Search the Community

[MOD NOTE: The project of adding PDF links for every book will continue.] (bismillah) (salam) People want to discuss and learn. Here is a list of books, in no particular order, that might be useful. Akhlaq e-A'imma, Morals & Manners of the Holy Imams AS. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/akhlaq-al-aimma-morals-manners-holy-imams-maulana-sayyid-zafar-hasan-amrohi Ethics and Spiritual Growth. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/ethics-and-spiritual-growth-sayyid-mujtaba-musawi-lari Jami' al-Sa'adat (The Collector of Felicities). Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/jami-al-saadat-the-collector-of-felicities-muhammad-mahdi-ibn-abi-dharr-al-naraqi Moral Values of Qur'an, a Commentary on Surah Hujurat. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/moral-values-of-quran-tafsir-hujurat-ayatullah-dastaghaib Code of Ethics for Muslim men and women. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/code-ethics-muslim-men-and-women-sayyid-masud-masumi Qalbe-Saleem, Immaculate Conscience. Get PDF https://www.al-islam.org/qalbe-saleem-immaculate-conscience-ayatullah-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi Adabus Salat, The Disciplines of the Prayer. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/adab-as-salat-disciplines-of-prayer-second-revised-edition-imam-khomeini Self Building, An Islamic guide for Spiritual Migration towards God. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/self-building-ayatullah-ibrahim-amini Spiritual Discourses. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/spiritual-discourses-murtadha-mutahhari al Siraj: The Lantern on the Path To Allah Almighty. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/al-siraj-the-lantern-on-the-path-to-Allah-almighty-husain-ibn-ali-ibn-sadiq-al-bahrani The Elixir of Love. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/the-elixir-of-love-muhammad-rayshahri Awsaf al Ashraf, The Attributes of the Noble. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/vol11-no3-no4/awsaf-al-ashraf-attributes-noble-shaykh-khwaja-nasir-al-din-al-tusi Last Will & Testament. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/wasiyatnama-last-will-testament-ayatullah-shaikh-abdulla-mamkani Diseases of the Soul. (No PDF link. Can download at the site.) https://www.al-islam.org/nutshell/diseases_soul/ Anecdotes of the Ahlul Bayt. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/anecdotes-ahlul-bayt-ayatullah-murtadha-mutahhari Jihad al-Akbar, The Greatest Jihad: Combat with the Self. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/jihad-al-akbar-the-greatest-jihad-combat-with-the-self-imam-khomeini Struggle against the Self (jihad al-nafs). [PDF only] https://www.al-islam.org/nutshell/files/jihad.pdf Du’a (Supplication). Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/dua-supplication-sayyid-zafar-hasan-amrohi Sexual Ethics in Islam and in the Western World. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/sexual-ethics-islam-and-western-world-ayatullah-murtadha-mutahhari Principles Of Marriage & Family Ethics. Get PDF http://www.al-islam.org/principles-marriage-family-ethics-ayatullah-ibrahim-amini Rafed.net Ethics articles: https://en.rafed.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=78&Itemid=843

I have two questions which myself and many others have toiled with in regards to circumcision, the first based on Surah 95:4 Indeed we have created mankind in the best design. The second about the morality of circumcising a child. 1. Circumcision is a once in a lifetime occurrence wherein a certain area of genitalia from the male is cut off, based on the verse I mentioned if we were created in the best design why then do we need to take off a portion of our complete design. Certainly it can't be similar to cutting ones hair and fingernails as these are reoccurrences. 2. When described outside a religious sense the idea of cutting a young child's genitalia can seem to be abhorrent and evil. I will share a video that relays Christopher Hitchens and his objections that occupy this question, and what would be the Islamic response to such an objection. [Minute 4:20 and onwards @Qa'im @baqar @funklebits @eThErEaL @Sirius_Bright @ShiaChat Mod @hasanhh @Moalfas@Ashvazdanghe @Ibn Al-Ja'abi @Ibn Al-Shahid @realizm @Mahdavist

(bismillah) (salam) I hope you are all in the best of health and Imaan (faith). So, I have recently seen people being very concerned about the allegation some non-Muslims make against the Holy Prophet (pbuh) , in regards to the age of his wife Aisha at the time of their marriage. Many a Muslims are shocked when they hear of the narrations regarding her age (there are, of course, differing accounts but I am talking about the accounts which age her fairly her young, at around 6 when the marriage took place and 9 at the time of consummation). Many non-Muslims try to raise this as an issue to malign the Prophet (pbuh) as immoral and a man who is controlled by carnal desires - I am not even going to mention the names they call him because of how lowly they are. This is why I decided to give a few points which helped me out on this matter, mainly the age of Lady Fatima (peace be upon her), when she was married. Although I, myself, am not really sure and do not have a concrete view on what really was Aisha's age at the time of the marriage because I have seen conflicting theories and I can't seem to decide which one is right, at least, not at the moment. I did, however, come up with something that makes me very comfortable, even if she was 9 at the time of consummation, as those who like to malign the Prophet (pbuh) would like and I would like to share this with you. Before I delve into the point which occurred to me, I want to give an example. I remember a member of Shiachat creating a thread recently, explaining how his/her (I don't want to give too many clues about the identity of that person because the member may not like it) father had this addiction for pornography and how he overcame it. One of the major reasons this person gave for his/her father leaving this nasty habit was that he could not accept his daughter doing "something silly with stupid men" and, so, the women in those magazines/videos were also the daughters of someone and if he disliked his daughters doing such acts, he should also take into account that these women were also the daughters of someone. Now, the only reason I brought up this whole thing was to show one thing: in these cases of immorality, no matter how vile and immoral the person is, he/she would still be very uncomfortable with his own daughters performing the acts of indecency that he was so used to. The point, in a nutshell, is that a person may do all sorts of morally corrupt actions but when it comes to their own children, they don't like the idea of their own children doing those acts, no matter how much of it they, themselves, do it. Coming to the Prophet (pbuh) , the thing I want to point out is that, according to the Shi'i narrations, the age of Lady Fatima (peace be upon her) at the time of marriage was 9 (according to the Sunni narrations, she was a bit more older, at around 11, but would still be considered a child by the standards of those who try to malign the Prophet (pbuh) and, so, the age we take does not matter - she was a "child" at that time). It is said that she had her first-born when she was 10 and, so, it is reasonable to assume that the marriage was consummated when she was still 9, or at most, 10. Now, if the Prophet (pbuh) was an indecent man who married Aisha at such a young age because of whatever reasons the opponents give, trying to make it look like immoral, I want to ask, keeping in mind the example I gave above, even if he was so immoral, why would he let his daughter also marry at approximately the same age as his marriage was consummated with Aisha? Even the most vile person would not allow his daughter to undergo oppression, which is what they say the Prophet (pbuh) marriage to Aisha was, to Aisha. The Prophet (pbuh) 's decision to let his own daughter marry at this "young" age clearly shows that he did not find it immoral for a woman to marry at this age and, therefore, he cannot be criticised regarding his marriage to Aisha. The concept of morality he had did not make it immoral to marry a 9 year old and, so, we cannot use our standards on him! I wonder why those modernists who even support homosexuality simply on the premise of multiculturalism, tolerance and accepting the differences within cultures are so eager to attack the Prophet (pbuh) when the same reasons apply to his case? Some do try and purport that the concept of morality in his time was different but his actions, being those of a Prophet, should be moral for all ages and times. This is, perhaps, the most ludicrous arguement one could make in this regard. There are two very basic flaws in such an arguement: 1. He is the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) , the Messenger of God who teaches us what God deems right and wrong and, so, morality should be predicated upon his commands and actions. We should appraise the morality of our actions using him as the model and not the other way round, evaluating his actions on our conceptions of morality. Such a thing is extremely outrageous and ridiculous because according to social dynamics, the what is perceived as moral or immoral with society is always changing and, so, we cannot judge his actions on a scale that is not even constant. He is the yardstick and, so, we can't judge the yardstick based on the specimen because that is totally opposite logic! 2. Like I have said above, conceptions of morality are always changing within societies and, so, we can't expect someone's actions to fulfill the requirements of all these differing concepts. Sometimes, we may find the conception of what is moral regarding a certain issue being contradictory to what is conceived as moral in another society. How can we expect - or, indeed, ask - a person to be moral using both definitions when, obviously, they are antithetical? Insha'Allah, I have been helpful, clear and objective in my reasoning and have not hurt anyone! :D May Allah (SWT) bless us all, our families and loved ones, guide us all to The Straight Path with His Perfect Guidance, increase our knowledge and Imaan and may He, The Forgiver of Sins and the Oft-Forgiving, forgive all our sins for, verily, there is neither any refuge nor any respite for the sinners, except in Allah (SWT) .

I would like to know what is definition of morality in Islam. Instead of pure personal views, I would like that everyone shares those Ahadis from Imams a.s which deal specifically with this topic so that one can develop a definition of morality after going through (understanding, analyzing, reflecting upon) those Ahadis. I would also like that the contributors while sharing Ahadis, quote references of those Ahadis. One can also quote sayings of our great scholars but only with reference please. My purpose is to understand how the understanding of 'morality' in Islam is different (if so) from that of what western thinkers have developed over the course of centuries.

(bismillah) Some hadiths that are related to the importance of good disposition: قال رسول الله (pbuh): سوء الخلق شؤمٌ، وشرارُكم أسوأكم أخلاقاً Holy Prophet (pbuh) says: Ill nature is evil; and the worst of you are those who are ill natured. (Nahj al-Fasahah, p.371) قال الصادق عليه السلام: البرّ و حُسن الخُلقِ يعمران الديارَ و يزيدان في الأعمارِ Imam al-Sadiq (A.S) says: Kindness and good manners make land flourish and prolong lives. (Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, vol. 2, p. 221) قال الصادق عليه السلام: من سعادة الرّجل حُسنُ الخُلق Imam al-Sadiq (A.S) says: Part of man's happiness is in his good manners. (Mustadrak al-Wasail, vol.2, p. 83) قال الصادق عليه السلام: أكمل الناسِ عقلاً أحسنَهم خُلقاً Imam al-Sadiq (A.S) says: Those who have the most perfect reasoning amongst people are those who have the best manners. (Wasa'il al- Shi'ah, vol. 2, p. 221) قال رسول الله (pbuh): أكثر ما تلِجُ به أمتي الجنّة تقوي الله و حُسن الخُلق Holy Prophet (pbuh) says: The most important traits which will lead my nation to paradise are fear of Allah and Good manners. (Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, vol. 2, p. 221)

For those who doubt the importance of religion should know that morality is from Allah through his prophets, from Adam to lot to Moses and Mohamed, it is meant to guide us towards a better life and a better society. This is an example of how disgusting and low atheists can go, they have no moral bounds to keep them or anyone safe. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2970362/Ex-policeman-lover-plotted-conceive-baby-abuse-share-paedophiles.html

(bismillah) (salam) Dear brothers and sisters, I found many ethical verses and hadiths that we can decrease our Conceit by them Insha Allah: Luqman (R.A) as the Holy Quran says, warned his son against conceit: ولا تُصَعِّر خَدَّکَ للنّاس و لا تَمشِ فی الأرضَ مَرَحاً إِنّ الله لایُحُبُّ کلَّ مختالٍ فَخُورٍ And do not turn your face away from people in contempt, nor go about in the land exulting overmuch; surely Allah does not love any self-conceited boaster. (31:18) قال رسول الله (pbuh) : إجتنبوا الکِبرَِ فإنَّ العبدَ لایزالُ یتکبَّرُ حتّی یَقولَ اللّه تعالی: أکتُبوا عَبدی هذا فی الجبّارین Holy Prphet (pbuh) says: Avoid conceit, for a worshipper insists on conceit until Allah, Glory be to Him, says: "Write My worshipper among the arrogant." (Nahj al-Fasahah, p.12) قال الصّادق علیه السلام: ما مِن أحَدٍ یَتیهُ إلّا مِن ذلّةٍ یَجدُها فی نَفسِه Imam Sadiq (A.S) says: There is not a man who goes astray save as a result of the lowliness he finds in himself. (al-Kafi , vol. 3, p. 461) قال علی علیه السلام: إیّاک أن تَرضَی عَن نَفسِکَ فَیکثُرُ السّاخطُ عَلیکَ Imam Ali (A.S): Avoid conceit - or the number of those who resent you will increase. (Ghurar al-Hikam, p. 147) قال علی علیه السلام: العُجبُ یُفسدُ العَقلَ Conceit ruins the mind. (Ghurar al-Hikam, p. 28) قال علی علیه السلام: التّواضُعُ رأسُ العَقلِ، والتَّکبُّرُ رَأسُ الجَهلِ Imam Ali (A.S): Modesty is the ultimate of reasoning; and conceit is the peak of ignorance. (Ghurar al-Hikam, p. 102) قال علی علیه السلام: الرّاضی عَن نفسِهِ مَستورٌ عنهُ عَیبُه، ولَو عَرفَ فضلَ غَیرِِه کَفاهُ ما به مِن النَّقصِ و الخُسرانِ One who is satisfied with himself, his shortcoming are concealed from him: and had he recognized other's precedence, it would suffice for his flaws and failure. (Ghurar al-Hikam, p. 95)

(bismillah) Some hadiths that are related to the importance of good disposition: قال رسول الله (pbuh): سوء الخلق شؤمٌ، وشرارُكم أسوأكم أخلاقاً Holy Prophet (pbuh) says: Ill nature is evil; and the worst of you are those who are ill natured. (Nahj al-Fasahah, p.371) قال الصادق عليه السلام: البرّ و حُسن الخُلقِ يعمران الديارَ و يزيدان في الأعمارِ Imam al-Sadiq (A.S) says: Kindness and good manners make land flourish and prolong lives. (Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, vol. 2, p. 221) قال الصادق عليه السلام: من سعادة الرّجل حُسنُ الخُلق Imam al-Sadiq (A.S) says: Part of man's happiness is in his good manners. (Mustadrak al-Wasail, vol.2, p. 83) قال الصادق عليه السلام: أكمل الناسِ عقلاً أحسنَهم خُلقاً Imam al-Sadiq (A.S) says: Those who have the most perfect reasoning amongst people are those who have the best manners. (Wasa'il al- Shi'ah, vol. 2, p. 221) قال رسول الله (pbuh): أكثر ما تلِجُ به أمتي الجنّة تقوي الله و حُسن الخُلق Holy Prophet (pbuh) says: The most important traits which will lead my nation to paradise are fear of Allah and Good manners. (Wasa'il al-Shi'ah, vol. 2, p. 221)

Must watch! Talks about logic and scientific reasoning of morality and religion, Infallibility of prophets, succesorship

(bismillah) (salam) Yesterday, I was debating with a friend about the issue of temporary marriage. We managed to get over the point that it is permitted in Islam. However, he raised the issue about the future implications of mut'ah on nikah. He argued that one who engages in mut'ah and in the future marries a different person will have a burden on his back. This burden is put when one has to mention to their partner their past sexual relations and whether or not they are a virgin. Furthermore, this argument implies that one has to confess their past sexual relationships, what is the Islamic standpoint on this issue? If yes, then, will that confession not discourage the partner from getting married due to not being chaste? If no, then, should the person lie and confess that they are a virgin or should they just find another partner that will accept this condition? (wasalam)

Different views of God may influence academic cheating Temptation to cheat on a math test was best resisted by students who believe in a harsh, punishing God Belief in God doesn't deter a person from cheating on a test, unless that God is seen as a mean, punishing one, researchers say. On the flip side, psychology researchers Azim F. Shariff at the University of Oregon and Ara Norenzayan at the University of British Columbia found that undergraduate college students who believe in a caring, forgiving God are more likely to cheat. The findings emerged from two experiments involving a mathematics test in which honesty was put to the test. Students were told about a software glitch in which the correct answer to each problem would appear after several seconds. To avoid seeing the answer, they were told to press the space bar immediately after viewing each problem and before pursuing a solution without scratch paper or calculators. The results are detailed in the quarterly International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. The research is part of a larger effort to understand cultural development, in particular the role of religion in encouraging -- or even forcing adherence to -- moral behavior. "Taken together, our findings demonstrate, at least in some preliminary way, that religious beliefs do have an effect on moral behavior, but what matters more than whether you believe in a god is what kind of god you believe in," Shariff said. "There is a relationship: Believing in a mean god, a punishing one, does contribute to cheating behavior. Believing in a loving, forgiving god seems to have an opposite effect." Continues: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/uoo-dvo041911.php

.... Were it not for the stance Imam al Hussein (a) took on the day of Ashura .. morality would have been "non-existant" Quote from a Prominent Scholar: "Had it not been for Imam al-Hussein, brothers and sisters? Forget the religion of Islam. Forget humanity. Forget morality. It would all have been gone by today. One of the greatest effects that Imam al Hussein (a) was able to leave in this world was the fact that you and I are guided. Sheikh Wahid Al-Khurasani, one of the greatest ulema of our time, who has the biggest congregation of intellectuals and students in the islamic seminary attend his class, it's by far the biggest in the world; He says that 'had it not been for Imam al Hussein we would have been Zoroastrians. I would have married my sister. My mother would have married her brother. God knows what would have happened'. This is Sheikh Wahid al Khurasani saying that. If Imam al Hussein had not risen at the time that he did, we would probably be Hindus by now. We would probably be Atheists. We would probably be worshipping God knows what ... Imam al Hussein and his influence and the impact that his revolution had .. was unbelievable....." --------- Imam al-Sadiq (a): “Piety and moral conduct construct the countries and prolong the ages.” Now, before I say anything, i'd like you to know that in no shape or form am I trying to belittle or undermine the far reaching and paramount effects the event of Ashura yielded. Indeed, it was a battle between a pioneer of true humanity confronting a pioneer of ignorance and pure depravity. It is a meta-historic revolution which created a padigm shift of perspective and has reverberated throughout the passage of time till this day and will continue to do so. There's no doubt in the fact that if it were not for Imam al Hussein (a) this religion, specifically, would have been subjected to disintegration and collapse. Why do we need morality and ethics? Does morality exist without the existence of religion? Well, we know that without divine laws and principles morality is arguably always subject to relativism and remains obscure, to say the least, otherwise at times we remain perplexed as to what actually constitutes morale even at its minutest aspect. But does this mean that without celestial guidance we would remain stagnant, lapse in rationality and eventually obliterate humanity through our own selves? We have to define what morality is first. On the most tertiary level, it's obviously the way to distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad. It also regulates and administers society by implementing a code of manner as to which would lead to properity on different scales. Now the question arises as to whether religion would necessarily be needed in order to faciliate basic morals in society and we must be objective. From a basic non-theistic perspective, to live in an ethical environment is only advantageous and healthy to our well being. The idea of morality is innate in our nature, the catalyst for it is that when we intuitively know something is wrong or harmful we keep away from it as it has an averse effect, externally and internally. Furthermore, we are social animals and tribal which, fundamentally speaking, forms the basis of morality; we have the ability to think, contemplate, rationalize and comprehend coherently. Even further to that, we are inherently able to be altrusitic and kind as it is a self benefit and this benefit would extend to others, affect them. If the whole world is a better place, rather than just my street, surely I benefit from this. The non-theistic points are all cognitively valid. Read the saying by the 6th Imam عليه السلام. The only way that countries could be constructed was that people had to conform with skills of public relations and work together as that would be the only way that a development of a nation could thrive. The correlation of morality with prolonging the ages is imperative as it is the beneficial nature and aspect of morality which has acted as a subordinate to achieving it. It is empirically proven that through experience we intellectually develop and become wiser, which therefore makes us reevaluate our actions and reveal the flaws in our social transactions. A profound example of this is that after the perpetual, ravageous massacre of World War II, the international organization of the United Nations was incepted in 1945 in order to stop wars between nations and provide a platform for dialogue where key issues could be addressed and ideals such as the likes of human rights, social and economical progress and, most importantly, world peace could be attained. When I have a holistic understanding of these basic philosophical truths, would it be logically apt to say that without the uprising and martyrdom of Imam al Hussein (a) we would all lack the ability to be moral and human? Yes, the sacrifice of kerbala acted as an intervention of protecting divine morality and the true, pristine message of God but it wasn't the concept of morality, in the absolute sense, which was being saved. It was more of a wake up call to the values that we inherently already acknowledge very well. Perhaps, I hypothesize, the 'islamic' empire of the Ummayad Caliphs exerted a great amount of influence over other nations during that era and propogated corruption in a way that was able to brainwash the world. Even then, if Imam al Hussein (a) had not risen, the world would be exactly the same way it is today. This is a rather bold statement and needs thorough elaboration. The nations that opted for secularization are economically well developed, secure and thrive in prosperity. They believe that through modernization and rationalization, religion loses its authority in all aspects of social life and governance. In reality, has progression through experience, rather than religion, created stability within their nations? The reality is that, yes, of course it has, as has been previously substantiated. Perhaps you could say they have relative morality due to lack of divine law, not absolute, but it has kept the nation going strong. Sure, there does exist a considerable amount of immorality within these nations but the secular man made laws that were created through rationality, logic and intuition, govern the people in a way that inoculates the immorality from perpetrating legislation sanctions and annihilating humanity or universal ethical codes. There is no way a people could be brainwashed to the extent that they would endure their own immorality to the point of negative harm or extinction, as has been proven. Hence, even if Imam al Hussein (a) didn't make a stand and the Ummayad and Abbasid empire spread their distorted, decayed notion of morality it would simply not last for very long. Once people recognize they're on the verge of destruction, they automatically step back and reform. Majority of us would not perform incest as it does not conform with our actual nature and it would lead to inevitable destruction of the human race. Likewise, did immorality stop after the revolution of Imam al Hussein عليه السلام? No, it still continues to this day. Perhaps if there was no battle of kerbala, the ladder to stability and universal morality would have been slower, but gradually it would have ended up in the same situation we are in today. It is non-sense to state: "Forget humanity. Forget morality. It would all have been gone by today" because after a set of rigorous analytics, it is evidently clarified that this is not at all true. Imam al Hussein (a) was martyred for a very specific cause: "I have not risen to spread evil or to boast, nor for spreading immorality or oppression. But I have left for the REFORMATION of the Ummah of my Grandfather PBUH, the Apostle of Allah SWT, and I desire to perform Amr Bil Maroof (invite towards good values) and Nahi Anal Munkar (forbidding from Evil)" The battle of Kerbala is profound because the cause was for this standard that was raised. The just and fair approach on the battlefield in the camp of the Imam (a) is also another dimension which makes Ashura so distinguished. Also, it was about rising up to dictatorship and perversity, which speaks loads. Ultimately, Ashura encompasses the meaning of life and is meant to induce philosophical guidance and reformation in ourselves. It wasn't to stop immorality forever, as this is inevitable. It then stands to reason that the claim 'morality would have been nonexistant' and was 'saved, in the absolute sense', is a logical fallacy and not true at face value. This is an exaggerated notion. Please contribute to this thread if you beg to differ and give an explanation. Thank you for reading. Wa Salam