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Bismillah, salaam. There was an attack on a Imam Bargah in Peshawar, Pakistan, during Jumu'ah prayers. 30 martyred, over 50 injured. Please pray for the maghfirah of the martyred, well-being and patience for the injured and afflicted families, and of course for the swift advent of our Imam a.j.t.f (عليه السلام) so the enemies of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى), His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), and His Messenger's Progeny (عليه السلام) may be brought to 'Adl. Wasalaam.

My wife's cousin and his elderly father were martyred in the blast. The mosque is located in an overwhelmingly Shia neighburhood where most of the extended family go for Friday prayers and muharram majalis. It is the same neighbourhood where the famous Shia-Sunni debate took place about a century ago which is known as Peshawar Nights. The above-mentioned momins who were martyred today are the direct descendents of the person in whose house the debate took place. They still own and maintain the house. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshawar_Nights Iltamas-e-dua.

I remember him as well. Great member of this community. He lived a long and valuable life. @Son of Placid Thank you for continuing to be in our community as well, and for sharing this news with us.

I figured I may as well address a few more points: My position is that (1) Adam existed, (2) he was a prophet, (3) he was the forefather of all modern humans, (4) his creation was de-novo. If someone wants to reconcile that with a process of adaptation and speciation, that is fine and very well possible. Undoubtedly, there are vast similarities between anything living on Earth. A banana shares 60% of our DNA. We would not survive had it not been for our ability to interact with our surroundings. There wouldn't be a medical establishment had it not been for testing on mice. 6:38 confirms the similarity we have with animals as a sign for us. But our differences are also self-evident in the very reading and writing that we are doing now. “The example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was.” (3:59) None of us have an issue with Jesus being born without a father, even though this is arguably a greater impossibility than the creation of Adam. As others have said before, we have literally billions of case studies around us of people being born only with a father and mother. We also have millions of examples of people born out of wedlock. Inference to the best explanation may bring us to the wrong conclusion — an accusation against Mary. So if God can create Jesus without a father, then He can surely create Adam de novo, without ancestors. This would be far from the only supernatural miracle in the Quran. Take for example this verse: “I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah.” (3:49) Jesus formed a bird from clay, de novo, much like the creation of Adam. There is no indication that this bird was completely different from other birds; it may have been very similar to (or exactly the same as) other species of birds that evolved in the natural process. Scientific sobriety however should not lead us to finding naturalistic explanations to all spiritual phenomena. Someone may say that Mary was a hermaphrodite who impregnated herself, but that’s not supported anywhere, despite the well known existence of hermaphrodites throughout human existence. Some may point to a natural land bridge that exists on the Red Sea. But that’s not the point — Allah could have made Moses cross the Atlantic Ocean if He wanted to. A miracle by definition is God bending the rules to intervene in our lives. They are not just benevolent, well-timed coincidences, they are the result of the mashi’a, irada, qadr, and qada of Allah. The greatest “impossibility” is existence itself, and Allah already created the universe from nothing. Everything else is small potatoes in comparison. Even if there was an intelligent, humanoid, pre-human specie on Earth, that does not contradict the Quran. In a sense, it may even confirm the pre-Adamic nasnās references, which is one of the traditional interpretations of 2:30 (see Tafsir al-Qummi). The nasnās were pre-Adamic humanoids mentioned in some reports; or the multiple “Adams” mentioned in others — both coming from imperfect sources nonetheless. What is undisputed is that humans do indeed have common ancestry, and there are even persons in recent human ancestral history (3,000-15,000 years ago) that all modern humans go back to. This is still subject to more research (see Mitochondrial Eve and Y Chromosome Adam, MRCA/IAP/ACA in genetics). Whether or not an unguided process of random variation and natural selection could account for all these complex changes in relatively short periods of time is a question that I'm not qualified to answer. I've only taken two courses on the subject, and there are people here that are better equipped to answer these questions. But much has changed in the last 12 years of research, and there are valid questions that need to be answered before we can understand where religion fits into all this (continuity/discontinuity theories for example). There are serious, unanswered questions on origin of life on Earth, the existence of information in DNA, the "Darwin-of-the-gaps", and the evolution of language. So, science must continue its work, and interesting questions must continue to be posed, without fear of alienation. That is the only way science can progress. Once we have some more definite answers, we can come to more definite scriptural conclusions.

For those who remember Placid. He passed away Feb 28th at 90 3/4 years old. He was 20 years a small town Blacksmith , 27 years operations manager in a rescue mission, drugs and alcoholism, 25 years retired. His income never reached poverty level, yet he gave his tithe, and able to give much beyond that to people and organizations in need. He studied the word of God every day since I can remember. He also ministered in some way every day since I can remember. Quite often it was just me, and it was a lecture. His years as a blacksmith, was before masks became a thing and caught up with him in his 60's and became progressively worse. Dec 23rd he was hospitalized for 32 days, out for two weeks, back in last Thursday, died at 3:10pm Monday in his sleep. His years on Shiachat were influential. He looked for unity rather than division and found it. He loved you all.

Update: There is news of 80+ martyred and 150+ injured.

So sad to read this - may God comfort and strengthen the greaving and injured

إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون :'( My thoughts and prayers with family/relatives/friends of those people. May God hasten the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (AATFS).

My condolences to you and your family, he was a good man. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon.

My Condolences to you and the family. إِنَّا ِلِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. May God give you and the family patience during this difficult time. He is gone to a better place.

Oh dear:( Im so saddened by this news and for the loss you, your family, friends and all who interacted with such an amazing person are suffering. May God Almighty grant you patience and calm your hearts during this time of grief. When someone of his caliber and with his heart and intention passes from this world, it leaves a void. It is truly a magnificent loss. The world needs more people like him. I remember your father from my early days on SC. I originally joined in 2010 but somehow got locked out of and lost my old account. I enjoyed and appreciated reading his posts. I had no idea he was so much more senior than the rest of us. God willing, hes rewarded for the patience he exhibited and for the unity he selflessly worked towards during his life in this world. As someone else already mentioned here, may we all be joined together someday in a much better place, God willing. I will remember him in my prayers. Thank you for informing us.

My condolence to you and your family.

To Allah we belong and to Him we return. إِنَّا ِلِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ May Allah give you and your family sabr.

His life brings to mind the poem by Hopkins "Felix the Farrier" (blacksmith) --both in terms of his vocation, but also the spiritual quality Felix Randal the farrier, O is he dead then? my duty all ended, Who have watched his mould of man, big-boned and hardy-handsome Pining, pining, till time when reason rambled in it, and some Fatal four disorders, fleshed there, all contended? Sickness broke him. Impatient, he cursed at first, but mended Being anointed and all; though a heavenlier heart began some Months earlier, since I had our sweet reprieve and ransom Tendered to him. Ah well, God rest him all road ever he offended! This seeing the sick endears them to us, us too it endears. My tongue had taught thee comfort, touch had quenched thy tears, Thy tears that touched my heart, child, Felix, poor Felix Randal; How far from then forethought of, all thy more boisterous years, When thou at the random grim forge, powerful amidst peers, Didst fettle for the great grey drayhorse his bright and battering sandal!

He is my Father. He was on here for about 12 years, moved on 4-5 years ago to teach Christians that Muslims aren't so bad and aren't so wrong.

https://zahratrust.com/united-in-humanity/ if anyone can donate, pls do.

Food implications for African/Middle Eastern countries And the obvious political implications for their governments https://www.ft.com/content/555b7167-eaf2-43a0-a66f-802e39cccf36

There are many Sunni Scholars in Pakistan who holds these views. I am sharing just two videos below: Here is another and he is saying what I have quoted:

Indeed we belongs to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) and to Him shall we return. That is really very sad news. May Almighty Lord shower patience to the families of martyrs and bring to justice, the criminals who carried out the bombing. وَسَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَيَّ مُنقَلَبٍ يَنقَلِبُونَ

(inspired by a painting by Rembrandt) The Mill A motionless nexus holds fast:pensive and serene, in dusk’slambent apprehensionthe axis that moves againstthe world and with itas the village recedesinto enveloping shadowwhile formless men moveon starved rivers.Jubilant women gatherunder sandy taupe cliffstheir expressions lostand everything seemsto float, hover, and mergeinto one unrecoverable moment.I would hold to this,because I cannot graspanything with permanencelayers of celestial lightchasing a perishing sunover all our endeavors.

How's this: https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/iran/crude-oil-production That's not leaving much for exports, most of which (AIUI) are sold to China at a discount. So assuming sanctions are lifted, in the short term it will just mean that Iran benefits from not having to sell to the Chinese on the cheap. It will likely take some months to raise production etc. to meet international demand. IIRC sanctions on Russia will take 4m barrels off world markets, so supply will be constrained whatever happens.

If the sister has truly repented from her sin and vowed not to repeat it ever, I don't see a problem. Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) is Merciful, and we should take after His sunnah. Let me take the opportunity to relate two relevant anecdotes in this connection, one concerned (if I can recall correctly) with Sayyid Abul Hassan Isfahānī (rh), and the other with Shaykh Muhammad Hussain Kāshif ul- Ghitā (rh), both of them extremely highly -regarded marjās of their time. Sayyid Isfahānī was visiting Hillah city in Iraq once, and a deluge of mu'minīn had thronged to receive him. Dignitaries of the town were all imploring him to halt at their place; however, the Sayyid heard a voice within- the voice said that it was from the Imām of the time (aj), and commanded him to stay at the place of such and such man, a most ordinary fellow by all means. The Sayyid did as directed, and once in the privacy of solitude, he confided to the man that he had received communication from the Sahib al-Asr (aj) to stay at his place, in preference over the houses of the ulama and the grandees of the city; he must surely have done something due to which the Imām (aj) is highly pleased with him. The man racked his memory, and confided to the Sayyid that early in their marriage, his wife had confessed to him that she had once done zina before their marriage, however she has sincerely repented, and vowed to devotedly serve her husband as kaffārā for her sin. The husband then forgave her. The marjā replied that this forgiveness was the reason for the Imām's happiness. Shaykh Kāshif ul- Ghitā (rh) had also had a similar experience. Once a drought had fallen over Iraq, and the mu'minīn implored the Shaykh for help. The Shaykh sought the tawassul of Amīr al-Mu'minīn (عليه السلام), and Amīr al-Mu'minīn (عليه السلام) visited the marjā in his dream, instructing him to go stay with a certain tea-seller in some nondescript village, and ask him to pray for rains. The Shaykh did accordingly, and the man's prayers were answered. The Shaykh then revealed his identity to the tea-seller, who was elated to have so esteemed a guest. Then he asked him a question which was similar to the one that Sayyid Isfahānī had asked the man in Hillah, and the tea-seller responded that on the first night of their marriage, his wife had told him that she had done zina before their marriage, and that she was even pregnant from that relationship; however,she had done sincere tawbāh, and now it was up to his choice to divorce her or not. The man decided to forgive the wife, and to bring up the child as his own. The Shaykh was elated, and told the man that it was because of his forgiveness towards the penitent wife that Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) was so pleased with him, and had made him 'mustajāb ud-dā'wāt' (one whose prayers Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) never rejects). These two accounts should highlight to us the importance of forgiveness.

Take it easy, brother. It takes time, practice, and most importantly, patience. With time and practice, you will get better at it. Now, I am no speaker, but from my experience, jotting down the ket points of your speech like a ready-reckoner and keeping track of your time helps. Don't rush and go slow. Read regularly to improve your rhetorical skills. Rest is all about time and practice. Make the du'ā from the Qur'ān which Mūsā (عليه السلام) made to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) for unknotting his tongue. Use that very verse. Do it in Arabic, and do it often, especially when you are about to begin your practice/rehearsal. In so far as professional speakers are concerned, what accounts for their oratorical élan is part- training, part-practice and experience, and above all, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) 's endowment- being good at oratory is a great ni'māh from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى), and one should put it to the use of religion. Don't think that they were as good at public speaking from the day one as they seem to be now. Have faith. Things will improve, inshallah. Wassalam.

The people who tweeted this ask what others think. The idea is that it blends in with local architecture and uses local materials.

The essential thing is to have a place where one can pray with dignity.

Bismillah, salaam. If a person has repented and improved themselves to follow the commandments of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) then if Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) accepts their repentance, what reason do I have not to? Besides, I'm certainly not timelessly infallible, so how can I hope to marry a person who is timelessly infallible? And even if I was, again, if Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) accepts their repentance, what reason do I have not to? Of course, as @Cool quoted from the Qur'an, someone who is habitual in this act is forbidden to us. Wasalaam.

I remember placid very fondly. We spoke most in 2007-2008. I even had a friend that met him in person. I hope your family finds peace - we belong to Allah, and to Allah we will return.

Condolences on the passing of your dear Father. May God comfort your dear Mother, you and all of your family during this time of loss and sadness.

May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) give Him mercy and join him in paradise with the Prophets (عليه السلام) and the believers. I remember him wery well in the past years discussion about the Qur'an and Christianity, always respecting and respected and never he got angry over the discussions. He must have much patience. My condolence to you and your family. And Insa'Allah one day we can all meet in better place.

@Ghadir Leb If you have an academic background read "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas S. Kuhn. It's gonna help you analyze things (religious/historical/scietific) independent from the (mainstream) paradigm that you (and all of us, really) have adopted in this day and age.

You used the term 'mental gymnastics' to refer to a fact which you stated yourself was plausible, (a 'great flood' rather than a world wide flood). So I don't see how this is mental gymnastics. You have to use 'mental gymnastics' to believe in a fact which is a logical contradiction or is impossible. Not something that is plausible and which there is some evidence for. Anyway, Now your second objection is also strange. You said 'it is extremely improbable that sexually reproducing species can repopulate with only two starting organisms of that species [rather, they will probably drive themselves into extinction]. See the video below if you're interested. This huge improbability for only one species will be almost impossible when we talk about multiple species.' I think you are confusing the story in the Bible and in the Quran. The Bible says in Genesis 8:15-17 “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that, is with you, the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground, so they can ‘multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number This means every living creature and it is a worldwide event. So, yes, your theory seems plausible in this case. Most of them would not have reproduced and there would have been an evolutionary bottleneck, which, btw, has happened in previous points in the past. It doesn't mean cessation of all life, though. The Quran says, فَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْهِ أَنِ ٱصْنَعِ ٱلْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَوَحْيِنَا فَإِذَا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا وَفَارَ ٱلتَّنُّورُ فَٱسْلُكْ فِيهَا مِن كُلٍّ زَوْجَيْنِ ٱثْنَيْنِ وَأَهْلَكَ إِلَّا مَن سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْقَوْلُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَا تُخَـٰطِبْنِى فِى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوٓا۟ إِنَّهُم مُّغْرَقُونَ Thereupon We inspired him thus: “Build, un­der Our eyes and according to Our inspiration, the ark. And when Our judgment comes to pass, and waters gush forth in torrents over the face of the earth, place on board of this [ark] one pair of each kind, as well as thy family - excepting those on whom sentence has already been passed; and do not appeal to Me [any more] in behalf of those who are bent on evildoing - for, behold, they are destined to be drowned Quran 23:27 The term زَوْجَيْنِ ٱثْنَيْنِ (two mates) is preceeded by the term كُلٍّ (every). So the literal translation is 'every two mates'. The term كُلٍّ (all or every) is ambiguous in this case. Possible meaning are 'Two mates (pairs) of everything we have specified to you previously', 'Two of every mates in this area', 'Two of every creature on earth'. The last one is the last likely since we know roughly how big the arc was and it couldn't have fit that many animals. .Plus Noah didn't have the means to get all those animals to him. So the two most likely meanings are 'Two of everything we have specified', in other words God gave him a list of things he should bring with him on the ark. These might have been valuable plants (the term doesn't mention animals specifically), animals, or other resources which were native to that area and would have gone extinct if he had not brought them but they were valuable to humanity for various reasons (medical, scientific, etc). The other possibility is everything in a certain area. So you are taking the least likely explanation of an ambiguous term and then basis your analysis of the Quran on that one. Why ? BTW, since the flood was not a global flood (as you yourself said), and the animals he took with him did not reproduce, this wouldn't necessarily mean they would go extinct, since they could be repopulated from other areas. Also, the animals might have gone onboard for another reason entirely (to slaughter them for food, to bring them to another area for them to populate that area, etc). The description in the Bible of the contents of the ark is more problematic from a scientific / logical point of view. The description in the Quran is not, and it is a much different description. I don't have time to answer all your points right now, and I'm not sure if you want an answer, since it seems you have already made up your mind to leave the religion. Just in case. I am willing to answer more if you want.

The verse you are referring is related to qisas, an Islamic law mentioned as "life giving" in Quran in the very next verse: 2:179) And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding, that you may guard yourselves. Coming to the point you raised, it seems either a misunderstanding or ignorance to me. Before the advent of Islam, more often than not, the scenario after a murder was a chain of brutal and bloodthirsty reactions. The families and the tribes of both the slayer and the slain used to engage themselves into a war of attrition, generation after generation, involving innocent men, women and children. Islam, through the Holy Prophet, put a stop to this barbaric collective human behaviour and gave a just and kind system of justice to the human race, which for the first time, without ignorance and superstition, applied compassion and understanding in order to live in peace and harmony. "Payment should be made according to recognized usage in a good manner" is called diyat (blood-money). In the end this verse says that moderation in punishment is an alleviation from the Lord. Verse 92 of al Nisa prescribes moderation when the murder is not premeditated and intentional. Verse 93 of al Nisa clearly declares that a great punishment awaits the murderer who kills a believer intentionally. In addition to the legal penalty, in the hereafter, he will abide in hell for ever. Verse 9 of al Hujurat says that if two groups of believers fight one another, promote peace between them. Then if one of them turns aggressive against the other, fight against the aggressive party till it returns to Allah's authority. If it does so, make peace among them equitably and be impartial. I hope this will help you to understand the context of your referred verse.

Brother Qaim has already addressed most of the points, I just want to say in addition that one of its verse saying: لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ 33:21) Verily, in the Apostle of God you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe] to God and the Last Day.... And in his "uswatun hasanah" we are unable to find a report where he had beat or hit any of his wife. We obviously need to look at his personal life how he dealt with the issues which originated within his house like one is mentioned in Sura e Tehrim (Ch66). As well as marrying the divorced wife of his adopted son Zayd bin Harithah. It was considered an immoral act in Arabs that a man marry the divorced wife of his adopted son. So we have lessons to learn everywhere. I don't know why this matter becomes an issue for you. And now I will move to the unanswered questions: Have you studied all the verses mentioning the creation of Adam (عليه السلام)? Please let me know what was the beginning state as mentioned in Quran? Let me help you, here is the beginning state: وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلاَئِكَةِ إِنِّي خَالِقٌ بَشَرًا مِّن صَلْصَالٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ 15:28) And when your Lord said to the angels: Surely I am going to create a mortal of the essence of black mud fashioned in shape. Now about clay or sounding black mud or whatever you name it, do you know what science says about it? Clay -- a seemingly infertile blend of minerals -- might have been the birthplace of life on Earth. Or at least of the complex biochemicals that make life possible, biological engineers report. Kindly go through the following article as well: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/2/259/htm And have you gone through the verses of Quran what they say and how they mention evolution? نَحْنُ خَلَقْنَاهُمْ وَشَدَدْنَا أَسْرَهُمْ ۖ وَإِذَا شِئْنَا بَدَّلْنَا أَمْثَالَهُمْ تَبْدِيلًا 76:28) We created them and made firm their make, and when We please We will bring in their place the likes of them by a change. Interestingly, the word تبديلا (change) is what you describe as evolution lol. But that's not enough, allow me to give you more food, this time from Chapter Nuh: وَقَدْ خَلَقَكُمْ أَطْوَارًا 71:14) And indeed He has created you through various grades And Quran itself has mentioned some of اطوارا as نطفة امشاج ، علقة ، مضغة etc. More interestingly Quran questions as as to why we don't testify Him as Creator: نَحْنُ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ فَلَوْلَا تُصَدِّقُونَ أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تُمْنُونَ أَأَنْتُمْ تَخْلُقُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْخَالِقُونَ نَحْنُ قَدَّرْنَا بَيْنَكُمُ الْمَوْتَ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِينَ عَلَىٰ أَنْ نُبَدِّلَ أَمْثَالَكُمْ وَنُنْشِئَكُمْ فِي مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ 56:57-61) We have created you, why do you not then assent? Have ye seen that which ye emit? Is it you that create it or are We the creators? We have ordained death among you and We are not to be overcome In order that We may bring in your place the likes of you and make you grow into what you know not. And then Quran mentions this: وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ النَّشْأَةَ الْأُولَىٰ فَلَوْلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ 56:62) And verily ye know the first creation. Why, then, do ye not reflect?

It is the duty of Islam to explain every trivial and every complex problem. I do not know why does it seem problematic to you. Secondly, Where have you read that if a free man kills a slave, he is not to be killed? Have you read this: [Shakir 5:45] And We prescribed to them in it that life is for life, and eye for eye, and nose for nose, and ear for ear, and tooth for tooth, and (that there is) reprisal in wounds; but he who foregoes it, it shall be an expiation for him; and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unjust. life for life is the rule for anyone who kills anybody. However, there is one other rule that is called compensation for damage which can be paid in money too. So, your first point is resolved. It is hard because the characteristics of Quranic verses are such that no one can reproduce the like of it and for that you need to consult one who has the deep knowledge of literature and Philosophy. One point which I can mention is that when anyone claims that he has made an ayah like Quran, he has to prove two things: 1) It has to have its own peculiar construction like Verse of Quran 2) It has to be a clear meaning and it should not be meaningless which often happens with those who make such poetry. If you have read both the Torah and Bible, you will not find details of what happened to those prophets and noble men afterwards rather you will find that in Quran which proves that Islam is the continuation of previously sent divine message which is affirmed by the earlier sent divine books. Other questions will be answered in episodes. thanks

I am sorry that you have lost your faith. This happens to many people, and most of the people I have met have been able to bounce back from this. I came to Shi'a Islam as an adult, and so I have a different experience than you. Perhaps you coming here and listing your reasons is an attempt to understand these issues in more depth. I will try to answer a few points, at least to provide food for thought. 1. Most of the intimate details that pertain to the life of the Prophet Muhammad (s) have embedded lessons for our daily lives. The Quran acted as a guide for those in his lifetime, but it also mostly deals with realities that are relatable to the average believer. 2. "Trivial things" is subjective. Some may say, "The universe is 93 billion light-years in size, why would a God care about my private life?" By this logic, your public life shouldn't matter either. Murder is an insignificant event in a trillion-star universe with an endless amount of planets. And yet, we all agree that it is morally reprehensible. The size of an offense is also no measurement of its rightness or its wrongness. There are many big permissible things and small impermissible things, and vice versa. God is not someone on a far-away planet looking at us through a telescope. He created and sustains every atom of existence, and has concern over the lives of the smallest of creatures. Any system of morality that He puts in place is for our own benefit and not His. To Him, the dunya has the significance of the wing of a mosquito. And yet, He gave balance to both. 3. Why do you suppose that 5:106-107 would never happen? 4. The question of ethics (wife-beating, free man killing a slave) is very pertinent. What is the yardstick by which we measure good and evil? How are we to derive just laws? We live in a time that is dominated by utilitarian and liberal ethics, and yet there is much disagreement in liberalism on issues related to freedom and harm. For example: can you say with certainty that incest, if practiced safely, is morally wrong? Many secularist philosophers have a hard time answering this question. You believe in a God - that is good - so do you think this God cares about what happens in the universe, or no (Deism)? If the latter, then there would be no such thing as objective morality, because morality would just be a social construct coming out of culture. Murder would just be one group of molecules hitting another. We object to that. Liberalism also has constantly shifting definitions of morality - when I was born, liberal societies had very different views on issues like drugs, gay marriage, marital rape, and even the basic rights of the individual (COVID has changed that significantly). Many of these views are driven by states, markets, and mass media. So, when we analyze Islam through the lens of liberalism, we are really just using a stretchy ruler that constantly differs in size. For example: we have no record of anyone ever leaving or doubting Islam as a whole due to the famous "wife beating" verse until the 20th century. That is because the standard of morality in the 20th century has shifted, enshrining the rights and freedoms of the individual. This isn't always necessarily wrong, but it is, again, subjective and requires justification. What are our first principles and how did we come up with them? In our school, this "beating" is the last step (in a list of steps) in dealing with nushuz. It cannot be injurious, it cannot leave any marks, and it cannot be against the face - if it is, then the wife can go to the judge and hold her husband accountable. One tradition (I believe from Ibn Abbas) even used a miswak (tooth stick) to demonstrate that it is a gentle physical reminder rather than something designed to inflict pain. This today would be the equivalent of a slap on the wrist, shaking someone, pulling someone by the collar, or stepping on their foot, which few of us today would consider to be morally abhorrent. On the contrary, in liberal society, if you break the law, then strange policemen can subject you to any form of violence to contain you. The state has a full monopoly on violence, which comes at a cost. I am not a literary scholar in Arabic, so I cannot comment on specific literary i`jaz that are unique to the Quran alone. However, we can agree that there is no book like it, in that it produced a movement of bedouins that quickly became the largest civilization that the world had ever seen in less than a decade after its completion. It has been memorized word-for-word by millions of people, and it can be preserved and reproduced in a way that no other book can. 1400 years later, we don't know of a book or document that can be compared to that. If you'd like to see what non-Muslim experts of the Arabic language have said about the literary style of the Quran, then you can find the words of scholars like Sir Hamilton AR Gibb, Tor Andrae, or Edward Henry Palmer (Navid Kermani's book "God is Beautiful" compiles many of these). If Islam simply plagiarized the stories of previous religions, then why do the stories differ in key ways? For example, the Quranic Jesus is free from the pagan elements that were attributed to the story of the Christian Jesus. You gave an example about the Flood as well, which the Quran never says is global. It is important to note that Muhammad (s) never claimed to be bringing a new religion altogether. The Quran is mostly reminding people of familiar stories so that they may draw lessons from them. The Quranic stories are full of lessons on human frailty (Adam), economic justice (Shu`ayb), jealousy (Yusuf), standing up to oppressors (Musa), etc, Did the Quran copy the Flood narrative from other texts? The Flood narrative is universal. It is found in ancient Mesopotamian, Indic, Chinese, Greek, Norse, and even Aboriginal (American and Australian) cultures. Some of these cultures have been isolated for thousands of years, and probably didn't just copy the myth from one place to the other. What is likely is that they were all describing a massive event; one worth teaching and documenting on an intergenerational level for thousands of years. Perhaps the most pertinent archeological debate right now is on the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis. It is a debate that could change our understanding of history as we know it. If true, then there would have been a mass flood and extinction roughly 12,800 years ago, wiping out a prior civilization. - This is a lot, so let's start here, unless you think the other issues you mentioned are bigger or more serious.

27th Rajab 'Amal: https://www.duas.org/rajab27.htm#top

1) And what made you think like that? Please elaborate and refer to us verses. 2) Can you obey fallible people with certainty that the person you are following will take you to heaven? Can a fallible be called " على صراط المستقيم"?

Here you seem to just thinking without any verification and justification of your few thoughts. The matter becomes critical when without justification or verification of such thoughts in real sense an assumption or self unconscious is that Quran could not be the words of God or Imam are not infallible etc. If you think that there is God watching over you and thy wants good people and your also believe on the judgement after life. It means you are still a believer but only you have created some way leading due to the assumptions that are near the border of going out of religion. This may be the effect of media or some friends etc closer to yourself presenting the words to create doubts in your mind, You simply need to enhance your knowledge about basic concepts of Islam and shia to come out of false state of mind of your supposed thoughts. https://www.al-islam.org/fifty-lessons-principles-belief-youth-naser-makarem-shirazi https://www.al-islam.org/basic-teachings-islam-sayyid-muhammad-husayni-beheshti https://www.al-islam.org/discovering-shii-islam-mohammad-ali-shomali

I come across loads of wiswas on daily basis regarding Imams, Quran and God but I have established proofs against them. Life is lengthy and it won't happen that you be brought before God in a jiffy. This extra time which we have got before we die is time of trial where we only have two tools to pass such trial that are 1) Patience and 2) being thoughtful. There is no other way which teaches you how to be civilised and teaches you about minute details that no other system provides except Islam. I think you should reconsider your decision and rather ask question about matters which are doubtful to you. May be it will help.

Did you overwork yourself? Maybe you burnt out, and therefore could not keep continuing with the religion. Maybe you put too much pressure on yourself? was there any reason for this? I hope we can help you.

i heard thats a fabricated event

The responder only gives the fatwa of the marja'. There is no need to give a hadith, and this would be time consuming finding a hadith which the marja' himself deems to be authentic, especially considering the amount of questions that are sent. The maraja' issue fatawa based on the Quran and ahadith, as well as 'aql.

The main reason why the US is different than other 'Industrialized' or 'First World' countries in this way is because, mostly, of religion. The US has traditionally been more religious than the other countries, and the two major religions in the US are Christianity (#1 by far), Islam, then Judaism. There are more Muslims in the US than there are Jews (by numbers but definitely not by influence). So in these three religions, as you know already, having children is seen as a Blessing from God(s.w.a) and the ones who believe this would have children and the tax benefits, social benefits, expenses related to childcare, etc, are very much a secondary consideration. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are pretty much the same on this point. There is a phrase used commonly in the US, 'Making it work'. Meaning that if something is a good things to do, then just do it, and the other stuff will work itself out. So this has been the traditional attitude of the people of these three religions regarding children in the US. It is kind of a faith based, rather than economic based approach, to the decision of whether to have children. The US Government is very aware of this, so they make policy based on this deeply held traditional belief. They are stingy with the social benefits for having children, knowing that people will have children anyway because of their faith. Also, the US traditionally has a higher immigrant population (1st generation) than most other countries. The Govt also knows that 1st generation immigrants almost always have children because they perceive moving to the US as a sign they have 'made it', so they feel more secure economically (which is sometimes an illusion but perception equals reality to them) and thus more willing to have children. When I say these things, I am speaking traditionally. In the US, both these factors are changing and the US Govt doesn't know what to do about it. First, the US is becoming less religious, in general (although this is not affecting the Muslim community as much but it is still effecting to a smaller extent). Also, the US is not letting in as many immigrants as they did traditionally, so 1st generation immigration is also slowing down. So you see that these two factors have combined, and with the effect of the pandemic thrown in, for the first time last year in the US you had a negative birth rate, i.e. more people died in the US in 2020(1) than were born. Also, the Birth rate for 2019 was 1.7 per women, below replacement rate of 2.1. Any number less than 2.2 means a declining population, above 2.1 is increasing population, 2.1 means the population is neither increasing or declining (replacement). So the US is starting to resemble other 'First World' countries more and more. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-low-can-americas-birth-rate-go-before-its-a-problem/#:~:text=The U.S. fertility rate hit,has been underway for years. The Democratic Party is in favor of letting in more immigrants plus increasing social benefits (such as reimbursement for child care, paid family leave, etc) because they are more aware of this issue. They have realized that the current reality is declining birth rates and this will eventually completely upend the US System of Government. The Republicans are either not aware of it, or are aware but are more interested in blocking anything that the Democratic party does, so this is what they are doing, blocking this legislation. So there is really no hope of this changing in the near future. At the same time, there is another huge factor in the birth rate decline. The greed and excesses of the US version of capitalism. The US version of Capitalism values profit over everything else. Because of this, every device at their disposal is used to maximize profit. The main mechanism they use is interest (riba). Most Americans pay, probably more than 1/3 of their income in interest, between interest on credit cards, student loans, mortgages, etc. Because wages haven't been increasing but the amount of interest they pay has been, there is no money left over to pay child related expenses. So this interest goes to make rich people even richer, and stops younger people from having children, because with all the interest and other bills they pay, they can't imagine how they will pay the expenses of having a child. So they don't. This effects religious, as well as non religious people. I actually think this could be the main factor.

Not luxury in all cases. Often one partner staying home is a cost saving decision. Child care is expensive, and taking time off work for medical appointments etc leads to decreased income or even job loss and damage to the professional reputation of the parent or caregiver, at least in the US.

Getting wealthy is a complicated thing. I think most of us have a part of us that wants to use the money to help others. I think most of us also have another side which wants to use the money to get all the fancy things in life we were denied but think we deserve, and also to puff up our own ego. Which of those sides is stronger and would win if we actually got this money. We don't know (unless we actually get the money). Only Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) knows. So this might be why we don't get it. To save us from the damaging effects on ourselves and others of that other side which might be stronger than we think. If you want you can play this game with yourself, I have done it a few times. Pretend that you were looking inside an old piece of furniture that was sitting in your attic / basements, etc, and found $50 million dollars in it. If you live in the US, you will probably think 'Well I need to pay at least some of that in taxes or the IRS will come after me. So lets say you pay $10 million in taxes. So now you have 40 million. Now if you are a mumin, you think 'Well I have to pay my khums. So you set aside 20% minus your living expenses for the year for khums. So say your living expenses for the year are 100,000. The remainder is 30,900,000. So the khums on this is $6,180,000. The remainder is 24,720,000. So now that you have paid your khums and your taxes, the rest of this money is yours to spend. This is the tricky part Now examine your mind carefully, what are your next thoughts. This is the key to the whole thing. If your mind immediately jumps to the 20 women you wanted to do Mutah with or the Rolls Royce dealership or that big house on the beach, before you think about the needy, in your own family or in the ummah, you have already answered your own questions (as to why Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) doesn't give you the money ). In case your mind did not immediately go there, you can move on to the next stage. Maybe you start going thru a list of your family and close friends. Who is needy ? There are some cases that are obvious (a relative is homeless, their kids are hungry, etc) but most are not that obvious. Some have credit card debt, some have student loans, some have maybe a high interest mortgage. You could just pay off all of it for all of them, but would that really help them ? If they have jobs and income, i.e. a means to pay it off, would paying it off for them really help them. It would help them financially, in the short term, but what if they had a bunch of credit card debt, then you payed it for them, then they ran up their credit cards again, thinking you would again pay it off for them. So now are they worse off or better off ? Besides the obvious cases, it's hard to know. So after that, what most people do is start thinking about investments. You think if I invest that money in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, I will have a good income for the rest of my life and I won't have to work. 24 million at an average rate of return of 5% (which is a very realistic rate of return for most investments) is 1.2 million per year in income. Income from return on investment is also taxed at a lower rate than income from actual work (i.e. a job) in the US. So now you see why almost all rich people take their money and shove it into investments. So that's usually where it stops for most people. The money goes to 'safe' investments like Fortune 500 companies (which already have alot of money) and real estate. If you can get past that part of the thinking test, then you can think about helping the ummah in general, but I guarantee in real life 99.9% of the people , even mumin/a will never get past this stage.

Luke recorded the words of Jesus the Messiah about wealth and money - Luke chapter 16 13 ‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.’ As far as I understand this isn't saying don't have wealth. It is saying that how we use it and our atitude to it is important. If we put God first in our lives, what we do with our money will be in accordence to his desires.

I am quite wealthy by world standards It's never enough, and it just creates stress. Sure, there are many advantages, but there are drawbacks as well. Wealth is the golden handcuffs which promises us everything for a high price.

The video has been removed from the above website but its audio file that was found again and it is included as given below: https://audiomack.com/truth-is-religion/song/best-answer-on-occultation-of-imam-mahdi

A one rak`a salat, with no second sura, no dhikr, and no tashahhud... Which salat was this exactly that they were putting putting a little show about for this video? In reality, they don't do salat, not even to this extent. They "pray", but it's more like a du`a that they do (no sujud, ruku`, etc). And sure they also have a fast, but they do it in the month of December, not specifically the month of Ramadan. This is total shirk. Every messenger was a prophet. They deny the resurrection, the day of judgement, the garden, the fire, really any actual life after death. This is total kufr, a denial of a fundamental teaching of the Quran and Islam. Islam isn't so complicated that it needs to be dressed up in ridiculous stories about evil scientists and motherships. Islam in fact is a very simple religion, with a very direct message, so this claim of "gradual introduction" is nonsense when all he was introducing them to was another false religion. Akhi, do tawba for even remotely comparing our Prophet (saws) to that charlatan. And they still aren't, until they leave the cult and actually join Islam. So is a lot of what is taught in churches and synagogues, but it doesn't make them Muslims either.

They believe Allah came in the form of a human being (Wallace Fard Muhammad), that Elijah Muhammad was a messenger of God, they don't believe in life after death, so no actual day of judgement, no Garden and no Fire, and they don't follow the pillars of Islam (i.e. they don't do salat, they don't fast the month of Ramadan, etc). Not to mention the science fiction type beliefs they hold about a mothership, an evil scientist called Yakub engineering the white race, and so on. Pretty hard to see how they'd qualify as "Muslim" by even the slightest of margins.