Zoheir Ali Esmail

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Faith is a personal matter in the sense that faith is to do with the individual. God has guided humans as to how to develop that faith correctly though revelation to some of His exceptional servants. However, religion is wider than the individual and at the same time affects an individual's faith. Religion is concerned with how humans live together as well as how they are as individuals. A belief system is formalised since the scriptural sources are at times inaccessible to lay believers and organisation is part of creating a society of believers.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. It is not agreed upon that he did lead a congregational prayer on behalf of the Prophet (saw) the days before his (saw) death. In fact there are instances where Abu Bakr was about to lead prayer and the Prophet (saw) despite his illness and the weak state of his (saw) body got up to lead the prayer.

For the sake of argument that he did lead a prayer, that was not put forward by Abu Bakr himself as a reason to be the successor of the Prophet (saw). The event of saqifa shows that those ghat believe in the validity of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr do so on the basis that the Prophet (saw) did appoint a successor.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. There are a number of definitions of the term wahdat al-wujud and to get a grasp on these definitions and what their implications are it is important to study theoretical 'irfan. Traditional Shii scholars would not accept something that contradicts the scriptural sources and so it is important to be clear which definition of wahdat al-wujud a certain scholar agrees with. Wujud in theoretical 'irfan means God, and wahdah means unity. Wahdat al-wujud therefore means the unity of God and so there is no scholar who would disagree with the unity of God. What is more important is what is meant by that unity, which is a technical issue that needs some introductory study.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. You don't have to think out the words before doing the act, but you have to know you are doing it for the sake of Allah. Thinking out the words is a way in which some people make clear to themselves what they are doing. Sincerely carrying out an act for the sake of God is sufficient without thinking out the words. It is also recommended to start out those works with the bismillah.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. It is alright to sleep straight after fajr prayer. It is recommended to stay awake until sunrise reciting the Qur'an or making dhikr.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. They (as) spent the whole of specific nights in worship, but slept in the night on a regular basis. Part of their night was always spent in prayer. A small amount of praying per night should not negatively effect most people's health.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Yes you can meat slaughtered according to the rules of slaughtering of our Sunni brothers.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. To break the cycle of doubt you have to ignore your doubts. Sometimes emotions cause our imaginations to run wild, but its important to realise that such a thing is natural and to seek the knowledge that will do away with unwanted or persistent doubts. When a person is firm in knowledge their emotions will not cause them to doubt.

May you always be successful.

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Below is an answer from Ayatullah Sistani's (hA) website that allow you to draw living things. Sculpting is a different matter. If you follow another Marja please check his rulings:

8Question: Students are asked to draw a human being or an animal; the requirement is such that it is difficult for the student to refuse the assignment. Are they allowed to do the drawing?

Answer: Drawing a non-sculptured figure is allowed. It is allowed to draw a human being or an animal on a piece of paper or something.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Persecution has been an unfortunate aspect of being a Shia throughout most of the Muslim world for a long time. Indeed the Ma'sumin (as) themselves faced these issues and so the best way to deal with such things is to take their (as) example. Remain balanced and faithful to the religion of Islam and empathise with your fellow Shia in times of difficulty. Pray for the Shia and for the return of Imam al-Mahdi (af) and turn to Allah for the solution. Where you can help alleviate the difficulties, which is sometimes even with a kind word, then be that source of help and encouragement. And know that God will never forsake those who are faithful and will recompense all that have suffered on the path of truth.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. If researching other religions will negatively effect your belief in Islam then you should not do it, as it means you have not adequately understood Islam itself. If your study of other religions brings you a greater appreciation of Islam then there is no problem.

May you always be successful 

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Key to the problem of evil is the definition of evil. If there is any greater purpose, compensation or wisdom behind suffering it cannot be defined as unnecessary evil. For example, making your kids do their homework is not evil, as while your kids may think they are unnecessarily suffering, that suffering has a purpose. It also has compensation in that learning is good for the children and it is wise on behalf of the parents to put their children through the suffering of studying. So too other issues of evil can be framed such that they are not evil. For example, the trials and tribulations of the prophets (as) were for a purpose, were part of Divine Wisdom and will be rewarded in the next life. One of the main wisdom behind human evil, is that there is no meaningful free will if humans are prevented from carrying out that free will even if it results in evil.

May you always be successful