20 Friday Jan 2012
Posted in Academic/Teaching, al-Quran al-Karim, Lectures, Tafsir & Ta'wil
Peace, one and all…
A fascinating lecture on the notion of covenant in the Quran and Islamic thought, by Joseph Lumbard.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
19 Thursday Jan 2012
Peace, one and all…
19 Thursday Jan 2012
Peace, one and all…
24 Monday Oct 2011
Peace, one and all…
I recently found a large collection of videos from an academic conference in Istanbul on Ibn Arabi. You can find the complete collection by following the link: You Tube. Insha Allah, I will post them all here, as time allows.
Dr. Pilar Garrido Clemente: ‘The Ladder of Interpretation: Reason and Revelation in Ibn Masarra, the Predecessor of Ibn Arabi’
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
10 Monday May 2010
Peace, one and all…
With the conclusion of this academic year’s teaching, our students are busy preparing for their exams. May Allah bless all of them. May their exams and assignments be blessed. May they be blessed in everything that they go on to do and be. May they do well in spite of all my faults as a teacher.
‘May this moment be blessed. May goodness be opened and may evil be dispelled. May our humble plea be accepted in the Court of Honour; May the Most Glorious God purify and fill our hearts with the Light of His Greatest Name. May the hearts of the lovers be opened. By the breath of our master Mevlana, by the secret of Shams and Weled, by the holy light of Muhammad, by the generosity of Imam Ali, and the intercession of Muhammad, the unlettered prophet, mercy to all the worlds. May we say Hu, Huuu…’
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
02 Friday Oct 2009
Peace, one and all…
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim. In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Today marks the beginning of my teaching for this academic year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my new students for their interest in the course. May God bless our class and your learning. I ask for your forgiveness at the outset for the mistakes I am sure I will make along the way.
The Rose Prayer of the Mevlevi Sufi Order captures exactly what I would like to say:
‘May this moment be blessed. May goodness be opened and may evil be dispelled. May our humble plea be accepted in the Court of Honour; May the Most Glorious God purify and fill our hearts with the Light of His Greatest Name. May the hearts of the lovers be opened. By the breath of our master Mevlana, by the secret of Shams and Weled, by the holy light of Muhammad, by the generosity of Imam Ali, and the intercession of Muhammad, the unlettered prophet, mercy to all the worlds. May we say Hu, Huuu…’
Wa akhiru da’wana an il hamdu lillahi rabbil alameen.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
24 Wednesday Jun 2009
Posted in Academic/Teaching
Peace, one and all…
Praise be to God in every condition and state. With the conclusion of this morning’s examinations board, all of our student marks have been confirmed. I wanted to take this opportunity to offer my congratulations to all those completing their degrees this year. In particular, I wanted to thank my own students for making this year such an enjoyable and profitable experience for me. I ask God (and them) to forgive me for my mistakes and I wish them all well in their future endeavours. May Allah bless them all, now and always.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
01 Friday May 2009
Posted in Academic/Teaching, Moments from My Life
Peace, one and all…
Today marked the effective end for this academic year’s teaching. Allah! How swiftly time passes by. At any rate, may Allah bless my students. May God make their exams easy and bless their hearts and minds with true knowledge. May God forgive me for my many mistakes in teaching and may Hu grant them success in spite of my many shortcomings.
And my last prayer is in praise of God, Sustainer of all being.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
13 Friday Feb 2009
Peace, one and all…
As I was teaching my classes this morning, I was struck by the extent to which teaching is an act of patience. Or, to put it another way, teaching is almost a form of patience. When planning my lessons, I must always ensure that I cater for all my students: I must be patient in other words. When teaching, I must take great care to ensure that everyone is able to understand me clearly. This means that I must use different ways to describe the same word, concept or issue. It also means that I must always be ready to clarify myself: what I am really trying to say and why am I saying it?
Moreover, as I am learning more recently, the art of patience in education also means being patient with myself and my own limitations. That is, I must realise that because I do not understand all things (Allah! I realise this very clearly), I cannot explain everything all at once. In other words, I should be patient in the face of adversity when teaching. Last week, for example, I had a text-based session all planned out but because of the idiosyncracies of the photocopier (and myself in operating it), my handouts were utterly confused. Perhaps, then, patience refers also to planning and then to coping with the difficulties of the teaching experience itself.
I guess, then, I’m really saying that teachers should ‘tie their camels’ and then trust in God! That God-given gift of patience is also a cause for deep, heartfelt gratitude.
Praise be to God, Who has placed lessons for us in all things.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
17 Wednesday Dec 2008
Peace, one and all…
I found some interesting video lectures by Professor Annemarie Schimmel on You Tube and wanted to share them here. Unfortunately, only the first 4 parts (out of a putative 6) have, as yet been uploaded.
Enjoy and may Allah make them beneficial.
The Muslims of the Indian Sub-continent (Part 1)
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
17 Monday Nov 2008
Peace, one and all…
What is a teacher and what does it mean to teach? Imam Ali (may God ennoble his countenance) is reported to have said the following in this regard:
‘I am the slave of he who teaches me a single letter of the alphabet’
A teacher is someone we have learned from, whether they be among the living or else have passed on into the fields of eternity. A teacher is someone who has taught us something, whether we have met them in the flesh or not. Anyone who has taught us, no matter how small the lesson may be, is our teacher and is thus worthy of our love, our loyalty and our fidelity.
Reflecting further, we are drawn to the conclusion that life itself is our teacher. We are all students in life’s class. And, behind each lesson, stands one greater still – the story of our unfolding relationships with God, the Teacher of All Teachers, Whose lessons of love teach us all.
Ya Allah! Though the lessons be long, let me always stand at the door of Your school.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
23 Thursday Oct 2008
Peace, one and all…
I’ve come across a number of very interesting internet discussions of late and so I wanted to link to them all here. I’ve grouped them under two broad headings.
Theology, Spirituality, Identity
Tradition and Modernity
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
03 Friday Oct 2008
Peace, one and all…
Subhan Allah! The summer is now but a memory (hang on a minute – the UK summer didn’t really appear) and the new academic year has just begun. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Our new students have arrived – eager and nervous all at the same time. The 2nd and 3rd year students have also returned. The department is buzzing with all the activity of academic life. I enjoy this time of year. I enjoy the enthusiasm of our students and I enjoy all the challenges that Higher Education brings. Al hamdu lillahi ala kulli hal. Praise be to God in every condition and state!
My new Sufism class began this morning. After looking at ‘housekeeping matters’ (such as assessment and library provision), we turned to a discussion of spirituality and mysticism: what are they? Do they exist independently of religious, social and historical contexts; and to what extent can we make comparisons across traditions? The group was lively and the discussion well-informed and itneresting. Allah!
I’ve been reading a number of interesting books in the run up to this morning’s session. Here are some of the most interesting:
I’ve really enjoyed reading these works – though I have more questions than answers as yet! I haven’t even started on the large haul of articles I collected from SOAS in the summer! Allah!
At any rate, praise be to God for the ability to read, learn and insha Allah, one day to understand.
Wa akhiru da’wana an il hamdu lillahi rabbil alameen.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
25 Wednesday Jun 2008
Posted in Academic/Teaching, Moments from My Life, Teaching
Peace, one and all…
Al hamdu lillah. The School Exam Board has met and approved all of this year’s results. My very own module (Shi`a Islam: History & Theology) passed through the meeting unscathed, I am glad to say. More importantly, it was good to see the hard work of many of our students rewarded with good degree results.
May Allah bless them all in their future endeavours.
Insha Allah, I will be off to London soon for a while – busily preparing for next year’s teaching. Oh the fun never ends! 
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
13 Friday Jun 2008
Posted in Academic/Teaching, Events, Miscellaneous
Peace, one and all…
Umm Yasmin, over at Dervish, has provided a link to a very interesting forthcoming conference. Entitled ‘International Academic Conference on Qur’anic Frameworks for Society: Islam, Multiculturalism, Pluralism and Peace’, and run by the Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, it aims to look at the following broad themes:
Insha Allah, the papers on offer will cover the following topics:
It will run on the 17th and 18th June 2008 at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London. It looks fascinating, though I won’t be able to attend. 
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
07 Saturday Jun 2008
Posted in Academic Matters, Academic/Teaching, Moments from My Life, Teaching
Peace, one and all…
I’m currently sitting at my sister-in-law’s computer, on the outskirts of London (St Albans to be exact). I went to SOAS library today to return some books and to pick up some new ones. Although teaching has already finished for this academic year (and I’ve been busy marking and second-marking), my thoughts have begun to turn to next year’s courses. So it is that I’ve been quietly gathering material.
I have to say that this was one of the busiest trips into London that I’ve taken in a long while. I went via a slightly different route today – via St Pancras International, which has completely changed since the last time I passed that way. In point of fact, I barely recognised it! The Victoria Line on London Underground was closed and so I walked from King’s Cross to SOAS. It was a very warm afternoon, and so it was a pleasant walk.
Anyway, here are the titles of the books I checked out – and which I look forward to reading soon, insha Allah:
I also took the following title out my own university library yesterday afternoon:
Given that my academic background is in ancient history, it’s actually been a while since I read anything in that field. I’ve only read the first couple of chapters, but it’s an immensely enjoyable read so far. Insha Allah, I’ll add a few more thoughts when I’ve read a bit more.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
04 Tuesday Mar 2008
Peace, one and all…
I spent yesterday evening teaching my AS Level Islamic Studies class. The topic of last night’s class was mysticism. Specifically, we were looking at Islamic mysticism – or Sufism, in other words.
The class itself is made up entirely of 17 year olds, all of whom are Muslims. It was therefore an interesting session insofar as it offered a kind of barometer reading of popular Muslim thought (or at least that seemingly evident in Cardiff).
Their reactions to the Sufism were interesting. Most of the class seemed utterly unfamiliar with the topic – to the point that some even doubted its wider relevance to the course. Most knew little about Sufism itself (even to the extent of being seemingly unaware of some of the practices associated with it in the popular Muslim imagination). Those that had heard of the subject before were (broadly) divided into two groups. The first group argued that Sufism, as a whole, represented a going to extremes, a movement in some sense beyond the pale. This group argued that Sufi ideas were, at best, suspect and at worst, outright heresy. However, these opinions were based on seemingly little information/experience. That is, such practices were dismissed out of hand before we had even really begun to explore them. We had much the same response earlier in the course when we looked briefly at the different legal schools and at Shi`a Islam. In other words, there seemed to be a broad and largely unchallenged assumption that what we might call ‘background Salafism’ was the default Islamic position, so to speak. This is not to disparage Salafi thought. Rather, it is merely to describe the views of the class as a whole.
The second (much smaller) group was more favourably inclined towards Sufism, being more broadly aware perhaps of its influence in Muslim history. However, even here, it was interesting to note that this group felt a need to defend itself and its views regading Sufi practices (‘music’ in particular).
What did strike me as revealing was the idea that there was only one correct orientation towards Islam – all others being somehow limited, derivative and essentially heretical. Not that there was unanimity regarding the nature of this rarified Islam – far from it in fact. In previous sessions, this idea of theological and ritual uniformity was linked to the concept of the Ummah, or to unity in other words. I have offered a few thoughts on this topic elsewhere.
Perhaps such ideas and ways of looking at the world characterise the very young. Perhaps this grasping for external certainty is a feature of teenagers. At any rate, I can certainly remember feeling this way when I was younger.
And my response to all this? Well, I don’t think it is my task to unravel their assumptions completely – to do that would be to directly challenge their emerging identities (and their foundations). Rather, I think it is task to set up boundaries within which these ideas can be discussed safely and to gently suggest that there are other possibilities, other potentials, other ways of being Muslim.
And, as in all things, what they choose to do with those potentialities is up to them.
And may God bless them all in their choices.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
15 Monday Oct 2007
Peace, one and all…
I’m currently sitting in the classroom where I teach AS Level Islamic Studies (to 16-18 year olds). I’ve just finished tonight’s class (on the life of Muhammad, alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam). It’s been a very long day, al hamdu lillah. We returned to Wales from London today, after a really enjoyable Eid break (Allah ka shukr hai).
I really enjoy teaching. I really enjoy helping people to learn for themselves. It’s a privilege to be present when someone learns something for the first time. It’s a honour to be a teacher.
Allah help me to be a patient, forgiving and caring teacher. Ya Allah! Help all of my students wherever they may go in life. Bless them all, now and evermore. Amin.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
