Some cultures or cultural elements certainly seem more stable than others. Various theories have been proposed accounting for their stability, and it is quite useful to study them. First, we should keep in mind that some cultures have not at all remained firm due to their elements being general human virtual facts -in fact, they should be regarded as man's virtual elements “as they are.”Studying these cultures may make their scholars and ...
Dr. Muhammad-Reza Fakhr-Rohani Ashura literature deals with oral and/or written discourses on, or related to, the Battle of Ashura of 10 Muharram 61 AH/ 10 October 680 AD. Ashura literature encompasses a wide array of materials, ranging from (chiefly Muharram and Safar) preachings, dirges (nawhas), and elegies (marthiyas) to ziarat-texts, salawats, books, treatises monographs, theses, dissertations, martyrdom accounts (maqtals), and ...
The things that a person leaves unfulfilled in this world and those that need to be done only after the death of the person, he entrusts to a person close to himself whom he deems capable and willing to comply with his wishes. It is the bounden duty of a person to comply with the will of a dear departed person to the best of his capability. The Prophet (a.s) had appointed `Ali (a.s) as his wasi with the confidence that he would comply with ...
In the province of Hejaz in the western part of Arabia, not far from the Red Sea, there lies the town of Makka. In the centre of this town there is a small square building made of stones, about 60 feet long, 60 feet wide and 60 feet high. Since time immemorial this town and this stone built house has been known to world travellers. This is Baitullah, the House of Allah. Its sanctity and antiquity is older than history itself. Tradition goes that ...
History, it has been said, is the propaganda of the victorious party. What this means is that in any conflict, the victor can manipulate history just as it pleases him, and there is nothing that the vanquished can do about it. The victorious party can cook up a story and broadcast it as the absolute truth without any fear of being challenged by anyone. It has not only the power to cook up its own story; it also has the power to spike the story ...
Abū Bakr, son of Abū Quhāfa, was the first caliph after the Prophet’s demise. There are different views on his name being ‘Abd Allāh or ‘Atīq.[1] Apparently, they have insisted on saying that his name was ‘Abd Allāh but he used to be called ‘Atīq. He belonged to the Banū Taym tribe, one of the tribes of the Quraysh. During the Dark Age, the tribe had no special standing among the other tribes. A solid evidence for this claim ...
Shi’a and Sunni great scholars have admired Kumayl for his strong belief, purified soul and conduct, and sincere intention. They agree on Kumayl’s justice and greatness. Kumayl is among the noble disciples of Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) and Imam °asan (a.s).[1] Amir al-Mu’minin too, has considered Kumayl as his ten most faithful disciples.[2] Kumayl has been one of the best lovers and friends of Imam `Al¢ (a.s).[3] The recommendations and ...
Dr. I. K. A. Howard
Al-Serat, Vol. 2 (1976), No. 2
The Author
Al-Shaikh al-Saduq is the title given to Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. 'Ali ibn Babawaih al Qummi. He was the leading traditionist of his time (4th Century A.H.) and one of the most outstanding traditionists of Shi'ite Islam. He earned the title of al-Shaikh al-Saduq on account of his great learning and his reputation for truthfulness. It is a title which he also shares with his ...
The Imam Husayn's Concepts of Religion and Leadership
S.H.M Jafri Vol XI No. 1
ONLY now and again does there arise above the common level some rare spirit, who, having looked upon God face to face, reflects more clearly the divine purpose, and puts into practice more courageously the divine guidances. The light of such a man shines like a strong beacon on a dark and disordered world. Our concepts of human values, human dignity and human ...
All over history, rulers, according to their qualifications, have played influential roles in the development and retardation of nations. The ideal, sincere ruler is he who governs his subjects on bases of leniency, justice, and equality.
The absolute ruler, on the other hand, is he who enslaves, humiliates, and exploits the subjects for his own interests:
The Prophet (s) said: “On the Day of Resurrection, a caller will cry out: where are ...
What about the book Kokab e Durri written by Syed Mohammad Saleh? Is there anything authentic in this book? Please tell the opinions of Ulema of Ilmul Rijal about hadiths or sermons mentioned in these books??..Concise answer The book "Kawkab Durri" or "Manaqi Murtazawi" was authored by Sayyid Saleh Tirmidhi Kashfi. He is a follower of Sunni school of jurisprudence and theology but he is a lover of the Ahlul-Bayt. He is intellectually a Shia ...
The Holy Prophet, Muhammad bin Abdullah (Peace be on him and his progeny), with whom Prophethood came to an end, was born in 570 AD at Makkah. He was raised as a Prophet when he was 40 years of age. For 13 years He preached Islam in Makkah, where he underwent great many difficulties and hardships. During this period he trained a few selected persons. Thereafter he migrated to Madina where he established his centre.For ten years he openly ...
Muhammad ibn Ishaq, the biographer of the Prophet of Islam, writes in his Seera (Life of the Messenger of God):Umar said: “And lo, they (the Ansar) were trying to cut us off from our origin and wrest authority from us. When he (an Ansari) had finished (his speech), I wanted to speak, for I had prepared a speech in my mind which pleased me much. I wanted to produce it before Abu Bakr and I was trying to soften a certain asperity of his; but ...
Al-Hasan broke the record when he yielded to this nobility. For no one of great figures have done that. Al-Hasan was able to yield to that noble attitude through the Divine qualities such as strength, patience, renouncing worldly pleasures, and the like.
The sacrifice in the way of Allah takes place when the person is righteous, namely when he is far away from doubts, flatters, tricks, hypocrisy, and the like. Besides the person should carry ...
Many students of Islamic history begin with the assumption that if an event or a statement has not been reported in the earliest sources of Muslim history or hadith like as-Sirah an-Nabawiyya of Ibn Hishām or Sahíh of al-Bukhāri, it must be a later fabrication and therefore not credible. They tend to ignore the biases and limitations that are imposed on the writer by the ruling powers as well as by self-inclination. Biases are not only ...
2.7. It is reported that Abu ‘Abd Allah(a.s.) said, “Jesus the son of Mary(a.s.) among his sayings to the children of Israel said, ‘I entered into the morning among you while my stew has been hunger, my food has been something that grows from the earth for the wild animals and beasts, my lamp has been the moon, my carpet has been the earth and my pillow has been stone. There is no house for me that may be ruined, no property which may be ...
ABSTRACTIn recent times, the American Philosophical Association has been exposed in a serious way to the issue of pluralism in philosophy curriculums in the departments of philosophy of American universities and colleges. This conversation brings to the fore the fact that what is at issue in the prospect of pluralizing American philosophy departments is not merely the matter of deciding the discipline's boundaries of intellectual formation ...
Husayn ibn Ali ibn Sadiq Al-BahraniBe informed, may Allah assist you, that the Prophet (‘s) has said:‘I was sent (to mankind) in order to perfect the virtues of ethics’ (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 68, p. 382).There is no confusion in this statement, for anything relevant to the Hereafter and to our sustenance cannot be in order, nor can its seeker be happy, except through good manners. Much of a good deed does not help without ...
When spring came, water flew in the Tigris and the Euphrates. People were delighted, so they held celebrations in the city of Urr and other cities Of Babylon.When spring came and level of water rose in rivers, the farmers were glad, for their crops would increase.The people of the city of Urr went to Zaqqura, which was a pyramidal temple. They took with them gifts to offer them to the gods, especially the god Mardukh.The people of Babylon held ...
HUMAN history may be seen as a record of the eternal struggle between right and wrong, virtue and vice, good and evil, and righteousness and wickedness. This struggle was decreed by God when Adam, an earthly creature, was sent to earth to engage in this eternal battle. It is through this struggle that human beings can earn their eternal bliss in the Gardens of Paradise, or their eternal punishment in the Fire. In the history of nations this ...
