Shaykh Amin's Quotes
The key must be smaller than the door.
At a Tafsir lesson, on adhkār related to the Names of Allah , March 2020
Allāh is the one who cares for you the most. If Allah were not our Lord, in one year or five, we would destroy the whole earth.
From the tafsīr of Surah Al-Sāffāt , March 4th 2018
We should not study science to prove that Quran is true. That is retrogressive and counter-productive. You are paddling in a creek without water.
From the tafsīr of Surah Al-Sāffāt , March 4th 2018
The word for man, rajul, is related to the word for foot, rijl. The rajul stays on his feet, no matter what you throw at him.
At a reading of the Mishkat Al-Masabih ,
The need of the hour is for Muslims to distinguish betweem the hukm and the hikmah.
At a tafsir of Surah Al-Ankabut ,
The piety of an 'aalim lies in his learning.
At a tafsir of Surah Al-Ankabut ,
Jannah is not a place for procreation, it is a place for eternal companionship. And so, Iblis facilitated the procreation of the very one he despised.
At a reading of the Mishkaat al-Masabih ,
We are not afraid (as scholars and students) of kufr, or shirk or sin. What we are afraid of is the weakness of the ummah in representing Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
At a tafsir of Surah Al-Maidah (5:72) ,
The dhikr (remembrance) of Allah is sweet only if the nafs (self) is slaughtered. Otherwise it is sweet poison.
At a reading of the Mishkaat al-Masabih ,
A weak (dha'eef) hadith is not weaker than the one who speaks of it.
At a reading of the Mishkaat al-Masabih ,
As soon as you feel good about yourself, know that the devil has got you, because he is made from fire and he understands the nafs better than you.
From the Hikam ibn 'Ata Illah lecture series ,
The greatest gift that Allah gave the Prophet is the Quran. The greatest gift that Allah gave the sahaabah is the Prophet . And the greatest gift that Allah gave us (the ummah) is the sunnah. When we apply the sunnah in our lives, in our thinking, and in our decision-making, we are reviving Allah's gift to us, the sahaabah and the Prophet (Peace be upon him).
At a spiritual retreat , December 2007
What you see in dreams (subject to interpretation) is far more real than what you perceive with your five senses.
During a lecture on the etiquette of seeking interpretations of dreams ,
Who can conceive of a fruit that tastes different and better with each tasting? Who can conceive of an angel that has six hundred wings, each wing the span of the horizon? Who can conceive of a horseman that gallops five hundred years yet does not escape the shadow of a tree in Jannah? Who can conceive of this level of vastness and magnitude? Not a poet. Only a prophet can who speaks from what is revealed to him.
The Darul Qasim Sunday Tafseer, conclusion of Surah Al-Shuara ,
It is okay to fall down, but it isn't okay to stay down.
Lecture series The Names of Allah, during a discussion of the name Al-Wakeel, with respect to falling into sin, in the context of losing hope in Allah) ,
These things happen in that world, and I don't think we should deny it because they don't make sense. And that's exactly why we should believe in them - because they don't make sense. We have enough of the "making-sense" rat race twenty-four hours a day.
Lecture series Introduction and Orientation to the Qasidah al-Burdah, with respect to dreams ,
You must know the fiqh to override the fiqh.
At a reading of the Mishkaat al-Masabih ,
In this vast space (of the cosmos) for a human being to assume that nothing else exists except himself is the height of paranoid arrogance.
The Darul Qasim Sunday Tafseer ,
Jannah (Paradise) begins where the collective imagination of all humanity ends.
At a reading of the Mishkaat al-Masabih ,
From the Traditions
The Wisdom of Imam Abu Hanifa
Recovering stolen goods
One night a gang of thieves broke into a man's house and stole his household goods. They also forced the owner to take an oath to the effect that if he identified the thieves he would be irrevocably divorced from his wife. The next morning the owner saw the thieves selling his goods but he could say nothing because of the oath he had taken. He came and related the incident to Imam Abu Hanifa. The Imam requested him to gather the Imam, Muazzin and other influential people. When they all arrived Imam Abu Hanifa asked them : "Would you all like to see the goods of this man returned to him?" They replied : "Yes, we do." He then said : "Gather all the evil people you know of amongst you in a house or masjid. Then let them come out one at a time and ask the owner if he is the thief. If he is not the thief he should say so. If he is the thief then the man should remain silent. When he remains silent you should arrest the thief." They did as Imam Abu Hanifa had advised them and all the stolen good were recovered. (Al-Azkiya)
Refreshing your memory
A man came to Imam Abu Hanifa and explained that he had burried some wealth in a place but he had forgotten where it was. Imam Abu Hanifa said to him : "This is not a question of fiqh (jurisprudence) that I can give you guidance on. However, go home and perform Salaah the entire night. Insha-Allah you will soon remember. The man did as he was told. Not even a quarter of the night had passed when the man remembered where he had burried his wealth. He came back to Imam Abu Hanifa and told him what had happened. The Imam explained : "I knew that Shaitaan would not allow you to perform Salaah the entire night and he would make you remember the place. Why did you not spend the remainder of the night in Salaah in gratitude to Allah?" (Al-Azkiya)