Abdal Hakim Murad is Dean of the Cambridge Muslim College, UK, which trains imams for British mosques.

In 2010 he was voted Britains most influential Muslim thinker by Jordans Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. He has translated a number of books from the Arabic, including several sections of Imam alGhazali's Ihya' Ulum al-Din. His most recent book is Commentary on the Eleventh Contentions (2012). Abdal Hakim Murad regularly leads Juma prayers at the Cambridge central mosque, and has spoken in major mosques in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Spain, and the United States. Recordings of his talks are available on the Cambridge Khutbas website. His articles have appeared in The Independent, the London Evening Standard, the Daily Telegraph, The Times, the Catholic Herald, Islamica, Zaman, the Times Literary Supplement, and Prospect. He is also a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4s Thought for the Day.
Hujjat al-Islam

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

(1058-1111) The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife,

from The Revival of the Religious Sciences

(Ihya `ulum al-din)

Al-Ghazali : The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife (Kitab dhikr al-mawt wa-ma ba'dahu) ISBN: 0 946621 13 6 (Islamic Texts Society) Book XL of The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya `ulum al-din) translated with an introduction and notes by T. J. Winter
[Introduction by the modern fan of al-Ghazali who put it on the net] The following is a section from the above book, the book is an remarkable piece of work on eschatology by probably the greatest scholar of Islam, Imam Hujjat al-Islam (The Proof of Islam) Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111). The Imam was a theologian, logician, jurist and mystic, was born and died at the town of Tus in Central Asia, but spent much of his life lecturing in Baghdad or leading the life of a wandering dervish. His most celebrated work, of which this is the culminating section, exercised a profound influence on Muslim intellectual history by exploring the mystical significance of the practices and beliefs of Islamic orthodoxy, and earned him the title of "Hujjat al-Islam", the "Proof of Islam". Many people consider the Imam to be the fulfillment of the hadith found in Bukhari: 6.420: Narrated Abu Huraira:

While we were sitting with the Prophet Surat Al-Jumu'a was revealed to him, and when the Verse, "And He (Allah) has sent him (Muhammad) also to other (Muslims).....' (62.3) was recited by the Prophet, I said, "Who are they, O Allah's Apostle?" The Prophet did not reply till I repeated my question thrice. At that time, Salman Al-Farisi was with us. So Allah's Apostle put his hand on Salman, saying, "If Faith were at (the place of) Ath-Thuraiya (Pleiades, the highest star), even then some men or man from these people (i.e. Salman's folk) would attain it." Anyone who is acquainted with the work of the Imam would unhesitatingly agree with this statement, as Imam Ghazali deals primarily with issues of faith (Aqid`ah) as well as other Islamic issues and is of Persian descent. Imam Nawawi has said that "if all the books of Islam were lost, the Ihya would suffice them all", such is the depth and detail of this remarkable work. The translation is a masterful one by T. J. Winter (`Abdal-Hakim Murad), who is a historian and a teacher of Arabic. Currently the book is out of print but will be made available again soon, insha'Allah, I consider this a must for every Muslim and I am currently making a second reading of this gem. Those who have read it relate that the book brings about much awareness of the brevity and fragility of life in this world and contemplation of the life in the next. Although the book deals with a subject that brings about much fear, it is not a morbid or pessimistic discourse and so it leaves the reader full of hope instead of fear, such is the style of Imam al-Ghazali (RahimuAllah). May Allah (SWT) enable other sections from Ihya 'ulum al-Din available in English as we are in much need of classical, orthodox and quality literature. Wa'as-Salaam Mas`ud

An exposition of the grave's discourse to the dead, and of their utterances, either on the tongue of common speech, or that of the Spiritual State (lisan al-hal) (from Chapter Seven) Now, the tongue of the Spiritual State (lisan al-hal) is even more eloquent in communicating with the dead than that of the speech when communicating with the living. The Emissary of God (May God bless him and grant him peace) said, 'When the dead man is laid in his grave it speaks to him, saying, "Woe betide you, O son of Adam! What distracted you from contemplating me? Did you not know that I am the house of trial, the house of darkness, the house of solitude and the house of worms? What distracted you from me? You used to pass me by, strutting on!" Now if he had worked well, then someone will reply to the grave on his behalf, saying, "Do you not see that it was his practice to enjoin the good and forbid the evil?" And the grave replies, "Then for him shall I turn to verdure [a condition of freshness or healthy growth.], and his body shall become radiance, and his spirit shall soar up to God (Exalted is He!)".' (According to the narrator, 'strutting' [faddad] is to take large strides.) [Ref: al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, 161; Abu Nu`aym, VI. 90; Abu Ya'la, al-Musnad (Haytami, Majma', III. 45-46)]

Said `Ubaid bin `Umayr al-Laythi 'Not a single man dies without being called by the pit in which he is buried, which declares, "I am the house of gloom, and of loneliness and solitude! If you were obedient to God during your lifetime then today I shall be a source of mercy for you, but if you were rebellious then I am an act of vengeance against you. The obedient who enter me shall come forth joyful, while the rebellious who enter me shall emerge in ruin".' Said Muhammad ibn Sabih 'I have heard that if a man is laid in his tomb to be tormented or afflicted by something which is odious to him, his dead neighbours call out to him, saying, "O you who leave your bretheren and neighbours behind you in the world! Was there never a lesson for you in us? Was there no clue for you in our preceding you? Did you not see how our actions were severed from us while you still had some respite? Why did you not achieve that which passed your bretheren by?" Then the regions of the earth call out to him, saying, "O you who were beguiled by the outer aspect of the world! Did you not take heed from your relatives who had vanished into the earth's interior? Those who were beguiled by the world before you and then met their fate, and entered into their graves? You watched them being borne aloft [To the cemetery], availed nothing by those they loved, and taken to the abode which they could not escape."' Said Yazid al-Ruqashi 'I have heard it said that when the deceased is set in his tomb his works amass around him and are given to speak by God, so that they say, "O bondsman, alone in his pit! Your family and friends are now separated from you, so that today we are your sole companions".' Said Ka'b [al-Ahbar], 'When the righteous bondsman is laid in his tomb he is surrounded by his righteous acts, such as his prayer, his fasting, his pilgrimage, his engagement in the Holy War, and the charity he used to distribute. Then the Angels of Chastisement approach him from the direction of his feet, but are told by Prayer, "Get back from him, you have no authority over him, for upon those [feet] he stood in me at length for the sake of God". Then they approach him from the direction of his head, but Fasting says, "You have no authority over him, for in the world's abode he thirsted at length for the sake of God". Next they draw near to him from the direction of his trunk, but Pilgrimage and Holy War say, "Get back from him for he exhausted himself and wearied his body when he accomplished the Pilgrimage and the Holy War for the sake of God; no authority do you have over him". Then they approach him from the direction of his hands, but Charity says, "Back! Retreat from my master, for how many an act of charity issued from those two hands to fall in to the hand of God (Exalted is He!), while he acted only for His sake; no authority, do you have over him". Then he shall be told, "Rejoice! Good you have been in life and in death!" Next, the Angels of Mercy come, and spread a heavenly cloth and resting-place out for him, and his grave is widened around him for as far as the eye can see. A candle is brought from Heaven, and from it he has light until God resurrects him from his grave.' Said `Abd Allah ibn `Ubayd ibn `Umayr at a funeral, 'I have heard it said that the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) once declared, "The dead man sits up and hears the footsteps of those that are present at his funeral, but none addresses him save his tomb, which says, 'Woe betide you, O son of Adam! Did you not fear me and my narrowness, and my corruption, terror and worms? What have you prepared for me?" [Ibn al-Mubarak, (riwaya Nu`aym ibn Hammad), 41; Ibn Abi'l-Dunya, K. al-Qubur (Zabidi, x.397; Suyuti, Sharh, 114).

The Seventy Seven Branches of Faith by Imam Al Bayhaqi Scrupulousness (Wara`)

Imam Al-Bayhaqi The Seventy-Seven Branches of Faith [Summarized] A. Murad 1990, 1996 In the Sahih of Muslim, and certain other works, the following hadith is recorded on the authority of Abu- Hurayra (r): "O mankind! God is good, and accepts only that which is good. He has given the believers the command He gave to the Messengers: 0 Messengers! Eat of the good things, and do good also, Truly, I am All-Aware of what you do, [23:51] and: 0 mankind! Eat of what is lawful and goodly in the earth, [2: 168] and: 0 mankind! Eat of the good things with which We have provided you." [2:168] Then he spoke of "a man On a long journey, wild-haired and dusty, who raises his hands up to heaven, saying, 'Lord! Lord!' and yet his food is unlawful, his clothes unlawful, and his drink unlawful, and his sustenance unlawful: how, then, shall his prayer be answered?" Bukhari and Muslim relate on the authority of Ibn Bashir (r) that the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, "The lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear. But between the two are ambiguous matters not known to many people. Whosoever avoids these matters, has preserved his honour and his religion intact. But whosoever falls into them shall fall into the unlawful, in the fashion of a shepherd who grazes his flock around a sanctuary, so that he is near to violating it. Assuredly, every king has a sanctuary, and God's sanctuary on this earth is composed of his prohibitions." They also relate on the authority of Aba Hurayra that the Prophet said: "Sometimes when I return to my family, I find a date on my bed or elsewhere in my house, and raise it to my mouth, but then fear that it might be from someone's charity, so I put it aside." [Despite his absolute poverty, the Blessed Prophet was not permitted to accept charity.] Bukhari relates that 'Aisha (r) once said, "Abu Bakr (r) once said, "Abu Bakr (r) used to have a servant-boy who would collect the kharaj [a tax paid by nonMuslims on landed property in return for protection of the Islamic stage] for him, and Abu Bakr would buy food for himself out of this money. One day, however, the boy brought something, and Abu Bakr ate it. 'Do you know what that was?' the boy asked him, and Abu Bakr said, 'What?' 'In the jahiliyya," he said, 'I was a soothsayer; something which, in fact, I.did 1 not know

how to do, but I deceived a man, who met me just now and gave me what you ate.' And Abu Bakr put his finger into his throat, and vomited all that was in his stomach." According to Zayd ibn Aslam, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (r) once drank some milk, which he liked. "Where did you get this milk?" he asked the man who had given it to him, and he replied that he had been on his way to a well, when he passed some animals which had been given in charity, and some people who were milking them; he had taken some of it in his water-skin, and gone away. Hearing this, 'Umar put his finger in his throat, and vomited it up. It is related that 'All (r) had his bread brought in containers from Medina. Yusuf ibn Asbat said, "When a young man worships, the devil says [to his minions], 'Look at his food.' If they find his food to be from an impure source, he says, 'Leave him alone; let him worship long and hard, for he himself has ensured that your efforts are not needed." Hudhayfa al-Mar'ashi once watched people hurrying to join the first row in a mosque, and said, "They should hurry likewise to eat lawful bread. When Sufyan al-Thawri was asked about the merit which attaches to praying in the first row, he replied, "Inspect the crust of bread which you eat, and find out where it comes from, even if this means praying in the last row." He also said, "Look to see where your money comes from, even if you have to pray in the last row." Sari al-Saqati used to eat neither the vegetables nor the fruit of southern Iraq, nor anything else which he knew to come from that region. [at the time, the region contained many heretics of the Khariji and Qarmati sects]. He was very strict in this, by virtue of his great scrupulousness in matters of religion. Nevertheless, he, said, "Once, when I was at Tarsus, I was in the company of some young men who were much given to worship. The house contained an oven which they used for baking. When this oven broke, I bought a replacement with my own money, but so great was their scrupulousness that they refused to bake in it." He once said, "Abu Yusuf al-Ghasali used to spend all his time at the war-front, and participate in sorties. When he did so, and he and his companions entered Byzantine territory, the others ate the meat which the Byzantines had slaughtered, while he refrained. "Abu Yusuf!" he was told, "Do you suspect that it is unlawful?" and he said, "No." "Then eat," they told him, "for it is lawful!" But he remarked, "Renunciation is only of lawful things." Sari also said, "Returning once from a sortie, I saw by the road some clear water surrounded by some reeds. 'Sari!'. I said to myself 'If you ever eat or drink anything lawful in your life, then now is the time.' So I dismounted, and ate and drank, but heard a voice coming from someone I could not see, which said, 'O Sari ibn al-Mughallis! What about the money which enabled you to come here? Where did that come from?' And so I was disappointed." 'Abdallah ibn al-Jalla said, "I know a man who lived for thirty years in Mecca, who drank the water of Zamzam only when he could use his own bucket and rope, and who never ate any food which had been brought from another town.

Al-Mustafa ibn 'Imran said, "In times gone by, there were ten scholars who were particularly careful to ensure that they ate only lawful food: These were: Ibrahim ibn Adham, Sulayman alKhawwas, 'Ali ibn Fudayl, Abu Mu'awiya al-Aswad, Yusuf ibn Asbat, Wuhayb ibn al-Ward, Hudhayfa of Harran, Daud al-Tai, and two others." The great Hadith scholar Yahya ibn Ma'in recited this verse: Lawful and unlawful wealth, both must pass away, and the sins thereof await the Final Day. Sufyan al-Thawri was once asked about scrupulousness and he replied: I have found, and you must not believe otherwise that scrupulousness applies to every small coin. If you find a coin, but leave it alone, then know that you are a Muslim of piety. When Yahya ibn Aktham was appointed judge, his ascetic brother 'Abdallah of Merv wrote to him the following lines: Many a mouthful with coarse salt which you eat, is more delicious than a stuffed date. One bite which destroys a man is like One seed in a trap, which breaks a bird's neck. lbrahim ibn Hushaim was advised as follows by a friend of his before he left on a journey: "I advise you to act with righteousness, and to eat what is wholesome. A Godfearing man does not fear his God until his food and drink are wholesome; and until what he earns and owns are wholesome too and his speech is goodly and pleasant. This is God's law, as told by His Prophet So may He bless him and grant him His peace!"'
Etiquettes of Reading and Handling the Qur'an al-Kareem

Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad Qurtubi

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. By Him we seek Assistance. Some people, of the Salafi persuation, consider that it is lawful to handle the Holy Qur'an when not in the state of wudu. As we shall see, this view is contrary to the practices of the real Salaf as-Salihin. In Summary

It is unlawful (haraam) for someone not in the state of wudu to carry a Qur'an, even by a trap or in a box , or touch it, whether its writing, the spaces between its lines, its margins, binding, the carrying strap attached to it, or the bag or box it is in. The opinion expressed in Fiqh al-Sunnah that it is permissible to touch the Qur'an without ritual purity is a deviant (shadh) view contrary to all four schools of jurisprudence (fiqh) that is Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali and is impermissible to teach (except to teach that it is deviant). It is permissible to carry books of Sacred Law ( Shari'ah), hadith, or Qur'anic tafsir, provided that most of their text is not Qur'an. One should not use saliva on the fingers to turn the pages of the Qur'an. When one fears that a Qur'an may burn, get soaked, that a non-Muslim may touch it, or that it may come into contact with some filth, then one must pick it up if there is no safe place for it, even if one is not in the state of wudu or is in need of the obligatory bath, though performing the dry ablution (tayummum) is wajib if possible. It is haraam to use the Qur'an or any book of Islamic knowledge as a pillow.

Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad Qurtubi says in al-Jami' li ahkam al-Qur'an [Taken from Reliance of the Traveller] It is the inviolability of the Qur'an: 1. not to touch the Qur'an except in the state of ritual purity in wudu, and to recite it when in a state of ritual purity; 2. to brush one's teeth with a toothstick (siwak), remove food particles from between the them, and to freshen one's mouth before reciting, since it is the way through which the Qur'an passes; 3. to sit up straight if not in prayer, and not lean back; 4. to dress for reciting as if intending to visit a prince, for the reciter is engaged in an intimate discourse; 5. to face the direction of prayer (qiblah) to recite; 6. to rinse the mouth out with water if one coughs up mucus or phlegm; 7. to stop reciting when one yawns, for when reciting , one is addressing one's Lord in

intimate conversation, while yawning is from the Devil; 8. when begining to recite, to take refuge from in Allah from the accursed Devil and say the Basmala, whether one has begun at the first surah or some other part one has reached; 9. once one has begun, not to interrupt one's recital from moment to moment with human words, unless absolutely necessary; 10. to be alone when reciting it, so that no one interrupts one, forcing one to mix the words of the Qur'an with replying, for this nullifies the effectivness of having taken refuge in Allah from the Devil at the beginning; 11. to recite it leisurely and without haste, distinctly pronouncing each letter; 12. to use one's mind and understanding in order to comprehend what is being said to one; 13. to pause at verses that promise Allah's favour, to long for Allah Most High and ask of His bounty; and at verses that warn of His punishment to ask Him to save one from it; 14. to pause at the accounts of bygone peoples and individuals to heed and benefit from their example; 15. to find out the meanings of the Qur'an's unusual lexical usages; 16. to give each letter its due so as to clearly and fuLly pronounce every word, for each letter counts as ten good deeds; 17. whenever one finishes reciting, to attest to the veracity of ones's Lord, and that His messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) has delivered his message, and to testify to this, saying: "Our Lord, You have spoken the truth, Your messengers have delivered their tidings, and bear witness to this. O Allah, make us of those who bear witness to the truth and who act with justice": after which one supplicates Allah with prayers. 18. not to select certain verses from each surah to recite, but rather the recite the whole surah; 19. if one puts down the Qur'an, not to leave it open; 20. not to place other books upon the Qur'an, which should always be higher than all other books, whether they are books of Sacred Knowledge or something else; 21. to place the Qur'an on one's lap when reading; or on something in front of one, not on the floor; 22. not to wipe it from a slate with spittle, but rather wash it off with water; and if one washes it off with water, to avoid putting the water where there are unclean substances (najasa) or where people walk. Such water has its own inviolability, and there were those of

the early Muslims before us who used water that washed away Qur'an to effect cures. 23. not to use sheets upon which it has been written as bookcovers, which is extremely rude, but rather to erase the Qur'an from them with water; 24. not to let a day go by without looking at least once at the pages of the Qur'an; 25. to give one's eyes their share of looking at it, for the eyes lead to the soul ( nafs), whereas there is a veil between the breast and the soul, and the Qur'an is in the breast. 26. not to trivially quote the Qur'an at the occurrence of everyday events, as by saying, for example, when someone comes, "You have come hither according to a decree, O Moses" [Qur'an 69:24], or, "Eat and drink heartily for what you have done aforetimes, in days gone by " [Qur'an 69:24], when food is brought out, and so forth; 27. not to recite it to songs tunes like those of the corrupt, or with the tremulous tones of Christians or the plaintiveness of monkery, all of which is misguidance; 28. when writing the Qur'an to do so in a clear, elegant hand; 29. not to recite it out aloud over another's reciting of it, so as to spoil it for him or make him resent what he hears, making it as if it were some kind of competition; 30. not to recite it in marketplaces, places of clamour and frivolity, or where fools gather; 31. not to use the Qur'an as pillow, or lean upon it; 32. not to toss it when one wants to hand it to another; 33. not to miniaturize the Qur'an, mix into it what is not of it, or mingle this worldly adornment with it by embellishing or writing it with gold; 34. not to write it on the ground or on walls, as is done in some new mosques; 35. not to write an amulet with it and enter the lavatory, unless it is encased in leather, silver, or other, for then it is as if kept in the heart; 36. if one writes it and then drinks it (for cure or other purpose), one should say the Basmala at every breath and make a noble and worthy intention, for Allah only gives to one according to one's intention; 37. and if one finishes reciting the entire Qur'an, to begin it anew, that it may not resemble something that has been abandoned.

Al-Ghazali on Disciplining the Soul & Breaking the Two Desires [978-0946621439 1r2, TJ.Winter aka:AH Murad, Ihya Ulum al-din, PB, 370pp, Islamic Texts Society UK []
Al-Ghazali on Disciplining the Soul & on Breaking the Two Desires Books XXII and XXIII of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya`Ulum al-Din) Abu Hamid Muhammad Al Ghazali ISBN-10: 0946621438 ISBN-13: 978-0946621439 Translated by: T.J.Winter (AKA: Abdal Hakim Murad)
370 Pages Paperback Published by the Islamic Texts Society Cambridge UK

The spiritual life in Islam begins with riyadat al-nafs, the inner warfare against the ego. Distracted and polluted by worldliness, the lower self has a tendency to drag the human creature down into arrogance and vice. Only by a powerful effort of will can the sincere worshipper achieve the purity of soul which enables him to attain God's proximity. This translation of two chapters from The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya Ulum al-Din) details the sophisticated spiritual techniques adopted by classical Islam. In the first step, On Disciplining the Soul, which cites copious anecdotes from the Islamic scriptures and biographies of the saints, Ghazali explains how to acquire good character traits, and goes on to describe how the sickness of the heart may be cured. In the second part, Breaking the Two Desires, he focusses on the question of gluttony and sexual desire, concluding, in the words of the Prophet, that 'the best of all matters is the middle way'. The translator has added an introduction and notes which explore Ghazalis ability to make use of Greek as well as Islamic ethics. The work will prove of special interest to those interested in Sufi mysticism, comparative ethics, and the question of sexuality in Islam.

A Selection from the Table of Contents 1. 2. An Exposition of the True Nature of Good and Bad Character. An Exposition of the Merit of Good Character and a Condemnation of Bad Character A General Exposition of the Means by which Good Character May Be Acquired. An Exposition of the Symptoms by which the Diseases of the Heart May Be Recognised, and the Signs which Indicate a Return to Health. An Exposition of the Way in which a Man May Discover the Faults in his Soul.

3. 4.

5.

6.

An Exposition of the Way in which Young Children Should Be Disciplined, and the Manner of their Upbringing and the Improvement of their Characters. An Exposition of the Merit of Hunger and a Condemnation of Satiety. A Discourse on Sexual Desire. An Exposition of the Aspirants Obligations Regarding the Renunciation or Contraction of Marriage.

7. 8. 9.

Appendix I: Persons Cited in the Text. Appendix II: Translations of the Revival into European Languages. Appendix III: The Wonders of the Heart. Index to Quranic Quotations Bibliography General Index About Imam Ghazali Abu Hamid Muhammad, famous in the world of learning as al-Ghazzal was born in 450 AH (1058 A.D). in Persia . He graduated from the Nizamia Madressa at Nishapur, with distinction.a very famous educational institution in Nishapur. Later he was appointed as a teacher at the Nizamia College in Baghdad, where he proved very successful in imparting knowledge to the scholars under his care. This valuable gift of sustaining interest of his pupils and passing on his knowledge to them made him so famous that students from all parts of the country flocked to study under him. Imam al-Ghazzali was fondly referred to as the "Hujjat-ul-lslam", Proof of Islam, He is honoured as a scholar and a saint by learned men all over the world. Imam al-Ghazzali's life was spent in self-sacrificing service of God and his fellowmen. He left behind him a fine example for all men to follow. He died in 505 AH He remains one of the most celebrated scholars in the history of Islamic thought. His exceptional life and works continue to be indispensable in the study of jurisprudence, theology, philosophy and mysticism. The books that he left behind were the result of an inquisitive mind that began the quest for knowledge at a very early stage Timothy J Winter graduated from Cambridge University with a double-first in Arabic in 1983. He then studied Islam under traditional teachers at Al-Azhar, one of the oldest universities in the world. He went on to reside in Jeddah, where he administered a commercial translation office and maintained close contact with Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad and other ulama from Hadramaut, Yemen. In 1989, Tim Winter (AKA Abdal Hakim being his Muslim Name ) returned to England and spent two years at the University of London learning Turkish and Farsi . Also a University Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge, England, and Director of Studies in Theology at Wolfson College. His research work focuses on Muslim-Christian relations, Islamic ethics and the study of the Orthodox

Muslim response to extremism. He is particularly known for his translations and namely his Al-Ghazali series
List of Books authored or translated by TJ WInter

Dr. T. J. Winter (b. 1960) "Despite its origins in 7th century Arabia, it [Islam] works everywhere, and this is itself a sign of its miraculous and divine origin [...] Islam, once we have become familiar with it, and settled into it comfortably, is the most suitable faith for the British. Its values are our values. Its moderate, undemonstrative style of piety, still waters running deep; its insistence on modesty and a certain reserve, and its insistence on common sense and on pragmatism, combine to furnish the most natural and easy religious option for our people [...] Islam is the true consanguinity of believers in the One True God, the common bond of those who seek to remain focussed on the divine Source of our being in this diffuse, ignorant and tragic age. But it is generous and inclusive. It allows us to celebrate our particularity, the genius of our heritage; within, rather than in tension with, the greater and more lasting fellowship of faith."

Dr. T. J. Winter, known now as Abdal-Hakim Murad, is a British convert to Islam. He received his masters degree from the Cambridge University at England and later studied at Al Azhar. He was a research fellow at the Oxford University. Currently, he is a lecturer of Theology at Cambridge University. Among his works is the translation of al Bayhaqi's "Seventy-Seven Branches of Faith" into English. He has also authored many articles about Islam and Muslims. His 8-tape lecture series called Understanding Islam received much acclamation from both Muslims and non-Muslims. The lectures were given to a primarily non-Muslims audience and is considered unparalleled for its objectivity and research. It covers the following topics: The Five Pillars of Islam; Sunnah, Shariah, Sectarianism and Ijtihad; Scriptural Links Between Judaism, Christianity and Islam; Muslim-Christian Views of One Another; Muslim Theology and Islamic Mysticism; and The Muslim Influence on Europe and the West. Balancing the Zahir and the Batin Islam is a balance between the zahir and the batin, i.e., the form and the spirit, the external and the internal, the expressed and the hidden, the husk and the kernel, the body and the soul. It is such a balance that are meant to be manifested in a believer. When that happens, he or she is a beauty. This essential quality of a believer is excellently elaborated by Winter in two of his best articles: Seeing With Both Eyes and The Sunna As Primordiality. He concludes one of these articles with the following soothing words that give us hope and re-assurance in a world that is seemingly full of evil and oppression: "Those of us who have lived far from nature, and far from beauty, and far from the saints, often have anger, and darkness, and confusion in our hearts. But this is not the Sunna [the examples of Prophet Muhammad]. The sunna is about detachment, about the confidence that however

seemingly black the situation of the world, however great the oppression, no leaf falls without the will of Allah. Ultimately, all is well. The cosmos, and history, are in good hands. "That was the confidence of Rasulullah (s.w.s.) [the Prophet]. It has to be our confidence as well. There is too much depression among us, which leads either to demoralisation and immorality, or to panic, and meaningless, ugly forms of extremism, which have nothing to do with the serenity and beauty to which the Ka'ba summons us. But Islam commands wisdom, and balance. It is the middle way. And for us, whatever our situation, it is always available, and can always be put into practice. We are the fortunate umma in today's world. Fortunate, because unlike Westerners, we are still centred on beauty. In other words, we still know what we are, and what we are called to be. " - Dr. T. J. Winter Some of his other articles include: British and Muslim? The Trinity - a Muslim Perspective Understanding the Four Madhhabs Islam and the New Millennium Diana and Dionysus Islam, Irigaray, and the Retrieval of Gender The Poverty Of Fanaticism The Fall of the Family (Part I) Boys will be Boys - Gender Identity Issues
"Our doctrine could not be more straightforward. The most pure, exalted, uncompromising monotheism: the clearest idea of God there has ever been. A system of worship that requires no paraphernalia: no crosses, confessionals, priests or pews. Just the human creature, and its Lord. The Hajj and Umra also take us back to an ancient time, as we wear the simplest of garments, and perform primordial rites that reconnect us with the symbolic centre, around the purest building there has ever been. The fast of Ramadan is also timeless: bringing us into contact and continuity with one of the oldest of all religious devotions [...] By stepping inside the protecting circle of Islam, the human creature is thus reconnected to the ancient simplicity and dignity of the human condition. Islam allows us to reclaim our status as khalifas: Allahs deputies on earth." - Dr. T. J. Winter

Timothy Winter
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Timothy Winter
also known as Abdal Hakim Murad

Born Residence Nationality Other names Alma mater Occupation Religion

Timothy John Winter 1960 (age 5253) London, England Cambridge, United Kingdom British Abdal Hakim Murad Pembroke College Cambridge SOAS University of London Islamic scholar, author, teacher Sufi Islam[1]

Timothy John Winter (born 1960), also known as Abdal Hakim Murad, is a British Sufi Muslim researcher, writer and academic. His profile and work have attracted media coverage both in the Muslim World and the West.

Contents

1 Education 2 Career 3 Controversy 4 Books 5 Edited Volumes 6 Major Translations 7 Select Articles 8 References 9 External links

Education
Born in 1960, the older brother of football writer Henry Winter,[2] Timothy Winter was educated at Westminster School, and graduated with a double-first in Arabic from Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge in 1983.[2] He then studied traditional Islamic sciences in Egypt for several years, and spent several more in Jeddah, where he administered a commercial translation office and maintained close contact with Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad.[3] In 1989, he returned to England and spent two years at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London where he concentrated on Turkish and Persian.[4][dead link]

Career

Winter is currently the Shaykh Zayed Lecturer of Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University and Director of Studies in Theology at Wolfson College. Winter is also the secretary of the Muslim Academic Trust (London), Director of the Anglo-Muslim Fellowship for Eastern Europe, President of the UK Friends of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Director of the Sunna Project, which has published scholarly Arabic editions of the major Sunni Hadith collections.[citation needed]

Controversy
In May 2013, Winter provoked controversy when video footage came to public attention in which he stated that homosexuality was a sinful and "inherent aberration", with gays being "ignorant people who don't know what their bodies are for". A number of Cambridge students called for his resignation, but Winter asserted that the videos were over fifteen years old and reflected views that he no longer held.[5] A Cambridge University spokesman said: "Mr Winter has apologised for these remarks, recorded nearly 20 years ago, and has emphasised that he no longer holds these views."[6] In response to the suggestion that he be dismissed, Winter said "I think that the students concerned would be well advised to consult with me directly to determine what my views actually are, rather than complaining to others. That is the correct way of doing things in a university."[7] Winter apologised on his website, saying: "When I looked at the clip I saw a young man ranting. It was probably the worst thing I have ever done, tricked out with dubious science and many errors, and presented in a very aggressive style which is alien to the manner I now use. My views, knowledge and style have mutated in 17 years. So I asked IslamOnDemand to take it off YouTube, and they did this. I believe and Allah is my witness that I was right, in Sharia, and considering the maslaha of the Muslims, to dissociate myself from the lecture and to apologise. How does it serve the interests of dawa to offend? Those who say I should not have apologised should ask why we should gratuitously offend others, whoever they are. And the basic information in the lecture was unreliable or dubious, to say the least."[8] Douglas Murray, blogging for The Spectator, called for Winter's sacking and cast doubt on his apology and the date of the video.[9] In an undated article ("The Fall of the Family") on his website, Winter wrote: "To the religious believer, it is unarguable that homosexual acts are a metaphysical as well as a moral crime. Heterosexuality, with its association with conception, is the astonishing union which leads to new life, to children, grandchildren, and an endless progeny: it is a door to infinity. Sodomy, by absolute contrast, leads nowhere. As always, the most extreme vice comes about when a virtue is inverted."[10]

Books

XXI Asirda Islom: Postmodern Dunyeda qibleyi topush (Tashkent: Sharq neshriyet, 2005) Postmodern Dnyada kibleyi bulmak (Istanbul: Gelenek, 2003) Muslim Songs of the British Isles: Arranged for Schools (London: Quilliam Press Ltd, 2005)

Understanding the Four Madhhabs: Facts About Ijtihad and Taqlid (Cambridge: Muslim Academic Trust, 1999) Co-authored with John A. Williams, Understanding Islam and the Muslims (Louisville: Fons Vitae, 2002)

Edited Volumes

The Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008) ISBN 978-0-521-78058-2 Islam, Religion of Life; Abdul Wadod Shalabi (USA: Starlatch Press, 2006) ISBN 1929694-08-3 Co-edited with Richard Harries and Norman Solomon, Abrahams Children: Jews, Christians and Muslims in Conversation (Edinburgh: T&T Clark/Continuum, 2006)

Major Translations

Imam al-Busiri, The Mantle Adorned (London: Quilliam Press, 2009) Imam al-Bayhaqi, Seventy-Seven Branches of Faith (London: Quilliam Press, 1990) Roger Du Pasquier, Unveiling Islam (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1992) Al-Asqalani Ibn Hajar ''Selections from Fath Al-Bari (Cambridge: Muslim Academic Trust, 2000) Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1989) Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Disciplining the Soul and Breaking the Two Desires (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1995)

Select Articles

"America as a Jihad State: Middle Eastern Perceptions of Modern American Theopolitics." Muslim World 101 (2011): 394-411. "Jesus and Muhammad: New Convergences." Muslim World 99/1 (2009): 21-38. "Poverty and the Charism of Ishmael." In Building a Better Bridge: Muslims, Christians, and the Common Good, edited by Michael Ipgrave (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2009)

"Ibn Kemal (d. 940/1534) on Ibn 'Arabi's Hagiology." In Sufism and Theology, edited by Ayman Shihadeh (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007) "The Saint with Seven Tombs." In The Inner Journey: Views from the Islamic Tradition, edited by William Chittick (Ashgate: White Cloud Press, 2007) "Ishmael and the Enlightenment's Crise de Coeur." In Scripture, Reason, and the Contemporary Islam-West Encounter, edited by Basit Bilal Koshul and Steven Kepnes (New York: Palgrave, 2007) "Qur'anic Reasoning as an Academic Practice." Modern Theology 22/3 (2006): 449-463; reprinted in The Promise of Scriptural Reasoning, edited by David Ford and C. C. Pecknold (Malden: Blackwell, 2006) "The Chador of God on Earth: the Metaphysics of the Muslim Veil." New Blackfriars 85 (2004): 144-57 "Bombing Without Moonlight: the Origins of Suicidal Terrorism." Encounters 10:1-2 (2004): 93-126 "The Poverty of Fanaticism." In Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition, edited by Joseph Lumbard (Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2004) "Readings of the 'Reading'." In Scriptures in Dialogue: Christians and Muslims Studying the Bible and the Qur'an Together, edited by Michael Ipgrace (London: Church House Publishing, 2004), 50-55 "Tradition or Extradition? The threat to Muslim-Americans." In The Empire and the Crescent: Global Implications for a New American Century, edited by Aftab Ahmad Malik (Bristol: Amal Press, 2003) "Muslim Loyalty and Belonging: Some Reflections on the Psychosocial Background." In British Muslims: Loyalty and Belonging, edited by Mohammad Siddique Seddon, Dilwar Hussain, and Nadeem Malik (Leicester: Islamic Foundation; London: Citizens Organising Foundation, 2003) "'Pulchra ut luna: some Reflections on the Marian Theme in Muslim-Catholic Dialogue." Journal of Ecumenical Studies 36/3 (1999): 439-469 "The Last Trump Card: Islam and the Supersession of Other Faiths." Studies in Interreligious Dialogue 9/2 (1999): 133-155 "Opinion: Bin Laden's sea burial was 'sad miscalculation" CNN.com (9 May 2011)

References

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2009) 1. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fgyymt3qd8C&pg=PA269&dq=&hl=en&ei=HEKxTs-RDJLC8QPS6ChAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBQ#v=onepag e&q=timothy%20winter%20sufi&f=false 2. ^ a b Peck, Tom (2010-08-20). "Timothy Winter: Britain's most influential Muslim - and it was all down to a peach". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-08-20. 3. ^ http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/ 4. ^ http://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/fellows/govbody/open/?i=8380 5. ^ http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/cambridge-lecturer-sorry-for-homosexual-slurs8600884.html and http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/05/02/uk-islamic-cambridgelecturer-apologies-for-describing-homosexuality-as-ugly-and-calling-gay-peopleignorant/ 6. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/03/cambridge-university-lecturer-tim-winterhomosexuality_n_3206654.html?utm_hp_ref=uk 7. ^ http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/issue/news/wolfson-college-don-under-fire-overhomophobic-video-theology-lecturer-haunted-by-ghost-from-the-past-2/ 8. ^ http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/bayan.htm 9. ^ http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/douglas-murray/2013/05/why-has-abdul-hakim-murad-notbeen-sacked-by-cambridge-university/ 10. ^ http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/family2.htm

External links

Murad's articles (including Contentions). on masud.co.uk British Muslim Song; a project initiated by Abdal Hakim Murad to recover, revive, and write Muslim songs by indigenous Britons. Abdal Hakim Murad audio and video lectures Lectures by Abdal Hakim Murad on DVD and CD. Sunna Project. A blog with regularly updated podcasts of Murad's Friday Khutbas BBC Radio 4 Thought For The Day, delivered by Winter. Travelling Light lecture series on Imam al-Ghazali's Ihya Ulum al-Din directed by Abdal Hakim Murad.