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TJ Winter (a.k.a. AbdulHakeem Muraad) TJ Winter's deviations are numerous. Below are a few examples of these, which are taken from lectures and articles of his which are present on the internet (on sites run by his sympathisers).  One of these lectures was held in Cambridge about a year ago on Gender in Islaam. First let us examine Mr Winter's understanding of bid'a.  After quoting the hadeeth: "Beware of matters newly begun, for every matter newly begun is innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in Hell." He then goes on to dismiss the stance that every innovation should be rejected, saying: "The classical ulema do not accept such a literalistic interpretation." My question is - which scholar has said this?  Rather this is in opposition to the sunnah and to the narrations of the Companions.  Mr Winter, then goes on to talk about various grades of bid'a, some of which are fardh, and others mustahab - and nowhere did he make the distinction between bid'a in terms of the religion, and that in terms of the language. Furthermore, to emphasize this point, somewhere else he talks of the spiritual director: "offering techniques of dhikr (remembrance)" to his disciple - and it is well known that the sufis engage in their own invented dhikrs. What is astonishing is that normally people who are upon a bid'a try to argue that their deviation is in fact from the sunnah - twisting and distorting the sunnah to their cause.  Mr Winter goes above and beyond this, seeking to justify bid'a in itself.  He should fear Allah, and beware of making himself into a legislator besides Allaah. Next let us look towards what he thinks is the source of regeneration of the Ummah, which time in the Ummah's history should be seen as its 'golden age'.  He says: "At this critical moment in our history, the umma has only one realistic hope for survival, and that is to restore the 'middle way', defined by that sophisticated classical consensus which was worked out over painful centuries of debate and scholarship. That consensus alone has the demonstrable ability to provide a basis for unity." Once again a completely baseless statement.  This is conflict with the Prophet's statement about the best of mankind being the Companions, and is in conflict with Imaam Maalik's statement: "The latter part of this Ummah will not be corrected except by that which corrected its first part." Mr Winter then goes on to display his understanding of where Allaah is, while discussing gender and Muslim metaphysics.  He says: "...the mystics, as immanentists, read it (i.e. gender) into almost everything." Immanentists are those who believe that Allah is everywhere, i.e. immanent in His creation.  He then goes on to say: "The two leading modern scholars of this tradition in Islamic thought are Izutsu and Murata, who have both noted the parallels between Sufism?s dynamic cosmology and the Taoist world view: each sees existence as a dynamic interplay of opposites, which ultimately resolve to the One." This is pure Wahdat-ul-Wujood - the belief of the Hindus.  One may argue, that Mr Winter was only describing these various beliefs and not endorsing them as such.  Then let us look to the context of this talk.  This was a talk given in Cambridge primarily to non-Muslims for the purposes of da'wah.  If one did not endorse such beliefs then why mention them to confuse these people.  Instead one should talk about basic issues, like tawheed and shirk.  Then, if he did mention these issues, why did he not say that these beliefs were wrong, and why did he at no stage say what is the belief of Ahl-us-Sunnati wal-Jamaa'at?  The only conclusion that a reasonable person can make is that he either tolerates these beliefs, or that he actually endorses them.  It seems that it is the latter, and this is supported by the fact that he refers to those propounding these beliefs in the modern age as ?scholars?. On to Allah and gender: "This ?female? aspect of God allowed most of the great mystical poets to refer to God as Layla - the celestial beloved - the Arabic name Layla actually means ?night?. Layla is the veiled, darkly-unknown God who brings forth life, and whose beauty once revealed dazzles the lover. In one branch of this tradition, the poets use frankly erotic language to convey the rapture of the spiritual wayfarer as he lifts the veil - a metaphor for distraction and sin - to be annihilated in his Beloved." That this is entirely in opposition to the Qur'aan, Sunnah and statements of the Companions is hopefully quite obvious.  Note that he refers to these mystical poets as 'great' indicating his approval for what they are upon.  People such as Mr Winter should really fear Allah and beware of inventing lies against Him. Just to nail the final nail in the coffin, Mr Winter goes on to compare the Prophet (s) with Krishna.  He says: "His archetypal celebration of womanhood, his multiple wives, recalls the virility of ... Krishna." For those of you who don't know, one of the stories about Krishna and his 'celebration of womanhood' which the Hindus themselves narrate, is that concerning Krishna and the milkmaids.  Apparently Krishna stole a number of milkmaids' clothes while they were bathing in a river, so that, when they had finished bathing , and had come to shore, they could be seen naked by himself, and by whoever else was in the vicinity.  The Hindus see this as an example of boyish playfulness. Far removed is the Prophet (sallallaahu'alaihiwasallam) from any comparison to such a debased individual.

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1. *Feature Event: Jesus - Word of God* A celebration of the life of Jesus from a Muslim and Christian perspective with recitations, talks, hymns, nasheeds and brunch! Day: Saturday 25th November Time: 2:30-4pm Venue: Great St Mary's (University Church - Market Square) A film that beautifully retells the life of the Virgin Mary up until the birth of Jesus from Islamic sources will start at 1pm. Click here to see attached poster 2. Brothers' Singing Group Date: Monday 20th November Time: 5pm Venue: Sidgwick Prayer room Organised by Shaykh Abdal Hakim, the Brothers' Singing group has been for a couple of years now a fun, enjoyable and worthwhile way to relax and engage in worship. A variety of cultural expressions have been covered including songs of Turkish, Arabic and English origins, and in the past the group has performed in Cambridge and in London. Brothers of ANY level should feel free to come. If you have any questions please email Mohsin at ***** Hope to see you there!