Some of the benefits of the talk: Shaykh Nur al-Din said Shaykh `Abd Allah Siraj al-Din illustrated this verse from Surat al-Mu'minun: {And those who give that which they give with hearts afraid because they are about to return unto their Lord} (23:60). He said Shaykh Siraj said "the wird or regular devotion of the student of knowledge is his knowledge," i.e. he must try to put into practice everything he knows, at one point or another. He said Shaykh Siraj said "The school is not the walls but the teachers. Be the school wherever you are." He said he heard Shaykh Siraj's teacher say: "The student of knowledge is for everyone," i.e. he must be a beacon for his dependents, his relatives, his neighbours, and so forth. He must also know the legal rulings that apply to the everyday situations of people so he can help them and guide them. He said even if he didn't hear Shaykh Siraj say this, it was his line of action and teaching anyway. He said Shaykh Siraj emphasized Riyad al-Salihin. "The tasawwuf of Imam al-Ghazzali's Ihya' lost its people a long time ago." I heard Mawlana al-Shaykh Nazim say the same of Imam al-Qushayri's Risala. "But the tasawwuf of Imam al-Nawawi is accessible through his books, mainly Riyad al-Salihin and al-Adhkar." Shaykh Nur al-Din said Riyad al-Salihin is "the quintessence of the books of the Sunna, and its quintessence are its chapter-titles." Another book which we heard Shaykh Nur al-Din say Shaykh Siraj emphasized was al-Mundhiri's al-Targhib wal-Tarhib. He said Shaykh Siraj would see the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, asleep and awake, that one time the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, ordered our liegelord `Ali ibn Abi Talib to dress the Shaykh with his cloak, and another time the Prophet himself dressed him with his noble hand, and another time the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, told him: "You are our dedicated servant," after which he would say: "The Prophet is pleased to have me as his servant." Blessings and peace on the Prophet, his Family, and all his Companions. Was-Salam, GF Haddad
as-salamu `alaikum, A delightful talk about the life of the late shaykh al-Islam of Aleppo - Shaykh `Abdallah Sirajuddin [rh] can be viewed on marifah.net: http://www.marifah.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=80&Itemid=71 Sh. Gibril Haddad was kind enough to comment on the video [which is in arabic] after it was linked by a kind brother on his discussion group. To read his comments about the noble shaykh and the scholars of Shaam in general click on the above link. Alhamdulillah one of the famous books of Shaykh `Abdallah Sirajuddin is currently being translated for www.sunnipubs.com by Sidi Khalid Williams. An excerpt from the book can be read here: http://www.marifah.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=73 may Allah bless all the scholars of Shaam and elsewhere. Amin. was-salam
