This much needed detailed Ijtihad expounds the topic and dispels various commonly held assumptions and myths about the constitution of the first Islamic State established by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
The following is from its Contents page:
Contents
Chapter One: The Origin of the Sahifah (Document)
- Section: The circumstances surrounding the writing of the Sahifah (document) of Al-Madinah
- Imam Ibn Kathir (May Allah’s mercy be upon him) attempted to summarize some of this
- Section: Examples of the harm and abuse undertaken by the Jews and the polytheists and the acts of Ka’b bin Al-Ashraf
- Section: The joining together as brothers “Al-Mu’akhaah) between the Muhajirin and the Ansar
- Narrations revealing the strength of this “Mu’akhaah” (forming of brotherhood) and its depth, the like of which the history of humankind has known no parallel
- Details concerning this historic “Mu’akhaah” (pact of brotherhood) and the personalities involved in it
- Section: When was the “Mu’akhaah” (brotherhood pact) concluded and when was the Sahifah (of Al-Madinah) written?
Chapter Two: The Text of the Sahifah (Constitutional Document)
- Section: The Text of the Sahifah of Al-Madinah
- Sahifah text comparison table
- Section: The revised text (of the Sahifa)
- A table of the revised text
- The First Section: Definition of the Ummah and the founding of Islamic subject status
- The Second Section: The obligations of the Muslims and mutual support among them
- The Third Section: Alliance (or: Confederal Union) between the Muslims and the Jews
- The Fourth Section: Shared obligations and general rulings
Chapter Three: Establishing the authenticity of the Sahifah
- Section: Establishing the authenticity of the Sahifah
Chapter Four: Independent indicative evidences for the Sahifah of Al-Madinah
- Section: The ‘Alawiyah Sahifah
- Section: The Hurmah (Inviolable) Sanctity of Al-Madinah
- Section: The Hadith of Jabir bin Abdullah: “Every clan is responsible for (the payment of) its blood money”
- Section: The Hadith of Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘Aas: “That they pay the ransom of their captives”
Chapter Five: Addendum in respect to ‘Ilm Ar-Rijal (Knowledge of the transmitters)
- Section: The authentication of Ahmad bin Abdul Jabbar Al-‘Utaridiy
- Section: The authentication (tautheeq) of Yunus bin Bukair
- Section: Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar, Amir ul-Mu’minin (leader of the believers) in respect to the Hadith
- Sub-section: Some of those who were given the title Amir ul-Mu’min (Leader of the believers) in respect to the Hadith
- Section: The authentication of Uthman bin Muhammad bin Al-Mughira Al-Akhnasi
- Section: Fairness to Kathir bin Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Awf Al-Muzani
About the Author
Born in Mecca (Friday 8 November 1946), Professor Muḥammad ibn Abdullah al-Massari (may Allah preserve him) is from the Dawāsir tribe, which is the modern name for the famous tribe of Hamdān and hails from a distinguished and scholarly family. His father, Sheikh Abdullah ibn Sulaymān ibn Abdur-Raḥman ibn Muḥammad al-Massari, may Allah have mercy upon him (b. 1918 / d. 2005) was a learned scholar and one of the distinguished students of Sheikh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhim al-Sheikh, may Allah have mercy upon him. He also held several distinguished posts from early on, from being an assistant judge to Sheikh ‘Abdal-Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Bāz, to becoming vice-President and later President of the Board of Grievances (Diwān al-Mathālim; the Supreme Administrative and Constitutional Court), and a Professor of Islamic studies at Dar al-Tawḥeed, in Ṭā’if.
His maternal grandfather was the distinguished Sheikh Muḥammad ibn Abdur-Razzāq (d. 1973), the founder of Dar al-Ḥadith Academy in Mecca and al-Imām al-Ḥaramayn, of Medina and Mecca.
Naturally growing up in this distinguished scholarly environment Professor Muḥammad al-Massari was an outstanding student from a young age, benefiting enormously from study circles with his father and his associates. He has always had an insatiable desire for knowledge, leading him to peruse the rich collection of works from his father’s library, covering both the Islamic sciences, philosophy and literature. A very early example of this, is the study he undertook of Majmu’ al-Fatāwa, which is Ibn Taymiyyah’s acclaimed work consisting of some 40 Volumes, following its publication in 1963. That study included a complete critical reading of the text accompanied with detailed comments, observations and criticisms.
In tandem with his studies in various branches of Islamic sciences, Muḥammad al-Massari is also Professor Emeritus of Theoretical and Mathematical Physics. Published widely in the field of solar energy conversion, solid-state devices and QCD (quantum chromodynamics), some of his key achievements have been designing the first prototype electric car and the calculation of the Top-Quark mass within the framework of the renormalisation group equations.
However, it is his Islamic works that have made a quantum leap in contemporary Islamic thought, notable works include:
- Kitab ut-Tawheed: The Basis of Islam and the Reality of Monotheism
- The Seal of Prophethood
- Man’ah (protection), Nussrah (seeking assistance) and Establishing the State
- Prohibition of building Mosques on Graves
- Najd and the Horn of the Devil
- Ḥākimiyyah and the Sovereignty of Sharī’ah
- The Awaited Promised Mahdi
Professor Muḥammad al-Massari lives in exile in London since 1994, where he currently continues his research and writing.
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