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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 religious questions. In the past, he has also spent significant time in India guiding the community. 2623 Answers
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Mahmood Abu Maryam,
Trying to make sense of it all... 48 Answers
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Mohammed Al-Hilli,
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hilli, originally from Iraq, has a Masters in Pharmacy from the University of London. He completed his Hawza degree from the ICAS in London under the supervision of Ayatollah Fadhil Milani, and also has an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University via the Islamic College. He is a teacher at the Hawza Programme at Islamic College in London. 8 Answers
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Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour,
Sheikh Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour is lecturer of Islamic Studies at the Islamic College for Advanced Studies, London, and a visiting lecturer at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Oriental Studies. He was raised in Iran and holds a BA and an MA in Sociology from Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran. He has also studied at Queen Mary College London and the London School of Economics. 15 Answers
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Saleem Bhimji,
Shaykh Saleem Bhimji was born and raised in Canada. After completing his post-secondary education at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), he moved to Medina, New York, to study at the Imam al-Asr Theological Seminary. He later continued his religious studies at the Hawza of Qum. To date he has translated over 40 full-length books into English that have been printed worldwide. 15 Answers
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Abbas Jaffer,
Sheikh Abbas Jaffer is an optometrist by profession and has a Master’s degree in Islamic Sciences. He is a part time lecturer at the Islamic College in London and is currently writing his doctoral thesis on the challenges faced by educators of young Muslims in modern day Britain. He has also co-authored a book on Qur’anic sciences for the Islamic College as well as translating several works from Persian into English. 14 Answers
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Vinay Khetia,
Shaikh Vinay Khetia has studied at various traditional Islamic seminaries in London, Iraq and Syria. He has an undergraduate degree in Religious and Near Eastern Studies from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in the History and Philosophy of Religion from Concordia University. He is a PhD Candidate in the department of Religious Studies at McMaster University with a focus on the intellectual history of Islam and specifically Shi'ism. 14 Answers
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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 from the University of Exeter in the philosophical and mystical readings of Mulla Sadra in the context of the schools of Tehran and Qum. 352 Answers
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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 Islamic College in London and also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies. 530 Answers
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Abbas Di Palma,
Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in London, Damascus and Qom and taught for different institutions in Italy and UK. 208 Answers
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Syed Nabi Raza Abidi,
Syed Nabi Raza Abidi is based in the US and has a PhD in Theology and Philosophy having attended Howzah in Iran for several years. His research was conducted under the guidance of Ayatollah Ja'far Subhani. He has also taught various subjects such as Usul, Fiqh, Philosophy, and Tafseer in different Islamic schools. 3 Answers
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Abolfazl Sabouri,
Abolfazl Sabouri is based in New Zealand and has an MA in Jurisprudence and Islamic Studies. He is a graduate of Elmiyeh seminary in Qom with more than 15 years of study and research where he has also taught Tafsir, Theology and Jurisprudence. 43 Answers
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Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb,
Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb has a BA in Law from Guilan University, Iran and has also undertaken Hawzah studies in Qom. He is a Cultural Affairs director of Ethics Group of Al-Mustafa Open University and has also taught Arabic conversation at Masoomieh school. 67 Answers
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Masuma Jaffer,
Dr Masuma Jaffer is a qualified dentist, with a Masters in Islamic Studies and has also attended Hawza in Qum. She obtained a PGCE - teaching qualification – and has taught Hawza studies at the Islamic College in London. She also has a Diploma in Counselling and is a Qualified Chaplain and worked with women prisoners at Holloway and with Hertfordshire Police advising them on Muslim matters. 10 Answers
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Zaid Alsalami,
Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from ANU, Canberra. He has written and translated several Islamic texts and also prepared educational videos on Islamic rulings and practices. 480 Answers
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Seyed Ali Musawi,
Seyed Ali Musawi studied religion and history at the University of California, San Diego and subsequently he studied for more than 8 years at the Islamic Seminary in Qum, Iran, focusing on Islamic history and jurisprudence. 11 Answers
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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 Islamic College of London. He also studied at the Hawza Ilmiyya of England and continues Hawza and Islamic studies with private teachers. 149 Answers
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The habit of folding ( crossing)
hands during Salaah came from non-Muslims (notably Zoroastrians) and wasn’t part of the Salaah of the Holy Prophet (sawa), nor during the government of Abu Baker. However, during the rule of Umer ibn Khattab, when Persia was concurred by Muslims, several prisoners of war were brought from Persia to Madina. They folded their hands in front of Umer, who asked them why they did so. They responded that it was their habit in front of respected people. Umer liked it and decided to keep it in the prayer. Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s) and many of the Sahaba refused this, because no one has the right to change or add or to omit anything from the Salaah, and the Prophet (sawa) had famously said, “Pray as you saw me praying.
Therefore Amir ul Mo’mineen (a.s), his followers (Ammar ibn Yasir, Salman al Farsi, Abu Dhar al Ghifari) and all of his other pious companions continued opening their hands while praying, exactly like the Prophet (s) used to.
In the Sunni school of thought, none of the four leading jurists (Abu Hanifa, Shafi’i, Malik ibn Anas, Ahmad ibn Hanbal) ever said that it was obligatory to fold hands during Salaah, because there was no evidence to support it. Imam Malik even said it was not good to fold hands, and all Malikis thus open their hands in Salaah. A famous Sunni ‘Aalim from Egypt, Sayyid Sabiq, wrote in his book Fiqh as Sunnah: “we do not have even a single authentic Hadith that the Prophet (s) ever folded his hands in the Salaah.
Numerous famous individuals from the Sunni school of thought such as Abdullah ibn Zubayr and Laith bin Saad didn’t fold their hands either. Folding hands in Salaah was therefore not part of Islam, it was brought to Muslims from non Muslims by Umer ibn Khattab.
Wassalam.