Abbas Di Palma

as salam alaikum

mere single reports from Musnad Ahmad cannot be validated according to Shia view. Also, according to the most accurate opinion any single report (khabar al-wahid) with no external evidences cannot be used to establish doctrinal principles or historical facts. 

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum

many believers that mentions Ali's name during the adhan, do it out of love and later scholars usually says that it is mustahab. However it was not part of the original Adhan and if it is said thinking that it was part of the original Adhan it is almost unanimously considered as an act of innovation (bid'ah).

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum 

there is no certainity that single narrations (khabar al-wahid) from al-Kafi, with no external evidence to claim their origin (maqtu'iyyah al-sudur), are in fact from the Imams. Rather what Usuli scholars have said is that we can act according to its authentic narrations (al-sahih minhu), when proofs for it have been established.

There are several criterions to establish what has been said by the Imams but we consider no book of hadith 100% sound under all aspects and all narrations should be subject to rigid scrutiny.

With prayers for your success. 

as salam alaikum

the opinion of the Ahl al-Bayt and the ijma' of their scholars is that sadl (praying without hands folded) should be performed while standing during salat.

Imami sources establish it through several ahadith on the authority of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt like when Imam al-Sadiq describes the modality of salat to Hammad Ibn 'Isa (see "Man la yahduruhu al-Faqih" by Shaykh Saduq, vol. 1, p. 196).

In Zaydi sources there is a hadith on the authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his family, in the "Manahi" of Ibn Mansur where he stops a man while praying with folded hands saying that this is the way of the prayer of Ahl al-Kitab.

In Sunni sources many scholars of the Malikiyyah and some of the Shafi'iyyah brought forth a sahih hadith from Sunan al-Nisa'i as evidence.

Ibadi sources report an hadith on the authority of the Prophet in this regard (see "al-Idah" by 'Amir Ibn 'Ali al-Shamakhi).

As far as the Qur'an, some scholars have quoted the verse "The believers are successful! Those who have khusu' in their prayers" (23:1-2) and said that praying with folded hands would invalidate the khusu' during salat. Wa Allahu A'lam.

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum

according to the Qur'an faith in Allah and good deeds are the criterion to enter jannah, not merely dying by accident. If a person believe in the one and only Creator, do good deeds and abstain from bad deeds, paradise has been promised to him and he will enter jannah inshallah.  

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum

the term "Imam" can be used also for the one who is leading the congregational prayer. In fact he is called "Imam al-Jama'ah".

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum

a translation of the Qur'an is not the Qur'an therefore it is necessary to recite it in the Arabic language during the salat. Other intentional extra-words would invalidate the prayer. It is advisable to try as much as possible to take familiarity with the Qur'an in order to always feel in harmony with it.

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum

there are different types of tafsir. One is the tafsir based on reports, mainly from Imam al-Baqir and Imam al-Sadiq, peace bu upon them, like Tafsir al-al-'Ayyashi, Tafsir al-Qummi and other later works; although many ulama casted doubts on the authenticity of many of these reports, others have made use of them so we don't find unanimity in this regard. Other tafsirs focus on different qira'at, Arabic language, opinions of sahabah, tabi'in, other scholars and their reasonings: that is the case for the Tafsir of Shaykh Tusi and Allamah Tabrisi. Others emphasized the explanation of the Qur'an through the Qur'an, Quranic analysis,  intellectual and theological (and even philosophical) discussions; that is the case of Tafsir al-Mizan by 'Allamah Tabataba'i and those who have followed his methodology.

It is difficult to universally establish what is the"best shia tafsir" because it depends on the conclusions of singular scholars, students and researchers, and many times personal tendencies and "taste" play also a role in it. 

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum 

the are different opinions on how a person should see the new moon. The major ones can be summarized as follows:

SIGHTING THE NEW MOON LOCALLY (VALID FOR ALL PLACES THAT SHARE THE SAME HORIZON) WITH NAKED EYE

This is the fatwa of Ayatollah Khomeyni, Ayatollah Sistani, Ayatollah Mararem Shirazi, Ayatollah Shobeyri Zanjani, Ayatollah Subhani, Ayatollah Qorban Ali Kabuli and Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq Sadr.

SIGHTING THE NEW MOON IN A CITY WITH NAKED EYE AND VALIDATING THE SIGHTING FOR ALL THE OTHER PLACES THAT SHARE WITH IT THE SAME NIGHT 

This is the fatwa of Ayatollah Khu'i, Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir Sadr, Ayatollah Muhammad Araki, Ayatollah Ruhani, Ayatollah Ishaq Fayyad, Ayatollah Wahid Khorasani and Ayatollah Bashir Najafi.

SIGHTING THE NEW MOON LOCALLY (VALID FOR ALL PLACES THAT SHARE THE SAME HORIZON) WITH THE HELP OF A TELESCOPE 

This is the fatwa of Ayatollah Khamene'i, Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat, Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani and Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Mudarrisi.

SIGHTING THE NEW MOON WITH NAKED EYE AND VALIDATING THE SIGHTING FOR ALL THE OTHER PLACES THAT SHARE WITH IT THE SAME NIGHT BUT MAKING A DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE OLD CONTINENT (EUROPE, AFRICA, ASIA AND AUSTRALIA) AND THE NEW CONTINENT (NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA).

This is the fatwa of Ayatollah Muhammad Sa'id Hakim.

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum

it is not permissible to dress or imitate people of the opposite gender in things that are peculiar to them.

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum

it is not necessary to change your name if it doesn't have a meaning in contrast with Islam. However it would be good to choose a new name that manifest in some way and degree the relation between the servant and his Creator.

With prayers for your success.

as salam alaikum

it is not difficult for all men to convince their wives to have another wife and it is not difficult for all wives to accept an husband with more than one wife. Also, it is not necessary for all men to have more than one wife and in many cases it may be detrimental for them. People differs and sometimes there are situations that call for specific choices. For example the Qur'an says: "And if you fear that you will not be able to to justice to the orphan girls, then marry of women as may be agreeable to you two or three or four, but if you fear that you will not be able to deal equitably then one" (4:3).

With prayers for your success.