About Me
Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips is a Jamaican Canadian Islamic Scholar who converted to Islam in the early seventies after journeying from Christianity to Communism. Shortly after his reversion to Islam, he embarked on another journey to the other side of the world seeking Islamic knowledge which took him to Saudi Arabia where he completed a BA in Madeenah, and an MA in Riyadh, then to the University of Wales, UK, where he completed a PhD in Islamic Theology in the early nineties.
After graduation, Dr Bilal became a teacher of Islamic studies for 10 years in an Islamic High School, Manaret Riyadh, and a lecturer of Arabic and Islamic studies in the American University in Dubai, UAE, for another 10 years. During his 10 years in the UAE, he also founded the Islamic Information Center in Dubai, and during his subsequent 6 years in Qatar he was the Islamic consultant for the Islamic Information wing of Sheikh Eed Charity in Doha and founder of the Islamic Studies Academy.
He has written, translated and commented on over 50 published books on various Islamic topics. He has also edited and published the 56 book Eemaan Reading Series for children and presented Islamic programs for a number of years on Riyadh Channel 2TV, Sharjah TV for ten years, as well as Peace TV, Huda TV, Islam Channel, UK, and the Deen Show, Chicago, USA.
In 2000 Dr Philips founded the Islamic Online University offering free Islamic courses and a BA in Islamic Studies to over 20,000 registered students from over 160 different countries world wide. He is also the founder and former head of the Islamic studies department of Preston University (2002), Ajman, UAE, the founder and head of the Islamic Studies Academy (2007), Doha, Qatar, the founder and head of the English medium Islamic studies department of Knowledge International University (2008), Riyadh, and head of the College of Da’wah and Islamic Culture (English Section 2009), Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan.
Most recently, Dr Bilal was appointed the director of PERF [Professional Education and Research Foundation] and supervising director of Preston International College and Al-Fajr International School, Chennai, India.
wa alaykum salaam, Sorry brother. I was in toronto up until a week ago, but since then I returned to Doha, Qatar.
can i know where and all in india you have short courses in islamic studies or learning Quranic arabic like say for 4 to 5 mnth.
Asalaam Alykum bilal philips plz answer this q plz it is very important there are books writen against Abu Haneef(Ra)which says that all other 3 imams called him a lair,dajjal,Kaafir etc.http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fdoc%2F26138641%2FAbout-Abu-Hanifa&h=beba1. and some of our salafs r calling him a kafiir plz help and read those books and reply.
Assalamoalaikum warahmatullah Dr. Bilal
Jazakallah for all your efforts to spread islam the correct way.
I am trying to find an email address to which I can send an invitation to you. But all I found was this comment space here in your blog. I hope you see this message. I am a student in islamic online university.
P.S.
Oh I am glad to see these is moderation for comments. So, I will tell you in brief: My name is Ninevah, I am 23 reverted muslim from Brazil. Our community in Salvador (city) is organizing a Congress, and we are selecting scholars and sheikh whom we can invite to participate in lectures and debates. I suggested your name and showed your work online to the organization cometee and all that is missing now is to make contact with you.
Here are all the contact numbers and addresses you can talk to us:
Centro Cultural Islâmico da Bahia (Islamic Cultural Centre of Bahia)
contact number: +55 71 3241- 1337
e-mail: centroislamicodabahia@hotmail.com
This is our mosque website – http://www.ccib.org.br/ (if you click in “contato” last option on the left side of the page, you can confirm the number and also see where we stay in Salvador)
Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Hameed (our sheikh in Salvador)
contact number: +55 71 8714-4635
e-mail: sheikccib@hotmail.com
Zul Qarnain Ibrahim (organization comitee)
contact number: +55 71 8759-5396
e-mail: algafur_14@yahoo.es or zoukaneri@hotmail.com
Ninevah: +55 71 8714-6558 e-mail: girl_avalon@hotmail.com
We will be very glad if you can contact us, inshAllah ta’ala
Assalam aleikum Dear Sheikh!
I got introduced to a woman who said to me that she did “sahada” infront of her ex boyfreind who is a muslim,but he is not following islam properly.Now,does she need to repeat again sahada? if there is no mosque closer to her,can she do it through telefon to a muslim?
Jazakhallahu hairan!
wa alaykum salaam,
Its better she does it in some official body where some records are kept. Otherwise, before any practising Muslims is sufficient. It could even be done over the telephone, internet, sms, etc.
wa alaykum salaam,
The responsible people can contact me at aabphilips@gmail.com or bilal17@bilalphilips.com
In the meantime, please spread the word about the islamic online university (www.islamiconlineuniversity.com) for those who know english to study free online from their homes.
was salaam
wa alaykum salaam,
My book, The Evolution of Fiqh, presents Imaam Abu Haneefah in a proper light, so I would advise those interested to read it, in shaa Allaah. Furthermore, if those claims were true, why would the likes of Imaam Shaafi’ee study under Imaam Abu Haneefah’s students? And why would Imaam Maalik accept Abu Haneefah’s student, Muhammad ash-Shaybaanee, to study under him?
thanks for u response but the thing is they say that Tareek bgahdadi was a great salaf and he wroted that in his book.
3. “Ahmad bin Hassan Tirmidhi quotes I heard Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal say that Abu
Hanifa is a liar”.
Source: Tarikh al Baghdad Volume 13 page 418
15.Another classic Hanafi Fatwa Baghdadi records this fatwa of Imam Abu
Hanifa:That if anyone worships his shoe in order to get close to Allah (SWT) it is not a
sin. The Ahlul Sunnah deems this clear kufr.
Source: Tarikh Baghdad Volume 13 page 372.
i know abu haneefa is clean but what about Tareek baghdadi can u tell me some thing about him they say he is one of the greatest scolars never heard of him before?
they also qouted from the book of imam ahem.
Awzai said when he heard the death of imam Abu Hanifah : Glory to the one
who made him dead, because he was destroying Ura of Islam, urwah by Urwah
(Alhamdulilah Lazi AmatahuFa Inahu Kana Yanqudhu ‘ura Al islami Urwatan
Urwatan)
Source: Kitab Sunnah Volume 1, Page 207
Hammad ibn Salamah said about Abu hanifah : Abu Jifah (father of dead animal).
Source: Kitab Sunnah Volume 1, Page 211
and they also quoted from bukari.
61.Ibn Mubarak said that there was no better place for him on earth than majlis of
Sufyan thawri, if you wanted to see him praying you would see him praying, if you
wanted to see him in zikr you would see him and when we wanted to see him in deep
fiqhi masail we would see him, but when I went in the majlis (of Abu Hanifah), I don’t
remember him praying on the Prophet (SAW) ( meaning quoting ahadith)
Source: Tarikh Kabeer of Bukhari Volume 2, Page 92
Tareekh Sagheer Page 182.
plz help i know he abu hanifa is clean so can u tell me somthing about these books kitab al sunnah and tareek baghdadi.
The short courses are online at http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com for free. You can join them at your own leasure and work at them whenever you feel like doing so.
Hi Dr. Philips
I’m from Iran and I just saw a YouTube video in which you criticized Shiites for believing in the infallibility of Imams and prophets. I’ve got some questions about it:
1. What Shiite scholars tell us is that Imams are given the complete knowledge of everything by Allah’s own will in order to show us humans the true path, and they say it has nothing to do with Shirk because their knowledge is a from Allah and not a knowledge separate from him. What do you think?
2. About the infallibility of prophets and Imams, they say how could we be sure that Allah’s message is not distorted by ( for example ) prophet Muhammad if he’s not infallible?
Thanks in advance for your response.
salaam alaykum Mohsin,
Regarding absolute knowledge, this belongs to Allah alone; it is one of his unique attributes. He stresses in the Qur’aan in so many verses that He alone knows the time of the Last Hour, etc., etc. and has the Prophet (pbuh) say, “If I knew the unseen, I would have gathered more good for myself…”. This claim has the Imaams (pbuh) sharing Allah’s knowledge of everything, which is the ESSENCE OF SHIRK. If you can claim this is not shirk, then you can claim anything for humans saying that they were given the attributes of Allah. For example, we could say that so-and-so has all of the attributes of Allah, making him a defacto God worthy of worship, but it is not shirk, because Allah gave him the attributes.
Secondly, infallibility is another of Allah’s attributes. The message was not distorted because Allah protected it, as He stated in the Qur’aan itself “Indeed I revealed the Qur’an and I will protect it.” Not because the Prophet (pbuh) was infallible. Furthermore, there are so many verses and narrations which confirm errors of the Prophet (pbuh) and his correction that we from the People of the Sunnah, have no doubt about the fallability of the Prophet (pbuh). And if all of the prophets were fallible, what about Adam? Didn’t he make an error?
salaam alaykum.
I’m sorry I don’t have that information. However, if you contact the university which I set up in Chennai, perhaps they will be able to inform you or at least guide you to the right people. See: http://www.prestonchennai.ac.in
Calling first and foremost to Tawheed and educating people about its implications in their lives.
salaam alaykum.
The main da’wah of the prophets was to Tawheed and its application in life. But it was based on knowledge accepted sincerely and acted upon.
It is best to learn the religion from reliable sources well. That knowledge will be a guide for you in life, if you are sincere. It will help you to know which groups are best to work with and which are not. So, join the http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com and learn your religion. Let that be your focus. Also, keep friends with those who fear Allah as much as possible; read the Qur’aan often and frequent the Mosque as much as possible.
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu ya Doctor.
May Allah reward you for all the good you have been doing and all the good you intend to do. May He preserve you.
I intend to establish an Islamic FM in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria but I later realised that the law doesn’t permit religious radio stations. However, they do allow rebroadcasting from religious stations from other countries. They just don’t want anything from within the country.
Can you recommend any Islamic FM for me to rebroadcast from? My initial intention was to make it a blend of Alafasy TV, Peace TV, and Huda TV. I’m also thinking of establishing one in any of the neighboring countries so I can rebroadcast in Nigeria.
Secondly, I would really like you to establish one or two ISA branches in Nigeria (especially in the south). The ulama of ahlus sunnah wal jama’ah can support you in sha Allah. We would also appreciate it if you can have Dr Zakir bring IIS as well.
Jazakallahu khayr!
Salaam Aalykum brother
What scholars did you study under in Madina and Riyadh?
wa alaykum salaam Brother Bashir,
In Madeenah I studied under Sh. Ghunaymaan (Sr.), Sh Bin Baz, Sh Al-Albaani, Sh Muqbil bin Haadi, Sh Abu Bakr al-Jazaa’iri and others. In Riyadh I studied and translated under and for Sh Bin Baz and Sh Bin Jibreen, studied under Sh Ja’far Idrees, Sh Mustafa Azami, and Sh Farouq al Dasuqi and others. Why do you ask?
wa alaykum salam Brother.
If there are some qualified people who want to establish a branch of my university, please put them in contact with me. In the meantime, http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com is doing the job. Please spread knowledge about it in the country.
Assalamu alaikum,
I recently read the “Reply to critics” section in your website. In that section, you have not explained about the errors or bid’ahs of the group hizb ut-tahrir. I have read many of the books written by Shaykh Taqiuddin-Nabhani, the founder of the group and its other members like “Khilafah is the answer”,”The system of islam”,etc. These books are very strong in the aqeedah and I don’t see any element of bid’ah in them. As you are a more knowledgeable person, I hope you would be able to help me in this regard.
How do you refute this group?
assalam alaikum you had not attended last year peace conference in india 2009 organised by zakir naik and journey of faith this year 2010.some one told me you and zakir naik has got some problem in some issue please clarify me jazkhallah khair.
wa alaykum salaam. I’m not sure about what you are referring to.
Al Salam A’likum Dr. Bilal,
I’m really so happy to find your blog in the internet. I tried to find any means of communication with you. And alhamdul Allah, I got it finally.
Your student,
Mohamed
Salam waraht wabart Sheikh!
i wanted to know how to identify magicians. this guy (he’s a sheikh) seems to be well versed in Quran and hadith but something strange hapnd..and then he said that he has good jinns around him and there’s a tabi’ jin whom he never disobeys.
is it possible for someone to be so knowlegable in islam and be able to recite Quran?
so many strange things hapnd and now i came to know that me and my friend are affected. Allahu ‘Alam if he did something…but the things that he said and asked us..everything seems so strange now…this guy really made us believe so many stuff…and is there any hadith that iron is stronger than the shahadah finger to ward off jin? (he said that most scholars have forgotten this) plz do make dua for us sheikh..i want to live and die on tawhid!
wa alaykum salaam. I advise to and your friend to flee from this “shaikh” the way you would flee from a wild lion. His claims of using or obeying good jinns is enough to know he has deviated. This was not the way of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his leading followers and companions. As to the hadeeth, it is true that the Prophet (pbuh) did say in reference to pointing the finger strongly in tashahhud, that it is stronger against Satan than iron. That is why, we should point firmly during tashahhud in our prayers, and we may also move the finger slowly while pointing to the Qiblah, as it lets people know that we are still praying and prevents them from walking infront of us (as satan encourages people to do). This has not been forgotten at all. May we all live and die on the Taweed of the prophets.
Ahlan wa Sahlan Brother Mohamed. Please try to circulate information about the Islamic Online University so that as many people as possible can benefit from its courses – in shaa Allaah.
Aameen!
SubhanAllah! jazakAllah khair for ur advice… i have no clue what to do…shud we expose him? coz he’s quite well known in the states…and we wudnt have ever come to know this side of his if he dint target us…yes we are under attack and we are alhamdulillah getting ruqyah done…btw he said iron is stronger than the tashahud finger…may AllahSWT protect everyone from the shaytan and his helpers! im very disgusted to know that people can use the Quran and sunnah to fool people and spread evil….cant believe their nerves!
cud it be that this sheikh is possessed and he doesnt know wht he’s doing?? coz he’s really well versed in Quran and hadith!
wht shud we do if he’s tryin to get in touch with us or try to reach us??
plz do pray for us and our families and for the protection of our imaan!
jazakAllah khair!