c
 


 

c 

 


It is very clear that Islam is the divine religion and all its believers are Muslims. Despite
knowing this fact, people do not want to part from their Ô
 and enter the pure Islam.
What is the reason behind this attitude?

x
 

I believe that if the holy Prophet (sws) would be alive and we were enjoying the blessing
of learning directly from him, there would not have been a chance for a believer to
attach to any particular Ô
. But after the demise of the Prophet (sws), even the
scholars of  have no choice but to consult the opinions of other scholars in various
situations. A layman cannot understand the holy Qur'an and the Sunnah by himself. He
has no option save to accept the opinion of the scholars. Asking him to study Qur'an
and Hҕadīth independently ignoring the opinions and researches of the scholars can
prove fatal for his religious self. The best option for such a man is that he should
consider the Qur¶ān and Hҕadīth, the only sources of the religion, and should accept only
such views of the scholars as seem compatible with the evidences given in the holy
Book of Allah and Sunnah. If he find a counter opinion by any other scholar, he should
not reject it but through evidences and, in this regard, he should seek guidance from his
religious mentor. If he finds that the view of the differing person is nearer to the 
and the Sunnah, he should accept it and his affiliation to his school should not hinder
his correction. But it should be noted that one should differ or stick to a particular group
or school only for the cause of Allah and in obedience to His Prophet (sws).


 is a natural weakness. It can be condemned only when it hinders the path of
righteousness and when a person denies the truth despite knowing it.

j

 
 c
c



 


What is the original dogmatic fault Shi'is? What are the differences between the Shi'is
and Sunnis?

x
 


Allow me not to comment here about the false and truth and simply illustrate the
difference between the Shia Muslims and the mainstream Muslims. The mainstream
Muslims consider the only divine source of Islam, existing after the Prophet (sws) to be
the Qur¶an and Sunnah. However according to the Shia Muslims (the majority of them
who are known as Imami Shia), beside the Qur¶an there are twelve individuals from the
generation of the Prophet (sws) who came one after the other as the divinely appointed
Imams of the Ummah after the Prophet (sws). According to the Shia Muslims these
individuals are flawless and where needed can have access to the hidden knowledge.
Accordingly they believe that only the guidance given by these Imams is the true
guidance and any one who follows other understandings of Islam is misguided or not
fully guided. They therefore consider the Khulafa of Muslims (from Abubakr to the last
one, except Ali ± ra ± who they consider to be the first of these divinely guided Imams)
to be transgressors-going beyond of the right of these Imams.

According to the Shia Muslims, the last Imam is the promised Mahdi who was born in
the third century and then went to occultation a few years later to remain safe till people
are ready for his return. They believe that he is miraculously still alive and will return
before the end of the world.

c c

 


I have been researching all the differences between sunnis and shiites. Can you tell me
how different are there ways of praying? Why do certain people view their ë
 to be
wrong considering a small addition at the end? I want my concepts to be clear as the
masses view shiites as non-Muslims. Is there any relevant proof in document (a Ô)
that says otherwise about the shia school of thought is right in their own regard.

x
 


I would like to first clarify two points about Shia:

1. No individual and no group has any authority to declare the followers of a sect of
Islam, Non-Muslims. It is only the jurisdiction of the Muslim community, in its collective
capacity, that may take such a decision. Even then, as long as the person believes in
the fundamentals of Islam, reads his prayers and pays Zakah, then according to the
Qur'an, he should be considered a Muslim. This most definitely applies to Shia
Muslims.

2. The main difference between Shia Muslims and the mainstream Muslims is in their
beliefs. The differences in practices are only secondary and such differences can be
found among non-Shia Muslims as well.

In terms of belief, the difference between Shia Muslims and the mainstream Muslims is
that Shia Muslims believe that after the Prophet (pbuh) certain individuals (Imams) from
among his Ahl Al-Bayt and generation are to be followed. They consider these
individuals to be divinely appointed, infallible and being divinely guided. According to
Shia the last Imam has been gone to occultation about 1000 years ago but is still alive
and will reappear to bring justice to the world and he is Mahdi.

Obviously as the Qur'an is our book of guidance, one needs to look at the Qur'an to see
whether the Qur'an directs us to hold the above belief.

In terms of the differences in prayers, these differences are mostly in details. I am not
sure if this is what you are interested in but if you are interested please write back and
we will list these differences for you.

0   

 


My question is about the   about the twelve  What is your opinion about that
 ? Is it authentic? If it is than who are those  which are addressed? Shi¶is
are very much certain that the referred to  are their  If we say they are
wrong then who are the ? If the Shi¶is are right then why don¶t we accept their
views?

x
 


As for the Hadith you mentioned, there are a number of points to consider:

1. Hadith on itself is not a source of developing our obligatory beliefs. Any obligatory
belief needs to have its establishment in the Qur'an. If you know of any verses of the
Qur'an that says we need to follow certain individuals after the Prophet (sws) then you
need to follow that verse, otherwise people who hold a belief based on Ahadith like what
you mentioned need to answer the question that why the clear book of guidance that is
supposed to include everything for our guidance has not mentioned an obligatory belief.

2. The Hadith you referred to is narrated by Jabir ibn Thamura who at the time was only
a kid. He says that the Prophet (sws) said those words in presence of people. The fact
that this Hadith is only narrated by Jabir is quite suspicious.

3. The Hadith is not about 12 Imams. It is about 12 Amirs. Amir means someone who
has the power in hand. From among the Imams of Shia only Ali (rta) and for a very brief
time Hassan (ra) had power.

4. The Hadith does not direct Muslims to follow these 12 Amirs. In fact it does not even
say that these 12 Amirs are rightly guided ones. It merely says that at their time Islam is
in powerful position. If it was an obligation to follow these Amirs then (beside the fact
that it had to come in the Qur'an as well) the Prophet (sws) would have made sure that
everyone had heard it and would have made it very clear that following them were
obligation.
ü. History informs us of existence of only 11 of the Shia Imams. There is no reliable
historical evidence about the existence of the 12th Imam of Shia. The existence of the
12th Imam of Shia is mostly argued based on theological and philosophical reasoning
rather than any hard historical facts.

-

 


Kindly comment on -


. Is this truly by Hazrat Ali (ra)? I read "Sermon 3:
Sermon of 

." Please comment.

x
 


The book Nahj al-Balagha is a collection of sermons, letters and sayings attributed to Ali
(ra) that was collected by Sayyid Radhi in 4th century (died in 404).

Nahj al-Balagha itself does not have any Isnad (chains of narrators), but it is possible to
find the Isnad of much of its contents in other sources. It is not possible to rule an
overall judgment about the whole book, in terms of reliability. Rather every sermon,
letter or saying should be looked at from other sources separately.

An interesting point about Nahj al-Balagha is that while there are a number of places in
this book where it is narrated that Ali (ra) was arguing about his right to Khilafa, in no
place in this book is there any reference to him being selected by Allah to be Khalifa or
Imam after the prophet (sws) and there is no reference to him being announced as the
prophet's successor. In fact, in all places where these arguments (in favor of Ali having
right to Khilafa) are narrated, they are based on kinship and knowledge rather than
being appointed.

The Khutba of Sheqsheqya is one example, where you see that despite apparently very
open criticism of other companions, there is no mention of Ali (ra) being appointed by
the prophet as his successor. This sermon has a few chains of narrators and none of
them are flawless, even according to the books of Rijal of Shia.

j0
 x
!
 
 c"

 


If Shiµis are wrong in their beliefs according to sunnis then why did their imams who
were close relatives of Hazrat Ali (rta) lead them (shiµis)? Or in other words what did
Shiµa imams call themselves, sunni or shiµi?

x
 


First, we need to understand our religion from the Qur'an. If we can find the belief of
Shia Muslims in the Qur'an then it is correct and if not, then it cannot be correct. This is
as simple as that.

Second, if we want to use this argument then nearly every belief or every sect in Islam
can be argued to be on the basis of correct premises. Shia itself has been divided into
tens of branches, some of which are currently existing. The same question can be
asked about all these sects of Shia. The correct method of thinking however is to
evaluate people by their arguments rather than to evaluate arguments by looking at
people who have said them (this itself is an advice that is narrated from Ali).

Third, if you look at the more reliable narrations from Ali, Hassan, Hussain, Ali b. al-
Hussain you do not find any explicit references to the core Shia belief (as we know it
today). If you look at the narrations from Muhammad b. Ali and Jafar b. Muhammad you
will find two types of narrations from them. Those in which they deny any divine
status/position and those in which (quite contrary), they consider divine status/position
for each other. Technically speaking many of the latter type of narrators can be proved
to be unreliable and weak according to the Shia books of Rijal.

My belief is that Shia Imams used to call themselves with the same title that the Prophet
(sws) used to call himself, that is, Muslim.

Verse 22:78 considers this title to be fully satisfactory for us and my belief is that the
Shia Imams did not ignore this verse

c
0
#x
!

 


I have read in one of your articles that two sons of Hazrat Ali's (rta) were called Usman
and Abu Bakr. They were killed in º
. Kindly clear this issue giving the reference of
some Shiµi books.
x
 


This is from among the known facts among the Shia scholars. For instance the very
famous Shia Alim, Sheikh al-Mufid writes in Al-Irshad, the section on Tarikh Amir Al-
Mumenin, Bab 4 under
ϥϤΜϋ ϭ ήϔόΟ ϭ αόϟ ϭ Ë
 ϭ ήϤϋ ϮϤϫ Ϧϣ ήμΘΨϣ ϭ ϢϬ΋Ϥγ ϭ ϢϫΩΪϋ ϭ ϡϼδϟ Ë ϋ Ϧ ϣϮϤϟ ή ϣ Ωϻϭ ή̯Ϋ
ϊϣ ϥΪ Ϭθϟ Ϳ Ϊ ϋ ϭ ή̰Α ̶ΑΑ ̶̰Ϥϟ ήϐλϻ ΪϤΤϣ ϭ ... ϼΑή̯ ϒτΑ ϡϼδϟ Ë ϋ Ϧ δΤϟ ϢϬ  ϊϣ ˯ΪϬθϟ ͿΪϋ ϭ
ϒτϟΑ ϡϼδϟ Ë ϋ Ϧ δΤϟ ϤϬ 
"and Umar and Ruqayya ... and Abbas and Jafar and Uthman and Abdullah, who (i.e.
these four sons) became martyred with their brother Hussain in Karbala ... and
Muhammad al-Asghar whose title was Abubakr and Ubayd Allah who became martyrs
with their brother Hussain in Karabala ..."

You can find the same details in Muntahi al-Aamal of Sheikh Abbas al-Qumi, Bab 3,
Fasl 6.

As a quick reference, look at the following website that is one of the well known Shia
sources in Internet where the martyrs of Karbala are listed. Number 7 is Uthman,
number 8 is the same Muahammad ibn Ali as above although it does not add that his
title was Abubakr, also look at number 9 in the website, Abubkar ibn Hassan ibn Ali, the
son of Hassan (ra)

http://www.al-islam.org/short/sorrows/names.htm

! 

x


 


What is origin of  and  . What is origin of 

? Do  and 

enjoy any religious basis or these are only cultural activities? Is it fair enough to term
both  and 
 into  and 

category or one should not bother about
this issue. In a relationship like marriage between sunni and shia one should make
these things banned to other spouse or to stop him or her for doing this? Please guide.
x
 


Even the learned Shia scholars agree that  and 

 in the way that is
practiced in our era does not have a very long history and has never been part of the
religion. This is nothing but obvious as we do not have any records of such type of
 during the time of the Prophet (sws), companions or their followers. These
practices have cultural and sometimes political roots and this is why in every time and
every society it is done in a different way.
As for calling them , if they are practicing as part of the corpus of religion then
they fall in the category of innovation and become .

As for stopping the spouse to participate in these events, this is a matter that needs to
be considered on the basis of the case in hand. The relationship between the husband
and the wife, the background, education, influence of relatives and many other factors
make every case different. However in general it seems like advising in these cases
(without expecting it to be immediately effective) usually works much better than
aggressive enforcement of the view.

c



$


 


What is the status of hadīth-e ghadir? Is it true or not as many authentic hadīth books
consider it to be true. Secondly in that hadīth one point is confusing that prophet (sws)
took Ali's hand in air and said: ³All my friends and allies are friends of Ali´. According to
the sunni version: ³Everyone whose master is Muhammad, Ali is his master´. My
question is that we must consider the fact that all the pilgrims were returning from
Makkah and Ghadir is the place from where all were going to depart. At this place and
at this moment when most of the pilgrims were there from all the tribes the Prophet
must have had something important to tell about Ali and his status. Merely taking it to
mean that he wanted to tell that Ali was his friend does not apparently seem to be the
purpose. Does it sound proper from the Prophet to stop the people and tell them with
great care that Ali was his friend? I think it must have a more important significance.


x
 


Hadith of Ghadeer is a reliable Hadith since it has reached us through a number of

sources and narrators. Of course there are versions of it that are not reliable however
the narration of the main story is a reliable one.
Your question is based on a number of assumptions that to me are not true:

1. The place that the Prophet (pbuh) gave the Khutba was in fact far from Mecca. Most
of people who were in Hajj where not there simply because many remained in Mecca
and many went to other directions. Ghadeer Khum was in fact a place where people of
Madina and surrounding areas were separated. It seems like the Prophet (pbuh) left this
message about Ali (ra) to this point simply because it was related to the issue that had
raised in the army that was led by Ali (ra). The army consisted of people from Madina
and surrounding. If we assume that what the Prophet (pbuh) said had a very important
implication for all Muslims, then it would only make sense that the Prophet (pbuh) say it
in Mecca and during the Hajj, where he had the most population of Muslims around him.

2. The Khutba that the Prophet gave was not just about Ali (ra). It was a longer Khutba
and near the end the Prophet (pbuh) also said that wonderful sentence about Ali (ra).

3. The degree of importance of a message that comes from the Prophet (pbuh) for his
followers can only be assessed by looking at whether this message has been also given
in the Qur'an or not. It is only obvious that if a message of the Prophet (pbuh) carried so
much fundamental importance and added a significant substance to the corpus of
religion then it had to be included in the Qur'an, that is Furqan and Mizan. This of
course is not to say that what the Prophet (pbuh) said was not important! However the
issue is, whether it had implications as important as some Muslims believe it had.

4. The implication of the Hadith of Ghadeer is not depending on the meaning of the
work Maula. Maula can be interpreted as friend or master, but what makes us
understand the implication of the Hadith is first, whether the issue is also addressed in
the Qur'an (see point 3 above) and second what the background of this Hadith was (see
point 1 above).

ü. One of the best ways of understanding the implications of this saying of the Prophet
(pbuh) is to see (through reliable narrations) whether Ali (ra) himself interpreted the
Hadith of Ghadeer the way that some Muslims interpret it. As far as I have seen, there
is no such reliable narration from Ali (ra) about this, which makes me conclude
that even Ali (ra) had not seen Ghadeer the way that some Muslims see it today.

D!

 


What is D 
 and why only Shi¶i celebrate it?

x
 


There is no such a thing as D 

promoted by the Prophet (sws) as the part
of the religion. There are only two Eids in Islam: D  
   and D  
, as it is
evident from the Sunnah of the Prophet (sws).

Shi¶i Muslims believe that the incident of 

 proves an extra ordinary religious
position for Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussain (rta). This is the incident in which the
Prophet (sws) is ordered in verse 3:61 to invite the Christians of Najran to a challenge
and a test in which each of the two sides would curse the liars to see who will be saved
and who will be harmed as the result. Those Shi¶i Muslims who celebrate this incident
are in fact appreciating and celebrating what (in their view) this verse implies about the
above great personalities.

ÿ

 

Would you please send me the details of Mubahala and how the Christians of Najran
accepted challenge and what was the outcome of this Mubahala. I will appreciate your
early reply.

%&

You can read the story of Mubahila from Tafseer of Ibn Kathir on the verse of
Mubahila. A translation of this in English can be foudn here:

http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=3&tid=8404

Note that ibn Katheer has reported the story from Ibn Is'haq. Ibn Is'haq has not included
in his report that Ali, Fatima and Hasanain (ra-hum) had been called by the Prophet
(sws) after revelation of this verse.

That part of the story can be found in the hadith collection of Muslim, see the last part of
the Hadith:

ë !"-#$!#%

This hadith has been narrated. on the authority of Shu'ba with the same chain of
transmitters. Amir b. Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas reported on the authority of his father that
Muawiya b. Abi Sufyin appointed Sa'd as the Governor and said: What prevents you
from abusing Abu Turab (Hadrat 'Ali), whereupon be said: It is because of three things
which I remember Allah's Messenger (sws) having said about him that I would not
abuse him and even if I find one of those three things for me, it would be more dear to
me than the red camelg. I heard Allah's Messenger (sws) say about 'Ali as he left
behind hrin in one of his campaigns (that was Tabuk). 'All said to him: Allah's
Messenger, you leave me behind along with women and children. Thereupon Allah's
Messenger (sws) said to him: Aren't you satisfied with being unto me what Aaron was
unto Moses but with this exception that there is no prophethood after me. And I (also)
heard him say on the Day of Khaibar: I would certainly give this standard to a person
who loves Allah and his Messenger and Allah and his Messenger love him too. He (the
narrator) said: We have been anxiously waiting for it, when he (the Holy Prophet) said:
Call 'Ali. He was called and his eyes were inflamed. He applied saliva to his eyes and
handed over the standard to him, and Allah gave him victory. (The third occasion is this)
when the (following) verse was revealed:" Let us summon our children and your
children." Allah's Messenger (sws) called 'Ali, Fitima, Hasan and Husain and said: O
Allah, they are my family.

J0
  !

"

 

 According to the Shia school of thought, Hazrat Umar (rta) is responsible of the death of
Hazrat Fatima (rta), the daughter of the Messenger of Allah. They explain it further by
claiming that when Hazrat Ali (rta) refused to do bay¶at (pledge allegiance to) at the
hands of Hazrat Abu Bakr (rta), Hazrat Umar (rta) stormed the house of Hazrat Ali (rta)
with several soldiers and during the struggle to enter the house Fatima (rta) got injured
and lost her unborn child and later after few months she passed away. I want to know
how true this is and what is the background of the story? If Hzarat µUmar (rta) has
anything to do with the death or injury of Fatima (rta) then what is the status of Hazrat
µUmar (rta) in Islam in regards to this. Your prompt reply shall be highly appreciated.
Please note that one quick response would be that the narratives are not reliable. But I
am looking for a detained response on the issue. Whey the narratives then are
acceptable to shia and unacceptable to the sunnis?

x
 


To be able to blame a Companion of the Prophet (sws) and in deed any person of a
crime as serious as murder (let alone murdering the beloved daughter of the Prophet)
one needs to have relevant and reliable evidences.

We try to examine the available evidences here:

I. D

!

c


"The accusation here is: The suspect (Umar) burned the door to the house of the victim
(Fatima) and pushed it on the victim, which resulted in the miscarriage of her expected
child."

Now let us look at one of the popular sources of evidence of this sort, one that is
brought forward occasionally by  brothers:

 ë
  %

It is recorded that Umar threatened to set the house of Fatima on fire. There is no
mention that he actually did that.

Further more, the hadith is not reliable. It is narrated via Muhammad Ibn Hamid Ibn
Hayyan. This is a very unreliable narrator. In the book of  
   we read that
Bukhari says: There are concerns about his narrations. An-Nasayee says: Not reliable,
has been reported that he was a liar. Al-Joozajani says: Not reliable. 
& says: I
have ü000 ahadith from him and will not narrate even one of them. Saleh Ibn
Muhammad Al-Asadi says: I Haven't seen any one bolder to Allah Ta'Ala than him. He
used to collect ahadith and forge them together. I haven't seen any one cleverer than
him and Sulayman Al-Shazekuni in lying. Baihaqi says: The Imam of Hadith, Ibne
Khuzayma does not narrate from him.
 Based on the above we can safely conclude that the above evidence (in  ) is both
insufficient and unreliable.

Moreover when we look further in the book of  we find   that conflict with
the above story. Only few pages after the above record we read the following two:

· Abu Sufian asked Ali to give him his hand for  and Ali shouted at him and said
we had agreed on Abu Bakr.

· When hearing about the  in Saqifa, Ali came out of his house while he was not
dressed properly only to rush in doing bayat with Abu Bakr.

Please note that here I am not arguing that the above two records are reliable. All I am
saying is that an unbiased mind should take all these into consideration and test all of
them before any attempts for ruling a judgment.

It is not a rational approach to ignore the rest of the records in books like Tabari and
only rely on those parts that suit our belief and even then without any attempts to test
the reliability of what they are quoting.

I have examined a number of other sources that are usually referred to by Shia brothers
(e.g. 
'
"
'

 "(
)  Ô

ë)). In
none of them have I found a record that fulfils the following conditions:

· Clearly suggesting that Umar actually burned the door or pushed the door on Fatima
(RA).

· Having reliable chains of narrators (in fact the majority of these sources do not even
have a chain of narrator)

· Not accompanying with conflicting records.

Based on the above I can say that there is no evidence in the mainstream sources that
can support the accusation. I am more than happy to examine any other sources that
might be put forward.

II. D

c
c


It is one of the basic rules of judgement that evidences for an accusation should not be
taken from the sources of those who have accused. Having said that, and while
appreciating that there are records in support of the accusation in some of the Shia
sources, I would like to point out that it is very strange that in some of the more popular
and old Shia sources there are no mention of the incident.

For instance the book 

' by Mufid:
According to the   brothers the book is one of the very reliable sources of history not
only because of its author (who is one of the gurus of  ) but also because of the
closeness of the time of writing the book to the time of the presence of   '.

In his book, when it came to naming the children of Ali, (RA) initially we find no mention
of the name of the miscarried infant (Muhsin).

Mufid then says:

"and in   there are some who say Fatima miscarried a male infant after the Prophet,
who had been given a name by the Prophet, and that is Muhsin. So based on the
saying of these people the children of Amir Almo'menin (Ali) will be 18 and Allah knows
best" (' p. 336 by Mufid)

It is interesting that Mufid is not approving the miscarriage and attributes the story to
some of  . It is also interesting that even here there is no mention of the alleged
attack on Fatima (RA). This is while the book of Irshad is dedicated to narrate the
important incidents of the life of  ', including Ali (RA).

In ºÔ , one of the four main books of    there is again no mention of the incident in
the chapter on life of Fatima. It only says that Fatima was angry with Umar without any
references to any attacks taken place.

In ºÔ 
( another classical book of    again we read that there are
differences of opinion about Muhsin and that some of   consider him to be the son of
Ali from Fatima who died because of miscarriage. Again no mention of the incident
itself.

Among the   scholars, we have Allamah Fadhlullah who is famous for putting a
question mark on the incident and calling it unlikely because of the conflicting records
and also based on rationality. He was condemned severely by other   scholars for
his opinion.

Based on the above I think no judge can conclude that the Shia sources can provide us
with satisfactory evidence.

III. % 
 

Being disappointed in finding hard evidence to rule against the suspect, let us now turn
to rationality:

Ali according to Shia was the bravest of Arabs. In the   book - 


 we
read that he has said something to the effect that he was not afraid of anything when it
comes to protecting the right. I find it very strange that such an incident could take place
without Ali trying to protect his wife (the daughter of the Prophet). We fail to find
anything about such natural reaction by Ali.
Later we find no attempts by Ali or any of the other companions or people closed to Ali's
family to bring Umar to justice.

Not only this, we even find Ali give the name of "Umar" to one of his children. I do not
want to claim that Ali named his son after Umar the second Khalifa. I am well aware of
the answer given by our Shia brothers implying that the naming was not after Umar the
second Khalifa. However I find it very strange that someone like Ali could give the name
of the murderer of his wife (the daughter of the Prophet) to his son. Ali was from the
same family as the Prophet. It is narrated that the Prophet never wanted to see the face
of Wahshi the killer of his uncle Hamzah even when Wahshi embraced Islam. This is a
very serious issue. Today you find no   with the name Umar. The other two sons of
Ali, Uthman and Abu Bakr were present in Karbala with Husayn and were brutally
martyred in protecting their brother. Yet when you go to the mourning ceremonies of
Shia brothers you will hear the story of all the Ahl Albayt of Husayn except Uthman and
Abu Bakr only because of their name. This attitude of   about names is very
understandable and acceptable if one holds the same view that Shia hold for these
companions. One wonders why Ali's attitude was not as would have been expected
from any human being. How many people do we know who are happy to give the name
of the murderer of their wife to their son? Any one who is slightly familiar with the culture
of Arab will appreciate that this is even stranger for an Arab.

To see the further complication, we will be amazed to find that according to records in
Shia books Ali gave her daughter Umme Kulthom to Umar as his wife (although some
Shia brothers make some arguments to deny this). So here we have the husband of the
victim not only calling his son with the name of the murderer of his wife but also giving
his daughter to the murderer of his wife!

It is also very strange to think that such a huge crime has been taken place, and (not
only Ali, but) none of the companions of the Prophet (sws) ever bothers to complain
about it and to bring the sinner to the justice.

I think it is safe to conclude that even rationality does not support the accusation.

Now all I discussed above was in a generic form, trying to forget the personality of
Umar. I think a Muslim who wants to be closer to Allah Ta'ala and have better Taqwa
should even have more cautious and fear in accusing a close companion of the Prophet
(sws) of such incident. Let us not forget that we are advised in the Qur'an to pray that
Allah cleanse our hearts from any bad feelings about the early immigrants (i.e.
 )) and Helpers (i.e. )). This of course does not mean that we cannot
academically challenge views or actions of any of them but at least we should be fair
enough by basing our criticism on sound evidence. I can guarantee we would not
criticise an ordinary man in our time of a crime as simple as theft with evidences as
irrelevant and as unreliable as the ones mentioned above.
  
c'

 


I wanted to learn the meaning of the expression X


X (those vested with authority)
in Q 4:ü9. The verse says:

O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and X

X )ë 
TheShi¶is take it as a basis for their concept of ? Secondly would you kindly tell
me if I can follow Ô
*XÔ  if it appeals me? What about the small differences for
example in method of  and placement of hands in the Prayer?

x
 


Thank you for writing to us. We believe that the words X

 
X  )ë refer to the
rulers. They do not refer to the religious scholars. As for the question of following Ô

Ô  it is upon you to decide. Though the questions dealt with in a Ô
 are mainly of
practical nature and we may adopt any of the existing ones or found a new one yet we
must appreciate the fact that Ô
 +Ô  is based on belief in  which
fundamentally differs from the sunni Islam. We do not find the belief in conformity with
the basic Islamic beliefs. For example we do not find it possible to hold someone
 (infallible) source of religious knowledge. But the shi¶i hold their  as
infallible. In their Ô
 the ruling of the  would be final. This is why we cannot
suggest or recommend following this Ô
.

 
x&&

 
 ÿ&

 


Several   approve Ali's (rta) ë

Ô. Abu Bakar's (rta) ë
Ô was either an
accident or deliberation. And in the light of the above; was he a true khalifah al-Rasool?
Was Muawiya's decision to appoint Yazid as his successor, legitimate especially in the
presence of Hussayn?

x
 


º
Ô of Abu Bakr Siddique (rta) was acknowledged by the entire community of the
Companions of the Prophet (sws). The Companions as a community, could not have
joined hands on differing from the authority of the Prophet (sws). The Holy Qur'an
affirms their truthfulness and puts on them the huge responsibility of communicating the
religion of Allah to the world. Since their trueness is confirmed by the Book of Allah we
cannot claim they disregarded the command of the Prophet (sws) regarding  of
Ali (rta). Who would have known more than them that the Prophet (sws) intended them
to take Ali (rta) as a caliph if that was the case? The whole dispute of khilafat, it needs
to be appreciated, originates in the fact the Prophet (sws) did not appoint anybody.

I am sorry I cannot comment on the decision of the Caliph Mu'awiyah. This is because I
do not and cannot know the ground realities in that time. We believe that Islam does not
give any special privilege on religious basis to the members of the family of the Prophet
(sws).


(


)
 
 x
!

 


³(We sent) messengers as the givers of good news and as warners, so that people
should not have a plea against Allah after the (coming of) messengers; and Allah is
Mighty, Wise." (Q 4:16ü)

The good news could have been the designation of Hazrat Alī as , after him and
the coming of the imāms after Alī. This verse also shows that the Prophet (sws) was
only a warner and there will be guides after him.

x
 


My dear brother, understanding Islam cannot be based on works of guess and

estimation. The meaning of the verse is crystal clear and all the significant experts of
the Qur¶ān, the Shīµī and Sunni, in principle have the same understanding of the "givers
of good news" in the verse that is a translation for the word " )". According
to their understanding, which is also in line with other verses of the Qur¶ān, the good
news is the fact that those who accept the message of a Messenger will reach salvation
and paradise in the hereafter.

If unlike all the Shīµī and Sunni experts of the Qur¶ān, you believe that "good news" here
means the designation of Alī (ra) as the Imām then the responsibility is on you to prove
this. We are supposed to learn our religion from the Qur¶ān, not to interpret the verses
of the Qur¶ān based on our own understanding of religion. What you are doing here is
exactly what Alī (ra) has advised us not to do in -

,, that is, leading the
Qur¶ān to our personal beliefs rather than letting the Qur¶ān leading us to the correct
belief.

The verse has no indication that the Prophet (sws) was not a guide and that there will
be guides coming after him. In fact, this goes directly opposite to what the verse is
saying. The verse is saying that after the Messengers there remain no excuses for
people. A genuine excuse emerges when there is a genuine unfulfilled need. The verse
is in fact saying that this "need" is fulfilled with the coming of the Messengers.

I would also like to remind you that according to Shīµī, the Prophet (sws) himself was an
Imam. Therefore according to Shīµī, the Prophet (sws) was also a guide.

x
 c!"

 


First of all I am really thankful for all your help by answering my questions. Please help
me out in this one. Ahmedis/Qādiyānīs are considered non-Muslims according to all
Muslim sects. Recently I was watching a video on  in which an Ahmedi guy was
saying that if Ahmedis are considered non-Muslims then why Shīµah are not considered
non-Muslim as well. I thought very hard and am still confused. My point of view is that
there should not be any Prophets/', after our last Prophet (P.B.U.H) but Shīµah
also have some weird faiths like: revelation was intended to be conferred on Hazrat µAli
but was mistakenly bestowed upon the Prophet Mohammad (sws). There are some
other beliefs openly discussed as well.

Why only the Qādiyānī's were declared non-Muslim? Is there any political scenario
involved in it? Or is it a matter of religious beliefs.

I know my question is a little sectarian but believe me it is just to clear my own mind.
Please let me know about Javed Ghamidi¶s views on Qādiyānis and Shīµah.

x
 


Please let me comment on two things you mentioned:

You said: "Ahmedi/Qādiyānīs are considered non Muslims according to all Muslim
sects." Please note that it is not the responsibility of any Muslim sect to declare
associates of a belief as Non-Muslims and their verdict on this matter carries no
authority. It is solely the responsibility of a Muslim state to declare associates of a belief
(among its citizens) as non-Muslims and this has to be done after consultation with
qualified scholars of Islam.

You said: "Shīµah also have some weird faiths like: revelation was intended to be
conferred on Hazrat Ali but was mistakenly bestowed upon the Prophet Mohammad
(P.B.U.H)´. I can assure you that no learned Shīµah holds this belief."

You asked: "Why only
)  are declared non-Muslim? Is there any political
scenario involved in it? Or is this a matter of religious beliefs."
For a citizen of an Islamic state, the mere fact that the state has declared associates of
a faith as Non-Muslims should be enough, unless one believes that the state has done
this without enough consultation with qualified scholars and for dishonest and wrong
reasons. Otherwise it is entirely up to the state to decide (where needed and after due
consultation with qualified scholars) if a group of believers was Muslim or non-Muslim.

As for comparison between Shīµah and Ahmadis/Qādiyānis, I think you need to

appreciate that there is a significant difference between the two. Shīµahs do believe in
divine Imams but consider these Imams as guides who apply and explain the X
rules and Islamic beliefs, while Ahmadis believe in their º
Ô,+ as divine reformers of
Islam. A reformer of a system has much more potential of introducing significant
changes to the system as compared to a guide of a system. This is apart from the fact
that the majority sect among Ahmadis considers Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad Qādiyānī to be a
Prophet capable of receiving Allah's revelation, a claim that goes against the Qur'an and
against some of the reliable , narrated from the Prophet (sws).

As far as I know, what I wrote above is inline with the views of Mr. Ghamidi.

j

 
c*c
c


 % $c 
!

 


1- Are the human beings kind or evil by nature? Common questions kids ask these
days as taught in school? 2- What is difference between sufī, Shīµī and Sunnī, which is
right path?

x
 


My answers to your questions follow:

1- Are the human beings kind or evil by nature? Common questions kids ask these
days as taught in school.
According to the Qur¶ān human being by nature is a humble entity that likes to be a
servant of his Lord. (Q 30:30)
2- What is the difference between sufism, Shīµīism and Sunnīism? Which is the right
path?
Sufis are group of people (some considering themselves as Muslims and some
coming from other faiths) who believe in certain mentors (Sheikh) as the medium
between Allah and his servants and are often engaged in doing certain practices (like
uttering certain names of Allah at certain times in specified numbers or using music
or chanting in an attempt to find spiritual aspiration). One of the main characteristics of a
typical Sufi is that they do not observe rules of the religion they are originally ascribed to
(e.g. Islam). They consider these rules to be only for normal (not Sufi) followers of those
religions.
Sunnīs are the majority of Muslims who follow the Qur¶ān, Hҕadīth and the works of
traditional scholars of Islam. Their beliefs and practices are very much influenced by
their perception of the opinions of traditional scholars. Apart from the Qur¶ān, a major
source of understanding Islam for this group is Hҕadīth, specifically the six main books of
Hҕadīth known as  , (the sound ones). Sunnīs often use , to interpret the
Qur¶ān.
Shīµī are those Muslims who believe that after the death of the Prophet (sws) there
were divinely appointed infallible individuals from the generation of the Prophet (sws),
called ,, who were and are supposed to be followed. Any understanding of the
Qur¶ān and Islam according to this group should be through these individuals.
Consequently books and narrations attributed to these , are considered as the
most important sources of understanding Islam after the Qur¶ān. These sources are also
used by Shīµī to interpret the Qur¶ān.
The right path in Islam is the one that is relying on fully reliable divine sources,
where unreliable sources are not used to interpret these reliable sources. The only fully
reliable divine sources in Islam are the Qur¶ān (as an independent source) and the
religious practices that were established by the Prophet (sws) among his companions,
the knowledge of which was transferred, generation after generation, to our time and on
which there is general agreement (Sunnah).

x  
 c

 


I have a few questions and shall appreciate your reply by e-mail.

1. I need reference of any book/document in which names of the ten blessed
Companions are mentioned.
2. What are the fundamental differences between the Sunnīs and Shīµīs?
3. Is Tabbarrah (cursing the Companions) an essential part of Shīµī beliefs?
4. Was temporary marriage (X) permitted by the Prophet (sws)? If it was then
why are the sunnīs against it?
ü. Is a sunnī boy allowed to marry a Shīµī girl or vice versa? My son wants to marry
a Shīµī girl. My family and I are not in favour of it. I need to convince him and seek your
help.

x
 


Thank you for writing to us. My answers to your questions follow.

1. Please refer to Sҕahҕīhҕ Ibn Hҕibān No: 6993, Sunan Timizī No: 3747, Sunan Ibn
Mājah No: 133, Sunan Abū Dā'ūd No: 4649, Musnad Ahҕmad No: 1631, Al-Mustadrak
µalā al-Sahҕīhҕayn No: ü8ü8, Al-Sunan Al-Kubrā No: 819ü and Musnad Abū Ya'lā No:
971.
2. The Shīµīs believe that the divine guidance continues after the Prophet
Muhammad (sws). Accordingly they believe in Imāms who according to them are
infallible and appointed by Allah to guide people. The first Imām is Ali (ra), then Hassan
(ra) then Hussain (ra) and then 9 other Imāms from the progeny of Hussain (ra). The
last Imām (Muhammad Ibn Hassan - Mahdī), according to them, went to occultation in
329 AH and is still alive and will appear near the end of the world to bring justice to the
world. Accordingly, just as the rest of Muslims have the books of Ahҕādīth narrated from
the Prophet (sws), Shīµī has books of Ahҕādīth narrated from their Imāms. Also since
Shīµī believe that their Imāms were appointed by Allah, they do not consider any other
rule at the time of Imāms to be legitimate, unless it is ruled by the Imām himself or the
ruler can be seen as the representative of the Imām.
3. Yes, , is one of the ten essential branches of belief ( -)) that the
Shīµīs hold. These are Prayer, .ë, the Fast, /, º, * ,    
X0Ô
(advise to good), - X) 
)ë (advise against evil), 

, (friendship with
friends of Allah), , (dissociation from the enemies of Allah).
4. Temporary marriage was practiced by Muslims for some time during the life of
the Prophet (sws) and many believe this was a practice that was already in vogue
among the Arabs even before Islam. According to Ahҕādīth the Prophet (sws)
later forbade people from it. According to the Qur¶ān 70:29-31, the only ways by which a
man can have relationship with a woman is either by proper (permanent contract)
marriage or by owner slave relationship (which is not applicable at our time). According
to the Shīµīs, however, the verse ü:24 refers to temporary marriage. Non-Shīµī scholars
disagree.
ü. Purely from Islamic point of view, yes. They are both Muslims.

jc

 !
ÿ&

"

 


Thank you very much for your reply to my questions. I still need some clarifications:
Do Shīµī consider the 1st three caliphs (º
Ô,  &, 0)), Hҕadҕrat 'Ā'ishah (rta) and
Hҕadҕrat Hҕafsҕah (rta) amongst enemies of Allah. And do they consider curse them a
virtue?

x
 

 The Shīµī do not consider the first three caliphs º
Ô, legitimate and consider
them usurpers to the right of Ali (ra) who only believe to be the only legitimate and
divinely appointed caliph. Because of this they consider the three º
Ô, as those who
did not follow the order of the Prophet about Ali (ra). As for 'Ā'ishah (rta), because of her
involvement in the battle of Jamal and because of some other historical Ahҕādīth,
generally Shīµī consider her as one who had enmity with Ali (ra) and his family (Ra-
hom). However, there is less sensitivity about Hҕafsҕah (rta).
As for whether the Shīµī consider it a rewarding virtue to curse the above
personalities, I would say that, cursing the first three caliphs º
Ô, and in particular
the first two is not unusual. This, however, varies among the Shīµī. There are Shīµī
minorities who are more moderate in this regard and do not curse; there are another
bigger minority who are on the other extreme and curse these personalities on a regular
basis to earn reward. The majority do not mind cursing them but also do not do it on a
regular basis.
One of the popular supplications that the Shīµī read is called .  . This is
a .  in which the Shīµī say 
, to / ) (rta). The .  is generally
considered as very reliable and a regular reading of it is recommended. At the end of
this .  there is a sentence that says:

1 


  Ô  22   23 Ô 3

 3   )  4  3 )5

  Ô )  )4353)) )Ô 1


36 Ô Ô)) 7

It is generally believed that the first to fourth in the above refer to the first three
º
Ô, and Mu'āwiyah (rta).

 
 




 


Did the Prophet Mohammad put the Qur¶ān in the present form before his death?
What I understand from the Qur¶ān is that:

1. Allah revealed the Qur¶ān in stages and according to changing circumstances.

Have the circumstances not changed after the demise of the Beloved Prophet?

2. Allah said that He will change the verses and replace it with other better ones. If
the need for change was felt even then, then why not now?

3. Allah said that people will forget some verses if Allah pleases. How can we claim
that certain verses were not forgotten during the compilation?

4. Allah said that our Prophet (sws) would deliver, preach, teach.... Is there no need
of a teacher after the demise of the Prophet (sws) to interpret and teach the Word of
Allah?
 According to me the Qur'an is a living book and it will be open to interpretation
according to the need of the time and the meaning can change, and there is a need of a
person who has been chosen by Allah to do so according to the time and age. The
Prophet (sws) had said that he will leave behind the Holy Book and his ' (
)
and if we follow both we will not go astray. The book cannot exist without a teacher and
the teacher needs to be present at all times to open the message of Allah according to
the need of the time. This- the Book and the ' will not be separated from each other
till they meet the Prophet (sws) at the kawthar.

If I do not agree with you then will you tell that I am not a Muslim? Or will you try to
force your opinion on me? Or will you take out a Ô against me or will you call me a
kafir?

Please answer, because I want to follow the Qur¶ān as I understand it and I might
disagree with you in quiet a number of things. Is it not enough that I have faith in Allah,
in the Prophet (sws) and in the Qur¶ān? Or is it a must for me to follow what others say
and which others say is the true Islam.

Do I have a right to differ?

x
 

You have listed a number of assumptions and have then come up with some
conclusions based on these assumptions. There is no point if I start arguing about those
conclusions if I do not agree with the assumptions at the first place. So let me go
through these assumptions one by one in order to let you know what I think about them:
Ó

8
(+,) ))33 )3) )3 3)39:

To be more accurate, Allah revealed the Qur¶ān according to different phases of the
mission of the Prophet (sws) and with addressing specific issues that were happening in
those phases.
Ó83 3)3)3)Ô Ô
8;29:
As I said above, it¶s not about changes of circumstances, rather it is about different
phases of the mission of the Prophet (sws).
Ó

     

 3)  8 ) 2

3      )  Ô 
)Ô3)Ô
8))")))9:
If we believe that because of different circumstances the Qur¶ān needs to be
changed (which appears to be what you are suggesting) then we are practically making
the Qur¶ān redundant. I don¶t think any scholar of Islam will support what you are
suggesting.
Whatever needed to be changed and replaced in the Qur¶ān, have been changed
and replaced within the time of revelation of the Qur¶ān and the Qur¶ān we have now,
contains what relates to us, no matter at what time and what circumstances we are
living.
Ó

 22


Ô8 Ô

2
")3)3
 
3 )8)Ô) )32
 ) :
 Nowhere Allah says that people will forget some verses. What it says is that the
Prophet (sws) will not forget a verse and even if he forgets a verse that is because Allah
wants it, which means there is a good reason for which he might forget a verse (87:6,7).
The Qur¶ān also says that Allah Himself is the one who collects and protects the Qur¶ān
in its ultimate shape (7ü:16-19, 1ü:9).
So as you see, we do not claim anything, it is the Qur¶ān itself that assures us that it
has remained intact.
You write:
Ó33 )    (+,)  
8 ) ë )  

  2)  )2 )

33 ))Ô )) )3)3)") )Ô
2))3)

33 ) ) :

If you know any verses of the Qur¶ān that tells us that after the demise of the Prophet
(sws) there are certain divinely appointed teachers from whom we should learn the
Qur¶ān then please bring them to my attention. Otherwise what is in accordance to your
thinking does not seem to be in accordance to what the Qur¶ān teaches us.
On the other hand, I have a question about one of the verses of the Qur¶ān. There is
a difference of opinion about the meaning of this verse within Shī¶ī scholars (as well as
Sunni scholars), could you let me know:
1. Where is this Allah appointed teacher from whom I may ask my question?
2. Why (with such teacher) there is still significant difference of opinion among his
followers when it comes to interpretation of the Qur¶ān?
You said:
Ó ;2 


8 )/
ë) '4
5
) ÔÔ



) :
I humbly suggest that you never say ³the Prophet (sws) said this or that´. After all, we
weren¶t there at the time. We should remain cautious and always say ³it is narrated from
the Prophet (sws) that «´.
Second, the  you are referring to has been narrated in many different ways:

1. The Prophet (sws) says he leaves behind the Qur¶ān.

2. he says he leaves behind the Qur¶ān and the Sunnah
3. he says he leaves behind the Qur¶ān and that is what we should adhere to and
then he reminds us about 

.
4. he says he leaves behind the Qur¶ān and 
 
 and that we need to
adhere to both of them and that they do not separate from each other.
From the above four versions, the first two are inline with the Qur¶ān and the third
one is inline with the Qur¶ān and the Sira of the Prophet (sws) from which we
understand his in-depth love for his family.
The fourth version is neither inline with the Qur¶ān or the Sira of the Prophet (sws),
nor it has reached us through reliable narrators.
At the end of your writing you start asking some questions that really baffles me. You
ask:
If I do not agree with you then will you tell that I am not a Muslim? [«.] And you
continue in this line to the length of a paragraph, ending with ³do I have right to differ?.´
 My dear brother, perhaps I need to remind you that I never contacted you. It was you
who contacted us and started asking us questions and follow up questions and sending
us articles, etc. We are not in the business of calling other people Non-Muslim etc. We
are only trying to share our understanding with those who express interest by sending
us questions.

-



 

Why do we need an Imam?
x
 

If by Imam you mean a leader, I think every human being and every civilised society
agrees that every group of people with a common goal need a leader to coordinate all
the tasks and to guide people towards their goals with the best of his/her abilities.
However if by Imam you mean a divinely appointed person who is supposed to be
there for us after the death of the Prophet (sws), then I should say there is no need for
such a person and in fact there has not been such a person after the death of the
Prophet (sws).
The Qur¶ān has made it clear for us that after the Messengers, we do not need any
other live and divinely appointed guidance and that the delivering of the message of
Islam has been completed at the time of the Prophet (sws):
(We sent) messengers as the givers of good news and as warners, so that people
should not have a plea against Allah after the (coming of) messengers; and Allah is
Mighty, Wise. (Al-Nisā 4:16ü)
This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favour on you and
chosen for you Islam as a religion. (Al-Mā¶idah ü:3)

ÿ
& +
 0
+


 

Is their a concept of , in the Holy Qur¶ān?

x
 

I believe the answer to this question depends on what you mean by ,. If you
mean some one who guides others, then yes it definitely exists in the Holy Qur¶ān.
However if you mean a divinely appointed guide other than a Prophet that is supposed
to be followed by people and one that only through his guidance followers of Islam can
reach salvation, then the answer is no, there is no such a concept in the Qur¶an.

ÿ
& 

 

Where is this Allah appointed teacher from whom I may ask my question?

Are you living in this world? There is a man, on this earth, alive and who claims to be a
direct descendant of our beloved Prophet, the Imam (leader) of the time and age and
the holder of Authority, the Noor (
) or reflection and glow of Ali. Please do some
research and I am sure you will be able find an answer. I have Iman in him, I am his
follower, and he is my guide for straight path (sirat-al mustaqeem).

x
 


Let's keep the level of this dialogue in an academic level rather than informal chitchat.
Yes I am living in this world, otherwise I was not able to communicate with you. I hope
you do not believe that all Muslims who do not know your ', (perhaps about 98% of
Muslims) are not living in this world!

The problem my brother is that once a group of Muslims starts to associate

themselves with beliefs that are not established in the Qur'an, they will then easily
spread out into many sects and branches, since there won't remain any tangible source
to stop them from doing so. Given that these groups of Muslims decide to believe in
things that are not established in the Qur'ān and given the numerous number of these
sects who have separated themselves from the mainstream Muslims, it will be very time
consuming to get familiarized with all these beliefs and their details.
When I search books and internet in order to guess who your ', might be, I come
up with many results. It depends which sect (from among those who have beliefs not
established in the Qur'ān) you belong to:
- If you are an ', Shīµī your Imam's name is Muhammad b. Hҕasan and he is in
occultation.
- If you are a Nizari Esmayeelee Shīµī then your Imam's name/title is Karim Agha
Khan IV.
- If you are a Mustali (Dawoodi Buhra) Esmayeelee Shia then your Imam's name is
Muhammad Burhaneddin.
- If you are a Mustali (Sulaimani Buhra) Esmayeelee Shia then your Imams are
Abdullah ibn Hibatullah and/or Mohammed Ibrahim Ziaee.
And to remain brief I do not add more than other dozen Islamic sects who believe in
divine authorities after the Prophet (sws) including some of the Sufi sects.
I can spend the rest of my life trying to figure out who among all these people who
somehow claim divine authority is the real Imam. However I do not need to do this. The
Qur'an has assured me that all disputes in regard to religious guidance have to be
decided on the basis of this Book (2:213; 2ü:1). I am confident that there is no divine
authority after the Prophet because the Qur'an has not informed me about it.
 All the above sects have one thing in common, that is, they believe in something that
is not found in the Qur'an as core of their religion.

All the above sects also have another similarity. They all claim that they follow Ali
(ra).
I would like to conclude this discussion with some relevant statements narrated from
Ali (ra) in Nahj Al-Balagha:
˸Ϣϛ˵ ˯˴ ˴Ϯ˸ϫ΃˴ Ë˶ ϓ˶ Ϯ͊θϐ˶ Θ˴ ˸γ˴ϭ ˬ˸Ϣϛ˵ ˯˴ ˴ Ë˶ ˸ ˴ϋ
˴ Ϯ˵ϤϬ˶ Η͉˴ϭ ˬ˸ϢϜ˵ δ
˶ ϔ˵ ˸ϧ΃˴ ϰ˴ϋ ϩ˵ Ϯ˵Τμ
˶ ˸Θ˴ ˸γ˴ϭ ˬ˸ϢϜ˵ Α͋͋ ϰ˴ϋ ϩ˵ Ϯ͊ϟΪ˶ Θ˴ ˸γϭ˴

Make it (the Qur'an) your guide towards Allah. Seek its advice for yourselves and
accuse your views (of being false) based on the Qur'an and regard your desires in the
matter of the Qur'an as deceitful. (Nahj-Al-Balagha 176)
˸ϦϤ˴ ϟ˶ ϼ
˱ ϣ˶ ˴Σϭ˴ ˬ˶ËΑ˶ Ν
͉ ˴Σ ˸ϦϤ˴ ϟ˶˱˸ϓ˴ ϭ˴ ˬ˶ËΑ˶ Ϣ˴ λ
˴ ˴ ˸ϦϤ˴ ϟ˶ ˱Ϊ˶ϫ˴ηϭ˴ ˬ˶ËΑ˶ Ϣ˴ ͉Ϝ˴ Η˴ ˸ϦϤ˴ ϟ˶ ˱ϧ˴ϫ˸ήΑ˵ ϭ˴ ˬ˵Ë˴Τ ˴ Θ˴ ˸ϧ Ϧ
˶ Ϥ˴ ϟ˶ ˱˸άϋ˵ ϭ˴ ˯˶ ˴Ϥ˴ό˵ ˸ϟ ζ
˶ τ˴ ό˴ ϟ˶ ˱
˶ Ϳ˵  Ë˵ ˴ό˴ Ο
˴
ϰ˴π˴
˸ϦϤ˴ ϟ˶ ˱Ϥ˸ϜΣ ˵ ϭ˴ ˬϯ˴ϭ˴ ˸ϦϤ˴ ϟ˶ ˱ΜΪ˶ Σ ˴ ϭ˴ ˬϰ˴ϋϭ˴ ˸ϦϤ˴ ϟ˶ ˱Ϥ˸ϋ ˶ ϭ˴ ˬ˴ϡ˸ϼΘ˴ ˸γ Ϧ ˶ Ϥ˴ ϟ˶ Δ˱ ͉Ο
˵ ϭ˴ ˬ˴Ϣγ ͉ Ϯ˴ Η˴ ˸ϦϤ˴ ϟ˶ Δ˱ ˴ ˴ϭ ˬ˵Ë˴Ϥ˴ ˸ϋ΃˴ ˸ϦϤ˴ ϟ˶ Δ˱ ͉τ
˶ ϣ˴ ϭ˴ ˬ˵Ë˴Ϥ˴ Σ
˴

Allah has made it (the Qur'an) a quencher of the thirst of the learned « an evidence for
him who adopts it, an argument for him who argues with it, a witness for him who
quarrels with it, a success for him who argues with it, a carrier of burden for him who
seeks the way, a shield for him who arms himself (against misguidance), «. (Nahj-Al-
Balagha 198)