eloquence, or the secrets of the Quran's miraculousness.

However to translate only the meanings of the Quran and the sayings of the reliable commentators into any language is required, although it must be done by those who can translate well, and without altering the original meanings. In this way those who know no Arabic, or not enough, will be able to know the true nature of the Islamic call and what it involves, through the meanings of the Quranic verses, and that is what Muslims have been doing ever since the scholars started writing commentaries on the Quran. [Key to the Garden]

salam

[zzze]

assalamu alaykum

could you give me the page number for the last post? thank you

nice response to the other post

[UmarOMC]

assalaamu'aalaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh

Originally Posted by ameen

With all issues of authenticity / reliability aside, this is totally an utter lie about the Qur'an. No Verse in the Qur'an refers to a particular 'Sunnah' of Prophet Muhammad. Whenever the word 'Sunnah' is used in the Qur'an it is in reference to the 'Sunnah of Allah', ie. the way of ALL the Prophets including Prophet Muhammad, not to an idolization of his personal life.

لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا

(M. Asad) 33:21 VERILY, in the Apostle of God you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe] to God and the Last Day, and remembers God unceasingly.

(Yusuf Ali) 33:21 Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah.


If I am not mistaken I believe THIS is more likely the intention behind the quote. I don't think reference was implied as to Qur'an actually quoting and/or referencing ahadith or any particular hadith.

allahu'aalaam

'aalaykum assalaamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh