The Rightly Guided

The lives of ‘Uthman, ‘Ali & Hasan (radi Allahu ‘anhum ajma ‘in)

Date: 9 - 10 June 2012

Time: 8:30am to 7:00pm

Location: Nehru Science Center, Mumbai - India

About the course: In the Best Of The Best course we covered the lives of the first two of the rightly guided caliphs, Abū Bakr & ʾUmar (raḍi Allāhu ʿanhumā). In this course we move on to the lives of ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and Ḥasan b. ʾAlī (raḍi Allāhu ʿanhum ajmaʿīn). So much of their lives are intertwined with the most important events in Islamic history. Their virtues are numerous and amazing and this course will go though some of these inspiring merits.

This course is a detailed study of the lives of these giant personalities of Islam, as we continue the journey through the golden era of Islam.

During these two days you will get to spend time with them before Islam, you will witness them as aides to the Messenger of Allah (ṣalla'llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), as defenders of his honour and person, as his close relatives, as followers of the letter of the law he revealed to him, and as leaders who further propagated his message and legacy. You will journey through the highs and the lows, the triumphs and the tribulations and get to learn and study the unique traits that made each a leader par excellence.

The Messenger of Allah said “Hold onto my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs” (Abū Dāwūd)

Instructor:

Bilal Ismail Sheikh Bilal Ismail was born in Durban, South Africa. He is one of three siblings and comes from a religious deobandi tableeghi family.

He memorized the Qurʾan while studying at school and went on to complete high school in 1998. Sheikh Bilal then went on to do a diploma in Computer Science in 1999, as well as qualifying as a Microsoft certified systems engineer. He was accepted into the Islamic University of Madinah in 2001 where he completed his Diploma in Arabic followed by a BA in Islamic Law from the faculty of Sharīʿah.

Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury says about him: "He was always one of the most studious people I have met and he never wasted time whilst in Madinah." Also: "Sheikh Bilal is a personal friend of mine and I would describe him to be a true student of knowledge - someone who speaks with knowledge and is of the highest adab and morals."

After graduating, he returned to South Africa where he had been teaching Fiqh and Tafsīr weekly classes in Durban since the summer of 2007 and says he is "still a student of knowledge - and will always be!”

Sheikh Bilal joins our academic team as an instructor and as the academic head of the Students Guild and has quickly become a favourite of AK students around the world.