Second Encounter
Bism Allah,
looks like it’s been a week since I last posted, since my previous post was from last friday about how I saw Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl at the mosque next to my place but didn’t speak to him. Well, I decided to go to the same mosque again this week to see if he’ll be there, and he was! In fact I entered the mosque right behind him. The khutba had started so I couldn’t talk to him until after the prayers. First I approached the young guy (well, probably my age), who was with him, and asked him about the professor’s health and how he’s doing. He told me that he’s good and that he’s staying here for the summer and took me to talk to him (they were on the way out to their car). So I did go and talk to him. I’m leaving Cairo on sunday for the rest of summer, after which he will be going back to UCLA so I knew this would probably be the last time I see him (for now, inshalla). But I told him that I attended his lectures at AUC that I’m thinking about getting a degree in Islamic Law and he told me about the best 4 places in the world that I could go to. Well, the four best professors in the world that I could go to, each at a different university. It’s not about the university but about the professor. For example I told him where I was thinking about going, and he told me that the famous professor in Islamic Law there might move from there to go somewhere else, so that there would be no point in going to that university if he’s not there anymore, and should go to the university that he will move to. This meeting, therefore, might have saved me from going to the wrong country, because that professor has not told anyone yet about his plans to move, and now I know that I might not want to go to the university he’s leaving, where I was thinking about going.
I’m very thankful to Allah for having provided me this meeting with the professor, both for all that he told me about where to go, and for meeting Professor Abou El Fadl himself. He seemed like such a nice guy, and inshalla I will meet him again sometime. Too bad I want to avoid going to the States, otherwise I might have applied to go learn with him.
Alhamdulilah, wassalam.
July 26th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
can u tell us what professors did he recommend ?
July 27th, 2006 at 9:55 am
bism Allah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim wa bi-hamdih
(i get all kinds of weird paranoid thoughts of possible things that might happen if i mention things someont told me when he doesnt know i will mention them to someone else).
i guess i could.
Wael B. Hallaq currently at McGill.
Hossein Modarressi at Princeton.
himself at UCLA (well he never said “me” he just said UCLA).
Mohammad Hashim Kamali at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.
wassalatu wassalamu alaa sayyidina Muhammad.
lol. i’m crazy.
July 27th, 2006 at 11:13 am
Thank you, I follow Dr Fadl’s works very closely and was very interested to know his recommendations for professors. I have actually read many articles by Wael Hallaq. I highly recommend his works on the nature and history of usul-ul-fiqh to anyone.
July 29th, 2006 at 9:05 am
I am now curious as to which one is moving, as it may also affect my (very distant) future plans too! I feel bad about his health, may Allah grant him Shifa.
Salams! :-)
July 29th, 2006 at 9:28 am
agnibeena- hallaq is quite good, altho i only read a very small part and forgot it already. i plan to read some of his work soon inshalla.
dezhen- there’s a hint in my above comment on who might move.
November 15th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
Interesting he mentioned Modarressi. I was checking out Dr. Fadl on the web and came across this:
http://www.law.upenn.edu/alumnijournal/spring2004/feature2/el_fadl_03.html
“TEACHING ASSISTANT. Department of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University. Assisted Professor Hossein Modarressi in teaching a course entitled “Introduction to Islamic Law,” Spring 1995.”
Apparantly Dr. Fadl first studied under and then assisted Dr. Modarressi. Now I’m REALLY curious about Dr. Modarressi. Anyone know where he’s teaching at now?
November 15th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
Actually I just found this from Dr. Fadl’s book “REBELLION AND VIOLENCE
IN ISLAMIC LAW”. In the preface:
http://assets.cambridge.org/052103/0579/frontmatter/0521030579_frontmatter.pdf
“Over the years, I have accumulated such an enormous debt of gratitude that I fear that I will never be able to repay it. First and foremost, I thank Professor Hossein Modarressi, my thesis advisor at Princeton, mentor, and inspiration. I owe everything to him, and the value of his guidance has been immeasurable in all my work. He is truly a boundless fountain of knowledge, and I regret that this book will not reflect his level of depth and exactitude. At Princeton, I had the privilege of working
with a group of inspiring scholars. I thank Professors Abraham Udovitch, Andras Hamori, Carl Brown, and Richard Falk for their feedback and valuable insights. My special thanks to Professor Michael Cook who is the living embodiment of what a true scholar and teacher should be….”
Princeton is DECKED with scholars it seems. Lucky Princeton students….
November 16th, 2006 at 9:55 am
yeah im pretty sure he’s still in princeton. dont know much about him.