Abdassamad Clarke

Abdassamad Clarke is a scholar, author and commentator from Ulster and was formally educated at Edinburgh University in Mathematics and Physics, and in Cairo in Arabic and tajwid and other Islamic sciences. He accepted Islam at the hands of Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi in 1973. In the 80s he was secretary to the Imam of the Dublin Mosque Shaykh Yahya Muhammad al-Hussein, and he has been imam khatib of the Norwich Mosque, from 1991-1993 and from 2002 until the present.

In Dublin, he wrote as a freelance journalist for the the Irish Times, Irish Press and Sunday Press writing on Islam, the Middle East and other issues, for The Phoenix which published his satire on Salman Rushdie and an article on Mary Robinson, the then President of Ireland, and her links to the Tri-Lateral Commission, for Common Ground to which he contributed a series of articles on banking, usury, and their history and alternative currencies, and for The Aisling to which he contributed an article on Ivan Illich.

Since then he has continued to write longer and shorter pieces on contemporary issues, and his writings are published regularly on-line at the Muslims of Norwich, the Norwich Conference Network, the Open Trade Network and his own blog and he continues to contribute shorter posts regularly online through a variety of social media including Facebook.

Translations

In collaboration with Jakob Werdelin, Abdassamad and his wife Suád Østergaard completed the translation of some suras of the the Qur’an into Danish, the first volume of which comprising Surat al-Fatihah, Surat al-Baqarah and Surah Ali ‘Imran, was published as Den gavmilde Qur’an: en fremlægning of de tre første suraer by Havens Forlag of Copenhagen.

Among his unpublished translations are the Sciences of Tafsir comprising portions of Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi’s Qur’anic commentary at-Tashil li ‘ulum at-tanzil, in particular his introductory sections on the essential elements of the sciences necessary for tafsir.

Works Edited

  • Islam: Its Basic Practices and Beliefs, Shaykh Abdalhaqq Bewley, Ta-Ha Publishers, (including typesetting and layout)
  • Aisha Bewley’s translation of Ibn Hajar’s abridgement of al-Mundhiri’s at-Targhib wa’t-Tarhib (including typesetting and layout),
  • her translation of Imam an-Nawawi’s Riyad as-Saliheen (including typesetting and layout),
  • Ibn Taymiyyah’s The Noble Words: Remembrance and Prayers of the Prophet Muhammad (al-Kalim at-Tayyib) all of the above for the UK Islamic Academy (including typesetting and layout),
  • Dr Asadullah Yate’s translation of al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah, published by Ta-Ha Publishers of London (including typesetting and layout),
  • and The Islam of the School of Madina, Dr Asadullah Yate’s translation of Mufeed al-‘Ibad Sawaa’un al-‘Akifu feehi wa’l-Bad by Shaykh Ahmad ibn al-Bashir al-Qalaawi ash-Shinqeeti, in commentary on the Murshid al-Mu‘een published by Diwan Press (including typesetting and layout),
  • the translation of Imam an-Nawawi’s Kitab al-Adhkar for Turath Publishing,
  • Ustadh Tahir al-Kiani’s translation of Mukhtasar al-Quduri on Hanafi fiqh for Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.
  • A Social History of Education in the Muslim World by Dr. Amjad Hussain for Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.
  • Illuminating the Darkness by Habeeb Akande for Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.
  • Basic Qur’anic Arabic Grammar by Dr. Jamal-un-Nisa bint Rafai for Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd. (including typesetting and layout)
  • The Qur’an: Translation and Study, Juz 1, Juz 2-3, Juz 4 and Juz 30 by Dr. Jamal-un-Nisa bint Rafai for Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd. (including typesetting and layout)
  • The Fiqh of Medicine by Ahmed Abdel Aziz Yacoub for Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd. (including typesetting and layout)

Authorship

In 2008, his revision of ‘Abd ar-Rahman I. Doi’s Shari‘ah: Islamic Law was published by Ta-Ha Publishers. It contains a great deal of revision of the original text, including sourcing all of the hadith and texts cited originally, in addition to a substantial amount of new translations, in particular from al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah of Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi and the tafsir of al-Qurtubi (including typesetting and layout).

He is author of a number of children’s books (including typesetting and layout), all published by Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.:

  • The Year of the Elephant,
  • The Great Victory and
  • The Last Battle all of which are on the sirah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
  • as well as

  • The Story of Stories about the Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, in which he drew a great deal on the commentary of Ibn Juzayy, may Allah be merciful to him.

NOTE: Abdassamad Clarke has never been co-author with Harun Yahya in any of his books. He has edited some of Harun Yahya’s books which were published by Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.

He has also a number of poems, including God is Dead published in the Minaret journal of Stockholm, Sweden, and an as-yet unpublished collection of short stories called Tales Are Like That, and a novel called The Wings of the Butterfly.

Typesetting and Layout

In addition to typesetting the works noted above:

Abdassamad is a teacher of both adults and children in Qur’an recitation (tajwid) and meanings, Arabic language and the deen in general, having organised and taken part in a conference under the auspices of Islamic Events of London on the History of the Islamic Khalifate, and having given discourses in Peterborough, Cambridge, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Copenhagen, Jena, Stockholm, Lancaster, Manchester, Leicester and the University of Fez. He has regularly taught at the series of Deen Intensives organised by the New Muslims Initiative in Norwich. He is currently a director of Diwan Press and the Dean of the Muslim Faculty of Advanced Studies.

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27 Comments

  1. wa alaikum as-salam,

    Thank you for this. It seems to me that he doesn’t see how much banking has taken over the state. He wants to reform via legislation but those people are not going to allow that to happen.

    Abdassamad

  2. Assalam-u-alaykum!

    I couldn’t locate Mr. Abdassamad’s email due to which I am posting in comments. I want to know the name and details of the English version of Complete Malik’s Muwatta and not abridged version translations or versions mentioning Hadith only and not comments. There were cases where despite quoting Hadith with impeccable Isnad, Malik had rejected putting the Hadith into practice. So what is the original Maliki Fiqh book by Malik which gives rulings according to Amal of Madina and not simply ives translations of Hadith of Muwatta.

  3. Wa alaikum as-salam,

    The version of complete translation of the Muwatta is that done by Aisha Bewley and Yaqub Johnson.

    There is no original fiqh book by Malik such as you mention, but there are books by followers of Malik which detail his positions in fiqh, the most famous of which is the Mudawwanah of Sahnun. It is a very large book in Arabic and is as yet not translated. Maliki fiqh books draw on this material transmitted from Malik. The most famous early work of Maliki fiqh is the Risalah of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani.

    Abdassamad Clarke

  4. As-salamu ‘alaykum, Sidi Abdassamad,

    Would you be able to provide the Arabic of the Hadith al-Qudsi in Ibn Rajab’s Compendium of Knowledge and Wisdom (p. 317-18), which you translate as: “Allah says: There are some of My slaves whose iman will never be right except through poverty, and if were to be expansive towards them it would ruin them. There are some of My slaves whose iman will never be right except through wealth, and if I were to impoverish them, it would ruin them. There are some of My salves whose iman will never be right except in good health and if I were to make them ill, it will ruin them. There are some of My slaves whose iman will never be right except through illness and if I were to make them healthy it would ruin them. There are some of My Slaves who seek to enter by a door of worship and I prevent them from that so that conceit doesn’t enter them. I manage the affairs of My slaves by My knowledge of what is in their hearts. I am All-Knowing, All-Aware.”

    May Allah reward you abundantly.

  5. wa alaikum as-salam,

    Here it is from a digital edition of the book:

    ?????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????? ??????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???? ???????? ????? ?????? ??????

  6. REQUEST TO ADMIN (OR TO BROTHER ABDASSAMAD CLARKE)

    Assalaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi ta’ala wa barakatuhu!

    I wish to purchase a few works by Brother Abdassamad Clarke in any format, and if possible be sent his Email .

    Jazaakum Allahu Khayran

    Basheer Ahmad

  7. wa alaikum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

    Sidi Basheer,

    Thank you for your request. I have no real authorship of my own apart from the four children’s books and my articles and various forewords for books I have translated.

    The translations I have done are available largely from Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., who also have the book Shariah of which I am co-author of the second edition, and Turath Publishing Ltd.

    All the best,

    Abdassamad

  8. Dear Brother Abdassamad

    Assalaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi taa’ala wa barakatuhu!

    Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to correspond with you by Email.

    I have sent you an Email with a request, but you have no obligation to reply. At 65, and as a father and grand father, I know how we can be busy with domestic life, even with one son and two grand daughters. My Christian Brother Mark Glenn from Idaho has nine children, but Allah is always All Merciful. Mark lost his journalist job at the American Free Press because he was defending the Truth and Muslims and Islam. Recently, his close friend Michael Collins Piper was forced to leave too!

    ( http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/ )

    Even though he has been very ill these past days, Mark has still managed to carry on with his postings and interviews which are all available free online.

    May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala bless you and your loved ones.

    Basheer

  9. Assalaam ‘Alaykum,

    I was wondering if I can meet Shaykh ‘Abdassamad Clarke when I am in the U.K. [I live in Canada]?

    Also, is the Shaykh translating anything at the moment. Verily ya Shaykh, we cannot return the favour you’ve done to us except by Du’aa and Khidmah of you; JazaakAllaah for all the favours. Aameen

  10. wa alaikum as-salam,
    Sidi Abdullah,
    It would be a pleasure to meet. Come up to Norwich if you can.
    As to present work, Ahkam as-Suq by Yahya ibn Umar al-Andalusi, and a commentary on the Burdah by Ibn ‘Ashur al-Jadd.
    Du’a is much appreciated. Jazaka’llah khayran.
    Wa’s-salam
    Abdasamad

  11. Salaam!

    Is it true that some of the Hadith in Malik’s Muwatta are not practicied in Maliki fiqh, and if so why Muwatta English translations are available freely online and being spread more instead of Fiqh documents, i.e. no document on details of Malik’s fiqh are available in English, even Mudawwana is not available online in English to my knowledge. I know Madinan Amal is superior to Ahad Hadith in Maliki fiqh but today’s Maliki scholars also are themselves promoting Hadith more online. e.g. Sister Ayesha Bewley on her website contains neither her complete translation of Qur’an, nor Mudawwana, but only Malik’s Muwatta and Bukhari (her site contains other material, but I am referring to source material only). Kindly share your detailed analysis on this issue.

  12. Wa alaikum as-salam,

    Notwithstanding the known preference for the ‘amal in the school of Madinah it should not be forgotten that Imam Malik is among the foremost of the hadith narrators according to everyone. His transmissions are unequalled, and respect for the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is very important to us.

    Yes, it is true that sometimes hadith are not acted upon, partially or entirely, and sometimes that is obvious from the rest of the chapter in which it is located, and sometimes it is known from outside the Muwatta, such as from the Mudawwanah. Sometimes the scholars of the school of Madinah – before Imam Malik, he himself and his followers – narrated hadith in order to make absolutely clear that they knew the hadith that were narrated on an issue and did not issue contrary judgements out of ignorance of the hadith.

    There are actually a few works on Maliki fiqh available. On-line, for example there is the Risalah of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani at Aisha Bewley’s website: http://bewley.virtualave.net/Risalatitl.html

    Diwan Press (www.diwanpress.com) will soon be publishing a number of dedicated works on Maliki fiqh including two commentaries on al-Murshid al-Mu’een by Abdalwahid ibn Ashir, one a very useful and concise contemporary one by Shaykh Ali Laraki and the other a much larger work by al-Qalawi ash-Shinqeeti insha’Allah.

    Wa’s-salam,

    Abdassamad
    Wa’s-salam,

    Abdassamad

  13. Salam. In the article you mentioned this “Aisha Bewley’s translation of Ibn Hajar’s abridgement of at-Targhib wa’t-Tarhib”

    Is it translated in english? Can you please guide me where i can buy this book in english

    Jazaka’Allah

  14. wa alaikum as-salam,

    This was work undertaken by the UK Islamic Academy but I do not think they have ever published it. Perhaps if you made enquiries it might provide an impulse to stir them to publish it.

    Abdassamad

  15. Jazaka’Allah khair for quick reply. Inshallah i will email them about it. Just another quick question-From above “the translation of Imam an-Nawawi’s Kitab al-Adhkar for Turath Publishing’

    Has turath publication published this book? Because i can’t see it on their site. The existing translation(from another publishing) is very poorly translated(also skipping few paras) Please do let me know where can i find it

  16. In general, the publishers are the best people to speak to about all these things. The Turath edition has involved numerous exceptional translators and editors and will be produced to a high degree of excellence. It is on its way now.

  17. Salaam!

    I have set up a page for Translators’ Profiles via comments on

    http://revivearabic.blogspot.com/p/translators.html

    Aim being getting translators price per page and then getting sponsorship for translation work. 1st target Lisaan ul Arab Roots starting with last 8 Arabic Letters used in The Qur’an.

    If interested , you can post comment on the above link, as I am more interested in experienced translators.

  18. Asalamu Alaikum

    Respected Shaykh
    I hope that you are well. I have read your book on banking: it was well written and I enjoyed it. Please could you tell me your thoughts on the following:
    1. On bitcoin… Is it another form of “fiat evil”.
    2. Buying diamonds or property instead of Gold?

    Shukran, May Allah SWt protect and bless you. Please email me your thoughts…

    Shukran
    Zaheer Bhayat

  19. Wa alaikum as-salam Zaheer,

    1. Yes, Bitcoin in my view is clearly a fiat, but a rather strange one. Some think that the underlying technology may be of some benefit, but I am unsure.

    2. Diamonds are a very bad idea. Their value is grossly inflated by the simple expedient of hoarding vast amounts of them and keeping them out of the market. If those hoards were released the average diamond would be worth no more than $5. In principle there is nothing wrong, but in practice they are a very bad investment.

    Warmest regards,

    Abdassamad

  20. Salam Dear Honourable Shaykh,

    Which parts of the Kitab al-Adhkar did you translate? I understand that this website states that you edited the above work, but my copy includes you as one of the translators.

    Jazakum Allahu kharyan,

    Imad

  21. Wa alaikum as-salam,

    The Adhkar was a complex work involving a lot of different people, and now I am not quite sure what I did. Doing some other tasks, I discovered considerable passages that had not been translated, which the publishers asked me to attend to. So in addition to my other tasks, I was also one of the translators.

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