Meaning

92655

Christians . Jews . Islam . Friendship . Meaning

I understand that there are Quran verses that tell us not to take Christians and Jews as allies or friends. What is the context of this command and does this mean that Islam is telling us not to be friends with other people who aren't Muslim?

Seyed Ali Shobayri, Seyed Ali Shobayri is of mixed Iranian and Scottish descent who found the path of the Ahlul Bayt (a) by his own research. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University through the... Answer updated 2 weeks ago

Bismillah,

Asalamu Alaykom,

Please read the following answer to this question:

https://www.al-islam.org/ask/does-the-verse-5-51-of-the-quran-say-that-we-should-not-take-the-christians-or-the-jews-as-friends-what-is-its-explanation

May Allah grant you success

98516

God (Allah) . Anger . Meaning

I have heard that Allah becomes happy if we do good deeds and becomes angry when we do not follow His commands. Does this mean Allah has feelings?

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 1 month ago

Allah (SWT) is pleased with noble deeds done by His sincere servants, and is unhappy with sinful acts and wrong doers.

We should never think that Allah (SWT) has feelings like our feelings. Our feelings are based on benefit or loss and our thinking while Allah (SWT) is above any benefit or loss. The pleasure of Allah means His blessings on the sincere good doers. His anger is the result of bad deeds. Allah is The Absolute Needless and there is no question of any benefit nor loss or materialistic feelings.

Wassalam.

96228

Qur'an . Qur'anic Verse . God (Allah) . Meaning

In the Quranic verse 48:10 where it says that the Hand of Allah is over their hands, does it mean His might and power or something else?

The meaning of the verse can be that the Might and Power of Allah (SWT) is above every might and every power.

Wassalam.

'Mohammad Al-Musawi

97245

Meaning . Word . Qur'an . Qur'anic Exegesis (Tafsir) . Kafir

Who is a Kaafir and what is the exact meaning of this word according to the Quran and its commentaries?

Mateen Charbonneau, Sheikh Mateen Joshua Charbonneau achieved a certificate from Harvard University in Islamic Studies. He undertook Howza classes under esteemed scholars since 2013 and has been teaching at Imam Mahdi... Answered 1 month ago

A Kaafir is someone who is ungrateful. This term is used for disbelievers because of all of the things Allah has given them they are ungrateful to Him and deny Him.

96596

Meaning . Adhan . Salah (Prayers) . Prophet Muhammad

What is the meaning of Assalatu Wassalamu Alaika Ya Rasoolallah? Is it allowed to say it before Azan and after Namaz or an other any occasion? If allowed, what is the evidence for it?

It means : The salutations and peace upon you O Messenger of Allah.

'It is usually said by many Sunni brothers. It is incomplete form of salutations because it must mention the Progeny of the Prophet along with him as the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) said: لا تُصَلّوا عَلَيَّ الصلاة البتراء Do not salute me with a cut off salutation. They aske him: What is the cut off salutation? He replied: To salute me with saluting my Progeny. ( al-Qawl al-Badee' by al-Sakhaawi; page 45 and al-Sawaa'iq al-Muhriqa by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami; page 225, and Yanabee' al-Mawaddah by al-Qondoozi al-Hanafi ;2:434).

It is always recommended to salute the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and his Progeny Ahlul Bayt (AS) any time including before and after Azan and before and after Prayers.

Wassalam.

96168

Love . Parents . Family . Meaning . God (Allah) . Friendship

What does it mean to be in love with Allah? Can the love of Allah be understood in the same way as being in love with our parents or friends or family? And how can one fall in love with Allah?

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 months ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. To love Allah is to prefer Him to all else in your life and to be attached to him more than your attachment to other things. Love is a connection that matters to you and as such the love of God can be compared to other types of love. Indeed, Allah compares His love to other types of love in the Qur'an (see 9:24 for example). We are naturally in love with God, but that is sometimes confused by our attachments to other types of love. To develop the love of God, some sacrifice is required. The ordinances of our religion help develop that love and among those ordinances is reflecting on the bounties that Allah has bestowed on us, both continually and at various points in our life. It is natural to love those who are good to us, then what about He who is the source of every good in our lives?

May you always be successful

95280

Meaning . Sunni-Shi'a

What does the concept of Al Wala wa al-Bara mean and do Shia Muslims follow it?

Al-Walaa' الولاء means to be with the humble servants of Allah i.e. the Prophets and their divine successors and sincere followers. It is compulsory on every Muslim to be with the humble servants of Allah (SWT).

Al-Baraa' البراء or Al-Tabarri التبري من أعداء الله means to avoid, be away and never be with the enemies of Allah who are the enemies of the prophets and enemies of their divine successors and sincere followers.
These two concepts are part of obligatory duties on every Shia Muslim.

'Wassalam.

92119

Meaning . Infallibility ('Ismah)

Does the term Ma'soom mean sinless, not able to make a mistake, or both?

In the book Aqaed al-Haqqa by Ayatullah Sayed Ali Sadr we find infallibility categorized into 3 levels:

1. Ismat ul Kubra which is reserved for the 14 Infallibles. They do not commit sins, mistakes or even tark al-awla (choosing the less preferred method). We as Shia however do not believe that any of the prophets, from their birth until their death, committed any sins at all whether big or small. We see that the honorable Shia scholar, Sheikh Mufid stated that the prophets and Imams never committed sins or even left the recommended actions (mustahab) and that they were perfect in every aspect of their lives.

Another point to bring is that the prophets are not infallible by force. Rather, they are infallible by utilizing their intellectual ability to not succumb to sin. They have the ability to sin, but they choose not to sin. They know the effects and evil disgusting nature of sin and are repulsed by it. An example would be, if we saw an old piece of food that was rotten would we eat that food? Of course not! It is repulsive to us because we see its rottenness. This is how the prophets see sin. They see the rottenness in disobeying God, whereas most of mankind is attracted to the sins because they have been made fair-seeming to them.

2. Ismat ul-Ithbaatiya which is for the general prophets where they do not commit sins, but it is possible for them to do tark al-awla (choosing the less preferred method).

3. Ismat ul- Thubutiya which is an acquired level of infallibility by abandoning sins and continuously doing their responsibilities to Allah and are obedient to Him. They are just individuals and are far away from deviation. We find this type of acquired infallibility in some of the progeny of the infallibles such as Zaynab, Abbas and Masuma (as) and others.

89665

Meaning . Imam al-Mahdi

One of Imam Mahdi's (ajtf) titles is the Qaim. Does it mean the one who will arise when no one will take his name?

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 4 months ago

Short answer: Yes and no.

Longer answer:

"Al-Qa'im" means "the one who rises up" [for instance, against injustice]. It is primarily used for the Mahdi, but it can also be used for all the Imams.

The literal meaning of the word "al-Qa'im" does not specifically relate to one's name being unused; it comes from the word meaning "to rise" or "to stand".

However, titles for the Mahdi (including al-Mahdi and al-Qa'im) have been used instead of his personal name (which is the same as that of the Prophet (S)) because there are narrations saying that you should not refer to the Mahdi by name. So, in that sense, the Qa'im will arise when people are not referring to him by name; rather, they are referring to him as the Mahdi or the Qa'im.

[For instance, see https://www.al-islam.org/kamaaluddin-wa-tamaamun-nima-vol-2-shaykh-saduq... ]

It is also mentioned in a couple narrations that the Mahdi is called "al-Qa'im" because his occultation will last for a very long time. Therefore, when he reappears, people will have forgotten him so much that it will be as if he is rising up as a new creation. [Similar to how, on the qiyamah or Resurrection, people will rise up anew after being dead.]

[For instance, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 51, p. 30 - سمي القائم عليه السلام قائما لأنه يقوم بعد موته ذكره. - "he is called the Qa'im because he will arise after his remembrance has perished".]

This is similar to narrations which say that the Mahdi will reappear in a time when faith is at an all-time low. So, in this sense, he may not be commonly spoken about before his reappearance.

So, you can say that both:

(a) The Mahdi is called "al-Qa'im" because he will lead an uprising [this is explained, for instance, by Imam al-Sadiq], and
(b) The Mahdi is called "al-Qa'im" beacuse he will arise at a time when his name has been forgotten, and therefore will be rising up anew.

The first view (that he is called al-Qa'im because he will lead an uprising) is the more commonly understood meaning, but both views are supported by narrations, and one can say that he is called al-Qai'm for both reasons.

Hope that helps!

89666

Meaning . Raj'a . Imam al-Mahdi

Does the concept of Rajat mean that all the people who were born after Imam Hassan Askari (a) will get revived or only those people who have died just before Imam Mahdi's re-appearance?

Some narrations about the raj'ah specifically mention the return of people from ancient times. Of course, not all narrations about the raj'ah are correct, and maybe those are not correct, but, at least, from what we have, it seems that the raj'ah will include people from all times and not only the time after certain Imams.

However, according to narrations, not all people return in the raj'ah. Only those who have the highest level of faith and highest level of depravity will be brought back to life.

88795

Makruh . Meaning . Sin

Do we get sins for doing Makruh actions? If not, why should we avoid them? What exactly is the meaning and implication of Makruh actions?

Bismillah,

Asalamu Alaykom,

Makruh actions will not cause one to have a sin, but it is possible that one could gain more reward by avoiding them. They are actions which are better to be avoided and disliked.

Furthermore although one will not get a sin for doing a makruh action, there could still be a negative impact for one spiritually. So by avoiding them it could build up one spiritually and strengthen their soul.

May Allah grant you success

78868

Meaning . Surat al-Baqara

In Surah al-Baqara 2:178 what does "the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the woman for the woman" mean? If a slave kills a free man, would the master of the slave be killed and vice versa?

Allah (SWT) has ordered us to take the meanings of Quran from the Prophet (SAWA) as he is responsible to explain to the people what was been revealed to guide them ( 16:44).

The Prophet himself has clearly stated that the purified persons meant in Quran 33:33 are Ahlul Bayt who are Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husain (AS). (Saheeh Muslim, Hadeeth 4450, Tirmithi; Hadeeth 3129 and 3719).
'The Prophet (SAWA) did not allow any of his wives to join the purified who are Ahlul Bayt only. (Tirmithi: Hadeeth 3806)

Wassalam.