Young Caliph Seminar

On the 3rd of October 2010, over 60 youths arrived bright & early on their Sunday at An-Nahdhah Mosque at Bishan. It was for none other than the Young Caliph Seminar organised by Moral Human & Development Society (MHDS). The seminar was targeted at tertiary students and indeed, participants ranged from students studying in polytechnics, junior colleges, higher madrasah & also the Institutes of Technical Education. Ustaz Hasan Saifouridzal started the event by presenting the paper "Do we need to align ourselves to a Mazhab?". It was a thoroughly refreshing & engaging presentation that was given in Malay but interspersed with English & peppered with anecdotes & stories about the Prophet SAW and his Companions. He presented the challenging issue in a manner that was clear & concise, explaining the conditions for ijtihad & the prerequisites of a mujtahid. He also spoke on length about the impermissibility of Do-It-Yourself Fiqh, picking & choosing certain rulings for one's own benefit, but carefully detailed the conditions in which this had to be done, for example performing taqlid to the Hanafi Mazhab during Hajj. The question and answer session that followed his talk was equally engaging & intellectual. Questions were asked about Shi'ism and also why the majority of Singaporean Muslims are of the Shafi'e mazhab, instead of the others. Ustaz Hasan did [...]

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