ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE IMAM (IMAMOLOGY) (part-2)
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LIVES OF THE TWELVE IMAMS
The First Imam Amir al-mu'minin Ali
Amir al-mu'minin Ali[1] - upon whom be peace - was the son of Abu Talib, the Shaykh of the Banu Hashim. Abu Talib was the uncle and guardian of the Holy Prophet and the person who had brought the Prophet to his house and raised him like his own son. After the Prophet was chosen for his prophetic mission, Abu ...
To refrain from testifying in an Islamic Court is clearly classified among the 'Greater sins' according to the authentic tradition narrated by Hazrat Abdul Azeem. There are some situations when it is Wajib to prove right what is right and to prove wrong that is wrong. In the narration mentioned in the previous discussion, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) states that to conceal evidence is a 'Greater sin'. He presents the following verse as the ...
The Qur'an refers on several occasions to the fact that it is the word of God, that it issues from a divine source in the very words in which the Prophet received them and which he later transmitted. The divine nature of the Qur'an is affirmed in several verses.
In III:33-34 we read:
"Or they say that (the Prophet) is inventing it. Indeed they do not believe. If they are truthful then let them produce words like it".
Likewise in ...
It is commonly agreed among all that lying is the worst of abominations, and no trait can ever be possessed by man worse than calumny, beside no group malady is there more problematic and incurable than slander. Despite the fact that lying among individuals and groups can be contained and eradicated, but its bad effects would be common and its harm would be tremendous when being against the Messenger of Allah. That is, falsily ascribing ...
Outside the complex system of his body, man has vast and vital dimensions that are not in any way confined by his bodily mechanism. In order to discover those aspects and planes that are beyond the bodily structure and physical dimension of man, one must search out the inward and spiritual structures of man and perceive the broad horizons of his comprehensive nature, together with the delicate and refined manifestations of his feelings and ...
Is it allowed to help a sinful person, by way of giving loan or solving his difficulties to one who does not pray or is an alcoholic? Sometimes it is very difficult to decide as to what is the proper course of action in such circumstances, because we are commanded to maintain a distance from sinners. Thus Ali (a.s.) says:
"The Messenger of Allah has ordered us to be unfriendly with the sinful people." (Wasaelush Shia)
Hazrat Imam Sadiq ...
Adultery is the root of degradation of society in the world and eternal punishment in the hereafter. Islam has therefore prescribed some obligatory rules for our protection. Allah, in His unsurpassed wisdom made these rules incumbent upon us. If these rules are obeyed, the Muslims can protect themselves from such a serious sin.
1.The Order for Hijab in the Quran
The Holy Quran has ordered women to cover themselves in some situations. \"And ...
Whenever there is a danger to life, honour and property and if the danger can be avoided by lying, one is allowed to lie. The danger could be to ones own life, honour and property or to that of someone else. So much so that it is also permitted to take a false oath in this situation and in some cases it even becomes wajib (obligatory) to speak a lie. E.g. when there is risk to ones life. In this case, it is wajib to save oneself by lying and ...
It must be remembered that a vow, oath or a promise should not be taken for a useless object. That is, the object must not be undesirable from the Islamic point of view. An oath taken to carry out some makrooh or haraam action, a vow to abstain from a wajib or a mustahab act is invalid. An oath taken for an action which is wajib and its avoidence haraam in a prevailing set of conditions, automatically becomes invalid if the conditions change. ...
The word 'Taqwa' is derived from the root 'waqaya' which means 'to safeguard' or 'to abstain'. In the Islamic terminology it is defined as the action of restraining oneself from disobeying the commands of Allah. When Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) was asked to elaborate on the meaning of the word, 'Taqwa' he replied, "Submit to the command (of Allah) and do not go near the prohibited." It means that one should endeavor to fulfill all the commands ...
Although, Shaheed-e-Sani and many other Mujtahids consider every kind of falsehood to be absolutely haraam and a great sin, yet we find in traditions that falsehood is of different grades. Among these different kinds of lies, are some that are certainly greatest of the sins and some are among the greater sins. There are also some types of lying about whom there exists a doubt whether they are "greater" or not. Let us examine each kind of ...
Following is the list of traditions reported by Sunni and Shia sources about the identification of Al- Mahdi'.1. The lmams are twelve in number, among whom the first is Ali b Abi Talib and the last is tile Mahdi - 91 hadith. 2. The Imams are twelve, arid the last one is the Mahdi - 94 hadith3. The Imams are twelve, nine among whom are the descendants of Husayn, and the ninth is the Qa'im - 107 hadith.4. Mahdi is from among the progeny of the ...
The word "Shia" means "followers; members of party". As such, the term "Shia" alone has no negative or positive meaning unless we specify the leader of the party. If one is a Shia (follower) of the most righteous servants, then there is nothing wrong with being Shia, specially if the leader of such party has been assigned by Allah. On the other hand, if one becomes the Shia a tyrant or a wrong-doer, he shall meet with the fate of his leader. ...
The greatest cause of the advancement of Shi'ism, however, was that bloody event which revolutionzed the Islamic world. This painful event of 61 A.H. which is known as the tragedy of Karbala' was the most momentous of its kind. The effects of the martyrdom of al-Husayn (a.s.) were felt by all, even those living in the most distant regions of the Muslim territory. Companions like Zayd ibn Arqam, Jabir ibn 'Abdillah al-Ansari, Sahl ibn Sa'd ...
In the opinion of the `ulama'-may God be pleased with them-`ujb is magnification of one's virtues and good deeds, their overestimation, and satisfaction with them accompanied with a feeling of superiority on their account, while one exonerates and exculpates himself from all failings and faults. But to feel pleasure(feast) and delight on performing virtuous deeds accompanied with a sense of humility and modesty before God and gratitude to ...
Another achievement of the Prophets is to bring the glad tidings to the people, to cheer them up and to predict the bright future. Indeed man lives on hopes and those schools of thought which have no belief in future and consider their future a nonentity and also consider death as a trifling affair just like the death of an animal. They consider life to be restricted to an affair of a few years of activity only and the sweetness and joys of life ...
Let it be known to you that tadhakkur (remembrance) is the result of tafakkur (contemplation). Hence the station of tafakkur has been considered to precede that of tadhakkur. Khwajah `Abd Allah al-'Ansari says:
Tadhakkur stands above tafakkur, for verily tafakkur is the search (of the Beloved) and tadhakkur is the attainment (of the Beloved).
As long as man is on the path of search, he is separate from the searched object. With ...
Lying is another sin which is classified among the Greater sins. The famous scholar, Shaykh Ansari (r.a.) writes in his book, Makasib-e-Muharrama: \"Common sense suggests lying is haraam, all the revealed religions also say so; particularly Islam. The Quran is explicit in this regard. The corpus of hadith (opinion of the majority of the jurists) verifies this tenet and reason also sustains this assertion.\"
Lying is listed with the greater sins ...
Question: When Allah is aware of all the hidden and apparent things, why it is necessary for women to cover themselves during Prayers?
Answer: There is no doubt that Allah is aware of everything and all conditions and hidden and apparent are not applicable to him. He is not a stranger to His servants. We human beings while worshipping feel that we are in the presence of God, we talk to Him, and supplicate Him. The person should wear the most ...
The thirteenth among the Greater Sins is drinking liquor. Its seriousness is proved from the traditions that have been related from Imam Musa al-Kazim (a.s.), Imam Reza (a.s.) and Imam Muhammad al Taqi (a.s.).
The Holy Quran also states in unequivocal words that it is a Greater Sin.
"They ask you about intoxicants and the games of chance. Says: in both of them there is a great sin and means of profit for men, and their sin is greater than ...
