Sumerian

What the world needs is less forced diversity and quotas, and simply anyone who has more merit and competence should lead. If a woman can start a successful business then that is due to her own merit and skill, not because of her gender. Perhaps the most offensive thing the Government can do is to ensure quotas, as it seems to tap into a belief that certain groups can't make it without extra support.

I believe what he means is men solve problems like a maths equation, while women might show some empathy. Take it like a female Judge and a male Judge, perhaps a female Judge may be more compassionate, while a male Judge may be more about sticking to the actual text of the law.

There is only a 3 week atleast mandatory gap between first and second doses of Pfizer. People in South Africa haven't even bothered getting their first dose, despite supply issues ending over 3 months ago, and they aren't even rushing to get vaccinated in droves even as there is a current Covid case surge due to the new variant (albeit deaths are currently low).

This is old news. Supply has been fixed months ago, in fact South Africa has been throwing away vaccines because not enough people are vaccinating before they expire. They currently have excess stock. Read this article: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/exclusive-south-africa-delays-covid-vaccine-deliveries-inoculations-slow-2021-11-24/ Even the Health Minister said that the reason for slow uptake is what he called "misinformation online". Supply is becoming an old excuse with every passing day.

It is plausible that it was only detected in South Africa, not that it originated there. This is because of South Africa's long history and experience in detecting diseases. Secondly there is no supply problem for South Africa and indeed in alot of underdeveloped countries. Most South Africans have refused to be vaccinated despite vaccine availability, indicating a vaccine hesitancy issue. Furthermore, just with regards to this new variant, so far most cases - according to global and South African health officials - are actually mild. In fact it is plausible that this variant may actually be more mild than previous strains, but that is yet to be seen. And finally, while vaccines clearly do work, so does immunity gained through infection, and many of these countries that have not vaccinated a large amount of their populas have not seen a great amount of deaths in the current Covid wave (such as South Africa) mainly because of previous deadly Covid surges that ripped through the populas. I think the media tends to be negative and makes money on people's panic, and we will really see if this variant is really worth the hype.

You will sometimes find that the Muslim diaspora in the West is more "extremist" than the ones back home. Either way I believe the general trend is religiosity among Muslim youth globally is declining, and that means that political religious movements like the Brotherhood will also decline, the fear is this may allow for the more extreme groups such as Al-Qaeda or ISIS to recruit.

The Sadrists have a declared claim that they wish to keep Iraq away from regional conflicts, and to keep Iraq away from being part of any alliance or axis. They say they want a strong Iraqi state with centralised authority, and all heavy weaponry under the direct control of the Ministry of Defense. This is what they claim, and the easiest thing to do is to claim and talk and chant. In actual action, the Sadrist ministries and local offices have always been dens of corruption, just like other parties. Not to mention that the Sadrists themselves are in possession of weapons and control a private army, and have used violence and assassinations in the past. Anyway, inshallah khair.

I haven't seen a thread on this so I thought I'd make one. What is everyone's thoughts about the recent Iraqi elections?

Saudi Arabia is not the same country as it used to be, in fact the youth of the KSA are just as liberal as the youth in the other parts of the Arab world. Saudi Arabia will eventually implement laws similar to other Gulf countries, where there are baseline Islamic restrictions but still attractive enough for Western tourism and investment. You will really only see strict Islamic guidelines in Mecca and Medina, at the same time you will see another Dubai in the City of Neom that is currently being built. The region is changing, and Islamism seems to be on a dying trend in the Arab world. Nationalism and liberalism is on the rise.

Ruling 2640. It is unlawful to eat a locust that has not developed wings and is unable to fly. https://www.sistani.org/english/book/48/2358/

Let me just say, that this particular doctor has also said many incorrect and alarmist things that didn't turn out to be true at all. He always pushes the worst-case and doomsday scenarios in his tweets, sometimes used by antivaxxers in fact, such as when he pushes the narrative that the vaccines cannot stop Delta.

Locust is generally what is considered halal by the scholars. I haven't seen a fatwa allowing the consumption of grasshoppers.

Basically what he is saying is that you mustn't do anything which can be used as a reason to cause a split in the Muslim community, and the way in which you determine that what would cause such a split rests upon you.

That's something that may be claimed by Ahlul Kitab, but for us there is no condition for a Prophet to be apparent. That may also be true, but that does not mean there was no hujjah among those after Isa (عليه السلام) and his people. It is obvious he had a wasi, for example. But it may also be true that there was a hujjah in another side of the world. Both are possibilities, and in any case, the belief that is that the Earth has to have a hujjah somewhere at any one time has been proven.

Who knows, for all we know there may have been a hujja in the Middle East, as some narrations indicate, in fact there may have been multiple. Like I said, there are narrations which mention a Prophet called Khalid, before our Prophet (saww), and such a narration has been narrated from both Sunni and Shi'a sources, albeit weak, but not impossible, and Shaykh Al-Saduq (rah) considered it true. And likewise, there could have been deputies of Isa (عليه السلام) living in the Middle East aswell, all the way until our Prophet (saww), and some say Abu Talib was a wasi himself. And a wasi's job can simply be as basic as holding on to the truth and protecting it, without making public tabligh, which is what our Imams (عليه السلام) did. Like I said before, being apparent is not a condition of Prophethood or being a wasi, and I think you are confusing their roles with that of Messengers. There is no reason to believe there was no Prophets between Isa (عليه السلام) and our Prophet (saww) even in the Middle East, what may be true however is that there was probably no sent Messenger between them, atleast to the Middle East.

That's basically it, summed up.

There is a difference between not being apparent, and being unknown. The Imams (عليه السلام) were known as Imans only to a select group of people, while over 95% of the Ummah didn't even know they were Imams, to the point where their own students - in the case of the Sadiqayn (عليه السلام) - didn't even know they were Imams. Likewise, the Messengership of our Prophet (saww) started in secret. Even the Imam of our time (عليه السلام) is known, but he is not apparent. Just because a Hujjah isn't calling to himself to the people in a general manner, does not make him invisible.

1- As has been explained before, that among them were hujjahs that weren't apparent to their communities as hujjahs, which means the people did not see them as a source of guidance and chosen people, probably only knew them regular people in the community, even though they were in fact chosen by Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى), so why should the Prophet (saww) mention them to a people who did not see them as hujjahs? There are over 124,000 Prophets, not all of them were Messengers that actually had a Revelation to deliver. It is possible that there was many communities throughout the times where a Prophet existed and no one around him even knew he was even a Prophet, or only a select few knew, similar to the situations of our Imams, or some of them were in ghayba perhaps, like the Imam (عليه السلام) of our time. 2- There are mentions in our hadith corpus of Hujjahs that existed between Prophet Isa (عليه السلام) and our Prophet (saww). One of whom is mentioned is his wasi, Sham'oon (عليه السلام). Another name that has come in our hadith corpus is a Prophet by the name of Khalid bin Sinan, and in fact he is also mentioned in Sunni hadith - although the hadith is weak - nevertheless some of our ulama such as Shaykh Al-Saduq (rah) accepted that he was a Prophet. Some of our hadiths allude to Abu Talib (عليه السلام) being among the deputies (possibly of Isa). Once again, there are no issues here.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, we have a authentic hadith that is similar to that aswell. al-Ḥasan b. Maḥbūb related from Mālik b. `Aṭiyyah from Sulaymān b. Khālid from Abū `Abdillāh عليه السلام. He said: A group came to the Messenger of Allāh صلى الله عليه واله and said: O’ Messenger of Allāh! We saw a people, some of whom were prostrating to others. So the Messenger of Allāh صلى الله عليه واله said: Were I to order anyone to prostrate to another, I would have ordered the wife to prostrate to her husband. http://www.imamiyya.com/hadith/man-l-yauruh-al-faqh/right-of-husband-over-the-wife This authentic hadith is even more explanitory; A woman came to the Messenger of Allāh صلى الله عليه واله and said: O’ Messenger of Allāh! What is the right of the husband over the wife? He said to her: She obeys him and does not disobey him, does not give anything in charity from her house except with his permission, she does not keep a voluntary fast without his permission and does not prevent him from herself even if she be on hunchback. She does not leave her house but with his permission; if she leaves without his permission, the angels of the heaven, the angels of the earth, the angels of wrath and the angels of mercy damn her until she returns to her house. So she said: O’ Messenger of Allāh! Who among the people has the greatest right on the man? He said: His parents. She said: Who among the people has the greatest right over the woman? He said: Her husband. She said: So do I have a right over him similar to what he has over me? He said: No, not [even] one in a hundred! She said: By the One Who sent you as a Prophet with the truth, no man shall ever own my neck. http://www.imamiyya.com/hadith/man-l-yauruh-al-faqh/right-of-husband-over-the-wife And there is nothing wrong in any of these hadiths, as a woman has no right to disobey her husband in matters which he has a right over her, namely leaving the house and his right to pleasure. There are also rights that a wife has over her husband, such as his obligation to provide for her sustenance. We are a religion of rights, and people have rights over each other in this dunya. In the akhira, we will all be judged equally insha Allah.

1) I don't understand your first question. 2) The rule was there since Prophet Adam (عليه السلام) stepped foot on the Earth, as the hadiths indicate. The following is a beautiful hadith on this topic; [The narrator] I asked Abu Ja`far عليه السلام: Was `Isa b. Maryam عليه السلام like you (i.e. a hujja) in the cradle over the people of his era? So he said: On that day, he was a prophet and a hujja of Allah, but not a messenger. Have you not heard His saying, when he said, “I am the slave of Allah, He has given me the Book and has appointed me to be a prophet” (19:30)? I said: So on that day he was the hujja of Allah over Zakariyya in that state, and he was in the cradle? So he said: In that state, `Isa was a sign to the people, and a mercy from Allah to Maryam when he spoke on her behalf. He was a prophet and a hujja over whoever heard his words in that state. Then he went silent and did not speak until he was two years of age. And Zakariyya was the hujja of Allah عزوجل over the people after `Isa went silent for two years. Then, Zakariyya died, and his son Yahya inherited the Book and wisdom whilst he was a small boy. Have you not heard His عزوجل saying, “O Yahya, take the Book with strength; and We gave him wisdom as a child” (19:12). When `Isa عليه السلام became seven years of age, he spoke by prophethood and messengership when Allah تعالى divinely inspired him, and so `Isa became the hujja over Yahya and over all people. And the Earth does not remain, O Abu Khalid, for one day without a hujja of Allah over the people from the day Allah created Adam عليه السلام and settled him on the Earth. So I said: May I be your ransom, was `Ali عليه السلام a hujja from Allah and His Messenger above this Umma during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله? So he said: Yes, on the day he (i.e. the Prophet) raised him before the people, and appointed him and called them to his wilaya and commanded them to his obedience. I said: And was obedience to `Ali عليه السلام obligatory upon the people in the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله and after his passing? So he said: Yes, but he was silent and did not speak alongside the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله, as the obedience to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله was over his Umma and over `Ali عليه السلام in the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله. And the obedience of Allah and of His Messenger over all the people went to `Ali عليه السلام after the passing of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله; and `Ali عليه السلام was wise and knowledgeable. (al-Kafi, Volume 1, hadith 985) http://www.imamiyya.com/hadith/usul-kafi/book-4/chapter-91 The point is someone who is divinely appointed is always on this Earth, some time, some where, whether non-apparent (silent perhaps), or apparent and loud.

There is no contradiction between this hadith and the ones before it, all reliable, which say the Earth cannot be without an Imam or a Hujjah. The meaning of alim here does not simply mean simply a learned scholar or a faqih, but rather an individual appointed by Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). This is the result we get when we combine these hadiths. The Imams (عليه السلام) also referred to themselves as "alims" and "ulama" in many reliable hadiths. It is also very probably, if not certain, that Isa (عليه السلام) had a deputy (wasi), and our hadiths tend to mention Sham'un as that person. Once again, there is no proof that no Prophets or Proofs existed between Isa (عليه السلام) and our Prophet (saww), what is established is there was no apparent hujjah, and apparentness is not a condition of being a Prophet or a Hujjah. To suggest that the Earth can have a period without a Hujjah from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) would be to disregard all those reliable hadiths that were quoted before. This is literally a basic belief among the Imamiya concerning the Imams and Prophets.

There is a difference between a Prophet and a Messenger. It is quite possible that a Prophet existed in that time period, which simply means an infallible person who recieves divine inspiration (prophecy) from the Angels, and guides people on the matters of their religion, but without a specific Message (revelation) from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) to deliver, unlike a Messenger. It is also possible that such a person wasn't apparently known among his people as a Prophet, similar to how the Imams weren't known among their people as Imams except to a select amount of individuals. There were 124,000 Prophets since humanity began, it is in fact very likely that some of them weren't known as Prophets among their people, unlike Messengers who have to be apparent to deliver their Message (revelation). This hadith I believe answers your question well; My father رحمه الله narrated. He said: Muhammad b. Yahya al-`Attar narrated from Ya`qub b. Yazid from Muhammad b. Abi `Umayr from Sa`d b. Abu Khalaf from Ya`qub b. Shu`ayb from Abu `Abdillah عليه السلام. He said: Between `Isa and Muhammad عليهما السلام there was [a period of] five hundred years, from them were two hundred and fifty years in which there was no apparent prophet or sage (`alim). I said: So how were they? He said: They were grasping the religion of `Isa عليه السلام. I said: So how were they? He said: They were believers. Then, he عليه السلام said: And the Earth does not remain except with a sage (`alim) therein. http://www.imamiyya.com/hadith/kamal-deen/chapter-8

That's because they are the sons of tribes and families that revolted against Ottoman rule, and sided with the British in World War 1. The Ottomans fled Arab countries, and the French took over part of North Africa, Lebanon and Syria, while Britain gained power in the Gulf States, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan as a result of their alliance with these tribes, specifically the Al-Saud clan and the Hashmite clan. Then the French and Brits divided the Middle East's borders in the Sykes-Picot plan, and the Brits promised the Jews a homeland in Palestine. So yeah, nearly all our calamities and problems can be connected to British and Western colonialism.

The only Sustainer is Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). When he (عليه السلام) dies, the time for raj'ah will come. The reliable hadiths are clear that the Earth cannot exist without a hujjah. http://www.imamiyya.com/hadith/usul-kafi/book-4/chapter-5 http://www.imamiyya.com/hadith/kamal-deen/chapter-21

They treat their citzens and Western and/or highly educated expats very well, but treat labour workers from South Asia and Africa very poorly. Very unislamic and unethical, but my point was that there is no reason for their citzens to seek refuge to the West. I should have clarified that earlier.