Hannibal

See the following link on his controversy: http://worldshiaforum.org/2017/03/mehdi-hasan-conscience-hire/

The khutbah of shiqshiqiyah is mustafiḍ, meaning that it is narrated through enough transmissions where taṣḥīḥ/taḍʿīf of the hadith is pointless as now it is a matter of a historical utterance. This has been agreed upon by the major Shi'i scholars. Sāḥib al-Jawāhir (Ḥasan al-Najafī) says the following: فلا ريب في استفاضتها بحيث تستغني عن ملاحظة السند كما هو واضح There is no doubt that the sanad of the hadith is mustafīḍ to the point where even discussing its sanad becomes pointless and this is obvious. This is not to mention the prevalent historical manuscripts of the text that can be traced back very early on. Shaykh Muhsini is not someone who is trained in history, historiography or manuscripts and as such, is not an authoritative source for the kinds of questions you may have. Just because he has ijithad in fiqh and studied ilm al rijal does not make him such.

Salams, My take here would be to develop your love for the Ahl al-Bayt (as) and inculcate their spiritual teachings in your life. That will give you a far greater appreciation of Shi'ism than diving into polemics. Reading Maʿālim al-Ḥikam by al-Qāḍī al-Quḍāʿī is an excellent start in my view. Tahera Qutbuddin has translated the work into superb English: https://www.amazon.com/Treasury-Virtues-Teachings-attributed-Literature/dp/1479826553/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1488099857&sr=8-3&keywords=tahera+qutbuddin I would also recommend that you read Mīzān al-Ḥikmah (Scale of Wisdom) which again, has been very well translated into English. See the link here: https://www.amazon.com/Scale-Wisdom-Compendium-Hadith-English/dp/1904063349/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488099979&sr=8-1&keywords=scale+of+wisdom The books that the other brothers recommended would not be books that I would personally recommend. You will do a disservice to your love for the Ahl al-Bayt (as) if you try to justify wilayah through Sunni books or Shia books that do polemics using Sunni books. What will happen is that your image of Shi'ism will come out through the distorted lens of a series of books which were largely filtered by anti-Shi'i and anti-Wilayah prejudices. Even with the pro-Shia hadiths in Sunni books, you will be left with a secularized version of Wilayah that, although appealing to pro-Ummayad biases and 19th-century modernism, will end up corrupting your heart and your relationship with God.

Wow, I remember my IRC days. I feel old now. Just look at us Ali, just on this platform we've been on since 2002. I think at this point we can compare and see who has more gray hairs.

Salams, I've been on Shiachat since 2001 which makes it about 16 years now for me. I was there when there was just IRC. I would add that one of the major reasons why this is happening is because many of the more dedicated and mature writers got married, had kids and took on full-time jobs. What happens is that a lot of people lose their initial passion, go through struggles, breakdowns and become too busy to partake on a forum. Writing quality posts on Shiachat takes a lot of time. I remember in many of my past debates one post could take me up to 10-12 hours to write as it required lots of research. So our hectic lives simply do not allow us to contribute as much. I think if our communities were smart, they would hire people full time to participate and write on these platforms. The wahhabis do it, why not us? Regardless, I don't believe quality discussions can take place on whatsapp or twitter. Those platforms do not allow sophisticated and well researched/well-sourced discussions to take place. So shiachat, I believe, will continue to serve its purpose. I have been thinking a lot about coming back as I owe this platform quite a bit for my own growth when I was younger. I will try to make small contributions for now and see where it takes me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvxgkIIIVio&list=TLnl2djQl_p9bT9n2gzXNxoynaceg4Eg2v

Salams, I think people should be reminded here that this is not a rijal debate on who is reliable and who is not or "my system of rijal is better than yours". It is a debate about the epistemological status of evaluating narrators namely what are the primary factors that contribute to accepting or rejecting a narrator? Is it just memory truthfulness? Do we have objective access to these? The answer is not very much and here is a quick summary of what has been said so far in answering why this is not the case. The claim that is being made here is that one of the most significant determinants of a narrator's credibility - if not the most important - were the sectarian biases of the evaluators themselves namely that much of the assessment (although not in totality) of whether or not a narrator was reliable, trustworthy, fabricator, liar etc. depended on the doctrinal beliefs that a narrator held and whether or not it conflicted or at least posed a significant problem to the prejudices of the evaluator. Does this mean that all people who held "unorthodox" beliefs or practices were rejected? No because this would deplete most of the hadith corpus that Sunnis today for example rely on. So a more systematic grading of unorthodoxy was established. First, there were different degrees of Shi'ism which spanned from thinking Ali was greater than Uthman to thinking that Ali was better than the Shaykhayn (Abu Bakr and Umar) up to outright rejection of the Shaykhayn (this was usually called Rafd). The second step was to see whether or not this individual in question proselytized his beliefs (if he did, alarm bells would go off) and the final step was whether or not the tradition being narrated agreed with the biases of the evaluator or not. This is where ideas of accepting narrator X's narrations on hajj are accepted but not his narrations on fasting because the latter don't agree with our a prior assumptions of how fasting should be like. So as you can see, the systematic mechanism of filtration in rijal evaluation was heavily based on sectarian biases (both Shi'i and Sunni). This is not a conspiracy, this is a fact acknowledged by the evaluators themselves. Please close attention to what Dar wrote previously Did this kind of step by step filtration always happen? No, but this was the pattern. Just because there are some rare minor examples that don't neatly fit the above does not mean that the pattern and general rule did not exist. Exceptions prove the Rule. But does this mean that there are no other means of objectively (or at least close to it) knowing what the Prophet (s) or Imams taught? No as there are alternative epistemological means using chains of transmission or asaaneed to establish that .. but I won't go into that as it is irrelevant here.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/yemen-ahmar-tribe-houthis.html

Sadiq Rohani says it is permissible, but I suggest you stay away from it. Once the door opens it is almost impossible for it to be closed and I speak from experience. Jinns are not material like the way we are (they are material in a different way), but they can be seen if they take an appropriate material form.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/calls-jihad-purges-emerge-hate-filled-anti-shiite-gathering/

World’s first Anti Shia Alliance convention results in calls for violence and sectarian purging By Rahat Husain, Communities Digital News Middle EastWorld NewsApril 25, 2014A meeting of the Indonesian government (Wikimedia) WASHINGTON, April 25, 2014 – Last week, the world’s first ever “Anti Shia Alliance” convention was held in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. The event was attended by thousands of participants, who called for “jihad” against Shia Muslims. Several government officials were in attendance. During the conference, a Shiite journalist who was covering the program for Ahlulbait Indonesia, reported being detained, interrogated, and beaten by group organizers and attendees. The alliance is a coalition of various groups who all maintain an anti-Shia agenda, including the Anti-Heresy Front, led by Ahmad bin Zein al-Kaff. The convention resulted in an “Anti Shia Declaration” which reads as follows: The anti-Shia declaration The alliance is a preaching forum to promote virtues and prevent abominable acts. The alliance will take any necessary measures to maximize the prevention of the proliferation of heretical teachings by Shia followers. The alliance will forge good relations with other preaching organizations. The alliance will demand that the government immediately ban Shia and revoke all licenses for foundations, organizations and institutions owned by Shiites.In a speech, bin Zein al-Kaff said “It’s time that we declared jihad against them…We should not tolerate them anymore.” Another part of the alliance, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) had its members attend wearing black ski masks and camouflage clothing, with shirts that said “Heresy Hunters.” The Jakarta Globe quotes the group’s leader, Tardjono Abu Muas, as saying “We all have to understand that Shia has tainted the true Islamic teaching… Our government should be like the Malaysian government.” The Malaysian government has increasingly banned the practice of Shia Islam within their country, and has been criticized by Human Rights Watch for human rights violations against the Shiite minority. Another leader in the organization, Athian Ali said that more than 100 Muslim clerics attended the event. READ ALSO: Controversial 9/11 Museum set to open in New York The Jakarta Globe writes that anti Shia attitudes are a key component of upcoming elections in Indonesia, “[The Anti Shia Alliance] was borne out in the message to the crowd from Muhammad Al Khaththath, the secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema and Congregation Forum, or FUUI, which in 2012 issued a call to build ‘anti-Shiite posts’ saying ‘We will support any candidate who wants to make an MOU to purge the Shiites from Indonesia. If [subianto] is ready to do that. he will become the president.’ ” Ahmad Cholil Ridwan, a leader from the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), attended the event and also spoke of the need to “purge the Shiites” from the country. According to the Jakarta Globe, announcements made before the convention stated the Anti-Shia Alliance event would be “attended by officials including West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan and Ahmad Cholil Ridwan, a leader of the Indonesian Council of Ulema, or MUI, the highest Islamic authority in the country.” After extensive backlash, the West Java Governor announced he would not attend the Anti Shia Alliance meeting, but refused to speak out against the convention. Instead, Governor Heryawan sent his assistant, Ahmad Hadadi, who openly supported the conference. READ ALSO: Muslim clerics stay one step ahead of Zionists with anti-Mars fatwa: a sort-of-satire According to DureanAsean, Indonesia has a history of antipathy towards Shias, reporting “[indonesian] Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali previously called Shia Islam heretical, saying that it deviated from principal Islamic teachings. “Persecution of Shia followers has escalated in the past few years. In 2012, Tajul Muluk, a Shia leader from Sampang, East Java, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for blasphemy. “In the same year, a mob set fire to dozens of Shiite homes in Sampang, killing two Shia followers and forcing hundreds of others to take refuge in Sidoarjo, around 100 kilometers away.” The Jakarta Post reported that after the Sampang burning “Some [victims] were even forced to convert to Sunni beliefs if they wished to return home.” Last year, Indonesian Shiite leader Iklil Al Milal protested a decision to give an award to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for religious tolerance in Indonesia. “We are living as if in prison. We no longer get food rations and there has been no security guarantee from the state,” said Milal at a public forum, speaking to conditions Indonesian Shias faced after the Sampang attacks. “Today the population of Shia’s in the country is approximately one million, they are distributed all around the country, however, they are mainly found in Jakarta-which is the capital city of Indonesia, Bandanogh and Sowra,” says Imamreza.net. The same website also claims that Shiites originally entered the country when grandchildren of Sayyid Ali al-Uraidhi, son of the Shiite Imam Jafar Sadiq, migrated to Indonesia with his family members in the 9th century CE. Read more at http://www.commdiginews.com/world-news/worlds-first-anti-shia-alliance-convention-results-in-calls-for-violence-and-sectarian-purging-16020/#RV47gJIXf8ROoDo1.99

I have never seen this tradition and doubt that it exists in the way described above, and Bihar al-Anwar is 110 vols, not 132.

Was this recorded?

Why don't you explain to us how it is impossible to lawfully do that? And our fiqh works are available, so feel free. Note that the Prophet (s) had miraculous powers as Ibn Hajar explains: قال الحافظ في الفتح : وَوَقَعَ فِي رِوَايَة الْإِسْمَاعِيلِيّ مِنْ طَرِيقِ أَبِي مُوسَى مِنْ مُعَاذ بْن هِشَام " أَرْبَعِينَ " بَدَل ثَلَاثِينَ وَهِيَ شَاذَّةٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ لَكِنْ فِي مَرَاسِيل طَاوُس مِثْل ذَلِكَ وَزَادَ " فِي الْجِمَاعِ " وَفِي صِفَةِ الْجَنَّةِ لِأَبِي نُعَيْمٍ مِنْ طَرِيق مُجَاهِد مِثْله وَزَادَ " مِنْ رِجَالِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ " وَمِنْ حَدِيثِ عَبْد اللَّه بْن عُمَر وَرَفَعَهُ " أُعْطِيت قُوَّة أَرْبَعِينَ فِي الْبَطْشِ وَالْجِمَاعِ " وَعِنْدَ أَحْمَدَ وَالنَّسَائِيّ وَصَحَّحَهُ الْحَاكِمُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ زَيْد بْن أَرْقَم رَفَعَهُ " إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ لَيُعْطَى قُوَّة مِائَة فِي الْأَكْلِ وَالشُّرْبِ وَالْجِمَاعِ وَالشَّهْوَةِ " فَعَلَى هَذَا يَكُونُ حِسَاب قُوَّة نَبِيِّنَا أَرْبَعَة آلَاف . انتهى As for Jabir, perhaps this was a specifc case for him? The Prophet (s) knew what was best for him considering his own sensibilities? For example, I know that I would not be comfortable marrying a non-virgin, or a woman who is older than me. It's a personal thing, but also an issue of imaan. Not everyone is as perfect as the Prophet (s) was. I don't know anything about the Ayesha hadith, maybe they were joking with each other? I need to see the Arabic and look at how Sunni jurists understood it. But on a personal note, I would totally empathize with a person who would want Ayesha's head to burst.

The hadiths cannot be taken out of their contexts (and by this I mean we also read them in their original arabic) and we need to see how the scholarly tradition in Sunnism understood those hadiths. Second, before posting such hadiths I highly suggest that our own shia run a search through our own books to see if these hadiths exist. It is quite embarrassing when we take the moral high ground against narrations that exist in our own books. But I think that embarrassment is the least of our problems. The larger problem are the assumptions that go into our critiques of some hadiths or legal rulings, assumptions that are largely influenced and produced by Western discourse. These include assumptions and prejudices that are inspired by liberalism, Victorian morals, puritanism etc. etc. For example, what's wrong with having sex with eleven of your wives in a day or night? how is this an insult and how is it immoral? On what basis are you making that judgment? If anything, that might be considered virtuous as it is a sign of manliness, virility and compassion where all the wives are pleased in one night instead of having them wait their turn. Maybe if Muslim men pleased their wives like the Prophet (s) did, there would be less sexual disobedience (nushuz).