narsis

Bismillah. Salaam. To recite the Qur'an is, itself, light and brings you light. So the Qur'an says: فَاقْرَؤُا ما تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْآن‏ "Recite from the Quran as much as possible!" (73:20) As it has been mentioned in Ahādīth, the minimum is 50 verses but it doesn't mean that if you only can recite 10 verses every day, you are not allowed. We have to do our best to recite it everyday -10 verses or 50 or more -. The second light that has been emphasized upon a lot by the Qur'an and Ahādīth is pondering on the verses. Therefore try to balance between these two lights. With Duas. Narsis.

Of course good deeds have to be done towards all people but the Hadith is going to emphasize on parents and their priority for our good treatment.

But the text of Hadith stands for mother ... this could be a good topic for research.

This is a historical event that includes different records; even in the personality of his mother.

Bismillah. Salaam. Their conduct, based on their knowledge and inerrancy, was the best conduct and they have never done any mistreatment to their parents. Here you can be informed of some of their words and deeds in this regard: Imam Sadiq (a.s.) stated: بِرُّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ مِنْ حُسْنِ مَعْرِفَةِ الْعَبْدِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِذْ لَا عِبَادَةَ أَسْرَعُ بُلُوغاً لِصَاحِبِهَا إِلَى رِضَاءِ اللَّهِ مِنْ بِرِّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ الْمُؤْمِنَيْنِ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَی "Goodness towards the parents is an indication of a person’s excellent cognizance of Allah. This is because there is no worship that can take a person towards the happiness of Allah faster than exhibiting respect towards his Muslim parents for the sake of Allah." (Misbāh al-shariʻah, p.70) And Imam Baqir (a.s.) said: ثَلَاثٌ لَمْ يَجْعَلِ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ لِأَحَدٍ فِيهِنَّ رُخْصَةً أَدَاءُ الْأَمَانَةِ إِلَى الْبَرِّ وَ الْفَاجِرِ وَ الْوَفَاءُ بِالْعَهْدِ لِلْبَرِّ وَ الْفَاجِرِ وَ بِرُّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ بَرَّيْنِ كَانَا أَوْ فَاجِرَيْنِ "There are three things which Allah, the Mighty and the Glorious has not permitted anyone to forsake: returning a trust to its owner, irrespective of whether he is a good person or an evil one; fulfilling one’s promises and covenants, irrespective of whether it has been made to a good person or an evil one; being good and kind towards one’s parents, irrespective of whether they are good or evil." (al-Kāfī, vol.2, p.162) And also the historical record says that Imam Sajjad (a.s.) have always refused to eat with his mother. Someone asked him: though you have utmost attempt to do Silatul Rahim and you are the most merciful towards your relatives than other people, so why do you refuse to eat with your mother? He answered: because I fear to grab the piece of food that she was going to get. (al-Khisāl, vol.2, p.518). With Duas. Narsis.

Bismillah. Salaam. There are definitions for ignorance; according to some Mufassīrīn "Jahl" or ignorance is used more to indicates foolishness and being reckless in regard with truth. For example Allah (s.w.t.) says in the Qur'an: prophet Yūsuf said: قالَ رَبِّ السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَني‏ إِلَيْهِ وَ إِلاَّ تَصْرِفْ عَنِّي كَيْدَهُنَّ أَصْبُ‏ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَ أَكُنْ مِنَ الْجاهِلين‏ "He said," My Lord! The prison is dearer to me than to what they invite me. If You do not turn away their schemes from me, then I will incline towards them and become one of the senseless." (12:33) Ignorance in this verse means paying attention and inclining to those women. This term (Jahl) is also used in the Qur'an to mean: "lack of knowledge"; the Qur'an says: لِلْفُقَراءِ الَّذينَ أُحْصِرُوا في‏ سَبيلِ اللَّهِ لا يَسْتَطيعُونَ ضَرْباً فِي الْأَرْضِ يَحْسَبُهُمُ‏ الْجاهِلُ أَغْنِياءَ مِنَ التَّعَفُّفِ تَعْرِفُهُمْ بِسيماهُمْ لا يَسْئَلُونَ النَّاسَ إِلْحافاً وَ ما تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَليم‏ "(Alms are) for the poor who are confined in the Way of Allah they cannot go about in the land;" the ignorant man thinks them to be rich on account of (their) abstaining (from begging) you can recognize them by their mark they do not beg from men importunately And whatever good thing you spend, sure Allah knows it." (2:273) With Duas. Narsis.

Of course the second one is meant ... to heal someone that Doctors have failed to cure is not impossible as experience has shown during history due to many reasons among which I can mention imperfection of medical sciences.

Insha'Allah ... if man always listens to Allah (s.w.t.), he can reach to the level that Allah (s.w.t.) will always listen to him.

According to some Ahaadith when man finds out in hereafter the reward of Duas that have not been answered, he will wish that no Dua of him get answered in Dunya.

Bismillah. Salaam. Some points regarding the concept of "Dua" in Islam; There are plenty of Qur'anic verses and Ahādīth encouraging people to pray and stick to Dua as much as they can. The Qur'an states: وَ قالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُوني‏ أَسْتَجِبْ‏ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبادَتي‏ سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ داخِرين‏ "Our Lord has said," Pray to Me for I shall answer your prayers. Those who are too proud to worship Me will soon go to hell in disgrace". (40:60) Question: Whom should we ask from? Answer: the answer is in the Qur'an as well. There is no one worthy to be asked from except Allah (s.w.t.) Who is all-Powerful and all-Wise; أَمَّنْ يُجيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذا دَعاهُ وَ يَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ وَ يَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفاءَ الْأَرْضِ أَ إِلهٌ مَعَ اللَّهِ قَليلاً ما تَذَكَّرُون‏ "(Are the idols worthier or) the One who answers the prayers of the distressed ones, removes their hardship, and makes you the successors in the land? Is there any lord besides God? In fact, you take very little heed. (27:62) وَ إِذا سَأَلَكَ عِبادي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَريبٌ أُجيبُ‏ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذا دَعانِ فَلْيَسْتَجيبُوا لي‏ وَ لْيُؤْمِنُوا بي‏ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُون‏ "(Muhammad), if any of My servants ask you about Me, tell them that the Lord says,"I am near; I accept the prayers of those who pray." Let My servants answer My call and believe in Me so that perhaps they may know the right direction." (2:186) What are the benefits of Dua: There are many benefits mentioned by the Qur'an and Ahādīth for making Dua. Here I mention some of those: Enjoyment of worshiping. To be detached from other than Allah and attached to Him. To remove solicitude, worriment and fear from himself through connecting to Merciful Allah. Dua is compensation for the failure of man; the Qur'an says: قَالَ رَ‌بِّ اشْرَ‌حْ لِي صَدْرِ‌ي – وَيَسِّرْ‌ لِي أَمْرِ‌ي – وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي – يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي – وَاجْعَل لِّي وَزِيرً‌ا مِّنْ أَهْلِي He said," My Lord! Open my breast for me – Make my affair easy for me. – Remove the hitch from my tongue – [so that] they may understand my discourse. – Appoint for me a minister from my family. (20:25-29) Dua is the weapon of Prophets. (al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 468, H.5) Dua protects us from calamities and fate. (al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 469) Dua is heal for pains. (Makārim al-akhlāq, p. 271) Dua is the key of granting. (2:186) The person who is asking Allah (s.w.t.) has to know two things: Allah (s.w.t.), Who is the source of everything. Himself who is at the highest level of need. Etiquette of doing Dua: 1. To begin it with "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim"; Allah (s.w.t.) says in a Divine Hadīth: کل أمرٍ ذی بالٍ لم يُبدَأ ببسم الله فهو ابتر "Any important work which is not started with Bismillah remains incomplete." (Bihār al-Anwār, vol. 73, p. 305) 2. To glorify and exalt Allah (s.w.t.) before asking. 3. To recite Salawāt before asking. 4. To ask Allah (s.w.t.) through intercession of sacred ones. 5. To confess sins before Allah (s.w.t.). 6. To pray two Rakʻats. 7. Not to underestimate any request. 8. To include others in his Duas. 9. To do Dua in private. 10. To do public Dua. 11. To be hopeful for answering. 12. To choose the proper time for making Dua; When the winds blow. At noon and afternoon. When it begins to rain. After morning Salāt at dawn. After Maqrīb. There are three points that person has to be always reminded of: Not to ask for impossible and impermissible things. Not to hurry for being answered and letting Allah (s.w.t.) to decide when is the time of acceptance due to His wisdom. Not to teach Allah (s.w.t.) what is his benefit. He knows better. Barriers of acceptance of Dua: Sins. Injustice. Incompatibility of Dua with Allah's wisdom. With Duas. Narsis.

Bismillah. Salaam. Hermeneutic is defined as "theory or philosophy of interpretation of meaning" and it is in fact a kind of research methodology that specifies to humanities and social sciences. Therefore it speaks about this question: "how is the process of understanding?" or "how does a meaning transfer from a person's mind to the other's" and questions like these. There are great differences between Hermanutical way and interpretational way that is used by religious scholars. Among the main differences is that religious interpreters attempt to deduce the meanings of the Divine Legislator (Allah) from the scriptures while based on Hermanutical way, scholars approach the scripture apart from its writer and they do not care about its writer's implications and study the scripture qua scripture. So according to Hermanutical way every word and sentence of scripture could have different meaning in different periods and indeed this is history that gives meaning to the scripture. With Duas. Narsis.

Bismillah. Salaam. The only way is increasing knowledge regarding your religion (theologically and jurisprudentially) and then acting upon your knowledge based on following Imams and pious experts. With Duas. Narsis.

Bismillah. Rights of children should be approached form two aspects: 1) His/her rights as Human. 2) His/her rights as a child. With Duas. Narsis.

Bismillah. Salaam. When referring to historical documents we find that after the martyrdom of Fatimah Al-Zahra, Amir al Muminin (A.S.) had three children that had the same names as the Khulafa. One of them was Abu Bakr bin Ali bin Abi Talib the son of Laila, the daughter of Masoud Thaqafi [1]. The other child was Usman, whose mother was Ummul Banin (which both of them were martyred in Karbala alongside their brother Imam Hussein (A.S.). [2] The third child was named Umar, the son of Imam Ali. [3] There are a few points that must be noted regarding the naming of these children: 1. Basically naming your children with same names as somebody else doesn’t prove your affection for them and doesn’t mean you share the same beliefs and fiqhi and political stances, the same way not using those names doesn’t necessarily suggest any sort of friction and enmity, although undoubtedly, love and hate sometimes might play a role in this issue. In addition, the public mindset at that time was that using those names wasn’t a significant thing and was not conceived as a sign of approval or disapproval. As a matter of fact these names would not remind anyone of the Khulafa and it was actually through the passing of time and history that the name of these three individuals were bolded, but back then these names were so common that if Ali (A.S.) or anybody else chose the name Abu Bakr for their child it wasn’t reminiscent of the First Khalifa. One must know that the names of the three khalifas were not confined to them, but actually frequently used before and after Islam, among Arabs. This naming could not be a reason for friendship and liking. For example, the last king of Iran, named Muhammad Reza, was the most despised person in the country, but at the same time this didn’t change the fact that this name was commonly used among people. There were others among the great Sahabah (The Companions) of the Prophet (A.S.) that had the same name as the Khulafa too such as Usman bin Maznun and others so how can someone claim that these names weren’t for the remembrance of these great companions. You can check the names of the Sahaba that were named Abu Bakr, Umar and Usman in Al-Isti’aab by Ibn Abdul Birr and Asad Al-Ghabah by Ibn Athir. Now we will take a brief look at the book <<Asad Al-Gabah Fi Maarifah Al-Sahaba>> and list those who had the name Umar. 1. Umar Al-Aslami, 2. Umar Al-Jami’I, 3. Umar bin Al-Hukm, 4. Umar bin Salim Al-Khazai’i, 5. Umar bin Siraqah, 6. Umar bin Sa’ad Al-Anmari, 7. Umar bin Sa’ad Al-Salma, 8. Umar bin Sufyan, 9. Umar bin Abi Salmah, 10. Umar bin Amir Al-Salma, 11. Umar bin Ubaidullah, 12. Umar bin Akramah, 13. Umar bin Amr Al-Laisi, 14. Umar bin Umair, 15. Umar bin Auf, 16. Umar bin Azyah, 17. Umar bin Laheq, 18. Umar bin Malik bin Uqbah, 19. Umar bin Malik Al-Ansari, 20. Umar bin Muawiyah Al-Qazeri, 21. Umar bin Yazid, 22. Umar bin Al-Yamani. These are just the people whom Ibn Asir has mentioned in his book. We can clearly deduce that these names have been commonly used throughout history, both before and after Islam and frequently heard in all groups and classes. Also, there are many of the Tabi’in (The Followers) that had the name Umar, the book Mu'jam Al-Thiqat has listed nearly 60 pages of narrators that had the name Umar. These names were very common at the time of the infallibles such as Abu Bakr bin Abdullah Sa’d Ash’ari and Abu Bakr Hadhrami who were narrators of Imam Sadiq’s (A.S.) hadith, and Usman bin Saied which was one of the four special representatives of Imam Zaman (A.S.) in the time of the minor occultation. All of these facts prove that using names like Abu Bakr, Umar and Usman would not remind anyone of anybody except the owner of the name himself. It isn't as if there was only one Ali and one Abu Bakr (Umar or Usman) and despite this scenario, Imam Ali still went ahead and named his children Abu Bakr, Umar or Usman; these names were commonly used by different people at various times. (Of course, if naming a certain name is ever ordered by God or His Prophet it will carry with itself a sacredness, as is the case with the names of the children of Ali (A.S.) and Fatimah (S.A.) children; Hassan and Hussein (A.S.). [4]) Therefore, you will agree that the names of the other Khulafa were famous and common names before and after Islam and no one would ever remember the Khulafa when hearing them. Therefore we cannot overlook all of what has been written in history regarding the enmity Imam Ali had with the other Khulafa because of a simple similarity in name. [5] 2. The Imam, with his high wisdom and insight, would hide his pains and discontent and would take part in helping the Khulafa for the sake and interest of the newly emerged Islam, to the point where Umar stated on several occasions: «لو لا علی لهلک عمر» [6] (If it wasn’t for Ali, Umar would have certainly perished). Some have the theory that these names were used to compromise with the Khulafa, for this would reduce the friction and tension in the Muslim society, not that it was an approval and sign of truce and friendship with the mentioned individuals. In any case, if we consider the suppression and pressure imposed on Shiites at that time, we will conclude that in order to protect the Shiites the infallibles were sometimes compelled to act (taqiyah) in a different and maybe controversial, but, still, Islamically permissible way, like: naming their children with the names of the Khulafa and creating ties through marriage with the great Sahabah so that the oppressive government of the Bani Umayyah and Bani Abbas would not persecute Shiites even more by stimulating ignorant people to ravage and kill them with the excuse that they are against the three Khalifas. [7]” It is useful to note that nowhere in our historical books (that have been studied) has it been mentioned that Imam Ali directly chose these names, hence there is a possibility that these names were picked by his respected spouses or others which the Imam respected and wouldn’t argue with their decisions. Some specific points regarding every name: Abu Bakr: 1) This name is not original name but agnomen and if Imam was going to name his son by the name of Abu Bakr, he would chose Abu Bakr's name not agnomen and also to choose an agnomen for a child was not completely done by father and the child would have done that according to what is going on in his life. 2) According to some historical records, the name of that son was Abdullah (which is a popular name) and according to Abu-l-Faraj Isfahānī he got martyred while he was 25 in Karbala. Umar: 1- According to historical records, Umar ibn Khattāb was used to change the names of children and he, himself, named the son of Imam (a.s.) as Umar. In Ansāb al-Ashrāf (Genealogies of the Nobles) Ahmad Ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri wrote: "Umar ibn Khattāb named Umar ibn Ali as his name." (vol.1, p.297) and also Zahabī said: "he was born in Umar's time so he gave him his name" (Siyar Aʻlām al-Nubalāʼ, vol. 4, p. 134). Umar also changed others' names like: A) "Abd al-Rahmān ibn Hārith" whose original name was Ibrāhīm (alʼIsābah fi Tamyīz al-Sahābah written by ʻAsqalānī, vol. 5, p. 29). B) "Al-Ajdaʻ Abi Masrūq ibn Abd al-Rahmān"; Umar changed his name and named him as Abd al-Rahmān. (AlʼIsābah fi Tamyīz al-Sahābah, vol. 1, p. 186, number: 425). C) "Thaʻlabah ibn Saʻd ibn Muʻallā" whose name was changed to Muʻallā by Umar. (al-Ansāb, vol. 1, p. 250) 2- The name of "Umar" was a common name; in the book "AlʼIsābah", ibn Hajar made a list including 21 companions of the Prophet (p) whose names were Umar. (vol. 4, p. 587-597). Uthmān: 1. To name his son as Uthmān, was not based on Imam's enthusiasm for the third caliph, rather it was due to Imam's enthusiasm for Uthmān ibn Mazʻūn (one of the companions of the Prophet); Al-Saqafi in his Tareek stated, from Habeerah bin Maryam who said: "We were seated with Ali (as) when he called His son Usman and said, "O' Usman". Then He said, "I did not name him after Usman the chief of the disbelievers, verily I named him after Uthmān ibn Mazʻūn." (Maqātil al-Tālibiyyīn, vol. 1, p. 23 and Bihār al-Anwār, vol. 31, p. 307). 2. The name of "Uthmān" was also a common name; in the book "AlʼIsābah", ibn Hajar made a list including 26 companions of the Prophet (p) whose names were Uthmān. (vol. 4, p. 463-447). More information: http://www.islamquest.net/en/archive/question/fa2472 http://www.valiasr-aj.com/fa/page.php?id=437&bank=question&startrec=4 [1] Mu’jam al-Thuqat, vol. 21, pg. 66. [2] Al-Irshad, pg. 484. [3] Mu’jam al-Thuqat, vol. 13, pg. 45. [4] Muntahal-Amal, vol. 1, pg. 220. [5] Tabari, Muhammad, Pasokhe Javane Shi’i, pp. 55-56. [6] فَرَأَیْتُ أَنَّ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى هَاتَا أَحْجَى فَصَبَرْتُ وَ فِی الْعَیْنِ قَذًى وَ فِی الْحَلْقِ شَجًا أَرَى تُرَاثِی نَهْباNahjul-Balaghah (Sobhi Saleh), pg. 48, sermon 3. [7] Tabari, Muhammad, Pasokhe Javane Shi’i, pp. 56-57. With Duas. Narsis.

Ayatullah Sistani: you have to pay according to Wajib precaution Ayatullah Khamenei: you should pay according to Mustahab precaution