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Salam, I got my nikkah done last year, but there was a delay in Rukhsati (actual wedding, and my Rukhsti will be done this year as per my family). About three months after our nikkah, I met my husband and, at his request, agreed to share intimacy. We were intimate twice (2 times only) after Nikkah. However, I now feel conflicted because I've heard that such intimacy before an official wedding or before Rukhsati is highly inappropriate. It's been a year and a half since we got our nikkah done, and our last intimacy was eight months ago. Currently, we hardly meet each other and communicate mostly through phone calls or messages. Later, I learned that pre-rukhsti intimacy can invalidate nikkah in certain beliefs. I personally don't agree with these beliefs, but I'm troubled by why such ideas exist and are considered taboo. I'm deeply distressed by these confusing and ambiguous matters. It's affecting my relationship with my husband, as we argue about this daily. However, he maintains that our actions are not Haram. I'm feeling very disheartened about this situation. Could you please provide insights based on Shia rulings? My questions are: 1. Does our intimacy before rukhsati affect the validity of our Nikkah or make husband and wife haram for each other? Does this make any difference to our marriage? 2. Is it suitable to have intimacy before rukhsti and after nikkah. Am I considered sinful for this, or do I earn any merits (ajar)? Adding more, my parents are totally unaware of this that I shared intimacy with my husband as they won't like this, and this thought is also disturbing me. Your assistance and insights based on Shia teachings and Quran/ Sunnah on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Is there anyone local who would like to connect? I’m in the Los Angeles area quite a Jun I and would like to meet people for positive interactions. I am mostly surrounded by people who are very negative and toxic spiritually, and otherwise.

﷽ Salamunalaikum, Ya Ali adrikni.. Hope everyone who's reading this is doing just fine (Insha'Allah). My name is Hasnain. I am here coz i don't have the faintest idea as to what I am supposed to do with my life... I am in desperate need of help/guidance/advice.. a lot of it. I wanna apologize ahead of time if i come off as a little arrogant, rude, childish and immature.. I really don't want to sound offensive and sorry if this post is going to be a very long one. Before I start sharing my thoughts I would like to say a few things first like I am aware and fully prepared for any kind of response I might get on this also some of you might think of me as a stupid/lazy bum or even criticize me like I am an entitled or privileged person or maybe weird etc., but honestly any of it wont matter coz somewhere deep down I do believe that i deserve stern criticism and wont try to play a victim card I'll gladly welcome any brutal/bitter advice from you brothers as this is the truth and reality. Anyway mincing no words... I am gonna be 30 yrs old in the next couple of months. I have completed my masters and yet I am unemployed. Yup you've read that right I AM still JOBLESS. Not that I am a differently abled person, its mainly because of my anxiety and depression issues. I once was a normal, happy and contented person but some terrible things happened a few years back which made me into what I am today. I've been having episodes lately which I don't feel confident enough to share publicly.. I don't know how to put what I feel in words I just don't know what to do in life, there's this void in me and nothing can seem to fill it. I don't have any sort of phobias for your info Alhamdulillah and also I don't have suicidal thoughts as am aware that its haram and the end result is hellfire and Allah's anger. I Love Ahlebait (عليه السلام) and I pray everyday without any excuse or delay I offer tahajjud prayers as well and I have been actively reciting the Holy Quran and all/various duas and ziarats like Dua e tawassul, dua noor, adila, nudba, kumail, ziyarat ashura, arbaeen, warisa etc. for the fulfilment of desires and rizq.. However, I rarely go out to attend Majalis in the month of muharram and most of the time I watch it on T.V or my device..... I know that I am a sinner and I have sinned heavily in my life but i also do Istighfar abundantly and out of love and fear of almighty.. I cry every night lying on my bed cursing and accusing myself and blaming myself for my amaals not being accepted coz of my past deeds/actions.. never have I ever in my entire life indulged myself in haram activities like smoking, drinking, gambling, womanizing never I swear... I know that no ones perfect or blessed not even me and I even understand that luck has no role in our lives its all based on our efforts & hard work... but I don't know why I cant go out and find some work or get a job.. there's this fear in me that has put me in shackles.. I am concerned that this might be a underlying sickness or some kind of phobia which has cost me a great deal.. all this pressure and stress has been eating me up on the inside.. I lack motivation and I roam aimlessly i am not sure what to do with my career I think this is the end of it.. I DONT even HAVE ANY FRIENDS.. I did have a few in the past but they too left maybe coz I am a worthless guy and they did the right thing I mean who would wanna be friends with someone like me who has panic attacks, depression, anxiety and no future no special talents or set of skills no WORK no social life.. I never leave home I have confined myself behind the walls I never attend events or parties due to my condition.. I feel tired and restless most of the time.. I often go on without drinking water and I don't feel like consuming meals all day as my appetite is mostly lost due to overthinking and freaking out... Many times I go without sleep staying wide awake on my bed lying motionless.. I have no physical activity and I have headaches and I take random medications painkillers for it to subside and rest of the time everything looks bleak and my vision gets blurry I just cant cope with anything.. I have tried some breathing and meditation methods in the past but all in vain now I have started to believe I am on the verge of impending doom... I am devastated, nothing makes sense to me anymore, I have no one to guide me or help me and I am really really scared of seeking professional help (i am afraid of shrinks).. I never wanted to say any of this I just share all this with my Imams (عليه السلام) and Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) One Major attribution for my current circumstance I believe is that as a child I was always in trauma thanks to my dad... He was an abusive parent he'd hit me or my mom every time he had the chance.. he always blamed us for all the bad things that have happened in his life even for those things which occurred long before his marriage.. my mum was an angel she was super supportive she even took all the beatings just to save me from that monster :'( I am sorry I cannot and don't want to continue further as my eyes tear up every time I recall all those atrocities.. I know this is also a sin and may be recorded as gheebat.. I beg to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) to do us justice and decide for him and all the oppressors on the day of judgement as he (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) knows best and he is the one who can punish them its not up to us as we are merely one of his feeble creation.. I just needed to vent as I am alone in this world I have no one to talk to anymore.. that is why I have tried and mustered up some courage to at least share it here with my Shia brothers.. its okay if no one replies to this I know that I sound weak, miserable and crazy but one thing I know for a fact is that I am not a liar and all of this isn't some kind of made up story my pain is not a lie... I don't need anybody's sympathy or anyone to feel pity for me coz I know that the world owes me nothing :'( I ask for forgiveness from my god and from you all if I have offended anyone among you.. I just want all my troubles to go away and be at ease as soon as possible is all.. as I feel I might be running out of patience and time I don't wanna die empty handed and with sadness by the side of my bed when I am alone in my old age I don't wanna be that person not at any cost I wanna do something meaningful and achieve all my goals but I don't have the courage and right mindset for it. So plz tell me what best options do I have? what should I do? what am I not seeing what is missing from me? I need answers I need resolution. How do I fight my inner demons? how do I come out of this never ending nightmare and this darkness engulfing me? how do I cross the bridge heck or build it in the first place?? please answer me.. someone? anyone??! Please excuse my English its going sideways as I am out of practice coz u probably know why I hope u guys understand what I meant to express. Thank you for your time and patience and also I appreciate all your help and valuable advice Also i wish that the Administrators or mods approve my post to come up on SC and wont delete it (fingers crossed). plz plz plz pretty plz if not anything just pray for me or at least just try n remember me in your duas I am literally begging you all :'( May Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) Hasten the reappearance of Imam Zamana (عجّل الله تعالى فرجه الشريف) Jazak'Allahu Khairan Khuda Hafez.

I am 20 yrs old and I have got a late diagnosis as an adult of autism. I struggle with verbal and non-verbal communication, keeping conversations going (small talk) , making friends and I'm usually very silent and isolated. When meeting guests and people I usually just give greetings then go very silent or very occasionally say something. Especially since I have trouble keeping up with conversations, processing everything and even understanding the banter/humor. I can come off as aloof, odd or even rude. How much am I held accountable for my akhlaq, not having friendships, not giving the best social impression etc. I always read hadith like this.... "Unfortunate is he who cannot gain a few sincere friends during his life and more unfortunate is the one who has gained them and then lost them (through his deeds)." ALI IBN ABI TALIB ((عليه السلام)) Would it be wrong for me to not want to ever meet guests and stay in my room instead?

As-salamunalaikum, I was wondering what people think about the moral traits, behaviour, akhlaq, of a person (male and female) towards other people in general life, IN THIS GENERATION. How do you think one should be with other people (Muslim and non-Muslim)? What moral traits and characteristics do you think are a MUST in this generation towards other people, and why? What kind of a person are you when you are alone, and what kind of a person are you when you are around other people? If there is a difference, then why is that so? How do you react when people judge you based on your traits? What traits and lessons have you adopted from the teachings of Islam and the Ahlulbayt? What do you do when you see someone constantly scared from judgement from others? How would you help them? How would you help a depressed person? - OR - How do you deal with your own depression? How do you deal with anxiety and nervousness? Especially, when around other people? What keeps you grounded to your roots? What is your idea of tawakkul? What is your idea of a happy and satisfying life? What are things that give you happiness? What satisfies you? What advice would you give to your fellow people about these traits and life in general? I'm really hoping to get some answers for these questions, since I think they'll be beneficial for others as much as for me. So kindly try your best to answer at least a few or all of them, if possible. Jazakallah Khair Wa-assalamualaikum Wa Rahmatullah

asalam o elaikum Experts/scholars are requested to please advice, 'is it permissible to start house construction in Muharram or saffar ?

http://quran.al-islam.org/ ***** It does not say Mercy Only for Muslims, or Believers. What is your plan to introduce the Mercy to the Worlds in today's Language ...Let me give you a hint, ethical, moral,-- social & political sciences departments in Universities around the world will have to revise their curriculum. unUnited (Tribes) Nations will revise its charter and replace it. Only if, Muslims can articulate and introduce the real Muhammad Al- Mustafa (peace be upon him and his pure progeny). Your Thoughts?

Spring, Summer or Autumn or Winter

The Future of Muslims in the West/Secular Countries. 1)Islamic Community & Education Centers. 2)Integration in the Society at all levels- Social, Economic, political. ***** 1) Provides the foundation for 2). 1)Islamic Community & Education Centers. Meaning Establishing/Supporting Full Time (kindergarten to High school(12 grades)) Accredited Schools which provide an Islamic educational Environment. Any Comment/Advice/Recommendation/ Positive and Constructive feedback, or any concerns for the benefit of the Muslims?

Extended Adolescence: When 25 Is the New 18 It is a common grumble that children grow up too fast. No more. Teens are in no hurry to embrace the putative joys of adulthood By Bret Stetka on September 19, 2017 Especially now, with society’s deepest depravities freely available online, youngsters seem to grow up quickly: barreling toward adulthood, iPhone in hand, while they Snap Chat racy photos along the way. But new research suggests otherwise. An analysis by researchers at San Diego State University and Bryn Mawr College reports that today’s teenagers are less likely to engage in adult activities like having sex and drinking alcohol than teens from older generations. ADVERTISEMENT The review, published today in the journal Child Development, looked at data from seven national surveys conducted between 1976 and 2016, including those issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Together, the surveys included over eight million 13- to 19-year-olds from varying racial, economic and regional backgrounds. Participants were asked a variety of questions about how the they spent their time outside of school and responses were tracked over time. Beyond just a drop in alcohol use and sexual activity, the study authors found that since around 2000, teens have become considerably less likely to drive, have an after-school job and date. By the early 2010s, it also appeared that 12th graders were going out far less frequently than 8th graders did in the 1990s. In 1991 54 percent of high schoolers reported having had sex at least once; in 2015 the number was down to 41 percent. What’s more, the decline in adult activity was consistent across all populations, and not influenced by race, gender or location. “I’ve seen so many articles in which experts said they didn’t know why the teen pregnancy rate was going down or opining that teens were behaving in a more virtuous way…or that they were lazy because fewer were working,” recalls Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State and the lead author on the study. “Our results show that it’s probably not that today’s teens are more virtuous, or more lazy—it’s just that they’re less likely to do adult things.” She adds that in terms of adult behaviors, 18-year-olds now look like 15-year-olds of the past. Twenge and her co-author, Heejung Park, assistant professor of psychology at Bryn Mawr College, initially thought the findings meant teens today are doing more homework or engaged in more extracurricular activities. Yet their data suggest the frequency of these activities has been stable for years, if not on a slight decline. The fact teens (not unlike many adults) are glued to their computers and smartphones for much of the day may have contributed to the results the authors suggest. Perhaps their socializing and more salacious interests have simply gone digital via texting, sexting and online pornography. (Today’s teens watch more porn than their predecessors.) Yet virtual vice isn’t the whole story because the dip in adult activities began before internet usage became common. The more likely explanation for this new extended adolescence its relationship to affluence. The analysis found adolescents were more likely to take part in adult activities if they came from larger families or those with lower incomes. This mirrors so-called “life history theory,” the idea exposure to an unpredictable, impoverished environment as a kid leads to faster development whereas children who grow up in a stable environment with more resources tend to have a slower developmental course. ADVERTISEMENT In families with means there is often more anticipation of years of schooling and career before one necessarily has to “grow up”—there’s plenty of time for that later. As Twenge and Park conclude, despite growing income disparities, a significant percentage of the U.S. population has on average become more affluent over the past few decades and are living longer. As a result, people are waiting longer to get married and have children. We’re also seeing a higher parental investment in fewer children—or, in the parlance of our times, more “helicopter parenting.” This concept of extended adolescence is not new. It was first made famous by psychologist Erik Erikson, who in his theory on the different stages of human development termed this stage a “psychosocial moratorium.” Yet many child psychologists believe today’s children seem to be idling in this hiatus period more so than ever before. “I'm keenly aware of the shift, as I often see adolescents presenting with some of the same complaints as college graduates,” says Columbia University psychologist Mirjana Domakonda, who was not involved in the new study. “Twenty-five is the new 18, and delayed adolescence is no longer a theory, but a reality. In some ways, we’re all in a ‘psychosocial moratorium,’ experimenting with a society where swipes constitute dating and likes are the equivalent of conversation.” Some experts caution against reading too much into the new findings, because asking a bunch of teenagers to accurately recount their behavior has its obvious statistical flaws. “The new work highlights how vital it is to do careful, methodologically rigorous research,” says Robert Findling, director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medicine who also did not take part in the new research. “Working from impressions, opinions or individual experiences can lead to spurious conclusions.” But presuming some degree of truth to the new findings, what might postponing adulthood mean for society? Are we headed toward a culture of helpless, coddled teenagers unwilling to work? Or given that we’re living so much longer than past generations, maybe there’s nothing wrong with a few extra years of innocence? Twenge sees both upsides and downsides: “It's great to protect young teens, but parents should realize that older teens need some experience with independence before they go to college or start working.” Domakonda adds that although parents can play a role in indulging extended youth, they are not the root cause. “Most are responding to their own anxieties about the new norm,” she says. “They recognize that now, in order for their children to succeed, they can’t simply get a job at the local factory, but may be faced with 10-plus years of postgraduate education and crippling student debt.” ADVERTISEMENT She feels that instead of pushing young adults to mature faster, we should embrace the cultural shift and develop ways to both meet the psychological needs of modern teens while also setting them up for future success. Domakonda suggests one such strategy might be expanding mental health services for adolescents, particularly because 75 percent of major mental illnesses emerge by the mid-20s. She also feels we should stop arbitrarily defining 18 as the age of adulthood and recognize that psychosocial development occurs differently in different people. “Researchers need to recognize that emerging adults are a unique developmental cohort and stop lumping them in the 18- to 65-year-old category for studies of adults,” she says. “That will help us learn about their specific needs so we may develop targeted prevention and treatment strategies [for mental illness] Time will tell how extended adolescence influences American culture and character. But in the words of basketball legend Charles Barkley, there is one clear upside: “Kids are great. It’s a shame they have to grow up to be regular people and come to the games and call you names.” Rights & Permissions ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S) Bret Stetka Bret Stetka is a writer based in New York City and an editorial director at Medscape (a subsidiary of WebMD). His work has appeared in Wired, NPR and the Atlantic. He graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 2005.

Aslamualaikum, i have tried my best to find an exact ruling about using hair systems for men who have lost their hair in a young age but i am unable to get a satisfactory and logical answer , now i heard and read that it is prohibited to use human hair extensions or wigs or toupees to be exact and it is ok to use the ones which are made of artificial hairs, i did not get that, i mean first of all the purpose i conquered behind forbidding the use of hair pieces or wigs is so that they can be used as a mean of deception but the case is totally different when a person has a real reason to wear toupees if he or she has lost his or her hair in a young age so guys help me out in clearing that confusion , can a person wear human hair made toupee or he is only allowed to wear the artificial ones, the Hadith upon which the ruling of not using human hair extensions is based describes pretty clearly that a girl lost her hair due to some disease and her mother wanted to use hair extensions on her ( hair from another person ) and Rasulallah (s.a.w.w) forbade her from doing so. so if human hairs are not allowed neither should be the artficial ones becuz they're pretty much the same in looks, only because they were not there at the time of Rasulullah (s.a.w.w) doesn't justifies them to be used. the Hadith i quoted i read from and heard of Ahl-usunnah's book, i want to know what is shia mazhab's take on this issue as inspite of trying my best i was unable to find the shia mazhab's take on this topic, another thing i wanna ask about is if the toupees are allowed then what is the ruling of performing ghusl / wudu wearing them as they are mostly attached to the scalp for a certain period of time and they are fixed for that particular time ( a couple of weeks or months etc), so does one require to remove them every time he is to perform ghusl or wudu( which is a difficult and painful task) or he can perform wudu and ghusl while wearing them and as they are attached with adhesives so there is a possibility that water would not go through such adhesives , by the way they say that these adhesives let water go through them but still what if it doesn't go through, will the ghusl and wudu be still valid ? i'll also translate this query briefly in urdu so that more users can review and answer that, kya hair replacement units / wigs lagana jayez hai ? kya insani balon wali wig istemal ki ja skti hai ? humaray han aksar logon k jawani mein sar k baal gir jatay hain aur muashra bhi esa hai humara k mazaq banaya jata hai to kya confidence restore krne k liye wig use ki ja skti hai aur kya ye wig insani balon se bani hui ho to bhi jayez hai ya k sirf artificial balon wali jayez hai ?aur agar esi toupees / wigs use krna jayez hai to ye zyada tar fix kr k lagai jati hain sarr pr ek khas time period k liye to us time period k douran wudu aur ghusl k kya ehkaam houngy ? kya har baar wigs ko utara jayega jo k kafi painful process hai ya k un k pehnay huye hee ghusl aur wudu anjaam dia ja skta hai is haal mein k ho skta hai k sar k kisi hisay tk pani touch na ho raha hou , please reply. JazakAllah

I would like to know view on Psychopathy and psychopaths regarding people who were born without empathy. In Islam our core principles are based off of empathy and caring for others. How can can Islam cater to one who has no emotion? These people do exist, and are very good at hiding their psychopathy and its not like in the movies where all of them are killers. Their brains simply function on a different level than the average human, they can feel nothing on an emotional level. I am particularily talking about those who are born with this condition. Also they still know right from wrong but chose to only benefit themselves, do we have any ahadith on this or saying from the ahlulbayt? Maybe a brother/sister with psychopathy can pitch in?

Aoa, Ya Ali a.s Madad to all momineen We are pleased to annouce our Shia social networking communtiy is launched and many peoples are joining it. We have been working on it from last year and its development is done now. and website is live and up. We want all momineen to join this social network and invite your friends to this network as well. The reason for creating this network is to have freedom of sharing knowledge and conenct with momieen all arround the world. Join now Here are few screenshots attached of the inner view of website http://azadaribook.com

Man is a social being, it means he has to live among people, and to live among others has some certain requirements. One of the most important requirements is respecting others rights. It is clear that when you live among people, you have some limitations and you cannot behave as you wish! For instance, if your home is in an apartment complex, you are not allowed to make noise whatever you want. Second example can be brought about driving a car. There are many cars on the street and all of them want to drive in a relax environment, so it is not good to horn unreasonable and very much. There are many examples that you can find with a little attention. One of the most complete sentence in this regard is the sentence of Imam Ali (A.S): “make yourself the judge between you and the others. Like for the others what you like for yourself and dislike for them what you dislike for yourself … Whatever you think as being bad for the others to do, think of it as being bad for you too to do. Deal with people in a way as you like them to deal with you. Do not talk about what you do not know well. Do not say to the others what you do not like to be said to you.” ((Nahj-ul-Balagha / The letter of 31)

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Tauheed and Capital Introduction Human beings are born with some distinctive traits which are absent in all other species. These distinctive traits not only form the basis of many philosophical debates, but are also of significance in this discussion. Our subject regards the topic of Tauheed (or, literally, the oneness of God). Then, practical relations of the concept of Tauheed to the notion of ‘capital’ are drawn. The concept of capital starts with a humanly trait of gaining more. Very broadly and crudely speaking, this quest for more may be present in the form of a human’s worldly or spiritual gains. In contemporary social terms, this trait of human can be defined as the practical demonstration in the form of the ‘free market economy’. In this economy, the rule of the thumb is to maximise own profits through the procedure of buying least expensively and selling most expensively possible. It forms the basis of the rationale of value and prestige to common man i.e. a man in this world is appreciated a great deal by his fellows as long as he can follow this pattern successfully. The logic present in the current world is the maximization of profits without a set limit for any end. In Marx’s terms, “capital does not abide a limit” (Marx, 1973) Alongside this limitless quest of human to reach the infinity of most profitable outcomes while using everything around him including his own self as a ‘tool’ to attain that objective prevails in the current age, Muslims are seen to recite in every prayer that God is ‘one’. The aim of this paper is to draw a theory that with the desires of attaining a limitless capital, a Muslim’s self-declared concept of Tauheed is challenged. We try to cover a debate of many pages in only a few words; it is inevitable that many concepts might remain ill-explained and incomprehensive conclusions may be drawn by this process of shortening, but we will try our best to capture some realities of the life here. There is no god but Allah Amongst the most commonly quoted words for any Muslim are the words of the Kalma. The literal translation of that oft-quoted phrase is ‘There is no god but Allah’ (Kalma Taiyyaba) One of the most common Surah’s of the Quran, arguably the second most common, opens up as follows: “Say, "He is Allah , [who is] One,”” (Quran Surah Ikhlas, 112:1) Another Surah not as commonly recited opens up as, “Craving for excess diverted you” (Quran Surah Takathur, 102:1) We start off by putting to question the literal meaning of the Kalma Tayyiba itself. When we say there is no god except Allah, is it merely numerical oneness meant by Tauheed? We wish to not debate on the topic that whether even numerical oneness is applicable to Allah or not. Not to mention that when we consider He is the creator of time, space, numbers and even infinity, there is none of these notions that can ‘limit’ Him. But what we want to bring to light is the notion that when we deny all other gods what is it that we really mean. Is it necessary for us to deny all other gods in order to accept Allah to be the ‘One’ and ‘Only’ praiseworthy Entity? Which perspective on this very Kalma is important to us. To use it as what it can be, i.e. the biggest weapon against so many ills including capitalism? Or just to repeat the word merely as a tongue exercise. Verily God is, as the Surah Ikhlas proceeds, indifferent (not indifferent in the sense that he does not care about us, but that he does not need our prayers for any benefit to Him). So all the implications of the concept of Tauheed must have a direct effect on primarily our betterment. It might be assumed at this point that the concept of Tauheed must be something of prime advantage to ourselves, individually and collectively, instead of God. While the positive effects of belief in Oneness of God are promised in Islam, practically speaking, we can be observed not to actively take as much advantages from it. On an average level, all of our lives revolve around the capital. When a child is born in any average Muslim family, his educational needs are met by his parents. The parents feel successful if their children go to schools, universities and colleges that are best known for generating the most capital. One of the most significant determinants of any marriage is the possession of or the ability to attain the most capital by the to-be spouse (commonly the male half). The mental and physical effort that one puts in attainment of his perceived ‘success’ in the form of this holy capital makes a person spend his entire life struggling, obsessing over, and achieving this capital. But it might make him regret in his deathbed that ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’ (Steiner, 2012). This process of starting schooling as soon as the ability allows, completing the educational career without any thoughtful breathers in the middle, being on the quest for the most paying jobs or making the best out of his present business, develops a person’s character in a way that his focus lies in approaching the one and only reality of his life: the capital. It is then sensed, that the capital is in fact the most significant variable that shapes our lives. While describing ‘Capital’, Ali Shariati very aptly calls it ‘the great idol of our age’ (Shar'iati, 1979). The above mentioned idol, however, is only one of the four idols around us. What was mentioned above is only the economic capital. According to Bourdieu (1994), there are three other kinds of capitals that humans engage in accumulating. Second to the economic form of capital, which Bourdieu brings to light, is the ‘social capital’. Human beings become worried about not having enough of social relations. This ends up in us spending most of our time looking for perfect social relations which may or may not be important to our character building. Thirdly, human beings strive to accumulate ‘cultural capital’, to blend into the highest forms of culture. This might include communicating in English to emphasize familiarity with the highest form of global culture (it being the internationally recognized language). Lastly, ‘symbolic capital’ is our way of attaining prestige and honor from the society around us. It essentially means that we want to acquire We struggle to gain as much of capital in the form of respect and glory as we possibly can so much so that we lose touch of our actual worth. All of these mentioned capitals divert a man from his main objective in life. They are powerful enough to prevent deep thinking from occurring. So with the presence of such powerful forces that drives almost everything in our lives, it might be argued that when we actually give up all other deities other than Allah, why the capital attains such a centrality in our lives? Could elevating the level of capital to such a primacy in our practical lives arguably be the modern form of ‘shirk’? Should capital be our main prayer when we are praying to ‘God’ while better life after death a secondary one? Whether it is material or Islam that we let occupy the central position in our lives explains a great deal about whether it is Allah that we are taking as our sole Diety or are we mixing our concept of Tauheed with the capital? All of this confusion is caused very fundamentally by the presence of the concept of ‘duality’ in our lives. Tauheed, as analyzed by Ali Shariati, is a concept which explains that everything moves in a ‘single direction’ and what does not move in that direction by its nature does not exist (Shar'ati, 1979). However the notion of duality is caused by looking at the world with two different views simultaneously. One is earthly while the other heavenly, one is applicable and the other is personal, one relates to action the other only relations to mere beliefs which occupy a lesser part of the practical life. What would exemplify this argument would be a Muslim teenager who spends his time in college and when he is asked what does he ‘believe in’ in terms of his god, he might succeed in saying Allah. But when asked about his main objective in life, he might change his tone to a completely earthly objective. What we see is that although practically his aims and objectives and ‘beliefs’ are different and do not center around the notion of God, his religious belief is God. This presence of duality can also be perfectly exemplified in the case of a non-practicing Christian celebrating Christmas superficially, as merely a cultural occasion that involves no practicality in his real life. This duality paves ways a great deal for manipulators to corrupt, impure and desensitize the strongest powers that any Muslim possesses, those of Tauheed. This process is done by the most used and tested method of all time: inject materialism into a religion and there shall be no ‘religious religion’. The only way to rid this duality is to bridge the gap between the ‘beliefs’ and ‘practicality’ and see it as one. This fundamentally means the internalization of beliefs so much so that they are noticeable in our externality. Conclusion So my argument is that the concept of Tauheed does not merely entail the belief in presence of Allah, the Almighty. It also entails the process of defying any other god that we might hold central to our beings. If by god we mean the entity which is most prior to us, occupies most of our time in practical as well as mental lives and matters the most to us and we place it as our first and foremost obligation while we are existing for an evidently ephemeral time on this earth, then there is no doubt capital has attained a much more elevated position than it deserves. Is saying there is no god but God only applicable if we think of the gods which were worshipped wrongly instead of Allah in the time when Quran was revealed? Consequently for a religion that thrives on its universality in terms of space and time, would the most fundamental concept be limited by time in the sense that only a renouncement of those certain gods would satiate the purpose behind worshipping Allah alone? What we experience in fact, is that this Kalma has lost its power in the contemporary Muslim community, although it is supposed to be perfectly universal. We have taken it for granted that to believe in God’s numerical oneness and not taking any other deities (only those which were present in other religions) instead of Him satiate the necessity of this Kalma to be a Muslim. There are no more idols made of sand or clay to challenge our belief in Allah anymore. It is not the worshipping of those physical idols which were present in the time before Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) initiated the revolution in Arab that are applicable to the challenges faced by Muslims of today. The contemporary idol is the capital, which shapes our behavior, is ‘made’ to exert so much power on us by the portrayal of images on media which depict a practically unattainable status of beauty, power and wealth, prestige and relations which keeps us busy in our entire lives striving to attain those statuses. It is this capital that needs to be removed from its central position given by us, the believers of the One and Only God. It needs to be removed from its primacy of being at a level which ‘diverts us’ (Quran 102:1) from our main purpose of existence. Bibliography George Ritzer, J. S. (2009). Sociological Theory. McGraw Education. Marx, C. (1973). Grundrisse (English Translation). Shar'ati, A. (1979). On the Sociology of Islam. USA: Mizan Press. Shar'iati, A. (1979). Marxism and Other Western Fallacies. Islamic Foundation Press. Steiner, S. (2012). Top five regrets of dying. www.guardian.com. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying

Assalaamu Aleykom brothers and sisters, My name is 'Isa. I am a revert to Islam and by the Mercy of Allah ive been able to learn about the Ahlul 'Bayt and to follow their spiritual guidance. I am very enthusiastic about practicing my faith, but have found that finding Muslim friends is very difficult. It is more difficult because of my Shia leanings. I ask of you to give me sound advice in this regard, taking into consideration that I live in Massachusetts and that most of the mosques here are Sunni oriented. Jazakallah

I have noticed when people pass away, recitation of the Quran is carried out on people who are fairly popular. When someone who’s not as known in the community passes away, there is awareness, but prayers for those individuals is limited due to issues such as social circles to reputation. I find it quite sad that this happens, as we should be praying for everyone that passes away. Therefore I have come up with a solution to create a face book page called http://www.facebook.com/TheMissedOnes, The idea for this page is that when anyone passes away, the moderator can post or be given a post about a death in a family, community and friends . We can all pay our respects by Surah AL Fatiha, and recitation of the Quran or selected Supplications by choice or request. I hope you can ask your friends to join and their friends. Its a new page and I would like all the support I can get. Please dont take any offence Regards