Library Chat #21: The Nizāmiyya College & the Rise of the Ash`arite School | Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi 

Finally! I feel like I’ve been waiting eons for another one! JazakAllah Khair.

I like how YQ made those interested feel special by calling us nerds

After watching for 3 days, I’ve finished it at last. Peace from Ethiopia!

Alhamdulillah.....long waited favorite lecture is finally here...

You can't imagine how many times I've checked on the channel to see if another episode was posted. I am so happy to finally watching one of my favourite Islamic series on RU-vid. Jazaaka-Allah-khayraa.

Dear Shaykh, a library chat each on the following topics: (1) The development of athari aqida over the centuries. (2) How modern salafism differs from classical atharism with regards to several doctrinal concerns. (3) The vibrant nature of the Qur'anic recitations pre-codifications. (4) The issue of the tawatur of each and every one of the ten canonical recitations. (5) The relationship of the Uthmani mushaf to the seven ahruf.

YQ is right majority of muslims are not ashari or even hardcore athari. They are basic muslims upon the aqidah of hadith of jibreel

Love the intellectual history takes with you. Please continue Sheikh. We very much look forward to seeing the next library chat soon.

best series I love rewatching these when i'm free

Please continue this series Don't stop...

Jazakallah Hairan ! Again What a lecturer. For me , who has great interest in Islamic history and Islamic theology, it’s just like a can of water for my deathly thirsty. I am making dua to Allah(SWT) for a chance that one day I can learn from you face to face. Can’t wait for Part 2. ………………..…………………From Japan

This is my favorite series on RU-vid! I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THESE HISTORICAL LIBRARY CHATS! NEVER STOP!

It is a little weird to see Sheikh Yasir without his eyeglasses... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Dear YQ As a fellow graduate from the Hadeeth Faculty in Medinah University, I also had the same problem. Because I am a very rational and logical person. Meaning I would like to personally verify what I am being taught and luckily for us hadeeth graduates we were kinda given the tools to see into the Isnaad of various narrations and understand other subtleties involved in the hadeethic sciences. From the start of my studies in athari creed at Medina, I felt some kind of fanaticism emanating from it. Like when I started to really contemplate the nuanced arguments regarding affirming the sifaath, I asked myself: Is this so logical that any sincere person would find it natural to believe this? My answer was time and time again No!. So I reasoned that if Sahabas said any of this explicitly then we are justified since prophet pbuh commanded us to obey them. So I started reading texts and various narrations for verification of these arguments and to my dismay, I could not find anyting similar in the period of Sahabah to substantiate this. No did I find anything in the generation of thaabi'oon. The salaf like Rabee'a the sheikh of Malik would only go as far as to say "Isthiwaa is Ma'loom" but that's it! Nothing more than that. It could be interpreted in multiple ways. But then we find at later times these nuanced arguments regarding the sifaath and those are being projected towards the early Salaf, I could not in good conscience take the claim seriously. But since I was such a small person I kept it to myself perplexed and then I found you and after listening to your talks a lot started to make sense! I would personally here your thoughts regarding the true creed to which we all should subscribe? Thank you

Finally after such a long time. Please sheikh yasir don't leave us wanting for so long. And can we please carry on with the stories of the Prophets!!!

Waiting for so long for the history of ISLAM. Alhamdulillah.

Jazak-Allahu Khairan Shaikh. You make seemingly dry topic so juicy and engaging that I cannot move away from the screen for even a second, although I know full well that it's a RU-vid video.

Allah yahfadk . Barakal’lahu feek

[Draft timestamps. Not precise. Will be updated and edited ia] 00:08:50 dominance isnt a sign of being correct 00:11:40 summary of reason for rise of Asharism 00:13:30 Buwayhid influence 00:15:00 khalifa wants Saljooks to take charge 00:19:20 asharism linked to Nizamul Mulk 00:24:00 nizamul mulk given authority 00:26:00 establishing nizaamiyyah madrasahs. What he revolutionalised 00:29:30 AlJuwainy recalled and given authority 00:31:30 1st nizamiyyah in Baghdad 00:36:30 wrong person (pr hanbali) took charge of College 00:41:30 start of fitna of Qushayri 00:43:00 public halaqa in masjid for asharism 00:45:50 Provocation from Qushayri 00:47:00 Qushayri students vs Sharif Abu Jafar students 00:53:00 Nizamul mulk updated with the latest 00:54:00 talks with khalifa 01:00:00 house arrest 01:02:00 Recalled Qushayri 01:05:00 Nizamul Mulks reply to another letter 01:08:00 riot between students of knowledge 01:12:00 removal of Ashari label from college name 01:13:30 juwaini suggests Ghazzali to take charge of nizamiyyah of baghdad 01:14:30 main catalyst for spread of Ashari thought 01:15:00 Researcher who supports this theory 01:17:00 why certain personalities left a mark 01:18:30 shafiee 01:19:00 theologian writes: Iranian export to Arabian world 01:22:00 even hanabila acknowledged the role of nizamiyyah 01:25:30 nooruddeen zenghi 01:27:30 Salaahuddeen Ayyubi studied in nooriyyah Converts shia madrasahs to sunnah institutes, incl Azhar 01:31:20: Establish Saalihiyyahs 01:33:30 Khubushani (fanatic) appointed in charge 01:36:00 mosuluem of Imam Shafiee 01:38:00 fanaticism is both sided 01:39:00 Corally of mazhab isnt mazhab 01:40:00 both sides in error 01:41:00 matn made standard book in ashari creed 01:42:00 Maqreezi (neutral) : influence of Ayyubi to promote Ashari creed 01:47:00 thesis: dominance of ashari creed is due to... Ibn Qudama feels this 01:49:00 ibn Asakir 01:50:00 why Ibn Taymiyyah was harsh against... 01:52:00 politics is a factor 01:54:40 hanbalism isnt monolithic 01:55:50 walaa not on isms but hadith jabril

This was thoroughly fascinating, please do more. I love history and a very minor minor student of knowledge, so these kind of topics wedding both I love

Jazakallah Sheikh for the historical insight of our tradition. Always delighted for your library chat. May Allah increase your knowledge and wisdom.

Allah humma barik this is amazing Subhanallah

Assalam syeikh u said why would anybody interested in this kind of talk but we do! We actually enjoyed your sharing of knowledge that otherwise will never reach us if u dont do this siries. Please continue this syeikh. Thank you so much

Assalamu Alaykum dear shaykh, ustad, brother, and I hope you and your family are well, InSha Allah. It will be very beneficial if you also talk about the different spectrums in the athari creed.

I really love these series!

Barakalahufeek for the historical insight information, i really learned something new and i hope you will carry on to teach us more islamic history, may allah protect you shaikh

Salaam alaikum Ya Sheikh. I personally would love to hear a Library-Chat on the phenomenon of Persian Ultra-Nationalism and its hatred of and rewriting of Irans Islamic history. These ultranationalists seem to want some kind of a Neo-Majoosi Renaissance, and they blame Islam for "forcefully converting" Zoroastrian to Islam. This of course is a complete distortion and rewriting of Persia's islamic history, something which they have in common with the hindutva in India, who have a similar false narrative for India.

Shyakhul Islam ❤

dear dr yasir qadhi , dr qureshi from pakistan. i happene to listen to your speech in prime minister house and later an interview by dunya tv. i have been a great fan of you and give tribute to your efforts. somehow i got interested in your library chats and gained some knowledge of asaria , ashriya, kalam discussions etc. at the end of 21ist chat what sees that you conclude an average muslim would need only the basic acts, aamaal, and rest is academic. do we need it all from a preacher, daaee, why not stress on basics and motivation for basics. let me tell you that i am a man of age, 65 lived in middle east for good time, try to be practicing muslim, ALHAM DO LILLAH.I guess i have listened to almost all of your lectures and saw the transformation from salafi theology to almost every thing. i remember your lecture on najdi daawa worth 4 hours almost and my opinion also changed about them. in pakistan ghamdi sahib has made a good viewership since ten years but also attracts many controversies, his background was from jamaat islami where he was kicked off. later gained popularity through social media and now residing in america. he also talks of unconventional means and challenge the common , (ijmaa) perceptions. things are fast changing and influence of clergy in our socities is diminishing. i would appreciate if you could talk of history of different sects in shia theology, why they are wrong or right in which way. i have written my thought, may be haphazard, to let you know how a common man feels about these issues. what i fear that in the coming years some cleric of good viewership may come up to tell us that all religions are the same. GOD FORBID. Sorry for some comment that you may not have liked

This is great... I'd love to see more chats discussing intellectual history - maybe some on qiraat - how did hafs 'an 'asim became dominant in the modern world or what influenced the choice of the 7/10 qiraat for codification

There are more geeks in the world than you imagined. This is my favorite series because of the analysis and nuance. JazakumAllahu Khayran for sharing the knowledge Shaykh.

May Allah swt reward you sheikh. I don’t think you realize the great benefit you bring a lot of us with these lectures.

Ustadh, loved the video. Allah guide and bless you. I think an interesting video (whether as a library chat or a separate, similarly formatted series) would be the evolution of the madhahibs. (With a primary focus on the school rather than their respected imams). An example could be like the shift from the maliki school embracing more ashari views with the advent of later imams (like imam Qarafi, if I'm not mistaken) jzk.

We all hope ot becomes weekly

Alhamdulillah, it's finally here. An Absolutely absorbing lecture. I was gripped throughout and the two hours seemed just to fly by. More of these please Sheikh!

One should remamber that the pdh of shaykh Was researched whilst he was against asharism. I mean one should not think that all the Storys between the fightings between asharys and hambalis are facts. Guess there are planty of different Storys a different points of views. Im not a shakyh and dont know anything about this timeframe, just saying on should remember the paradime, the researcher at the time had

Alhamdullah I’ve been waiting for a library chat can you also do biographies on the four imams

Sheykh, could you one day discuss the Zahiri madhab, please? They had a lot of particularities, for example, the question of what a prospective fiance may be given permission to see from the woman's/girl's awrah during a matchmaking or the views concerning music etc.

Alhamdu lillah, in a way, as an African, I am greatful that these leaderships have broken down. Because today I have the freedom to practice what I find to be the most authentic through my own investigations. Inshallah the Muslim Ummah will unite under authentic teaching of the best uluma around the world to be powerful once again, but this time with the freedom to learn the way we learn today.

Dear Shaikh Yasir Qadhi, It would be really beneficial for students of knowledge if you kindly give a list of authoritative books written on the subject.

Can’t wait for the episode on Iran becoming Shia. I know your busy sheikh please do an episode once a week or once a month. I would even pay to attend live classes on history of Islam taught by yourself. I come from a strict understanding of salafi Islam. I have come to a similar understanding to yourself from your teaching and understanding. Thank you Juzzakhallahu khayran Barrakhallau feek Ustadh.

Please try to have a library chat on how the subcontinent and the Ottoman lands became Hanafi Maturidis.

I have been searching for these details so many years... و الحمدُ كلّهُ لِله و بارك الله فيك

Richard Bulliet: "Ashari Theology, therefore, was an Iranian export to the Arab world in the late eleventh century. Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali looms historically as the definitive codifier and paramount disseminator of Ashari thought."

Fantastic video keep it up your doing amazing job

I feel like I should pay for these. Guilty for watching it for free .

Awesome camera set-up

Finalllyyyy!!! Yayyyy!! Better than Netflix ny far!

Wow, almost 2 hours of new library chat! What can be better? Thank you and may Allah give you more knowledge and wisdom.

💙💙💙

Shaykh please give a lecture on the origin of sufism.

Les go

I have to totally disagree that the Atharist narrative is closer to the fitrah when it comes to the belief of the physical attributes of Allah. Before I even delved into these two main views regarding the physical attributes of Allah, back when I had an innocent mind untainted by such differing opinions, then naturally whenever I came across such verses with regards to the physical attributes of Allah then my natural inclination was to accept what Allah had said about his physical attributes, but not to think of them in a literal sense as that would lead to one imagining Allah actually physically having such attributes. However when I delved into these two main views I was quite shocked of how dangerous the literalist view is as it forces a person to imagine Allah as having such physical attributes even though one doesn't want to picture it in one's mind. It's easy to say accept it literally but not to compare it but if your literally accepting Allah as having two right hands a shin etc then inevitably it will lead many to imagine him as physically having those body parts. Also it's totally illogical to accept those verses of Allah's physical attributes in a literalist perspective because Allah claimed of himself that there is nothing like him. Therefore our minds can never imagine Allah nor can our minds ever imagine anything beyond this physical dimension made up of time and matter. The only reason why he mentioned those physical attributes is so that our limited human minds can relate to Allah in the way he intended but they were not given to us for us to view them literally for this is a step towards anthropomorphism and viewing Allah as having such physical attributes literally. Whether one likes it or not the literalist belief causes one to imagine of Allah in a way that he did not intend us to imagine him for he is beyond human physical attributes and there is nothing like him nor is he bound by what we are bound by in terms of time, location and direction etc.

MashaAllah his memory is beyond incredible…knowledge is power

We want more library chat

Assalamu alaykum Sheikh.. thanks for this interesting chat.. would you discuss next Asy Syaukani as a mujtahid.. in terms of his ijtihad, his school of fiqh and aqeedah.. in the center of zaydism in yemen..I think that would be interesting.. jazakallahu khayr..

The kind of violence that bigoted religious enthusiasm can lead to needs to be reflected upon. Very interesting lecture. Thank you.

very nice

It's really amazing how our shaykh analysed the deep questions

Salaam Sheikh. Prophet Lut was a prophet like any other prophets. But why we can't see a muslim named after him. Will you name your son, Lut?

I never knew how brave the ashari scholars were in Islamic history. True warriors like Lebron James.

12:23 Political scenario (around 900 CE/350 Hijri) •Buyids overthrown by Seljuks •Qadiri creed (named after abbasid caliph al-Qadir) 19:19 Seljuk rule • Nizam al-Mulk -Nizamiyya -Recalling Imam al-Juwayni -Nizamiyya in Baghdad (first proto-university in the sunni world) & other nizamiyyas around the muslim world Incidents at Baghdad Ash-Sharif Abu Ja'far (main hanbali scholar at Baghdad) Abu Ishaq ash-Shirazi (first director of Baghdad's Nizamiyya) Al-Qushayri Fitnah of al-Qushayri Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadi Attempt at truce Escalation of the situation next year A dozen killed at marketplace melee Imam Ghazali appointed director at the advice of al-Juwayni Role of Salah ad-din Ayyubi at Egypt

For me, the following verse from the Quran ends the debate: It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muḥammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise - they are the foundation of the Book - and others unspecific. As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allāh. But those firm in knowledge say, "We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord." And no one will be reminded except those of understanding. Quran 3:7

Thank you so much for these historical insights. I have been enjoying your library chats and we ask Allah SWT to reward you immensely If we eliminate the political factors that gave rise to one creedal interpretation over another , one School of law over the other, is it possible to simply attribute dominance of one school over the other to the internal merits of the school itself not external factors? Should not a systematic study or analysis of each aqeedah school reveal which interpretation makes more sense and in line with the overall quranic and sunnaic message? An outsider might think that - based on political events - the masses are adhering to a creed that is simply the outcome of political events regardless of the correctness of such a creed. The same could be said about Malikism, Hanbalism , etc…

اذا امكن يا شيخ ياسر ان تبحث لنا في تاريخ مسالة التوسل بالرسول مع العلم ان كتب الفقه المبكر مثل الموطا و مدونة سحنون و الام الشافعى لاثر لمثل هذه المسئلة

after so long... sheikh you should make it a weekly thing

I wish these library chats become weekly

Finally shukr, been waiting for another episode.... Ps where can I get hold of your dissertation sheikh?

I wish you did one every fortnight

Love you my brother. You are one of my favorite sources of daily dose of knowledge. I hope you consider doing a zoom session with my another beloved sheikh Imran hossein from trinidad. It will be A event where two oceans meet but do not mix.

Sheikhnaa and what about Jami'a Al-Qarawiyyeen in Fez in Maghrib? Is it not considered to be an early semi-university? It was much earlier than those events which are being discussed here. Is there any particular reason you do not mention it? I am just curious. May Allah bless you and elevate you and help you to continue your work. MashaAllah 'alayk.

Finally alhamdu lillah, may allah bless your efforts.

Oh what a long wait...delighted to see the library chat. Hope the next chat isn't after months. Also waiting for the Prophet series . The benefit of such intellectual and dry lectures(words of sheikh) is that it doesn't make one sectarian, rather helps us embrace diff strands of Islam.

Shaykh YQ knows about athari, ashari more than any salafi or azharis

Sadly, there are people still this day who are on this road. I don’t understand why people follow groups when they can stick with Quran and sunah. We are struggling basics. Most of people don’t even follow deen.

Immensely beneficial sessions. JazakAllah khair Sheikh.

Jazakum Allahu Khayran Ya Sheikh. We definitely want to hear a library chat about how the athari creed developed through time and regions.

That's a giant cup of coffee!

Its been soo long since library chats. Love it 🔥🔥

Masha'Allah is Shaikh YQ looking younger or did he record this 2 years back??

It is disheartening to witness the departure of our beloved brother Hamza from the EFDAWAH team. Whatever the reasons were for Hamza to leave EFDAWAH, it should be sorted out. Since Allah loves unity, we should rectify ourselves and be united. Giving up things for the sake of Allah to bring unity, we must strive towards it. The strength as it used to be, is broken and as a result, it will continuously be weaker without unity. May Allah keep us united. Ameen. We sincerely hope to see brother Hamza back on EFDAWAH. Hope everyone requests brother Hamza to re-join EFDAWAH and send another request to EFDAWAH inviting brother Hamza to re-join.

Dear Sheikh Yasir Qadhi, you said you do not believe that it is a sign or preference from Allah when a Madhab or Aqeedah school is dominant but rather it was a human political decision as per the reason why it is dominant. But the majority of muslims have their whole live been taught that these are nothing but Asbaab for the manifestation and will of Allah (his Qadr), isn't it the case that Allah willed this and it is a part of his Qadr so in the end He chose to protect the deen through these Aqeedahs and Madhabs? Because he told the First Pen to write what will happen until the Day of Judgment? Please share your vision and opinion on these matters/questions, maybe a video on how to view this in light of your statement? I hope you can, it would make things a lot more clear for a lot of muslims watching and thinking about this. Could we also not say that when the Hanbalis were dominant in Baghdad they were harsh and hard on the upcoming Ash'aris and because of this transgression and injustice, Allah turned the tables and wanted to see how the Hanbalis act when they are the suppressed minority and to see how the Ash'aris would act when in power, just to test us. Even in this explanation, we as muslims are used to call these events Asbaab and Allah manifests his will and Qadr through the Asbaab. So I hope you can enlighten us inshaaAllah.

Masaallah! Can we find the sheikhs Dissertation online?

Please do the next library chat sooner

Shaykh when is Stories of The Prophets returning?

I understand this advanced series is not for me and many like me, but i don't want to be like this for long. Are there any books or other materials that I can refer to learn the basics of these historical issues?

And Here we go! After Ages! Enjoyed every bit of it!

Jazakallah khair sheikh. Great material. One suggestion would be for you to slow it down and make the lecture even longer. Also, your using the term salafi for the hanbali/athari kept throwing me off. Did they ever use that term?

This a gold one from Syaikh and really explain why there is somewhat animosity from followers/supporters of various organization or movements of Islam here in Indonesia, from the biggest Shafii-asy'ari (but learned 4 amdzhab) NU, modernist/puritanist with component of salafist Muhammadiyah (which its creator has the same teacher of NU), and also various later popular ustaadz either Al Azhar graduates or University of Medina graduates.

Asalaam hu aleykum wa rehmathullah wa barakathuhu Sheikh, had a question for you. Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani r.a. I believe became the leader of the Baghdad Nizamiyyah in his time. He was Hanbali, so I was thinking how was he given this position?

I feel this video is incomplete. I was eagerly waiting for this video but I am a little bit curious about your position here. You said nothing Imam Gazali's excellence in refuting the Mutazila which in my understanding gives the Ashari doctrine a big momentum. It was not primarily the Ashari vs Salafi, it was the Ashari vs Mutazila. I hope you will make another video about it.

As salam ow alaykum ow rahmatu Allah ow barakatu السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته Mr. Qadhi I'm a Da3i that's putting out good Muslim videos but I need to speak with you personally. Is there any way we can do that? It's important and time sensitive. If people see this can you please upvote this so Mr. Qadhi sees this. Jazakum Allah Kheiran جزاكم الله خيرا

finally

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله RE SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIONS As an option to the withdrawal from social media (as unfortunate as it is). Zaytuna College have a private portal that is is used for the bookclub. The portal has a private log in and has book lectures and facilitated Q&A delivered. Access is for those to donate to "12,000" strong initiative. Perhaps you could build a similar platform that supports the Seminary but allows those who donate access to your content. JAK.

Thank you sir for all thee great library chats. Just a quick query: how do you spell the name of the French author? Richard Boiuller? I am trying to look him up online. Much appreciate anyone’s help.

You have become very apologetic. Get better with it Ahkiy. Know the minhaj (Islam Iman and Ihsan) of the Salaf

the advent of social media now lead to average person like me into debating blindly on advanced topics by simply quoting from this guy and that guy etc...

Thank you Sheikh. May Allah reward you immensely.

now I got the answer to the sheikh qardawi’s clip where he said Islamic ummah is ashariyyah, thank you YQ 😂

Assalamu alaikum Brother yasir qadhi i am in aqeedh that tafweed is the salaf position imam ibn taymiah aqeedh is layeef. Can you explain in this matter your view. As far tahweel the strong position is imam ibn tahikul yeeth position to allow as match with arabic literature and if it not match then stay silent. Imam ibnu humam it is allowed if people become confused in fundamental faith other wise tahweel must to be avoid.