Fatima Elizabeth Archery Club

The Way of Furūsiyyah & Khushdāshiyyah

The Tongue of the Archer 🏹

The archer is trained not only in the discipline of the bow, but in the discipline of the self.
Taybughā warned that anger is the chief cause of low scoring. Arab Archery pairs the archer with caution and patience. Kapur Chand reminds us that mastery cannot be separated from how we treat others, while Roger Ascham recognised that anger harms both judgement and performance.

There is a lesson here beyond the shooting line.
An archer learns when to draw, when to hold and when to release. Speech also requires measure: what to say, when to say it, where to say it, and how to say it.

Disagreement need not weaken Khushdāshiyyah. When expressed with wisdom, proportion and good character, it can strengthen it.

For the accomplished archer does not merely leave better arrows upon the target — they leave a better atmosphere upon the range.

An arrow once released cannot be recalled. Neither can a word.

Good shooting. Good speech. Good character.

The Way of Furūsiyyah & Khushdāshiyyah

Fatima Elizabeth Archery Club — Where History Lives On. 🏹

Congratulations to our new Asiatic & Mediterranean students!

Congratulations to our new Mamluk 'almost' Khushdash Archers! 🏹

Our Archer's qualified under the Mamluk Acadeny curriculum!

They were absolutely fantastic!

🏹 THE COUNCIL OF THE BOW

What happens when Socrates, Shakespeare, Roger Ascham, Muhammad Iqbal, Nana Asma’u, Fatima Elizabeth, Imam al-Ghazali and Taybugha are placed around one table and asked:

Is archery the answer to the modern Western mental health epidemic?

The result is philosophy, history, disagreement, a little mockery… and eventually Taybugha getting tired of everyone talking and taking them to the shooting line. 😄

Across 16 pages, we explore:

🏹 discipline
🧠 attention
🤝 community
📚 knowledge
❤️ the heart and nafs
🎯 purpose
💭 melancholy
⚔️ agency
🌿 belonging
…and the surprisingly profound experience of simply missing a target and trying again.

With a brief appearance from Abu Hashim al-Mawardi, Tahir al-Balkhi and Ishaq al-Raqqi, reminding the Council that before the bow became a philosophical metaphor, it was a method.

The conclusion?

Archery is not a cure for mental illness.

But perhaps it gathers together many of the things modern life has allowed to disappear.

Movement. Attention. Correction. Companionship. Silence. Patient failure. Tradition. Skill. Meaning. Purpose.

And as Taybugha might say:

“You are all still talking.”

Swipe. Read. Argue with them. Then go and shoot. 🏹

The dialogue is an imaginative reconstruction inspired by the historical thought, writings and worlds of the figures represented.

MuhammadIqbal ImamGhazali Shakespeare Socrates RogerAscham NanaAsmau FatimaElizabeth Taybugha HistoryLivesOn

🏹 Archery Sessions: September-December 2026 🏹

Schedule for the next term, September - December 2026, is now available to book on our website.

Sessions include:
• *Mamluk Have-a-Go*
2 hour session

• *Beginners Course (Short)*
6 hours (2 hours per week)

• *Beginners Course (Intensive)*
10 hours (2 hours per week)

• *Independent Archery*
2 hour session

• *Females Only Session: Have-a-Go and Independent Archery*
2 hour session

• *Mamluk Tiraz Grading Exam*

We have *beginner courses* taking place on the following dates:

• Sunday 13th September _(Intensive Course)_
• Saturday 26th September _(Short Course)_
• Saturday 31st October _(Intensive Course)_
• Sunday 8th November _(Short Course)_

*To check the availability and book the sessions mentioned above, see the page below:*
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/fatimaelizabetharcheryclub

(Booking Link in Bio)

Regards,
FEAC Admin

🏹 Three Schools. One Mamluk Tradition.

Taybugha preserves three distinct approaches:

⚜️ Abū Hāshim al-Māwardī — also rendered al-Bawardi
⚜️ Ṭāhir al-Balkhī
⚜️ Isḥāq al-Raqqī — also rendered al-Rafaa

Different structures, draw lengths and anchor points — three approaches within one Mamluk archery tradition.

Don’t copy one pose. Study the three schools.

عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ، قَالَ:

​«بَيْنَمَا أَنَا أَرْمِي بِأَسْهُمِي فِي حَيَاةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِذِ انْكَسَفَتِ الشَّمْسُ، فَنَبَذْتُهُنَّ وَقُلْتُ: لأَنْظُرَنَّ إِلَى مَا يَحْدُثُ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي انْكِسَافِ الشَّمْسِ الْيَوْمَ، فَانْتَهَيْتُ إِلَيْهِ وَهُوَ رَافِعٌ يَدَيْهِ، يَدْعُو وَيُكَبِّرُ وَيَحْمَدُ وَيُهَلِّلُ حَتَّى جُلِّيَ عَنِ الشَّمْسِ، فَقَرَأَ سُورَتَيْنِ وَرَكَعَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ.»

​*(صحيح مسلم: ٩١٣)*

Translation:
'Abd al-Rahman b. Samura said:

During the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I was shooting my arrows in Medina, when an eclipse of the sun took place. I, therefore, threw them away and said, I must see how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) acts in a solar eclipse today. When I came to him, he had been supplicating with his hands, raised, pronouncing Allah-o-Akbar, praising Him, acknowledging that He is One God till the eclipse was over, then he recited two surahs and prayed two rak'ahs.

Sahih Muslim