Lost Souls

I got up early one morning,
And rushed night into the day,
I had so much to accomplish,
That I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,
And heavier came each task,
"Why doesn't Allah help me?" I wondered,
He answered, "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty,
But the day toiled on gray and bleak,
I wondered why Allah didn't show me,
He said, "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into Allah's presence,
I used all my keys at the lock,
Allah gently and lovingly said,
"My child, you didn't knock"

I woke up early this morning,
And paused before entering the day,
I had so much to accomplish,
that I had to take time to pray.


Source: http://www.fabonline.com

Why As A Muslim I Defend Multi-Culturalism

By Shaikh Michael Mumisa
Lecturer: Al-Mahdi Institute for Islamic Studies, Birmingham.

The discourse of pluralism is an issue of increasing concern to a wide range of contemporary disciplines. For theologians, philosophers, and social scientists the clarification of such an issue has become an urgent and inescapable task. For Muslims, however, the pursuit of this task remains hindered by both an institutionalised respect for disciplinary boundaries and a long-standing insularity with regard to contemporary traditions of thought. However, the twentieth century has been witness to great changes within Islamic theology. The phenomenon of globalisation as a significant feature of the post-industrial era is a key process that has generated renewed focus on the issue of cultural and religious diversity. Globalisation has been a great cause of the importation and exportation of ideas between the East and West. Moreover, the Muslim world has also been rapidly expanding to incorporate races, cultures and environments of various kinds to the extant that the issue of religious pluralism can no more be perceived as a topic for metaphysical theorisation, or an exposition of views which are purely theoretical constructs, having little bearing on practical concerns of the society.

Pluralism, migration, and multiculturalism are not new phenomena to Islam. Population movement has long characterised a Muslim world whose presence was felt across the world and in turn was shaped and enriched by permeation of influences and peoples from the religious and cultural other. What is often part of the forgotten memory of Islam is the recognition of this wide-ranging diversity of cultures as part of Islam’s rich heritage. The validity of religious faith in Islam [iman] is objectively determined by the way Muslims handle inter-human relations [mu‘asharat]. Moreover, it is in this area of interpersonal relations that the Islamic juridical texts need to be re-interpreted and contextually decoded to take into consideration the realities of the contemporary global period. In the early period of Islamic scholarship, the Islamic discourse took a legalistic orientation. The texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah were subjected to a process of juridical interpretation. Meanings were fixed and concepts were set into ideological mold. This ideological framework gave it a continuity, a fixity. This led to a gradual discursive move away from openness and pluralism towards greater theological rigidity and defensive apologetics. Thus the classical ulama [scholars] or salaf are eventually, as keepers and hermeneuts of divine legal capital, the final arbitrators of all matters relating especially to the corpus juris, thus the fulcrums of power and knowledge.

The image of the non-Muslim in classical Islamic legal texts has had profound influence on the way Muslims interacted with the religious other at various point in their history. Moreover, their experience at the hands of the colonial West produced the Politics of Memory in the same way that the Auschwitz has affected modern Western political thought. Therefore, this imagine from the perspective of Islamic legal theory [usul al-fiqh] requires a re-reading to accommodate inter-faith and religious dialogue.

Within the context of social science discourse, pluralism in the sense of a multiplicity of a recognition of multiplicity in society and as a precondition for individual choice and freedom is contrasted by two opposites. First, it is opposed to any form of monism, i.e. a theocracy or Islamic State, an absolutist state, a total society and a cultural monolith. Second, it is opposed to anarchy, anomie in a cognitive or normative sense, epistemological relativism, incoherent post-modernism, and amorphousness. Therefore, a civil war of ideas within Islam is unavoidable between those calling for the establishment of an ideological Islam and those who attempt to engage Islam in the discourse of religious pluralism and multi-culturalism.

The central question before every concerned Muslim is: how will Islam in a multicultural global village deal with the question of religious pluralism? Theoretically the task that needs to be fulfilled is how to help ensure a creative discourse which is not a repetition of stereotypes that have so far jeopardised inter-religious dialogue. The practical concern that lies before us is to innovate ways and means so that we may answer the burning question viz. how diversity in the context of religious pluralism can be brought to fruition for the establishment of a peaceful, just, and egalitarian society?

Faith in Islam does not mean only truths to be affirmed, but also an existential stance, an attitude, a commitment to Allah [huquq allah] and to human beings [huquq al-ibad]. Islamic faith is not limited to affirming the existence of Allah [wajib al-wujud]. Rather, it tells us that Allah has mercy upon us and demands a merciful response. This response is given through mercy for human beings disregard of their religious and cultural backgrounds.

Jurisprudential and theological questions have been arising for which there is no clear precedent or reference in the Qur’an or Sunnah (imitatio muhammadi); questions such as those emerging under the rubric of inter-faith and religious pluralism, the role and duty of Muslims living in non-Muslim societies, among many others. There has been a growing concern and a realisation among Muslim youth that the Qur’an and Prophetic tradition, or Sunnah, are finite sources of law and cannot suffice the needs of infinite events. This has caused an urgent need for a re-reading of the sources of Islamic law and for the understanding of the message of the Qur’an and Sunnah so that it becomes existentially meaningful for the here and now.

To address the recasting of Islamic legal discourse within the context of the Western disciplines and religious pluralism then finds two audiences. One is the modernist or “progressive” element which sees no need for such an exercise and advocates an unconditional subjection to a particular collection of intellectual, cultural, philosophical and ontological elements formulated in renaissance humanism and later Western thought, especially following the 18th century or the “age of enlightenment”. The other is the “conservative” or traditionalist element which mistrusts any attempt at addressing problems which arise in the context of occidental philosophy and considers this development a serious departure from orthodoxy and orthopraxy. To the proponents of traditionalism there is no other alternative but a strict and rigid adherence to the interpretations of Muslim classicists regarding the ‘religious and cultural other’. The interpretations done by classical Muslim scholars [the salaf] are seen as the final and only true meaning of the Qur’anic and Prophetic texts. The importance of maintaining the link with the Islamic legacy [turath] is often given as reason for this methodology and approach in the interpretation of Islam. However, the primary Muslim concern cannot be mere survival of an old tradition [turath] – Islam as a museum which displays once meaningful deposits – but the actualisation of a challenging message for the contemporary generation. For the ‘progressive’ element the challenge is how to ‘baptise’ the conservative Muslim into accepting the Western socio-political system, and to engage the Muslims in the discourse of democracy, pluralism, and social justice. On the other hand, the traditional or ‘conservative’ element remains suspicious at what it sees as a conspiracy to destroy its Islamic (Arab/Asian?) identity. It fails to see how it can be possible for a true Muslim to engage in any discourse that emerges under the rubric of pluralism and Western style democracy while at the same time remaining truthful and faithful to Islam.

As Muslims come in contact with the acute problems that exist in the world to day such as terrorism, they experience the need to take part in solving them. This means they will have to participate with people from other religious and cultural traditions since the nature of such problems is such that they do not discriminate on the basis of religion, gender, or cultural background. Deciding to participate will mean that, as Muslims, they would like to do so ‘Islamically’, by recourse to Islamic Law. But then again the received Islamic Law is one that was developed to deal with problems that may be described as ‘local problems’ in the Muslim lands. The universality of the Islam, which they claim, require that they broaden Islamic thought, or even revise it (not destroy it) so that it can cope with the contemporary global situation. Thus, there is an element of contigency here which means that there is no final approach and methodology to Islamic Thought. We are certainly not dealing with a closed system, but rather, a very open and dynamic one. Indeed, a closed system of Islamic Thought would be impossible from an Islamic point of view as that would limit God to our own particular systems and God cannot be limited.

When we say that the inherited Islamic Law is ‘local’, we acknowledge the socio-phenomenal dimension present in this discourse; the influence exerted by the Islamic law on social process, and the conditioning imposed by the dynamics of society on the interpretation and understanding of Islamic law. The new methodology therefore should predominantly be concerned with ways to re-construct the Islamic discourse independent from these historical influences. It is an attempt to bring our existential experiences to the discourse, what is typical of our social locations and searching for an intellectual self-definition.

Early books of Islamic Law do not always provide the answers to contemporary social realities such as pluralism. Not because the writers of these books did not possess enough knowledge of the Islamic law and society, but because we cannot expect them to exercise some unearthly power and speak to us from their graves. We should not force these great scholars to deal with issues that did not concern them, nor to ask them questions that they never asked themselves.


Source: http://www.shiyat.com

Abu Talib a disbeliever?

By Ali Khalfan


I once saw a thread in one of the Islamic Forums on the net titled “Abu Talib” started by a Shi'ah sister and her intent of starting the thread was to confirm if the ahlul-Sunnah do believe that Abu Talib, the uncle of the Prophet (s.a.w.) was a disbeliever and from the discussion that ensued, the Sunnis who posted in the thread confirmed their belief without a doubt.

In short, some very good references and arguments were presented by the Shia'hs to show that Abu Talib was a believer but they were not accepted by the Sunnis. For example, there was this Sunni brother who contended that the Prophet was sent to the polytheists of Arabia and thus he proves that there were no believers at that time. One can counter that argument by saying that only the sick need medicine and not the healthy. So if a doctor is sent to cure the sick in a community it does not prove that everyone in the community is sick. The other flaw in his argument is that he does not realize that our Prophet was sent to mankind and not only to the polytheists of Arabia. His shari’ah is the only one binding for the whole mankind! At one point, this brother claimed that there was no Islam before the prophetic mission of the Prophet. Later, he was kind enough to admit his misquotations. But little does he realize that if he admits that there was Islam, then obviously there were Muslims too!

Since both sides believe in the Qur'an, I thought of producing some verses from the Qur'an to prove that when the Prophet started his call, there were people who used to believe in One God. Therefore, these people don’t need the medicine but need encouragement, good news and further guidance. Such people were called Monotheists. Those who are sick and are ready to accept the medicine will eventually qualify to receive the encouragement. Some historical references were provided to this fact but there were no responses. If we can prove this inference from the Qur'an, then obviously the claim that Abu Talib was not a believer on the grounds that there were no believers present at the time of the Prophetic call is rejected.

So the aim of this article is only to prove that there were some monotheists during the beginning of the Prophet’s call and this will serve to disprove the Sunni arguments.

Mankind was in the beginning one single group; so Allah raised prophets as bearers of good news and as warners… (2:213)

Say: I do not control any benefit or harm for my own soul except as Allah please; and had I known the unseen I would have had much of good and no evil would have touched me; I am nothing but a warner and the giver of good news to a people who believe. (7:188)

What! is it a wonder to the people that We revealed to a man from among themselves, saying: Warn the people and give good news to those who believe that theirs is a footing of firmness with their Lord. The unbelievers say: This is most surely a manifest enchanter. (1O:2)

Rightly directing, that he might give warning of severe punishment from Him and give good news to the believers who do good that they shall have a goodly reward, (18:2)

And with truth have We revealed it, and with truth did it come; and We have not sent you but as the giver of good news and as a warner. (17:105)

So We have only made it easy in your tongue that you may give good news thereby to those who guard (against evil) and warn thereby a vehemently contentious people. (19:97)

O Prophet! surely We have sent you as a witness, and as a bearer of good news and as a warner, (33:45)

And We do not send messengers but as givers of good news and warning, and those who disbelieve make a false contention that they may render null thereby the truth, and they take My communications and that with which they are warned for a mockery. (18:56)

And We have not sent you but as a giver of good news and as a warner. (25:56)

And We have not sent you but to all the men as a bearer of good news and as a warner, but most men do not know. (34:28)

Surely We have sent you with the truth as a bearer of good news and a warner; and there is not a people but a warner has gone among them. (35:24)

These verses clearly show that two aspects are involved in raising or sending prophets and Messengers i.e. the aspect of “good news” and the aspect of “warning”. In other words whenever the Qur’an mentions the reason for raising Prophets and sending Messengers, it always mentions good news first and then the warning next. Obviously the warning is not for the believing people and the good news or glad tidings is not for the disbelieving people. This is evident by the sentences giver of good news to a people who believe. (7:188) and warn thereby a vehemently contentious people. (19:97) And the reason for mentioning good news first is probably to show that there is always a group of people who are already believers in the One God like for example when the Prophet Nuh (a.s.) is sent to the people obviously there are some of them who were following the message brought by Prophet Adam (a.s.). If there were no believers at the time of sending any prophet then the sequence would have been to warn first and then to give the good news to those who pay heed to the warning. Most of the time a Prophet is sent to warn the transgressors like in the case of Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.). ‘Isa (a.s.) came to lead the transgressors back to the shari’ah given to Prophet Musa (a.s.) and likewise, Muhammad (s.a.) is sent to awaken the majority of the people of Arabia and warn the transgressors of the shari’ah given to ‘Isa (a.s.).

The prophets brought the good news of the Mercy of Allah, and His pleasure and paradise for those who believe in Him and guard themselves against evil. And they gave the warning of the punishment from Allah and His displeasure and Fire, to those who reject the truth and the transgressors.

In conclusion to claim that at the time of the prophetic mission there was not a single believer, is like shooting in the dark. The possibility that there were at least a few believers is more than the possibility that there were none because the prophet himself was a believer and during his orphanage he came under the umbrella of another believer – Abu Talib!!!


Source: http://www.shiasource.com

The School of Humanity

By Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari

Extracted from Spiritual Discourses

The subject of our discourse is 'the school of humanity'. The human being who is the only inquisitive being in the world that we know, has always been subjected to investi- gation and discussion.

The word 'humanity' has always been connected with a sense of loftiness and sanctity as a being superior to animals from various points of view, such as knowledge justice, freedom, moral conscience, etc. Although many of humani- ty's sacred objects have been subjected to doubt and even denial, apparently no school of thought has yet gone so far as to scorn the special dignity of humanity and its superiority over other Creatures.

This fact has been elegantly expressed in the poems of Rumi and Sa'adi and by other poets of ours. This topic is also the theme of most of the world's literature, both reli- gious and non-religious, in which the question of humanity and its glorification has been described. In Islamic literature, too, both in Persian and Arabic, we come across many such statements.

In the last two centuries, with the great advance of science, humanity has suddenly fallen from that pedestal of sanctity it had always been given. It fell with a real crash since the more one is elevated, the greater is the damage Caused by the fall. In the past, mankind has been ex- acted to the rank of a demi-god as witnessed in the poems of Hafiz and other poets.

The first discovery of humanity was the form of the universe which revolutionized its ideas. Before that, the earth was believed to be the center of the universe round which all the plants and stars revolved. Science proved that the earth was a small planet which revolved around the sun and the solar System was only an insignificant part of the universe.

It was then that the position of humanity as the center of all possibilities and as the goal of creation was subjected to doubt and denial, and no one dared any longer to make claims about its exalted position. Then, another severe blow dealt, was the idea that the human being was no longer a divine creature and vice gerent of God upon the earth was given up.

Biological research on the question of evolution and the origin of species at once showed the relationship of people with those same animals which they Scorned and despised. It proved them to be an evolved form of a monkey or some other animal and thus they lost their divine origin.

Another strong blow as against humanity's apparently brilliant record of activities, namely, that it could act in such a way that showed only goodness and benevolence, whose motive was only the love of Cod, and lacking all animal aspects. The new thesis was that the claim of humanity to all that sanctity and virtue was false and all the activities to which it had given the name of the love of knowledge, art, beauty, morality and conscience, prayer and devotion and everything supernatural, are similar to those which can be found in animals, too, except in a more complex form and mechanism. It was said that the stomach is the source and cause of all activities. Some went so far as to say that the stomach was also the basis of its thoughts and feelings. There were still others who considered this position too high and claimed that the human being was even lower than he is.

Eventually it was concluded that this being who had formerly claimed divine origin and exaltation must be sub- jected to a careful study to discover its true nature. Another theory was offered that there is no difference between hu- mans, plants and even inanimate objects. There is, of course, a difference in the texture and form, but not in the sub- stance of which they were all made. It was stated that spirit and divine breath were non-existent because the human being is a machine which is only more complicated than other machines such as cars, planes, and satellites; that is, only a mechanical creature.

This was a great blow to humanity and yet human values were not wholly condemned except in some schools of thought where ideas like peace, freedom, spirituality, justice and compassion were considered as jokes.

But since the middle of the 19th century, humanity has won fresh attention in philosophical schools Such as schools of humanity and even worship of human beings. In the past the human being was only a sign of spirituality and the Quran speaks of the human being as being the worthiest creature through whom God could be understood.

Now the human being is trying to recover its former honor and sanctity and become a goal in itself but without the adoption of the former criteria and without a regard for its divine or non-divine aspect, or the points stated in the Quran that everything that is created on earth is for it and that God has breathed some of this spirit into it to making it a manifestation of Himself.

Part II
There is no longer any talk of the above matters, nor even a discussion of internal human motives, but only a belief in the sanctity of humanity and its intelligence. Now we see all schools of thought and even the declaration of human rights beginning their claims with respect for the inherent dignity of human beings. They say this in order to base their education on its foundation and though each individual is able to violate the rights of others, this respect for the dignity and sanctity of humanity will serve as a check to such violations.

Most of those who follow the philosophy of humani- tarianism, have criteria different from those of the past. But the difficulty lies in this same contradiction in the life, thought and logic of mankind today, a logic which lacks foundation .

I do not think that there are any scholars in the world who would interpret humanitarianism to mean universal peace. There are, of course, ordinary people who think all human beings in the world are the same and of equal worth. But this is not true. One is learned, another is ignorant; one is virtuous, another is impure; one is tyrannical, another is oppressed; one is benevolent, another is malevolent. Should we consider them all the same from a humanitarian point of view, irrespective of their knowledge, faith, chasti- ty and benevolence or vice versa?

If we say so, we are betraying humanity. Let me give an example. Both A and B are human beings who are biologi- cally similar. If you dislike one of them, it has nothing to do with his blood group. But if you are humanitarian, you cannot be indifferent to both of them and claim that they are equally human; for then both should be equally liked, or both equally disliked. But this is not so since the human being's basic difference with animals is that the human being has more potentiality than animals and less actuality. What does that mean? A horse on its birth possesses all the peculiarities that a horse should have and if it has less than that, it can gain it by practice. But a human being has potential only at birth. lt is not known what he or she will be in the future. The shape is human hut that person may, in reality, become a wolf or a sheep or a human being.

Mulla Sadra, the great Iranian Islamic philosopher, in pointing out the error of people in thinking human beings equal in everything, says that there are as many kinds of individuals as there are individuals. He is, of courses regard- ing the human being philosophically, not biologically. A biologist pays attention to human organs and limbs, while a philosopher concentrates on the human being's qualities and thus he cannot believe that human beings are all of the same kind. That is why human values are potential. Some attain the height of humanity while others fail to do so. As Hadrat Ali says, "The shape is humans but the mind may be a beast." Not all individuals have an interior proportio- nate to their exterior.

As I said before, to a great extent, the world is returning, once again to the school of humanity, meaning that philoso- phies of humanity have appeared; and the strangest of them all is the creed of humanity which Auguste Compte originated in the middle of the 19th century. This man wavered between his intelligence and mind on the one hand and his heart and conscience on the other and came to the conclusion that the human being needed a creed, the ab- sence of which results in all kinds of social corruption. According to him, past religion (Catholicism) is not ade- quate enough for modern mankind. He describes three stages of religion; The divine supernatural stage, the philoso phical reasoning stage and the scientific positive stage. He said that Catholicism belonged to the human being's super- natural thinking and this is not acceptable to the person of the scientific age. His invented religion however, lacked an occult root, but he accepted all the traditions and rites which existed before, and even proposed having priests in this new creed, presenting himself as its prophet, but a prophet without a god. They say about him that he got his rites from Catholicism and he was criticized for this since he disbelieved that religion but imitated and adopted its ceremonies and traditions. He was right in one thing, that the human being needs worship and devotion as well as the performance of a number of rites.

He seems to have found a large number of followers in Europe and America and his house has become a center of pilgrimage for them. According to some Arabic books, he had fallen in love with a lady whose husband had been condemned to life imprisonment, but she died before he could win her and consequently he turned away frown the world of the intellect to the world of sentiments and even- tually started his creed of humanity. This lady-love is con- sidered by his followers as holy as Mary, the mother of Christ. But this school of humanity underwent a number of changes which gave it its present form.

One of the questions concerning the human being is freedom and responsibility. Is the human being really free and independent or does it have a responsibility and a mis- sion to perform? According to the Quran, the human being is faced with no compulsion before God. On the contrary, the human being is created a free being with a fixed res- ponsibility and mission. The Holy Quran refers to the human being as the vice-gerent of God, while no others Holy book has given such sanctity to the human being.

Part III
God says in the Quran, "And when your Lord said to the angels, I am setting on the earth a vice-gerent, they said, What will You set therein one who will do corruption there and shed blood ... But God answered, Assuredly I know what you know not."

All that, is evidence of the human being's talents and potentialities. You see, then, that Islam, which is a school of humanity, believes in the exalted position of the human being from a philosophical point of view. The Quran says again that God taught the human being the names of all things. Then it showed itself superior to the angels in this knowledge and God reproached the angels for what they did not know about humanity and while they supposed the human being to be a creature of wrath and lust, they had ignored the other side of its character. The angels confessed their ignorance and begged for His forgiveness. Then God told the angels to prostrate themselves before His creature.

The greatest interpretation that can be given to this command in order to show the human being's mission freedom and option is that God makes it the vice-gerent of and the successor to himself. God is the Creator and here He confers some of His creative power on the human being to benefit from.

Another question shout the human being is its hap- piness and pleasure. I say briefly that the human being seeks pleasure. Where Should it be found? Is it from within the self or from without, or from both within and without and in what proportion? Those who focus their attention on sures outside themselves, wrongly supposing that the whole joy of life is this, have not been able to know themselves as human beings. They cannot consider the life within them- selves as a source of joy and pleasure. Their exhilaration lies in a wine-cup, a cabaret.

How well does Rumi describe a person addicted to drinking and direct that person to righteousness and away from evil saying,

You are the symbol of existence, wherefore do you
seek annihilation?
You who are an ocean, what do you intend to be-
come?
Why do you make yourself indebted to wine?
He continues to say that the human being is the es-
sence and the world is the form.

It is equally wrong to reject all external things and go to the other extreme of thinking that all joys must be sought internally. In some poems of Rumi we come across such an exaggeration when he says,


Consider that the way of pleasure is all
from within, not without
And think it foolish to abandon
customs and traditions.
Someone is happy and intoxicated in
the corner of prison,
And another is full of grief in his garden.

He does not mean that all external things should be put aside but, at the same time, it Should not be supposed that all joys are found in material things. The self is the center of joy and there should be an equilibrium between the internal and external.

There are many things to say about the human being. The school of thought which considers itself human should be able to answer certain questions in order to be accepted as a true human school. The human being was considered as the door of spirituality, that is, one could discover the spiritual work through one's own essence. Spirituality and humanism or religion and humanism are two inseparable matters. We cannot accept one of them and abandon the other . The contradiction which we claim to exist in various genuine humanistic schools lies in this point that when humanity suffered a downfall, however wrongly, namely through a change in the Ptolemaic astronomy, it should not make us doubt the exalted position of the human being as a goal in the course of creation. The human being is the goal of the universe whether the earth is the center of the universe or not. What does the phrase 'goal of the universe' mean? It means that nature moves in a certain direction in its evolutionary course whether we consider the human be- ing a spontaneously created being or a continuation of other animal species. it makes no difference to this process whether we think it to possess a divine spirit or not.

God has said, "We have breathed some Our spirit into him." He has not said that the human being is the race of God. If He had said that thee substance of which the human being is made was brought from another world, then the human being would be a lofty and sacred being.

Part IV
To those of you whose philosophy is humanitarian, we say, is there a sentiment in the human being either called benevolence, goodness or service, or not? If you say there is not, then to attribute Such a quality to the human being would be as meaningless as calling him a stone or an animal. But the human being has the sentiment. What is it? Some one may say the feeling of service in us is a kind of sub- stitution. What does that mean? When we witness some- thing and our humanitarian feeling is supposedly roused to go and instruct, serve and save the oppressed, we are told that if we ponder about it, we as human beings are putting ourselves in their place, thinking of them first as belonging to our group or our group related to them and then we substitute ourselves for them. Then, the feeling of self- ishness which makes us defend ourselves is roused to defend the oppressed; otherwise there is no genuine sentiment in the human being to defend an oppressed person directly.

The school of humanity must firstly answer whether such a sentiment exists in the human being or not? We answer that it does on the basis of its being appointed the vice-gerent of God and as the manifestation of divine generosity and benevolence. It means that while the human bring in its Selfishness is duty-bound to show activity for its survival, tile whole of its existence is not selfishness. The human being also has benevolence, humanity, world-build ing and moral conscience.

Some time ago when I was in Shiraz, an organization called the Happy Organization was introduced to me consisting of individuals with an internal sentiment and personal faith and a gathering of the deaf and dumb. I visited one of their classes. For us fastidious people it would he exhausting to spend even one hour in such a class and watch them and their strange gesticulations for a remark. Their teacher was a Sayyid who was named after the first son of Imam and he was showing a great deal of interest and sympathy in those children even though his salary was less than an elementary school teacher's, for that organi- zation was short of funds. He taught them how to write and made them understand words with a great expendi- ture of effort.

What is this sentiment in the human being? It is the manifestation of humanity and its genuineness. Generally speaking, what is this sense of praise for the good and dis- like for the sick, even though they belong to the distant past? When we hear the names of Yazid and Shimr and re- member their wickedness and crimes, and on the other hand, when the names of the martyrs of Karbala are men- tioned, we have a feeling of hatred for the first group and a sense of wonder and respect for the latter. What is the rea- son for it? Is it a class feeling which makes us think of our- selves as belonging to the group of the martyrs of Karbala and dislike Yazid and Shimr as we dislike our enemies? Do we project our feelings of sympathy and hatred on to each group respectively, while in truth both are related to our- selves? If this is so then the person you consider your enemy will be no different from you. For in his turn he has the right to praise those you dislike and hate those you praise.

On the contrary you may look upon it from a different angle which is not personal and individual but is related to the whole of humanity in which there is no question of per- sonal dislike but the truth. There your connection with the martyrs in your praise, and your dislike of their enemies, is not personal but general and universal.

The school of humanity must supply an answer to what these feelings are and whence they arise and to such pro- blems as the human being's honest love of gratitude, to some one who has done a good deed. When the genuineness of human values are discovered, then the question of the human being crops up. Is the human being who has such genuine qualities the same person spoken of by materialism? Is that person a machine, a satellite? A machine, however big, is only big, if a machine is made a thousand times bigger than an Apollo, what could we say about it? We could say it is great, amazing and extraordinary but not noble or sacred. Even if it is made a billion times bigger, possessing a billion pieces, again it can only be called amazing and extraordinary but never noble, holy and honorable. How can the declaration of human rights and communist philoso- phers who support human genuineness in various forms, speak of the human being's inherent prestige and sacred- ness without paying attention to God's words saying, "We breathed some of Our spirit into him," When they ascer- tain the genuineness of these values then they can realize the genuineness of the human being itself.

Now supposing we realize this genuineness of the human being is it only the human being who exists in this universe which is in infinite darkness? As a European says, is the human being only a drop of sweat in an ocean of poison created accidentally? Or is the human being a drop of sweet water in a sweet ocean? Does this small light re- present universal light?

Here the relation of the genuineness of the human being with God will become clear, for both of them are inseparable. In the phrase of the Holy Quran, God is the light of the heavens and the earth, the word God is not what Aristotle calls the first Cause for that is different from the God of Islam. His god is separate from and foreign to the universe. But the God Of Islam, when the phrase, He is the First, He is the Last, He is the Outer and He is the Inner. (57:3) is heard, it at once gives you a different view of the universe. Then you understand the meaning of all the genuine qualities within yourself and realize that there is a goal. You will see that if you are a beam of light then a whole world of light exists and if you are a drop of sweat water it is because an infinite ocean of sweetness exists there and a ray of His light is within you.

Islam is a humanistic school based on human criteria There is nothing in it based on wrong discriminations be- tween human beings. In Islam there exists no country, race, blood, zone and language. These things are not an evidence and criterion of privilege for human beings. That criterion in Islam is those human values. If it respects those values, it is because it believes in the genuineness of the human being and the universe; that is, it believes in God Almighty. That is why Islam is the only humanistic school that has for its foundation proper logic and there exists no other such school in the world.


Source: http://www.shia.org

Pardon

Do you like it when people are mad at you for doing something? Don’t you wish they just forgot about it? Well that’s what Islam says to do – pardon those who do wrong.

The Prophet Mohammed was commanded by Allah to have the following qualities: “Unite with whoever breaks with you, and pardon whoever wrongs you; give to whoever is bad to you…”

If someone does something wrong to you, you should pardon them. If you do, you are fulfilling one of the verses in the Holy Quran: “They should pardon and turn away. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is forgiving, merciful.” (24:22)

If you can’t pardon someone, how can you expect Allah to forgive your sins? Don’t just think you are higher than that person is and not pardon his/her wrong. Instead, show yourself as a better example by pardoning that person so that he/she can see that you are truly a better person. If the person truly feels the guilt for doing wrong, then your pardon would effect their future behavior.


Source: http://www.fabonline.com

The Concept of Shia

We live in a world in which electronic prefectures, globalization, information explosion and technology are the dominant topics. With the latest technology we have discovered scientific aspects very fast, knowing that without this technology, it would take us years to discover the same. But it seems that these scientific progresses and their consequent comforts have not answered what mankind is looking for and even his simplest needs, and probably the most important of all, technology has not able to provide peace.

Statistics show that the rate of mental illnesses, such as depression, is increasing rapidly and the surprising thing is that these problems are more common in modern countries… What could be the reason?

Maybe the reason is that the humans, who have to manage a daily program for enjoyment of their bodies, have not taken any notice of the other aspect of their natures, their spirits.

We all are looking for something that calms our anxious mind, a peace and comfort which makes our lives enjoyable, but we are unaware of the fact that we would be comfortable only by satisfying our innate needs, those which have been with us since the time we were created. Mankind needs a great support, an infinite power to depend on, and no one has competence except Allah (SWT). People have forgotten Allah (SWT) or they have used to believe in a God who can do nothing...

But if we look carefully to the people who are searching a refuge, we find a group who have found their refuge and become comfortable under the protection of this refuge.

Shiites have confidence in Allah (SWT) and His alights, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and his Family (Ahl al-Bayt) (A.S.). Allah (SWT) has all the possible accomplishments, power and knowledge; He has assigned them as His representatives on earth.

Shiites also believe in a person who is their live Leader and Master, he has divine power beyond being their intimate friend and helping them in strained circumstances. He has the ability to do anything. Yes, he is their Imam Mahdi (A.S.). Anyone, who has confidence in him, never becomes anxious, depressed or hopeless.
Other than Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and Imam Mahdi (A.S.), Shiites consider having divine power and knowledge for 12 persons, the Prophet's family (A.S.). Although they have passed this world, their spiritual presence is permanent and they are aware of what we do and they favor with us.

Seeking prosperity we should try to know these persons and ask them for help and open our hearts to them, because they are assigned by Allah (SWT) and they possess all the keys to help us.

Shia and its History
To understand the concept of Shia, it is necessary to first know Islam, and then define Shia based on Islam. The basics of Islam start from the belief in Allah (SWT) and the belief in all the prophets up to the last of them (Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.)). As a Muslim we must act upon the Islamic orders, which are obtained from the Holy Quran and the Prophet's (S.A.W.) Sunnah. We must believe in resurrection, the day of judgment, and rewards versus punishments that will be to the people.
Shiites believe that after the departure of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.), the true knowledge of Islamic orders, teachings, and revelations are with the true interpreters of the Holy Quran, the family of the Prophet (Ahl al-Bayt) (A.S.). A Shiite is a person who follows the Prophet and his family (A.S.) in all affairs. A Shiite accepts the Prophet and his family (A.S.) according to his wisdom and divine nature. When he accepted them, he traces them in all affairs.

According to Shiite doctrines, a true Shiite is one who follows Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the believers) Ali, Fatimah al-Zahra, and the rest of the Infallibles (A.S.). In other words, Shiites follow the lights of guidance who are the successors of the Prophet (S.A.W.) and are free of error and mistake.

Shia literally means follower. By the order of Allah (SWT) Imam Ali ibn Abitalib (A.S.) was introduced as the leader after the Prophet (S.A.W.). So the followers of Imam Ali (A.S.) have become known as Shia of Imam Ali (A.S.).

But what is the origin of this belief and its perspectives? Where can we find the first appearance of this school in history?
On different occasions such as Youm al-Indhar(1) to the day of Ghadir al-Khum(2), Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) would constantly remind, introduce, and preach people about his family, Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.).

Ordered by Allah (SWT), the Prophet (S.A.W.) had declared Wilayat and Succession of Imam Ali and his sons (A.S.) after him. Even Sunnis believe that the first person who used the word "Shia" was the Prophet (S.A.W.) himself. He used this word in different cases about the followers of Ali (A.S.). We will briefly mention few of these cases here. (3)

Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari (companion of the Prophet (S.A.W.)) says: "we were sitting beside the Prophet, Ali entered and then Prophet said :"to the one who my life is in His hands (Allah) I swear that this person and his Shia (followers) are saved in resurrection day". Then this verse descended: (98:7) (4) "(5)
Umm Salameh narrates from the Prophet (S.A.W.) that he said:" O' Ali you and your friends are in heaven. You and your Shia (followers) are in heaven."(6)
Let it be stated that some people believe that Shia originated from the time of Uthman (the third successor of Sunnis) by the Iranians.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) was completely aware of the disputes and differences the Ummah (community) was going to face after his demise. He constantly reviewed the characteristics and signs of the true path and persons, so even future generations would learn truth through his Sunnah. In fact an example can be seen when the Prophet (S.A.W.) mentioned a narration of the future happenings, "My community will be dispersed to 73 sects, and only one of them is true."

Some other revengeful people say that Shia is originated from the thoughts of a Jew, Abdullah ibn Saba. According to what was mentioned the establishment of Shia was by the Prophet (S.A.W.) on behalf of Allah (SWT). (Because according to the Holy Quran (53:3) he does not say anything on behalf of Himself). In tradition books of Shia this man is accursed and disfavored by Allah (SWT). Some of the Shia learned people have definitely proved that he is a forged person. Also mal-existence of such a person has been decisively proved.

Finally let us conclude that in every stage of life, we Shiites ask Allah to show us the straight path, free us from all bigotry, and flourish the luminosity of wisdom within our hearts.
"Praise be on those who follow rightness." (The Holy Quran, 20:47)

REFERENCES
1- Day that the Prophet (S.A.W.) invited his close relatives to Islam
2- Announcement of the Wilayat (Mastership) of Imam Ali (A.S.)
3- These narratives are mentioned here just as samples and there are many traditions found in different Sunnite tradition books in this respect.
5- "(As for) those who believe and do good works are the best of created beings." (The Holy Quran, 98:7)
6- Al-Durr al-Manthur, under commentary of verse 98:7
7- Al-Durr al-Manthur, under commentary of verse 98:7

NOBODY'S FRIEND

My name is Gossip. I have no respect for justice
I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted the more I am believed.

My victims are helpless.
They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To trap me down is impossible.
The harder you try, the more elusive I become.

I am nobody's friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and wreck marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches and indigestion.

I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses. I am called Gossip.
I make headlines and headaches.
Before you repeat a story, ask yourself:

Is it true? Is it harmless? Is it necessary?

"And Remember Allah in abundance, so that you may attain
success.." (TMQ - Surah Jumu'ah - 62:10)

MORAL: Gossip is a sin and it is bad act...We should refrain from doing such wrong actions.

Islamic Economy: Its Ideological and Legal Foundations

By Ayatullah Muhammad Ali Tashkiri

Every system, intending to achieve certain goals, must be designed in a realistic manner. Therefore, if the system is supposed to be implemented in order to serve human life, particularly in the long-run, it must serve man's goals and be consistent with his fitrah (primordial nature). This is not possible unless the designer of the system has a command over the knowledge necessary for understanding social and individual aspects of man. Besides, the designer should have a thorough understanding of actual relations between those two aspects of man and the primordial nature of man as well. In addition to those prerequisites, the designer should understand the historical trends of such a relationship, the needs for the development of such relationships and methods for pursuing those needs in order to realize an evolutionary, human approach toward actualizing the goals of the creation of man.

Indeed, the way the aforesaid satisfaction of needs is to be carried out should not overlap other systems which are meant for satisfying other needs of man. In other words, such a system should observe a wise balance and study the role and interrelationship of other systems which together comprise the whole system of life.

If we assume that the designer of the system possesses all those necessary prerequisites, we should assess subsequent stages in the process of achieving the desirable realism which is necessary for a system to be able to provide a proper context for itself. By this we mean the extent to which this system is compatible with the norms and values of the society (where the system is to be implemented), the extent of consistence between those norms and values and the emotional values presented by the system, and finally the extent to which this system assures the realization of a desirable education to create social obedience for those ideological views and emotional values.

Although the system may be realistic, accurate, and rational in perceiving the reality and understanding its needs and their satisfaction, it will remain incapable if it is not preceded by an ideological impetus which supplies the society with bases for the stance that it should take toward the universe, the life, and the man itself. Consequently, the ideological impetus will guarantee the system the element of iman [faith] rescue it from the most important civilizational maladies including ilhad [atheism], which is the opposite of iman, and shirk [polytheism], which signifies the excessive belief in false gods, and shakk [doubt], which is a manner resembling other destructive attitudes. Unless these requirements are realized, we cannot assure the provision of the first contextual element for the system's implementation. Similarly, as long as the emotional motivations, which are the focus of education, are not perfectly compatible and harmonious with the ideological structure of the society, we cannot guarantee balance in man's personality when there is a wide gap between his beliefs and the internal and external values and motivations that the system provides in order to satisfy his needs. Moreover, these emotional motivations cannot form human behavior and action unless they are strong and clearly defined.

So far, we have realized the necessity of two factors for every system intending to materialize its human goals: first, the planner's holistic approach towards human reality, including his relations and needs as well as their fulfillment concomitant with the rest of the system; second, facilitating its implementation through faith and compatible emotional motivations.

Realism, in turn, requires the following two fundamental factors: first, the system should contain legal guarantees binding all those who oppose the harmonious human nature or those few who have not chosen the complete iman or the full commitment to the requirements of iman; second, it has a perfect flexibility to accommodate the temporal and spatial variations in human life and provides fixed solutions for fixed elements of human life and flexible ones for the accommodation of its alterable elements.

We believe that Islam was correct in announcing its rule in the form of general rules. Thus, it did not ignore any one of those aspects, but observed them perfectly and completed the religion which provides appropriate answers to man's needs till the Day of Judgment.

Accordingly, it announces that the whole Islamic system is based on reality and nature and that it is the fixed truth aiming at serving human beings and accomplishing the purpose of his creation. Thus, it enjoins whatever is desirable and forbids whatever is refused by the nature.

God, the Exalted, says: "Then set your face upright for religion in the right state, the nature made by Allah in which He has made men. There is no alteration in Allah's creation. That is the right religion but most people do not know." (30:30)

And He, the Exalted, says: "Say: O people! Indeed there has come to you the truth from your Lord ..." (10:108)

And He, the Exalted, says: "O you who believe! Answer (the call of) Allah and the Apostle when he calls you to that which gives you life, and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered." (8:24)

And He, the Exalted, says: "Those who follow the Apostle Prophet, who was taught neither to read nor to write, whom they find written down with them in the Tawrah and the Injil [Old and New Testaments], (who) enjoins them to do good and forbids them from doing evil, and makes the pure and good things halal [lawful] for them and makes impure and harmful things haram [prohibited] for them, and remove from them their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So (as for) those who believe in him and support him and help him and follow the light which was sent down with him, they are indeed the saved." (7:157)

The proof of this argument is the same one that proves its attribution to the Great Creator as it proves for this Creator all attributes of knowledge about all facts and full, absolute control over the formation of shari`ah (the comprehensive body of Islamic rules), and perfect kindness to the servants and other attributes which are not imaginable for any body other than Him the Exalted.

We are not to present any reasoning for this but only point to the Holy Qur'an's emphasis on this fact in all occasions when it points to Allah's kindness and knowledge:

"Does He not know Who He created? He it is Who made the earth smooth for you, therefore go about in the spacious sides thereof, and eat of His sustenance, and to Him is the return after death." (67:14-15)

"Say: Allah suffices as a witness between me and you. Surely He is Aware of His servants, Seeing. And whomsoever Allah guides, is the follower of the right way, and whomsoever He causes to err, you shall not find for him guardians besides Him. And We will gather them together on the day of resurrection on their faces, blind and dumb and deaf. Their abode is hell, whenever it becomes allayed We will add to their burning." (17:96-97)

After this introduction, we try to discuss several points pertaining to the core of the discussion with emphasis on the following subjects:

1. Major attributes of the Islamic economy, their natural character, and
Islam's emphasis on them.

2. The proper grounds Islam prepares for its economic system.

3. Relationship between this system and other systems.

4. Flexibility of the Islamic economic system.

Salient Features of the Islamic Economy

When we study the Islamic economy as a way which Islam prescribes for individual and social behavior in the economic field and examine Islam's rules in this area, we can conclude that its most important attribute is social justice. In this respect, the Islamic economy resembles all other systems that claim to be serving human being and realizing his social aspirations but it differs from them in the details of its conception of social justice.

Justice cannot emerge unless the following requirements are present: first, believing in the private and social property on an equal and advanced level in a way that the private property acts on the fulfillment of man's natural demands for possessing the result of his effort and obtaining the benefits of his business. While the public property aims at guaranteeing that social action enjoys a social product through which the provision of some needs and shortages would become possible.

Second, faith in individual economic freedom as a general, continuous, comprehensive principle which stems from the nature of the ownership along with the belief in the existence of some limits at which this freedom ends. This is for the purpose of either guaranteeing individual's interest as in the case of objects the use of which was outlawed because of the physical or moral damage that they could inflict upon the individual, or to secure others' rights and liberties which is also a natural guarantee admitted by all religions and human affiliations.

Third, faith in the principle of mutual responsibility. Islam guarantees, for every individual in the Islamic society, the subsistence level, i.e., provision of his natural needs. The government is obliged to provide this minimum for all and it is absolutely impermissible that even a single needy person is found in the Islamic society. Regarding how to make the society economically capable of doing this, the following factors may be mentioned:

Obliging individuals to accomplish their responsibilities and duties with respect to the provision of the necessary needs of others. Since one of government's responsibilities is to compel individuals to perform their obligations, even those which are individual, it may bind individuals to carry out these duties as well.

The legal power of waliy al-amr [head of the Islamic government] to determine the limits of public domain (saddu mantaqat al-mubahat) through legislation supplies the government with the desirable power.

Public properties and anfal [properties with no particular owner/s] which are designated by the government as public properties which the government oversees and uses to achieve the above goal.

Financial punishments and methods that are devised by Islam to transfer private properties to the public ownership as with respect to mawqufat [endowments] or the lands the inhabitants of which perished or the dead without heirs and so forth.

Nature of the Islamic legislation--as Shahid al-Sadr (r) put it--which aims at strengthening the social structure for the realization of this mutual responsibility.

Fourth, belief in the principle of social balance and refusal of the class system in the Islamic society. We came to know through the third point that the required minimum is to provide subsistence for all individuals. As far as the maximum is concerned, it may be assumed through the following factors:

1. The prohibition of tabdhir and israf [wasting and squandering] in all areas, therefore, an individual cannot possibly trespass to the line of israf.

2. The prohibition of every action that leads to misuse of particular properties, and of lahw [amusement] and mujun [impudence].

3. Rejection of all social and economic privileges which discriminate between different groups of people which, in turn, eliminates all the grounds for the emergence of the class system.

If we go back and scrutinize all of these features and expose them to human nature and conscience we will find them principles that may be admitted in a natural way. This explains the return of each of the two extremist systems of capitalism and socialism to a moderate position after its collision with opposing natural factors--as we believe.

The natural basis of these views is evidently emphasized by general regulatory and conceptual authoritative texts (nusus) that are numerous and to some of which we point here:

There are nusus that stress the inherence character of private and public property:

The Exalted says: "And the man shall gain nothing but what he strives for." (53:39) (naturally if we interpret it as including worldly possession).

Amir al-mu'minin (`a) says: "This property is indeed neither mine nor yours but it is a collective property of the Muslims ... what is earned by their hands does not belong to any mouths other than theirs." (Nahj al-Balaghah, sermon 232)

There are some nusus that emphasize the economic freedom in a natural form the clearest of which is the rule on which all fuqaha' [Islamic scholars] rely, namely the rule (Al-nasu musallatuna `ala amwalihim [people are in control of their properties]). Naturally, there are some limits to this freedom which are mentioned by other nusus stressing that this restriction is only for the benefit of the individual and the society.

There are some nusus that emphasize the inherence of mutual responsibility and cooperation and further consider all kinds of negligence with respect to this principle as a general rejection of din [faith and religion]. The Exalted says: "Have you seen the person who rejects the religion? He is the one who treats the orphan with harshness, and does not urge (others) to feed the poor." (107:1-3)

Finally, there are some nusus that stress the necessity for the realization of balance in the society through their emphasis on the prohibition of israf and also the necessity of renouncing poverty and providing subsistence for every individual. The Imam (`a) says, while speaking of the duties of the waliy al-amr [leader] toward the needy: "He keeps giving him from zakah till he makes him needless."

The Proper Grounds Which Islam Prepares for Its Economic System

In this regard, the analyst can find in front of him a huge wealth of noble nusus that emphasize various concepts and numerous rules and fixed historical laws and that all serve the cause of Islamic economy and participate, in a natural way, in the realization of its far-reaching goals. We mention below a number of these issues:

A. The Real ownership belongs to Allah, the Exalted: This principle is the most important tenet that forms man's image as it leaves its visible marks on the economic behavior of Muslim individual. Ownership belongs only to the Unpaired, Almighty Allah and He the Exalted bestowed an assumed, legal ownership upon the human being so that it distributes the properties among its individuals and exercises this ownership according to the purposes that Allah chose for the benefit of humanity. This notion has great influence on the exclusion of negative effects on ownership in its absolute capitalistic form.

B. The purpose is to reclaim the land through a joint, human effort and responsibility: In this way, the man believes that the human effort from the beginning to the end is one and that the important goal is to make the humanity subservient before God, establish the worshipping society and prepare the grounds for it through making the earth inhabitable, extract the greatest benefits from it to the advantage of all through performing the duties arising from the joint responsibility. Diversion from this is diversion from the purpose.

C. Ethical concepts in the service of economic cause: Islamic nusus are full of a magnificent ethical plan which leads to its contribution to this economic system and to the realization of its goals. Most of the riwayat [traditions], on one hand, encourage in the human being the spirit of cooperation, responsibility, Islamic fraternity, ithar [self-sacrifice], zuhd [piety], and compassion for the miseries and aspirations of others. On the other hand, they drive away from the human being such vices as stinginess, greed, exclusivism, transgressing the rights of others, opportunism, avarice, and envy. Imam Sadiq (`a) counted all good manners as the troopers of `aql [wisdom] and all vicious attributes as the troopers of jahl [ignorance]. We can neither mention all of the riwayat in this regard nor touch on their educational details, therefore, only point to this particular fact that the Islamic ethics and educational system augment in human being the spirit of generosity before they emphasize the economic freedom and the possibility of using it to his own particular benefits. The story of Qarun [Korah] is well-known for its focus on this ethical principle (And seek by means of what Allah has given to you the other world's abode and do not neglect your share of this world ... (28:77)).

This story and this principle is a multifaceted Islamic creed which, if prevails in the society, will provide the greatest grounds for the implementation of the desirable economic system.

D. Al-infaq al-mustahabb [commendable spending for a divine cause] and the extended life: Here, a wonderful aspect of the solution to the problem of conflict between the inherent motivations for serving one's self and the motivations for serving the society is manifested. According to this notion, one begins with the prolongation of his own life and ends up with a level of eternity in the hereafter. He finds out that self-interest and social interest are integrated; a notion that encourages him to make continuous infaq which does not ever run out of its driving forces according to the principle which says "whoever establishes a favorable habit he will be rewarded both for it and for the action of whoever follows it." And here we would like to remind emphatically the extended effect of waqf since, as the result of these motivations, the private property is transferred to the public ownership and man's permanent exploitation of his property is realized.

E. Shukr al-ni`mah [gratitude for a blessing] means to make the best use of the wealth and avoiding its waste: The major problem in the global economic domain does not lie in the weakness of growth rates of natural resources and their failure to keep up with the population growth rate but it lies in the failure to make ideal use of natural resources or, as the nusus put it, in kufran al-ni`mah [ingratitude for the blessing] and squandering the natural, mineral and animal resources and so forth (And He gave you of whatever you asked Him for and if you count Allah's blessings you will not (possibly) obtain their number. Man is indeed very unjust, very ungrateful. ... (14:34))

And it is a kind of shukr al-ni`mah to make ideal use of he labor force and to avoid wasting it. For this reason, the nusus emphasize the continuous work and even declare it obligatory for those who are able.

F. Relationship between moralities and material pursuits at the civilizational level: There is an amazing civilizational fact that nobody can perceive it except those who believe in the ghayb [the metaphysical world] and its various aspects. The Holy Qur`an stresses that zulm [injustice] leads to halak [annihilation] (Thus, because of their injustice We destroyed them) and that 'adl [justice] and du`a' [praying] and shukr [gratitude] leads, in a lawful way, to rakha' [comfort] (Ask for your Lord's forgiveness, surely He is the most Forgiving. He will send down the cloud upon you pouring down abundance of rain. And help you with properties and sons, and make for you gardens and make for you rivers. (71:10-12). This fact arouses, in hearts, a great hope in the future, even the material future, and opens the way for a social and economic dynamism.

Add to what was mentioned above other major factors that contributes to this background.

Strong Connection With Other Systems

It is evident in all systems devised by Islam that they are put forward as parts of a larger system which includes, in general, the whole universe. These systems are in strong and close interconnection in such a manner that none of them can achieve its desired goal without the implementation of other systems (and naturally, we do not claim here that the obligation to set up the system hinges on the establishment of other systems but what we emphasize is the issue of system's achievement of all of its desired goals.)

In this regard the following points should be made:

A. Certain areas of the social system are reserved to be filled by the waliy al-amr (or by some one appointed by him) due to his ijtihad [ability to extract Islamic rule whenever needed] and determination of the nature of the prevailing situations and ummah's interest. This is what we observe, for example, in economic, legal, and penal systems and in the institutions of waqf [endowment], mu`amalat [transactions], irth [inheritance], and so forth. This fact indicates the complete connection between these institutions and the ruling political system.

B. The economic system is strongly related to the system of `ibadat [worshippings]. This is the issue which is sometimes presented as the companionship of the prayers and zakah in tens of Qur'anic cases. Zakah and khums are two financial `ibadahs. Financial kaffarat [expiations] are, in fact, also a huge economic participation by `ibadat system in the service of public economic interest. It should not be ignored that some `ibadahs like sawm [fasting] and hajj provide the elements of economic grounds, to which we clearly pointed. There are certain `ibadahs that strongly contribute to the public ownership such as waqf, if we require niyyat al-qurbah [proximity intention] in it.

C. The economic system and its goals and pecularities naturally have a strong connection with the system of mu`amalat [transactions] which is designed in such a manner to provide the proper environment for the realization of mutual responsibility, balance, and dual ownership, emphasize the labor element, and prohibits riba [usury], 'akl al-mali bi al-batil [financial misappropriation], harmful acts, lahw [debauchery], and wasting of the wealth.

D. There is a considerable linkage between the economic system and the system of jihad [military defense] in Islam for the latter system involves, in addition to combative rules and methods, implications for ownership, war spoils, and so forth.

E. Undoubtedly, the economic system is also related to the social system including the form of society's principle cell, i.e. the family, and also the social relations among the families, and individual's relations with the society. All of these are predominated by social Islamic rules including mutual responsibility and balance, which form the most important characteristics in the economy as we mentioned frequently. This argument also involves the rules regarding mahrs [dowries], nafaqahs [allowances], various methods of division of labor, and such issues as irth [inheritance], wasiiyyahs [bequests], and the rulings with regard to children, qada' [adjudication], financial ta`zirs [discretionary punishments] and other varieties of financial punishments, and others which may not be all discussed in this limited space.

G. Touching on these relations, the late Ayatullah al-Sadr points to another aspect of the issue, namely the relationship between government's economic doctrine and its financial policy which is, in fact, a part of government's planning for enforcement of the laws of Islamic economy, thus, it is a part of the economy itself.

H. We already pointed to the link between Islam's economic system and its ethical system which makes the latter one of the major preludes and the motivating element for the ummah in the way of implementing the economic system and realizing its goals to such an extent that it becomes hard to distinguish between the two systems.

Here I would like to point, as a diversion from the main course of discussion, to the fact that Islam addresses the whole life in general and devises for it the best system which guides toward the goal in a deliberate manner and based on principles of justice and equity. Whereas we find the positivist world today floundering in the establishment of a desirable system for the protection of human dignity, distribution of responsibilities, and realization of rights. Therefore, social systems collapse, one after another, and admit their defeat while Islam remains a straight religion without any deviation.

As an example for this argument, we focus on the slogan which the positivist world spouts through giving it a widespread global character and which has recently altered to a sweeping emotional wave, namely the slogan of equality of women and men in all situations, periods, and places, and with respect to all rights without any exceptions whatever it would be. We have been finding this slogan tens of times in the documents presented in the conferences of Mexico City, Bucharest, Cairo, and recently in a strong and explicit form, in the Beijing Conference on Woman. We see the document produced by this conference concentrating, specifically, on the issues of inheritance, absolute material equality, judgeship, and the so called sexual freedom rights for all ages and so forth.

We consider this slogan as a blind assertion although it has an attractive appearance since equality is one of the principles favorable to the human taste concerning two individuals whose rights are equal in terms of their human dignity and affiliation, i.e. the man and the woman. But this principle is not too general to have exceptions. This is due to the natural differences between man's and woman's physical and emotional structures, nature of the social responsibility which is to be carried out by each, and the extent of participation by each in the social construction including the establishment of social justice. Hence, we may not call out the slogan of quantitative equality without considering the desired balance otherwise we will commit, through this equality, injustice and unfairness. When the principles of equality and social justice are in conflict, one may ask to which one the priority goes? Undoubtedly, the principle of justice is the one which common-sense testifies to its generality and insusceptibility to exception, therefore, social justice qualifies the principle of equality and even determines its socially desired form.

We feel great regret on the blind, sweeping, global wave that has been put forward thoughtlessly and that criticizes against the Islamic inheritance system pretending to ignore that it is part of a whole and that there is a wonderful balance between this system and the nafaqah [allowance] system and the duties of each of the man and the woman in the social life.

The Flexibility of Islamic Economic System

This subject is, in general, related to the flexible character of Islamic rules but we will show it from the economic angle. Briefly, Islam supplied this system with all necessary elements which enable it to accommodate the vital changes which occur frequently and rapidly in the economic field. The reason is that economy is a field related to the complexities of man's social life as well as to nature's ability to provide, and the proper environmental conditions, and so on. Therefore, with respect to land distribution and ownership, there is a great difference between the situation of land's perfect abundance and man's insufficient physical power and the situation of scarcity and increasing shortage resulted from human growth rates on one hand, and man's immense technological power to reclaim the land. This difference may affect the issues of hiyazah [occupancy] -which is considered as an ownership factor-, social development, mines' ownership, vertical ownership -both in depth and in altitude-, energy's ownership, etc.

This difference may also influence the issue of alteration of the nature and effects of property relationship leading mujtahids [jurists] to keep aloof from the issue of absolute ownership of land and suggest the subject of haqq al-ikhtisas [exclusivity right] which results from the impact made by the individual on the land, thus when the impact ceases to exist the right will expire and returns to the public domain which can be used by the Islamic state according to the public interest.

Therefore, existence of the element of ijtihad and its constant openness represents one of flexibility elements without which one cannot know the developments' effects on the nature of the rule deduced form the nusus.

The fact that Islam put forward certain broad economic rules and related them to the `urf [prevailing standards of conduct] concept has a special connotation for notions like israf and tabdhir [wasting and squandering], faqr and ghina [poverty and needlessness], al-nafaqat al-muta`arifah [customary allowance], al-manfa`at al-muhallalah [lawful profit], ma`un [basic need], riba [usury], mithliyyah and qimiyyah [fungibility and being ad valorem], circulation and depression of cash currencies, daman [liability], individual and social damage, haraj [impediment], darurah [urgency], al-maslahat al-`ulya [the higher expediency], being asbaq [preceding] in waqf, being `aqdiy [contractual], being bay`iy [exchange], trade through taradi [mutual agreement], being qimariy [gamble], lahw, and even `adalah [justice], zulm [injustice], ta`addi [transgression], and akl al-mal bi al-batil [misappropriation of property]. Thus, `urf intervenes when these concepts change, often due to change in conditions, and consequently, as a result of change in the `urfi [commonplace] view of the subject the judgment also changes as we saw in the issue of shatranj [chess] for example.

However, the most important element on which the Islamic system concentrates is the element of intervention by the mujtahid, just waliy al-amr in the economic life. This intervention has its own criteria, rules, and what the late al-Sadr calls the penetrating beams that illuminate Islam's positions and give it the spirit of the system and its promising goals1. In such a system, the waliy has the obligation to take advantage of his social power and true commitment to Islam and the Islamic expediency of the ummah and, through consultation with the masters of knowledge and expertise, carry out his duties which can be summarized as the following:

1. Identification of the best methods and executive arrangements for the enforcement of the fixed rules of Allah, e.g. looking for the best way to eliminate riba in the society while preserving the positive activities performed by the banks.

2. Filling the public domain with laws in accordance with the supreme Islamic expediency while preserving, as much as possible, the primary rule regarding the various cases.

3. Determining the extent to which the conditions are favorable for the enforcement of Islamic rules and institutions. Therefore, if the faqih finds the conditions and the rules in such a serious incompatibility that is called by the scholars of usul as tazahum [conflict], namely tazahum between the wujub [obligatoriness] of implementing the hukm [ruling] and the prohibition of resulting evil consequences, he must produce the best possible solution to facilitate the implementation of the hukm while compensating its mafsadahs [damaging results]. If this appears to be impossible he should shift to the area of tarjih bi al-ahammiyah [preference based on priority] which is a vast area that follows the opinions of experts and mujtahids. The situation may reach to a point that due to the priority of preventing the mafsadah caused by it, the implementation of a certain hukm is suspended. This area is an accurate and a delicate one which is not to be resorted to except in rare situations.

Conclusions

Based on what was discussed above we can briefly highlight the following practical conclusions:

First, we repeatedly see or hear those who suggest the idea of cross-combination of ideology and system which signifies the establishment of a socialist or a capitalist economic system in an Islamic environment or the implementation of Islamic institutions in secular social structures. When these combinationists do not achieve desirable results from their efforts they tend to ignore the contradiction between the system and its implementation context and place the blame on the system itself. We may mention two experiences as examples here:

1) the experience of establishing socialist systems in our Islamic world and their quick failure as in Algeria -- during Houari Boumedienne's presidency -- and Libya.

2) the experiment of setting up al-qard al-hasan [interest-free loan] funds under secular systems where it was struck with unsatisfactory results that encouraged the opponents to attack the resulting situation as cacophony and accusing the planners of neglecting the absence of favorable conditions.

Second, If we wish to achieve good results in our Islamic community, we must provide the desirable grounds through deepening the faith in Allah and disseminating the elevated Islamic ethics, explicate the Islamic concepts related to economics and convey them to the public, and strive to mobilize the feelings and sensations and give them a desirable Islamic shape. As long as we do not accomplish this task we should not expect ideal results. In this regard, I would like to draw your attention to some advertising tactics employed by the banks which concentrate on the profits generated by the money deposited in al-qard al-hasan funds and on prizes that it may bring for the depositors without ever referring to the great reward which ensues whenever they participate in the revitalization of the public economy and server the society through their bank activities and deposits and without mentioning the noble ayat and ahadith which call for such deeds.

Third, we propose that Islamic banks form a fiqhi committee consisting of prominent scholars, and further, that the mujtahids in al-hawzat al-`ilmiyyah (Islamic theological schools) undertake a study about the legitimacy and plausibility of the proposed economic, financial, and banking systems from the viewpoint of Islamic laws and constantly express their opinions concerning new forms for such systems.

Bay` al-salam [forward sale], and bay` al-salam al-mumathil [fungible forward sale], bay` al-istisna' [manufactural sale], tawrid [mutual forward] contracts, murabahah [resale with stated profit] contracts, and so on are examples of economic institutions that provide banks with more alternatives for economic activities. This is what the late Shahid al-Sadr proposed a quarter of a century ago through his famous proposal known as riba-free banking and what I put forward as the draft law for the prohibition of riba in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ijtihad is indeed a source of blessing and Islamic rules are overflowing reserves that can undoubtedly help us to safeguard the Islamic character and spirit and overcome the difficulties caused by the developments of modern life.

Endnotes

These goals include, for example, Qur'an's emphasis on avoidance from creating a situation that causes exclusive circulation of wealth only among the rich, and its emphasis on the necessity to prohibit the manipulation of the property which Allah made the sustenance of the ummah, or the emphasis by some nusus on the view that the purpose of trade is to extract benefits or on the prohibition of hajj if its opening results in evil consequences and so on.


Source: http://www.aimislam.com/advent

Purgatory Life (Barzakh)

"Barzakh" literally means 'barrier'. In the Qur'an, it has been used for the period between death and the Day of Resurrection.

"And behind them is the Barzakh (barrier) till the Day they will be Resurrected." Holy Qur'an (23:100)

Our Third Imam (a.s.) has said that "We will intercede on your behalf on the Day of Judgment; but, by Allah, I am worried about you or the period when you would be in Barzakh."

Imam Zaynal Abideen (a.s) has referred in the Hadith to the fact that the sinning believers will get their punishment during this period, as will be explained later on.
It appears from many traditions that the soul maintains some emotional attachment with the body even after death - at least till the body is buried. That is why it is forbidden to roughly handle the dead-body "because it pains the Soul." When a child gets hurt while playing and, let us say, his leg is wounded, the parents feel more pain in their hearts than the child might be feeling in his leg. In the same way, as the soul has been with the body for some time, it gives it pain to see that body mis-handled.

After the questioning in the grave, the Soul of a believer is sent to Wadis-Salaam (The Valley of Peace); and that of an un-believer to Wadi Barhut (The Valley of Barhut). The Valley of Peace is said to be in Najaf, where the Souls of the Believers remain in peace waiting for the Day of Resurrection; and the Valley of Barhut is said to be in Yemen, where the souls of hypocrites and unbelievers remain in turmoil, afraid of the approaching Day of Resurrection.

The above information is based upon traditions. There is nothing to make us believe that these Ahadith are not to be taken literally. If Allah keeps a soul in a place (i.e., a Body) before death, He can keep that very soul in another place after death too. Some modern scholars have tried to interpret these words metaphorically. They say that the Valley of Peace means 'Peace' and the Valley of Barhut means 'Turmoil'; and according to them, the Ahadith means that the souls of the believers remain in peace and those of others remain in turmoil.

During past centuries, Muslim scholars have repeatedly tried to interpret so many Ayats and Ahadith metaphorically, just because the literal meanings were not palatable to the tastes of their times. Subsequent discoveries showed that it was the literal meaning which was correct. Therefore, one cannot find any justification for this latest attempt which denies the literal meanings and explanations of these two Valleys. The correct view and attitude is to believe what we have been told by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) and Imams (a.s.) because they are our guides in these matters, and it will not do to insert our own views in between.


QUESTIONING IN THE GRAVE
The questioning in the grave is one of the "Dharuriyyat-e-Deen" (Those things which are commonly believed by all Muslims) and if some one rejects this belief he will not remain a Muslim. Sheikh Saduque (a.r.) has written:
"And it is our belief that the Questioning in the grave is 'Haqq' (Truth, Fact); whoever would answer the questions correctly would get comfort and mercy in his grave and the Garden of Bliss in the Akherat; and whoever would not answer correctly, for him would be the fear of boiling water in his grave and Hell in the next world."

According to traditions, after one has been buried and those who had come to bury him go away, two angels come into his grave. One is called Munkar, the other Nakir. The soul is caused to re-enter the body for questioning. Then the "dead person" is asked: Who is thy Rabb (Lord and Sustainer)? Who is thy Prophet? What is thy religion? What is thy Book? What is thy Qubla? Who are thy Imams?

It appears from some traditions that questioning of the grave contains questions about prayers, Zakat, Hajj, fast and the Love of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.)
If he is a believer and answers correctly, the angels tell him to sleep peacefully; and a door is opened into his grave from the Paradise; he sees his place in the Paradise; then his soul is taken out from the body and is placed in neighborhood of the 14 Masumeen (sinless persons) i.e., the Prophet (s.a.w.), his daughter, Fatima Az-Zahara (a.s.) and the 12 Imams (a.s.).

According to some traditions, the names of the angels who come to question a believer are 'Mubashshir' and 'Bashir' (one who brings good tidings).
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) told Hadrat Ali (a.s.):
"O Ali, verily those who love you will be glad in three places: at the time of death, because you will be there visiting them: and at the questioning in the grave as you will be there teaching them (the correct replies); and at the time of coming before Allah, and you will be there introducing them."
This Hadith, and many others, show that Imam (or Imams) (a.s.), come into the grave also.
If he is not a believer, and does not answer correctly, then the angels punish him with a club, a door is opened from the Hell into his grave. Thereafter, his soul is transferred to Wadi Barhut.

Here it must be mentioned that this questioning in the grave is only for a perfect believer or a confirmed unbeliever. It is not for common people; nor is it for children, mad persons or those whose religious beliefs (disbelief’s) were not based on understanding and conviction (he was a Muslim or Christian just because he happened to be born of Muslim or Christian Parents).

Also, if 'Talqueen' has been recited on the grave, the dead-body is not questioned. Talqueen means 'To Teach'. In Talqueen, the dead-body is taught the correct answers to the questions which are to be asked. According to Ahadith, if Talqueen is recited, the angels tell each other to return because "the Talqueen is his proof (of faith)."

Question: How can a dead-body hear Talqueen? Talqueen is recited in Arabic language. How can a non-Arab dead-body understand it?

Answer: So long as the soul is in this body, it requires ears to hear and eyes to see. But as soon as it is free from the shackles of the body, it hears, sees and feels independently, without needing any of the organs. Therefore, we should not be surprised at how a 'dead-body' can hear our sound and Talqueen. So far as understanding the Talqueen in a 'foreign language' is concerned, the same principle applies here. While in this body, the soul understands through the mind. But when it becomes free, it understands independently. When it understands with the help of the brain, it is bound to this or that language. When it understands on its own, it needs no particular language. All languages are equal for it.
Furthermore, according to traditions, the language of the Akherat is Arabic; and as soon as one dies, he at once understands this language.

Also, according to traditions, a dead body which carries a stick from the lote-tree on either side, is exempted from punishment and questioning in the grave.
Zurarah (r.a.) asked Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) why the two green branches (of lote-tree) are put with the dead-body (in the shroud), Imam (a.s.) said:
"So long as the branch is green, the dead-body is not punished nor is the account of deeds and beliefs taken." then he said: "And the punishment starts on the first day, within the first hour, as soon as people go back after burying their dead. And it is for this reason that the two branches have been prescribed. (As the punishment and questioning is deferred in the first hour because the branches are green) there will be no punishment or accounting even after they become dry, if Allah so wishes (as the time of punishment has passed.)"


THE SQUEEZE IN THE GRAVE
Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) has said:
"Whoever is subject to the questioning in the grave, is also squeezed by the grave therein; and the one who is exempted from questioning, is exempted from the squeeze also."
For some believers this squeeze will be like two friends embracing each other. But for some other believers, whose sins had not been washed by the agony of death, this will be severe enough to fracture the ribs.

This squeezing is not dependent upon the corpse being buried in the earth. In the words of Imam (a.s.) the Lord of the earth is also the Lord of the atmosphere. And the corpse would be squeezed, if it deserved it, no matter in what condition or place it happens to be.
Now we will refer to the funeral of Bibi Fatima Bint Asad (a.s.) during the Prophet's (s.a.w.) time.
When Bibi Fatima Bint Asad (wife of Hadrat Abu Talib and mother of Hadrat Ali (a.s.) died, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) was very much grieved.

Verily, the Messenger of Allah gave Kafan (shroud) to Fatima Bint Asad (mother of the leader of the Faithful) in his own robe, when the women finished washing her, he (s.a.w.) carried her bier on his shoulder, and he remained under her bier till he bought it to her grave.

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) "remained under her bier" means that he carried on his shoulder. In East Africa, a peculiar custom has been adopted: the son of the dead person remains "under the bier" literally; instead of carrying the bier or helping others carrying it, he places himself between those who are actually carrying the bier, and inconveniences them.

Then the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) put her bier near the grave, and entered the grave and lay in it. Then he stood up and took the body in his hands and laid it into the grave. Then he put his face near hers whispering to her for a long time, telling her "your son, your son". Then he came out, filled the grave and shaped it properly. Then he inclined towards the grave, and people heard him (s.a.w.) saying:
'There is no god but Allah. O Allah, I am giving her to thee in trust' .
Then he returned.
The Muslims said: 'O Messenger of Allah, today we have seen you doing such things as you had never done before!'
The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:
"Today I lost the righteousness of Abu Talib: Verily, she was so (kind to me) that whenever she had any good thing, she gave it to me, instead of using it for herself or her own children. And I said once that on the Day of Judgment people would be assembled naked. She said: "Oh, the shame!" Therefore, I assured her that Allah would resurrect her with clothes. And I described the squeeze of the grave, and she said: "Oh, the weakness!" So, I guaranteed to her Allah would save her from it. It was for this reason that I gave her shroud from my own robe, and I lay down in her grave. And I knelt near her to teach her (the answers of) what she was being asked. And verily, she was asked about her Lord; and she said, "Allah is my Lord"; and about her Prophet, and she answered, "Muhammad (s.a.w.)". Then she was asked about her Wali and Imam, and she perplexed and hesitated a little; so I told her "Your son, your son". And she replied, "My child is my Imam". Then the two angels went away and said, "We have no authority upon you, sleep as a bride sleeps (with no worry at all)." Then she died again (i.e., her soul was taken out of her body again.)"

This Hadith shows the love of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) towards Abu Talib and Fatima Bint Asad, and their love towards him; it also shows the prestige of the Prophet, that he could exempt Fatima Bint Asad from the common plight of the Day of Judgment and the grave; and shows the benefit (and origin) of Talqueen; proves that the questioning and described by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) himself.


THREE GROUPS IN BARZAKH
The question of reward and punishment in Barzakh is very complicated. Allah decides everything according to His own plan, which, of course, is based upon mercy and justice - justice for all and mercy for the believers. Obviously, every case is dealt with its own merit. Therefore, it is very difficult to lay down any hard and fast rule. Still, what appears from the traditions of the Masumeen (a.s.) may be summed up as follows:
Different types of people get different types of treatment after death and before the Day of Resurrection.

First: there are true believers, perfect in their faith virtuous in their deeds. They lived a blameless life, and if there was some mistake or sin (because 'to err is human') their worldly troubles (illness, poverty, death of near and dear ones, troublesome neighbors or tyrant spouse, etc.) and/or agony at the time of death were sufficient to be counted as its retribution and atonement.

Allah knows that they deserve reward. Still, the Day of Judgment has not arrived, and they can not be sent to the Paradise straight away. By the rule of the Law, they should be left without any reward till they are resurrected; but the Mercy of Allah decrees that they should not be left in abeyance. Therefore, they are questioned about their beliefs, and on giving correct answers, they enter a state of bliss, which gives them the satisfaction of knowing that their future is assured: They find pleasure and happiness in their grave, and wait eagerly for the Day of Judgment.

Second: the confirmed unbelievers and hypocrites, whose lives are devoid of any good deed: Or if there was any good deed, the worldly blessings (health, wealth, good family and friends, prestige and power, etc.) and/or the ease at the time of death were sufficient rewards.

Allah knows that their place is Jahannam (Hell): but He will not send them there before the Day of Judgment. So, to give them a fore-taste of their punishment, they are questioned about their beliefs, and when they do not give correct answers, their graves are turned into punishment cells. And they wish the Quiyamat would not come at all.

Here it should be mentioned that the reward or punishment of Barzakh is different from that of Paradise or Hell. The reward or punishment of Barzakh is for the soul only. It is for this reason that we do not see anyone being rewarded or punished in the grave. In the traditions of the Masumeen (a.s.), it has been compared to happy dreams or nightmares. The person who is dreaming is going through all the tortures in the dreams; but the man sitting besides him does not realize what is going on. Likewise, the joys of dream are not known to others at all.

But again it is not a strict rule. Some exceptions have been observed whereas the dead-body was found enjoying some rewards, (a heavenly rose put near the nose, for example or undergoing some torture (a scorpion stinging at the toe, for instance.). But these are the exceptions that prove the rule.

The Third Group is of those who are neither perfect believers nor confirmed unbelievers. The children, the lunatics, those who because of one reason or another were not in a position to differentiate between the right and wrong path, those who were so far from Islamic environment that they were not aware of the truth of Islam, those who did not know about Islam but at the same time were not enemies of Islam, those whose religious beliefs were not based upon logical understanding but they just followed what their families were following; even those non-believers who love the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) and his Ahlul-Bait (a.s.), without knowing that they were the True Guides sent by Allah; all such people come under this group.

Such people will not be subject to the questioning and squeeze of the grave. They will be left in a state like deep slumber; and Allah will decide about them on the Day of Judgment. Till then, there is neither reward nor punishment for them.

After these three main groups, there still remains a group in between, which must be described here to complete the picture. This group is of those who had committed so many sins that could not be wiped out by worldly troubles and agony of death. Now, if Allah decides such a believer should come on the Day of Judgment clean from all blemishes and free from all sins, then He may put him under punishment which has been referred to in the Hadith of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) which was mentioned earlier:
"We will intercede on your behalf on the Day of Judgment; but, by Allah, I am worried about you whilst you would be in Barzakh."
On the other hand, if Allah decides to leave his case in suspense till Quiyamat, then it will fall under the third group. Anyhow, all these things depend upon the Justice and Mercy of Allah. We have not been told enough to know all the details about all the groups.

It is about the first and second group (as well as the last mentioned believers who will be punished in Barzakh) that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) has said: "When one dies his Quiyamat starts." In this sense the Barzakh is called "Quiyamat-e-Sughra" (the Lesser Quiyamat).


SALMAN FARSI TALKS WITH A DEAD PERSON
It seems proper to give here a short account of the conversation which Salman, the Persian, had with a dead person. It is a lengthy tradition, but of great benefit.
Asbagh bin Nubata (r.a.) was a trusted companion of Ameerul-Mumineen Ali (a.s.). He went to see Salman Farsi (r.a.) who at the time was governor of Madain. Asbagh (r.a.) says:

"I found him very sick, near his death. He told me: 'O Asbagh, the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) had informed me that, at the time of my death, a dead person would talk to me. Now, put me on the wooden plank and take me to the graveyard. On reaching the graveyard, Salman faced towards the Quibla and in a loud voice saluted the dead. Nobody replied. After saluting them several times without getting any reply, Salman said: "O Inhabitants of these graves, I am Salman, a slave of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.). The Prophet (s.a.w.) had told me that at the time of my death a dead person would converse with me. Now, if the time has arrived, then, for the sake of Allah and His Messenger (s.a.w.), please talk to me."
Suddenly someone responded to his Salaam, and said: "O people who build and plant, and ultimately the buildings turn into ruins and gardens decay, ask me what you want, I will reply."
Salman (r.a.) asked: "Are you from the people of Paradise or of Hell?" The dead man said that he was from the people of Paradise.

Salman requested him to describe how he died and what agonies he had to undergo at that time. He replied:
"O Salman, please do not ask this. By Allah, if someone had snipped my flesh (by scissors) in little bits and removed the fleshed from the bones, it would have been easier than the agony of death. O Salman, I always did good deeds in your world, always prayed on time, used to recite the Qur'an, was good to my parents, lived on lawful earnings. Then I fell ill and my life came to its end. At that time, a very tall person, with a frightening countenance, stood in the air before me. He pointed to my eyes and they lost their sight; to my ears and they became deaf; to my tongue and it lost its speech. I asked him who he was and why he was doing it to me. He said: 'I am the angel of death; your life has ended in this world. You have to go from here to another world'.

Then two persons came to me, one of them sat on my right, the other on the left. They informed me that they were the two angels who had written all my deeds in the worldly life. One, whose name was 'Raqueeb' gave my record of good deeds, on reading which I was much pleased. then the other angel, whose name was 'Ateed", gave me the other record, a complete record of my sins; and on reading that I was very sad.
Then the Angel of Death came nearer and removed my soul through my nose, and I have not forgotten its agony yet. Seeing me dead, my relatives and family members started crying. The Angel of Death said: "Why are you crying? I have not done any injustice that you are complaining of. When your life came to end, I removed your soul on the command of Allah. And I will come to you so many times."
Then another angel took my soul and I was brought to heaven where I was asked about my deeds, viz. Prayers, Fasts, Zakat, Khums, Hajj, Jihad, recitation of the Qur'an, obedience to the parents etc. Likewise, I was asked whether I had murdered any one, or taken some one's property without any right, or been unjust to other people and such things.

Then that same angel brought my soul back to earth. At that time the person who wanted to wash my body (Ghusl) removed my clothes and started the ritual washing (Ghusl). My soul cried out: "O servant of Allah, have mercy on this weak and broken body. By Allah, all its veins, whence I have come out, have been broken; and its limbs are like they have been minced." My soul was imploring him in such a touching way that if the Ghassal were to hear it, he would have left washing the dead bodies altogether.
Then they covered me with Kafan (shroud), gave me Hunut, and prayed upon me. When they laid me in the grave, I was so much frightened that words cannot describe it.

When they closed my grave, my soul entered my body again. An Angel, Munabbih (One who awakens, reminds) by name, came to me and made me sit. He ordered me to write down all the deeds which I had done in the world. I said that I did not remember. He said: 'I will go on reminding, you go on writing.' I said: 'Where is the paper?' He said: 'This Kafan of yours will do for paper.' I said: 'Where can I find a pen?' He said: 'Your finger will be your pen.' I asked about the ink and was told that my saliva will work like ink.'
When I had written all my deeds, the Angel put my writing around my neck like a band. It is as Allah says in the Qur'an:

"And the bird (i.e., deed done by one) of every man have We bound about his neck, and We shall produce unto him, on the Day of Resurrection, a book (in which his actions will be recorded) which he will find open, (it will be said to him) read thy book; thine own self will be a sufficient reckoner against thee." Holy Qur'an (17: 13-14)

(In other traditions, the name of the angel, who comes in the grave and guides in writing the deeds of the Meyyit, is given as "Ruman").
Then the angel, very frightening, Munkir by name, came to me with a fiery club, and asked me: "Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet and who are your Imams? What is your religion?" I was so afraid that I became totally confused; my limbs were trembling; I could not understand what to reply. In that confusion, the Mercy of Allah supported me, and my heart became tranquil, and I replied: "Allah (His Power is Great) is my Lord; and Muhammad (s.a.w.) is my Prophet, and Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.) is my Imam and Islam is my religion; and the Qur'an is my Book and the Kaaba is my Qubla."



Then another Angel, who is called Nakir, interrogated me in the same manner about my beliefs. By the Grace of Allah, I replied his questions also and said: "I bear witness that there is no god except Allah, and that Muhammad (s.a.w.) is His Messenger, and that Ali and his sinless progeny (a.s.) are the proofs of Allah, and that Paradise is Haqq (a Fact, Truth) and the Fire (of Hell) is true, and Sirat (Path) is true, and the Balance (of deeds) is true, and the Questioning of Munkar and Nakir in the grave is true, and the Resurrection is true, and the raising (of dead) is true, and that the Hour (Day of Judgment) is sure to come, there is no doubt in it, and that Allah will raise all the dead who are in the grave."

Hearing these true answers, the angels said to me: "Sleep as a bride sleeps" (without any worry); they opened a door of Paradise towards my head, and the breeze of Paradise came to me, and my grave (which previously looked like a prison) became a vast place extending beyond my vision, and the whole place became a garden.
O Salman, a man must remember his Lord at all times, and must spend his life in His obedience, because death is a sure thing and every one will have to face all those things which I have told you."

Asbagh (r.a.) said: "When the voice stopped, Salman (r.a.) told me to take him back home, there he lay on the ground and looking towards heavens prayed to Allah, and left this world."


A FEW SHORT NOTES
1. Those who are martyred in the Way of Allah remain alive for ever. (The Prophets and Imams (a.s.) are superior than the martyrs; and as such, they are also alive). About the martyrs Allah says in the Qur'an:

"And think not those who are slain in the way of Allah, to be dead; nay! alive they are with their Lord; are being sustained, rejoicing for those who have not yet joined them from behind them, that no fear shall come to them nor shall they grieve. They rejoice in the grace from Allah and (His) bounty, and in the fact that Allah does not (allow) the reward of the believers to be lost." Holy Qur'an (3:169-171)



2. The souls of the believers always look forward for the gifts from their near and dear ones, and especially so on Fridays and Friday eve. This gift may be in the form of prayers, alms, and other good deeds done on their behalf; one may also perform any Sunnat deed and pray to Allah to give its Thawab (Reward) to one's dead.



3. The souls are some times allowed to visit their relatives who are alive. So far as the believers are concerned, there is no doubt about their visit. According to many Ahadith, even that believer who has lowest rank is allowed to visit his relatives once every Friday. Those above him in rank may be allowed more frequently.
According to some Ahadith, even some unbelievers are allowed to visit their relatives so that their sorrow and grief may increase by seeing those relatives in disbelief and sin and realizing that they also would be punished in Akherat if they persisted in rejecting Islam and Iman.

4. It must be mentioned here that the souls of the unbelievers remain in punishment and are not free to do any mischief to any one. Therefore, the idea of some people that this or that person became a ghost after his death is sheer superstition. There is no basis to accept such beliefs, prevalent in Hinduism.

Of course, there are Jinns, and among them, according to the Qur'an, there are some evil ones also. But It does not mean that the evil Jinns have no other interest except teasing the East African residents of Indian origin. It is really surprising to listen to such lamentations that 'I have chronic headaches, and so and so (a Sheikh, or Amil, or sorcerer) has said that a very evil Jinn (Kalkail, Dardail or some such name) is upon me.

The belief in magic or sorcery is prevalent in Africa, and the East African Shia’s also have some Hindu back-ground (as they have originated from India), and unfortunately, the people who came to guide them in religious matters from Iran (and lately from India) found this ready belief in ghosts (and evil Jinn) conducive to their material gains. The result is that if, for example, there is a dispute between a husband and wife, each party tries to obtain the most effective 'Hirz' to subjugate the other party. (Incidentally, it would be the most expensive also!) Neither of them would think of amending oneself to win the heart of the spouse. The result, of course, is Divorce.

Before we go further, it is advisable to mention some Ayats of the Qur'an with their interpretations.

5. "Until, when death overtakes any of them, he says, 'O Lord; cause me to return (to life), so that I may do that which is right, which I had neglected.' By no means. Verily these are (mere) words which he speaks (he will not change his ways): and behind them there is a bar (partition) until the day they shall be resurrected." Holy Qur'an (23: 99-100)

This Ayat describes the sorrow, shame and grief of the unbelievers, when they face death. At that they desire to be returned to life, so that they may amend the ways of their lives and become virtuous. Of course, such a wish will not be granted to them. But by telling the believers not to waste the opportunity of doing good, lest we also should wish like that at the approach of death.

6. "Allah shall confirm them who believe, by the steadfast word (of faith), in this life and the next one; but Allah shall leave the wicked into error; and Allah does what He pleases." Holy Qur'an (14: 27)

It means that Allah keeps the believers steadfast on their faith in this life by the Creed of the Unity of Allah, and will keep them firmly on the path of Paradise in Quiyamat by the same Creed.


But according to the interpretation of our Imams (a.s.), the word 'next world' in this Ayat refers to the grave. Accordingly, this Ayat refers to questioning in the grave. It says that Allah will keep the believers steadfast in the grave because of their Creed. This help from Allah needs no further explanation because we have seen how Allah, by His Grace, exempts them from questioning if the Talqueen has been recited for them, or if they have died on Friday or Friday eve. Even when they are questioned, Allah sends Hadrat Ali (a.s.) to help them at that time. In this way their faith is confirmed. As for others, Allah leaves them in their error in the grave, because they rejected the divine guidance in this life.

7. "They (the unbelievers) shall say (on the Day of Resurrection), 'O Lord, thou hast given us death twice, and thou hast twice given us life; and we confess our sins; is there, therefore, any way to get forth (from retribution)?" Holy Qur'an (40: 11)

According to many traditions, two deaths and two lives mean death in this world, then resurrection in the grave for questioning, then death in the grave after questioning, then resurrection on the Day of Reckoning.

This information was extracted from:
1. Sayed Akhtar Rizvi. The Day of Judgement. Published by Al-Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania. 1988.


Source: http://www.fabonline.com