Life

77221

Life . Qur'an . Salah (Prayers) . God (Allah)

How can I do life activities like exercising and studying and not feel like I am wasting time because I should be reading the Koran, praying and reading Tasfir for the sake of Allah? How do I manage this feeling?

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 23 hours ago

The meaning of worshiping Allah (SWT) is not limited to reading Quran or Tafseer or praying Salah but it is much wider up to the extend of including all useful life activities including studying, working, eating, exercising, resting etc as far as the activity is done for noble cause e.g. being healthy to do good.

There is a Prophetic Hadeeth advising to keep every act of life, for the sake of Allah. That will make life a continuous worship.

Wassalam.

72342

Life . God (Allah)

I am going through a pretty stressful time in my life right now and I feel I’m a bit lost and need guidance from God. What is the best way to ask Him for help and guidance?

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... Answer updated 2 months ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Trials in life are part of our journey towards the All-Merciful and as such seeking guidance is as simple as asking for it and having faith that an answer will present itself. In asking this question and seeking an answer you are already on the path of guidance. Consult with rational, helpful and experienced people for the issues at hand and then put your trust in God. All believers are in the best situation for them at any given time.

For more traditions and explanation about dealing with trials see this three part series on The Scale of Wisdom Podcast:

Part 1:

https://anchor.fm/zoheir-ali-esmail/episodes/Episode-75-51-261-263-Ordea...

Part 2:

https://anchor.fm/zoheir-ali-esmail/episodes/Episode-76-51-264-268-Ordea...

Part 3:

https://anchor.fm/zoheir-ali-esmail/episodes/Episode-77-51-269-276-Ordea...

The upcoming episode on anxiety may also be useful (release date 11th May 2020)

May you always be successful.

71237

Wealth . Life . God (Allah)

How can one strive in the way of Allah with one's wealth and life in this day and age?

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. The major struggle in the way of Allah is the struggle of self-purification and freeing the self from the commands of the lower self. It is a long journey where the mind finds purity and connection with God. A person can strive with their life force to reach the lofty aims of purification and knowledge, and they can spend their wealth in order to achieve these aims through sponsoring humanitarian projects and helping those in need.

May you always be successful

71480

Life

What are the teachings of the Ahlul Bayt (AS) and Mujtahideen about developing consistency in one's life and work?

Consistency in life can be achieved when the aims of life are in
accordance with the acts and activities, when the daily practices are
in the same line of the noble aims of life, as been given by the
creator of life, Almighty Allah SWT, then consistency will be
achieved. There is no consistency if the noble aims go in a direction
and the acts go in a different direction. The person will feel torn
and will never feel consistency, because of the contradiction between
the noble aims of life and the practices. The key factor of getting
consistency in life is to be with Allah SWT and being with Allah SWT
is the only source of peace of mind and when we be with Allah SWT, we
keep our acts according to his teachings which are the teachings of
peace, justice, sympathy, mercy then consistency can be achieved in
our life.

Wassalam.

67359

Life . Punishment . Dunya

What is the Islamic response for those who wish they were not born into this existence, who wish they were not part of the world in this life or the next and want neither the punishment nor the reward?

Every human being who has basic intellectual faculty believes that his
existence in this life is the most valuable. That is why you find
that everyone including small children try to avoid any danger on
life and they do whatever they can to save this life. Those who have
mental or psychological problems feel sometimes that they wish they
were not born. This feeling goes against the basic instinctive
knowledge of all human beings and cannot be taken as normal feeling
but it needs to be dealt with as a mental and psychological problem.
Hence it needs to be treated through specialist health experts and
other ways of treatment. No doubt the best treatment for mental and
psychological conditions is remembering Allah (SWT). Remembering Allah
(SWT) is the source of peace of mind and tranquility.

Even those whose claim that they wish that they were not born are not
sure about their feelings and that is why you find them if they face
any danger then they try to avoid it and save their lives. So their
feeling itself is not firm.

Islam teaches us to appreciate the bounties which we have been granted
and one of the greatest bounties is that Allah (SWT), the Most
Merciful, the Most Compassionate has granted us life after we were not
existing as Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Qur’an : Has there not been
one moment in time when he was not existing (Surah al-Insan : verse
1).

Such people need to be looked after with more sympathy and should be
morally and medically supported. They should be advised to remember
the source of peace of mind and keep on remembering Allah (SWT). That
will make them feel the taste of life and enjoy it and thank the
Creator Allah (SWT)

Wassalam.

Life . Punishment . Dunya

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 4 months ago

It sounds like this person is going through a tough time.

Life has easy and difficult times, sometimes very difficult times. It is good to have faith that there is light at the end of the tunnel and to contemplate on the verses of the Qur'an about Allah's mercy. Nothing stays the same forever and things often change in ways we could never imagine. Until then, however, it is sometimes necessary to walk in the darkness until reaching the light. The good thing about darkness, however, is sometimes it makes the light clearer.

Existence is not a choice, since a person who dies continues to exist. However, it is good to have faith that Allah has a plan and does not create anything in vain; just because we do not understand why we, individually, were created does not mean that we do not have our own specific reason for being.

Some might argue that Qur'an 7:172 which speaks of human beings testifying to the existence and lordship of Allah (in the realm of pre-existence, or in some other way) implies that we gave a sort of agreement to existing, even if we do not remember it now. Some might also argue that Qur'an 33:72 implies a sort of willingness to exist and accept the risks/consequences of free will, even if we currently do not want it - God knows best.

If this person is also dealing with depression or a psychological condition (either as a condition by itself or as a response to challenging circumstances), they could also look into psychological/psychiatric interventions and see if they are useful and appropriate at the moment to help get more zest for life.

If it is more of a spiritual or existential crisis (and all of the above can go hand in hand), more study and reflection of the Qur'an and theology and the big questions of life may help. In the end, while Muslims, like others, offer answers to questions such as "why do we exist?", it is one of those big questions that people have pondered for millenia, and although religions can provide answers, I think it is also something people often need to find answers for inside themselves.

Life . Punishment . Dunya

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. It is God who decides who exists and that is not the choice of an individual. What is in their choice is what they do with the life they are given, and not wanting life, reward or punishment is not something that absolves them from that responsibility.

May you always be successful

66173

Life . Paradise . Salah (Prayers) . Sawm (Fasting)

For those who enter Jannah, do certain actions that are obligatory in this life remain obligatory over there as well, such as prayers and fasting?

No. There is no purpose to fasting without a physical body, anyway.

However there are different forms of worship associated with greater awareness of Allah and greater nearness to Allah which is part of being in jannah.

66147

Life . Punishment . Justice

How can we respond to people who say that no crime in the time-bound finite life of a man can entail everlasting punishment for all time to come? How does that reconcile with Divine justice?

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. There are a number of responses to this question as the question is usually raised with a number of presuppositions. The Justice of God is not measured by the benchmark mentioned in the question as what it means for God to be Just is that He accords everything and everyone their rightful place. Justice is not an issue of time in punishment, as otherwise it may be asked that why should someone, who in a short moment in their life did something awful, like killing a child, for example, face a lifetime in prison.

As such, one responses is that the time in which humans are tested within a corpreal plane is enough for them to make a decision about their actions. There are only certain people that will face everlasting punishment and they are the type of people that are not repentant for their wrongful actions and as such would continue performing them into perpetuity. They are therefore deserving of everlasting punishment as given the opportunity they would oppress in such a manner too. Everlasting punishment is, therefore, the correct place for them.

May you always be successful

64991

Life . Insurance . Islam

Is whole term life insurance allowed in Islam?

Yes, life insurance is allowed according to our leading scholars because it is taken as what is known in jurisprudence as (هبة مشروطة) ( Conditional gift) because of the agreement between the costumer and the insurance company that he gives to the insurer a certain amount ( premium) with a condition that the insurer must give him or his family a certain amount if any thing happens to him or his family, etc.

Wassalam.

64218

Life . Number

Where can I find a list of all the obligatory acts that a male has to do in his life and also the number of times you have to perform them?

You need to read brief books of jurisprudence e.g. Jurisprudence made easy which can be found in websites like:

www.sistani.org

www.sistani .net

www.rafed.net and many other websites.

Wassalam.

62789

Life . Children . Hereafter . Procreation

In the next life, can a believing male and female procreate and have children in the same way they did in this world?

I am not aware of any Sunni or Shi'i texts that speak of producing new human beings in Paradise.

I don't wish to contradict myself because I just finished typing that people in Paradise can have whatever they want. However, perhaps they will not want to have children there because the situation is different. Also, often our desire to have children in this world is affected by hormones or society, or the desire to procreate is put into our hearts through divine mechanisms to carry out the plan of God for humanity. God knows best!