Inaayah

Salaams...
There's a Pakistani Shia doctor by the name of Ikram Abidi who writes amazing Islamic romance novels. Yes, you read correctly: Islamic romances.
One of his novels is entitled 'Hijaab Waali', for example, and is a literary work that encouraged me to become a better Muslim and promotes and glorifies hijaabi women, and wipes out notions of superficiality and lust...
It's about a young Shia man named Aariz who was once upon a time superficial, arrogant, and unreligious, and fell in love with and wanted to marry a beautiful Sunni girl named Komal primarily because of her looks and 'modernisms'; and she too liked him for the same reasons. However, his Shia parents reject the idea of the girl for good reasons explained & rationalized in the story. Instead, Aariz's mother Sadia and him go to visit Sadia's cousin and childhood friend Abbas, who is dying of tuberculosis, and as his dying wish, Abbas asks Aariz to marry his extremely religious, shy hijaabi daughter Zeest. Just before Abbas's death, a quick nikaah is performed and Aariz is absolutely reluctant, on his mother and uncle's persistence, to marry her.
Therefore, forced by Abbas's dying wishes and his mother's threats, he marries Zeest... But is extremely mean and abusive to her, considering she 'ruined' his 'plans' of marrying Komal. However, his wife remains steadfast and patient, and wishing only to see her husband's happiness, gives him her consent to let him have a second marriage, this one to Komal; who doesn't know about the marriage to Zeest yet.
When Komal finds out that he is already married, she is extremely enraged and demands that he leave her. Bound by his mother's requirements, however, Aariz can't... And with time, has found that he is slowly but surely beginning to fall in love with the simple hijaabi chastity and beauty Zeest possesses, though he tries to vehemently deny it to himself.
As her anger escalates, Komal eventually gets wildly jealous after getting a clue that Aariz is beginning to love Zeest and leaves him...
And, heart-broken, Aariz's frustrations escalate. So then, what does our hero do...?
He shoots his hijaabi rose for 'ruining his life'.
...But he's clinically insane by this point, so that explains it a bit. :angel:
Fast forward a few years, after he is released from the hospital and has gotten better through treatments...
Aariz Ali becomes an extraordinarily religious man who has long since realized the error of his ways... He also realizes that he was completely, head-over-heels in love with the beautiful Zeest to an almost incomprehensible degree, but now she's gone.
He proceeds to spend a lonely life in the mansion they shared, and becomes an Islamic poet. He reads poems about his wife's beautiful hijaab, the Qur'an, etc. He gains extreme fame and fortune, but turns down interviews and stardom and lives a very secretive life, refusing to let any of his raving fans pine over his details.
That story is simply... Amazing. :cry: It's a fabulous online book translated into multiple languages, including English, and is highly acclaimed.
Here's an excerpt from Hijaab Waali; these are the first paragraphs of the book:
I still don't believe that I've lost her forever.
Perhaps I didn't deserve her. She was such a nice lady, such a wonderful female. I know that I can find many girls in this world, even more beautiful and more attractive than she was. But no girl can fit into that specific portion of my heart that has been reserved only for her now.
What shall I call her?
Aggressive? Absolutely not. She was so patient, so calm.
Hard and strict? Never. She was so flexible, so adaptable, very compromising too.
Rude and proud? No way. She was so understanding, friendly, and sympathetic.
Extremist? Impossible. She sure knew her boundaries and limits.
No, there's nothing I can call her. I can't give her a single, sole name.
She was truly wonderful, capable of doing miraculous wonders.
She understood me. I don't think that anyone could ever understand me like the way she did. She made me realize myself, arranging my life's book neatly into this world's shelf. It's only because of her that I am who I am.
I will not say that she was perfect, but she was the best one I ever could have hoped for, not only because she had a tremendous amount of unconditional love, but because she shaped who I am today, my qualities and characteristics. She was the one who made me beautiful in every sense. The kind you didn't see much anymore. She was simple but yet so mysterious. She was so familiar but ah, at the same time, so strange too.
In the paths of life, sometimes, you find faces, which you can't forget ever, no matter how much you try. So, how can I forget that fairy-face that'd let me know the reality of life? Those lake-like deep eyes which, when low, used to bring night and when high, were the source of daylight. She was the poetry of a born poet. Flowers needed her to grow; autumn required her to become spring.
She definitely was a dream girl, a beautiful scene of my sleep. But she was a reality too. A reality, which creates history. A reality, you can't imagine your life without whom. She was so alive. One, who could give you life in one glance. There was just nothing else like her at all. It was her attitude toward life that made her uniquely captivating. She had a quick intelligence and a lively curiosity about anything she happened to encounter.
And then... she was gone when I needed her the most. She came and she left. But she didn't leave alone; she had my life too.
I'll never understand one thing, and that is, why those times pass so quickly when you're happy? And why those times take so long to pass when you're sad?
Did I love her?
He closed his eyes to minimize the intense expression of pain. Then, after taking few deep breaths, he began to write once again.
I will not talk about my dark, ill past. But for sure, at present, her love is the greatest present for me.
I love her not only for what she was but for what she was when she was with me.
I love her not only for what she had made of herself but also for what she was making of me.
I love her for the part of me that she brought out.
"Did 'she' love me?"
Yes, certainly. No other woman will ever love me like the way she did. No one else will ever stand by me like her.
Finishing his last word, he stopped writing, took off his fine, neat, half-framed spectacles and blew off a long, cold, lonely sigh. Tipping his head back on the headrest of the easy chair, he finally closed his eyes.
"You look good in glasses." Her whisper was very near.
"Huh?" He turned quickly to locate the source. Not here and there, she was no where. He was alone in his room. Memories were like endless rain for him. Once began, they would never stop. As her voice faded with his consciousness, he thought he felt a tear strike his cheek.
The wind was particularly cold and wet, even for December in Karachi. Taking a deep drag on his cigarette, he stood up from his place and opened the side window. Sharp and cold wave of wind hit him full in the face, a stream of air with strong noise of sea waves nearby.
Thank God for the wind! It broke the silence.
Through the huge plain glass window, he stared at the beach of white sand that seemed almost to glow in the moonlight. Long white breakers came out of the night and broke on the shore. Far out at sea, mysterious offshore lights winked and moved steadily along.
With a long breath, he smelled the sea-scented air and closed his lashes. As soon as his anatomical eyes closed, his imaginative eyes opened and from the fantastic window of imagination, she came in front of him, like always. Smiling! Everything about her was absolutely beautiful. Even her appearance, he thought.
What to say about her external beauty and looks.
If beauty is limited, then she was its final limit.
Smiles were not very usual feature of her personality.
"Because of myself." He thought painfully. "Yes I didn't give her much chance to smile. Rude, brutal, animal-like, I was like a sharp knife for her."
"You act as if you were God Almighty, but I know what you're really like! You're a ... a... Bad-mannered, ill-tempered ... savage!" His own conscience showed him the mirror.
Although he had not seen her smiling a lot still he thought that flowers used to bloom when she smiled. Yes, her smile was as innocent as a young flower bud, as fresh as a sweet and scented morning breeze.
Apart from her smiles, he always wondered what was so "different" in her appearance? She sure had something unique and powerful in her face that always differentiated her from the other women. Only now he found out what made her face and her personality so different and impressive. Yes, it was that particular glory, that specific charisma, which comes only on the faces of those women who have strong character and firm principles. Who never compromise on their beliefs and who observe…
He couldn't think more. Such a shiny, bright 'noor' she had on her face.
Her hair was the first cloudiness, which appears before rain. Her long, shiny locks were the source of comfort for the desperate and tired traveler.
The musical ringing of the phone in his room dispersed his thoughts. With slow, tired steps, he reached and picked up the receiver.
"Yes?" While holding the cordless receiver in one hand, he used the other one to take his remaining cigarette to his dark lips.
"How's my good boy today?" A soft, caring male voice came from the other side.
"Assalaam O alaikum Maulana uncle." He sighed with relief as he heard his teacher's voice and then said, "I was actually going to call you in few minutes. I have some good news for you." Not just his face, even his voice was smiling. "Thankfully, your prayers got colors."
"You made my day son. I have waited so long for this very day." Maulana uncle's voice became shaky with emotion.
"Dr. Waris has called me tomorrow for my final check up. He said that hopefully they would issue the mental health clearance certificate for me this time." He said, leaning against the railing of the upstairs terrace. The salt breeze rippled gently through his dark black hair.
"And what about police matters?"
"One of my friends talked to D.I.G. Crimes, he has assured us that there're no more charges remaining on me now. My file has been closed. The police does accept the fact that whatever happened was something I did when I was not mentally normal." He finished his long sentence. "I'd never forgive myself ever though."
"Yes. Why not, thanks to Allah, you're normal now, physically as well as mentally." Maulana uncle was as supportive as ever. "It's been a long way though."
"Uncle, I don't believe that it's been more than two years now." He took a long breath. "The loss is unbearable however."
Maulana uncle remained silent this time.
"Uncle, tell me. Tell me, why does it hurt to love someone?"
From the other side, he heard a soft, sober laughter.
"People don't offer thanks when they're happy. Yet they object when they're hurt."
" I… I will be thankful this time." He sobbed. "Sometimes, I just want my love back uncle. Although I know it's impossible. Those who have gone forever, never come back." He murmured painfully. "And please, not this time. I don't want to get hurt again. "
"Your love was meant to be…
"If it meant to be, why did I lose her?" His voice became loud, as he cut in.
"You didn't lose her...I'd say you let her go!" Maulana uncle replied. "And that was your mistake."
He did not reply. He had nothing to say.
"How's your poetry going?"
"My only hobby these days." He laughed emptily. "Yes I wrote some thing new."
"And what I could be?"
"My new poem, want to hear?" He asked, resting against the railing again and gazing far out to sea.
"Why not."
Hearing his response, he set his neatly framed glasses back on his nose and opened his diary again.
"Alright, here it is…I have dedicated this to her, the same person for whom I wrote it. By the way the title is 'Thank you'.
"Hmm, sounds interesting. Let's begin now."
He closed his eyes, tipped his head back and began to read the poem in a soft, low voice but with an impressive accent and perfection.
My love...
I am a different person,
A better person
since we first met
your honesty helped me
to see my weaknesses,
and your support helped me
to turn them into strengths.
Thank you,
Thank you for being my real, true friend
for not saying the things
you thought I wanted to hear,
but for saying the things
I needed to know.
You're one of the few people
I trusted when you told me
that I've done well,
because you are one of the few
who will tell me
when I could do better.
You challenged me
to be the best I could be...
by accepting and appreciating me,
you helped me
learn to accept
and appreciate myself.
Thank you for being my teacher!
I was helpless, you supported me
I was restless, you comforted me
I was ignorant, you acknowledged me
Thank you…
And now, I know, you're not with me,
But know what, you're still in me
Thank you for being my 'every thing.'

A beautiful book defs worth reading. Everyone needs to make sure that they are completely free from certain diseases of the soul mentioned in this book. I feel very guilty myself.  
 

Thank you
 

Even I have started reading it. Its seems spectacular so far!!

I started reading  "Fatimeh is Fatimeh" is by Dr. Shariati and I wish someone had told me a long time ago what a spectacular book it is. It's my first Dr. Shariti book

I am tempted to read this book:

 
After the American Century: The Ends of U.S. Culture in the Middle East
 
When Henry Luce announced in 1941 that we were living in the "American century," he believed that the international popularity of American culture made the world favorable to U.S. interests. Now, in the digital twenty-first century, the American century has been superseded, as American movies, music, video games, and television shows are received, understood, and transformed.
How do we make sense of this shift? Building on a decade of fieldwork in Cairo, Casablanca, and Tehran, Brian T. Edwards maps new routes of cultural exchange that are innovative, accelerated, and full of diversions. Shaped by the digital revolution, these paths are entwined with the growing fragility of American "soft" power. They indicate an era after the American century, in which popular American products and phenomena―such as comic books, teen romances, social-networking sites, and ways of expressing sexuality―are stripped of their associations with the United States and recast in very different forms. 
Arguing against those who talk about a world in which American culture is merely replicated or appropriated, Edwards focuses on creative moments of uptake, in which Arabs and Iranians make something unexpected. He argues that these products do more than extend the reach of the original. They reflect a world in which culture endlessly circulates and gathers new meanings.
 
shame it is not on kindle 

Finished.. and love it. Definitely 5 stars and highly recommend for anyone whose parents are approaching the geriatric age. It isn't boring at all. It is comical but dose not make you cackle, it makes your heart smile if you have any love for any parent or grandparents. 
Oh and it is a mystery novel but even without that part, it is worth reading.

The Glad Tidings of Mustafa for the Shia of Murtaz’a  
By Shaykh ‘Emadul Deen, Abu Jaafar Mohammad bin Abi Qasem Al-Tabari 
 
Hayaatul Qoloob, vol. 2
By Allamah Mohammed Baqar Majlisi 
 
Parallel reading. 

assalam-o-alaikum
there is a difference of opinion about mid night . i think most of the ayatollahs ( including ay. sistani& i think ay. fazel lankarani) are of the opinion that mid night is calculated by considering night from sunset to true dawn ( time of start of fajar namaz) . others ( including ay. khoei & i thnk ay saanei) cosider night from sunset to sunrise ( end of fajar namaz).so considering mid night there is a differenece of roughly 45 min. in both the opinions. roughly speaking , if u r following ay. khoei ,u can consider the time of zohar as mid night ( eg. if zohar is at 1 pm , than mid night will be at 1 am ) & if u r following ay. sistani than add 11:15 hours to zohar time (eg if zohar is at 1 pm than mid night will be at 12:15 am)
it is not related to topic but most of the ayatollahs who believe that midnight is calcuulated from sunset to true dawn further says that one should calcualte midnight for the purpose of obligatory prayers ( like isha) from sunset to dawn but calculate midnight from sunset to sunrise for the purpose of tahajud (from the above example; read isha before 12:15 am & tahajud after 1 am)
do keep it in mind that according to ay. sistani time of tahajud starts with the start of night ( not mid night ) so if u r following ay. sistani u can read tahajud imidiately after isha .
i hope i didn't make the whole thing more complicated

:sick: we call name of God with our mouth we pray and say holly words through it, I can't imagine how people do such a thing with their mouth. we need to respect our body.
I think these guys who ask for such a thing, just want to repeat porn movies which they have watched.

Yes sex-change operations are legal in Iran but they are intended for transsexuals not gays.

I think it is acceptable if someone has a sham marriage but doesn't have sex outside of marriage, basically lives a life without sex. I reckon they will eventually become straight and start to love their wives.

Hopefully we are not going to start a new Usulli-Akhbari debate here :)
Yes, it's decided by Allah (swt) & taught by the ma'sumin (as). But since I don't have the capability of law derivation, I follow marjas whose specialty I can depend on (once again, the doctor analogy).

Reading an article about a book: Women Astronomers Shine In 'The Glass Universe' 
http://www.npr.org/2016/12/04/503068093/women-astronomers-shine-in-the-glass-universe

 

Hi Finland 84. Firstly just because Syria is a secular state does not mean we have to overthrow it. Syria is like Lebanon, it is religiously and ethnically mixed, therefore you can not have one religion forcing its way on everyone. Bashar al Assad is an Alawite, however he is married to a Sunni woman. He attends Sunni prayers and his political position are all pro-Sunni and pro-Palestinian. It is not true to say Sunni Islam is restricted, only extreme forms of Dawah which preach sectarian hatred and violent opposition have been historically crushed. As I am aware there are only 3 Alawite ministers in Syrias cabinet compared to over 20 Sunnis. There is nothing Alawite about Syria except for the President. If Syrias Sunnis were really oppressed then Assad would have been finished by now as most of the Army(500, 000 + reserves) are Sunnis. Many of the fundamentalists fighting Assad only hate him because of his religion and because of his Alliance with Iran and Hezbollah. In Lebanon many people admire Syria, It has free medicine, free education, free healthcare, free movement for any Arab citizen. All the poor people in Lebanon go to Syria for these services ( esp Sunnis from North). Unlike Syria lebanon is ruled by a corrupt mafia state. Most Lebanese wish their country was like Syria. It is a shame what is happening there. Much of what you are hearing is propaganda.
Bashar was a london educated doctor. He was never interested in politics but his older brother Basil was killed in a Car crash in '94. He was forced into the position. Since he came to power in 2000 he has reformed Syria a lot (It didn't even have the internet before 2000). he has constantly spoken about the need to reform. However then came September the 11, then came the American Invasion of neighbouring Iraq and Syria was openly threatened. Then came the assasination of Rafiq Hariri (Lebanese Prime-Minister) and Syria was blamed. It has been on the defensive for the last 10 years and major political reforms have been put on hold. Why shoud Syria be overthrown? No other country has openly confronted the Zionist plan for the Mid East.

From an Iranian point of view take note of these points:
1-When you say support, it doesn't mean we like all his actions, it merely means we see him better than someone who will replace him.
2-Iranians are known to be grateful to those who help them. Hafiz Assad (Bashar's father) was the only person from amongst the arab world who took Iran's side during the 8 year war. This is a sort of payback (although not the main reason for Iranian support).
3-Most important reason: Syria is the bridge between Hezbollah and Iran. If Assad goes so does this bridge. Then Hezbollah will be completely surrounded by enemies: political foes in the country, Israel to the south, and a wahabbi regime which would replace Assad to the east.

Bashar did offer to make reforms and took important steps such as allowing multi-party elections, but before anything could be worked out, the salafis started causing havoc. Why is it so hard to comprehend, that the opposition fighters in Syria do not want reforms and many of them are NOT syrians anyway, who want a saudi-style barbaric so called 'islamic' state, and will be the first ones to demolish Bibi Zaynabs shrine and massacre shias (which they are as it is).

What have you been smoking Mr. Zakariya?
1. There are 100s of topics and thousands of posts on the same issue, I see no reason posting this nonsense again.
2. Who are you referring to when you say, "why are Shi'ites not putting pressure on him to do this"?
Are you referring to Shiachat users? I forgot, can you tell me where was the button to click and press pressure button on Assad to do the reform on Shiachat forum?
3. It is not Shias business to intervene in Syria and ask for reform. Shias have too much to worry about Shias oppression in the other parts of the world. The Syrians and their government can deal with this issue, not the foreigners like the Saudis, Qataris, Turks, and westerns or the SHIAS outside Syria.
4. There is a war in Syria nowadays, NO SUCH THING AS REFORM or things like that. We DO NOT SUPPORT Assad or his Baathist government, but we OPPOSE the ones who fight them. We oppose them for being Shias enemies, not only Alawites or Syrian enemies, they belong to a world-wide Takfiri mafia whose only aim is to KILL Shias, oppress Shia, and rule over Shias. We oppose them for being anti-Iran, anti-HIzb, and anti-Iraq. We oppose them for being puppets of the puppets (Saudis & co.) and for being the puppets of the Zionists. So, taking side with Assad against these forces of Satan, does not mean that we support Assad or the Syrian government as it is. We oppose them and side with current Syrian government for OUR OWN reasons as mentioned. Period.
5. Leave us alone, if you are not satisfied with all the replies. This topic, repeating the same question 100s of times under the same political section of the forum is really getting boring...!

Both Bashar and the FSA are *****s but Bashar is politically useful to Shia, so although both sides are evil we'd prefer Bashar to win.
However, there is one difference. If the FSA win, then Shia will be mincemeat. Just like Taliban ruled Afghanistan, and Al Qaeda ruled Iraq. Daily bombings and beheadings. If Bashar wins, Shia will be in one piece and thankfully alive.

lol its amazing how many ignorant users and mods I've provoked with a rather ambiguous statement.
South Lebanon obviously gets where I'm going.
But the people on here who want him to step down so the country can be ruled by terrorists a big "lol" to you guys.
If he wasn't a good leader he would have sold this country out a while back and kept himself free of the stress and the mess of dealing with it all.
I have no idea whether he's truly a practicing Alawite, or even a Sunni or Shiite Muslim convert. The fact that stands is
that he's fighting for this small fragile Levantine country that has been tired and exhausted from these Salafist retards.
For that he definitely deserves praise and respect, but idolization definitely not as it is haram in our religion to idolize any mortal.

I don't idolize Assad, but i don't believe he is evil, obviously he is fallible but he is the only arab leader, formally a practicing eye surgeon in London, that is truly humble and doesn't have a sectarian agenda towards his people...Its not his fault he was born in a region where people have a medievial mentality....where they behead a father,son or orphan and yell Allhu Akbar...These people exist in Lebanon too,and the only language they understand is force...they are like rabid zombies, they will keep attacking until they are sedated.
I honestly believe that if Assad didn't love his country he would have already stepped down, and gone to a Allie country where he could work and earn a good living,
This is a video of a sheik that admits that muslims in are generally backward (majority sunnis), medievil, not ready to run their own countries, influenced by the greatest of satans, the wahabis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2R7DZVlCtE

Asad is evil, but at the same time lesser of the two evils.

Ahsant. While I support Assad and the SAA in their fight to exterminate the Takfiri presence in Syria, the idea that he and his regime should be lauded is repugnant. He, his father, and the Ba'ath party have committed many atrocities. As I've said before, he is by far the lesser of two evils at the moment, but the idea that his photo should be used in people's avatars or signatures here is odious to say the least.

I would like to see that too, but its not as easy as you think. Remember, the axis of resistance has many enemies who are seeking to exploit every weakness. This is why the Internal Security Forces of the Syrian regime were (excessively) harsh on their citizens and incredibly paranoid. Iran experiences similar (justified) paranoia. Democracy is a beautiful thing that we should all taste from, but it is very, very difficult to maintain when you have powerful enemies. Just ask Russia. They'll tell you all about their "Sovereign Democracy".

Salam,
A very important post!! Sometimes its easy to get carried away in the 'heat of the moment'.
One of the 'indirect' consequences of fighting Jabhat Al-Nusra and perserving the Resistance and the lives/honour of all the Muslims and Humans in the region is assisting Bashar.
One the other side, one of the 'indirect' consequences of supporting the rebels and the overthrow of Bashar is the slavery of the region to Israel, defeat of the Resistance, the strenthing of American influence in the region and the weakning of Islam.
Which of the 'indirect' consequences is for the greater benefit of Islam and humans worldwide?