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Assalamualaikum, For my own knowledge, I am researching on the "House of Knowledge" established during the time of 6th Imam Jafar al Sadiq ((عليه السلام)) in the ancient round city of Baghdad (approx. 800 AD). Overview: The Abbasids were staunch enemies of the holy ahlulbait, but the accursed evil Abbassid Caliph Haroon Rashid wanted to establish his authority over muslims by embracing Imam Jafar Sadiq in his arms ( a fake show of public, stating that Haroon loves the ahlulbait and is acting as the caliph just to safeguard religion and assigned the imam as his rightful successor). Haroon did not imprison the imam to avoid public outrage but never wanted to leave the imam out of sight for fear of losing his caliphate, thus the evil caliph had an ingenious idea to appoint important royal responsibilities to the imam and hold him in the palace boundaries with less public interaction so as to hide the true (shia) islam and thus he made the imam the head of many institutions, including the renowed "House of Knowledge" It was in this house of knowledge where biology, chemistry, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, religion and numerous sciences were being taught freely for the first time leading to the Islamic Golden Age, imam had more than 6000 students from all over the world during his era, that is the reason Shias are also famously referred to as "Jafaris", as it was never before and never after the 6th imam when religious and scientific propagation was at this epic level. Now, when I researched more on the internet, many sites listed a few students of Imam Jafar, like Jabir ibn Hayyan (known in the West as Geber), Khwazrimi (father of Algebra, imagine the level of knowledge of imam Jafar Sadiq, when even his student is the father of a science) stating that their master was imam Jafar Sadiq, who had the knowledge of unlimited sciences, it is mind boggling.. Unfortunately, the Wikipedia page for "House of Wisdom" has absolutely no mention of our 6th Imam Jafar Sadiq (عليه السلام)., I'll appreciate if anyone can point me to any sources (reliabile blogs, sites, pdf, ebooks, or book purchase links) related to this topic. Thank you.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim As-Salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu Who else is religiously-inclined, but has been born into a less-than-religious family? Those of us who have been face a unique set of challenges which our brothers and sisters blessed with virtuous families do not. At the same time, our experiences differ from, but can certainly find inspiration in, those of reverts. InshaAllah we will all pass such Divine tests with patience and wisdom. Does anyone, at any stage of life, currently have a similar experience? Inshallah we can all benefit from knowing the experiences of brothers and sisters who were born in less-than-religious families. Wa salam

Humanity vs inhumanity - Karbala Message War between humanity and inhumanity has been going on since the beginning of time Physical wars- you conquer and subjugate other human ( Physically) or you keep them in open air prisons or you violate the sovereign state’s sovereignty at will. This requires physical weapons and whoever has the upper hand in physical weapons and has the economic muscle will control, subjugate, coerce others to form a coalition to achieve the goal of Physical colonization. through physical wars, proxy wars, economic wars, currency wars, spearheading/supporting a manufactured crisis within the target state, either alone or with a willing coalition. This playing field is not an even playing field. Spiritual/Intellectual wars- the scope of this war is larger and this virus has long generational life and can degenerate into drug resistant state and could pass down the mutant spiritual DNA to the next generations. Highly infectious and can take a form of a global epidemic. Here the playing field is even. The weapons here is intellect, knowledge. But we have not paid attention to it, no glory, no instant victory parade etc...Humans usually look for glory and fame and bragging rights and want to be acknowledged and sometimes glorified for their physical accomplishments. Religion can not be imposed on anyone through Physical threat. You can only subjugate human body and have him/her do your will. But you do not control his/her heart and mind. Liberation of Human heart and mind is a priority vs freeing them from physical bondage, in a world with uneven playing field. Only way you can change this state (Physical bondage) and bring about its decline, is by bringing about freedom of hearts and minds. Which will in turn remove the will to subjugate others and justice will prevail. So, focus on godless ideologies is vital. Urgent Vaccination is needed . Weapon is available to all, no shortage of manpower (soldiers). We have the tools (Intellect), Karbala. In order to change the status quo. Your thoughts?

السَّلآمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ الله وبَرَكآتُه Please post any quote, story or any narration that comes first in your mind of Mohammad(saww) o aal(asws) e mohamamd(saww) Any 'Qaul' of any maasoom(asws), please share. @Salsabeel @Ashvazdanghe @Darth Vader @3wliya_maryam @SIAR14 @Aflower @EndTimesCodes @ShiaMan14 @ali_fatheroforphans @skyweb1987 @Sirius_Bright @layman @Ruqaya101 u also and please dont mention about your exams here and ask people to pray

http://wahidkhorasani.com/English ***** Share Your Thoughts/Learning/Insights from this Lecture, for the benefit of others. You may think its common knowledge, but remember there are new and young Shia's - You may be blessed to make a connection that others were not able to. They will benefit from your insight. You may see things the way others do not see. or Just reflect on it for your own knowledge/Wisdom. Understanding the Concept will clarify many things.

SalamunAliekum, I (along with some of my friends) am planning to start a website about the magnificent personality of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (A.S). Although, we are planning to keep it humanitarian instead of religious. We ought to show Imam Ali as a warrior, a scientist, a judge, a friend, a husband, a father, a son, a supporter, a leader; in short as a great man, instead of an imam or a religious personality (which he undoubtedly is). The idea behind keeping it this way is that people from all religions, casts, colors, creeds, races should be able to relate to him and see him as their role model. At this point, we are in a phase of designing our website and building our database for the content. We need some good (authentic) sources for anything and everything that relates to Imam Ali (A.S). Be it his quotes, stories from his life, his lifestyle, his spirituality, history of the people who followed him, loved him, obeyed him, praised him. ANYTHING that relates to him. We need that. So I ask for all your help. Please help us gather some material so that we can at least kick start this site of ours, with something instead of nothing. If you have anything like: 1. Links of the websites where we can get material from. 2. Any blog that might be worth reading. 3. Name of the books that can shine some light on his (A.S) life. 4. Any sources where we can find Hi-res images of his shrine. 5. Short stories from his life are much needed. (THIS IS ESPECIALLY NEEDED). 6. Anything else that you think might be of use. Plus, if any of you wants to help in any way. Feel free to get in touch. More people, more minds, more thoughts are always better. P.S. We already have hundreds of his sayings from authentic sources in good designed way, so if that can be of any help to anyone. We would be glad to share. Wassalam.

How can we reconcile Islam rendering sexuality as both insignificant and the most pleasurable thing in existence? Keep in mind our destination will be heaven and sex will be the most engaged-upon activity in heaven. Is sex insignificant only in this world, but significant in heaven? Imam Ali (AS): “He whose intellect is complete finds sexual desires insignificant.” [Ghurar Al-Hikam, No. 8226] Imam Sadiq (AS): “Indeed, the people of heaven do not take delight in the pleasures of heaven more than sex; neither food nor drink has that much pleasure for them.” [Wasail Al-Shia, V. 20, Hadith 24929] It was asked of Imam Sadiq (AS): “If someone undresses his wife (and makes her naked) and looks at her, is there a problem?” He replied: “There is no problem, is there any better pleasure than this that exists?” [Hadiyah Al-Mutaqin, P. 111]

Words of Wisdom – by Imam Ali AS (From Ghurar Al-Hikam Wa Durar Al-Kalim, -- Exalted Aphorisms And Pearls Of Speech) A Collection of Aphorisms of Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib by Al-Amudi Parents 1. Being good to parents is the greatest [and most important] duty. 2. Be good to your parents and your children will be good to you. 3. Whoever is good to his parents, his child will be good to him. 4. The death of a father breaks one’s back. 5. One who scorns his parents has diverged from the right path. 6. The affection of parents is [the basis of] the relationship between siblings. The Camel 1. Seek goodness in the hoofs of the camel when driven away and when coming back. (To be continued)

If God loves unconditionally, how can sin exist? Indeed, Allah, the Compassionate, loves all His creatures but not unconditionally. If we accept the unconditional love of Allah to all creatures, irrespective their piety, then can we talk of Allah’s wisdom and justice. Allah two different kinds of mercy A) Common, B) Particular. The first category includes everyone but the second is exclusive of the most virtuous and pious ones. For sure, Allah loves the sinner servants to return to Allah and make themselves purified of the major and minor sins. But it does not necessarily imply that Allah’s love towards them is similar to the individual who lived his whole life with purity, sincerity and honesty. Even the Human beings can not have unconditional love to their kids and friends. For unconditional love runs counter to one’s sagacity and wisdom. It can be interred this way that Love can be of different levels. The more competent and honest you are, the more love and blessings you will be enjoying from the Lord. The level of one’s pious character or mean behavior can a game changer in attraction or distraction of Allah’s love. Human’s good deeds and bad actions can make huge differences on how Allah, would love and resurrect us. For he has explicitly said: وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاءَ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا بَاطِلًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ظَنُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۚ فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنَ النَّارِ [٣٨:٢٧] أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَالْمُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الْمُتَّقِينَ كَالْفُجَّارِ [٣٨:٢٨] And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them aimlessly. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve, so woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire. Or should we treat those who believe and do righteous deeds like corrupters in the land? Or should We treat those who fear Allah like the wicked? To have more information on whom is Loved or Hated by Allah, you can click to the following link. Shuja's answer to What are the characteristics of those whom Allah loves? Thanks May, Allah Grant us His Exclusive Blessings

Salam This thread is dedicated to Sayyid Khomeini's speeches, letters and sayings. I will be posting some of the interesting parts of a series of books called "Imam's Sahifah" which contains nearly all of what the great Sayyid has said or written in response to different issues, God willing. I also thank @Repenter for this. You can find the entire series here. Simply search for "Sahifeh" in that website. http://en.imam-khomeini.ir/en/page/127/BOOK-LIBRARY/?kind=167&action=qs&txt=sahifeh With that said, let me begin: Religious minorities under the protection of Islam From one direction we are faced with multifarious propaganda. Propagandists both in Iran and abroad are using the issue of religious minorities in Iran to create the distorted view that were an Islamic government established in Iran, then all minority religions would be swept away. Do you (addressing the Shah) treat religious minorities better or does Islam? You are trampling both the minority religions and the majority religion underfoot and are destroying them! You have eliminated all human rights in Iran. You have allowed neither Muslims nor non-Muslims to be free. In Islam, however, the religious minorities are shown respect, they are free. Yet we are repeatedly asked the same question: “If an Islamic government were established (in Iran), how would it treat the religious minorities?” They ask this question because they are constantly instilled with the idea that in the event of an Islamic government being set up in Iran, all the Jews or all the Christians or Zoroastrians would be murdered. At what period in Islamic history did an Islamic country during peacetime—I am not speaking of a country at war here—massacre its religious minorities or murder people from minority religions. Hadrat Amir (Imam Ali) wanted to die of shame when a Jewish woman, a dhimmi, who was living under the shelter of Islam, had her anklet stolen while he was ruler. He said: “If a person were to die in such circumstances, it would be worth it.” Is then Islam or an Islamic government going to do the things they say it will do to those of religious minorities? This is all propaganda created by the Shah and his supporters and trumpeted over their loudspeakers to tarnish the image of Islam and Islamic government and sully the reputation of the Muslim clergy—at least in the eyes of those non-Muslims and non- religious people outside Iran. They promote the idea that they (the clergymen) want to have a reactionary government, a reactionary Islamic government! This man himself portrays Islam as being reactionary. On the one hand he invokes “the true religion of Islam” and on the other he says that those who preach Islam to the people are reactionaries! They are reactionary in that they have gone back one thousand four hundred years! They propagate something which belongs to one thousand four hundred years ago. The fact that he himself is reviving something which belongs to two thousand five hundred years ago is irrelevant! He is not considered to be a reactionary, only those who are promoting progressive laws from one thousand four hundred years ago, those who say that this man should be delivered a blow in the mouth for depriving the people of freedom, for establishing foreign rule in Iran and placing the people under the rule of the superpowers, are considered to be the reactionaries! While those who are stealing the wealth of the people through force and suppression, those who have deprived the people of freedom, they are seen to be the civilized ones who open the gates of freedom!

Salam dear brothers and sisters, Alhamdulillah. I find that this writing by Ayatullah Murtadha Muttahari as very inspiring indeed. Hope will benefit others too.InshaAllahhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Sisters-In-Islam/385767358246015?ref=hl _____ Self-Negation versus Lawful PleasuresSufyan Suri belonged to a group of Muslims called Zahids and Sufis, which emerged in the beginning of 200 AH. They rejected the world, considering its blessings and advantages as temptations to beguile human beings away from the worship of God. They advocated simplicity, bordering on the bare level of survival. One day he came to visit Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (‘a) and found him dressed in a graceful white robe of expensive material. He immediately criticized it, saying, ‘You should not be dressed in such rich robes. They are not for you to adorn yourself. The pleasures and splendor of the world should not contaminate pious people like you. I mean, you should exercise restraint in terms of good food and splendid clothes.’ Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (‘a) smiled and said, ‘I would like to explain something that will benefit you both in this life and the hereafter. Besides, if you wish to gain more knowledge about Islam so that you can communicate it to others, it will be most useful; but, if your purpose is to create disharmony among Muslims, you will disregard whatever I say, as done by all mischief mongers. Listen carefully. You are clinging to the state of early Islam. Your mind carries the image of the simple lifestyle of the Holy Prophet (s) and his companions. You think that that lifestyle has become obligatory upon all Muslims until the Day of Judgment. Actually, it is otherwise. The Holy Prophet (s) and his faithful companions lived at a time when the Muslims were surviving on the bare minimum. Accordingly, their lives were no different from the rest of the believers. However, whenever a nation becomes resourceful and attains the blessings created for mankind, then those closest to Allah (SWT) deserve those blessings more than anyone else; the pious and God fearing more than the wicked and oppressive, the believers much more than the non believers. You consider it sinful for me to enjoy Almighty Allah’s blessings. Let me tell you something. Since I attained maturity, I have made sure the portion that Allah (SWT) has decided for the close of kin, the poor, the needy, the wayfarer, the captive, and whoever may have a right over me, reaches them before the sun sets. Not for a moment each day, have I disregarded or delayed performing my duties towards my fellowmen.’ Sufyan was nonplussed. He had no answer, so he got up and went to his companions, shared his conversation with the Imam (‘a). They decided to prepare a strong argument against the Imam’s (‘a) case, with supporting evidence from the Holy Quran and the Sunnah. After some days, the group visited the Imam (‘a) and said, ‘ Our friend could not present his case concerning a simple lifestyle convincingly, so we have come prepared to defeat your argument with ours on the basis of undeniable evidence.’ ‘You are most welcome to present your evidence-supported reasoning,’ the Imam (‘a) replied. ‘Our evidence is based on the Quran itself,’ they began confidently. ‘Which evidence can outsmart the verses of the Holy Quran. Go ahead. I’m more than eager to hear,’ he replied. ‘Two verses of the Quran will suffice to prove our case and belief system. Allah Almighty has praised some of the companions of the Holy Prophet (s) thus: “Though poverty did not allow them to fulfill their own needs, they regarded the needs of others above their own and helped them. Those will indeed be successful who are free of miserliness and niggardliness.” and “Though hungry themselves, they fed the poor, the orphan and the captive.” As soon as their group leader stopped talking, a person from the audience spoke up. ‘As far as I understand, you people are yourself doubtful and unsure about your own beliefs. You wish to kill all personal interest in ones property and belongings, so that people should distribute all they have among beggars like you, while you live off their hard-earned living. Besides, I have never seen you practice what you preach. You never resist taking good food yourself but want to prevent other Muslims from that pleasure.’ The Imam (‘a) silenced his companions saying, ‘Such impulsive outbursts never achieve anything.’ He then addressed the Sufis and asked, ‘You are quoting the Holy Quran, but do you know which verses have been abrogated and which revealed in their place; which are obvious and which obscure? Many people in the Ummah are being led astray because of a lack of information about the Quran.’ ‘We have to admit that we are informed to some extent, but definitely not enough.’ ‘Your problem is, therefore, the same as that of the others who are going astray. You need to be equally aware of the Ahadith, before creating a set of beliefs that separate you from those who know them. Let us discuss the two verses that you quoted. In both, the Almighty is not declaring the enjoyment of His blessings as prohibited (haram). He is eulogizing humility, generosity, and sacrifice. He is praising those people who, at a certain time gave precedence to the needs of others over their own, and instead of using their lawful earnings themselves, offered them to others in need. They would not be sinning if they did not do so, because the Almighty had not commanded them to do so, nor stopped them from it. Thus, perfecting large-heartedness and generosity, they gave away what they needed and suffered difficulties themselves. Their reward certainly lies with Allah Almighty. The verses you cited do not prove your case, because you condemn those people who use their own hard-earned money to enjoy the blessings of Allah (SWT), which the Quran does not allow you to do. Those pious people demonstrated the height of generosity and charity, but soon Allah (SWT) revealed laws determining the extent of spending on others. The new laws became obligatory on all Muslims, abrogating the earlier demonstration of generosity. Allah (SWT) restricted believers from distributing their earnings among others without satisfying the needs of their own family members, because the weak, the old, the children in the family find it difficult to endure the hardships forced upon them. For e.g., I have a loaf of bread. I give it away. My family starves, whereas, providing them with food is obligatory upon me. Some might fall ill or even die. The Holy Prophet (s) clearly enunciated the rules of charity, thus: If a person has some loaves of bread, dates, or money, which he wants to distribute, he must first share them with his parents, then his wife, children and himself, then relatives in descending order in the blood chain, and then, in fourth place, on others as charity. Charity thus comes last of all. When the Holy Prophet (s) heard that a Medinite had distributed his entire fortune in charity before dying, leaving his own family penniless, so that they would have to beg to survive, he(s) was extremely annoyed. He said that he would never have allowed him burial in the Muslim’s graveyard had he known this. My father Imam Muhammad Baqir (‘a) dictated to me the following words of the Holy Prophet (s): “Place your children first in the list of spending. Follow up with whoever is next in the blood chain.” The Holy Quran clearly states: “The pious and God-fearing are those who are neither niggardly and miserly, nor over generous and extravagant in charity, but always moderate and balanced.” Wherever Allah (SWT) condemns miserliness, He also condemns extravagance in charitable causes. Moderation is the rule. It is unreasonable to distribute ones entire wealth in charity and then pray to God for sustenance. Remember, God does not accept the prayers of such people. The Holy Prophet (s) classified the persons whose prayers are not accepted. They are: • Persons who wish their parents ill • Persons who lend their money to another without any witness or written pledge/ testifying document, thus wilfully endangering their right • Persons who pray for deliverance from their wives, foregoing their right to divorce, or being cowardly and not using that right • Persons who sit idle at home and pray for sustenance, demonstrating greed and ignorance; being blessed with the capacity to move and be active by their Lord; given strong limbs and muscles, hands, feet, eyes, ears and reason, to see, hear, think, and devise methods to use these blessings in order to earn a living. The purpose of creating these organs was that man should work hard and use them to achieve everything needed to sustain life; to progress; and dutifully obey the Divine commands as a sign of gratitude; and not become a burden on others. If man struggles and tries as commanded, sustenance is bound to follow. If he tries and does not succeed, he will still have the satisfaction that he did as was expected of him. He will not feel guilty if he tries and is destined to lose. • Persons granted abundant wealth waste it through abundant generosity, and then pray for more. Allah (SWT) responds to such persons by asking them: • “Why did you not exercise moderation?” • “Did I not command moderation in generosity?” • “Did I not warn you from being extravagant in charity?” • Persons praying for something that involves cruelty towards someone Allah (SWT) has explained the limits of generous and charitable spending, especially after an incident that took place in the life of the Holy Prophet (s). It so happened that the Holy Prophet (s) had some gold coins, which he wished to spend in charity. He did not want to hold on to them overnight. All day he kept distributing the coins until he had none left. Next morning, a needy person stood outside his door begging for charity, for alms, for help. He had nothing to offer the poor man. Verse 29 of Surah Asra’ revealed the following: “Do not shut your palm tight, nor open it so wide that nothing is left to give a seeker of alms, leaving you embarrassed and regretful.” The Ahadith of the Holy Prophet (s) support the ruling provided by the Quran. Those who believe in the Quran also believe in the Ahadith. Hazrat Salman i Farsi and Hazrat Abu Dharr are two famous pious and God fearing believers that you all have heard about. Their way of life was as described above. Hazrat Salman I Farsi used to set aside an amount that would cover his annual expenditure, in order to avoid any kind of inconvenience, as soon as he received his annual income from the Bait ul Maal. People questioned his act, saying, ‘You are such a pious person, yet you provide for yourself for a whole year. Supposing you die within a week, what good will those provisions serve you?’ ‘I may not die. Why do you suppose that I will die and not suppose that I might live for the whole year? If I survive the year, I will need the essentials of life. You do not realize that a person suffering from financial problems cannot worship or obey his Lord as peacefully and easily as one whose needs have been taken care of,’ was his wise answer. On the other hand, Abu Dharr had a few camels, and some heads of sheep. He survived on the milk of the ewes and slaughtered a sheep to satisfy his own desire for meat, feed his guests, or fulfill the needs of some one. However, he always retained his share while distributing the meat. Can you name any other person more pious than them? You have all read how the Holy Prophet (s) praised their levels of faith and piety. These people never neglected their own needs in the name of piety and obedience. Today, you people are preaching a lifestyle that disregards the needs of family, advises self-negation, detachment from the world, and distribution of all possessions in charity. No honorable companion of the Holy Prophet (s) ever adopted this lifestyle. I seriously warn you with a tradition quoted by my father and ancestors about what the Holy Prophet (s) said: “A faithful believer (Momin) is an amalgamation of strange attributes. Whether his body is cut into pieces, or all the countries in the east and west become his dominion he will be the same; thankful and obedient to Almighty Allah, because, both conditions- adversity and abundant prosperity-are equally good and honorable for him.” Do you think adversity is an essential state for a Momin to demonstrate his goodness and nobility? You are mistaken. The worth of a Momin lies in his soul, his faith and belief. Be it adversity or prosperity, he is always fully aware of his responsibilities and duties, and he performs them to perfection. This is why external circumstances do not determine his nobility; his immaculate conduct and behavior in ease and comfort, trial and tribulation, determine it. I would like to know whether my discourse until now has satisfied you or not. Do you still need further exposition of this topic?’ They did not know what to say. He felt they needed some more guidance, so he went on, ‘Let me explain it from another angle. In the early days of Islam, every Muslim had to fight ten non-believers. If he failed to do so, he was sinful, disobedient and guilty of neglecting his duty. When the number of Muslims increased, Almighty Allah mercifully changed the law, and one Muslim had to fight only two non-believers. Another perspective would be the Islamic system of justice. I’d like to ask you what laws Islam has ordained to ensure justice for the oppressed and punishment for the criminal? Let us suppose there is a petition against one of you, in court, by your wife. It complains of neglect in providing the basic essentials of life. The judge orders you to provide your wife with her rightful demands. How will you respond to that sentence, and how will you pay for her expenses? Will you declare that you have detached yourself from monetarily beneficial worldly activities and spend your time in the worship of God? Will your excuse be valid and reasonable? Will the verdict of the judge be just and fair, or unjust and unfair? If you declare the verdict as unfair, you will be openly denying the truth, besides deceiving the entire Ummah with your hypocrisy. If you agree that the verdict is fair, your excuse will become invalid. This totally falsifies your system of belief, proving it irrational, unreasonable, and impracticable. Let us now view the obligatory and non-obligatory expenditure, which, as a Muslim, one is bound to incur. For instance, sometimes the Zakat has to be paid, at other times penalties for some acts of disobedience. If the entire Ummah adopts your lifestyle of piety and self-negation, what will become of the essential financial system? Zakat is obligatory on gold, silver, sheep, camel, cow, and other domestic animals; dates, raisins and their fellow species. What will be the condition of the Zakat funds? Has not it been ordained compulsory to improve the lives of the poor and needy, and the owner to benefit from life’s blessings? The purpose of these laws is to motivate man to achieve as much as his potential allows him and enjoy the benefits of those blessings. If the purpose of religion was to negate the blessings of life and lead a life of imminent poverty, then the poor must have achieved the heights of perfection as purposed by the Creator. Thus, no one should extend financial help to them; they should be left on their own in the condition they are, so that they do not fall below that level of perfection. On the other hand, the poor should also refuse all assistance, because they do not want to lose those heights of perfection. What you are suggesting is that whoever owns any property should give it all away, distribute it among others, thus invalidating Zakat, the divine law of distribution of wealth. Let me warn you, you are treading an extremely dangerous and misguided path that is the result of ignorance, unfamiliarity with Quranic studies, and unawareness of the Sunnah and Ahadith of the Holy Prophet (s).Besides this, you refuse to accept the authenticity of those Ahadith, which do not support, propose or encourage, rather denounce your way of life, inspite of the fact that, the Holy Quran also supports the recommendations in these Ahadith. You refuse to give up your self-created version of religion, which you have foolishly adopted; a misguided way of life, which has nothing to do with Islam. Besides, you force others to adopt it! You, sadly, cannot distinguish between the abrogated verses and ordained verses; the obvious and the obscure; the obligations and prohibitions, nor decipher the fine nuances and strange aspects hidden in them, yet proudly proclaim a view of life based on the Quran. Let me question you about the prayer of Sulaiman ibn e Daud (‘a). It reads in the Quran, thus: “O my Creator! Grant me a kingdom, the like of which no other can attain.” God granted him such a kingdom. There is no doubt that a prophet cannot pray or ask for anything that is either not right or good. Neither the Quran, nor any believer, has ever declared this desire as impious, nor questioned the reason behind the desire for such a huge kingdom, unparalleled in splendor and glory. Similar is his father, Daud’s (‘a) case. Similarly, before him, came Yusuf (‘a). Yusuf (‘a) officially demanded from the ruling king, ‘Make me Exchequer of the State Treasury, because I am both honest and trustworthy.’ Gradually, he became the Administrator of the entire kingdom, ranging from Egypt to Yemen. The famine had badly affected surrounding areas. Caravans of people would come to buy grains from them and return home. There is not one incident showing that Yusuf(‘a) ever did anything wrong. He performed his duties with absolute honesty and integrity. The Quran also mentions the incident of Zulqarnain (‘a). He loved God and was loved by Him, therefore He provided him with all essential knowledge and power in the twinkling of an eye and made him ruler of all the countries in the east and west of the earth. Gentlemen! • Give up your dangerously misguided way of life and adopt the true principles of Islam. • Accept whatever God has declared as do’s and dont’s, and stop coining your own laws. • Do not interfere in matters you do not understand. • Learn from those who know. • Persevere to gain knowledge of the abrogated verses and ordained verses, the obvious and the obscure, the obligations and prohibitions. Not only will you find this knowledge beneficial, it will free you from this folly and deviation. • Distance yourself from ignorance, because it espouses the majority. Sadly, only a minority uses reason and seeks wisdom. Almighty Allah states in the Quran: “Wisdom is much, much higher than any person considered wise.”’ Source: http://www.al-islam.org/anecdotes-ahlul-bayt-ayatullah-murtadha-mutahhari/islamic-way-life

Once upon a time there was a man in the jungle enjoying a nice day watching the equatorial lush green foliage and the exotic animal life. Suddenly, the man heard the movement of a lion behind him and so ran for his life. But the man couldn’t escape and came face to face with the lion. As he was thinking quickly of another way to escape, he saw a deep well to his right. His options were narrowed between drowning in the well and being chewed by the hungry lion. The man decided to jump into the well hoisting himself with a rope tied to the top of the well for drawing water. As he reached the bottom of the well, the man saw a huge man-eating snake taking a nap at the bottom; the man pulled himself up in the middle of the well, suspended between a hungry lion on the top and a sleeping snake at the bottom. Meanwhile the man noticed that two mice, one black and one white were chewing the rope he was hanging on, making it thinner and thinner. The man began to swing with the rope hitting the sides of the walls of the well periodically. Suddenly he felt something sticky on his shoulder, as he examined what it was, he found that it was honey. Upon looking around the well he noticed a bee colony on the wall of the well. The man forgot the dangerous situation he was involved in and started licking the honey to his satisfaction. He suddenly remembered where he was and jumped out of bed. The man was dreaming all along. The man went to a Sheikh to interpret his dream. The Sheikh asked him: “You do not understand this dream?" The man replied "Yes sir, I do not." The Sheikh said "The lion that was chasing you is the Angel of Death. The well which housed the snake is your grave. The rope in the well that you were hanging on is your lifetime ticking away. The Rodents chewing your rope, the black and the white mice are the day and the night. The man asks "The honey, Sir, What is the honey?" The Sheikh replied “The honey is the life of this world and its temptations which made you forget that there was death behind you and a grave ahead of you. You end up in the grave while savoring the taste of the honey until you find yourself standing trial for your deeds in a Court of Law of the most Just kind. The above narration was just intended to remind us that we are also busy licking the honey (lost in the temptations of this world) while our life time is ticking away. Some day (sooner or later) we will also face the angel of death and will be carried to our grave! Say: "Verily, the death from which you flee will surely meet you, then you will be sent back to (Allah), the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will tell you what you used to do." {Surat Al-Jumu`ah, Verse 8}

(bismillah) (salam) I want to copy the Arabic from the Mizanul Hikmah book, but all I get is . <y K 1^ml :6 :^7o> `N G -7 ‡ 5 DR0 ?„ c=…> 1^s" ?€‘= 5 E„ & ¢ :( ) g?3 If I try to copy from this pdf: http://www.scribd.co.../Mizanul-Hikmah Or ÇáÅãÇã ÇáÑÖÇ (Úáóíå ÇáøÓáÇã): ãä áã íÞÏÑ Úáì ãÇ íßóÝöøÑ Èå ÐõäæÈå ÝóáúíßËÑ ãä ÇáÕáÇÉ Úáì ãÍãÏ æÂáå ÝÅäåÇ ÊåÏã ÇáÐõøäæÈ åÏãÇð. from this pdf: http://www.yusufezeh...es/Book/124.pdf Any help would be appreciated, I have the font Traditional Arabic installed and this is embedded in both pdfs. I wondered if people had a similar problem in copying Arabic?