This is a simple dhikr that we use in community gatherings with The Majlis.
Another one that can be adopted is The Devotion of Imam al-Nawawi. It can be found for sale online with the commentary of Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah.
You can see a PDF here of the text to be read.
In celebration of the month of the birth of the Prophet, peace be upon him, we present the following collection. It is a set of 40 hadith taken from the famous al-Shamail al-Muhammadiyyah of Imam al-Tirmidhi. I tried to choose narrations that were intimate and give a deep feeling of who and how the Prophet, ﷺ, was.
You can download it here.
What follows is a partial translation of a collection of narrations on the virtues of the Holy Land by Shaykh Diya al-Din al-Maqdisi. Collections such as these were made to increase the love in the hearts of the believers for sacred places and times, as well as righteous actions. This particular one was compiled in the period shortly after the liberation of al-Quds under Sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, by a scholar who took part in the struggle against the Crusaders. We present this humble effort as a guide to be read in these days wherein hardship and oppression are befalling the people of al-Quds.
Those who wish to do so may hold gatherings in their homes or communities reading the text and asking Allah to alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters and give them victory against their oppressors. This is the intent behind making this work accessible. Ultimately, this represents a timeless tradition of the Muslims where they would gather to read collections of hadith as a means of seeking Allah’s aid in the face of hardship and victory in the face of oppression. We pray that this simple effort is a means by which that beautiful tradition is continued.
This work is a partial translation of a much longer compilation by the author. For the sake of brevity, I have only mentioned one narration for each section of the text. In the original there are anywhere from a single narration to several narrations in each section, for a total of sixty-six narrations in the entire collection.
In the end of the famous poem of al-Imam al-Sayyid Abu al-Barakat al-Dardir The Illustrious Pearl the author addresses the foundations of spiritual rectification according to the teachings of Islam. The author himself was a well-known and respected scholar, worshipper of the highest caliber, and a man of tasawwuf.[1] Among the things that he addresses in this section is a commentary on the qualities of a true Shaykh.[2]
There is much conversation in the American Muslim community around the idea of fake shaykhs and cases of spiritual abuse. As such we felt that this small section may be valuable for those who understand the need for spiritual mentorship, but also recognize the very real potential dangers in such a relationship.
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[1] As a community we need not fear the word tasawwuf. In fact, this term and idea existed in the dictionary of Islamic terminology from very early on and was embraced, within the guidelines of aqidah and sharia, which will come, by Muslim scholarship. Deviations and excesses from those who claim a connection to tasawwuf do not take away from the truth of the concept and its centrality to how we understand our faith.
[2] “Shaykh” refers here to someone who is able to provide spiritual guidance and rectification for his or her followers, not what we commonly call anyone who has a college level Islamic education.