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.

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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 1 year ago

I guess this is a politically related question, but, in any case, there is no evidence that the Prophet (S) forced women to dress a certain way, he only advised.

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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 1 year ago

From the Qur'an and hadith, it is understood that every action is recorded, known, visible, and considered on the Day of Judgment, in light of the circumstances (for instance, intention, accidental deeds, and so forth), except for things which have been genuinely forgiven and which are erased.

However, we hope for Allah's mercy in accounting!
 

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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 1 year ago

Yes, you can go to mixed weddings, as long as the gatherings are appropriate and decent. You can use your good judgment about what is appropriate and decent.

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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 1 year ago

Yes

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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 1 year ago

If you already made the decision, there is no point to taking istikhara.

Anyway, it is good to talk with your mother about her concerns since she probably has some solid reasons for her view.

However, if you really don't like medicine, there is no purpose in studying it, because we don't do well at things we don't like. Also, no one wants to go to a doctor, nurse, surgeon, pharmacist, etc, who is not 100% committed to their job.

Wishing you the best, whatever you do! (And this answer is probably late!)

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Insan has been understood to refer to all human beings, or only Adam, but it does not change the meaning significantly. It seems most appropriate to understand it as referring to all human beings.

This ayah is understood to be a rhetorical question, along the lines of, "Was there ever any time when man was such an insignificant thing that he was not worthy of being mentioned?"

Here are 3 ways it has been understood:

(a) This could be after the process of creation of the human being had begun but before human beings had populated the earth.

This idea is supported by a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (A) that it refers to 'when he was created, but unworthy of mention'.

It is also narrated from Imam al-Baqir (A) that this verse means that 'the human being was mentioned in Allah's knowledge, but not in His creation'. That is, the human being had been decreed to exist, but did not exist yet on earth.

(b) Some exegetes also say this could be before the human was created at all. (The human only existed in the divine decree and knowledge, so the human was "mentioned" by God but not by anyone else.)

(c) It has also been understood to mean, "Was there ever any time when God was ignorant of the human being?" The answer to that is no, since God had knowledge of what He would create.

All of the meanings can work together too since the point is to emphasize the smallness of the human being compared to the divine, which is a theme that continues in the next ayah.

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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 1 year ago

It is good to continue to pray for guidance and to find the truth (as we all must do regularly!), since Allah answers those who sincerely pray for guidance. It is also good to follow whatever you know is true. Lastly, it is good to reflect on the Qur'an (I am sure you do that, but doing that more be helpful, as our understanding of the Qur'an often changes as we go throughout life).

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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 1 year ago

Yes.

(However, if you have a mental illness, this would be on the condition that you are able to care for yourself and live on your own, or else that you will have the required support and assistance. Since mental illnesses vary in nature, this may or may not be relevant to you personally.)

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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 1 year ago

In the modern era, some Muslims have become very sensitive to the question of shirk by considering any number of physical objects to be shirk. This includes sacred objects, shrines, etc.

(This idea primarily comes from Wahhabism and Salafism, but some other Muslims have taken it on board too.)

Similarly, Wahhabism and Salafism reject most forms of intercession as shirk, whereas many Muslims before that accepted the idea of intercession.

The Qur'an itself does not state that the notion of sacred objects is shirk. Rather, shirk is when you directly worship beings other than Allah.

So, keeping an alam, in and of itself, is not shirk.

Possibly, some views are cultural. Since alams are most common historically in Iran and the Indian Subcontinent, it has been more common for Shia in other regions, where alams were not common, to criticize the practice. (That is, it was seen as being culturally different and hence suspicious - man is an enemy of what he does not know.)

On the flip side, some Muslims in the Subcontinent have felt cautious about the cultural influence of Hinduism, and so for this reason try to avoid physical objects in devotional practices. (We tend to be most cautious about the things we are closest to, which might be seen as a competitor.) Although I think this is less common.

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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 1 year ago

A similar thing could be said for the Angel of Death: people are dying around the clock, and yet the Angel of Death is always on time!

Shaytan is a similar example - he can act on and be aware of many people at once, regardless of where they are located, without infringing on divinity.

Moving along from these morbid examples... My understanding is that once the soul leaves this world, it is not subject to the same restrictions of physical reality that we experience here (such as regarding space and time).

That could especially be said for those who have a high position near Allah, as well as other created beings which do not primarily exist on earth, such as archangels and the ruh.

Possibly they are able to "stretch" into various places at once while remaining in a place near Allah.

This is my understanding - Allah knows best.

In any case, this particular belief does not require ascribing them a divine attribute, although people may accept or reject the belief, or accept or reject the explanation.

It is a good question however!

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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 1 year ago

Marriage is optional.

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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 1 year ago

There isn't a lot of scholarly discussion about Reiki (although there is somewhat more discussion in Iran). On this topic, the following answer has been presented from Ayatollah Khamene'i:
 

Question: Is there any problem with Reiki or energy healing?

Answer: If it is done for a rationally acceptable purpose, and does not cause harm, and is not associated with corruption or sin [presumably, like harmful cults, using it as an excuse for inappropriate touching, etc], in and of itself, there is no problem.

https://hadana.ir/%D8%AD%DA%A9%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B1%DA%98%DB%8C-%D8%...

Tai chi - I don't have any specific references to fatwas on tai chi (perhaps someone else can post one). Presumably it would fall under the category of martial arts (since Eastern martial arts tend to be based in a worldview involving some element of chi, not just the mechanics of physical fighting) which tend to be allowed, unless there is any specific practice which conflicts with one's religious worldview that one should abstain from. (For instance, some Muslims may avoid bowing or prostration during martial arts training, even if they are cultural norms in some places.)

But, in general, these sorts of things tend to be theologically neutral since they are, essentially, practices. Even if they have some sort of underlying cosmological worldview that they are situated in, which comes from their cultures of origin, one can usually choose to accept or reject parts of the underlying worldview, since they are not usually required for the practice.

For instance, one cosmological worldview that is often mentioned during Reiki training is the idea that all human beings are interlinked and just have the illusion of separation (hence, we should be inclined to heal each other and be good to each other, rather than being selfish, egotistical, or self-serving). While this could be concordant with the Qur'an (since the Qur'an mentions that all human beings were created and will be resurrected as a single soul), some Muslims might not agree with that view and prefer to see people as entirely separate. However, accepting or rejecting the explanatory worldview is not necessary to carry out the actual practice, which is a procedure.

So, one can use one's own beliefs to decide what aspects of a practice to do or not do, or what ideas to accept or not accept, whether it be Tai Chi, Reiki, working in the media, attending university, socializing, or anything else we do in life where we have to make good decisions, and are sometimes in an environment where people have different cultures, beliefs, or worldviews.