What follows is some extracts from the notes by Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi on the forthcoming unique seminar - Surah Nuh.
"Like every part of the Qur’an, Surah Nuh holds its meaning in relation to the context of the revelation of the Book to the Prophet, salla-llahu `alayhi wa sallam. This is an early surah connected to the condition of the Prophet’s mission before the command to do Hijrah to Yathrib. It is implicitly addressing the expressions, postures and attitudes of the mushrikun in Makkah in their refusal of God’s message. For the Prophet there is consolation and strength from the precedent of Nuh, `alayhi s-salam, just as, for the the mushrikun, there is warning and threat from the precedent of what befell the ones who rejected Nuh" - Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi on Surah Nuh
"Theme #9 - Unfortunately, people cannot always see through this world to the Reality, so over time their belief in God becomes enfeebled, lukewarm, then diluted, mixed with something else and so perverted. They come to fear and reverence only what they can see –the forces of nature, or the powers of some men over others, and both these have psychological effects as inhibitions, superstitions, taboos. Their world becomes narrower, their vision likewise. Their feeling of anxiety and fearfulness in the world makes them look with special reverence to great individuals of their community’s past, who were powerful or wise or who helped them to accomplish things that now they fear they cannot accomplish. History quickly degenerates into myth, and myth evolves as fetishism and superstitious religion. Eventually these mis-remembered great individuals or misunderstood and feared forces of nature come to be worshipped as lesser powers, separate from even if beneath God (bi-duni-llah). The people, trapped in this degeneracy, come to elevate the historical achievements of their ancestors, to turn them into pseudo-religious myths, and then they cling to these myths. In principle and practice they behave as if these great ancestors had become gods beneath God with power to shape their present and future, to influence the coming of rain or safe travelling over the sea, or the outcome of other human efforts, like marriage or war. In Surah Nuh, the proper names are listed of some of these false ancestor-deities whose stories had travelled to, and so were known in, the world of the Arabs of the Jahiliyya. In our time, likewise, though never formally deified, the achievements and great figures of a people are turned into mythical entities, and they cling to them, and want to “follow their ways”, to “live up to them”, no matter what they did really. In this way, the Reality is veiled from them, and they do not experience it and cannot make themselves open to it. They mouth adherence to the great people or great ways (ideas, values) of their past (like, for example, rationalism, enlightenment, freedom, democracy, equality), and so they are blind to the realities of what they are doing in the present, as well as being blind to the historical realities of what was done in the name of these mythologised values in the past" - Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi on Surah Nuh
The story of Nuh (AS) is a deep and powerful story that has immense relevance to the time that we are living in. His story would help us understand this world and its workings in a way that we have never thought of before. The upcoming seminar on Surah Nuh is a wonderful opportunity to study this important story in the Qur'an and discover its many lessons, under the guidance of one of the foremost scholars and thinkers of the Western world today - Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi of Oxford University, who very effectively combines traditional scholarship with modern research to have a way of thinking and teaching that is truly unique.
Prices going up this weekend. Please book your place today.
Surah Nuh - The Struggle of The Prophets
The Magnificent Journey
An Amazing Journey Through The Last Two Parts (Juzz Tabaarak and Juzz 'Amma) of the Qur'an, From Surah Al-Mulk to Surah An-Naas, by one of the foremost Islamic Scholars and Thinkers of the Western World today
By Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi (Oxford University)
Date: Saturday 26th January 2013 Time: 10AM - 6PM
Venue: Cambridge University and Live Online Web Access
Very Special Offer: Annual Pass - 12 sessions for the price of 5
[Audio recordings will be provided for the sessions missed if signed up for the annual pass]
http://courses.meoc.org.uk << Click Here To Register
Video Testimonials: http://courses.meoc.org.uk/p/
Previous Posts
"Like every part of the Qur’an, Surah Nuh holds its meaning in relation to the context of the revelation of the Book to the Prophet, salla-llahu `alayhi wa sallam. This is an early surah connected to the condition of the Prophet’s mission before the command to do Hijrah to Yathrib. It is implicitly addressing the expressions, postures and attitudes of the mushrikun in Makkah in their refusal of God’s message. For the Prophet there is consolation and strength from the precedent of Nuh, `alayhi s-salam, just as, for the the mushrikun, there is warning and threat from the precedent of what befell the ones who rejected Nuh" - Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi on Surah Nuh
"Theme #9 - Unfortunately, people cannot always see through this world to the Reality, so over time their belief in God becomes enfeebled, lukewarm, then diluted, mixed with something else and so perverted. They come to fear and reverence only what they can see –the forces of nature, or the powers of some men over others, and both these have psychological effects as inhibitions, superstitions, taboos. Their world becomes narrower, their vision likewise. Their feeling of anxiety and fearfulness in the world makes them look with special reverence to great individuals of their community’s past, who were powerful or wise or who helped them to accomplish things that now they fear they cannot accomplish. History quickly degenerates into myth, and myth evolves as fetishism and superstitious religion. Eventually these mis-remembered great individuals or misunderstood and feared forces of nature come to be worshipped as lesser powers, separate from even if beneath God (bi-duni-llah). The people, trapped in this degeneracy, come to elevate the historical achievements of their ancestors, to turn them into pseudo-religious myths, and then they cling to these myths. In principle and practice they behave as if these great ancestors had become gods beneath God with power to shape their present and future, to influence the coming of rain or safe travelling over the sea, or the outcome of other human efforts, like marriage or war. In Surah Nuh, the proper names are listed of some of these false ancestor-deities whose stories had travelled to, and so were known in, the world of the Arabs of the Jahiliyya. In our time, likewise, though never formally deified, the achievements and great figures of a people are turned into mythical entities, and they cling to them, and want to “follow their ways”, to “live up to them”, no matter what they did really. In this way, the Reality is veiled from them, and they do not experience it and cannot make themselves open to it. They mouth adherence to the great people or great ways (ideas, values) of their past (like, for example, rationalism, enlightenment, freedom, democracy, equality), and so they are blind to the realities of what they are doing in the present, as well as being blind to the historical realities of what was done in the name of these mythologised values in the past" - Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi on Surah Nuh
The story of Nuh (AS) is a deep and powerful story that has immense relevance to the time that we are living in. His story would help us understand this world and its workings in a way that we have never thought of before. The upcoming seminar on Surah Nuh is a wonderful opportunity to study this important story in the Qur'an and discover its many lessons, under the guidance of one of the foremost scholars and thinkers of the Western world today - Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi of Oxford University, who very effectively combines traditional scholarship with modern research to have a way of thinking and teaching that is truly unique.
Prices going up this weekend. Please book your place today.
Surah Nuh - The Struggle of The Prophets
The Magnificent Journey
An Amazing Journey Through The Last Two Parts (Juzz Tabaarak and Juzz 'Amma) of the Qur'an, From Surah Al-Mulk to Surah An-Naas, by one of the foremost Islamic Scholars and Thinkers of the Western World today
By Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi (Oxford University)
Date: Saturday 26th January 2013 Time: 10AM - 6PM
Venue: Cambridge University and Live Online Web Access
Very Special Offer: Annual Pass - 12 sessions for the price of 5
[Audio recordings will be provided for the sessions missed if signed up for the annual pass]
http://courses.meoc.org.uk << Click Here To Register
Video Testimonials: http://courses.meoc.org.uk/p/
Previous Posts
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