Assalamualaikum!

We have just finished the workshop on “Sublime Characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (S)” (Shama’il Muhammadiyah/Tirmidhi) with Shaykh Ahmad Saad, as well as last night’s lecture “Etiquette Before Knowledge” at Singapore Expo.

Listening to him has been amazing and this will be a quick post just to share some of the notes I took over the 2 days. MashaAllah, how many times these eyes have teared and this heart was awakened by the stories & the pearls of knowledge that was shared by the Shaykh.

Here are some of the quote-worthy words that was spoken by Shaykh Ahmad Saad:

Etiquette Before Knowledge

• Lots of people will feed their children at the expense of feeding their hearts.
• Seeking knowledge in the past lasted 15-20 years or more. Now, people can’t last in a 1-hour talk without a break.
• Books do not give you knowledge. The nur you take from a teacher cannot be found in books.
• Our deen is unique because the knowledge of it has been transferred from chest to chest.
• Allah didn’t just send a book, Quran. He sent Jibril together to relay knowledge to the Prophet. So even Jibril was a student, and then a teacher.
• The people who are not connected to a chain (sanad), they move alone. It is the sunnah of Allah that everything moves with a chain. No one comes without a father. Even Adam was created by Allah. Always a chain.
• “Whoever seeks knowledge without a teacher, he is in absolute misguidance.” Shaykh Ahmad quoting a traditional scholar.
• You can’t open Bukhari & quote it. You need to know the context, whether it has been abrogated etc.
• Lots of people have complicated ignorance – they dont know the things they know and what they dont know.
• Shaykh Ahmad quotes Imam Malik, “Make your knowledge the salt and your adab the flour”.
• If someone has knowledge but no adab, leave studying from him
• Imam Razi used to revise his lesson 100x a day, not like us, take notes and then chuck it aside.
• Knowledge is not how many narrations you know, but what benefits you.

Sublime Characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (S) / Shama’il Tirmidhi/Muhammadiyah

• Once you can see your actions, you are blinded by your actions. (If you start seeing yourself doing good & being proud of it, you have lost the benefit from them.)
• If you see any beauty in character in anyone, it is only due to the extent of him following the Prophet (S). (The more he follows the Prophet, the more beautiful he becomes.)
• We don’t know the family of other Prophets, but we know the family of our Prophet (S). Significance: He was a reality, not someone imaginary. Sometimes when we learn about his noble character, we think “Someone like that could never have walked the earth” but when you see his family, you know that he did exist.
• You cannot benefit from the Prophet (S) if you see him as just a man, degrading the level of the Prophet (S). You have to love him (S), believe in him & yearn for him. Only then can you benefit from him. For example, Abu Jahl didn’t see the Prophet, he only saw an orphan, therefore he didn’t benefit from the Prophet (S).
• The Prophet (S) invested in people. In Taif, he had a choice to destroy people who hurt him but he chose to forgive them because he was thinking of the future generations that would come from Taif that could get a chance at hidayah.
• People have reduced the Prophet (S) to just having a beard (they become obsessed with the fact that you HAVE to have a beard.) Shaykh Ahmad Saad says, “You can’t summarize the Prophet to a few hairs. Is that how the Prophet (S) relates to you?” Meaning you have to see the bigger picture, learn about his characteristics also, not just the outer.
• You love someone who has done you a favour. What favour can be greater than saving you from Hellfire? The Prophet (S) has taught us our deen, how to ask for forgiveness etc. He deserves our love the most.

There’s so much more where those came from and you can still catch Shaykh Ahmad Saad at tomorrow’s lecture, “Marvels of the Heart” at Singapore Expo at 5pm.

Click to get your tickets here >> www.shaykhahmadsaad.eventbrite.com