Scholars

Scholars are people who devote themselves to study, particularly to an area in which they have developed expertise. A scholar may also be an academic, a person who works as a teacher or researcher at a university or other higher education institution. An academic usually holds an advanced degree.

114268

Scholars . Wilaya Takwiniyya

What is meant by the concept of Wilaya Takwiniyya? What are the views of the Shia scholars about it?

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 weeks ago

Al-Wilayah al-Takweeniyyah الولاية التكوينية is a new term used by the recent scholars which means the gift from Allah to His most humble servants enabling them to do things which are impossible for others, e.g. the ability of reviving a dead to make him alive, which was granted to prophet Easa Jesus (AS) (3:49), the ability to make the pieces of dead birds come together alive which was granted to prophet Ebraheem (AS).(2:260), the ability to travel from Macca to Al-Quds then from their to the skies and return back in the same night which was granted to the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) etc.

The gift of Wilayah Takweeniyyah is used by the most humble servants of Allah (SWT) to serve the message of Allah to guide people to the Truth.

All Muslim sects believe in extra ordinary acts done by humble servants of Allah. It is something gifted by Allah (SWT) similar to Wilayah Takweeniyyah.

Wassalam.

113534

Scholars

As different scholars and Ayatollahs have different Fatwas on certain issues, how will Allah judge between the Muslims acting upon the different rulings?

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 4 weeks ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. The need to follow the fatwa of a jurist stems from the requirement to act on knowledge. In a world of imperfect knowledge it is natural that different experts will come to different conclusions. For the person acting on rulings their responsibility is to try their best to act on knowledge by acting in correspondence with the conclusions of those they believe are in a better position to ascertain what their stance should be on a particular issue and that is what they will be judged on. And Allah is the All Knowing.

May you always be successful

112973

Scholars . Ilm al-Rijal . Hanbali

Who is the most important Hanbali scholar of the Ilm al Rijal?

Ahmad ibn Hanbal is considered among the Hanbali sect as the most important in Ilm al-Rijaal.
There is famous book ( Tabaqaat al-Hanaabilah)طبقات الحنابلة لابن أبي يعلى complied by Ibn Abi Ya'la who classified the Hanbali Ulama in to six degrees.

Ahmed Ibn Hanbal died on 241 Hijri. His sons Abdullah and Salih are considered prominent after him.

'Wassalam.

105722

Narrations . Scholars . Qur'an . Ilm al-Rijal

Do we have evidence from the Quran and narrations that supports the use of Ilm al-Rijal by our scholars?

Yes of course. Ilm al-Rijal is the knowledge which makes us know the trust worthy person from others. Allah orders us in Quran to verify any information or news and not to take it blindly. Sura 49, Verse 6. With out proper verification things will be mixed and we will not know which narration is authentic and one is not. Liars in history till today are too many. Thousands or more narrations were fabricated for political reasons and other worldly reasons. Ilm al-Rijal enables us to verify and avoid false narrations and take and act upon authentic narrations narrated by pious trustworthy persons.

Wassalam.

103489

Son . Catholic . Girl . Scholars . Marriage . Sunni-Shi'a . Mut'a (Temporary marriage)

My Shia son wishes to marry a Catholic girl which some scholars allow while others only allow temporary marriage. Is reciting the Nikah necessary in this case?

Muslim man is not allowed to permanently marry a Non Muslim woman from people of Book. Temporary marriage is permissible under some conditions.

Nikah is the recitation of the marriage agreement whether permanent or temporary which is must.

Wassalam.

102609

Scholars . Qur'anic Exegesis (Tafsir)

There are several commentaries of the Quran by acclaimed Islamic scholars. Can these be accepted completely as authentic? If not, how does one distinguish between what is credible and otherwise in these Tafsir works?

Not all of the commentaries are completely authentic. Many commentaries contain unauthentic narrations or incorrect views or opinions. You need to seek guidance from sincere and knowledgeable scholars before taking any commentary fore granted. You can take the commentaries written by our big scholars according to the authentic narrations from the Prophet (SAWA) and Ahlul Bayt (AS).

Wassalam.

100525

Istikhara . Scholars

I got Istikhara done from two scholars. One of them gave me a negative outcome and the other a positive one. What should I do now?

It was wrong to do second Istikhara after you have done the first one. Istikhara is one time only for one matter and there is no meaning to second Istikhara unless the matter has changed and became another matter.

'You are advised to act upon the first Istikhara.

'Wassalam.

96594

Scholars . Hadith al-Kisa'

I have heard from someone who seems to be a scholar that the narration of Hadeeth-e-Kisa is fabricated and that there is no strong source for it. He also said that the way it is read is not in the sequence the event happened. Can you clarify this matter?

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 10 months ago

There are two ways to look at this. "Hadith al-Kisa'" can be used for a group of narrations, mostly short narrations, describing the general event in which the Prophet (S) covered Ahl al-Bayt (A) with a cloak and identified them. It is generally agreed that this event took place.

"Hadith al-Kisa'" is also used specifically for the longer narration of this event which is attributed to Fatimah al-Zahra (A) and which is often recited at gatherings today.

I assume your question is about the second one (that is, the longer narration of this attributed to Fatimah al-Zahra (A)).

It is reasonable to say that there are some questions surrounding its chain of narration. However, this does not automatically mean that is fabricated, unless there is evidence or an argument that it was fabricated. There is a big middle ground between "strongly authenticated chain of narration" and "fabricated", and, when dealing with texts that are over a thousand years old, many fall into this middle ground.

(I don't think the "sequence of events" argument is strong enough to declare it as fabricated, since no one today was alive back then to say exactly what the sequence of events was, but everyone is different.)

I would suggest that it is good to appreciate the general meaning of this narration, but not necessarily to hone in on every single word and use every word as absolute proof for the nature of reality, as some people sometimes do sometimes.

For instance, sometimes some people feel disappointed when they are having a personal problem and recite this text in a gathering, but their personal problem is not solved. This is because the text says that whoever recites it will have their problems solved. It is better simply to take that as an expression of hope that Allah might solve their problem, and that, perhaps, by reciting the text sincerely, it might bring them closer to Allah and inspire divine assistance or intercession. (Rather than taking it as a literal guarantee.)

At the same time, today, it has become a sort of customary "requirement" to recite this narration in certain gatherings, and this is also not correct. (If Allah has not required us to do something, who are we to require others to do it, such that we might attack or condemn them if they don't?) It is fine to recite it, or fine to skip it.

Unfortunately we are living in a time where there is a lot of intolerance, some people need things to be absolutely right or wrong, either absolutely correct or fabricated, you either have to recite it all the time or never recite it at all. The reality is, it isn't really possible to apply that standard to much of our textual heritage (apart from the Qur'an) since we are dealing with texts that are over a thousand years old. What can be said is that the text exists, it has become part of the Shi'i custom and perhaps there is a reason for that. There is spiritual merit in reciting it and pondering over it, in any case it should be treated with respect. However if someone chooses to focus on other texts, that is also fine. Either way, they should not be attacked for their decision.

At the end of the day, actions are judged by intentions, and if someone is approaching Allah sincerely in a devotional manner through using a text attributed to Fatimah al-Zahra (A), I am sure that Allah would appreciate that and respond in kind.

Scholars . Hadith al-Kisa'

Hadith al-Kisaa' is one the most authentic hadiths in both Sunni and Shia books. It is a Mutawatir متواتر Hadith.

The meaning of hadith al-Kisaa' is agreed upon by all the scholars of the science of hadith in both Sunni and Shia schools of thought.

This stage of confirmed authenticity is called tawatur ma'nawi تواتر معنوي which means it has been narrated by most authentic narrators in the same meanings of it.

Umm Salama, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), Aisha, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri and many other well known narrators have narrated the incident of the kisa being put by the Prophet (SAWA) on Ali (as), Fatima (as), Hassan (as) and Hussain (as) with him and his dua to Allah (swt) saying "Allahuma haa'ula'i Ahlubayti" which means "Oh Allah, these are my Ahlul Bayt (progeny)".

Hadith al-Kisaa', which is recited in many gatherings of the momineen, is also narrated fromJabir ibn Abdallah Al-Ansari from Lady Fatima (AS) by authentic Shia ulama like Sheikh Abdullah al-Bahrani in his well known book al-'Awalim.

The narration is continuous by authentic narrators until al-Sheikh al-Kulayni who narrated it by continuous change of authentic narrators till Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari. The hadith has been narrated by:

·        Shahid al-Shushtari who is well known in India as al-Shahid Salis (Thaalith) in his book Ihqaq al-Haq (vol 2, page 554)
·        Al-Turaihi in his book al-Muntakhab
·        Sheikh al-Daylami in his book al-Ghurar wal-Durar
·        Zain al-Dimishqi al-Hanafi who is a Sunni scholar

A person who tells you that hadith al-Kisaa' does not have a good source of narrators has misunderstood the situation of this Hadith or maybe has less knowledge about Hadith al-Kisaa'.

There are people who create doubt about anything even about Allah (swt) and the Qur'an or the Prophet (SAWA) but we don't care for anyone who creates doubt when they do not have any authentic evidence.

Great ulama have narrated hadith al-Kisaa' and its meaning has been narrated by main Shia and Sunni books of hadith.

Hadith al-Kisaa' in its meaning is the incident of the kisa when the Prophet (pbuh) kept the kisa on Ali (as), Fatima (as), Hassan (as) and Hussain (as), and Jibrail also coming and taking part with them is also narrated by:

·        Sheikh al-Tusi in his book al-Amani
·        Tafsir al-'Ayyashi
·        Tafsir Furat al-Kufi
·        Tafsir al-Qummi by Ali ibn Ibrahim
·        The book of Sulaym ibn Qays
·        Kitab al-Khisal by Sheikh al-Saduq

We need to be careful of those who claim anything against our faith, claiming they have some doubts. Let their doubts remain with them, for them and on them, but they have no right to create doubt among the believers regarding a hadith which is one of the most authentic hadiths.

In Sunni books the hadith al-Kisaa is narrated in its meaning in:

·        Sahih Muslim (vol 4, page 1501, hadith no. 2424)
·        Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal (vol 6, page 292)
·        Sunan al-Tirmidhi (hadith no. 3796)
·        Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain by al-Hakim al-Nishapuri (vol 3, page 133)
·        Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah (vol 6, page 373, hadith nos. 32093, 32094)
·        Asbab al-Nuzul by al-Wahidi (page 295)
·        Al-Suyuti in al-Durr Al-Manthur (vol 5, page 198)
·        Ibn Taymiyyah, the well known enemy of the Ahlul Bayt (as), admitted the authenticity of hadith al-Kisaa' in his book Minhaj al-Sunnah (vol 3 page 4)

You mentioned in your question that the person who told you that hadith al-Kisaa' has no strong source seems to be a scholar. I am sorry to say that he might seem to be a scholar among people who are not scholars but a person who speaks this about hadith al-Kisaa' according to the authentic scholars needs to go and study the authentic sources of Hadith al-Kisaa. He needs to study and research more to know that hadith al-Kisaa' is one of the most authentic hadiths.
Wassalam.

91796

Islam . Scholars . Shisha

Is Shisha considered permissible in Islam? Is there any difference of opinion on this matter among scholars?

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 11 months ago

It is not forbidden

91641

Scholars . Sunni-Shi'a . Art

Are there any Shia scholars who say that making pictures of Imam Ali (AS) and Imam Hussain (AS) is forbidden?

The drawings claimed to be similar to the image of Imam Ali (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) are linked with some cultures in places where Muslims live. Muslims in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Iran accept these drawings because of the common culture in those places accepts drawings of divine personalities, while Muslims is the Indian sub-continent, Indonesia, Malaysia and Far East do not have such culture. Many Shia scholars in these countries do not allow such drawings. Our leading Ulama in the Hawza say that these drawings are not more than the imagination of the persons who draw it. No one is allowed to claim that such drawings are the real image of the Infallible.

Wassalam.

88028

Islam . Chess . Scholars . Gambling

I understand that playing any game that involves placing a bet is Haram in Islam. But why is chess considered Haram even when played without a bet? Is there a difference of opinion on this matter among the scholars?

It is because there are hadith specifically prohibiting chess.

Ayatollah Khamene'i allows chess if it is not being used for gambling, but in general the traditional view is that it is not allowed.

God knows best.