a few questions and answers

8/10/2019 A Few Questions and Answers

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A FEWQUES IONS AND ANSWERS

BY SAYYID SAEED AKHTAR RIZVI * * * * *Question: Are we sel -existing? Or are wecreated? Who has created us?

Answer: We are not eternal; we have a beginningand an end. Also, we are not sel -existing; someonemust have created us, must have brought us intobeing. Tat Creater is God Who is ree rom allde ects and shortcomings. In Islam God is called

Allah.Question: Was there any purpose behind ourcreation?

Answer: Doing a work without any reason orpurpose is a de ect; we do not like anyone to accuse

us to working aimlessly. Obviously Allah too musthave created us or some good purpose. He pointsto this act when He asks mankind in the Quran.What! do you then think that We have created youin vain and that you shall not be returned to Us?


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(Surah 23 aya 115). So there IS a purpose behind ourcreation.

Question: What is that purpose?

Answer: Let us ask the Creator Himsel why Hehas created us. I He tells us, that would be thereally authentic and genuine reason. And He, in His

mercy, has already told us-without our asking. Hesays: And I have not created the jinn and the humanbeings except that they should worship Me. (Surah51 aya 56).

Question: Ten what is our responsibility?

Answer: Every man and woman must ull thepurpose o his or her creation; everyone shouldsubmit him or hersel to the Will o Allah and

worship Him. When we worship Allah, weacknowledge His majesty and power andcon ess our helplessness and neediness, in amanner precribed by Him; and we do it withsincere intention and pure heart, in obedience to

Allah, in order that we may come nearer to Him.


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Answer: Tere are two main groups: theSunni and the Shia. We are Shia.

Question: What is the meaning o Shia?

Answer: Te word Shia is rom Arabic word At-Tashayo which means to ollow. Tus the

word, Shia, means ollower.

Question: Why are you called Shia?

Answer: We are called Shia because afer the

Holy Prophet we ollow Sayyidana Ali andother sinless members o the amily o theHoly Prophet.

Question: Why do you call yourselves Ithna

ashariya?

Answer: Ithna ashar in Arabic means twelve.As we believe in 12 Imams (successors o theHoly Prophet o Islam), we are called Shia

Ithna ashariya.


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Question: Who can become a Shia Ithnaashariya?

Answer: Any person, irrespective o his race,origin, colour or language, can become a ShiaIthna ashari, i he sincerely believes in ourtenets and acts upon them aith ully.

Question: Will you explain to me the maineatures o Islam in short?

Answer: Islam consists o three parts.

1. Matters concerning belie , which arecalled Roots o Religion.2. Rules o shariah which govern every

aspect o our lives; they are calledBranches o Religion.

3. Islamic Ethics and Morality.

ROO S OF RELIGION

Question: How many Roots o Religion are

there?


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Answer: Tere are ve Roots o Religion.

Question: What are they?

Answer: Tey are called:1. awheed: Oneness o God2. Adl: Justice o God

3. Nubuwwat: Prophethood4. Imamat: Vicegerency o the Prophet5. Qiyamat: Day o judgement:

Question: What does awheed mean?

Answer: It means that there is only oneGod - Eternal, Sel -sufficient; He has nobeginning or end; He is Omnipotent, haspower over everything and every affair, He

is Omniscient, knows everything, nothingis ever a secret rom Him. He has His owndiscretion in all affairs, does not do anythingunder compulsion. He is All-perceiving,All-Hearing, All-Seeing and Omnipresent,

He sees and hears everything though He has


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neither eye nor ear. He has no partner orcolleague, nor has He any son, daughter or

wi e. He is neither made nor composed oany material substance. He has no body nor isHe conned to a place. He is not afflicted byanything realted to body; He is not governedby time, space, change or things like that.

He is not visible. He has not been seen, andwill never be seen either in this world or thehereafer. His attributes are not separate romHis person.

Question: Will you throw some more lighton the belie in oneness o God?

Answer: Te belie in the Unity o God is theoundation stone o Islam. Tis belie governs

the religious aith, designs the social patternsand gives li e to the moral codes.

Te rst sentence o the Islamic Kalimah,i.e. Tere is no god except Allah, leads a

Muslim throughout his li e not only in


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religious matters but in social behaviouralso. Tere is no god shows a Muslim that

nothing in the Universe is superior to him.It is observed in Quran that He it is Whocreated or you all that is in the earth. So aMuslim knows that nothing in this world isto be worshipped. Neither stones nor trees;

neither animals nor human-beings, neitherthe Sun nor the Moon nor the Stars can beworshipped, because everything is created,and created or his bene t. When a Muslim,thus, has rejected every alsehood and every

idea o Nature-worship, Idol-worship oHuman-worship, he is ready to believe in thepositive truth o the Unity o God. Believingin a Supreme being gives an aim to our li eand provides a purpose or our actions. Had a

man been lef with the wrong impression thatthere was no God at all, his li e would havebeen aimless, and an aimless li e is dangerous.So it is added that there is no god exceptAllah. Tis sentence has a negative as well

as a positive aspect. Both are instrumental in


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creating the belie that every man is equal toevery other person. When nobody is superior,nobody is in erior. Tus, the belie in theUnity o God promotes the sense obrotherhood and equality and equity whichis another brilliant eature o Islam.

Question: What is the signicance o Adl?

Answer: Adl means that Allah is just; He doesnot do injustice to anyone. He has ordered usto do justice to our ellow creatures - but HeHimsel treats us not only with justice butwith grace. He created us or His worship, inorder that we may attain spiritual per ectionthrough it. Tat spiritual per ection enablesus to reach near to Allah.

For this purpose, He has given us reedomo will and choice . When we choose, by ourown ree will, the Straight Path (prescribed byAllah) we are assured in the next world oeverlasting happiness and glory by Grace oAllah.


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Question: And what is Nubuwwat?

Answer: o show us the Straight Path,Allah has been sending His Representativesto the mankind. Tey are called nabii (Prophet) and rasl (Messenger). Te rank othe Messengers was higher than the Prophets.

Question: How many prophets came intothe world?

Answer: Tere came in all 124,000 Prophets,

313 o which were Messengers. Teprophethood started with the rst man,Adam, and ended with Muhammad, the HolyProphet o Islam.

All the Prophets and Messengers broughtthe same religion-which nowadays is calledIslam. It was but natural. As all o them weresent by the same God, naturally the Messengecould not be more than one. Te belie s and

morals taught by them were always the same,


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althought the rules o shariah were changedrom time to time according to the conditions

o the society.

Te Messengers who brought new shariah arecalled Ulul-azam.

Question: How many Ulul-azm Messengerswere there?

Answer: We know o ve. Tey were Nuh(Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses),

Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad. Only the shariahbrought by Muhammad (which is generallyknown as Islam) is valid now, it has abrogatedall the previous shariah.

Question: Was Muhammad given anyrevealed Book?

Answer: Yes. He was given the Quran byAllah. As he is the Final Prophet, his Book

is the last Book revealed by Allah. It was


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revealed to Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) as theGuidance or mankind.

Question: What is the belie o the Shiaabout the Quran?

Answer: We believe that the Quran is the

word o Allah which was revealed to Godslast Prophet, Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) as amiracle and guidance or the mankind. It isthe truth, around which alsehood cannotreach. It is the oundation o Islamic shariah.

It is the Complete Book o God-nothing hasbeen added to it, nothing has been removedrom it, nothing has been changed in it. Evennon-Muslim scholars admit that the Quranis ree rom all types o interpolation, change

and de ect-since the time o the Prophetto this day. In this respect, it differs romprevious revelaed books which have beenextensively changed and altered.

Question: Did the Prophet make any


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arrangement or guidance o people aferhis departure?

Answer: Yes. He has lef two things or thispurpose: the Quran and his sinless progeny.He has said: I am leaving behind among youtwo precious th ings, one o them is greater

than the other: the Book o Allah whichis the covenant o Allah rom the heavensupto the earth, and my Descendants who aremy amily members. So look how you dealwith them, and surely they both will not be

separated rom each other ...

Question: Who are those Family Memberswho have been given the responsibility oguiding the mankind to the Right Path?

Answer: First o them is Ali. the cousin andson-in-law o the Prophet (s.a.w.a), whosename was declared at a huge gathering atGhadir Khumm, when the Prophet was

returning rom his last pilgrmage.


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Tere the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) delivered a longKhutba (lecture), at the end o which he asked

the Muslims: Do not I have more authorityupon you than you have got upon yourselves?.All o them responded by saying. Surely OMessenger o Allah! Ten the Prophet tookthe arms o Ali, and showing him to the

audience, declared: He whose Master am I,this Ali is his Master.

Question: Was any number xed or thischain o the Guides?

Answer: Yes, According to many acceptedtraditions, the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has said:Imams afer me will be twelve.

Question: Who are those twelve Imams?

Answer: Tey are as ollows:1. Ali2. Hasan

3. Husayn


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4. Ali Zaynul Abideen5. Muhammad Bqir

6. Ja ar Sdiq7. Msa Kzim8. Ali Ri9. Muammad aqi10. Ali Naqi

11. Hasan Askari12. Muhammad Mahdi

Question: Who is the Imam these days?

Answer: Te Imam these days is the 12th

Imam, Muhamllad al-Mahdi.

Question: ell me some more about him.

Answer: Imam Mahdi, the twelfh Imam, isalive, but is hidden rom our eyes by order oAllah. He will re-appear, when Allah allowshim, to establish the Kingdom o God on theEarth. It will be near the end o the world,

when he will establish justice and equity in


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considered most important, because theyare in act Acts o Worship. All o them are

per ormed jointly by heart and body; butsome have stronger connection with heart,others with body; yet others are primarilyrelated to worldly wealth. Tese ten are asollows:

1. Salat - prayer2. Saum - Fasting3. Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca4. Zakat - Wel are tax5. Khums - Paying one-fh o saving

6. Jihad - Fighting in the cause o religion7. Amr bil maru - o enjoin good8. Nahy anil munkar - o orbid evil9 + 10) o love the Prophet and his amilymembers; and to remain aloo rom their

enemies.

Question: You have counted jihad as abranch o religion. How can you justi y waras a desirable thing?


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Answer: I am glad that you asked thisQuestion: Let us look at this matter in a

dispassionate way.

Islam does not like to exterminate wrong-doers, it wants to remove the wrong.Evil deeds are like diseases. Tey need

treatment and every doctor wants to curethe ailments with medicines as ar aspossible. But sometimes the ailment reachesa stage where no medicine can do any good;he eels that surgical operation is necessary i

the li e o the patient is to be saved. Ten hedecides, not happily but reluctantly. to amputeone o more limbs o the patient. It may causehardest pain or the time being; but it is nottorture, it is mercy.

Likewise, suppose that this humanity is acompact body, some o its parts becomein ected with spiritual disease and everymedicine o sympathetic persuasion and

rational pleading has ailed. And there is a


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danger that their in ection is causing harmto and inicting hardships upon,other parts,

and the spiritual doctor, I mean the Prophetor Imam who is guided by Allah, is condentthat now the surgical operation is essentialto save other parts o mankind rom trouble.Ten, and only then, he will order a Holy-

War; and then also it will be limited to thatpart which is most necessary to remove.

But even i you eel that there is necessity oa surgical operation you will never entrust

this most dangerous task to an unauthorizedperson. It will be a very oolish andirresponsible action. You can never besatised that the operation is essential unlessa qualied doctor tells you so. Tere ore,

according to Shia Ithna-asheri law, a warcannot be started unless specicallyauthorized by the Prophet or Imam himsel ,and that also to the limits prescribed by thatRepresentative o Allah. Afer all, li e is a

creation o God and it should not be


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Holy Prophet, the total loss o li e (on bothsides) was less than seven hundred.

ISLAMIC ETHICS

Question: What is the importance of goodmorality in the eyes of Islam?

Answer: Te Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) hasexplained the most important objective o hismission in these words:-Indeed I have been sent only to per ect good

manners.

Question: Can you enumerate here somethings which are good and important inIslamic ethics?

Answers: o do good deeds with sincerityand honesty; Dependence upon God; o do justice to one another; o do good to bothparents; o look afer ones blood-relations;

o help each other in good deeds; o


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reconcile people; ruth.

Cultivating Good Habits; AcquiringKnowledge, Bravery; Humility; Mercyand Gentleness; o deal well with people,Generosity; Leading a moral li e; Helping theweak.

o salute aloud; Patience; Forgiveness;Fullling peoples needs; Equity; FearingGod; Cleanliness; Respecting others;Tanking God.

Question: And some orbidden and badthings?

Answer: Rebelling against and disobeying

parents, Fornication/Adultery Sodomy;Lesbianism; Drinking liquor; Gambling;Eating Flesh o Swine and other orbiddenthings, Usurping other peoples property;Bribery.


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Foresaking Duties; Stealing; Pimping andhelping in adultery; Lying; Backbiting

and creating Discord; Usury; Murder;Embezzlement; Oppression.

Extravagance, Snobbery; Annoying People;Betraying Secrets; Hoarding oodgrains;

Looking at Forbidden Women; AttendingDance and Cinema; Singing and Listening toMusic.

Masturbation, Breach o Promise; Cheating;

Adulteration in merchandise; Spying in otherpeoples Affairs, Abusing and Recrimination,Indecent Dressing by Women; Helping theOppressor, Judgement against the tenet oIslam.

Niggardliness, Envy; Cowardice. Lack oCourage; reachery and enmity , Vengeance:Complaining when in Distress. Boasting,Greed; Laziness; Vain alk; Sel -humiliation.


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Question: I want to know more about Islam.Where can I get such knowledge?

Answer: You may contact our Bilal MuslimMission or books.

You may also enroll yoursel in one o our

correspondene courses. Tere are courses ohigher and junior grade

Question: Please tell me rst about the junior grade

Answer: It is available in English and also inSwahili language. Te English course is calledIslamic Religious Course (IRC, in short),and the Swahili one is called Masomo Ya

Ki-Islamu Kwa njia ya Posta. (MYK, in short).

Question: And what about the higher grade?

Answer: It is available to those who have

completed Secondary education or are


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in secondary Schools. It is called IslamicCorrespondence Course (ICC, or short).

Question: How can I enrol in these courses?

Answers: Write to any o the ollowingaddresses:

1. Bilal Muslim Mission o Kenya P.O. Box 82508, MOMBASA/Kenya.

2. Bilal Muslim Mission o Kenya

P. O. Box 10396, NAIROBI/Kenya

3. Bilal Muslim Mission o anzania P. O. Box 20033,

DAR-ES-SALAAM anzania.


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Printed and Published by:Bilal Muslim Mission o Kenya

P.O.Box: 82508

Mombasa - Kenya

a few questions and answers

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