Samarra313

Salam, Along strictly genealogical lines the Ishmaelites are the brethren to the Israelis as they both trace ancestry to Ishmael and Isaac - the sons of Abraham. They and their descendants are brethren to each other. It is commonly used to refer to fellow Israelites but the definition of the original Hebrew is not completely absolute that it precisely means only this. The word encompasses more than just this reference. It can also include kin, despite how it is commonly referred.

Assalamu alaikum rahmatulahi wa barakatu Hello, this is my first post in a long while. I thought I'd recommend a kindle book for you all by a brother who used to be Catholic and has reverted to Islam. You may search the title or name on amazon. You may find it here: Finding the Straight Path: From Catholic to Sunni to Shia Islam by Mark Woloszyn. It is a very brief book not very long, but sincere and genuine at heart, Mashallah. Jazakallah khair

Salam! Thank you both for providing clarification on this. Astaghfirallah. I am rather curious as to the source of why the Bahais are promoting this and still remain Bahais and not Shia, but perplexed as to why I haven't seen this in Shi'i circles - although the obvious answer of course is to mislead others from truth to falsehood. The way I had interpreted this was similar to "Ali is from me and I am from him..." that I see often recited in narrations regarding The Ghadir Khum. I had not even considered the aspect of knowledge as having a descending or following a subsequential order. So I understand that these (my)correlations are not to be considered the same at all - given what has been summed up from ahadith by Cool:

Assalamu alaikum brothers and sisters, I was checking on some social media when I came across The Sermon of the Gulf (al-Tuntunjiyyah) that seems to be attributed to Imam Ali(عليه السلام). However the only source I can find at the moment is from the bahai website. I was wondering if this truly a sermon given by Imam Ali(عليه السلام) and if it is in any Shia literature? I cannot find anything related to it on al-islam.org. Here is the link to the sermon: Sermon of the Gulf

Salaam I've just recently seen Esmail Hemmati present some of this information - and he listed this book - which I am looking forward to reading!

I thought I'd share this that I read today which I thought was quite amazing:

Salaam Brothers and Sisters and Eid Mubarak! I'm unable to see the video however I noticed my Youtube feed lately is showcasing a lot of these arguments by many anti-Islam "debaters". I'd say "Christian" debaters with Muslims, but much of it falls outside of even their own teaching of Christian humbleness and kindness. I feel especially for Sam Shamoun (and I suppose many may say why feel anything for him at all because of his vitriol for Islam and Muslims) - because for him it is not about debate anymore (or for a long time it seems per James White) he seems to thrive on using his "intellect" in putting others down - even those whom he is mentoring in these "debates". I'd say he feels like he has a lot to lose and I can only wonder as to what experience he has had - to harbor such resentment towards Muslims and Christians alike. I feel that the hadiths they look for and find - they believe themselves to be their own scholars with regards to authentication of sources, when really it seems they are embroiled in a brown paper bag and not realizing that's what they're in - especially the hadiths that run counter to the Qur'an. I don't feel I'm in any position to speak about or comment on these hadiths because I've never been learned in them personally - and would prefer someone who is patient in learning the authenticity of these hadiths to be taken into account when considering the message and if it is helpful in the understanding of Islam. The saying "A reasonable person does not deny what he does not know" seems to fit here.

All Prophets(عليه السلام) have their successors, but insofar as when they appeared on earth the forms of the beliefs are vastly different (One can see how many forms exist within all the denominations of Christianity), but even from the Prophets(عليه السلام) own message to those they were sent they all professed in Oneness of God. What makes Christianity confusing is that Paul claims divine revelation but not as successor nor did he choose a successor, but still the Church believes in the doctrine of Paul about jesus(عليه السلام), which conflicts and breaks away from the message that God is One and declares Jesus(عليه السلام) is God alone. In any case, here is an analogy by Imam Ali(as):

The role of miracles in Islam is to support the claim of the one who performs it. For the Prophets(عليه السلام) and the Imams(عليه السلام) miracles proves and supports the truth of their claims. Deuteronomy 18:22 supports this discernment as well. The following is taken from the work of Sayyid Sa'eed Akhtar Rizvi entitled "Prophethood" (which can be found online on al-islam.org):

I prefer to call them signs from Allah(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) but miracles and these inexplicable events are also. Surah Al-Kalf mentions the believers who were put to sleep by Allah's will for 300 years just as an example. I believe they exist to point the way to a deeper contemplation about the reality we live in. For some it is dismissed, for others it is accepted as validation of what they believe, for others it is an invitation to spiritual wayfaring. My apologies as I am not a scholar and i see my bringing up this narration i've heard from the Seyed has only led to confusion. By doing what he did (and perhaps logic and humble demonstration of the Imam's ability led to the conversion of the non-Muslim was pertinent to this) Imam Sadiq(عليه السلام) upheld and defended the religion of Islam from this consciousness that claimed "I have knowledgeable abilities too based on my non-Muslim practice, therefore the religion of Islam is irrelevant." Anything that leads to worship of anything other than Allah(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) is shirk. I can only refer to Seyed M. Baqir Qazwini for the facts of this narration to help you with your questions on this matter more thoroughly.

Salaam Per the actual event of Fatima, I truly don't believe we have the full truth of the matter, especially when the Church learned of the event and felt the need to control it. I believe that the historicity of the event was a message to the world that subtly points to Shia Islam (such as the name of Fatima not only of Islamic origin but also happens to be the name of the Prophet(s) daughter and one of the 14 Infallibles(as)) in general but the main point was to keep a system of belief consistent with practice during a time when atheists during the first world war was casting suspicion upon faith in general and practice in particular, such as the case with Portugal. While it is easy to point out the differences between Islam and Christianity with regards to the Fatima event, I challenge those to focus on the actual message of the lady (imo, never gave a name to her identity except her own claim as a lady from heaven) which is consistent with the Qur'anic teachings of not being a hypocrite in one's faith whether one is a Muslim or one of the People of the Book, which was to be consistent and constant in prayer, in repentance. Why wouldn't this be an opportune time to enlighten the world of Shia Islam? I don't know, but all I can say is that this is left to Allah((سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى))'s Infinite Wisdom. I recall reading/hearing about one of the children in the event of the apparitions of Medjugorje in the 1980s - an event that the Church decided not to back, but still had a large following and impact on Catholic believers - ask the lady who was the most righteous person in their town and the lady responded by mentioning a woman's name Pasha. The child was taken aback - "Pasha? but she's a Muslim!" However the lady mention that it was God who decides who is the holiest among mankind, not mankind itself.

Salaam The subject of miracles and Marian apparitions are actually quite broad, but the key is to keep them in perspective in light of other things, such as the miracles and powers of Yogi practitioners or Hindu Mystics that also claim the truthfulness of their religion and the truth with their own masters and teachers, miracles that are not so vastly different from the miracles purported in Christianity, such as bilocation, locutions, apparitions, etc. It's not to say that they are wrong, I actually believe in the truthfulness of these things, but the wisdom and timing of these events, especially historical as in the case of the "lady from heaven" in regards to Fatima, Portugal 1916-17 or even Lady of Guadalupe of 1531 Mexico (whose tapestry still exists today) belongs to Allah(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). One of the narratives I heard from Sayed Muhammad Baqir Qazwini was that during the time of the sixth Imam, Imam Saddiq(عليه السلام), there was a certain non-believer who had mastered his nafs to such a degree he possessed great amount of knowledge that truly amazed people that people began to doubt their faith in Islam. So in order to combat these doubts the Imam tested the non-Muslim. In the course of this test Imam Saddiq put his hand through a wall and drew it back with his fist clenched and asked the non-Muslim what was in his fist. The non-Muslim was so amazed at this ability he wanted to know how the Imam did this. The non-Muslim said that the moment the Imam's hand went through the wall he saw in his mind a bird's nest somewhere (I can't remember if he said it was India or some other place) belonging to a certain bird and there was a bird egg in the nest and the next moment he saw the nest empty. When the Imam opened his hand, there was tiny bird egg in his hand. The Imam invited the non-Muslim to Islam and the non-Muslim accepted and at that point he no longer possessed great knowledge as he had once before. The new Muslim asked about this and the Imam said that in the Hearafter he would receive greater benefits there than when he was on earth. Please forgive me for any mistakes with regard to this narrative. i don't have the source, but just paraphrasing what I remembering what Sayed Qazwini mentioned and i could be wrong the details. So it makes me believe however that on earth, some of those who live by other faiths are allowed to have these sorts of blessings and miracles, but it is still incumbent on those to seek Allah(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) for their ultimate reliance on everything.

Dr. Chris Hewer interviewed by Ahlulbayt TV on Imam Mahdi(عليه السلام) (The Twelth Imam)

Another video from Dr. Hewer on Imam Hussain(عليه السلام) and how he learned about Imam Hussain(عليه السلام)

The following passage is taken from Muhammad Muhammadi Rayshari's "Chronicles of the Martydom of Imam Husayn" (ICAS Press) under Part 4: Azadari and Weeping for Imam Al-Husayn(a) section 1.1 Reciters of Elegies for Imam Husayn(a) before the event of Karbala (page 87, Hardcover):