Amina Inloes

Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the Islamic College in London and also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies.

127839

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 1 year ago

If they are Americans, ask them what they do on Thanksgiving. If they are English, ask them what they eat at Christmas. And so on. Most cultures have some sort of feast where they eat some kind of meat or animal product, and oftentimes those feasts are associated with religious commemorations.

(Apart from the vegetarians of course!)

Usually people see their own cultural practices as normal and other religious or cultural practices as cruel. 

It is not the people who are suffering from malnutrition or poverty who are saying that it is cruel to sacrifice an animal and share the meat with people who are deprived. The sacrifice is not just to kill the animal and destroy it for the sake of killing or feeding an idol, but rather it is intended to go to good use.

As the Qur'an says, it is not the flesh or the blood of the animal that reaches Allah, but rather it is the piety. In the book 'Ilal al-Shara'i', it is also related that the Prophet (S) said: "This sacrificial offering of the slaughter animal has indeed been established [as part of the pilgrimage rituals] so that your poor may be able to partake of meat, so feed them [with it]."

And, are the people who are criticizing this eating meat? If they are, there is no more discussion to be had. Even if they don't meat, do they have access to a variety of food or nutritional supplements so that they don't suffer from not eating animal products?

Perhaps if the people who are criticizing this spend a year in a situation where they have very limited types of food and are in need of basic protein and nutrition, they would appreciate the gift of meat more. (Especially currently as the world is facing food shortages.)

Similarly, before modern methods of food production, storage, and transportation, which allows for a variety of food, many people relied on having some meat to get proper nutrition, and this was not considered cruel. 

However, it is of course good to look after matters such as the kind treatment of animals, human and sensitive slaughter, and not wasting the meat at hajj, since it was the Sunnah of the Prophet (S) to be kind to animals. These are modern issues that the world is facing due to large numbers of people and the industrialization of animal raising, that are not related to or limited to Islam or Eid al-Adha specifically, but which still should be taken into consideration on a practical level. 

 

127790

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 1 year ago

The Qur'an teaches us to look at the civilizations that came before us, consider their rise and fall, and take lessons from that so we make the best decisions in our own lives and societies. We should also look at previous civilizations to be humble: we should not assume that just because our society is at an apex, it must last forever. If our society is prosperous, we should thank Allah for that and not assume it is all under our control, since those people who started to attribute blessings to themselves instead of Allah soon fell. 

The Qur'an and hadith give a sense that there are some metaphysical laws underpinning civilizations. Positive spiritual and ethical practices of societies lead them to flourish, whereas negative spiritual and ethical practices lead them to decay or destruction. This is part and parcel of natural law and is often connected to natural causes but is also part of divine justice. 

Some Muslims see the process of history as a gradual unfolding and en route to an ultimate victory of tawhid - that is, a meaningful process of history - although others may not agree with that. 

The main criticisms in the Qur'an of pre-Islamic societies are of idolatry, superstition, tribalism, and depotism. In some cases, flagrant violations led Allah to rain down destruction on some places, as in the Old Testament. In other cases, they just led to the decline of the civilization.

Pre-Islamic Abrahamic monotheists are also sometimes criticized for deviation, self-glorification, and so forth. 

Individual people in ancient societies are presented in accordance with their acts. For instance, the husband of Zulaykha in Egypt is presented as neutral, whereas Firawn is presented as evil. The Queen of Sheba is overall presented as a good ruler but as starting out with an incorrect theology due to worshipping the sun. There are also some specific criticisms of specific places/times such as the people of Lut. 

Mesopotamia was a large region with many peoples and dynasties, so one cannot give a single view for the whole civilizational phenomenon. Similarly, ancient Egypt had a long reign of dominance and so one cannot make sweeping views about everything. This is apart from the obvious fact that both Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt contributed to the the development of later civilizations and so we retain some of their legacies, such as some ideas or technologies.

Babylon gets a bit of a bad rap in the Qur'an due to the Harut and Marut situation, and also the story of Ibrahim (A). Ancient Egypt is also associated with magic. But neither place is discussed extensively. This is different from the Biblical tradition, in which Babylon is personified and condemned. 

On the other hand, Shi'i hadith speak of the sanctity of Karbala from ancient times, and Karbala is in Mesopotamia. There are also Shi'i hadith speaking of Adam being created from the clay of the Euphrates. So there is a sense of a portrayal of this region as part of the cradle of civilization. 

Muslims have had various views about the ancient heritages. Some Muslims found benefit in reading ancient philosophical texts like those from Greece or in wisdom from things such as the Code of Hammurabi or traditional Chinese medicine. Other Muslims opposed ancient things because they belong to pre-Islamic times and civilizations.

Insofar as the hadith says to seek knowledge even from China, and China obviously was not a Muslim-majority or Abrahamic civilization, one can assume that Islam does not have an objection to seeking beneficial knowledge from ancient civilizations. 

Today, some Muslims are very focused making a full break from the ancient past and fear anything from the ancient times as bid'ah or shirk. So they reject anything ancient, on the grounds that it is pre-Islamic, although ancient things - like modern things - can sometimes have wisdom and sometimes have error. Other Muslims have an interest in studying the past, such as literature or archeology, or preserve some ancient holidays and customs. 

Conversely, some modern secular nation-states in the Middle East where the government felt threatened by Islam or Islamic movements have tried to build a national identity based on the pre-Islamic heritage or promote a sense of national arrogance based on a pre-Islamic heritage. It is nice to respect and appreciate and know about the good things from the past. However, it is wrong to deploy pre-Islamic identity as a tool to whip up nationalism, strengthen dictators, suppress Islam, and inflame wars with other nation-states. So this is an example of wrong usage of pre-Islamic heritages in the modern era. They do not relate to the ancient civilizations but rather wrong things that occur in our own time. 

So there isn't a unilateral view on these civilizations or the ancient world in general, but these are some aspects of how history has been understood in an Islamic context. 

127824

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 1 year ago

Social institutions have changed, but human nature and the soul have not changed. The basic challenges that human beings face have not changed since ancient times. Then and now, people have dealt with inequity, tribalism, injustice, social harmony and disharmony, family challenges, and so forth. The fundamental principles of ethics also have not changed. This is why one can find wisdom and inspiration in literature from a long time ago.

In our era, there are some new "social technologies" to try to grapple with age-old problems - for instance, democracy and the nation-state system - but our challenges as human beings remain the same. Furthermore, all human beings must grapple with mortality, consider what happens after death, and find meaning and purpose in our lives and in the universe. People also often want to know how to improve themselves ethically and spiritually and how to transcend the baser aspects of their existence or avoid being controlled by their lower desires. 

Science, technology, access to knowledge, and mass institutionalized education have benefits. However, they do not always make people into kinder or better people. You meet some people who live very simple lives and very little formal education but who have a very good family life and who are generous and treat others well. And, of course, vice versa. In fact, one can say that places which have had the most technological advances and where there is a strong consumerist culture also have more isolation and alienation. So the advances that the modern era has brought to the world are not all things that relate to some of the fundamentals of human existence such as how to coexist with others. Rather, they operate in other areas of life; for instance, curing physical diseases. 

So, the challenges of being a human being, and of having a society, are areas where religion provides guidance. Islam, being rather comprehensive, provides a rather lot of guidance on both spiritual and social matters.

As for Islam itself, it is both flexible and inflexible. It is inflexible on some points; for instance, some requirements specified in the Qur'an. At the same time, it has an inherent adaptability to different cultures and situations. Otherwise, it would not have spread to so many different cultures and flourished. We can see in our era that there are various ways Muslims have looked to Islam to solve new problems, whether they be individual or communal. So there is a scope of adaptability that does not confine it to 7th century Arabia and which has allowed it to flourish today, even in places where other organized religions have lost ground.

As for whether society is not as barbaric as it used to be without Islam... looking at the events of the past couple hundred years, such as the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the world wars, crippling economic sanctions, and the deployment of chemical and nuclear weapons... I would not agree with that. There may be more focus in public discourse on individual freedoms, human rights, and the value of a human life, but at the same time there are large masses of people who are dispossessed and suffering due to the current global power structures, and there is more institutionalized inequity than at any other time in the past. Not all lives are treated as having the same worth, as we see in attention given to current conflicts. We also have the capability to do much more horrible things to each other than at any time.  So there are some ways that the jahiliyyah Arabian society was barbaric, and there are some ways that the world is barbaric now. In any case, the question of which era is better or worse than another cannot really be answered; just pointing out another side of the question. 

So here are a few thoughts. I am sure others will have some excellent insights! 

126978

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

This is a good question, which has been discussed by scholars. These are some views:

1. Heaven and hell exist outside of our normal time, because they are eternal. So, when we do a good act in this life, we build something at the same time in heaven (like hadith speaking of planting a tree in heaven). However, we do not experience it until after we leave this world and go through the Resurrection. Since the mi'raj occurred outside normal space and time, the Prophet (S) was able to see the eternal reality rather than being bound to our reality, which consists of normal space and time, and from which the eternal realities of Heaven and Hell are veiled. I personally favour this view.

2. When the Prophet (S) saw heaven and hell, he saw the heaven and hell of barzakh. That is, when we are in barzakh but before Resurrection, we also experience a type of heaven or hell based on our deeds, but which continues only until the Resurrection and is not eternal. 

3. Allah showed the Prophet (S) a vision or appearance of what will happen in the future in Heaven or Hell. Allah can do that because Allah knows all things and can present knowledge of the unseen to anyone He wills. 

Also, it should be remembered that while the idea that the Prophet (S) experienced the mi'raj is established in Qur'an and hadith, individual narrations about what he saw may be correct or incorrect. 

 

127000

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

If you are not sure about a specific fish, and you cannot investigate it with your eyes, you can look it up online or consult a list like this: https://ihic.org.au/common-halal-and-non-halal-sea-foods/

Pro tip: If you are buying seafood which is prepared with ingredients, be sure to check that it does not have alcohol! Because cooking with wine and other forms of alcohol is common. Sushi also often has mirin wine. So you can look out for that as well. 

126467

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

There is a similarity and difference between the prophets/messengers. The similarity is that they are all equal in being appointed as divine messengers and authorities. The difference is with respect to the nature of their position with Allah, and their own circumstances. 

So, these two verses reflect those two things.

2:136 is a statement of belief for us to profess. That is, WE must accept all the prophets/messengers as being equal in their validity. We must accept them all as having correct messages from Allah that are consistent with the messages of the other prophets. We are not allowed to accept some and reject others. This verse is in the context of criticizing the Jews and Christians for accepting some and rejecting others.

However, this does not mean that all the prophets and messengers were identical, as indicated in 2:253 and elsewhere. The prophets and messengers each had their unique circumstances and positions with Allah. For instance, Jesus was born in a unique way, Solomon had a unique kingdom, and the Prophet Muhammad (S) is considered to be the highest of the messengers.

 

126953

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

Sorry to hear about your condition. If you need medical care, you should get medical care.

If you feel unable to tell your husband and need financial or practical assistance, maybe a friend, relative, or charitable organization can help you. 

With duas for your well-being. 

126446

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 1 year ago

There are two separate questions here: first, ruling regarding receiving astrological advice or services, and, second, belief.

(a) Ruling regarding receiving astrological advice or services. There is some variance on rulings here depending on the situation. For instance, are you reading horoscopes in the newspaper, paying an astrologer (which goes under laws of transaction) and if yes what kind of services are you paying for, etc.

Sunni scholars tend to disallow astrology.

There is somewhat more variety among Shi'i scholars, and some will distinguish between what they will consider permissible or impermissible matters. 

In general, Shi'i scholars agree that astrology is impermissible if it includes the belief that the planets and stars act independently from Allah or can override the divine decree, because this would be shirk.

Beyond that, the ruling depends on your situation and what specifically is going on. 

Contemporary Shi'i scholars generally express the view that they do not consider there to be a basis for or benefit in things like horoscope columns.

(b) Believing that astrology is real. This is slightly more complicated.

From a Shi'i perspective, the Shi'i hadith collections, like al-Kafi, contain narrations indicating that astrology, as a theoretical branch of knowledge, has a truth value and that the Imams have full knowledge of it. However, they also say that other people do not have full or correct knowledge of it, and they do not encourage people to focus on astrology or consult astrologers. Instead, they encourage people to focus on prayer, and remind us that du'a and good acts can change our destiny with Allah. 

Of course, some people might reject these narrations and say it is all pseudo science and that is fine. It is not necessary to accept it; I am simply saying there is a textual basis within the Shi'i tradition for accepting that it has a reality.

Even if there is a theoretical correctness to astrology, there is no guarantee that what is being said on social media about it has any truth value. Some things that shared on Instagram and Twitter today about astrology are either baseless (in the sense of the historical practice of astrology) and are just pop psychology, or are too general to be meaningful. 

Similarly, most horoscope columns are too general to have any usefulness to anyone since they apply to millions of people. The historical practice of astrology in the cultures where the Imams (A) lived was much more complex and nuanced than this.

So, regardless of one's views, it is good to take things that one reads online or elsewhere with a grain of salt. 

 

126396

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 1 year ago

In the Shi'i view, it is held that the knowledge of the Prophet (S) passed directly to the Imams. Therefore, when one of the Imams speaks, they are speaking accurately and correctly on behalf of the Prophet, whether or not it is word for word.

In some cases, the Imam may have a dialogue with someone present with them, refer to people in their time by name, or discuss current events and questions. In these cases, these are not word for word quotations from the Prophet (S) but accurately reflect or expound upon the Prophet's teachings as applied to those situations.

In other cases the Imams provide a direct quotation from one of their forebears.

Apart from that, it would be very lengthy to always give the full chain of narration back to the Prophet (S) through all the Imams. However, it is understood that this is intended to be the chain of transmission of knowledge. 

This principle is mentioned in al-Kafi and is related from Imam al-Sadiq (A) as follows:

"My hadith is the hadith of my father. The hadith of my father is the hadith of my grandfather. The hadith of my grandfather is the hadith of al-Husayn. The hadith of al-Husayn is the hadith of al-Hasan. The hadith of al-Hasan is the hadith of the Commander of the Faithful. The hadith of the Commander of the Faithful is the hadtih of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The hadith of the Messenger of God is the word of God, the Mighty and Glorious."

علي بن محمد، عن سهل بن زياد، عن أحمد بن محمد، عن عمر بن عبد العزيز عن هشام بن سالم وحماد بن عثمان وغيره قالوا: سمعنا أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: حديثي حديث أبي، وحديث أبي حديث جدي، وحديث جدي حديث الحسين، وحديث الحسين حديث الحسن، وحديث الحسن حديث أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام وحديث أمير المؤمنين حديث رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وحديث رسول الله قول الله عز وجل.

Here, of course, the "word of God" does not mean the same thing as the Qur'an being the "word of God" in the sense of the literal divine word, but rather is the correct teaching given from God to the Prophet (S). 

So, from a Shi'i perspective, the Imam has full knowledge of the teachings of the Prophet (S) and full authority to speak about it. Therefore the Imam can speak authoritatively without giving a further chain of narration back or may provide a further chain of narration back. 

Hope that helps! 

127026

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

There isn't a fixed yes or no answer to this question - it depends on your circumstances and yourself.

Personally, I think it is extremely helpful for people going into the study of Islam to have another career or vocation. This keeps you from financial dependency or desperation and makes you more free to study what you like for however long you feel is beneficial. This is especially if you are female and financially responsible for yourself or others, since men have certain financial opportunities that women don't; for instance, most imams of mosques are men, and usually men have more opportunities for paid services such as tabligh and majalis. 

Then, in the future, if the opportunity arises, you could shift to work in the area of Islamic studies, or full-time studies, if that is what seems right. 

So, you could try to do both - that is, maintain a separate job or career path, and do Islamic studies part-time on the side. (If you are not already doing this, and if you have the time and energy for it, of course - it is a commitment.) This would also allow you to see if it is right for you; for instance, some people think they want to go to hawza or do full time Islamic studies, but then decide after a couple years that it's not the right thing for them, and then sometmes it is a lot of work to get back onto a different career track.

Of course, the drawback is that you will miss out on an immersive experience, such as living at a hawza, but it can be a good way to feel things out. 

You could consider what career you might pursue after your studies - for instance, working at a mosque, chaplaincy, university teaching,  madrasa teaching, writing/translation, counselling, tabligh, or something completely different - and how available work is in that area, and much you would expect to earn.

You could also consider your skill sets that you would use after your studies - for instance, whether you feel most comfortable with things like leadership, management, oratory, social work, academics, and so forth. Of course, sometimes we discover that through experience. 

Conversely, you could also look at yourself as an engineer - is it something that suits you and feel like you would miss if you left it and see a future for yourself in, or is it something you don't think you would get much further with or feel blocked in.

If you are 100% committed to pursuing Islamic studies, don't worry about negativity from people around you; however, it is still good to pay attention to some of the practical considerations they might bring up. 

Similarly, if you are 100% committed to pursuing Islamic studies, then I would say just trust in Allah and go forward with it. The above advice is for if you are not certain. 

Sometimes, Allah makes the decision easy for us by forcing us one way or the other! However, in the meantime, of course, pray for guidance and talk to people around you. 

Allah does sustains us, but the reality is that many people who work in this area suffer from financial frustrations, unless they have a secure and suitably paying position of some sort, or other resources (inheritance, investments, etc). 

I will leave you with a short story. Back in my younger years, when I was attending university, I used to study computer science (which was very competitive to get into and we were considered the lucky ones who were on top of the world). I decided that I was going to pursue Islamic studies and begin that by changing my major to Near Eastern Studies (the closest thing to Islamic Studies).

So, I went to one of our professors, a well-known Muslim, and told him the good news. "I'm going to change to a Near Eastern Studies major," I said.

He looked at me and said just one word. "DON'T."

Anyway, I did it anyway, but I have come to understand why he said what he did. 
 

126450

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

Sorry to hear about your situation.

Allah is not angry with you. You sound like you are sincere and have a good heart, and these are the things that are important. Sometimes these thoughts pop up by themselves, or sometimes they are from shayateen. The best thing to do is just let the thoughts come and go on their own and remember that Allah does not blame us for things that are outside our control. Sometimes when we try not to think something, we end up thinking about it more. Also just do the salat as best as you can. You could also see if praying in a different location (like mosque, workplace, park, friend's house, etc) helps.

If you have some specific reason why you are upset with Allah (for instance, some people are upset when they lose a job, divorce, etc., as they blame Allah), this is something that is good to work through personally and spend some time sitting with Allah and doing dua or contemplating about to make peace about. 

We have lots of ups and downs in our religious life, inshallah you will get through this too. 

127012

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

Yes, every human being has a soul. No, no one is exempted from the Resurrection. If anyone claims otherwise, they are lying or confused.