Friday, October 26, 2012

Do Not Pass Religious Rulings Without Knowledge



I have come to notice that many people, who consider themselves to be religious, are quite quick and comfortable to inform others about various religious rulings. This is fine as long as they are asked for them and are certain about what comes out of their mouths. However, at times, after questioning their statements a little further, I have come to realize that some of them, who initially seemed quite sure, were not as certain regarding the origin and the validity of the rulings that they were spreading. This action, to pass religious rulings without certainty has dire consequences. In this post, via posting a concise authentic tradition, I would like to highlight this point.  From the following tradition we can conclude that we must not pass religious rulings, without being certain of their validity. 


Arabic Text: 

مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ رِئَابٍ عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ الْحَذَّاءِ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ:
مَنْ أَفْتَى النَّاسَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَ لَا هُدًى لَعَنَتْهُ مَلَائِكَةُ الرَّحْمَةِ وَ مَلَائِكَةُ الْعَذَابِ وَ لَحِقَهُ وِزْرُ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِفُتْيَاهُ.

Farsi Translation:

امام باقر عليه السلام فرمود:
هر كه ندانسته و رهبرى نشده بمردم فتوى دهد فرشتگان رحمت و فرشتگان عذاب او را لعنت كنند و گناه آنكه بفتوايش عمل كند دامنگيرش شود.

English Translation:

Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Eissa from Al-Hasan ibn Mahbob from Ali ibn Re'ab fromAbu Obayda Al-Hatha'a from Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) who has said:

"The one who issues a fatwa [a religious ruling] without knowledge and without guidance will be cursed by angles of mercy and angles of punishment and the sin of whoever follows his fatwa will be added to him."



It is tremendously important to be careful about what leaves our mouths. It is tremendously important to watch over our tongues. 

For a few a more related traditions, you could check the following posts: 

·         Being Silent






Source:
Al-kafi, Volume 1, Page 42, Tradition #3

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

His Book Will Surprise You



The other day, I was speaking with a friend about the Holy Quran. My friend said, “whenever I read the Quran, I feel it keeps repeating itself.” Then he asked, “what is the point of reading it every day?”   

In this post, I would like to post a short good (like authentic) tradition, regarding the Quran and its magnificence and hope that my friend and who ever that may think like him would re-examine their views.

Following this tradition, I will make a few points.

Arabic Text:
عَلِيٌّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ عَنْ سَمَاعَةَ بْنِ مِهْرَانَ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع
إِنَّ الْعَزِيزَ الْجَبَّارَ أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ كِتَابَهُ وَ هُوَ الصَّادِقُ الْبَارُّ فِيهِ خَبَرُكُمْ وَ خَبَرُ مَنْ قَبْلَكُمْ وَ خَبَرُ مَنْ بَعْدَكُمْ وَ خَبَرُ السَّمَاءِ وَ الْأَرْضِ وَ لَوْ أَتَاكُمْ مَنْ يُخْبِرُكُمْ عَنْ ذَلِكَ لَتَعَجَّبْتُمْ.

Farsi Translation:
امام صادق (ع) فرمود:
راستى كه عزيز جبّار كتاب خود را بر شماها فرو فرستاده و او است كه راست گو و نيك خواه است، در كتاب او است گزارش شما و گزارش هر كه پيش از شما و گزارش هر كه پس از شما است و گزارش آسمان و زمين و اگر بيايد نزد شما كسى كه شما را از آن گزارش دهد، هر آينه به شگفت آئيد.

English Translation:

Ali has narrated from his father from Abdillah ibn Al Mogheira from Sama'ah ibn Mehran who has said, Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him) said:

Allah the Majestic, the Compeller descended His book upon you, and He is the Truthful, the Most Righteous. It includes and encloses information about you, information about those previous to you and information about those coming after you. And it includes information about the sky and the earth and if someone came and told you about all of these you would be surprised."



First and foremost, our imam (peace be upon him) begins by clarifying that His book is sent from Him and He is the Truthful. This opening section removes any doubt that His book may contain void information. He is, also, the Most Righteous. What ever that is revealed from Him stems from His righteousness and will be good for His sincere followers and servants.

It is followed that His book, encloses information about past, present and future. This is quite important. Many individuals when they read His book, attempt to understand it through past events. For example, they try to know when and where a verse was revealed and who and what it was addressing when it was revealed. Subsequently, they assume that if there are verses that they can link and connect to specific events in the past, then it must not be applicable to the present or to the future. Via this method, they limit the influence and application of His book in their contemporary lives and decision-making.

Furthermore, in this tradition we read in His book we find information about the sky and the earth.

The final part of this tradition is the part that ties all of this together and highlights the magnificence of His book. Without specifying any time or place, which leaves it open to all times and all places, we are told that His book has the capacity to surprise us. It is implied that regardless of how much we already know or how advanced we have already become, within this book there is information that would continue to surprise us. It contains in it confounding information about the future and about our natural world.  There is no wonder that we constantly hear from those who regularly read His book that they are amazed at how often they encounter something new that they had not encountered in the previous readings.

Now, it is important to keep in mind and remember that this tradition must be placed within a proper context. It must be understood alongside other traditions that speak about His book and about knowledge in general.  Based on other traditions, we are strongly recommended to read fifty verses of His book daily, and we are strongly recommended to do so contemplatively. In addition, it is well-known that our faith strongly encourages us to seek knowledge and study the creations of Allah, in order to obtain hints about the magnificence of Allah.  If we put this tradition, within the context of these other religious recommendations, we may conclude that to see more within His book, we must gain auxiliary information by gaining knowledge from outside of His book, and to incorporate such knowledge into our thoughts and reflections as we read fifty verses of His book contemplatively on a daily basis. Through this method, we gain the opportunity to be astonished regularly by God’s book.

Lastly, it should be noticed that this tradition does not specify any specific sort of individual that has the ability to inform us about the astonishing facts within God’s book. Thus, we do not have any reason to assume that ordinary individuals are incapable of discovering the implicit information within His book. If the right conditions are followed properly, then the doors of this treasure may be opened to any one.


Source:
Al-Kafi, Volume 2, Page 599, Tradition #3

Sunday, October 14, 2012

The People of Islam are Always Triumphant


During these rough times of war and turmoil, many of us may begin to feel impatient and nervous about the consequences of such dire events.  Nevertheless, the faithful are commanded to place their trust in God, who is omniscient and the most merciful. We need to constantly remind ourselves that God does not abandon His faithful servants.

In this post, I present a short yet reassuring authentic tradition, which should help in replenishing our patience.


Arabic Text:

مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ
مَا الْتَقَتْ فِئَتَانِ قَطُّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَاطِلِ إِلَّا كَانَ النَّصْرُ مَعَ أَحْسَنِهِمَا بَقِيَّةً عَلَى أَهْلِ الْإِسْلَامِ

Farsi Translation:

هشام بن سالم از امام صادق عليه السّلام روايت كند كه فرمود:
هيچ گاه دو گروه از اهل باطل بجنگ همديگر نروند جز آنكه پيروزى با آن گروهى است كه بهتر بدرد بقاى اهل اسلام بخورد.
English Translation:

Muhammad bin Yahya has narrated from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Eisa from Ali Ibn al-Hakam from Hisham Ibn Salim from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) who has said:

Never do two groups from the people of falsehood meet to fight, except that the victor will be the group which saves and is better for the survival of the people of Islam.




Source:
Al-Kafi, Volume 8, Page 152, Tradition #139