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(bismillah) salaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam everyone :P I first joined ShiaChat at the beginning of my summer holidays in fact it was the day when the holidays started, due to this ive been online quite alot for all that time and many people may think that this is how it is going to stay because they are so used to me being online quite alot. When I first joined I had already visited for a few months and got help with answers i needed through other members posts but then I had questions which people hadnt posted and I decided to make an account .. also I was eager to get into the chatroom :P On this website I met many people who were kind to me and who helped me solve their problems. There are too many members to name but you all know who your are :D Some of you may know me well and some may not, before I leave I will find out who knows me the most but yh I just wanted to say as holidays are coming to an end my time on ShiaChat could come to an end to. It was nice meeting you all, may Allah (swt) guide us all and keep us on siraatal mustaqeem and give us the intercession of the holy and pure Ahlul Bayt (as) and grant us jannah inshaAllah. If anyone gets annoyed with me then sorry <-- If you dont understand what this means then sorry :wacko: :cry: (wasalam)

A butterfly gently unfurls its wings… The glory leaves you breathless, but only for a moment Snap! Package it, label it, post it online! An innocent child, squinting in amazement at a crawling bug That’s so cute you gush, as you reach for your phone And Snap! Upload and tag it, be right on time! A drunkard man, being a fool Such a waste of intellect and you shake your head Gently though So your video isn’t grainy Myspace and youtube, all in real time! A radiant bride has made her grand entrance Entranced by her beauty, everyone stand Simultaneously reaching for their purses Click! Before I send her a prayer The moment is mine! A lush green forest, in the background a smoky blue mountain You want to exclaim SubhanAllah! But the moment is lost Click! Ah well, I have it in bytes! A learned man, has come from afar Every word he speaks is a pearl I must catch my camel I can hardly wait to leave And go share online! At the sacred ground, I am brought to tears Am I really beholding the Ka’abah in my eyes? Ring! Shush! I’ll call you after tawaaf! Labbayk… Click! Hey I got a close up …Allahumma Labbayk!

awwww, how come your leaving? do you mean your not gna be on as much or ur gna delete ur account? either way il keep u in my duas bro and i hope college goes well insha'Allah :D thank you for all the answers u gave me for my question, i hope Allah showers his blessings on u :) wsalaams

loooooool nah not even this is what they say "you dirty rawafidh ill talk about this topic later on and prove why your wrong" ... 1 week later still no reply ...

If females dressed in hijab really aroused lust in men, they would have put covered up females in those dirty magazines. However it's pretty obvious that such magazines wouldn't sell like the nude magazines do. So whoever thinks that it's possible to equate hijab to non-hijab, think again. Hijab will always put up that barrier against lust.

Or build their house :shaytan:

(salam) These are not loop holes alimohammed. Do you think the temporary nature of muta is a loop hole because there is no such thing as divorce? Here are fatawa from marjas. Women can stipulate conditions in her marriage contract. Men can either accept it or not. If they can't agree on this then maybe it is not such a good idea to get married with such person.

Salams Happy B'day dear brother. May you see many more...... be well..

Another very easy recipe is Bolani. Make the mixture overnight and assemble before going to school. You can fill it with potatoes, pumpkin, spinach, lentils or onions. For potato filling: Boil 2 poatoes and mash them. Add 1 cup chopped green onion and 1 cup chopped green coriander. Add salt+ pepper. Lay this on half of the tortilla and flip it close to form a semi circle. Seal the edges with a paste of flour+water. Fry both sides till brown. Take this to school with a yogurt dip. You can prepare the different mixtures the same way.

That's why we have discussion threads. No scholar did what you're doing. Sayed Sistani himself did not accuse Sayed Khomeini of misguidance because he thinks chess is halal while Sayed Sistani thinks it's haram. Shouldn't we learn from Sayed Sistani's usloob? About the adding Sunni mods or allowing Sunni questions all over forum. It;s a Shia forum, so it's normal Sunni discussions have a subforum-but Shias with different opinions being put in a sub forum??! Sorry but that's unacceptable. If so then the S.Sistani followers should be put in a sub forum because we believe something are haraam while the followers of S.Fadhlullah think it's halal and then the followers of S.Khamanei should be in a separate sub forum too and so on? When one scholar think something is halal and another thinks is haraam does that mean one "accused" the other of being a liar? Misguided? Or does it mean they studied and came to different conclusions? It's a Shia forum brother, if it's going to become like this and we can't even handle different views within the same madh-had might as well each have their own forum site named with their-own-scholarchat.com??! They come with their argument and proof, we come with ours and a civil discussion takes place.Simple. Shia chat. Shia forum. Shia discussion. Btw the thread title is REALLY misinforming.

"Silence is the best reply to a fool." - Imam Ali (as)

Salaam the first thing that must happen from both sides and i noticed this problem in you as well is to stop the segregation there is no US VS them we are all US being raised as a muslim myself I generally take the converts more seriously because i say : " there is a bigger chance these guys will give me an unbiased and un-clouded opinion about the truth as they are less likely to have the emotional belonging or the racism side clouding their thought. Their reversion is generally a sign that they have overcome this barrier and have let go of their emotional belongings and have exited their comfort zones to embrace truth. this was my initial thought but then i was shocked by a reality that many reverts are actually not ideologues and many are just for marriage or influence of a group to fit in that group or even some people who became muslims just because they hate the USA as funny as that sounds its true.... it went like this: I hate the USA , the USA hates muslims, so i should be a muslim lol these reverts are no different than born Muslims. I noticed that you also put too much emphasis on the US and them and I know that the other side also categorizes the reverts as if they are another form or something which is very unhealthy. regarding the segregation and the presumptions and prejudgments that reverts face I agree and this disease needs to end. Regarding the questioning of the laws of islam i will tell you that you need to be academic about it officially you can question anything in the universe and even god himself allows us to question his existence infact Islam starts with questioning . There is NO GOD BUT Allah how do you deny other gods if you did not even question and consider them as potential gods and then they failed to satisfy the description of your perceived god and hence you rejected them? so in Islam you start with THERE IS NO GOD which is the process of questioning and rejection the false gods who are limited and finite and lacking and partitioned and do not match the criteria of Divine unity now in islam you have two sections: one section you have to question and analyze and you are forbidden from blindly following the text or even the prophet or the quraan and that part is the fundamentals Usool aldeen its forbidden to imitate in the fundamentals and they must be based on your reason and your innate and established with complete certainty once you establish the fundamentals of religion then part of them is the prophet-hood and the Ismaa (protection from Sin) once you established this with certainty then in the details of the religion you are not supposed to reject the instructions of the prophet because you logically established that he is the masoom from your own reasoning you can question and analyze Foro3 alddeen but you can not reject the text without providing an alternative text so you actually can question the laws by questioning the level of their authenticity and reject laws that you genuinely know are falsely attributed to the prophet but you can not reject a law just because you feel like it and not because of its direct contradiction of Usool aldeen or a basic well established juristic formula . Religion is based on formulas and all of foroo3 aldeen is based on the fundamentals so technically you are able to spot mistakes if an alleged law contradicts Usool aldeen directly or indirectly. There is no problem with this but there is a problem with people who have a certain comfort zones and wish to twist all the laws of religion to stay in their comfort zones with a total disregard for the reasoning and analysis and the rights of the people in which this law was sanctioned for. some reject laws to comply with a made up moral code of a group where going against their moral would constitute political suicide. so the motives are the most important and god will guide those with the right motive to his true laws. . so questioning and analyzing is always good and okay but rejecting and completely relying on analysis is only in usool aldeen this means even if teh prophet hypothetically told you there are two gods you will reject his words but if the prophet hypothetically ordered you to drink alcohol what will you do??? You will drink because that's Foroo3 aldeen In foroo3 aldeen it needs Ijtihad (deriving gods law from its sources) to be able to reject otherwise it would be regarded un-academic and analysis in contradiction to the text (false analysis)

(salam) I believe you two are both totally correct. I wasnt raised as a muslim however I am not a revert, I was born into the shia family and decided to start following with my own decision, (the only islamic thing my parents probably taught me was to say bismillah before eating) and to be honest I dont feel the way you guys do, I mean I have only been following for not even a year and there are muslim reverts who have been following for years probably yet people will most likely be more happy if I got them a hadith or a ruling than if a non muslim revert did (not boasting about myself im a nobody im talking about how some muslims put down reverts) Muslims have to be careful with what they say, like you said you used to question the bible and that is what led you to islam and even in the Holy Qur'an it says : "This is a Book full of Blessings that we have revealed unto you so people ponder upon its verses and men of intellect may reflect. (Quran 38:29) Allah (swt) tells us to use our brains and think and not follow blindly, I think it is good to raise questions to understand what the meaning is, however I do not think that we should just shun what is being said and not believe it because there are stuff that Allah (swt) has wisdom behind that we do not know about such as why we have to pray 2 rakats fajr, 4 for dhuhr, 4 for asr, 3 for maghrib and 4 for isha. May Allah (swt) prevent people from misleading others and taking them away from the path of the pure and holy ahlul bayt (as) and may he keep us all on siraatal mustaqeem and grant us the intercession of the Holy Ma'soom and grant us a station near the pure and holy ahlul bayt (as) inshaAllah (wasalam)

I grew up believing what I read in school which was Islam as how Sunnism sees it. Even history as recorded by Sunnis tells of events of Ali (as) that build up the 'hype'. Events like his killing the pagan champion at Khandak, killing several pagan in duels in almost all of the battles he fought in, leading the charge on Khyber. You find nothing like this for the others, unless the Sunnis are wrong about Ali (as). And Sunni spirituality such as sufism is also built around the sayings of Ali (as). Then you also have the hadith of the cloak and the incident of the mubahila in the Quran etc And as for your inferring that Umar is probably quite brave since no one disputed his leadership quality, I disagree. Umar had a clique behind him as the Saqifa incident and the event of pen and paper shows. In our time there are are plenty of rulers who lack merit but whose leadership the majority does not disagree with because this being in power serves their vested interests. Umar was more of a politician than a warrior. Ali (as) appears to a man who cared less about politicking, too much of an idealist, someone who would be seen as a problem by a wealthy elite. You should bring those narrations and leave the rest to fate. If you are convinced your belief is the truth and we are on falsehood then why not try to sway the faith of others towards what you consider the right path by showing how Umar is the third most meritorious man after Muhammad (pbuh) and Abu Bakr. Remember, I'd like to see this question answered Why are Abu Bakr and Umar better than Ali (as)? Are they stronger than Ali (as)? are they wiser than Ali (as)? Are they closer to Muhammad (pbuh) than Ali (as)?

Didn't know some sickos have animal fetish. But thank you for your support. I would not call it Hijab Fetish, as much. I have more of an appreciation for hijab women. Most of all because they are brave enough in a society which emphasizes so much on women's exploitation based on her bare skin. It's just a plain simple respect sort of every human has for those who stand for their principals not matter what the consequences are.

Not to mention you can't really compare the Bible and the Quran as such. The Bible is a collection of various books while the Quran is a single book. A fairer comparison would actually be the Bible next to the Quran + the ahadith + the seera of the Ma`sumeen. Or alternatively, taking a single book from say the "Prophets" section, like Isaiah, and putting that next to the Quran. Of course, the point isn't about finding which is "better", after all we do affirm and believe in previous revelations, but just to put in context of what you are looking at.

i really should of applied this before taking effort and time to write my response -.- (bismillah)

There is an epidemic for these threads turning into a tennis game. There doesn’t seem to be enough progressive discussion for us all to benefit from. If anyone doesn’t agree then that’s fine, but at least participate by providing the reasoning behind your belief rather than to insult and label. I think it’s a shame for us not to engage in these discussions productively. We should base our comments on the grounds for wanting to learn. I personally don’t like to accept the terms usooli/akhbari, but it’s unfortunate that we live in a world of labels which is essentially to identify their differences. I also think it’s unfair for some individuals to undermine past scholarly works which contemporary scholars by default have to rely on. The main focus for disputes are based on fiqhi issues, which undoubtedly question the adopted methods and practices of our more recent and contemporary scholars. I sometimes feel there is a significant divide between usooli/akhbari on the fundamental belief of’ that which belongs to Allah’ and ‘that which is manifested to his creation’. That which belongs to Allah from many things is his divine sharia, implemented by the last of the Messengers (pbuh) and his 12 successors (as). The sharia is not theirs nor does it belong to them. It is Allah’s adl’ that authority to implement the sharia was entrusted to the Masooms (as), as their purpose as representatives were to establish his command without a change. Their infallibility gave purpose to such responsibility. I will assume to believe most hold the same view. Now, that which is manifested to man is ultimately to obey the command of Allah and to follow the sharia. The problem is with the implementation/understanding of sharia in absence of his appointed authority. Our fast paced society prospected with the possibilities of what science and the modern world offers, has influenced scholars to engage in new ideas that may not have support within Islam or have changed a law which previously was acted upon differently. The scholars who engage in this modern approach feel obliged to take the position of issuing a fatwa/ ruling in the absence of Imam (as). How correct is this method is the central dispute which encompasses most fiqhi differences between the two groups. The classical approach has been based on the understanding that divine order can only be implemented or changed by his appointed authority as they bear the responsibility to carry out Allah’s order. This thought had been widely acted upon in the time after the major occultation. Even when society was met with new ideas, great scholars were reluctant to preach anything more than the quran and hadith. They held the position of hadith explicitly warning them of entertaining new rulings which previously were unheard of. A change in the sharia can only be issued by Allah through the masoomeen as it belongs to him. The contemporary scholars have adapted to a more progressive approach to meet the changes of society. By maintaining a philosophical argument of reason and intelligence and to serve the masses of that which benefits them is the bases for a scholar to pass an order. With the use of Ijtehad a scholar is able to deduce/change a law which has not been previously issued. This approach giving a scholar the ability to make a change to the sharia is a contrast to the classical approach and fairly modern within shia imami history. So there will always remain an ideological difference between the two. Debates on this nature have not been uncommon and students from qom/najaf and syria even today engage in such discussions. We should be proud and privileged to take part in these discussions to further our knowledge and understanding and gain a closer insight to our deen. Let these discussions continue but if we oppose a view presented well then why not present evidence for an argument which nullifies the original view. Also if one has committed to a discussion then one should also prepare to accept/change their view if sufficient argument is presented. Back to Khums Firstly I don’t believe in the permissibility of giving khums other than the Imam or one appointed by him. We have disagreement on the issue, so let it be. Let’s agree to disagree on this matter. I would like to discuss on whom khums belongs to and how it’s distributed and used. In the quran Allah guides us with the following ayat on the issue: [Shakir 8:41] And know that whatever thing you gain, a fifth of it is for Allah and for the Messenger and for the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer the ayat has recognised 6 owners to whom khums belongs, Allah himself The Messenger The near kin Orphans Needy Wayfarer My focus is to look at the ideological approach to this from the various marjas, especially that of the Iranian shia political system. When I look in to their approach I find a strong contradiction. For example: "Khomeini wrote in his book ‘Islamic Government and the rule of the Jurist’: the purpose for the imposition of such a tax (Khums) is not merely the upkeep of the sayyids or the religious scholars, but on the contrary, something far more significant—namely, meeting the financial needs of the great organs and institutions of government. How could the sayyids ever need so vast a budget? It was established with the aim of providing for the needs of the people, for public services relating to health, education, defence, and economic development." from “wilayat al faqih its meaning and scope” From the Islamic point of view there are numerous forms of ownership of property and assets, each subject to different kinds of regulations. For example, Khums and Anfal are considered as government property in the sense that the head of State and the Imam (a.s) of the Muslim Ummah controls them. The head of State is the Imam (a.s) himself when he is present, and his deputy in his absence. This property must be used, first of all, to provide for the expenditure and needs of the officials and employees of the State, and secondly, if anything left over, for the welfare of society, according to the discretion of the Imam (a.s). Agha Makarim Shrazi’s view” “With respect to khums, we know that the share of Imam (A) (sahm-e Imam), which is half of khums, is the financial fund of Islamic seminaries, propagation, and cultural activities and, in general, any religious or scientific activity that requires money; if opponents of the Shi‘a manage to prevent people from paying khums and in particular, the share of Imam then they can reach one of their goals which is weakening our seminaries or changing their path. The first condition of independence of any organization is its financial independence and this matter is executed well in the Shi‘a world because of the Islamic duty of paying khums" The above do not correlate well with Quran/hadith. I would like to establish what kind of parameters is the Iranian shia political system using to implement such a diverse understanding of khums that we have agha Khomaini say ‘Khums is not merely the upkeep of the sayyids’ ‘How could the sayyids ever need so vast a budget’? What is the permissibility of using this divine tax other than what is mentioned in the quran/hadith?

ws Donate to who, and for what?

Shouldn't Hijab be simple?

you cant provide references for a negative, genius. you have made a claim - YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE PROOF OF THIS CLAIM. for eg. you claim that we think the sajdagah is Allah. WHERE IS THE PROOF FROM OUR BOOKS THAT WE BELIEVE THIS? IF THESE BELIEFS ARE NOT FOUND WITHIN OUR SOURCES, WHAT REFERENCES ARE YOU ASKING US TO PROVIDE????? wait a minute. if they cant draw pictures because it is creating, and only Allah can create.... do wahabbis believe making babies is also shirk, since they are "creating" a life? why dont they wait for Allah to make the baby himself?

Hafsa, Please stick to the topic and avoid creating a shia bashing opportunity out of every thread. You are allowed to criticise however firstly you should stick to the actual topic and secondly your criticism needs to be academic and meaningful in nature. If you believe that other members are breaking forum rules, feel free to report them. Seniors, plz keep an eye on all new members and continue to report them if they don't follow above rules. Thankyou

There is a BIG difference between Shia Marjas issuing differing fatwas (called fiqhi ikhtalaf) and someone totally denying Ijtehad and Taqlild. And you said one Marja does not accuse another than why do these fake Akhbaris come here and accuse our scholars of innovation (biddah). why do they say Ijtehad is wrong, Taqlid is biddah, Khums should not be given and so on.Who gave them the right to attack our beliefs or abuse our scholars???

According to the Imams or any other source, what is the best Salawat or Prayers to send upon the Prophet and His Family? In Sunni circles there's a popular one known as Salatul Fatih. O God bless our Master Muhammad (pbuh) who opened what had been closed, and who is the Seal of what had gone before, he who makes the Truth Victorious by the Truth, the guide to thy straight path, and bless his household as is the due of his immense position and grandeur.

yes yes of course. Ashabul muntajabeen. The companions that didnt desert the rightful caliph of the time. Not the other companions who stole the caliph from Imam ALi (as). And pray for those wives that fit the quranic definition in sura tahreem like the example of Maryam (as) and Aasiya bint Muzahim (as) and NOT those wives of the Prophet (pbuh) who fit the description of the wife of Loot (as) and the wife of Nooh (as). we should ask Allah (aj) to send his blessings onthe mother of the women of paradise, Fatima (as) bint Muhammad (pbuh) mother, Khadija bint Khuwaylid (sa). There are companions and wives who deserve the opposite of blessings. They deserve la'nat (a request to Allah (aj) to remove his mercy). But on this site, I cannot mention the names.

I liked it. You have been thinking about death Ya Aba? If only all consciences were so prudent. Mine does not speak - it is like a sense. It does not speak to me but if I transgress - I know it like a bruise. You will need to get a better sense for form or structure - but that comes with practise; although the conversational tone has it's value. Worthy thoughts, worthwhile content is more important than knowing the rulebook too well; being a master of grammar with a wide vocabulary and a firm handle on metre. It is useless to be able to write in Alexandrine hexametres and have nothing to say. You had something to say. That is a good beginning. You shall keep writing poetry? You would not be the first moderator. I remember at least two others who used to post here.

(bismillah) There were actually hundreds of "madhhabs" back in the day. But the `Abbasids were having an annoying and tough time dealing with the fact that whenever a person came to court they would say "I follow fulan's fatawa so blah blah." There's no way to really punish and apply any sort of rules given the super ikhtilaaf those guys had (and still have). So the government say that when you come to court, you will be judged according to one of these 4 (which I assume were most popular around that era). So you choose one and get tried under that school's fatawa and stuff. Government influence. That's all it is. That's all whatever they have is. في أمان الله

(bismillah) The Bohris believe Ramadhan is always 30 days. It's funny cause they usually start Ramadan before everyone else, too. Their calendar is solar (how?). Wallahu a`lam. I don't understand how some of the mutaqadimeen believed it always be 30 days as some people clearly saw the moon after 29 days only. Unless then he'd just say we must have started late... في أمان الله

Read al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

A summary of the original article Ayatollah Sistani's representative visits "The Academy of Rational Philosophy" Ayatollah Sistani's representative in south Iraq, Shaykh Ali al-Samawi, during a visit to the head of the Academy of Rational Philosophy Shaykh Ayman al-Masri, expressed his support for the efforts that the Academy is pursuing. The representative of Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani said that the Qur'an and Sunnah both emphasized in more than 200 instances the role of the human intellect/mind. His eminence also mentioned that there has been a persistent attack on the intellectual path throughout history. He added that the foundation and roots of the Islamic Shari'a are based on rational foundations. http://www.islamicso...img/alsmawi.jpg ------------------------- The full article can be found here (Arabic): http://www.islamicso...ews.php?nid=447

Someone do something about Hafsa as soon as possible, here are the reasons why: 1 - Imam Ali (as) week sub forum is supposed to be the Shiite discussion forum regarding Imam Ali (as) and Hafsa was supposed to have her discussion in the Shia/Sunni dialogue sub forum 2 - Hafsa disturbed the reason for the thread and turned it into a sectarian argument (and not an academic debate) which clearly goes against the rules 3 - She literally verbally attacked the Shiites and I might as well just start cursing her and the you know who? Her speech is completely nonacademic and she has studied nothing about the school of thought she is attacking, before the people claim anything in the thread she claims that they have said the companions which had not lived at the same time of the eleven Imams of the Shiite school of thought were the ones that killed them and then mocks them by asking the question of mockery "you're joking right?" without giving the other side the chance to reply back. She doesn't even know that her own school of thought which is the Maliki accepts the fact that Ibn Muljam was the Kharijite that assassinated Imam Ali (as) . That shows how little she has studied about her own school of thought. Let alone the Shiite school of thought. She doesn't even entitle the Prophet as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) , she calls him Mohammad like she's talking about that guy that sells Cotton Candy next to the store, let alone putting the prayers and blessings upon him after his name. She is in no stance to debate, let alone argue offensively on a Shiite forum. She must not have the right to insult the Shiites in the Imam Ali (as) week sub forum. Something must be done. And hey you of ignorance, guess what? اللهم صل و سلم على محمد و ال محمد و العن اعداءهم جميعا

http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/chapter1b/7.html theres the hadiths, now give me an authentic hadith where prophet muhammed saaw, praised abu bakr, or umar. (bismillah) oh and while your there, bring me authentic hadith where prophet shows more love to his companions than his ahlulbayt, i dont recall the prophet saaw, saying statements such as these to the sahaba: - "I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate" Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "Whoever wishes to see Adam in his knowledge, Noah in his piety, Abraham in his forbearance, Moses in his strength, and Jesus in his worship and devotion should look at Ali ibn Abi Talib." (bismillah)

wa alaykum salaam If read a touching hadith in sheikh al Mufeeds 'al amali' today http://www.al-islam.org/amali/ Subhan Allah I pray that we can all taste its sweetness insha Allah

This is the Itar (non-alcholic perfume) sprays on Khana-e-Kaabah's Black Covering.

I love sayed kamal al haydari .. may Allah (swt) grant him the intercession of the Holy Ma'soom and raise him with them on the day of judgement inshaAllah. The amount of people he must be bringing to islam is just unthinkable .. mashaAllah hes videos are very very beneficial not only for non shias but shias aswell.

1) ShiaBen aint a religious bigot. 2) Your argument would only hold if Christians were performing eidul fitr prayer. Are they?

First of all, Khatami didn't start the Nuclear Program, it existed before him, he did however cave in and stop it. Secondly, Khatami should first stop touching non-mahram girls in public, then we can start discussing his political failures. Thirdly, Ahmadinejad has done some mistakes, which is natural for everyone to do, his biggest one was some of his stubbornness towards Rahbar. However, even rahbar keeps saying that this government has done A LOT since it took place, and we should all be grateful. If you list all the good programs Ahmadinejad started and actually finished, you will end up with a result that is far greater than all the other presidents combined, and he did so with great opposition. I only wish he would put aside Mashai faster than he did.

Haji the leader only intervenes in extreme circumstances. And because liberals have become much bigger in number than before, Seyyed Ali's leadership has been characterized by much more caution than Imam Khomeini's. But I remember specifically during Khatami's time, you couldn't go to a movie theater without watching a movie that showed hezbollahis in a bad light. Even today we have problems with this, but back then it was quite blatant and obvious. I don't think such a hybrid system is possible, where the cultural and propaganda apparatus espouses beliefs that are opposed to the official ideology.

He was never a good savvy politician. I honestly don't think he has high IQ, just a nice humble background which people related too. I never liked him since Day 1. I agree Khatami was probably the best Iran had in the modern era.

The sign means different things in different cultures. See the BBC site for more details: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8687002.stm Anyway. 1. AN may have been using it to ward off the evil eye. 2. Bush may have been doing it for the Texan Longhorns. 3. Clinton probally to say 'I am loving this gig'. 4. And his wife to show that she's a cuckold.

Many others have had a lot of useful information to contribute, but I'll add something else for consideration. I have heard that there are women who are more-or-less practicing shia muslims, who for whatever reason do not wear hijab (some such individuals are strongly considering hijab but are still unwilling to wear it), and because of this, they have ultimately had trouble receiving attention and/or inquiries from the type of men they want. That is, they or their families have been approached by people who do not even pray or perhaps openly drink alcohol. And those in a position to "matchmake" (perhaps rightly--although this is hard to say) never recommend them to the more religiously inclined men in the community. People think "oh, she doesn't wear hijab, so practicing muslim guys wouldn't be interested in her," and perhaps they're really not. Some of these individuals are in their thirties and continue to feel frustrated. Insha'Allah they'll one day choose to embrace wearing hijab, and (even if they don't choose to wear hijab) insha'Allah they'll find suitable men. Basically, I feel at least in my community, those who wear hijab seem to be more sought out, whether they be the "loud" ones or the "quiet" ones. And from what I've heard, a lot of the "quiet" sisters also receive a lot of attention (that is, inquiries regarding marriage, or suitors), if they are well known by their peers and elders for displaying exemplary piety and akhlaq (compared to others in their age group, anyway). I hope the original poster finds what I and the others have written to be at least somewhat encouraging.

If the Qur`an is an explainer of all things, then naturally it stands to reason that it would be an explainer of itself as well. Therefore, if there is some ambiguity in one verse of the Qur`an - and its ambiguity was for a purpose – we can resolve its ambiguity by referring to other verses which were revealed in regards to that same issue... With complete clarity, the Qur`an introduces itself as the explainer of all things, when it states: وَ نَزَّلْــنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِـبْـيَاناً لِّكُلِِّ شَيْءٍ "And We have sent down The Book (Qur`an) upon you (Muhammad) as a clarifier of all things."[1] If the Qur`an is an explainer of all things, then naturally it stands to reason that it would be an explainer of itself as well. Therefore, if there is some ambiguity in one verse of the Qur`an - and its ambiguity was for a purpose – we can resolve its ambiguity by referring to other verses which were revealed in regards to that same issue. At this point, we present an example of this concept. In Suratul Shu'ara (26), verse 173, Allah (swt) states the following in regards to the nation of (prophet) Lut ('a): وَ أَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مَّطَراً فَسَآءَ مَطَرُ الْمُـنْذَرِينَ "And We rained down upon them a rain, and evil was the rain on those warned." This verse gives us a glimpse of the sending down of something, however it is not clear what sort of precipitation this was – was it a spatter of water or was it a raining down of stones? Therefore to clear this issue up, another verse of the Qur`an, which removes the ambiguity of the verse quoted above, is referred to in which we are told: ...وَ أَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِّنْ سِجِّيلٍ... "…and We rained down upon them stones made from baked clay…"[2] The word "حِجَارَةٌ"(stones) is the word, which clears up the ambiguity in the first verse. In order for us to truly comprehend this third point, we present another example. In one instance in the Qur`an, we read the following: هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَّأْتِـيَهُمُ اللٌّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلاَئِكَةُ وَقُضِيَ الأَمْرُ وَإِلـى اللٌّهِ تُرْجَعُ الأُمُورُ "Will they wait until Allah comes to them in canopies of clouds, with Angels (in His train) and the question is (thus) settled? But to Allah do all affairs go back (for decision)."[3] The apparent reading of this verse shows us that it is not free of ambiguity, since the coming and going of an object are characteristics for a physical entity and we know that the sacred essence of Allah (swt) is free from being a physical body. Thus, we must seek to remove the vagueness, which is contained in this verse through some other means. One such way is to carefully review other similar verses of the Qur`an which repeat the same or close to the same wordings as this verse. Such a similar verse is in Suratul Nahl (16), verse 33, which contains approximately the same wording. This other verse clearly shows us that the meaning of the 'coming of the Lord' as actually referring to the coming of 'the commandments' of Allah (swt) for the punishment and retribution and (also) the orders and prohibitions from Him: هَلْ يَنْــظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ كَذٌلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللٌّهُ وَلٌكِنْ كَانُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ "Do they wait until the Angels come to them, or there comes the Command of your Lord (for their doom)? So did those who went before them (also wait). But Allah wronged them not, no, they wronged their own souls!" With complete explicitness, this verse removes any ambiguity present in the first verse, and by adding the word "أمر"(the Command of Allah (swt)) the true subject of the verb 'come', is made clear. This form of explanation (tafsir of one Qur`anic verse by another verse) is a certain and unfailing method, and is the tradition of the Imams of the Shi'a and is something which even until now is employed by the erudite commentator of the Qur`an. The commentary of the Qur`an by the great teacher, Aqa [sayyid Muhammad Husayn] Tabataba'i entitled, al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur`an, has been written following this particular method of commentary. Of course this issue is something different than the issue of 'looking at the harmony which exists between the verses of the Qur`an', which we shall cover in detail later on in this discussion. At this stage, the goal is merely to present the synoptic view of a verse through employing another verse. However at the next level, our goal is something different and thus at that stage, in order to reach to our own deduction of understanding a verse, we must not keep other verses of the Qur`an out of our attention [and only look at one verse without paying attention to other verses on the same topic]. It is incorrect to assume that if a verse's apparent meaning is devoid of any ambiguity, one can interpret it without taking into regard those verses of the same issue and then attribute that meaning to Allah (swt)! With that said, the difference between these two forms of commentary of the Qur`an should be clear to the reader. http://www.abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=220970

The 2006 war prompted me to study Hezbollah and hear speeches by Hassan Nasrullah and it was instant love....

(bismillah) (salam) [For those who don't know, I am American and my husband is Iranian. We live in the US.] Hameedeh's story: My husband was usooli from birth, and when he was mature he became enghelabi. He is the only person still alive in his family who is enghelabi, so he was desperately looking for an intelligent wife. :angel: Through coaxing I quickly became enghelabi, too. :wub: A Lebanese brother we knew had to go through US airport security every time he came back from visiting family in Lebanon. They would ask him if he was hezbollahi and he would deny it. One time this Lebanese brother was overseas and he "missed speaking with" my husband, so he picked up the phone and called us in the middle of the night. So my husband asked him, "Are you calling from Lebanon?" He said, "No, I'm calling from Bekka Valley." :lol: At that very moment, ipso facto we became hezbollahi, according to agents tapping our house phone. We did not have mobile phones at that time.

Hosny Mobarak was in an aeroplane flying over Egypt. He decided to throw 100 egyptian pounds to make a family happy. His wife said, "throw 2 50s and make 2 families happy." His son said, "throw 4 25s and make 4 families happy." The pilot said, "throw yourself out and make 80 million Egyptians happy." :P m3a el salama :D

Immaturity of your comments is always amusing. What even is your intention by posting this super-vague solitary hadith? I don't see the point in this constant trolling or creating unnecessary fitnah/confusion, just to show off your superficial knowledge. If you would like to make a point, please clarify, otherwise I do not think even mentioning the following in way of refutation is necessary here: 1) What do you think "struck" (ÖÑÈ) here even means? Apparently, it is not the same as combining two verses. Rather, it implies using one verse to negate another. As such, it even lends support to the tafsir method advanced by Allameh Tabataba`i [QS]. Thanks. 2) How does putting together two verses result in "unbelief" (ßÝÑ)? For example, consider the standard example (the two verses concerning the case of Lut), where the "rain" from one verse and the "stones" from another is put together, to deduce a "rain of stones". Even if somehow incorrect, how do you interpret this as kufr, except perhaps in a metaphorical way (in which case it _wouldn't_ be kufr)? 3) What do the rest of the narrations? The wealth of the corpus explicitly support the former proposition: "Ali (a.s.) said, inter alia, speaking about the Qur'an in a sermon: "Its one part speaks with the other, and one portion testifies about the other." Thus, it is clear that this narration does not disprove what you wish to create doubt about.

Seek your positive light in the suffering and toil of this world. In the unending struggle of the good against the tyranny of of the bad. This is a world where the wrong sits on the throne and the true virtuous men are made to suffer. Put no hope in this world.

Though cursing is not the right word, we do not curse strictly speaking. I am in 100% agreement with the sentiment that you have expressed. I've said it many times before, it is only the ignorant who send la'n in front of them. Subhan'Allah.