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Taking Inspiration from Our Scholars Allamah Tabatabai (1) https://youtu.be/gIQzvNzzyas?list=PLzKE6OyNfKcr9nrC96tcBWko6bY7rfUNx Allamah Tabatabai (2) https://youtu.be/WpbEq2NcMac?list=PLzKE6OyNfKcr9nrC96tcBWko6bY7rfUNx Ayatullah Ali Muhammad Najafi Burujerdi (1) https://youtu.be/GJxHSChLul0?list=PLzKE6OyNfKcr9nrC96tcBWko6bY7rfUNx Ayatullah Ali Muhammad Najafi Burujerdi (2) https://youtu.be/TauDdjhoaZA?list=PLzKE6OyNfKcr9nrC96tcBWko6bY7rfUNx Ayatullah Mar’ashi Najafi (1) https://youtu.be/R8km74hcv14?list=PLzKE6OyNfKcr9nrC96tcBWko6bY7rfUNx Ayatullah Mar’ashi Najafi (2) https://youtu.be/IUI__yZjW3I?list=PLzKE6OyNfKcr9nrC96tcBWko6bY7rfUNx Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli (1) https://youtu.be/O2DaACuSusI?list=PLzKE6OyNfKcr9nrC96tcBWko6bY7rfUNx Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli (2) https://youtu.be/xyTgK5kf0UU?list=PLzKE6OyNfKcr9nrC96tcBWko6bY7rfUNx

guys, i am sort of back, i know it took soo long from me to get back onto shiachat. but I really needed it, and soo i decided to get offline on whole sociol media including whatsapp etc.. i was only available for some people. i hope you all dont get mad for my really late reply !! i had so many topics into my head but infortunetally i worked smart (not) and forgot to write them into my notes and later on after my burn out i forgot lots of them... i think i will still not be fully available on shiachat but i am trying to bring the topics as promised back to live that is about imam mahdi,pre-advent,qiyamat e sughra/kubra etc.. for now i got this topic into my head, and i think its an important one to discuss it!!! ----------- As we all have start to see it, lots of young people are trying to become religious scholars,to replace the older merjaa's when they will be gone. There are same people who say trough narations that imam mahdi will fight even the shias when he will come. Some say its sahih and some neglect that idea. The ones who belief lots fake sholars will show up before the advent claim that they will get into huge disagreemant until they will say towards the imam the following :"go back to where you came from we dont need youre imamate" this is quit shocking to read. will imam al mahdi will get a hard time also becuase of the soo called shias(scholars) or are these narations corrupted? btw same story goes with sayeds, that lots of them will turn against imam mahdi (aj) what does ahlalbayt say about the return of imam mahdi aj?? there are narrations when in fact say that imam Mahdi aj will have a really hard time before he will establish his government. its even mentioned he will have it twice as hard as how prophet Muhammed (sawa) himself had.. becuase the difference between the two is that our imam will already have muslims against him..while prophet muhammed (sawa) brought islam to the world and not even 1 muslim could get into disagreement with him. ---------- guys, feel free to get back into the topics about imam Mahdi (aj) ,lets make the comment section blow up. may Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) make us amongst his soldiers

Assalam u Alaikum There is a controversy surrounding this film. A senior member of Shiachat has shared his thought provoking views on his blog. I found his views to be balanced and well articulated. I encourage others to review the article and share their stance in a respectful manner. Please avoid posting content promoting the movie. This thread intends to raise the bar of intellectual honesty and truth seeking. As such, we expect that members will offer relevant comments with merit. ++++++ By Sayyid Ali @Ibn al-Hussain I’m sure by now many have seen the recent trailer for the film on Lady Fatima (s). Since the trailer's release, a number of people have messaged me personally asking “what I think”. To most of them I simply responded, there is not much to say at this point, it’s too late. The film will be released, and we can only brace for impact. Certain friends from Pakistan are already very concerned at the possible outlash they may face once non-Shi’a – extremists or not - in Pakistan learn about the film and how it depicts the caliphs. My views and approach to these discussions can – generally - very easily be gauged from the type of content I write and publish on Iqra Online. Four-to-five years ago, around the same time that the idea for this film was only just being publicized, I had written an article on the figure of Sulaym b. Qays so a very limited aspect of the discussions around him and the book could be accessible in English and in the hopes that it would generate some conversation regarding the book – which is one of the most important sources for many of the details that will depicted in the upcoming film. Although, I would update the article now with some more findings, as well as generally edit the paper as the writing style has changed a lot in the last few years, I'll share what I had written for those who haven’t seen it: https://www.iqraonline.net/sulaym-bin-qays-the-thin-line.../ The paper is very limited as far as it only concerns the discussion regarding Sulaym himself – whether he even existed or not - and does not deal with the rest of the issues regarding the book’s transmission, interpolations in the text, and as well as general textual criticism that can be done on its bizarre reports. Nevertheless, the problems with this book are well known and affirmed by too many researchers. If it is not the character of Sulaym himself, then there is a plethora of other issues that you still have to address. Ultimately, you have to answer whether such a source can be used as a means to develop a reliable historical narrative or not. — But I think what is more pertinent to address are not the filmmakers and producers. Their views and sectarian agendas have widely been known for years; in fact, they openly acknowledge this. I do not believe they do this all based on whims, rather there definitely exists material in our corpus that they rely on. Those who think otherwise are poorly read and should go and maybe spend some time getting familiar with what is contained in our books, instead of always assuming it is just the books of others that contain problematic material. It was not a coincidence that during the time of Ayatullah Borujerdi when work on proximity with the Ahl al-Sunnah of Egypt was being done, that the Ayatullah had pushed for a ban on a few volumes of Bihar al-Anwar regarding the first three caliphs, because a lot of content exists there. Hence, for a number of years now, whether it be through the writings I’ve published, or through conversations I’ve had, I’ve tried to push for some sort of integrity and consistent standards in how we make use of sources and develop narratives, which we then use to push people to behave in a certain way or alter their understanding regarding religion, tashayyu‘, identity and so on. The issue I have with these groups is not that they are necessarily using material that does not exist, but in fact, the methodology (or the lack of it) they are employing by which they make use of these reports. In this vein, I believe the more important discussion needs to be held with the rest of the community, and where they stand in terms of being coherent and consistent with their beliefs or understanding of history, particularly the history of the Prophet (p) and the Ahl al-Bayt (a). Perhaps, moving forward and when coming up with responses to the very definite lash back we will encounter from the non-Shi’a communities, it may be wise to think about the following points so as to not be caught for being hypocritical and exhibiting double-standards: 1. Those who will be against the film for reasons such as 'it attacks the sensitivities of the Ahl al-Sunnah', or that 'it harms unity', do they not commemorate Fatimiyyah, not once, but twice a year (some places even three occasions)? Often these speeches are uploaded onto YouTube, in various languages. These videos have eulogies at the end which include references to the attack and as well as indirect or direct references to those who attacked the house. Maybe, think about this phenomenon that has been readily accessible by the Ahl al-Sunnah for years, and these videos have been used by anti-Shia polemicists for a long time. If one is ignorant of how aggressively anti-Shia polemicists in the last few years have been thriving on ammo that we have been providing them, then that is even more embarrassing. 2. There are some in the community who often say, "the era of dissimulation is over" (ironically similar to what the producers of this film have been saying for years), but yet will cite the need for dissimulation here for pragmatic reasons (i.e. unity). At the end of the day, they should let us know whether the era of dissimulation is over or not? Need serious consistency on this. If dissimulation is still to be done in some areas, then do not preach such dramatic clichés that "the era" is over when you will conveniently hide behind it elsewhere. 3. While the film will appear to anachronistically pin modern-day terrorism onto an early event in Islamic history, a very naïve approach to understanding historical events, but how much of this rhetoric and these approaches already exist and are spread from our pulpits all year long? All sorts of anachronistic interpretations are being done by different speakers pushing different agendas (perhaps sometimes unintentionally – who knows at this point). Maybe we need to be consistent in calling all these fallacies out. Just because other interpretations are not provocative towards other sects and do not put our lives literally in danger, does not mean they do not do other types of damage to the collective understanding of the community by altering their perceptions of what happened, and then these perceptions are played on to push certain agendas and make people behave a certain way. These could be interpretations that are done to push feminist agendas by portraying Fatima (s) or Zaynab (s) in certain ways, or political agendas by portraying the - exceptional - role of Imam Husayn (a) in a certain way, pushing the “end of times” and “the reappearance is near” rhetoric by using weak sources accompanied with fallacious applications of these reports on events and contemporary personalities, or any other agendas or ideologies that are superimposed onto historical events and personalities to construct a narrative. These narratives are used to hype up people in the communities, make them behave a certain way, when in reality the sources for these ideas are either very problematic or the narratives suffer from an unexhaustive look at as many dimensions as possible to arrive at the best possible understanding. Some of these narratives have been fed to the communities for so many decades that it is suffocating to even think about how to go about correcting them. On top of that, what we hear at times is to not brush these false interpretations and the movements originating in these incorrect explanations because they are good and have supposed benefits for us as a community. This is while on the other hand it is preached that Islam is all about the “method”, it is about “how” you get to your conclusions, and not “what” conclusion you arrive at! Please make up your mind, or at the very least do not attribute these movements and false conclusions to Islam and tashayyu'. I pray we can one day be identified – from the inside and as well as by outsiders - as a community that lives up to some of the more fundamental teachings of the Prophet (p) and of the inheritors of his (a) knowledge, the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt. When will we make our communities be known as communities that study and engage with the sirah of the final Prophet (p) and know how to apply it in today's times? When will we begin engaging and teaching our communities about Quranic exegesis beyond some rudimentary explanations here and there? How is it possible for a community that claims to follow the Prophet (p) and the Ahl al-Bayt (a) to be so detached from the Quran and have no affinity with it besides being able to just read it? When will we begin exploring and teaching the plethora of narrations regarding Allah, His Attributes and other theological teachings in order to help develop a stronger monotheistic worldview, which is so imperative in today’s day and age? When are we going to start prioritizing the recitation and study of the reliable supplications by the Imams (a), instead of only going to them when engaging in a marathon on Laylatul Qadr? There is too much to explore, but our priorities seem to be in making sure Wikipedia lists us for the largest annual gathering. When an entry on Wikipedia seems to be the greatest concern for some in the community, that is a sign of serious intellectual poverty. 4. While there is no doubt that the vast majority of Shi'a scholars have accepted the event of the attack and burning of the door as well as the subsequent martyrdom of Lady Fatima (s) due to it, and I do not think the popularity of this position will be jeopardized any time soon, I believe communities need to be educated that there does exist an alternative narrative which is - historically speaking - justified. Denying certain details is not grounds for excommunication like we saw in the case of Sayyid Fadlullah - perhaps the worst case of negative propaganda witnessed against a Shi'a scholar, by scholars themselves, in recent times. Coincidentally, I am reminded of similar propaganda campaign that was done against Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin in the 1930s, who was also a victim of a similar onslaught from scholars in Najaf when he wrote a treatise against the practice of self-flagellation when he was calling the practice out for giving a bad impression of our religion. In any case, you can’t preach that historians will arrive at different conclusions because historical study is often subjective and different scholars have different approaches, but then at the same time excommunicate a scholar for then using their right to investigate the sources for an event and arriving at a different conclusion! 5. As alluded to earlier, much of the details for the event come from a single book, the Kitab of Sulaym. Some partial details exist here and there in some other works, often also questionable (for example Dala'il al-Imamah). If any other sect used a similar book like Sulaym’s to establish some historical event, let alone its detail, I believe we would have turned them into a laughing stock. But instead, we have been bringing people up with the notion that the details of the attack are so well established, "all over Sunni books" (even though the Sunni books don't contain any such details, and if any specific detail is indeed found, it is generally a dubious book for them), "they have tawatur (widely transmitted)" and so on, not acknowledging that in fact, the sources for the details are extremely scarce and limited. Please note my repeated mention of the word “details of the event”. No Muslim historian denies the existence of an altercation because Imam Ali (a) had refused to give allegiance after the demise of the Prophet (p). The discussion is on whether the details regarding the burning of the door, being whipped, or slapped, or having a miscarriage etc. can be reliably verified or not - details that will emotionally charge up any Shi'a if proven to be true. Given that the narrative pins the murder of Lady Fatima (s) on an individual or a group of individuals, a good litmus test may be to see whether the evidence we have at hand would be enough to find someone guilty or not even within a Shi’i court. If you were the one who was being charged for murder, and the accuser was using these sources as evidence, please consider what you would hope the judge’s verdict would be. Please consider the ethical implications of accusing someone of murder with such dubious evidence, even if they were usurpers of the caliphate that rightfully belonged to Ali (a). Inconsistent propagation of beliefs and ideas is a tragedy we've been facing for a while now. Unfortunately speaking out and offering alternative narratives and explanations is very difficult in our communities as you will often be shred apart by those whose livelihood is tied to these events and as well as the laity who does not know any better and cannot be blamed. I do pray that this film will actually become the catalyst for not what it intended, rather for us in the community to engage in a more nuanced discussion regarding these matters instead of beating around the bush.

I will try every single day to post scholars who were weakened because they told the truth or a cut a down Hadith. I'll start with Ibn Abi Darim, Dhahabi said he is an Imam and a Hafiz, But he was weakened, Why? "Al Hazim said, 'Rafidi, not trustworthy.' " Why did they say he is a Rafidi? "And Muhammad Ibn Hamad said, ....I was with him and people were reading to him that Umar Kicked Fatima (عليه السلام) to the point She (عليه السلام) miscarried Muhsin (عليه السلام) (Her Unborn Son). " Many More to come InshAllah

Social media, a world of responsibility with enormous numbers of irresponsibles... Let's not just become a forwarding machine ... When we just forward: At least what we can do is to check the source of a matter popped up on our screens. There are number of appealing messages floating everywhere on social media but we do no good by just forwarding these, we fulfill the sole purpose of its sender by passing it on. Knowledge is always a result of the efforts of only the knowledgeable people, not just everyone. Therefore least we can do is to check out traceable source if mentioned in any message. Expensive researches, crafted work and hard yearned produced materials with efforts naturally have its owner/creator's name unlike otherwise. We will be held accountable: We should strive to build a culture of admiration of those who worked hard not those doing plagiarism, a clean atmosphere of accountability not just promoting brain malware and publishing tormented facts, building a sense of responsibility but not a hidden world of tarnishing characters and images of persons or entities. Another area of exercizing extreme care rests with the sender of any message. If he/she has understood it well and capable enough to respond to further questions of audience or at least able to refer the audience easily to the source. Extreme care is also needed to verify if the article, media clip or content would not be harmful to some or any recipient of the message. If there is a chance of misinterpretation that exists due to the level of audience or possibility of message carrying multiple meanings that cannot be achieved without active dialogues, then better hold it and don’t send it to the texting world. Refrain from sending it by exercising your self control. Else we might equally be responsible for any deviation of one's faith for a period of time or forever, which is far worst than taking one's physical life.!!! Acceptance of specialist only: Another area of extra care is a to let message be decoded, understood and sent only by the experts of that field e.g. debates of religion by scholars or least the students of that decipline, medical, engineering, technology or finanicial related matters by their respective specialists. Imagine if financial derivative market impacts during meltdown are explained by a medical doctor; ib contrary you can imagine what happens to poor specialist of medical sciences when someone says cancer or diabetes is a myth or can be cured merely by taking hot showers etc. Above mentioned careless attitude of us being master and responsible for all and everything has driven us to a verge where finding true specialist, truth itself and the respect of righteous people has been severely damaged by our both hands so that so now you can either find marajaeen (where everyone thinks as a mufti) in every corner of a street or the vision has got so blurred that many of us do not know who a Marje Alam is, hence the lack of respect to this highly respected position which is like aforementioned specialists is not a profession, instead a highly divine decreed station by deputy of Almighty. The evidence: Examples are simple and can easily be seen in our or every society by just observing messages being relayed on social media on per nano second rate. Let us change our daily attitude towards knowledge and show a consistent sense of responsibility successfully handed over to next generation. Media industry, a poison for all: Above all we know credibility of main stream media and the strings of social media lie in the hands of those opinion makers who have invested billions into it, who constantly manipulate it else it would have not existed. The basis and worth of the other half of the floated content is to make things viral. This attitude is far much poisonous, widely accepted and infected all societies more than the impact of Covid19 itself. Time to change: The change lies into our hands and how responsible we are. Blaming those giving statements against respected marajaeen uzaam, those not doing taqleed while at the same time we fall prey to same basic principle in our daily lives by overriding specialist is so commonly found in our societies. Its like a huge noise created by clueless people while the specialist in the very room are not consulted or even respected at all. It would remain a grave concern, a matter of collective attitude and a big question mark we all are answerable and ultimately accountable to. The message: This message is not meant for general distribution just simply share it with those who you can engage with over the topic or refer to myself for a constructive discussion. Thanks for reading till the end.

*English Message follows* دورة جديدة في حوزة الامام الحسين (ع) قال رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ( صلى الله عليه وآله ) : " طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ ، أَلَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ بُغَاةَ الْعِلْمِ " في بداية السنة الجديدة ٢٠٢٠ م تبدأ حوزة الإمام الحسين عليه السلام تقبل طلبات الانتساب الى دورة تمهيدية جديدة للراغبين بالدراسة الحوزوية وستكون بالترتيب التالي: ١ . يُركز على تعليم اللغة العربية في السنة الاولى بمعدل ٣ ساعات صباحا من الاثنين إلى الجمعة لكي يتمكن الطالب من إتقان اللغة العربية بما يؤهله للدراسة الحوزوية ٢ . بالإضافة لما سبق يدرس الطالب دروساً دينية باللغة الانجليزية أو مدعمة بالعربية إلى أن يكون مؤهلا لتلقي كل الدروس الحوزوية باللغة العربية. ٣ . تؤمن الدراسة لكافة الطلاب والطالبات من مدينة وندزور وكافة المدن الاخرى في امريكا الشمالية بشكل حضوري ويُؤمن سكن داخلي في المؤسسة للطلاب الذكور القادمين من خارج مدينة وندزور. ٤ . نرجو ممن يرغب بالدراسة المبادرة الى إخبار إدارة الحوزة وتسجيل الاسم في شهر كانون الثاني لكي يتمكن من متابعة الدراسة. يرجى ممن عنده إلتزام بدراسة جامعية أو بعمل أن ينظم أوقات عمله أو دراسته الجامعية مسبقاً بحيث تكون بعد الظهر لتتسنى له الدراسة في هذه الدورة قبل الظهر. نرجو ممن يطلع على هذه الرسالة نشرها في امريكا الشمالية لتصل إلى الاخوة والاخوات الذين يهمهم الأمر ويكون الناشر مشاركا في ثواب دراسة طالب العلم وخدمته الدينية. التواصل يكون عبر الإيميل التالي: hawzawindsor@gmail.com او بالاتصال على الارقام التالية: سماحة الشيخ عبد المنعم شرارة +1(519) 819-8117 السيد حسن الطباطبائي +1(514) 465-5526 مكتب استعلامات المؤسسة +1 (519) 256-7171 صفحتنا على الفيسبوك: http://facebook.com/ihfwindsor وفقنا الله واياكم لخدمة علوم محمد وآل محمد عليهم السلام A New Course in the Imam Hussain ((عليه السلام).) Hawza – Windsor, Canada The Holy Prophet Muhammed (P.) said: “Seeking knowledge is an obligation on every Muslim, Surely, Allah loves the seekers of knowledge.” At the beginning of the New Year 2020, the Imam Hussain ((عليه السلام).) Hawza in Windsor, Canada, is accepting applications for registration to a new introductory course for those wishing to study Hawza, details are as follows: 1. The focus in the first year is learning Arabic for about 3 hours a day, classes are in the morning, from Monday to Friday. It is crucial for the student to master Arabic language in order to qualify for Hawza Studies which are delivered in Arabic Language. 2. In addition to the above, students will be having various religious classes in English until they are eligible to enroll in the Hawza classes which are taught in Arabic language. 3. Classes are provided by attendance to all male and female students from the city of Windsor and all other cities in North America for free. The Hawza provides residential accommodation in the institution for male students only who are coming from outside the city of Windsor. 4. If you wish to study at the Hawza, please contact the Hawza Administration in January to register so that you can start your classes. Note: Those who are committed to university studies or work are requested to organize their university or work schedule in advance so that they are all in the afternoon because the classes will all be before Dhuhr prayers. * We ask everyone who see this announcement to share it with their contacts in North America so that it reaches all those who are interested in studying Hawza. For further details, do not hesitate to contact us on the following email: hawzawindsor@gmail.com Or by calling the following numbers: Shaikh Abdul Mon’im Sharara: +1 (519) 819-8117 Sayed Hassan Tabatabai: +1 (514) 465-5526 The Foundation’s Reception Desk: +1 (519) 256-7171 Official Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/ihfwindsor Thank you,

Photos: Commemoration ceremony for "Sheikh Muhammad Oji" held in Qom http://en.abna24.com/news//photos-commemoration-ceremony-for-sheikh-muhammad-oji-held-in-qom_923610.html January 5, 2019 - 6:36 PM News Code : 923610 Source : ABNA24Link: Commemoration ceremony for "Sheikh Muhammad Oji", a Turkish Shiite scholar and member of the General Assembly of the Ahlul Bayt (AS) World Assembly held in Qom on Friday. Photos: Third anniversary of Sheikh Nimr's martyrdom in Qom http://en.abna24.com/news//photos-third-anniversary-of-sheikh-nimrs-martyrdom-in-qom_923621.html January 5, 2019 - 6:54 PM News Code : 923621 Source : ABNA24Link: AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The third anniversary of Sheikh Nimr's martyrdom held by office of Ayatollah Modarresi in Qom. A number of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from 'Uthman ibn 'Isa from abu Ayyub al-Khazzaz from Sulayman ibn Khalid from abu 'Abdallah (a.s.) who has said the following. " Of the deaths of the true believers the one that Satan loves most is the death of a Faqih, one who has very good understand of religion and its laws." Share...Chapter: 7, Hadith: 71, Number: 1 A number of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from 'Uthman ibn 'Isa from abu Ayyub al-Khazzaz from Sulayman ibn Khalid from abu 'Abdallah (a.s.) who has said the following. " Of the deaths of the true believers the one that Satan loves most is the death of a Faqih, one who has very good understand of religion and its laws." Share... Chapter: 7, Hadith: 71, Number: 1 Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ibn abu 'Umayr from certain persons of his people from abu 'Abdallah (a.s.) who has said the following. "When a true believer who is a Faqih, dies, it causes an irreparable damage in the Islamic system." Share... Chapter: 7, Hadith: 72, Number: 2 Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from ibn Mahbub from Ali ibn abu Hamza who has said the following. "(Imam) abu al-Hassan Musa ibn Ja'far (a.s.) has said, 'When a true believer dies the angels and the parts of earth where he worshipped Allah weep because of his death. Also the doors of the heavens through which his good deeds had been taken up weep and it causes an irreparable damage in the Islamic system. It is because the true believing Fuqaha, people of proper understanding in religion and its laws are the strongholds of the Islamic system just as the fortress around a city is a stronghold for it.'" Share... Chapter: 7, Hadith: 73, Number: 3 7 - Chapter on the Loss of a Scholar http://www.fourshiabooks.com/view/al-kafi/2 Mauritanian member of Ahlulbayt World Assembly passed away / Pics http://en.abna24.com/news//mauritanian-member-of-ahlulbayt-world-assembly-passed-away-pics_919792.html December 8, 2018 - 3:29 PM News Code : 919792 Source : ABNA24Link: Allamah "Sheikh Ahmad Yahya", a senior Mauritanian Shiite cleric and member of the General Assembly of the Ahlulbayt (AS) World Assembly passed away. AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Allamah "Sheikh Ahmad Yahya", a senior Mauritanian Shiite cleric and member of the General Assembly of the Ahlulbayt (AS) World Assembly passed away. He was a member of the General Assembly of the Ahlulbayt (AS) World Assembly and was one of the prominent Shiite speakers in the Mauritania. NEW SIGN OF THE HOUR (Must Watch!) - Animated Video (this video portrays wahhabis like as ibn taymiah (la) as scholar but about death of scholars [Ulama] & other signs we have similar hadiths from our Imams (as) same as what is saying in this video ) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Martyrs_of_Shia_Islam death of shia scholars was a great loose past years& their death was after long years but but now they die another after another that that is increased after demise of Ayatollah Behjat (ra) which this can be a sign from minor signs of reappearance of Imam Mahdi (aj) Allah knows best

Assalamu A'laykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu, I have been wondering, how did our scholars like Sheikh Al Tusi (ra) know if person x is reliable or not?? And the same thing goes for the Sunni scholars, but I'd rather know how our scholars knew it first. I have been searching and searching, but I haven't found any luck, but that's probably because most of the stuff we have in our text is in Arabic, so its quite hard for a person like me who isn't that great at Arabic to understand what I am reading. Jazakullahu feekum

Bismillah! Allahumma Salli Ala Muhammad Wa Ala Alae Muhammad! Salaam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh Brothers And Sisters, I Was Just Wondering If Anyone Could Recommend Some Good Shia Scholars That Do Lectures And Talks About Shi'ite And Islam ? I Appreciate Any And All Assistance/Recommendations! Thank You For Taking The Time To Read This Post! Jazaak Allaah! Alaikum Salaam!

Dear sisters, as salaam in alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakaatuhu. please could any one of you recommend Shia lady teachers of Quran and deeniyat in lucknow. pls share their website if you know of it. I searched for prof Taj Bano and dr Anjum Zaidi but didn't find their emails or website. Appreciate your help.

Hello/Assalam Alaikum Many people here have told me that I should seek answers or about Islam or advices from well-recognized scholars, but how can I know which scholars are legitimate or how can I find them? Thank you

Salam alaykum, all I am wondering whether any of our scholars have used the word "fisq" to refer to homosexuality. I have tried YouTube but honestly do NOT have the patience for it. (I never have.) In addition, I have clicked Ayatullah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dastghaib Shirazi's text "Greater Sins" to look around there. Even so, any help in connecting me to a scholarly work in which the author or speaker uses the word "fisq" to describe homosexuality would be welcome - including any references to "Greater Sins." After all, two minds are better than one. Thank you! -Freedom

Salams Would appreciate your help in answering below questions with credible references. 1) Can someone refer me to Iran’s detailed laws regarding veil/hijab, specifically the punishment (official links will be quite helpful, if any)? 2) What is the basis of the punishment for not wearing proper dress code? Is it Islamic? Is it a specific law of Iran based on society’s preference? Or is a decision of the Supreme Leader of Iran? E.t.c 3) If it’s Islamic, can someone kindly share references used by law makers (are there any such Islamic references at all)? For example, were women punished for not covering themselves in the times of the Prophet P.b.u.H? Or did our Imams endorse the punishment for not observing hijab? 4) If it’s based on society’s preference, can someone clarify whether it was devised in consideration of the general consent of the (majority of) public and/or its representatives? 5) There are protestors seeking freedom to wear what they want. There are also protestors who want the government officials to strictly impose moral dress. Are there any official or third party statistics suggesting the majority view? 6) Are the punishments strictly carried out or do most people get away with a warning? Thank you

Salam Alaikom, here this topic is about angels and to gather mainly material about angels for all of us to benefit from islamic sources. Have you ever thought why so little of speech in our communities about angels, are we not maybe, part angelic and part animal like, and maybe from spiritual realm perspective we are like this. Gathering of information is by this priority: From the Holy Quran Ahadith of Ahl al-Bait Peace upon Them What our Maraje say based on aql and naql of course Any speech from a scholar in your community, this includes your virtual community also, try to find one speech lo. Any books in any language is also welcome, on this topic both from Maraje and high scholars and other researches that is Muslims.

Salams It is noteworthy how we have changed the way we receive and learn new information. For example, in the past, knowledge was seen as an object. Teachers were active conveyors of knowledge while the students were passive receivers. I can still remember from school days when we would sit in the school classroom trying to pay attention to the teacher. This style of learning was non-productive, as most of the students remained half asleep, and we would hardly grasp half of what was taught. It has also started to become obsolete in the 21st century now that everyone is seen as an active learner and all of us develop our own understanding of the world. The source of information is not just limited to schools, hawzas, universities, dictionaries and encyclopaedias. Instead most of the information on any given subject is readily available online. Everyone is actively engaging in discussions and people are producing information and sharing their knowledge on a wide variety of topics (This idea is referred to as constructivism and according to it, we learn by observing & experimenting, actively searching for information, engaging in dialogue, and becoming producers of information). In light of these changing circumstances, is it not a fair demand to have scholars and related institutions engage with public for the purpose of producing and sharing information? Should they not be more approachable and should they not engage with public in a manner that both parties learn from one another and implement positive changes for the greater good of Islam and the global Muslim community at large? It is a matter of serious concern that if scholars and hawza institutions confine themselves to private discussions and formal education, they will gradually loose their appeal and authority because when there is a vacuum, alternatives (good or bad) fill it up. I refer to a response from the office of His Eminence Sayyid Al-Hakeem below which serves as a good example of the concern in discussion but is of course in no way being shared to degrade their efforts. While this response makes a valid point of complexities surrounding derivation of laws, it shuns the proposal by saying that if someone is interested they can learn jurisprudence from available platforms and institutions. And in saying that, it shows how present day scholars and their offices are either unaware or less concerned about the way information is being produced and shared online. There is neither an acknowledgement of the concern being shared nor an interest to forward this message to bodies or groups or individuals who could look at bringing about changes well suited to present times. The tone of the reply leaves an impression that there is no area of improvement in the current system and the one questioning the system has to follow status quo. My final thought, in fact an open question to individuals such as @Ibn al-Hussain and others studying or working in hawza institutions or office of Grand Ayatullahs, is if there is any way to get this message across to people who are open minded and can do something about it? Just recently we tried to welcome scholars as guests on our platform which was a failed attempt and which shows the level of priority being given to the voices of laymen. I can understand different limitations but I don't understand why there is lack of commitment in keeping up with the times. Am I missing something? Have I got it all wrong?

Auzobillaahiminash Shaitaanir rajeem. Bismilaahir Rahmaanir Raheem. Assalaamu Alaikum. There are many people whose Duas are easily answered. Just wondering have anyone thought of making, say, Duas to save yourself from Hell and grant Jannatul Ferdaus (best Heaven)? or, making Dua for the benefit of ummah? This is because there is a story about a man Balaam ibn Baoora (also spelled Bu’laam bin Baa’ooraa’) , who used to live at the time of Prophet Musa (Alaihis Salam). He was not just any man, but a scholar. He was not any scholar, but one who knew the Ism e Azam , the greatest name of Allah, using which if a person makes Dua, the Dua is answered. Even after this Bulaam got deviated. I mean, if such a khowledgable man gets deviated, what will happen to common people? I was wondering why didn't he make Dua to get Heaven and protected from Hell, or ask for the well-fare of the Muslim nations, or ask for protection from Shaitan? The lesson is enlightening. Thought I should share. http://www.thelastcaliph.com/balam-ibn-baura/ http://www.slideshare.net/zakir2012/the-world-of-jinn-devils -> (Pg 42 or 48, depending upon how reader counts the pages. A plain-text format of the file's words is below that webpage) Remember me in your Duas too. JazakAllah Khair.

Dear friends, Just a question about some concepts I've come across in my modest, and no doubt inadequate, study of islamic doctrine and philosophy. I hope there are some people he that can enlighten me with the backgrounds I need. There is the concept of "pre-existence". The notion which I almost automatically associate with a neo-platonist philosophical outlook; the concept of immaterial perfect ideas that exist before the creation of material being and that somehow manifest themselves in material creation because they mediate all perfect forms that manifest themselves in created material beings. These categories obviously had a great influence on the development on Christian theology, to the extend that some doctrines have been developed which Muslims now deem to be going too far and indeed to be a lapse in idolatry. But let's leave that aside for the moment. But the core as I perceive it is; the idea of pre-existence has become quite a guiding principle in some regards. In the Gospel of John this can be seen with the concept of the Word (Logos) that became flesh; he was before all times and came into the world to be rejected by the Jews who were not able to recognize him. The Church Fathers clearly saw the Logos as the model of creation itself; it was through the Logos that God created men, the rejection of the Logos was as such a rejection of the essential core of what it means to be human, to be created in the image God and called to worship Him in love and obedience. As it were: the Logos represents an immaterial perfect idea of what it essence of human ontology. All human existence is as it were mediated through the pre-existent Word. The crux is of course whether you define the Logos as created or uncreated; this is where the whole discussion about the Trinity starts but again I hope we can leave that aside for this moment. My question is how do Muslim scholars look at this concept of the pre-existence? Are there any sayings by the Imams that could shed light on this? I think I've came across some notion of the Qur'an as having a certain pre-existent statute and in some (analogical/philosophical?) form even Imam Ali? How can I understand this better? And how to see the concept of 'Aql? Like the Greek concepts of Logos and Sophia? Or is altogether different? How can enlighten me in this? I am keen to learn more. God bless, Leto

In terms of knowledge and piety, who are the top 3 Zaydi Ulama alive today and where are they?

ASALAAM ALAIKUM EVERYONE. RECENTLY, I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR A SCHOOL OF THOUGHT TO FOLLOW. I HAVE BEEN RAISED SUNNI BUT I NOW WANT TO STUDY THE SHIA APPROACH TO AL-ISLAM. MY REASONS BEING BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENCES, SOME SLIGHT, SOME MAJOR IN THE WAY DIFFERENT GROUPS APPROACH THIS RELIGION SO I HAVE DECIDED THAT I WANT TO DO RESEARCH (WITH THE HELP OF Allah) AND FOLLOW THE ONE THAT IS CLOSEST TO THE QURAN AND THE CHARACTER OF RASULULLAH (pbuh). THEREFORE I WAS WONDERING IF YOU ALL COULD POINT ME TO SOME GOOD AND WELL KNOWN SCHOLARS WHO CAN EXPLAIN SOME OF YOUR DIFFERING BELIEFS AND BACK UP THEIR VALIDITY USING STRONG SOURCES. THIS ONE GUY TOLD ME TO LOOK UP STUFF FROM A SHEIKH NAMED YASSIR HABIB AND THE GUY SEEMED LIKE A HATE MONGER- SO PLEASE DO NOT POINT ME TOWARDS ANYONE WHO CURSES AND DISRESPECTS SUNNI AND SAHABAH. ALTHOUGH LIKE ALL SUNNI'S, I HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR THE AHLUL BAYT (EVEN THOUGH I DO ADMIT THAT OUR SCHOLARS OFTEN NEGLECT TO TEACH US THEIR KNOWLEDGE, WITH AN EXCEPTION TO FATIMAH(RA) AND ALI(RA) OF COURSE, AND MENTION HOW MANY OF THEM WERE KILLED AND MISTREATED OVER TTHE YEARS), I WANT TO SEE THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE CLAIMS THAT THE PROPHET APPOINTED THEM TO BE LEADERS OF THE UMMAH. SO PLEASE HELP ME IN MY QUEST FOR A BALANCED UNDERSTANDING GUYS! JAZAKALLAH KHAIR!

Yusuf Qaradawi, L, and Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh has called on all the leaders and scholars of the Muslim world to take strong steps to stop the Hezbollah and its supporters fighting against the people in Syria. “It has been known beyond doubt that it (Hezbollah) is a party of the enemy agent that does not respect the ties of kinship or covenant with the believers,” Al-Asheikh said while commenting on a recent statement by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi in which he acknowledged his error in taking an anti-Saudi stance on Hezbollah. Al-Asheikh said in his statement yesterday that Saudi Arabia did not have any ulterior motive in supporting any effort to solve problems of the Muslims in different parts of world. “(The Kingdom) is not seeking any narrow political gain (while helping the suffering Muslims) but it is motivated by the pure Islamic ideal of spreading justice and bringing an end to injustice and oppression.” He thanked Qaradawi for commending the stance taken by the Saudi scholars in the past on various issues. He also affirmed Qaradawi’s condemnation of Hezbollah’s collaboration with the Syrian regime in the hostilities against the Syrian people and stressed the need for all Muslim scholars and leaders to take a unified stand in solving the issue. Saudi scholars and intellectuals have backed the mufti’s statement. “It is very important as it exposes the Lebanese group as anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim,” said Fuad Kawther, an engineer engaged in dawa activities. He said Shiites and Shiite groups have been behind many tragedies across the Islamic world including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Kawther called for a three-pronged strategy to confront Hezbollah. “We have to create awareness against this group; boycott their products and mobilize Source: http://www.arabnews.com/news/454177

Dear all, in 1982, an Ayatullah Shariatmadar Committee based in Lahore published a book called "Sharīʿatnāmah. Inqilāb-i Islāmī Īrān meṇ Aghā-yi Sharīʿatmadār kā kirdār". Its author was a certain Maulvī ʿAbd al-Wahhāb Bangash. Does anyone of you have any information on him? Thanks for your help, Simon

http://www.islamicinsights.com/news/community-affairs/awesome-speakers-or-humble-scholars.html Article titled, "Awesome speakers or Humble Scholars" Khuda Hafiz