It has long been a custom in the Islamic world to compose collections of 40 Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad) for believers to memorize. Thread for the the era of Covid.

The most famous perhaps that of the thirteenth century Shafi’i jurist al-Nawawi, which I use in teaching. https://t.co/RUmOoPHFmu
Collections of Prophetic traditions also exist for specific subjects or according to specific transmitters. And, separately, since the beginning of Covid, Muslim jurists the world over have been handing down legal opinions (fatwa/fatawa) on how best to respond.
Most recently, and the first such collection I have seen since the spread of Covid, the South African Shafi’i mufti Taha Karaan published a collection of hadith dealing with epidemics along with his own extensive comments. https://t.co/lblY0TtHKu
The collection is fascinating for various reasons, both for the degree that it builds on premodern hadith commentaries and that which it presents a new synthesis of premodern views. If you’re interested in the premodern stuff, check out my book. https://t.co/BjXSJiBsP6
MT Karaan builds on the consensus of a wide variety of Sunni thinkers going back to Ibn Qutayba in the ninth century to explain those hadith that could be read as denying contagion or downplaying the risk of interacting with the sick.
His theological views here are Ash’ari and occasionalist, meaning that he believes (and cites al-Ghazali and others) that God creates the world at each and every moment and that while there is no secondary causality, God’s creation has a habitual order to it that we can rely on.
He uses the term “normative” to refer to this order, referring here to God’s norm, and his insistence on this issue — bolstered by his inclusion of the famous “Trust in God but tie your camel first” hadith helps forward his larger argument:
That Prophetic tradition contains a comprehensive view of how to fact epidemic disease, including Covid, that entails believing that God causes everything, that all diseases have cures, and that those who die of Covid (like plague) will be martyrs and go straight to heaven.
This last claim is his most innovative in that the premodern tradition only plague results in martyrdom. I presume that this elevation of Covid to the level of plague reflects the degree of concern it has caused within the South African Muslim community.
I anticipate that this collection will not be the last such collection, and assume that we will see more appear in other parts of the world.
May be of interest to @FancyNahyan @elainevdalen @monicaMedHist @mmelvink

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Tripundra Dhaaran - Paapa Vimukti

Our generations are fascinated about Tripundram being just a religious symbol. There are in depth meanings of such a Tilak on a Seeker's Forehead


The very first mistake is the way it is applied.

Tripund isn't applied with dry Bhasm, it should be made wet and then applied in a prescribed manner with proper use of fingers and direction of application. Bhasm is collected from various sources


The most important ones mentioned in upanishats are 1. Yagnya Kund Bhasm 2. Bhasm made from Cow's Dung alone. A special agnihotram was perform to save the Bhasma after that for Dhaarana. A major mantra while applying bhasm is Mrutyunjaya Mantra


Dwijas have a very long process of applying the Tripundram along with their Sandhyavandanam. For commoners there are some basic rules people have to follow while applying Bhasm


Bhasm Applied in Morning - Should be mixed with water and applied
Bhasm Applied during Afternoon - Should be mixed with Chandan and Applied
Bhasm Applied during and after Pradosh - Should be applied Dry as such

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