Death

Death is the permanent cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include aging, predation, malnutrition, disease, suicide, homicide, starvation, dehydration, and accidents or major trauma resulting in terminal injury. In most cases, bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death.

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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... Answered 3 years ago

Yes, you can pray Salatul Walidain (Prayers for the Parents) and gift the reward of it to your living parents. Gifting the reward can be to the living as well as to the dead.

Wassalam.

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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... Answered 3 years ago

Shia Muslims mourn the tragedies of the Prophet (SAWA) and his Ahlul Bayt (AS) more than any other Muslim sect. No doubt, the tragedy of Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala is the greatest tragedy in the history of human kind looking at the details of it and the way it happened and the victims from infant child to women to the Imam himself and the inhuman acts by the enemies even by preventing Imam Husain and his family from drinking water despite being on the bank of the river, and other details of the tragedy which was declared by Imam Hasan before Karbala (No tragedy will be like your tragedy O Aba Abdillah (Husain)).

Our mourning on the tragedies of Imam Husain (AS) is according to greatness the deepest extent of the tragedies.

No other Muslim sect mourn the tragedies of the Prophet (SAWA) and his Progeny like the Shia Muslims.

Wassalam.

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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... Answered 3 years ago

Bismillah, 

Asalamu Alaykom, 

What he is doing is a very big sin and he cannot miss salah on purpose. He may have someone to do the missed salahs after his death however he won't be free of the punishment which he will brings upon himself for each intentional missed Salah. 

Share him the following hadith: 

Imam Ali [as] said: Verily, some people worshipped Allah being desirous (Of His reward) – so this is the worship of traders; and some people worshipped Allah fearing (His punishment) – so it is the worship of slaves, and a group worshipped Allah in gratitude (to Him) so this is the worship of the free. (Nahju ‘I-balaghah)

try to remind him of the benefits of the salah and help him in a way to beat his laziness. Tell him to try and count the endless amount of blessings he has and how rationally one must thank the one who blesses him. How is salah a burden compared to the life and sustenance that Allah has given us?! 
 

May Allah grant you success 

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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... Answered 3 years ago

Allah (SW) guided all His creatures to the Right Path and warned the human beings from wrong deeds. He also helps those who want to do good. Allah does not force people to do good nor does He force them to avoid bad. Human beings are granted intellect and free will and been asked to do good and avoid bad. If Allah forces people, then the whole matter of good and bad in our life will go away and differentiation will be impossible between good people and bad people. That is the Justice and Wisdom of Allah (SWT).

Wassalam.

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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... Answered 3 years ago

To pray to Allah (SWT) to deal with him with His Mercy. The Mercy of Allah includes everything as Allah says in Quran: And My Mercy included everything ورحمتي وسعت كل شيء

Wassalam.

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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 3 years ago

During the time of the Prophet (S), literacy was still new in his society, and his people did not have the custom of writing long books. They also did not have as much technology for writing as Muslims did later; for instance, much of the Quran was originally written on non-paper things like pottery shards. So it was not until later that the major Islamic books were written.

Also, there were a lot of things happening (including the need to handle military threats, the expansion of Islam, civil war, sorting out the practicalities of governing, and so forth), and people are more likely to write books when there is more stability. 

It is also quite possible that it didn't occur to some of the people to write a biography. After all, they all knew who the Prophet (S) was, and everything about their society was common knowledge to themselves. Why should they write a book about a subject that everyone knows about?

At the same time, the later companions or those from other regions most likely did not know a lot about the early life of the Prophet (S) because they came into the community later and only saw him in his final years.

Of course many details are passed on in hadith. 

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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 3 years ago

It is narrated that Imam Ali (A) spoke with the deceased in Wadi al-Salaam just by talking to them.

Anyway, the problem with trying to communicate with deceased people is that even if one feels one is getting communication, it is impossible to prove whether or not it actually comes from the deceased person (as opposed to, say, jinn, or one's imagination, or something else). 

Also it is better to let the deceased go and not to try to hold on to them as they have their own journey to make after this life. It is also not healthy for us to try to hold on to people after their time has come. It is better to have a clean break, mourn, and go on.

However, if there is something important to be resolved (for instance, a very bad relationship during this life, or something very important to know), I don't think there is any harm in simply speaking to them at their gravesite (if it is accessible/if they were buried) or even during a quiet time like after prayer, in hopes that it might be heard. After all, the way that the material world works is different from the way that the barzakh works. Many of us are often talking to Imam Husain (A), Fatima al-Zahra (A), etc, anyway, although they are deceased, and often even waiting to hear back from them somehow!

If Allah wills, one might find some sort of response sometime (for most people this sort of thing is in dreams), and perhaps not, but at least one did what one did. 

A minority of people have a strong inborn sense of perception of things that are generally not visible to other people and this is not always relating to piety, it is just a sense like any other sense, in the same way that some people are born with perfect pitch or an artistic eye. 

Some people have extensive a'mal for trying to speak to deceased people; I am not aware of any benefit or usefulness in them (but of course I cannot speak for everything as I am not familiar with everything). 

The best thing to do for the deceased is to pray for them or do good acts in their memory anyway. 

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 3 years ago

There is no communication between us and the deceased persons. Hadeeth says: The deceased is too far from the living person while the living person is too close to the deceased ( very near to die). ما أبعد الميت من الحي وأقرب الحي من الميت.

Some very pious servants of Allah can under certain circumstances communicate with certain deceased person if there is a religious necessity, but this  is not available to public.

Such pious servants of Allah do not come up in public and never claim anything. You need to be careful from those who claim to attract people's attention of benefits.

Wassalam.

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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 3 years ago

According to hadith, we will see and recognise our relatives in the barzakh.

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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... Answer updated 3 years ago

Hadeeth says: Allah created the souls of people 2000 years before creating their bodies, and He created their sustenance 2000 years before creating their souls.

Allah (SWT) Has granted enough sustenance for all His creatures, but arrogant people snatch away the rights of others causing them to be hungry. Ameerul Mo'minnen Ali (AS) said: No one becomes hungry but only because someone else has taken away his right. ما جاع فقير إلا بما منع به غني

The real cause of the poverty is the injustice done by wrong doers on others.

Wassalam. 

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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... Answered 3 years ago

The believers who die can meet their own relatives if they are believers whether they died before or after their death.

Wassalam.

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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... Answered 3 years ago

Yes, she remains his wife which means that she can wash his body in Ghusl of Mayyit and if she dies, her husband is allowed to wash her body.

Wassalam.