Been thinking a little lately about Sunni/Shia.

[Abu Hasan Yahya Ibn Sal]

(salam)

After being a (sunni) muslim for the past 5 or so years I have been thinking somewhat about the ahlul bayt.

My whole thing is this, the whole point of me being muslim and more so saying im sunni is to try and follow everything correctly according to the Qu'ran and Sunnah. and if the prophet specifically told us to follow his family, and when he (pbuh) died things went wrong, then we should return back to his statements and figure out what do.

I want to be muslim, and have the intercession of Muhammed (pbuh) I want to follow him, and be with those to whom Allah would be happy with.

I really have'nt looked into the history, and alot of the sunni scholars advise you to leave it off. So I dont know where to go for further understanding....Just some things in sunni books stand out to me, and it makes me want the truth.

I know there is shia masjid around here(allentown pa) but i dont know where, and I would feel nervous going there....

I dont know, one day you feel like you might be on the right path(those who call themselves salafi) and the next you have concerns and thoughts... (salam)

[Guest Peace]

(bismillah)

(salam)

Bro - which country are you in- maybe somone lives near you and would not mind meeting up.

For now here is a helpful book if you would like to read it

http://www.al-islam.org/guided/

There are many other books on

www.al-islam.org

A whole section on sunni/shia and a shia encyclopedia - which i would recommend u refer to but for now the link to the book above should be helpful.

[Abu Hasan Yahya Ibn Sal]

Allentown Pennsylvania America

[Gypsy]

(salam)

Welcome to Shiachat bro Abu Yahya.

Following the family of Prophet(his ahlul bayt) is essential for perservation of the Islamic Faith.

Otherwise, you will be following ppl who has was after wealth and power with no real Islamic knowledge

[Path2Felicity]

Allentown Pennsylvania America

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey!!!! I live near there!!!!

Craziness!!

I've been to the Allentown Masjid. It's Pakistani....

Wasalaam

[Bismillah]

^I live near there too!!!!! But I've never been to the Allentown Masjid lol.

[Path2Felicity]

^I live near there too!!!!! But I've never been to the Allentown Masjid lol.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I went there for Eid ul-Fitr with my mom lol

We were the only Iranians there... in a sea of Pakistanis...

It was a good time :)

Wasalaam

[Bismillah]

^How the heck do you know this!?

Btw, my mom wanted..well still wants to, go there one day for Eid or something..we'll see if that ever happens..

[Path2Felicity]

It is Indian, mainly khoja.

Hasan Sajjad

President

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They told me they were Pakistani.

*shrug*

Bismi- they seem like a nice community.

Wasalaam

[Abu Hasan Yahya Ibn Sal]

Well its not so much the community i care for, because usually the people dont follow what they say they follow correctly, leaving out alot of sunnah, and falling into bidah(im not saying these people)... i do work with 2 shia brothers who are indian who do go to that masjid, but like i said you cant rely on the average person to tell you about there religion if they themselves have no clue about it. I think the masjid is in emmais but have'nt been able to get an address, and from what i understand they dont have an imam... So right now i go to the closest masjid to my house, which is sunni but like i said, they themselves barely follow the sunnah according to any of the four madthab or other then that, rather they follow they're own desires...

[Muskateer_004]

(bismillah)

For now here is a helpful book if you would like to read it

http://www.al-islam.org/guided/

Mashallah, this is an amazing book, i had read a few chapters of it years ago.

I started reading this again at 10 pm. It is now 1:01 AM and i'm still at work, way past my shift, stuck to this book. INshallah, i'll be finishing it tonight.

Everyone should read this, shias and non-shias alike!

Blessings on to you brother for reminding me of this book.

[waiting]

Dear brother, I think you should pursue personal studies by reading books in the topic. As you stated, it is not a good thing to look/listen to the average layman.

[Abu Hasan Yahya Ibn Sal]

can you request me some books that i can buy online i find it easier to read if i have the actual book, i've book looking at the dartabligh website... Im interested in learning the history that happened after the death of muhammed (pbuh), and maybe some books on the aqeedah of the shi'a

[Muskateer_004]

Brother Abu Hasan Yahya Ibn Sal, check your pm. i have something good :)

Edited January 20, 2006 by Ibrahim

[waiting]

There is a wider availability of books in arabic and persian, two of which I strongly recommend:

- Al-Ghadir fi al-kitab wa al-sunnah wa al-adab, authored by 'Abd al-Husayn Ahmad al-'Amini al-Najafi. 11 volumes, very extensive and goes through almost all details that you could think of, using Sunni references. The book is available in arabic and persian and is a classic, very high-quality book.

- `Abaqat al­'anwar fi imamat al­ 'A'immat al­'athar authored by Sayyid Hamid Husayn Musawi Lakhnawi. This is the greatest work possibly ever in the past 1,400 years in defence of the Imamate. 15 volumes, most of which have been published, are approximately 8000 or so pages. I strongly recommend this book which is available in Persian, and translated (condensed) to arabic under the title Khulasat 'Abaqat al'anwar by Sayyid Milani (10 volumes). I personally managed to get a persian translation of the arabic translation, condensed (1200 pages) and it was more than enough. The original is available at the National Libraries of Iran, Turkey and India.

Apart from these two which are true masterpieces, there are a few others which are not too bad and more accessible than the two above:

- The Holy Qur’an and the traditions of the Two Schools by Sayyid Murtadha Askari. This is also a relatively short (2 volumes, 1500 pages) encyclopedia-style book which goes through alot of topics which are sources of contention and difference between sunnis and shi'is. It's available in arabic and persian (possibly a condensed english version).

- Abdullah Ibn Saba’ and other myths. Written in two volumes, it discusses the Sunni claim that Shi'ism was invented by a jew called Abdullah Ibn Saba' by going to the roots and investigating where this myth (and related myths) originated. Also a work of Sayyid Askari.

- 150 forged companions, also a work of Sayyid Askari discusses 150 companions from the tribe of Tameem and other tribes that were forged by Sunni scholars and inserted into the tarikh/hadith books. It's written in 2x2 volumes.

- The Conception Of The Sahaba's Ultimate Decency by Ahmad Hussein Yaqub. 350 pages, discusses the theory behind the sunni theory on why every companion is considered reliable. English and arabic.

Finally, a few "light-weight" books which are suited for the general public (as the books above are very heavily scientific oriented and might be considered "boring" and "too large"):

- Al Muraj'at. A series of letters debating Shi'i and Sunni beliefs between the late Shi'i scholar Sharaf al-Din, and the late Sunni scholar and head of Al-Azhar university. Arabic, persian and english.

- Books written by Tijani. Then I was guided, Ask those who know, To be with the truthful, The Shi'i are the Ahlus Sunnah. Arabic, persian and english.

- Shiism: Imamate and Wilayat authored by Muhammad Rizvi. English.

I would also recommend the Shi'i Encyclopedia (online) and answering-ansar.org. These are sites ordered by topic, and they are well-referenced.

Edited January 20, 2006 by waiting

[SunnySky786]

(bismillah)

(salam)

:)

Dear brother Abu Yahya, the guidance is all from Allah (swt) and he has said:

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا

"And (as for) those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in Our ways;"

There are many books there, the series of books by Dr Tijani As-Samawi are very nice ("Then I was guided", "Ask those who know", etc.).

Also the books by Allama Sayed Mortadha Askari are extremely enlightening; he (H.A.) may be regarded as one of the best muslim historians alive in our time.

Particularly he has written an excellent book called:

معالم المدرستین

which I strongly strongly recommend. There also other books by him which are very useful for those with more knowledge of history, e.g:

أحادیث أمّ المومنین عائشة

مئة و خمسون صحابی مختلق

etc.

I pray to Allah the most merciful to guide us all in truly following the Holy Quran and Ahlol-Bait (as) ; the pair that his Holy Messenger Mohammad (pbuh) asked us to follow to never be misguided after him.

Kind Regards

[Guest DjibrilCisse]

Note that there is a lot of free litterature available on the Shiachat Online Books section:

Click here

The material is quite good, there are books from a lot of top ranking scholars, and also other well reknown and respected books.

[Biryani]

Salaam Alaikum Bros and Sisters,

A few of the books posted are quite advanced and reading them would confuse the newcomer.

Here is a book I reccomend purchasing.

http://www.al-islam.org/restatement/index.htm

It comes with a big yellow cover. It present's the shia version of the death of Muhammad (pbuh) all the way until the death of the 4 calilphs.

It will be a good book to read as a beginning to get a background. InshAllah you will enjoy it.

w/salaam

PS- it is avaialble online at this store: http://www.al-khoei.org/catalog/default.ph...155a7c96db35b25

I also like the following book. It is called Shia by Allama Tabatabai

http://www.al-khoei.org/catalog/product_in...155a7c96db35b25

[Talib05]

(salam)

After being a (sunni) muslim for the past 5 or so years I have been thinking somewhat about the ahlul bayt.

My whole thing is this, the whole point of me being muslim and more so saying im sunni is to try and follow everything correctly according to the Qu'ran and Sunnah. and if the prophet specifically told us to follow his family, and when he (pbuh) died things went wrong, then we should return back to his statements and figure out what do.

I want to be muslim, and have the intercession of Muhammed (pbuh) I want to follow him, and be with those to whom Allah would be happy with.

I really have'nt looked into the history, and alot of the sunni scholars advise you to leave it off. So I dont know where to go for further understanding....Just some things in sunni books stand out to me, and it makes me want the truth.

I know there is shia masjid around here(allentown pa) but i dont know where, and I would feel nervous going there....

I dont know, one day you feel like you might be on the right path(those who call themselves salafi) and the next you have concerns and thoughts... (salam)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

(salam)

Hvaing lived and moved from a shia community to a salafi tablighi community I understand what you may be going through read these books mentioned and call the Al-Khoe'i center they will answer questions for you.

The things about the salafi is if you disagree with them you become kafir. So that is thier statement not the haqq, as they would say.

One thing you could do is read the men of Medina and the companions which are salafi books but you will see that even in these books the Ahl-ul-Bayt was opressed as the salafi say they were not.You will also see that those who fought for them were injured serverly. What I learned is that Shaytan has fought against the haqq and part of that haqq is through the family of Ibrahiim (as) continuing through the Blessed Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ,,ad and his family.

If your fear is bida then use your head, Taraweh prayers are bida in the form that the salafi do it, just know it is your niyat not always your action yhat are actable.

[shia_from_texas]

(salam) brotehr or sister

I understand where you are coming from. I myself come from a salafi background. Before islam I was a baptist christian.

My advise for you is to look into the history of Islam and see what was done to the prophets family. Muharram is comming soon so I think it would be a good idea for you to go to the shia masjid and talk with the Imam of that mosque.

I like yourself had problems like the onese you are talking about.

I advise you to ask Allah SWT to guide you as he guided you before and remember that there are a lot of people that do not know anything about this shia. all they know are the common lies abourt the shia.

Look into the shia for yourself andyou will find the truth.

Just as people said bad things about muslims when we were christians other muslims will say bad things about the shias but just as we looked into islam we need to look into the shia.

You have to keep an open mind.

If you need more information on the Alulbayt You should check out www.al-islam.org

I would be more than happy to talk to you about this.

If you like i can even give you my phone number in a private message.

remember ask Allah for guidence and be open.

I am your brother in islam and i love you much for the sake of Allah

Your brother

Abdullah

islam_livingthebelief@yahoo.com

[Muskateer_004]

(salam)

After being a (sunni) muslim for the past 5 or so years I have been thinking somewhat about the ahlul bayt.

My whole thing is this, the whole point of me being muslim and more so saying im sunni is to try and follow everything correctly according to the Qu'ran and Sunnah. and if the prophet specifically told us to follow his family, and when he (pbuh) died things went wrong, then we should return back to his statements and figure out what do.

I want to be muslim, and have the intercession of Muhammed (pbuh) I want to follow him, and be with those to whom Allah would be happy with.

I really have'nt looked into the history, and alot of the sunni scholars advise you to leave it off. So I dont know where to go for further understanding....Just some things in sunni books stand out to me, and it makes me want the truth.

I know there is shia masjid around here(allentown pa) but i dont know where, and I would feel nervous going there....

I dont know, one day you feel like you might be on the right path(those who call themselves salafi) and the next you have concerns and thoughts... (salam)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hey bro, i intended to ship your books tomorrow but i forgot one book with my friend. he'll be giving it to me tomorrow and i'll ship them tuesday as i'm working.

sorry for the delay (salam)