Faith (Iman)

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Nationalism . Ahl al-Bayt . Faith (Iman)

What have Ahlulbait (as) said about nationalism and patriotism? Is there a Hadith that says that loving one's homeland is part of faith?

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 mese fa

Love of one's homeland, and nationalism/patriotism are somewhat different things.

Love of Allah's creation is a good thing, and it is also a good thing to want to care for and defend your homeland.

Nationalism and patriotism in the modern era are ideological movements. Nationalism oftentimes relates to an arbitrarily drawn set of boundaries which separated formerly related peoples.

Today, nationalism and patriotism have an ugly side which can sometimes lead to hatred of the "other" or the "outsider", worshipping the flag, or caring only about what happens to the people within one's nation-state or ethnic/racial group. (For instance, neo-nazism.)

So it is good to love and develop one's homeland, but it is also good to be cautious about the negative side of modern nationalism.

Regarding hadith, there is a narration that love of one's homeland is part of faith (hubb al-watan min al-iman). However, the narration is weak, and poorly sourced, and some people consider it to have been fabricated so it is not really certain that the Prophet (S) said it, although it is often quoted today. Watan (homeland) here has also been understood to mean the hereafter, since the hereafter is the final home of everyone.

Here are some reflections by 'Allamah Tabataba'i in Tafsir al-Mizan on the nature of a society which might be pertinent. As one can see, a society is inherently neither good or bad (thus, supporting it is not inherently good or bad in and of itself, and most societies have both good and bad):

"The Qurʾan teaches that society is formed from a collection of individuals while being more than merely the sum of its parts. When people form a society, they create a new entity with its own life and identity. A society lives, ages, and dies; feels and decides: grows weaker and stronger; has its own duties; and is capable of both virtue and wickedness, and of attaining both happiness and misery, just like any individual human being. All of this has been explained by a multitude of verses in the Qurʾan, and it is something we have repeatedly pointed to through the course of our previous discussions."

141255

Islam . Sunni-Shi'a . Faith (Iman)

I have examined every sect of Islam, Sunni, Shia, Ibadi, Quranists, and I still don't know which one is the correct way. How can I make my faith stronger in the correct and true Islam?

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).

132220

Hell . Hijab . Shorts . Faith (Iman)

Am I going to hell if I don't wear Hijab and if I wear shorts and blouses while I have a good character, pray 5 times a day, help the needy, am nice to people, study Islam in my free time and have faith in Allah SWT?

Allah knows best who is going to hell or not, and no one here can answer that question for anyone.

Even if you do not wear hijab, it is more appropriate to wear clothing that is longer than shorts to respect the value of modesty.

124339

Marriage . Fear . Sin . Faith (Iman)

I am 30 years old, not good-looking, and I don't have a stable career. I don't wish to delay marriage and want to complete half my faith but most importantly I am in fear of falling into sin. What should I do?

Inshallah you will find someone. As they say, there is somebody for everybody.

Attraction is somewhat different from conventional standards of beauty or handsomeness; sometimes two people like each other even if they don't fit society's definition of what is attractive. And, of course, different people have different ideas of what they find attractive in a mate. So, I am sure you have some features or qualities which are appealing!

And, of course, not everyone is looking primarily at physical appearance; some people value inner qualities such as compassion, helpfulness, reliability, and other things; or they admire other skills such as artistic skill, intellect, sports skill, charitable work, good conversation, or whatever. This is, of course, apart from religiosity.

If you really feel you are not physically appealing, then maybe it is good to focus on demonstrating the other personal qualities you have to offer, and this could make you look good in the other person's eyes. Most people would much prefer to be with someone who genuinely demonstrates they will look after them and be there for them or other demonstrations of good character (such as helping others) rather than someone who just looks good.

If you are male, you could consider that a lot of women don't look primarily at physical appearance especially if they are looking to settle down and have a stable life. If you need to convince the family, certainly most women's families couldn't care less what the man looks like. At the end of the day, physical appearance waxes and wanes, but a person's character remains.

As for career, do your best (and these are difficult times). But also remember that, these days, depending on where you live, there isn't always a social expectation that the man will be the sole provider (even if he is obliged to be by shariah). Also, as women get older, if they are single, they are more likely to have a career and income. So, this might become less important if you look to marry someone in a slightly older age bracket. Inshallah Allah will enrich you upon marriage, as the Qur'an says.

In my observation, the main factors for people getting married and staying married are not handsomeness/beauty and wealth, but, rather, having a good set of family values and a strong sense of commitment, as well as maintaining strong social ties with others. (This is somewhat counter to what people think.)

Put differently, most people who genuinely want to get married, do get married.

Often, when people don't get married, there is sometimes some underlying reason; for instance, they aren't really wanting commitment, they are unable to make up their mind, or there is something else pushing a potential spouse away (apart from financial reasons). So if you know someone who has good insight into human beings, you could ask the if there is anything that you might change in how you are looking for a spouse or how you are interacting with potential spouses or their families.

Of course, there could be nothing for them to say and it could simply be a matter of circumstances or simply not being the right time for you.

Anyway, inshallah, will do duas for your finding a good spouse. Continue to ask Allah especially on laylat al qadr and Allah is shy to reject duas!

Marriage . Fear . Sin . Faith (Iman)

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 11 mesi fa

You should try your best to get married with a suitable believer as soon as possible. Outer looking is not important nor financial situation as far as faith and morals are nice.

Marriage itself opens gates of income as we read in the Hadeeth: Get married for more income, surely marriage brings blessings in income. تزوّجوا للرزق فإن فيهن بركة.

Keep on repeating Salawaat and Istighfaar and reciting the verse: إنّ هذا لَرِزقُنا ما له مِن نَفاد Sura 38, verse 54.

Wassalam .

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God (Allah) . Faith (Iman) . Imam Ali

Imam Ali (a) said about Allah’s existence that he did not see Him with his eyes but with the realities of faith. What is meant by that and how can we see Allah in such a manner?

1. Imam Ali (AS) has the maximum and highest level of intellect after the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), that is why his faith in Allah is the maximum after the Prophet (SAWA). The Hadeeth stated that the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) told Ali (AS): O Ali, no one Knew Allah (properly) but myself and you.
2. Seeing Allah by eyes is impossible because He is above all senses and He can never be confined or limited to any sense. Allah is The Creator of all senses and whatever can be sensed and whatever can not be sensed.
3. Proper Intellect leads us to the fact that lot of things in the existence are comprehended and known by intellect and reason not by materialistic senses.
4. Realities of Faith in Allah (SWT) are in each and every thing in this universe, but many people don't see it because of their indulging in darkness of sins which disable their intellectual abilities. When the heart is clean from sins, mind is transparent and more able to see the realities which are behind the outer senses. These realities lead the human being to the absolute Truth of Allah.

5. Realities of faith are for every believer according to his degree in the purity of heart and proper thinking. More purity in heart leads to more proper thinking which in turn leads to discovering more realities of faith.

6. The Faith in Allah is the faith in the greatest Truth in the universe. Proper intellect can never deviate from clear facts, what about the greatest Fact. Faith in Allah increases by proper thinking which leads to comprehending more realities of faith.

Wassalam.

God (Allah) . Faith (Iman) . Imam Ali

Imam Ali (a) said about Allah’s existence that he did not see Him with his eyes but with the realities of faith. What is meant by that and how can we see Allah in such a manner?

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 12 mesi fa

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. What is being referred to in this hadith is perhaps along these lines: Physical beings are senses with the physical senses and since Allah is not confined to matter and doesn't have a material form He cannot be seen with the physical eyes. But the human is endowed with senses that are capable of comprehending the metaphysical. In order to make use of them a person cannot be in doubt of their existence. The realities of faith are sensed with these senses and this is the field of religious experience. God is seen through the veil of His Perfections deep within the being of a human.

May you always be successful

116760

Heart . Faith (Iman) . Death

Can the religious faith of a person become so low that it dies or leaves a person's heart?

It depends on the state of the heart and the love of Allah in the heart. There are faithful persons living the love of Allah in their hearts more than loving anything or anyone else, so they enjoy this love and get ample of blessings and bounties from the love of Allah. Love of Allah makes them always remember Him, obey Him and be with Him.
On the other hand, there are persons who forget Allah and ultimately forget themselves as we read in Quran about the sinners: They forgot Allah, so He let them forget themselves, those are the disobedient) (Sura 59, verse 19).

Faith in the heart can be healthy and it can be ill. Healthy faith can be more healthy (Allah grants more guidance for the guided believers)(Sura 47, verse 17). Unhealthily hearts in faith are caused from wrong thinking, following the evil desires and following Satan. Those who opt to ignore remembering Allah, and insist on turning their face from Allah will be joined by Satan to make them more blind and make their life more miserable.(Whosoever turns his face from remembering Me, his life will difficult and We will raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection) (Sura 20, verse 124).

Remembering Allah and thinking about His countless bounties on us help us a lot to have a better life with strength and peace of mind. Repeating Estighfaar (Seeking forgiveness) and repeating Salawaat is very useful in gaining peace of mind and spirit.
Sinful acts leave blots on the heart which can be removed by sincere seeking forgiveness, but those who don't seek forgiveness will lose the light in their heart as they commit more sins till their heart can be blotted by their sins.

'We always need to seek from Allah to keep us on the right path and never let us deviate.(Our Lord, Let not our hearts deviate after You Have guided us, and grant us mercy from You, truly You are The Bestower) (Sura 3, verse 8).

Wassalam.

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Salah (Prayers) . Qur'an . Faith (Iman) . Yazid b. Mu'awiya . Huffaz

We often hear that the army of Yazid had people who prayed regularly and had memorised the Quran. Why did the faith of such people not get corrected since we hear that Namaz is a mentor that corrects faults within us?

Some Muslims pray but with out understanding the message of Prayers and don't obey the Prophet (SAWA), like the Kharijites of that time and ISIS of today.

Real Prayer which purifies us is performed with humble obedience of Allah (SWT) and the Prophet (SAWA) and Ahlul Bayt (AS).

Wassalam.

112344

Narrations . Imamah . Meaning . Faith (Iman) . Taqiyya (Dissimulation)

What do the Imams mean by the prohibition against divulging their secrets that is mentioned in certain narrations? What is exactly meant by concealing faith?

My understanding of this is that it is with respect to spiritual matters, particularly the spiritual position of Ahl al-Bayt (A) in that if some people who did not have an understanding of this heard some people talking about it openly, they might react negatively due to ignorance.

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Faith (Iman)

What can one do to assure and strengthen their faith so that they always stay Muslim?

Two suggestions are:

* Qur'anic du'as, such as Qur'an 3:8.

* Spending time with believers (that is, Muslims who appear to have genuine faith and demonstrate good character, and who conduct themselves in a way that embodies the values of the Qur'an) and prioritizing living in an area with a strong and healthy Muslim community - ideally, somewhere where one can attend congregational prayers often. We become like those whom we spend time with.

I am sure there are some other good suggestions that will be mentioned too.

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Wife . Husband . Sunni-Shi'a . Faith (Iman) . Children

If a wife is Shia and husband is not Shia and she cannot practice her faith in front of him and is unable to teach Shia faith to her kids, will she be held accountable on the day of Judgment for not teaching her kids the correct path? What can she do?

Every Muslim is responsible to teach his/her children the True Faith in Allah, the Prophet (SAWA) and Ahlul Bayt (AS). Shia wife must do whatever she can to teach her kids the Truth about Islam of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and Ahlul Bayt (AS). Allah knows her abilities and she must use all her abilities in this regard.

'Wassalam.