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Nuh Ha Mim Keller
Ha Mim Keller, American Muslim translator and specialist in Islamic
Law. Born in 1954 in the north-western United States, was educated in
philosophy and Arabic at the University of Chicago and UCLA. He entered
Islam in 1977 at al-Azhar in Cairo, and later studied the traditional
Islamic Sciences of hadith, Shafi'i and Hanafi jurisprudence, legal
methodology (usul al-fiqh), and tenets of faith (`aqidah)
in Syria and Jordan, where he has lived since 1980. His English translation
of `Umdat al-Salik [The
Reliance of the Traveller] (1250 pp., Sunna Books, 1991) is
the first Islamic legal work in a European language to receive the certification
of al-Azhar, the Muslim world's oldest institution of higher learning.
He also possesses ijazas or "certifiates of authorisation"
in Islamic jurisprudence from sheikhs in Syria and Jordan.
Other translations and works include: Al-Maqasid:
Imam Nawawi's Manual of Islam; The Sunni Path: A Handbook of Islamic
Belief; and Tariqa Notes (handbook for those on the Shadhilli
path of tasawwuf). He is currently translating Imam Nawawi's Kitab
al-Adhkar [The Book of Rememberance of Allah], a compendium of some
1227 hadiths on prayers and dhikrs of the prophetic sunna. He
is also completing a work on the issue of the Qibla which will be available
Ibn ĎAta' Illahís The
Book of Wisdoms (al-Hikam al-ĎAta'iyya)
- What is a Madhhab? Why is it necessary
to follow one?
- Is it permissible for a Muslim to believe
that Allah is in the sky in a literal sense?
- Which of the Four orthodox Madhhabs has
the most developed fiqh for Muslims living as minorities?
- Who or what is a Salafi? Is their
- How would you respond to the claim that
Sufism is Bid'a?
- What is the distinction between hadith and
is the meaning of "Qawwamuna" as used in Surat al-Nisa'
you advise individuals to study hadith from al-Bukhari and Muslim on
did you set out to do when you began writing the Reliance
of the Traveller?
The Concept of Bida' in the Islamic Sharia
Nottingham and Trent University 25th January 1995.
Why Muslims Follow Madhhabs
Islamic Cultural Center (Regents Park Mosque) January 1995,
Bradford University 27th January 1995, Birmingham Central Mosque 29th
Literalism and the Attributes of Allah
Islamic Cultural Center (Regents Park Mosque) 28th January 1995.
The Place of Tasawwuf in the Traditional Islamic Sciences
The Islamic Foundation (Markfield Center, Leicester) January 1995
and Croydon Mosque 30th January 1995.
A Letter to Abd al-Matin:
On the Universal Validity of Religions in the thought of Ibn
Arabi and Emir Abd al-Qadir
A Letter to Sulayman Ali: On Islam and Evolution
A Letter to Christains in the Ukraine
Letter to Isa Robert Martin:
On keeping the beard
written & translated
The Qibla Issue in North America
Nawawi's Kitab al-Adhkar [available around 2002 - 2003]
The Aphorisms [al-Hikam] of Ibn Ata'illah [unpublished]
The Re-Formers of Islam [on hold]
Tariqa Notes [for those interested in the Shadhilli Tariqa]
Interpreters Log [unpublished, continuing work]
The Sunni Path [essentially al-Ghazali's Aqidah]
of the Traveller
A translation of the classical manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Shari'ah)
`Umdat as-Salik by Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (d. 769/1386), in Arabic
with facing English text, commentary and appendices edited and translated
by Nuh Ha Mim Keller.
second printing 1993 (ISBN 0-9638342-0-7)
0-9638342-2-3, CIP 94-19018,
hardcover, 9.5"x6.5", 1254 pages.
Information about the Text
'Umdat al-Salik wa 'Uddat al-Nasik (Reliance of the Traveller
and Tools of the Worshipper) is a Sunni manual of Fiqh (Islamic
jurisprudence). It is based mainly on the fiqh conclusions of
Imam al-Nawawi, the great Hadith master (hafiz) and Shafi'i scholar
of jurisprudence (mujtahid). The appendices form an integral
part of the book and present original texts and translations from classic
works by al-Ghazali, al-Nawawi, al-Qurtubi, al-Dhahabi, Ibn Hajar and
others, on topics of Islamic Law, faith, spirituality, Qur'an exegesis
and Hadith sciences, making the work a living reflection of Islam as
understood by some of its greatest scholars. It has also biographical
notes about every person mentioned (391 biographies), bibliography of
each work cited (136 works), and a detailed subject Index (95 pages).
Of the 136 works drawn upon in its commentary and appendices, 134 are
in the original Arabic. The sections and paragraphs have been numbered
to facilitate cross-reference.
Imam Nawawi's Manual of Shariah
al-Nawawi (died 676/1277)
Edited and translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller.
First published 1994, ISBN 0-9638342-1-5, LC 93-087727
Paperback, 8.5x5.5 inch, 148 pages.
by The Islamic Texts Society contact
them for both al-Maqasid and Reliance of the Traveller.
about the Text
Al-Maqasid: ma yajib ma'rifatuh min al-Din (The Objectives:
what is necessary to know of the religion) is a synopsis of Shari'ah
It has 7 sections: Fundamentals of the religion, Purification, Prayer,
Zakah, Fasting, Pilgrimage, and Virtues. The translation fills
out the classic text with explanative notes. Transliterations and Arabic
texts of the supplications and dhikrs are provided.