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My sibling is going to be graduating from a UK university in a few months. My family and I will be attending and we have also booked some seats for a dinner that will occur after the graduation ceremony. The dinner would consist of other university students (there will be Muslims attending as well) and will also serve halal meals (which my family and I selected). Now for this dinner everyone will be seated in a big dining table and wine/alcohol will be served to individuals who choose to drink (non-muslims, Christians, etc). I recently came across some hadiths and rulings which stated that it is haram to sit in a table where wine/alcohol is being served and wanted to ask if my family and I (including my siblings) would need to cancel our booking? (I also have some additional questions about this topic which I have included in the end of this post) Another question that popped up in my head is that are the same rules of not being able to sit in the table where wine/alcohol is being served applicable to other haram things such as pork? Here are the hadiths that I found from al-islam .org: If liquor is served on a table, it is Haram to sit there and eat even if one does not touch the wine. Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (‘a) informs that the Holy Prophet (S) said: “Accursed, accursed is the one who sits at a table where wine is being served.”15 The Holy Prophet (S) also says: “One who believes in Allah and the last day, must not even sit at the table where wine is kept.”16 Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (‘a) says: “Do not sit with drunkards because when the curse descends it engulfs all the people in the company of the drunkards.”17 Some scholars have stated that it is not permitted to be in the company of people where anything Haram is being done. For example, backbiting about a Muslim. It is then obligatory on a person to leave immediately if possible and be free of the sin of just being in this company. Also, if by his leaving, the others will discontinue their sinful action, it is obligatory on him to do so. I also found a link from Sistani's website which says that one must leave the table where wine/alchohol is being served: Answer: Yes, it is obligatory to move away from that table. Question 1 (For Muslim students who are studying at a university abroad) So I am planning on going to the UK for my masters degree and the university that I plan on attending allocates students to different colleges that host daily lunches and dinners (halal food options are available). My siblings have shared that wine/alcohol is served in these events so I am confused on how to approach this type of situation in the future where my class mates are having a class lunch/dinner and expect me to attend. I am guessing that I would have to refuse to attend these events because wine/alcohol will be served? My siblings shared how there is a mix of Muslim and non-Muslims students at the dining table and everyone usually discusses things related to their particular university course. They also mentioned how some of these lunches/dinners are networking events so I am personally not sure on whether I can attend a lunch/dinner for the purpose of networking or listening to a speech (given by industry professionals) at these events. (I would like to point out that my siblings were not aware of the rule that it is haram to sit in a table where alcohol is being served and they have just found out about it recently) My question for Muslims university students (who have attended or are attending university abroad) is how do you handle/deal with these type of situations? I am guessing the answer is to not attend these events but I am curious to hear if there are some other responses. Question 2 (How to handle situations where work events serve wine/alcohol and you are required to attend) Another question that I have is that how do Muslim working professionals deal with work situations where they need to attend a event where wine/alcohol is being served? I am planning on making a career change to the start-up investing/venture capital sector and I have noticed is that a lot of venture capitalists are required to attend networking events to talk/engage with start-up founders (from what I have observed, these networking events do serve wine/alcohol). I guess my question is that how should one handle situations where their work requires them to attend certain events but the events serve something haram like wine/alcohol?

Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-'Askarī (Arabic: محمد بن الحسن العسکری) (born in 255/869), also known as Imam al-Mahdi (a) (Arabic: إمام المهدی), is the twelfth Imam in Twelver Shi'ism. He is the promised savior, who will rise one day and fill the earth with peace and justice. Imam al-Mahdi (a) has been in occultation from the early years of his life. Shi'as regard him as the Imam of the present age. Among his well-known titles are Imam al-Mahdi (the Imam of the time) and Wali l-'Asr (the guardian of the age). Imam al-Mahdi (a) became the Imam after the martyrdom of his father Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) in the year 260/874, when he was five. From that time until the year 329/941, he was in contact with his followers through his Four Deputies. After that, his Major Occultation started, in which period the direct guidance and leadership of the Shi'a community rests with religious scholars. There are many hadiths transmitted from the Imams (a) about Imam al-Mahdi (a), his life, his Occultation, and his government, and many collections of such hadiths have been written. In addition to hadith collections, many works have been published about Imam al-Mahdi (a). Every year, on fifteenth of Sha'ban, Shi'as celebrate the Imam's birth, marking one of the greatest Shi'i festivals. The possibility of meeting the Imam (a) during his Major Occultation, when and how he reappears, and the incidents related to his reappearance are some of the popular discussions among Shi'as. Lineage and Birth In Shi'a hadiths, the Twelfth Imam (a) is referred to by names such as Muhammad, Ahmad, and 'Abd Allah. However, among the Shi'as, he is most famously referred to as al-Mahdi which is one of his titles.[1] According to a number of hadiths, he is the Prophet's (s) namesake.[2] In some hadiths and written Shiite sources, such as al-Kafi and Kamal al-din, his name is written with separate letters as "م ح م د" (M Ḥ M D).[3] This is in accordance with hadiths forbidding any mention of Imam al-Mahdi's (a) name.[4] Titles In different sources, supplications, and ziyaras, the Twelfth Imam of the Shi'as is characterized with different teknonyms and titles, the best-known of which are: al-Mahdi (المَهدی, guided), Ṣāḥib al-Zamān (صاحب الزمان, the owner of the time), al-Muntaẓar (المُنتَظَر, expected), Baqīyyat Allāh (بَقیّة الله, what remains with Allah), al-Muntaqim (المُنتَقِم, avenger), al-Maw'ūd (المَوعود, promised), Khātam al-Awṣīyā' (خاتَم الأوصیاء, the last successor), al-Ghā'ib (الغائب, hidden), al-Ma'mūl (المأمول, hoped), and al-Muḍṭarr (المُضطرّ, distressed). Another well-known title of Imam al-Mahdi (a) is al-Qa'im (القائم, upriser or standing) upon the hearing of which the Shi'as stand up and put their hands on their heads, as practiced by Imam al-Rida (a).[7] The names and titles of the Twelfth Shiite Imam (a) are mentioned in Sunni sources as well. In these source, "al-Mahdi" is the mostly mentioned title. The title "al-Qa'im" is rarely found in Sunni sources.[8 Mother His mother is referred to in different ways: Narjis, Susan, Saqil or Sayqal, Haditha, Hakima, Malika, Rayhana, and Khamt.[9] In general, there are four accounts of her life and characteristics. According to a hadith cited by al-Shaykh al-Saduq in his Kamal al-din wa tamam al-ni'ma,[10] Imam al-Mahdi's (a) mother was a Roman princess. And in other hadiths, her life story is not mentioned and it is only said that she was trained and raised in the house of Hakima, the daughter of Imam al-Jawad (a).[11] According to a third group of hadiths (cited by al-Mas'udi in his Ithbat al-wasiyya),[12] Imam al-Mahdi's (a) mother was not only raised in the house of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari's (a) paternal aunt, but was also born there. The last group of hadiths has a fundamental difference with these three groups. According to these hadiths, Imam al-Mahdi's (a) mother was a black bondwoman.[13] The first three groups of hadiths can be considered as complementary, but the last one cannot be reconciled with them. However, some scholars have tried to reconcile the last group of hadiths with others by taking it to be concerned with Imam al-Mahdi's (a) nurse.[14] Time of Birth In historical sources, there are different accounts of the day on which the Twelfth Imam (a) was born, the best-known of which is Sha'ban 15th (July 29, 869).[22] This date is reported by Shiite scholars such as al-Kulayni, al-Mas'udi, al-Shaykh al-Saduq, al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, Fattal al-Nisaburi, al-Tabrisi, Ibn Tawus, Ibn Taqtaqi, al-Allama al-Hilli, al-Shahid al-Awwal, al-Kaf'ami, and al-Shaykh al-Baha'i, and Sunni scholars such as Ibn Khallakan, Ibn Sabbagh al-Maliki, al-Sha'rani al-Hanafi, and Ibn Tulun. According to other reports, mentioned in al-Saduq's Kamal al-din, the birthday of the Imam (a) was the eve of the first Thursday of Ramadan or the eve of one of the Thursdays in Ramadan. Place of Birth Historians who talked about the issue agree that Imam al-Mahdi (a) was born in the house[23] of his father, Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a), in Samarra. The house is now part of the shrine of Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-'Askari (a).[24] Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-'Askari (a) were summoned to Samarra, the center of the Abbasid Caliphate, years before the birth of Imam al-Mahdi (a) and lived there until they were martyred.[25] The Account of the Birth The famous account of the Imam's (a) birth is given by Hakima, the aunt of Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (a). In some parts of this account, as reported by al-Shaykh al-Saduq, we read, Imam al-Hasan al-Askari called me and said, "O aunti! Stay with us tonight, which is the eve of the 15th of Sha'ban. Tonight God Almighty will reveal His proof on earth." I said, "Who is his mother?" He replied, "Narjis." I said, "But—May I be your ransom! —There are no sign of pregnancy in her!" The Imam (a) replied, "It will be as I said to you." I went and when I said salam and sat down, Narjis came, took my shoes, and said, "O my lady and the lady of my family! How are you?" I said, "You are my lady and the lady of my family … God is giving you tonight a son, who is the master of this world and the hereafter." Then [I prayed, and] when I finished my prayer, I ate in order to end my fast, and then I slept. In the middle of the night, I woke up and prayed while Narjis was sleeping. Then I followed up my prayer with some dhikrs and then I also slept. I woke up again, and then Narjis woke up, prayed, and slept again. I came out of the house and looked at the sky, and it was the time of the first fajr. As soon as I started to have some doubt, Abu Muhammad [i.e., Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (a)] called me and said, "O auntie! Do not hasten, because the time is about to arrive." So I sat down and started to recite sura al-Sajda and sura Yasin. As I was reciting the Qur'an, Narjis woke up, so I hastened unto her and told her, "Do you feel anything?" She responded, "Yes, auntie!" I told her, "Be calm and let your heart be strong. This is what I told you about. Afterwards, a kind of weakness got me and Narjis. Then, I woke up by the voice of my master [i.e., Imam al-Mahdi] … I saw him prostrating himself … I held him in my arms and found him clean and pure. Abu Muhammad told me, "O auntie! Bring me my child." I did so … [He held him,] and said, "O my son! Speak!" He said, "I testify that there is no God but Allah alone; He has no partners. And I testify that Muhammad is His apostle." Then he sent salutations upon Amir al-Mu'minin and the rest of the Imams until his father. Secret Birth Abbasid caliphs knew from the hadiths by the Prophet (s) and the Imams (a) that the Twelfth Imam was al-Mahdi, and thus, they assigned some guards to monitor Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) and his house. According to historians, al-Mu'tamid al-'Abbasi had ordered the midwives to drop by sadat's houses, especially the house of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a), search inside the house, learn about his wife, and report him about it.[26] The birth of Imam al-Mahdi (a) was hidden from people. The secrecy of his birth and its reasons are mentioned in some hadiths.[27] According to a hadith from Imam al-Sajjad (a), "our al-Qa'im bears some traditions of the prophets. A tradition from Abraham (a) is the secrecy of his birth and his isolation from the people".[28] And according to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), "the birth of Sahib al-Amr is hidden from the people until he reappears. This is in order for him not to have to pledge allegiance to anyone".[29] According to al-Shaykh al-Mufid, the reason behind the hidden birth of Imam al-Mahdi (a) was the persecutions and the fact that the governor of the time was on the watch to murder the last Proof of God. It should be noted that the hidden birth of the Twelfth Imam (a) was not an unprecedented phenomenon. Abraham's and Moses's births also reportedly occurred in a hidden manner. The Witnesses of the Birth Apart from Hakima, two female slaves named Mariyah and Nasim also witnessed the birth of the Twelfth Imam (a). Al-Shaykh al-Tusi and al-Shaykh al-Saduq have recorded the accounts of the birth of the Imam (a) as reported by these two female slaves: "When the Master of the Time was born, he sat down on his knees and raised his forefingers toward heaven. Then, he sneezed and said, 'All praise belongs to God the Lord of the worlds. May God send his blessings on Muhammad and his family. The oppressors have thought that the Proof of God is destroyed. Were we permitted to speak, the doubt would fade away.'" Shi'as' Awareness of the Birth After Imam al-Mahdi's (a) birth, some Shi'as who were close and reliable companions of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) saw Imam al-Mahdi (a). Al-Shaykh al-Mufid mentions some Shi'as who saw Imam al-Mahdi (a) during the life of Imam al-'Askari (a): Muhammad b. Isma'il b. Musa b. Ja'far (a), Hakima bt. al-Imam al-Jawad (a), Abu 'Ali b. Mutahhar, 'Amr al-Ahwazi, and Abu Nasr al-Turayf, the servant of Imam al-'Askari (a).[34]. For example, according to a hadith, Muhammad b. 'Uthman al-'Amri and forty other people were in Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari's (a) house. The Imam (a) showed his son to them and said, "this is your Imam after me and my successor among you. Obey him and do not dispute about your religion. Otherwise, you will be disorganized and you will never see him again".[35] A similar hadith is cited by al-Shaykh al-Tusi. He also mentioned other people who saw Imam al-Mahdi (a) in the meeting: 'Ali b. Bilal, Ahmad b. Bilal, Muhammad b. Mu'awiya b. Hakim, and Hasan b. Ayyub b. Nuh.[36]. Al-Shaykh al-Mufid also refers to other people, such as Abu 'Umar 'Uthman b. Sa'id al-Samman and his son, Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. 'Uthman, who saw Imam al-Mahdi (a) during the life of his father. Imam al-Mahdi (a) was also seen during the life of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) by people from Banu al-Rahba family from Nusaybin, Banu Sa'id, Banu Mahziyar from Ahvaz, Banu l-Rukuli from Kufa, Banu Nawbakht from Baghdad, and a group of people from Qazvin, Qom, and Jibal.[37] After the Demise of Imam al-'Askari (a) When the caliph of the time, al-Mu'tamid al-'Abbasi, learned about Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari's (a) illness, he sent five of his reliable officers to the Imam's (a) house in order to monitor him. Also, al-Mu'tamid ordered his Grand Judge to commission ten reliable people to monitor Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a).[38] In his will, Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) gave all his property to his mother, Hudayth, although the Abbasids did not allow the whole property to be given to Hudayth. They gave half of the property to Ja'far b. 'Ali b. Muhammad, Imam al-Mahdi's (a) uncle.[39] After Imam al-Hasan al-'Askaris (a) demise, the Abbasid caliph sent a group of agents to his house. They shut down the house and confiscated the Imam's (a) property. They looked for the Imam's (a) son, examined the Imam's (a) wives and bondwomen for pregnancy,[40] and arrested a heavy bondwoman who was suspected to be pregnant. She was monitored for two years and was released afterwards.[41] ............Continued

just wanted to know what is a proper way to cover your self . for example can i wear flipflops or how short or long my sleeves have to be ?

ادْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ ۖ وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ۖ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ (An-Nahl.125) Call them to the path of your Lord with wisdom and words of good advice; and reason with them in the best way possible. Your Lord surely knows who strays from His path, and He knows those who are guided the right way.

Salam all, I wanted to know that if ear piercing for MEN is allowed in ISLAM, I heard someone saying that some IMAMS(as) did it. If it is true can anyone give me references that tell that Imams had their ear pierced. Moreover I will be thankful if anyone can tell the types of jewelry(if any) allowed for men?

Salaam alaikum dear brothers and sister, hope you are all in great health. I was scrolling through the rules of this sight, when I stumbled on this one "Disrespect to any Mujtahid, Marja' Taqleed, or religious authority will not be tolerated whatsoever. Due to previous experience in this site with respect to the above rule, any topics which the moderators agree on to be of controversial nature and would lead to destructive debates and disunity amongst the Ummah will NOT be allowed on this forum. Members who do not abide by this rule would have their post locked/deleted followed by a warning/ban if they do not comply. Members are encouraged to discuss this in private (email or PM) as an alternative to avoid personal attacks and disunity on the site. The Shiachat.com team does however reserve the right to keep such threads open granted that it is put under heavy moderation and all parties engaged in the debate maintain a certain level of respect and maturity." I don't know if it's just me, but sometimes I think this rule isn't obeyed, and people get away with it far too often. For Example (correct me if I'm wrong) MDM got banned for insulting someone mother's chastity, despite the fact before that he out rightly insulted Sayed Khamenei in numerous ways. Just my observations. Please forgive me if i've made any mistakes.