Back to the basics of Islam

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Asalamu alaikum all!

So lately I've been wanting to know Islam in a much greater depth than I currently do. I mean, everyone knows the basics of prayers and about the sunnah sunnah and about angels and life after death and halal and haram, and all that stuff. I want to go back to square one, be introduced to Islamic aqeedah, tawheed, and fiqh from the beginning, as if I'd never heard any of it before. The basics I know, I just want to go into so much more detail than I have before.

This is easier said than done because I have no idea where to start. I don't want to get caught up in the whole salafi/sufi/shi'i/'progressive' muslim/million other groups that currently exist. I want to learn Islam as if it were being taught by the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him to his followers. The basics, but whole in a way I don't feel the Islam in all these current debates will ever be. That's not to say that Islam is not whole and perfect of course, just that each person who learns and teaches it does so through his or her own frame of mind, and the end product isn't always what it started out as.

So I'm thinking that I'll go back and start with books written by old and reliable scholars. But then comes the question of who is considered a reliable scholar. The 4 imams are a sure thing I'm assuming (abu hanifa, ahmad, maliki, and al shafi'i. Also bukhari and muslim. Al ghazali. Who else?

What books do you guys recommend? What other scholars? Any ideas concerning what's the best way to go about this?
 
salaam

On aqeada - Imam Thawi(ra) who wrote the famous book the creed of Imam Thawi (ra) - all sunni muslims agree on this creed - Its the most basic creed.

For fiqh one of the four Imams.

You also have Imam Nawwi (ra) and his books like the forty hadiths.

peace
 
Zafran said:
salaam

On aqeada - Imam Thawi(ra) who wrote the famous book the creed of Imam Thawi (ra) - all sunni muslims agree on this creed - Its the most basic creed.

For fiqh one of the four Imams.

You also have Imam Nawwi (ra) and his books like the forty hadiths.

peace
Click to expand...

What about ibn kathir's al bidayah wan nihaya? i havent read it but i was told its the most comprehensive commentary on quran till date?
also ibn hajar asqalani's commentary on bukhari?
 
Insecured soul said:
What about ibn kathir's al bidayah wan nihaya? i havent read it but i was told its the most comprehensive commentary on quran till date?
also ibn hajar asqalani's commentary on bukhari?
Click to expand...

Salaam

I've heard the same as well but havent read them so thats why i didnt write them down.

peace
 
wa alaykum us-salaam wa rahmatuallah.

mashaAllah good for you. may allah make it easy for you.

- i think the most important thing to know and learn is HOW you should seek knowledge. what etiquette is required when seeking knowledge and anything thing along those lines (you can check the importance of seeking knowledge section on this forum...it has some good things about it).

- start slowly. 3ilm is a huge ocean of details and fine details so you must start according to your ability and level of capability. don't bite off more than you can chew. check this thread out http://www.islamicboard.com/importa...quired-characteristics-seeking-knowledge.html... it is really good advise and one thing it tells you is how you should take it easy when seeking knowledge (i.e don't take on more than you can handle).

-make the most of your natural abilities to absorb and understand knowledge....eg it is said that memorizing is done best after fajr, so use that time to memories....really take advantage.

-dont ever think that you have enough knowledge (this will cause you to slack off). constantly strive and belittle, so to speak your level of knowledge (this will make you motivated to learn).

-you should learn and read the stories of the sali7een to motivate you to seek knowledge (the story of imam ahmad rahimahullah comes to mind). these stories are really nice becuase you learn so much from them. they give you a thirst and put things in perspective of what you as a seeker of knowledge and a Muslim in general, should do in this short time of yours on earth.

-(if you are studying without a teacher) each subject start with one book at a time. so for aqeedah, fiqh, etc just start with studying one book from each of those 2 topics...build up when you feel comfortable and ready to take on some more.

- don't give up. 3ilm requires patience and discipline (of yourself so you don't get bored, hasty, etc). never give up...but do take short breaks if you feel the need to. if you feel you are taking too much, just give yourself a day to "recover." but don't let your short breaks turn into long breaks :hmm: becuase you are going to forget what you learnt and when/if you go back you will realize you have to start from the beginning because your memory isn't up to scratch (really annoying).


-if you know Arabic, take advantage and learn all your material by reading books in Arabic and listening to your lessons in Arabic. even if you do know arabic, still learn it as the dialects that are spoken is different from the fus7ah.


-here's a useful looking list of books for your information.


-the etiquette of seeking knowledge section has some pretty good stuff to give you some ideas of what/how to study, and links to general advise about etiquette of the student of knowledge and other such topics.

-another important tip is to moderate your eating and sleeping. anything of those 2 (i.e too little or too much of either of them) in the extreme will hamper your ability to to seek, understand and remember knowledge.
 
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Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah, an nawawi, Ahmed ibn Hanbal, Ibn Rajab al Hanbali, Ibn Qudamah Al-Hanbali,
 
Awesome responses jazakum Allah khair, exactly what I needed. So much to research, so little time! But I'm really looking forward to starting now that I actually have some starting points, may Allah reward you all.

And ummu sufyann, incredible post, thank you. I tried to rep you but it said i needed to spread reps first. Jazaki Allah khair sis!!
 

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