Ali Mahdi

The grammar of PERSIAN is actually quite easy and mostly straightforward. I did have a difficult time learning it because I had never studied or learned another language before and came from a monolingual English background but compared to Arabic, Persian is very simple and it is indeed a beautiful language.

aYATIK Ayatollah Makarem's office has an English-language WhatsApp number: +989373006220. If you message them, you can be put on a list and they send you messages about ahkam and Islamic occasions. Ayatollah Khamenei's office has a group too. You can join by messaging the number I sent a few days ago.

You're welcome. I do taqlid of Ayatollah Khamenei. You can message his office on WhatsApp too: +98 939 557 0499.

Salamun Alaykum, You can email english@sistani.org as well. I usually email my questions in Persian (farsi@alsistani.org) because they reply much faster. However, I'm in Qom so I can ask a teacher or call his office. Ayatollah Sistani isn't my marja' so I rarely need to contact his office unless it's for someone else.

Stalin gave Artsakh/Qarabagh to the Azerbaijan SSR in 1921 to placate Turkey to join with the USSR against the Western Powers, despite it having an overwhelmingly Armenian population (which is has had historically). In my opinion, Artsakh is Armenian, not Azerbaijani. It doesn't meant that Armenians are innocent though. Both sides are carrying out crimes.

I live in Qom. In Qom, most people support the government but there are a vocal few who are against it. Western media propaganda is very strong and most Iranian youth have a false understanding about the West. They don't realize what it's really like. They are suffering due to the weak economic and lack of jobs so they some of them blame the Islamic system.

جان means "life" or "soul" in Persian. Jawn ibn Huway, the companion of Imam al-Husayn (a) is spelled جون بن حوي. It's not John, it's "Jawn." It's just a coincidence that it's pronounced similarly to the English name John.

I know a few teachers personally whom I've randomly met in taxis or at the Holy Shrine of Sayyidah Fatimah al-Ma'sumah etc. Personally, I've never been to an actual institute. You could come for ziyarah and go to various institutes and ask if they would be willing to hire you or message them on Instagram. Iranians use Instagram a lot because it's the only social network which isn't filtered.

There are language institutes who need native English teachers. They also need French and German teachers too. Most of the Iranian teachers speak English VERY badly. I've talked to several English teachers and one of them asks me very basic questions over Whatsapp almost every day. Also, the books they use are based on American culture and there are things in the books that they can't understand. Yesterday, he asked me what a King size mattress is. Apparently, he can't just google it. Qom is the cheapest city in Iran from what I've heard. You can live on about $300 a month here easily. Bring dollars and you can live comfortably because most jobs in Iran aren't high paying. Also, it's hard for foreigners to find jobs besides teaching English.

These are the books taught by al-Mustafa International University here in Qom: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1WNTfzXxZY0lyGLy46ucKNIGybzBzPgBH

Marhum Shaykh Ali Arastu grew up as a Bohra and converted to 12er Shi'ism. I knew him personally.

Read this book "Examining the Ismaili Imams & the Bohras" written by Marhum Shaykh Ali Arastu: https://www.al-Islam.org/examining-ismaili-Imams-bohras-Ali-azhar-arastu

It's Kiyan كيان. He was a companion of Mukhtar ath-Thaqafi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Amra_Kaysan http://en.wikishia.net/view/Abu_'Amra_Kaysan

I've spoken to several Tajik students here in Qom, Iran. Practicing Muslims, both Sunni and Shi'ah, are under a lot of pressure in Tajikistan and some of the students of al-Mustafa International University have been imprisoned upon returning and in some cases, their families have been imprisoned in order to pressure them to return to the country. One neighbour recently told me another student's wife and kids are in Tajikistan and under great pressure for him to return. He said this student won't return because the government will torture him and kill him if he returns so he's going to stay in Iran permanently.

Are you a convert yourself? No offence, but the group is for converts.