Ibn al-Hussain

15. Guest Appearance: Child on a Quranic Journey | The Dictations In this episode of The Dictations, we invited guest Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Maisami - founder of Quranic Journey - along with his young inspirational son Muhammad Reza from the city of Qom, Iran. You don't want to miss out on this episode! Watch Here: https://youtu.be/q36fG1ZXc6w 0:00 Clips of sister Fatima Waziri (mother) and Muhammad Reza (son) 3:00 Intro & story of how I met Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Maisami 8:45 Conversation with Sheikh Muhammad Maisami 10:50 Background and early upbringing 14:58 The phenomenon of young kids & their grasp over the Quran in the 90s 19:35 How Sheikh Muhammad Maisami and his wife worked with their son Muhammad Reza 27:35 Discussion on pedagogical techniques employed 32:50 How feasible is it for other families and parents 38:30 5 main chapters every child should understand 41:40 Is this not unnecessary pressure on the child & what about their school education? 53:40 Progress on Sheikh Muhammad Maisami's younger daughter 56:30 What keeps you continuously attached to the Quran? 1:05:00 Closing remarks with Sheikh Muhammad Maisami 1:11:10 Introduction with Muhammad Reza 1:12:55 What new surahs have you learned? 1:13:50 Exploring Surah al-Kahf 1:24:35 Final message by Muhammad Reza on the importance of hard work

14. History of Standardized Exams in the Qom Seminary | The Dictations Watch: https://youtu.be/W4dOEwgJFpg In this episode, we look at the history of how and why standardized exams were introduced in the seminary of Qom by Reza Shah during the time of Ayatullah Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi, then reintroduced by Ayatullah Borujerdi, and have remained part of the seminary system till today. 0:00 Intro 2:25 Importance of reading travelogues and autobiographies 5:00 The Life of an Unidentified Person 10:00 Reza Shah's Uniform Dress Law 14:12 Shaykh Muhammad Hujjati speaking about his exam experience in 1930s 19:17 Timeline of standardized exams in the Qom Seminary 33:48 What would happen in Madrassas before the introduction of standardized exams? 37:40 Memos between the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Education Ministry and the Qom seminary (between 1933-1936) 52:40 Anecdotes from the time of Ayatullah Haeri Yazdi 57:55 Three committees formed by Ayatullah Borujerdi (in 1949) 1:02:17 Anecdotes from the time of Ayatullah Borujerdi 1:05:55 Personal anecdote: Being assessed by Ustad Ghulam-Reza Fayyazi 1:12:25 Summative & Formative assessments 1:17:55 Personal anecdote: Positive impact of formative assessments 1:20:45 What do summative exams really prove? 1:23:20 Closing remarks

Course: Music in Islamic Law, Culture & Society Archived course ($40 USD) – now open for purchase In this short course, we explore the subject of singing, music and musical instruments in Islam. The lessons cover the history of how music as a discipline entered the Muslim world after the demise of the Prophet (p), and in particular focus on the discourse that occurred in the Abbasid era over singing and music as reflected in the Shi’i hadith tradition. A number of narrations condemning singing and music will be analyzed and opinions of Shi’i scholars as well as other contributors to the Islamic civilization will be summarized. To register & to see timestamps for each lesson, visit: https://iqraonline.net/music-in-islamic-law-culture-society/ --- History of Singing and Music in Muslim Communities | Lesson 1 0:00 Intro to module 5:25 Rulings of Sayyid Sistani & Sayyid Khamenei 14:30 Music in pre-Islamic Arabia & after Islam 23:23 Analysis of Ibn Khaldun 35:08 Analysis of Jawad Ali in al-Mufassal fi Tarikh al-Arab Qabl al-Islam 40:30 Analysis of Shahid Mutahhari 44:50 Opinions of early Muslims 54:35 Opinions of early non-Shi’a jurists 1:04:20 Summary of first lesson Music & Singing in Light of the Intellect and Quran | Lesson 2 0:00 Intro 3:10 Music & singing in light of the intellect (‘aql) 21:42 Identifying problematic instances of lahw 33:25 Music & singing in light of the Qur’an 42:30 Conclusion on Qur’anic discussion on music & singing 51:00 Final points & discussion Music & Singing in Light of the Hadith | Lesson 3 0:00 Recap & Introduction 7:25 Music & singing in light of the narrations 43:25 Narrations that give more context 52:25 Summary of conclusion on music & singing 55:55 Red lines on music & singing 57:11 Remarks by Sayyid Khamenei on role of Muslims in the field of music 1:05:30 Discussion Views of Jurists & Case Studies | Lesson 4 0:00 Introduction 1:15 Revisiting the rulings of Sayyid Sistani & Sayyid Khamenei 23:37 Checklist criteria for determining impermissible music & singing 30:35 Case Study 1: Allah Made Everything 35:07 Case Study 2: Salam Farmandeh 44:10 Case Study 3: Lowkey – Heroes of Human History 48:15 Case Study 4: Club Music 54:12 Case Study 5: Atif Aslam – Tajdar e Haram | Coke Studio 57:23 Case Study 6: Julia Boutros – Ahibai 1:09:10 Case Study 7: Popular celebrity singers and Bollywood songs 1:15:20 Summary & Discussion

13. Praying Behind the Non-Shi'a | The Dictations Watch Now: https://youtu.be/OhF9fjo5Sko In this episode, we explore the historical developments of the Shi'i Imami ruling on praying in congregation behind the non-Shi'a. 0:00 Intro 1:20 Sunni mosques in Iran 15:00 Reward for praying behind the non-Shi'a 18:30 Letter of Ibn Babuwayh al-Qumi (d. 327 AH) to Shaykh Saduq (d. 381 AH) 26:15 Opinions of Shaykh Mufid (d. 413) & Shaykh Tusi (d. 460) 30:05 Opinion of Ibn Idris al-Hilli (d. 598) and Shahid Awwal (d. 768) 37:55 Letter of a group of believers to Shahid Thani (d. 966) 39:53 Opinion of Shaykh Salih Mazandarani (d. 1081) and Mulla Fayd Kashani (d. 1091) 43:00 Opinion of Shaykh Yusuf Bahrani (d. 1186 AH / 1772) & Shaykh Kashif al-Ghita (d. 1277 / d. 1812) 45:25 Opinion of Mirza Qumi (d. 1231 / 1816) & Shaykh Ahmad al-Qatifi 50:00 Opinion of Shaykh Ansari (d. 1281 / d. 1864) 51:20 Shift from fear to unity - opinion of Allamah Sharaf al-Din (d. 1377 / d. 1957) 56:45 Opinion of contemporary jurists

12. Deceptive Devotion: The Art of Showing Off | The Dictations Watch Now: https://youtu.be/TOStDGdr0gM In this episode, we explore the vice of showing off & ostentation (riya') as presented in traditional Islamic literature, particularly the Sufi-Mystical literature, and identify some of its common instances. 0:00 The story about Cats and Mice by Ubayd al-Zakani (d. 1370) 9:15 What is riya' & some of its contexts 15:05 A Prophetic tradition on a martyr, scholar & wealthy person showing off 19:50 Riya' in beliefs, worship and ethics 25:25 Six degrees of riya' in worship 32:15 Riya' in Sufi-Mystical literature 38:52 Instances of riya' in Sufi-Mystical literature 41:45 Story from Gulistan of Saadi Shirazi (d. 1292) 44:42 Poetry from Sana'i Ghaznawi (d. 1141) on people of his time engaging in riya' 47:44 Mulla Ahmad Naraqi's (d. 1829) poetry against a charlatan 59:00 Instances of riya' in the 21st century 1:03:45 A general principle that helps us stay away from riya'

11. Less is More: Establishing Importance Through Quantity of Hadith | The Dictations In this episode of The Dictations, we look at whether having a large number of hadith on a topic means it is necessarily more important and significant than a topic that has a fewer number of hadith. Watch Now: https://youtu.be/YIoSln77vos Timestamps 0:00 Intro 1:40 Madinatul 'Ilm - the lost book of Shaykh Saduq (d. 381/991) 5:10 Would our faith look different had this book been preserved? 13:40 The quantity of pages of Kitab al-Tawhid & Kitab al-Hujjah from Usul al-Kafi 17:15 The discussion on tazahum (mutual competition) in legal theory 19:45 Does quantity of narrations prove that a certain topic is more important? 20:50 Shahid Baqir al-Sadr's (d. 1980) discussion on resolving the dilemma of tazahum through quantity 24:00 i) A topic may be a common occurence in society 26:45 ii) The political and communal context may disallow for certain topics to be spoken about openly 29:10 Muhaqqiq Karaki's (d. 940/1534) remarks in his treatise on cursing 38:00 iii) The topic may need to be repeatedly emphasized as people become heedless of it 38:41 Explaining the large quantity of narrations on temporary marriage (mut'ah) in Shi'i hadith 42:30 iv) The topic may be linked to a specific prominent event 44:45 v) The scholar's beliefs and assumptions may result in a certain topic being popularized 47:00 Ibn al-Junayd and narrations on ijtihad/qiyas 50:20 Shaykh Saduq and narrations on seeing Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) 54:45 Is ethics more important than law due to greater quantity of verses in the Quran? 57:20 Does quantity prove the importance of a topic if all things are equal? Don't forget to subscribe, like, comment and share!

10. "Allah Didn't Want Me To Marry You!" | The Dictations Premiering on May 3rd: https://youtu.be/oV3Gb8CLTBg In this episode of The Dictations we explore the popular culture of Istikhara in our communities. What are the different types of Istikhara mentioned in the Islamic tradition? Which forms of it are authentic and which ones are unreliable? 0:00 Intro 2:20 Bombing of the Iranian parliament in 1908 based on an Istikhara 13:35 Istikhara in the Hadith corpus 15:50 Linguistic meaning of Istikhara 20:04 Popular understanding of Istikhara today 21:19 i) Istikhara with rosary beads 26:15 ii) Istikhara with the Quran 46:07 How the Ansar al-Mahdi cult rely on Istikhara to determine the Hujjah 51:25 iii) Istikhara of Tayr 52:48 iv) Istikhara of Riqa' 57:00 v) Istikhara of the Heart 59:20 vi) Istikhara of Consultation 1:00:30 Appointing someone to do Istikhara for you 1:05:40 The role of Sayyid Ibn Tawus (d. 1266) and the Mongol attack on Baghdad in popularizing other forms of Istikhara 1:12:40 Sayyid Ibn Tawus was anti-Wilayat al-Faqih? A strange meeting with a PhD student and severe critic of Ibn Tawus in Qom 1:19:45 Final remarks on the importance of Du'a and Tawakkul on Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى)

9. The Mysterious Disjointed Letters | The Dictations Watch Now: https://youtu.be/WGiVILimQRw In this episode, we shed light on the disjointed letters that appear at the beginning of some of the Quranic chapters, and then explore 20 opinions of scholars on what they possibly mean. This discussion is a summary of what is presented by Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli in his Tafsir. Don't forget to subscribe, like, comment and share! Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:50 Shaykh Mahmud Halabi's (d. 1998) cryptic message in his transcript from Mirza Mahdi Isfahani's (d. 1945) class 13:00 Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli's Quranic exegesis 14:30 Collection of 20 opinions in Tasneem 15:45 Generic features of the disjointed letters 22:40 20 Opinions 1:08:40 Comments of Ayatullah Jawadi on the view of Ibn 'Arabi and other mystics 1:12:10 Final remarks

8. The I'tikaf (Spiritual Retreat) | The Dictations Watch Now: https://youtu.be/lGQWG9OyBYc In this episode of The Dictations we will explore how the practice of I'tikaf during the month of Ramadan was an uncommon practice in Shi'a communities due to the rulings of the jurists before 17th-century hijri, but how the treatise and efforts of a single scholar changed that. Furthermore, we will analyze the practice of I'tikaf in modern-day Iran and how time and place variables played a role in altering its form, turning it from a worship of solitude to a communal practice. Don't forget to subscribe, like and share! Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 5:00 Culture of I'tikaf in Rajab in Iran 10:50 The history of I'tikaf in the Shi'a communities 13:40 Treatise of Shaykh Lutfullah al-Maysi (d. 1032 / 1623) 15:50 Why did he write this treatise? 17:55 First concern: The I'tikaf should only happen in the 4 dedicated mosques 24:15 Can the I'tikaf only be done in a mosque in which an infallible Imam led prayers? 26:16 Second concern: Why is the I'tikaf only being done in the last 10 days of Ramadan? 28:55 Third concern: Why are we building shades and alcove roof covering in the mosque during I'tikaf? 32:30 Fourth concern: Why are you doing ihya' during the I'tikaf? 36:10 Shaykh Lutfullah's response to his critic 38:25 I'tikaf from a sociological perspective 41:25 A Rebirth: A Sociological Reflection on I'tikaf by Rayhaneh Saremi 47:10 A Journey to Solitude: An Ethnographic Narrative of the Religious Experience of I'tikaf by Mohammad-Reza Puyafar 54:55 A recap

7. What's in a Word? | Etiquettes of Speech | The Dictations In this episode of The Dictations, we discuss some perspectives on our way of speaking, and the etiquette that should be maintained while using our tongues. Watch Now: https://youtu.be/u-3MoXYp2Xo 0:00 Intro 1:25 Lines of poetry from the Kashkul of Shaykh Baha'i (d. 1030/1620) 8:25 Why nonsense talk is prevalent in the modern era 12:45 Dimensions of speech 13:40 i) Content 20:00 ii) Place 22:50 iii) Tone 26:10 iv) Framework 32:00 Qualities of speech mentioned in the Quran 39:22 Etiquettes of speech demonstrated by Khidr 48:25 An anecdote from my Farsi class in 2013 Subscribe, like, share and comment!

I discuss the book briefly in my Tafsir lessons here: https://youtu.be/sXexCCCSwMg?t=3650 Wasalam

6. Sincerity in Preaching: Muhaddith Nuri's Lulu wa Marjaan | The Dictations In this episode of The Dictations, we explore the phenomenon of religious speakers and eulogy reciters charging money for lectures through the lens of a 19th-century Shi'i Imami scholar, Muhaddith Nuri (d. 1902). Watch: https://youtu.be/PPyFfY9qUXs 0:00 Intro 1:03 Abu Aswad al-Du'ali's (d. 69/689) poem for Mu'awiyah 5:50 Theme of loyalty to the Ahl al-Bayt (a) in the Imami hadith corpus 8:00 Discourse on 'Scholars for Dollars' between 2006-2012 Western Shi'a communities 10:50 Discovering the book Lulu wa Marjaan of Muhaddith Nuri (d. 1902) 13:30 Advise for seminarians on how to strengthen their grasp on Farsi and Arabic 16:25 Some remarks on Muhaddith Nuri 19:10 Ikhlas (Sincerity) - summary of the first chapter of Lulu wa Marjaan 20:35 A fundamental premise: Making others mourn is an act of worship 27:10 Some observations on this premise 32:30 First consequence: Riya' (Showing off) 35:35 Second consequence: Becoming an instance of those who make the name of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) as a source of their livelihood 46:40 Are there any ways to justify the practice of charging money? 48:10 Comparing the role of the mu'adhdhin with the role of one who makes people mourn 52:30 Third consequence: Becoming an instance of those who have sold their Hereafter for the world 1:01:35 A complaint of Muhaddith Nuri 1:04:30 The community's moral duty towards the reciters

5. Preliminaries of Reflection | The Dictations In this episode, we discuss some of the prerequisites and preliminaries for proper reflection and thinking. Watch: 0:00 Intro 1:30 Muhammad Nabi b. Ahmad Toyserkani's (d. 1902) remarks on why contemplation is greater than worship in his La'ali al-Akhbar 15:10 Shahid Qadhi Tabataba'i (d. 1979) and his works 18:30 His footnotes on Fadil Miqdad's (d. 826/1422) work al-Lawāmi' al-Ilāhīyya fi al-Mabāhith al-Kalāmīyya 21:15 How to access NoorLib 22:00 Discussion on Nazar (Necessity of investigating into religion) 23:05 Qadhi Tabataba'is footnote #3 24:30 i) Leaving intolerance & bias 26:15 ii) Moral courage 29:20 iii) Staying away from wants 31:08 iv) Leave or minimize pleasures 33:45 v) Adopting patience & steadfastness 39:45 vi) Not having an ulterior motive 42:30 Attempting to build a belief system from scratch Don't forget to drop a comment, subscribe, like and share!

4. The Infallibility Cloak | The Dictations In this episode, we discuss the phenomenon of humans draping themselves with a cloak of infallibility and how that impacts the way they interpret themselves. Please don't forget to subscribe, like, comment and share on the video! Thank You. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3uMffsORAY Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:05 An Arabic proverb: It's a goat, even if it flies 4:15 Putting an infallibility cloak over ourselves 6:00 Verse of the Quran 8:20 How we justify our moral vices 10:45 i) Reconstruct the moral perception 23:30 ii) Changing one's language 26:50 iii) Comparing with others 28:20 iv) Attributing responsibility to others 31:15 v) Blaming others 33:25 Infallibility cloak on others 35:30 The Halo & Horn Effect 42:30 Importance of learning about Islamic history fairly

3. Arrogance & Conceit | The Dictations In this episode of The Dictations, we explore the human tendency and inclinations towards arrogance and conceit. Timestamps 0:00 Intro 1:10 An Urdu poem of Allama Iqbal (d. 1938) 7:30 The problem of arrogance (kibr) 15:50 Some remarks about al-Khutba of al-Qasi'ah (Sermon 192) in Nahj al-Balagha 19:05 Words of Imam 'Ali (a) on humility in the sermon of al-Qasi'ah 24:30 Wealth and arrogance 27:15 Conceit ('Ujb) the foundation of arrogance 30:55 Quote of Shaykh Baha'i (d. 1621) on conceit 34:15 Narration on two types of conceit 38:05 Narrations on conceit 46:30 Conceit in one's knowledge 49:45 Conceit in one's ancestry 55:00 Conceit in one's beauty & looks 58:00 Conceit in one's physical strength 1:00:00 Conceit in one's position of power 1:03:30 Solutions for dealing with conceit Don't forget to like, share and subscribe!

2. Engaging with the Prophetic Seerah | The Dictations In this second episode of The Dictations we discuss the importance of the Prophetic Seerah, the need to study the different dimensions of the Prophet (p), incorporating the Seerah in the Islamic Studies curriculum, and conducting thematic analysis on the Seerah. Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:30 Quote of Shahid Baqir al-Sadr (d. 1980) 10:30 Why the Shi'a have not focused on the Seerah? 13:10 What sparked my interest in the Seerah? 17:55 An example of using the Seerah for community building 24:40 Quote from Imam 'Ali (a) on the Prophet (p) 26:45 Who was the Prophet (p)? 35:10 Was the default personality of the Prophet (p) a legal one? 37:50 One response to those who say the default personality is a legal one 42:40 Seerah as part of the Islamic Studies curriculum 49:00 Examples of Thematic Analysis on the Seerah 52:05 A brief case study from the Seerah 1:00:05 Spiritual strength from the Seerah 1:11:00 A few books on the Seerah Don't forget to drop a comment, like, share and subscribe!

Episode 1. The Amali Genre | The Dictations What were al-Amali works produced by Muslim scholars, particularly between the 3rd the 6th century hijri? Timestamps 0:00 Intro to this series 3:55 Analysis of Verse 28 of Surah Maryam by Sayyid Murtada (355 - 436 AH/965 - 1044 AD) in his al-Amali 12:55 What is an al-Amali? 16:00 Ibn al-Shajari (450–542 AH/1058–1148 AD) and his al-Amali 17:03 How I got interested in Arabic grammatical discussions 19:25 Other names for al-Amali 20:05 When did the genre of al-Amali begin? 22:05 How would an Imla' session look like? 23:40 Ibn al-Samʿānī's (426/489 AH/1113-1166 AD) Adab al-Imlāʾ wa al-Istimlāʾ - a treatise on dictation as a method of transmitting texts and knowledge 28:18 Were only hadith scholars the authors of al-Amali? 31:03 What narrations are usually mentioned in al-Amali? 35:45 Aqa Buzurg Tehrani's (d. 1970) discussion on the genre of al-Amali in his al-Dharīʿa 40:40 The al-Amali of the Prophet (p) dictated to Imam 'Ali (a) 49:00 The al-Amali of Mirza Mohammad al-Akhbari (d. 1816) 51:45 Sayyid Murtada's al-Amali

Introduction to Iqra Online's new series of talks called The Dictations (al-Amali) by Sayyid Ali Imran. Don't forget to subscribe to the channel for updates. Official Website: https://iqraonline.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IqraOnlineBlog/ Telegram: https://t.me/IqraOnline For inquiries, sponsorship and other matters, email: info@iqraonline.net

We are happy to announce the release of the translation of Shaykh Haider’s book Risalah Salam Madhhabi – A Memorandum on Intersectarian Harmony in Islam. This book is an open memorandum to all the Muslims of the world, whether Shīʿa, Sunni, Ibāḍi, Ṣūfi, etc. It is a memorandum of love and affection, of brotherhood and amity, of truth and sincerity; a memorandum of laying the facts bare and exposing the truth. It is one of critiquing oneself and others, turning a new page, and defining the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (عليه السلام) and their followers. The book aims to reveal in it the thoughts, investigation, responsibilities, aspirations, visions, concepts, and inferences that are held by the adherents of this faction. The book summarizes their beliefs, jurisprudence, methodologies, relationship with others, viewpoints, achievements, and historical responsibility. Author: Shaykh Haider Hobbollah Translated by Br. Muhammad Jaffer and Sayyid Ali Imran The Table of Contents, Introduction by Shaykh Haider, Translator’s Introduction and the Foreword by Sayyid Ali Imran can be read here: https://iqraonline.net/new-book-launch-a-memorandum-on-intersectarian-harmony-in-islam/ Book can be purchased directly from here: https://al-buraq.org/products/a-memorandum-on-intersectarian-harmony-in-islam?variant=40621298581619 Wasalam

So you are fine with the killing of current Islamophobes such as Tommy Robinson, Ayaan Hirsi, various Hindu Nationalists and others who have made it their career as being open enemies of Islam? Wasalam

For Ayatullah Sistani, yes - since he says Khums has to be paid on wealth that is acquired even without having worked for it. Wasalam

This is because people have an absurd understanding of what divine individuals were about - this is primarily an issue for Shi'as who are brought up with a very delusional and imbalanced image of the Prophets and the Imams. If they were actually familiar and well-read with the primary texts of the hadith literature, they would not have such an absurd understanding and would realize that the Prophets and Imams also engaged in very human and relatable activities on a daily basis. This included participating in most social norms and customs of the time, be it in physical behaviour or in speech. Not every activity of theirs is to become the measure of all things for eternity - there are technical sciences that deal with the various criteria in being able to differentiate these matters. The problem is that the average Shi'a is getting their theology from the pulpits, not from the actual sources. The material on the pulpits is already very skewed to fit certain contemporary popular narratives. The balance between their human and divine position is often hard to strike, we see Sunnis attaching and exaggerating in their human dimension, and the Shi'as exaggerating in their divine aspect. What criterion are you using to determine the progression or regression of human thought to then make the claim that human thought in the past was slow in determining the immorality of such behaviour? Can you identify this criterion without begging-the-question? As a matter of fact, many philosophers (Muslims and otherwise) will argue to death that modernity and post-modernity has brought on the demise of the human intellect - so quite the opposite of what you are claiming. Secondly, Stockholm syndrome is itself a rare syndrome - most captives do not develop it - so for you to presume that the "majority" of slaves through out human history were simply affected by it, and hence were fine with it, is a far-stretch even based on current studies. Thirdly, even if we say humans have progressed to such an extent and it is only due to this progression that they have decided to abandon slavery and discovered its inherent evil, this would mean previous generations were not at this level. This means we ought to judge them as per their own level of maturity and understanding, similar to how you would not label a child or insane person as immoral if they were to engage in something due to their lack of maturity and sanity. Fourthly, while it is true that the validity of something cannot be inherently judged by how many people agree to it, this principle is true for matters that have external ontological realities (for example if the majority or all scientists believed the sun revolved around the Earth in the past). This is not always the case in the realm of social-conventions and contracts which translate into behavioral social norms, since most of these are mere mental existents which we have created for the purpose of organizing our lives and majority (or all) agree to be bound by it. In fact, human behaviour is deemed correct when one behaves in line with such conventions and going against them is deemed "incorrect", even immoral at times. Religion has interfered in some of these social conventions, has temporarily or absolutely abrogated and prohibited some of them (for example certain types of divorces), made positive alterations to some and offered some absolute red lines for us to avoid. Even in the specific case of slavery there were changes made to the conventions people upheld at the time, for example enslavement could only occur through very specific means (predominantly as a result of war) rather than certain other means that were prevalent in other societies (like the failure to pay a debt or just selling yourself into slavery). These type of critiques may be valid against those who believe in the comprehensiveness of religious law and are forced to explain away the rulings and verses on slavery since they believe Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) has legislated laws for all aspects of life and that these laws are absolutely eternal. In other words, someone who does not believe religion revolves around the presence or absence of slavery as an institution, they do not believe slavery actually has anything to do with religion, it is not a sacred and divine institution. It was something institutionalized by people, it was not an absolute evil, it was always better to free them, and neither did people perceive it as a great evil (as opposed to murder for example). Religions came and offered some laws and regulations for it, it did not offer any commands saying it must remain eternally or that an alternative to it is problematic (which it has done for certain other social conventions like homosexual marriage which it explicitly does not recognize), while on the contrary there are many injunctions related to freeing them. If today humans have collectively decided to get rid of it then that is the end of it. It does not bother me if verses pertaining slavery still exist in the Qur'an or Hadith, this does not harm the divine status of the books nor the messengers. The religion continues to remain very relevant today because matters like slavery were hardly ever the essence of religion, you don't become a disbeliever by abolishing the institution, and if someone is bogged down by its historical presence and extensive legal system then as per my opinion they completely missed the point. I do not know what your definition of divinity is - you have used this term multiple times and it seems to be the basis of your concern; that to argue against slavery jeopardizes their "divinity". My understanding of their divinity is restricted to very specific matters which I do not need to expand on here as that is a theological matter and requires a separate discussion on its own. Divinity for me does not equal absolute eternal application of all laws that simply appear in the Qur'an or Hadith. If you read up the academic scholarship on this subject you will see that this norm is historically very difficult to prove - the source material on this is very scarce so we cannot really say with full confidence that female infanticide was actually normal. Perhaps it was restricted to specific situations like in the case of severe poverty, but not that it was a cultural norm amongst all tribes and that such a thing was celebrated. That being the case, there is no way to demonstrate that even those who committed infanticide - at least in Arabia - were doing so thinking it is moral and that they are not guilty of anything wrong. On a side note, you should know that now that the Western ethical framework has aggressively moved towards accepting abortion as a moral right (because of giving over-exaggerated relevance to similar criteria many are buying into on this thread as well - I.e. choice, unrestricted autonomy), the next step seems to be to slowly push discussions justifying the morality of infanticide as well. Not to mention the verses telling you to kill off disbelievers where ever you find them (2:191) and (9:1-18).

Unfortunately, these type of questions cannot really be addressed on a forum in detail for a number of reasons: 1) they require a lot of expounding of the issue to get to the crux of the matter and as well as an investigation of individual's presumptions and their validity (universality of their particular moral perceptions across time and space); 2) addressing actual misunderstandings of what the laws were (or are) and putting them in their appropriate historical contexts to better understand their moral positions; 3) addressing the flaws of the alternative being offered, such as the plethora of issues with secularism, secular states, existence of very similar laws such as blasphemy, treason, apostasy etc. sometimes under different terminologies. No society can completely do away with criminalizing these notions since every society holds certain ideologies and conventions sacred, even if they differ in how they decide to punish people for these crimes and what the instances of these notions are. All of the above reasons require much extensive writing and such extensive and elaborate writing requires a lot of time which unfortunately I do not have. Such conversations are better held face-to-face or via verbal communication. Perhaps try looking at https://yaqeeninstitute.org/ - even though some aspects of the discussions are specific to a Sunni understanding of Islam, generally speaking they do try to address some of the concerns you have brought up. Wasalam

I was only speaking about 2 minutes of the video (between 1:05 to 1:07), not anything else.