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Both These Lights — Study Sessions

Welcome to the study notes for Both These Lights (كِلَا هَذَيْنِ النُّورَيْنِ), a series that studies a book by Dr. Abdul Rahim about the famous hadith of Umm Salama (رضي الله عنها) recounting the early Muslim migration to Abyssinia (Habasha). The title comes from the Najāshī's remarkable declaration — after hearing Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib recite from Sūrat Maryam — that the Quran and the original Injīl are both lights emanating from the same divine niche.

The book follows Dr. Abdul Rahim's established method: grammatical and morphological analysis of classical Arabic prose, using Quranic examples to anchor every grammar point. Students read the English companion text as preparation; the class then works directly through the Arabic, building the skill of reading Arabic explanation in Arabic.

Study Sessions

  • Session 1 — Book introduction; migration to Habasha narrative begins; vocabulary: زَوْج، أَدَم، رَجُلَيْن، نَجَاشِي; grammar: لَمَّا, كَان وأخواتها, زَوْج as gender-neutral
  • Session 2 — سَأَلَ (question vs. asking for something); لَمَّا rules: five types of jawāb
  • Session 3 — فِي meaning "about/because of"; istithnaʾ (exception) as ḥāl; jama after nakira; continued page 2 reading
  • Session 4 — ضَمِير الشَّأن; verb دَخَلَ and preposition rules; لَام الأمر; إِذَن conditions; Quraysh envoys bribe Najāshī's generals
  • Session 5 — إِذَن: three conditions for making muḍāriʿ manṣūb; لَام الأمر with sukūn; ها التنبيه; vocabulary: مُصحَف، أُسقُف; Muslims resolve to speak the truth
  • Session 6 — إِذَن exceptions; omission of jawāb al-shart; مَا الظَّرفيَّة; Jaʿfar's speech to Najāshī: life before and after Islam
  • Session 7 — Three types of حَتَّى (jārrā, ʿāṭifa, ibtidāʾiyya); introduction to مُتَعَلِّق; vocabulary: عَفَّ، أَصنَام
  • Session 8 — مُتَعَلِّق with اسم فاعل، مصدر، اسم تفضيل; أَمَر and omission of bā; Najāshī weeps hearing Sūrat Maryam; "both these lights from the same niche"
  • Session 9 — مُتَعَلِّق with hidden khabar; مِن الزيادة (extra min); لَام المُزَعلَقة; jawāb al-qasam rules
  • Session 10 — نَعت حقيقي vs. نَعت سببي (indirect adjective); Najāshī's verdict and the rejoicing of the muhājirūn; rival claimant to the throne
  • Session 11 — حال سببي (indirect ḥāl); vocabulary: سَبَّابَة، غَرَامَة، رِشوَة; Zubayr swims the Nile with good news
  • Session 12 — إِن meaning "even if"; فَاء السببية; مفعول مطلق; مفعول لأجله; تمييز; conclusion of the hadith text; ismul-makan from derived forms