Follower

Bismihi Ta'ala As the famous narration says, one who dies without knowing the Imam of their time has died a death of jahiliyyah. If one has not recognized or accepted Imamah at all, then there is no question of being on the right path. If the Shi'a are wrong, it would not be due to the rejection of 7th century political leaders, rather due to an error in correctly recognizing the Imam of their time (God forbid). Wallahu A'lam

Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem For laymen, this is indeed true (especially in the West where non-Muslims have made a big issue out of this). On a scholarly level, I don't think the 'ulema have any issue in principle with any of the various ages (9,10,19 etc..) that are attributed, it is just another case of a historical detail on which there doesn't appear to be a consensus (as is the case sometimes with dates when certain events may have occured). Either way, I think we agree that it shouldn't have an impact on our beliefs (same as the uncertainty over other historical details). This is quite a strange statement. The age of A'isha isn't part of the fundamental 'aqeeda (or for that matter, the 'aqeeda full stop, fundamental or not) of any school of thought. I don't see how this relates in any way to the Wilayah of Imam Ali (as) Wallahu A'lam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ds_IApOJvs

Bismihi Ta'ala This is quite an interesting breakdown. There is no single or 'correct' way to define trends, because there will always be overlaps and exceptions. However, I do think that Tariq Ramadan has Ikhwani tendencies (not necessarily contemporary Ikhwani, but more the 70s Ikhwanism from which some actually became Khomeinists, and in the process, Shi'a). It is true that opposing Sisi in itself does not make one an MB supporter, but if I recall correctly he has actually gone as far as suggesting that Sisi's regime is worse than Morsi's. His explanation behind Morsi's failures also seem to gloss over the treatment of minorities. Knowing how Tariq Ramadan would not usually overlook such a point, this showed some bias and was somewhat a red flag. Either way, he has made considerable efforts in the French-speaking world to reconciliate Muslim and Western identities without compromising one or the other. Regarding the third group 'liberal reformists' I wouldn't necessarily categorize them when discussing Sunni trends because I don't really see most of the individuals in that group as being associated to a particular sect. Indeed, some of them are from non-Sunni backgrounds. Wallahu A'lam

Walaikum as-Salam wa Rahmatullah Based on your post, it appears that there is indeed some ignorance among the community but also that you are perhaps also not aware of the background/basis of some of these points. Hajj is wajib - all those who meet the criteria must perform it. Regarding the ziyarah of Imam Hussain (as), there are indeed narrations that have equated it to several thousands of hajj. However, the 'ulema have also provided explanations for this (and it is not a basis to select ziyarah over the wajib hajj) This is an over simplification of a complex discussion (see the Qur'an sub-forum for more details) There are several narrations about the importance of Wilayah, and I believe some of them could be used to support this idea (which may indeed be true). Allahu A'lam. Tafseer of the Qur'an, according to the school of Ahlul Bayt (as), must indeed be based on narrations of the A'immah. Tafseer bil ra'y is considered to be haram. Reading the Qur'an on the other hand is of course something different and has been strongly emphasized in our narrations. I think it's good that you have decided not to use an offensive approach, because I don't believe this would be appropriate. First and foremost, continue learning and gaining knowledge to enable yourself to recognize truth (some of the points in your post) from falsehood (some of the other points). Try to uphold learnings from the Qur'an and the Ahlulbayt (as) in your life and in the community you live in. Rather than trying to replace or override their activities, supplement them (for example, holding Qur'an and Du'a sessions, inviting knowledgeable 'ulema, providing people with the opportunity to sit and talk to the 'ulema one-to-one, because this is where they will have the opportunity to clear their doubts rather than to simply go with the flow). Wallahu A'lam

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem The topic has been completely derailed, it was originally about the raising of the graves. As far as I'm aware the graves themselves have not been raised as such. In Masjid al Nabawi you can just about glimpse the grave of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) from the section of the masjid referred to as riyadh-ul-jannah. I believe there are people who have also had the opportunity to visit the actual graves of Imam Hussain (as) and Abul Fadhlil Abbas (as) in Karbala al-muqadassah. As brothers mentioned earlier in this thread, Masjid al-Haram in Makkah is itself a cemetery where several ambiya (as) are said to have been buried, most famously Nabi Ismail (as) Wallahu A'lam

Bismihi Ta'ala Firstly, to have had such a friendship with a non-mahram (regardless of whether they are muslim or not) was already a mistake, and one mistake can often lead to several others. The correct thing to do now would be to cut off the friendship altogether. Secondly, if the individual genuinely wants to convert to Islam he will convert regardless of whether you marry him, speak to him or never see him again. If this influences his decision to convert then his motives were perhaps not sincere to begin with. In Islam the ends do not justify the means (i.e maintaining a friendship with a non mahram just because you think it may lead him to Islam) Wallahu A'lam

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, Again, since a video of Sayyed Kamal has been posted here (a very able scholar, without a doubt), it is worthwhile seeing this as well: Wallahu A'lam

Bismihi ta'ala A couple of off-topic points: -while the forum does have certain rules regarding whom we can/can't make la'an on, note that la'nah is not an insult/slander (and people should be honest when presenting the rulings provided by Sayed al Sistani and Sayed Khamenei, keeping in mind that these rulings address sib rather than la'nah) and that it has appeared several times in the Holy Qur'an. Just wanted to point this out because people seem to mix up the two. -FYI, when you say 'Umm xyz', in Arabic this is usually used to refer to the mother of a child named xyz (this is usually the eldest male child, or if there are no males, then the eldest female child). Wallahu A'lam

Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem All attacks on civilians, regardless of nationality or religion, are to be condemned. I can't agree with the arguments put forward by the brothers/sisters in this thread. -Islam does not distinguish between numbers of civilians, the Qur'an clearly states in Surah Ma'idah that taking even one innocent life is like killing all of mankind -Islam does not punish someone for a crime they have not yet committed. To claim that all Israeli civilians are a legitimate target because one day they may have to do their military service is not a justified position. -The argument that the Israeli population (as a whole) is complicit in the policies of their government cannot be limited to Israel alone. ISIS could use the same argument to justify attacks on the French population due to the bombing of Syrian civilians. The population of Israel are not more responsible for the acts of their government than those of any other nation (France, USA, UK etc..). Wallahu A'lam

Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem I agree with brother repenter. The correct way to demonstrate this belief (or any of ours beliefs for that matter) would be through the Qur'an and Ahlulbayt. It is important to remember that even if someone is defending a belief that is shared by the school of Ahlulbayt (as), the specific arguments used may not be valid or relevant in which case the defence is not futile - in fact, it can even be counterproductive and lead to people rejecting the belief because the wrong arguments were used. Wallahu A'lam

Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem SC is certainly a valuable asset, but in terms of gaining knowledge I think there are more important websites out there (for example al-islam.org). Using SC to get answers for your debates can be helpful but will limit you to 'snapshots' rather than a full understanding of fundamental concepts. My humble advice to young brothers and sisters is to avoid spending excessive amounts of time on online debates, and to spend the time in learning the basic fundamentals of religion (again al-islam.org has excellent resources). It is admirable that people are willing to defend their faith (online and offline) but I have seen many cases where people have focused all their energy on this without having correctly understood the basic concepts of religion (which in itself takes requires a significant amount of reading/study). This doesn't mean that one shouldn't respond to questions or challenges to the faith (online or offline), but it shouldn't become an unhealthy distraction from taking the time to sit down and study religion. The internet has provided a lot of good resources but it has also made us lazy, and sometimes we tend to fall into 'copy-paste' debates which can continue for hours without any proper conclusion. Wallahu A'lam.

Bismillah al rahman al Raheem. Salaam alaikum everyone. I have been informed that American citizens can only get a visa for Iran if they are part of a group or if they have a private guide in Iran. Does anyone know how an American Citizen can go to ziyarah on their own? Is there a special procedure? Is it sufficient for a friend in Iran to act as a private guide? I would appreciate any practical tips on how to do this. Jazaakallah

Bismillah al rahman al Raheem. Salaam alaikum everyone. I will be visiting Mumbai with my wife for a few days inshaAllah and wanted to know how widely available prayer facilities are for men and women. I believe mogul masjid has facilities for both but would be interested in knowing if there are other masajid or facilities available. Jazakumallah.

Permanent marriage with non muslimeen is not permissible in Islam. Wallahu A'lam.