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Virtues of al-Sham & Damascus
This 2 week course will be a journey through selections from IGP's new book The Virtues of al-Shām & Damascus, known in Arabic as Fada'il al-Shām wa-Dimashq. This text offers a glimpse of this sacred region's relevance and continued significance. This work situates al-Shām within the broader framework of Muslim belief and the Prophetic inheritance, examining the role of al-Shām as a central locus of faith, resilience, and divine blessing.
This course will proceed with a close reading of many of the 118 narrations that make up this text. Through these reports, students will gain a new perspective on the unique virtues of al-Shām, including its designation as a land of divine mercy, a refuge of the righteous, and a site of eschatological significance, as well as a land cherished by Messenger of Allah ﷺ, graced by angels, and preserved by the piety of its inhabitants.
By Allah's bounty, generosity, and grace, this work was translated, edited, and typeset on the day of the liberation of Damascus. In this present historic moment, this course will help students to place current and unfolding events in the context of the sacred tradition of the Ummah. Through studying these sacred reports, it is hoped that we may ask Allah to bless the people of Shām, accept the sacrifices of their martyrs, aid them in their next steps, and grant them peace and prosperity in this life and the Next.course description here
SHaykh
Shams Tameez
Shaykh Shams Tameez is a graduate of UK-based seminary Jamia al-Karam and Cambridge Muslim College. After graduating from CMC’s Diploma in Contextual Islamic Studies and Leadership, he worked as an imam at Aylesbury Mosque in Buckinghamshire before embarking on further studies in Istanbul with the Istanbul Foundation for Research & Education, CMC’s partner institution in Turkey, where he studied Turkish and logic.
He currently resides in Malaysia.
Patrick Jones - Course author