Ask a Shia

[abdulwalee]

End of the discussion

[Al-fateh]

The Shia believe that Gabriel is one of the most honoured Archangles of Allah (swt) free from error who executes the exact command of his Lord like all Angels. Gabriel is the one upon whom the revelation of the Quran unto The Prophet of Mercy Muhammad(saw) was entrusted.


<b>2:96 Say: "Whoever is the enemy of Gabriel for surely he revealed it to your heart by Allah's Command, verifying that which is before it, and guidance and good news for the believers </b>


2:97 Whoever is the enemy of Allah and His angels and His apostles and Gabriel and Michael - so surely Allah is the enemy of the unbelievers"


Allama Tabatabai a famous Shia exegete makes the following statements about these verses.


<i>"Gabriel is one of the angels of Allah; he has no authority except to follow and obey the Divine Command - just like Michael and other angels. They are honored servants of Allah; they do not disobey His command, and they do as they are told."</i>


<i>So far as the revelation of the Qur'an is concerned, neither Gabriel has any choice or authority of his own in bringing it down (he is subject to the Divine command, which he faithfully carries out) nor the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w.a.) has any choice or authority of his own in receiving it and conveying it to his ummah; his heart is the receptacle of revelation, on which he has no control at all and which he is bound to convey to his people.</i>


AlMizan by Allama Tabatabai (cited in http://almizan.org/tafseer/Volume2/Baqarah19.asp)


As for the identification of the person this revelation was sent to that is fairly obvious but in the spirit if comprehensiveness.


<b>47:2 But those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and believe in the (Revelation) sent down to Muhammad - for it is the Truth from their Lord,- He will remove from them their ills and improve their condition. </b>


Another famous Shia exegete Agha Pooya Yazdi commenting on this verse.


<i>Aqa Mahdi Puya says: </i>


The repeated reference to the belief in the Holy Prophet excludes the people of the book (Jews and Christians) from "the believers", though they may believe in Allah. because they do not believe in the final revelation (the Quran) revealed to the last messenger of Allah, the Holy Prophet.


commentary by Agha Puya / S.V. Mir Ahmed Ali. (cited in http://al-islam.org/quran/)


Hope this answers your question beyond doubt.

im glad the brother clarified the issue


this is a small sect within the shia sect...the sect with that belief as called Shia Alawi's, whom the transced in line to the Imam Ali as they claim.


they believe in such a disgraceful belief.


Shia's affirm that there is no God except Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.


im not a shia, as myself have what is with and what with against some shia ideology and certain practices.

[Al-fateh]

khumaini.... is not all Shia, and not all Shia are Khumaini


as much deviance u might find, there are people who are shia and have the right beleif


the same way wth the sunni sect...who we find some sects that are out of the fold of islam, and still call themselves sunni


lets not generalize brother, i have met muslims who are shia and their belief differ non to the sunnis...


not to neglect that there are some with wrong beliefs.

[Karbala]

Shia's affirm that there is no God except Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.

Ahsantum Brother JazakumAllah Khair.

khumaini.... is not all Shia, and not all Shia are Khumaini

Ayatollah Ruhollah Al-Musawi Al-Khumaini (May God have mercy on him) is perhaps one of the most celebrated scholars of the modern era for Shia. His statements can be taken as representative of the School of Ahlulbayt. Im not sure why you are trying to separate him from the Shia maybe its because of some of the things abdulwalee said.

I told him these statements can be found in the Shaytan Khomeini's book: 'Hukmutal Islaamiyah'

There is no book by that name. I think he meant hukoomat al-islamiyah which has a very different meaning. I have read the book and there is very little Aqeedah mentioned in the book. Its a book on governance. Abdulwalee and people like him have a clever way of fooling people. If you notice I provide complete references and in most cases website links for the reader to verify what I have stated. But Abdulwalee as you may have noticed either doesnt provide references or when he does he either lies or deliberately doesnt mention where in the source so he can twist things out of context. I suspect he probably just copies and pastes things from random websites that he finds.

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom


Although I dont really have to explain myself, but we really needed to talk face to face to a shia and I think that this dialogue was really fruitful. Jazakum Allah khairan Karbla.


As far as the person say that Allah Is One, Mohamed is the final Messenger and Quran was revealed to him thru Gabriel, you cannt accuse the person of deviance or disbelieve.


Regarding the hadeeth that introduce the type of relations between the Messenger and each and every companion, the three names mentioned here, Abu Bakr, Umar and Ali were not the only names broughtforth in hadeeth explaining how much the Messenger loves each of them. For instance, there was another hadeeth telling the companions that Allah Loves 4 and Commanded the Messenger to love them. He started with Ali, then Abu Dharel Ghafary, Salman Al Farsy


The hadeeth goes as follows:


)


It is classified under the merits of the companions of the Messenger prayer and peace be upon him:


Narrated under the authority of Abi Buraida after his father that the Messenger prayer and peace be upon him said:"Allah Commanded me to love four and He Told me that He loves them. They said: O Messenger of Allah, who are they. He said: Ali is one of them and he repeated this 3 times, Abu Dhar, Salman and Almeqdad" reported in Sunan Ibn Majeh.


If we will examine similar hadeeth about other companions may Allah be pleased with all of them, we will find for example, if we take Abu Bakr, isnt it enough that Allah Commanded the Messenger prayer and peace be upon him to marry his daughter in an indication to further strenghthen the ties between them.?


However, brothers really what matters more for all of us to learn, rather than busing ourselves with who was the closest to the Messenger among them, to learn how did they attain this position? For example isnt it enough that both Abu Bakr and Umar are among the 10 who are promised Jannah?


Other companions who were given excellent descriptions by the Messenger prayer and peace be upon him including Bilal, Zaid Ibn Haritha, Usama Ibn Zaid. What about Abdur Rahman Ibn A`wf, E`krema...etc.


While yes not all the companions were as we perceive. But rather the term companion is given to anyone who lived the time of the Prophet including for instance Maiz who committed Zina.


Now why should we differ among ourselves and turn this into an issue creating a gap among muslims. Whatever their rank is, the most important is what took them to this rank in the Eyes of Allah. The Messenger himself prayer and peace be upon him warned us against comparing among the companions or trying to track and reveal their faults. Because were are sitting here comfortable typing posts and then going to eat an ice creame or chat with our family members, while those Al Awaloun (the pioneers) encountered hardships and trials that we cannt even think of. My opinion is that we should get over those differences, focus on how to improve and hold firmly on the Quran and Sunnah.


Karbala, i have a question, when do you as Shia, pray the Sunnah of Fajr and Asr??


I really appreciate your patience and willingness to explain issues to us.

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salalm alykom


Karbla, till you get to my previous point mentioned here, let me also ask a question.


Being a Shia, what does this exactly mean? I mean the whole concept of being a shia? where does the term derive from?


Being a shia, to what does this attribute?

[Karbala]

Now why should we differ among ourselves and turn this into an issue creating a gap among muslims.

My opinion is that we should get over those differences, focus on how to improve and hold firmly on the Quran and Sunnah.

May Allah bless you and have mercy on you for you are indeed blessed already with an insight and common sense. I apologise if I went a bit overboard.

Karbala, i have a question, when do you as Shia, pray the Sunnah of Fajr and Asr??

We call Sunnah prayers its equivalent Nafilah prayers. For Fajr I believe it is 2 rak'at to be performed before Fajr prayer sometime between the break of dawn and sunrise. As for Asr 8 Rak'at is performed after Zuhr prayers, before Asr prayer before an indicator shadow reaches 4/7th of its length


(According to the fatwas of Ayatollah Sayyed al-Sistani http://www.najaf.org/english/book/1/index.html)

[Karbala]

Being a Shia, what does this exactly mean? I mean the whole concept of being a shia? where does the term derive from?
Being a shia, to what does this attribute?

Ahsantum.


:bismillah:


Sectarianism is haram in Islam and the word Shia was never meant to be a cause of splitting into sects. Nowadays it is popularly used for Muslims adhering to the school of AhlulBayt.


The word شِيعَتِهِ (Shia) by itself has no positive or negative connotation it simply means "follower" or "member of Group".


In the Quran several types of Shia have been identified eg.


1. Shia of Nuh :asalam:


<b>37:83 Verily among those who followed his Way (شِيعَتِهِ)was Abraham.</b>


2. Shia of Musa :asalam:


<b>28:15 Now the man of his own religion شِيعَتِهِ appealed to him against his foe, </b>


3. Shia who rebel.


<b>19:69 and thereupon We shall, indeed, draw forth from every group (شِيعَةٍ) the ones that had been most determined in their disdainful rebellion against the Most Gracious.</b>


However the Prophet of Mercy :saws2: mentioned a very specific sort of Shia in relation to Ali ibn Abi Talib.


<i>"I swear by the one who controls my life that this man (Ali) and his Shi'a shall secure deliverance on the Day of Resurrection.""</i>


Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur, (Cairo) vol. 6, p. 379


Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tafsir Jami' al-Bayan, (Cairo) vol. 33, p. 146


Ibn Asakir, Ta'rikh Dimashq, vol. 42, p. 333, p. 371


Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, (Cairo) Ch. 11, section 1, pp 246-247


There are also other similar traditions which mention the Shia of Ali. Hence following the words of the Holy Prophet :saws2: and the example from Quran we sometimes call ourselves Shia and we see no harm in it.


Personally I am very careful regarding this term and do not like to be referred by it. There is a famous incident during the life of Ali ibn Abi Talib some men came to him and called him saying that they were his Shia. Upon seeing them Ali was dissapointed and said his Shia were men who were thin due to abstaining from haram food, had sujood marks on their foreheads and other characteristics. I could never ever claim to be a true Shia of Ali I am simply too weak and sinful.


Hope that answers your question. :)

[Muslimah]

Bismillah

May Allah bless you and have mercy on you for you are indeed blessed already with an insight and common sense. I apologise if I went a bit overboard.


We call Sunnah prayers its equivalent Nafilah prayers. For Fajr I believe it is 2 rak'at to be performed before Fajr prayer sometime between the break of dawn and sunrise. As for Asr 8 Rak'at is performed after Zuhr prayers, before Asr prayer before an indicator shadow reaches 4/7th of its length


(According to the fatwas of Ayatollah Sayyed al-Sistani http://www.najaf.org/english/book/1/index.html)

As salam alykom


This is great news, first of all u dont need to apologise, let me try first and continue on this companions issue. i m sure you are aware that Allah mentioned Abu Bakr not in name but indicating that he was the second of two staying in the Ghar. You think Allah Shall Command His messenger prayer and peace be upon him to take this person as a company during Hijra because he is a bad person, u think the person who was given the nick name of assedeeq because he believed whatever the Messenger prayer and peace be upon him said without any hesitation because he didnt deserve it???


Allah Say:


If you help him (Muhammad) not (it does not matter), for Allah did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove him out, the second of two, when they (Muhammad and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, and he said to his companion (Abu Bakr): "Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us." Then Allah sent down His Sakeenah (calmness, tranquillity, peace, etc.) upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while it was the Word of Allah that became the uppermost, and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise."" Quran 9:40.


While for instance Allah Honourd Zaid by mentioning him by name in Quran:


So when Zaid had accomplished his desire from her (i.e. divorced her), (Quran 33:37)


Well, if the way you are taught is that both Umar and Abu Bakr did certain things that you as shia are taking it against them till today, in a manner that can be somewhat an extreme. Let us go back and see how did our beloved Messenger, leader and teacher address situations with companions.


Did u hear of Hateb Ibn Baltaà:


To cut a long story short, he is one of those who fought Badr. U sure know what does this mean.


He disclosed a military secret when the Messenger salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam was planning to open Mecca, he sent a letter with a Quraishi woman alerting them about it. What did the Messenger do when Allah Informed him about it? first he sent to stop the letter from reaching and succeeded in doing so. Then he called Hateb and investigated the matter with him, he didnt judge him without an investigation. He asked Hateb what made u do so?? Hateb said Wallahi I didnt cheat u after advising u, didnt turn to kufr after being a muslim, didnt love the kufar after being a muslim. Just wanted to have some advantage because no one is there to protect my family and my money while all other Muhajereen has people to protect their family and moeny. He continued I was sure that Allah Shall Grant His Messenger victory over them. Umar asked the Messenger's permission to cut his neck, but the Messenger replied didnt he fight Badr, how would u know that Allah pardoned all of the sins of those who fought Badr.


See brother Karbla how did our Messenger handle matters? If the attitude of you as shia towards Umar and Abu Bakr is a result of any teachings of a scholar u sure need to consider. No human being is infallible. They can make mistakes.


Regarding the Sunnah prayer, i m so happy to hear this, the reason I asked is that when I go for Umra, many times I observed Iranian shia pray both Fajr and Asr sunnah after not before. U sure know why we pray it before, because those who worshiped the sun used to pray during that time we are not supposed to pray on.


Imagine I wished that I can speak Farsi, I used to sit next to them and use very simple english, one of the women informed me that their Mullah's teach them to pray sunnah after fajr and asr rather than before. I explained that their beloved Messenger who is more important than the Mullahs taught us other wise. Not sure if u r exposed to similar situations. But this is how some scholars become responsible for faults of Muslims.

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


Brother Karbla before coming to u with my comments regarding the word shia, I will check those hadeeth in Arabic. See Alhamdulelah I m a native speaker and like to track things properly before I give u my comment.


May Allah Allow us all to unite rather than divide. We do need this brother dont we???