How and what to study at home to learn more

Discussion in 'Syllabus, Curriculum, Reading Lists' started by Surati, Nov 9, 2021.

Draft saved Draft deleted
  1. Surati

    Surati Well-Known Member

    Yup and this will affect how fast they are able to read and produce summaries (if at all). Reading proficiency might be greater than writing proficiency especially when it comes to a second language or a spoken language only.

    will the summaries then be in English or the original text itself?

    Pros of Urdu books:
    - encourages people to engage with it

    cons
    - might not get that many people who would be able to participate even if they wanted to if they are not proficient.
     
  2. Juwayni

    Juwayni Veteran

    Caveat: provide page numbers/ranges references for every point they are summarizing from. One's own thoughts in square parentheses if included at all.
     
  3. YaMustafa

    YaMustafa Well-Known Member

    @abu Hasan @barelwi Any others please do feel free to join

    Can start off with a short work (less than 100 pages). I, myself read in English and Urdu.


    Listed a few suggestions below (all urdu):

    1. Tadwin e Hadith by Mawlana Hanif Khan Ridawi (140 pages)

    2. Al-Zubdah al-Zakiyyah by Ala Hazrat (120 pages)

    3. Bahar e Shariat Vol. 16

    4. Masail Sajd e Sahw by Mufti Mujib Ashraf (65 pages)

    Not sure what you think of the suggestions. Ofcourse everyone has different reading levels and interests.


    What platform would you suggest?

    A new thread on sunniport for each book?- can all catch up once a week. Just a simple reply to the thread (or like the post?) that you have read this week’s agreed pages would be sufficient. Those who have time can list 1 or 2 bullet points of anything important or interesting they find.
     
  4. AbdalQadir

    AbdalQadir time to move along! will check pm's.

    I know from first hand experience with extended family members and coworkers, this is pretty much the SOP of jamate islami (maududi) guys. They do it with his tafheemul Quran, as well as generally run through a book or a specific topic and their weekly meetings include such discussions and a pot luck. Lately, by inspiration from us, they also have a break some weeks and do a naatiya mushaira or islahi mushaira focusing on society's problems including those we face from bjp and so on, and those who are well versed in Urdu, compose their own kalam and read it out

    My observation: this is not done by ulama but common folk like you and me. So there's a lot of room (in their case) for people to offer their own nafsanic tashreehs, like someone can cite Tafsir Ibn Kathir, and then rattle off something from his own mind. But it's a great method if someone (weekly speaker) does his due diligence to stick to the book and the author (talking about valid books and authors). Also good way of having a social life within the maslak. The guys are all friends within the same maslak. Their wives and kids are the same. Strong bonds are formed. DI weekly ijtemas are close to this social model in some ways.

    This other thing has been on my mind for a long time hoping some astute mawlana or translator takes this up.

    Summaries of Sunni books - see below - no reason we can't have such initiatives for Sunni works. It might require a specialist or just not be possible for books of fiqh and masail, but an excellent method to present snapshots from tafsir, history, seerah, and scholars bios as book summaries.

    I know in some Arab countries some Sunni mosques, every Ramadan they present a full summary of the tafsir of the Quran. A one to one and half hour session every day for a summarized talk on tafsir, asbabe nuzul, and commands contained in 1 juz. In 30 days, you get a bird's eye view of the tafsir of entire Quran.

    On qtv i see shujauddeen sheikh of north karachi (light devbandi, and doesn't speak devbandiyat on qtv) do a quick run through of the translation of one Paara every day of Ramadan along with some very quick comments on tafsir or asbabe nuzul. His show too runs for about an hour and a half

    See here

    here too -
    https://smallbiztrends.com/2020/12/book-summaries.html
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2021
    Abdullah Ahmed likes this.
  5. barelwi

    barelwi New Member

    Jazak-Allah for clarifying. I commonly begin reading books only to feel daunted by the realisation of my inability to be able to remember what I am reading.

    InshaAllah I will attempt to adopt this method by @Juwayni although I do commonly make the mistake of trying to do too much note taking and highlighting.

    I find it difficult sometimes to understand what parts should be read with intent to understand and what should be read with intent to remember and end up with analysis paralysis.

    If you do decide to go ahead then this would be something I would really benefit from, so count me in also.
     
    Abdullah Ahmed likes this.
  6. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    count me in. i may not be able to contribute much, but it will be a learning experience. in sha'Allah.
     
    Abdullah Ahmed and Juwayni like this.
  7. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    no. there are some books that are useful whto memorise.

    it is a well known mas'alah, that learning about islam (ilm) and reading tafsir is a better occupation than memorising the qur'an.

    instead of the translation, try memorising the actual poem in arabic.

    some texts that ulama used to memorise in the past are:

    1. muqaddimah al-jazariyyah

    2. jawharatu't tawhid (but bad' al-amali will do)

    3. bayquniyah

    4. aajurrumiyyah

    5. some sections of hirz al-amani if not the whole poem.

    6. the 42 hadith of arbayin al-nawawiyyah


    ===
    it would be excellent if we memorised the qur'an. but those who cannot, at least try to learn to read the qur'an with tajwid and memorise the following surahs (level by level):

    1. surah feel to surah naas + surah fatihah + ayat al-kursi + 3 last verses of surah al-baqarah (absolute minimum)

    2. surah duhaa to surah feel; the first five aayats of surah al-baqarah;

    3. surah fajr, al-a'la (as RasulAllah sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam would often read it in eid)

    4. surah al-mulk

    5. surah yasin

    6. surah alif-lam-mim al-sajdah

    7. surah dukhan

    8. surah al-waqi'ah

    9. the last verses of surah al-hashr starting from laa-yastawi... (v20-24)

    10. last verses of surah al-jumu'ah (v9,10,11)

    11. first 10 and last 10 verses of surah al-kahf

    12. the last 11 aayats of surah aal-imran v190-200 (also add two starting from v188)

    13. preferably the 30th juz

    14. surah muzzammil

    12. last verses of surah muminun (from a-fa hasibtum v115-118); last of surah tawbah (v127-129)

    13. surah al-rahman

    14. surah muhammad

    15. surah yusuf

    ----


    wAllahu a'alam
     
  8. barelwi

    barelwi New Member

    @Juwayni I like the approach you propose but some further questions for all who could contribute.

    What should a person expect to memorise and what should they not attempt to memorise (if any)?

    For example, should every book be read with the purpose of memorisation? Or only certain subjects? Perhaps only certain books?

    I have read that mawlana a.h. saheb's translation of Ba'd Al Amali should be memorised in its entirety but it's difficult to know what other topics you should attempt to do so.
     
  9. Surati

    Surati Well-Known Member

    do share the SOP if ever you decide to write one.
     
  10. Juwayni

    Juwayni Veteran

    One thing one can do is agreeing on a summary methodology.

    An approach I learned was having enough of the main points that one could reconstruct the author's point without in-depth engagement with the evidence he provides.

    Another is adapting the gradualness-focused (tadarruj) approach of teaching and using that as a list of priorities when summarizing. Tadarruj-based teaching aims to teach sciences at three levels
    1. Key concepts and definitions.
    2. Proofs for said concepts.
    3. Differences of opinion regarding said concept.
    Adapting this to summaries might look like instructing others to focus on:
    1. Key terms
    2. Key concepts/events
    3. Argument flow that uses 1 & 2/overall theme.
     
    Unbeknown and barelwi like this.
  11. Surati

    Surati Well-Known Member

    how can consistency across the summaries be ensured?

    my idea of a summary can mean 2 lines whereas someone else’s 2 paragraphs.

    What I find important to note might not be so for another person, in which case they wouldn’t record it.
     
  12. Juwayni

    Juwayni Veteran

    Just an idea: as mentioned, commitment remains a major issue for people over time, particularly for large works.

    One thing I've seen work, in part, though is the following:
    1. Find a text.
    2. Get a group.
    3. Assign responsibility for summarizing one or two chapters per person. That person leads the discussion that week.
    4. They provide the group their summary a day or two in advance of the meeting.
    5. By the end you should have a collection of annotated summaries.
    Benefits: a summarized version of the text without all the effort from one person, as well as beneficial points of discussion.

    Concerns: commitment and discipline in making sure people do their part.
     
  13. Surati

    Surati Well-Known Member

    good idea but it’s so hard to remain consistent with bookclubs / reading groups and numbers often dwindle over time.
     
  14. YaMustafa

    YaMustafa Well-Known Member

    Forming small study groups or reading groups is a useful tool. One benefit being it gives you the motivation to finish a book.

    if any brothers want to start a small reading group - please do share your thoughts - I would be happy to join. Can perhaps start with 1 book - 15 pages a week?
     
    barelwi likes this.
  15. many courses of Ta'meere adab (reading and writing) on youtube.

    books like Qanoon e shariat etc. are also available and taught by sunni scholars on youtube. Try to follow with the Mawlana as he reads and then In sha' Allah you will get the hang of it.

    heres a channel called faizan e darse nizami ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpcYrfvyvU31P2qlAPezwSQ )
    many darse nizami books with level of study are taught by this Mawlana for free. i Really commend him for his efforts!

    Its a sunni aalim.
     
  16. Juwayni

    Juwayni Veteran

    Read chapter, and underline or mark important points as you go along. End of chapter summarize your highlights. Keep doing this and you'll have a summary. Discuss the ideas in the book with friends.
     
  17. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    read urdu books. and some more urdu books. and then alahazrat's urdu books.
     
  18. azharimiyan

    azharimiyan New Member

    Also, what sort of methods do you guys use when reading at home? I find myself reading books and then not remembering anything from them because I do not write anything down or do anything besides read the words.

    Do you guys make notes - if so how organised are these or are they just random scribbles? Or do people find it easier to just read and recollect?

    I understand that this will be different for almost every single person but it would still be interesting to know how others do things, nevertheless.
     
  19. azharimiyan

    azharimiyan New Member

    I can read Urdu and can understand it to a moderate level but not to a high enough level to read most books. is there anything you can suggest for improving Urdu saheb?

    JazakAllah for the detailed responses also
     
  20. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    (this list is mostly aimed for non-specialist urdu readers; some of these books may have not be translated in urdu; i don't claim that this is a definitive list. feel free to add books that i may have left out.)

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    I. ADAB


    1. bidayatu'l hidayah - imam ghazali

    2. mukhtasar shu'ab al-yiman - qazwini/bayhaqi

    3. ta'lim al-muta'allim - zarnuji

    4. ayyuha'l walad - ghazali

    5. akhlaq al-ulama - aajuriyy

    6. tazkiratu's samiy - ibn jama'ah

    7. fadl ilm al-salaf - ibn rajab

    8. aadaab al-ishrah - al-ghazzi

    9. aadab al-suluk - sayyidi abdullah alawi al-haddad

    10. akhlaq ahl al-qur'an - aajuriyy

    11. islami zindagi - mufti ahmad yar khann nayimi​


    =======================================================

    II. AQIDAH

    1. aqidah taHawiyyah - imam taHawi

    2. bad' al-amali - imam ali al-ushi

    3. takmil al-iman (orig. farsi) - shah abdul haq dihlawi

    4. bahar e shariat, vol.1

    5. kitab al-aqayid - sadrul afadil mawlana nayimuddin

    6. fiqh al-akbar, wasiyyah imam a'azam

    7. sharh fiqh al-akbar/wasiyyah - ali al-qari

    8. daw al-ma'ali sh. bad' al-amali - ali al-qari

    9. sh. aqidah tahawiyyah - maydani

    10. sharh al-aqayid - taftazani

    11. tuhfatu'l murid sh. jawharah al-tawhid - ibrahim bajuri

    12. sh. aqidah tahawiyah - sh. sayid foudeh

    13. mustanad/mutaqad of allamah fazul rasul / alahazrat in arabic; urdu translation by tajush' shariah mawlana akhtar rida khan raHimahullah.


    =======================================================

    III. HANAFI FIQH

    1. bahar e shariat

    2. qanun e shariat

    3. hamara islam

    4. jannati zeywar

    5. sunni bihishti zeywar

    6. lubab sh. quduri - abdul ghani ghunaymi maydani

    7. rash'hat al-aqlam sh. kifayatu'l ghulam - abdul ghani nablusi

    8. nayl al-maram sh. kifayatu'l ghulam - abdul latif al-mulla (al-ahsayi)

    9. hidayah (there is an english translation) - imam marghinani

    10. halbatu'l mujalli sh. munyatu'l musalli - ibn amir al-haaj

    11. fat'h bab al-inayah sh. al-nuqayah - ali al-qari

    12. nihayatu'l murad sh. hidayah ibn imad - abdul ghani al-nablusi

    13. hidayah al-alayiyyah -


    FATAWA / URDU ONLY:

    14. al-fatawa al-ridawiyyah

    15. fatawa amjadiyyah

    16. fatawa hamidiyyah

    17. fatawa mustafawiyyah

    18. fatawa nayimiyyah

    19. fatawa nayimuddin sadru'l afadil

    20. fatawa fayz al-rasul

    21. waqaru'l fatawa

    22. fatawa alamgiri translated (don't know if sunni)

    23. fatawa faqih e millat​


    =======================================================

    IV. TAFSIR, ULUM AL-QUR'AN

    1. kanzul iman with khazayin al-irfan

    2. kanzul iman with nooru'l irfan

    3. tafsir jalalayn

    4. tafsir nasafi

    5. tibyan fi adabi hamalati'l qur'an - imam nawawi

    6. itqan - suyuti

    7. tafsir nayimi - mufti ahmad yar khan

    8. ilmu'l qur'an - mufti ahmad yar khan

    9. tafsir e ashrafi - shaykh al-islam mawlana madani miyan


    =======================================================

    V. HADITH

    1. anwaru'l hadith - mufti jalaluddin amjadi

    2. intikhab e hadith - compilation by mawlana akhtar shahjahanpuri, mawlana siddiq hazarwi et al.

    3. ziyaa'ul hadees - shah turabu'l haq rahimahullah.

    4. riyadu's salihin

    5. mishkatu'l masabih

    6. mir'atu'l manajih

    [the six motherbooks have also been translated in urdu]

    i don't know if sunni ulama have translated arbayin al-nawawiyyah or sh.arbayin by ibn rajab [jamiy al-ulum wa'l hikam].

    7. bustanu'l muhaddithin of shah abdul aziz dihlawi

    =======================================================

    VI. SIRAT

    1. sirat e mustafa

    2. madariju'n nubuwwah

    3. shifa sharif

    4. shamayil sharif

    5. mawahib ladunniyyah

    6. saltanat e mustafa - mufti ahmad yar khan

    7. shan e habibur rahman - "

    8. jazbu'l qulub - shah abdu'l haq

    9. jawahiru'l bihar

    10. kitab al-wafa


    (all urdu translations of above are available)​
     

Share This Page