God (Allah)

Allah (الله‎, romanized: Allāh) is the Arabic word for God in Abrahamic religions. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam.

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 2 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Annihilating in God's Essence is impossible to conceive of as the human, who is essentially a limited being would have to become unlimited. This is a contradiction as something cannot be limited and unlimited at the same time. Rather, what is meant by the term annihilation is the annihilation of the ego such that all that a person witnesses within their being are the signs of God. Those signs, which manifest divine perfections, seem unlimited to us as their limitations are beyond our perception. At this stage, a person only sees God through the mirror of their soul. This view is compatible with Shii scriptural sources such as this part of the munajat of Shaban:

"My Lord, (please) grant me absolute devotion to You and illuminate the vision of our hearts by the light of their gaze looking towards You. Until the vision of our hearts pierces the curtains of light to reach the core of supremacy and that our souls become suspended by the majesty of Your Holiness."

May you always be successful

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

Allah never wants any one to do wrong, on the contrary, He showed every one the right way and the wrong way and ordered and encouraged to do good and avoid bad. Allah granted human beings the intellect and the option to do whatever they decide to do and He never forced any one to do good or bad.

Wrong doers do wrong out of their own option and decision. Allah never wants wrong. He orders us to do good and He helps every one who to do good.

Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

1. Imam Ali (AS) has the maximum and highest level of intellect after the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), that is why his faith in Allah is the maximum after the  Prophet (SAWA). The Hadeeth stated that the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) told Ali (AS): O Ali, no one Knew Allah (properly) but myself and you. 
2. Seeing Allah by eyes is impossible because He is above all senses and He can never be confined or limited to any sense. Allah is The Creator of all senses and whatever can be sensed and whatever can not be sensed. 
3. Proper Intellect leads us to the fact that lot of things in the existence are comprehended and known by intellect and reason not by materialistic senses. 
4. Realities of Faith in Allah (SWT) are in each and every thing in this universe, but many people don't see it because of their indulging in darkness of sins which disable their intellectual abilities. When the heart is clean from sins, mind is transparent and more able to see the realities which are behind the outer senses. These realities lead the human being to the absolute Truth of Allah. 

5. Realities of faith are for every believer according to his degree in the purity of heart and proper thinking. More purity in heart leads to more proper thinking which in turn leads to discovering more realities of faith.

6. The Faith in Allah is the faith in the greatest Truth in the universe. Proper intellect can never deviate from clear facts, what about the greatest Fact. Faith in Allah increases by proper thinking which leads to comprehending more realities of faith.

Wassalam.

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 2 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. What is being referred to in this hadith is perhaps along these lines: Physical beings are senses with the physical senses and since Allah is not confined to matter and doesn't have a material form He cannot be seen with the physical eyes. But the human is endowed with senses that are capable of comprehending the metaphysical. In order to make use of them a person cannot be in doubt of their existence. The realities of faith are sensed with these senses and this is the field of religious experience. God is seen through the veil of His Perfections deep within the being of a human.

May you always be successful 

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

It is not allowed to touch the name of Allah as well as Quranic verse or part of it with out Wudhu. Names of the Infallibles are also included according to precaution.

Cat is not Najis but we must keep the due respect of the name of Allah in every possible way and in every situation.

Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

Allah's love to us does not need to be proven after He created us from nothing and granted us life and all bounties of life. Allah (SWT) gave human beings the option and ability to be good or otherwise. Allah does not force us to be good nor to be bad but He helps us if we want to do good and leaves us if we want to do bad. Those who do bad and oppress others will face the result of their deeds while the oppressed will be compensated by Allah for their sufferings.

Wassalam.

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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 2 years ago

Most Muslims who follow a specific sect or ideology do so because they genuinely believe it is the correct one. Since we do not have the Prophet (S) here present with us today to tell us which beliefs and practices are the most authentic, everyone has to do their best to try to discover that. So it is less about making sects and more about following what one thinks is most true.

(Of course, what we consider to be true or authentic is strongly influenced by the ideas we live around or grow up around, the ones that are shared by people around us, etc. However, the sincerity is usually there.)

For that reason, it isn't possible to impose one view of what Islam "is" on all Muslims and expect them all to agree on it. There are some areas today where we just have to agree to disagree.

Of course, in some cases, sectarianism may also be due to other factors such as politics, national identity, racial factors, or personal agendas, as well as the influence of Shaytan, and this sort of thing would be condemned. 

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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 2 years ago

Different Muslims, both Sunnis and Shi'is, have varying views about al-Hallaj. Some take a negative view of him, especially this statement, and others appreciate the spirit of it.

Regarding al-Hallaj, Ayatollah Motahhari says in his introduction to 'irfan:

-=-= begin quote =-=-

Now famous simply as al-Hallaj, he is one of the most controversial mystics of the Islamic world. The shathiyyat uttered by him are many, and he was accused of apostasy and claiming divinity. The jurisprudents pronounced him an apostate and he was crucified during the reign of the 'Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir.

The 'urafa' themselves accuse him of disclosing spiritual secrets. Hafiz has this to say about him:

He said, that friend, who was raised high on the cross,

His crime was that he used to reveal secrets.

Some consider him no more than a charlatan, but the 'urafa' themselves absolve him and say that the statements of al-Hallaj and Bayazid that gave the impression of unbelief were made when they were beside themselves in the state of 'intoxication'.

Al-Hallaj is remembered by the 'urafa' as a martyr. He was executed in 309/913. 

-=-= end quote =-=-

So there are varying views.

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

Hussain Ibn Mansoor Al-Hallaaj was a Sufi who deviated and claimed that he is a representative of Imam Al-Mahdi (AS). He claimed many dangerous claims including claiming that he is Allah or part of Allah (SWT). He was cursed by our Shia scholars as well as as Sunni scholars. Our great scholar Shaikh Al-Mufeed wrote a book against him and his cult called Tasheeh Al-E'tiqadaat Al-Imamiyyah. His claim (Ana Al-Haqq) shows his deviation and falsehood.

Even Sunni scholars refused his false claims and complained against him to the Abbasid king Al-Moqtadir who killed him in year 309 Hijri.

His cult was called Al-Hallajiyyah and they did not pray Salah nor perform any Islamic worship. This was mentioned by Shaikh Al-Sadouq in Al-E'tiqadaat (97).

Wassalam,

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 2 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. The reason for why God cannot have parts is that it would mean that He would be needy of a part to bring about the whole. Just like water cannot be water without one of its constituent elements and is therefore in need for each element in the right mix. However, God is not in need of anything to exist, rather his existence is so intense that it is necessary.
 

This whole hypothetical scenario in which we consider God having parts fundamentally goes against His Oneness, where His Oneness does not mean numerical oneness, but that He is completely limitless. In order to even think of parts we have to first posit limits in order to distinguish one part from another or in order to conceive of a single part at all. That itself is not possible for the an unlimited being as it renders Him limited.

May you always be successful 

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answer updated 2 years ago

1. When you know that Allah does not allow any marriage between a Muslim female and a non Muslim man and you write that  "you feel that you went against Allah", you must repent and seek forgiveness and come back to Allah and never insist on doing wrong.

2. If you can convince the man and explain to him how to become a Muslim, then you need to recite a marriage agreement (Nikah) between you and him after becoming a Muslim in his heart.

3. If he refuses to become a Muslim, then there is no way that you can remain with him.

4. You must save yourself and your future from sinful acts.

Wassalam.

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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 2 years ago

A literal reading of Twelver Shi'a hadith indicates that Allah created and appointed the prophet as a Prophet prior to his existence in this world. So it was not due to activities that he chose to do, such as mysticism, that he became a prophet. 

Of course, he had some practices which can be called "mystical" such as spending time alone in the cave of Hira for worship. It is natural that someone who is very close to God would want to choose to do those activities. 

My understanding is that the time "before" this world is outside of chronological time, and therefore Allah did this with full knowledge of what was before and after. So therefore Allah knew the Prophet's merits over all people, rather than just only pre-designing him as the Prophet. That is, it is a combination of the individual merit of the Prophet and the creational will of Allah. This was why he was born with 'ismah; otherwise, it might be unfair for Allah to grant some poeple 'ismah and not others. Other people may have different understandings. But in any case it was not solely due to the Prophet "earning" the prophethood through ascetic or mystical practices.

However, some other people, including some people who are not Muslims but who feel the Prophet was close to God, might see it this way and might agree with your view.