The Aim of Education
How widespread are the misconceptions people harbour about education, and how grave is their error when they imagine…
Scholarship and Method
This topic concerns the pursuit of knowledge itself: who counts as a student of knowledge, how the sacred sciences are taught, and the manners and methods that scholarship demands. These articles by Shaykh Akram Nadwi reflect his lifelong concern with sound method, careful questioning, and the transmission of learning from one generation to the next.
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Different Approaches to Teaching Arabic Language
The debate within Nadwat al-ʿUlamāʾ Among the pedagogical questions that have occupied the educational mind of Nadwat al-ʿUlamāʾ, and have provoked a profound scholarly debate among its shuyūkh and lecturers, is the question of the…
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Tawajjuh (Attention)
That which becomes intelligible to a person is, in reality, what enters into their realm of knowledge; and…
The Purpose of Education
Education is the soul of human society and the foundation of civilisation and culture. It is not merely…
A Visit from Al-Huda International
Today, a noble and dignified delegation from Al-Huda International Welfare Foundation, under the leadership of its esteemed head,…
Do We Truly Know Reality?
Human beings, throughout history, have been on a quest to reach the truth. From ancient times to the…
The Final Academic Day and Farewell Ceremony at Al-Salam Institute
Indeed, today is not merely a formal announcement marking the end of an academic year; rather, it is…
Clear Expression is, in Itself, Evidence
Reason is that trust bestowed by the Lord of all creation, which distinguishes man from all other creatures,…
A Scholarly Gathering in Oxford
I returned from the mosque after the ‘asr prayer, as evening cast its veil over Oxford, that city…
Why Has the Culture of Questioning and Critical Thinking Receded in the Arab and Islamic World?
It is neither surprising nor unnatural that great civilisations are founded upon the shoulders of questioning, nor that…
Why?
One of the great truths of human history is that questioning and research are the very factors that…
Nadwat al-ulama: As a Project of Ecumenism in the Early Modern Period
In the final decades of the nineteenth century, Indian Muslims confronted a complex array of internal and external…
Nurturing Writing Instinct and Intellectual Awareness in the Students of Nadwat al-ʿUlamāʾ
The Arabic language, ever since its light first shone upon the land of India, was never merely an…
Questions & Answers on Scholarship and Method
View all Q&A →Imām al-Bukhārī and Imām Muslim on the meeting of narrators
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh Sidi Shaykh Akram I pray this message finds you in good health and I ask Allah SWT to shower you with His favours in both worlds. Beloved Shaykh this is your student Jawed Tarin…
The meaning of ‘ummi’
Dr Amsha Nahid from Australia asked the following question: Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear Shaykh, I read an article claiming that the word ‘Ummi’ in the Qur’an means “gentile” (non-Jew) or someone unfamiliar with the Law of Musa…
al-Jāḥiẓ on the definitions of balāghah
Assalamo Alaikum, I pray Almighty to find you in good health. Of late, I was studying up. It was Al-Bayan wa-Al-Tabyeen of Al-Jahiz (775-868 A.D.). An erudite para stuck me up. I was, indeed, at a loss. I could not…
Books on Scholarship and Method
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Usul al-Shashi
Usul al-Shashi is a well-known compendium on the principles of Islamic jurisprudence according to the Hanafi school. Despite…
Lessons Learned: Treasures from Nadwah’s Sages
I joined Nadwat al-ʿUlamāʾ and felt as if I had been raised from the dusty ground to the…
Foundation to Hadith Science
This primer on understanding and studying hadith was authored by Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi after the realization that…