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It is said that the Salaf used to prepare for Ramadan 6 months before — but you’ve probably heard that before.
What you have not heard is one of the ways our Maktabah community will preparing for Ramadan this year.
For the next two months at Maktabah, we will be doing things differently and boldly.
The theme is 8 weeks with the Beautiful Names & Attributes of Allaah — for 3 reasons:
To strengthen and solidify part of the foundations of our deen. Knowing the correct meanings of the names and attributes of Allaah is a part of our Aqeedah, the foundation upon which we build our faith.
And like Sheikh-al-Islaam Ibn Taimiyyah (رحمه الله) said:
Whoever wants a lofty building has to make its foundations strong and firm and take care of it; because the height of a building is dependent on the strength/firmness of its foundations..
Knowing Allaah is the best way to develop love and the consciousness (Taqwa) of Him. The goal of Ramadan as Allaah tells us in the Qur’aan is “..perhaps you may attain Taqwa..”
Ibn Qayyim رحمه الله said:
Whoever learns about Allaah by His Names, Attributes and Actions, He will love Allaah and there is no doubt in that.
3. Finally, because this year we are doubling down on and raising the bar in the way we make du’aa — and what better way than to know and connect with the One whom we ask and seek help from.
Allaah says:
قُلِ ٱدۡعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ أَوِ ٱدۡعُوا۟ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنَۖ أَیࣰّا مَّا تَدۡعُوا۟ فَلَهُ ٱلۡأَسۡمَاۤءُ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰۚ وَلَا تَجۡهَرۡ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتۡ بِهَا وَٱبۡتَغِ بَیۡنَ ذَ ٰلِكَ سَبِیلࣰا
Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Invoke Allah or invoke the Most Beneficent (Allah), by whatever name you invoke Him (it is the same), for to Him belong the Best Names. And offer your Salat (prayer) neither aloud nor in a low voice, but follow a way between.
Al-Isrāʾ, Ayah 110
This is how different Maktabah will look this season:
Rather than 4, this season will be 8 weeks long
Rather than 1 book we are reading 2 books this season
Rather than 1 live session weekly, we will have three 1 hour sessions weekly
And finally, it is a hybrid this season: including books from which we will learn, a lecture series through which we can deepen our understanding and further connect with these Names and weekly journaling sessions to help us internalize, draft action points and set goals for applying these Names in our lives.
We will be kicking off this season on the 15th of December in shaa Allaah and using two amazing books; Explantion of the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allaah by Sheikh AbdurRahman Ibn Nasir as-Sa’di and Exemplary Principles by his student Sheikh Salih al-Uthaimeen رحمهم الله.
To wrap this up, here are some frequently asked questions — answered:
Will I get a copy of the books?
Each member is responsible for sourcing their own copy of books, however one of our reads this season is not copyrighted, so we will share a pdf on the group.
How long are the sessions?
1 hour each on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, in shaa Allaah
Where will the sessions hold?
On zoom and telegram, and this time we may be having a community group on WhatsApp too!
What if I miss a session?
The recordings of the live book reading calls will be made available in shaa Allah; you’ll have links to the lecture series but the journaling sessions will not be recorded, you will however have access to any prompts used for the sessions.
Do I have to attend all the sessions?
Live attendance is mustahabb but not wajib :)
What are the payment plans?
This season, we have two payment options; a one time payment and a monthly payment.
So go ahead and save a spot right now.
And since you have reached the end of this post, then here’s a little gift for the first 15 people to sign up — a discount code.
Use the code ‘LATELY001’ at checkout and you’ll get a whooping 5K off your subscription.
Fatimah,