Cover Page (Front) - Zahra Academyzahraacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/msg/rabisani...The Message Rabi-us-Sani 1440 AH 2 1. My God, it is Honor enough for me that I am Your serv-ant,

Cover Page

(Front)

1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Food for Thought: - Sayings of Imam Ali (A.S.) 02

2 Your Daily-Life Questions Answered 03

3 Imam al-Hasan al-‘Askari (A.S.) 04

4 Physical Features of Hazrat Imam al-Mahdi (‘atfs) 08

5 Has Islam Permitted the Man to Punish His Wife? 15

6 Criteria of Spouse Selection 21

7 The Decision to Start Wearing Hijab 34

8 Why are Shrimps halal and Crabs haram? 39

9 Ayatollah al-Uzma Sistani 43

10 Making an Islamic Will 53

11 The Lessons of Life 58

Kids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ CornerKids’ Corner

12 Generosity of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) 61

13 Division of Labour 62

THE MESSAGE

Editor: Hujjat-ul-Islam Wal Muslimeen Sheikh Shabbir H. Lakhani (Maisami)

Editorial Board: Mr. Mazher Ali Jumani, Molana Sajjad Qaimi, Dr. Hussain Kanani,

Mr. Hasnain Nanjiani.

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Disclaimer: The Editor does not necessarily agree with the views expressed in the matter published herein. The views and opinions presented in the Journal reflect the views of the authors

and not of the Journal or its Editorial Board or the Publisher.

Published by

Zahra (S.A.) Academy Institute of Islamic Education, Development & Relief

The Message Rabi-us-Sani 1440 AH

2

1. My God, it is Honor enough

for me that I am Your serv-

ant, and it is a source of

pride for me that You are

my Lord.

2. Do not fear anything except

your sin, and do not place

your hope in anyone except

your Lord.

3. The greatest fault is when

one criticizes others for the

same faults present in one-

self.

4. Start with salt before you

eat. If people knew what

[benefits] salt has, they

would prefer it over tested

medicine.

5. Jealousy of one’s friend

stems from weakness in

one’s love [for him].

6. The one who does good will

be the first to reap its re-

sult.

7. The best of matters are

those that are easy to start,

pleasant to finish and

whose outcome is praise-

worthy.

8. The root of the intellect is

power, and its fruit is

happiness.

9. The person to experience

the greatest pain on the Day

of Resurrection will be the

one who was dissatisfied

with the decree of Allah.

10. Imam Ali (a.s.) was once

seen sad and asked the

reason for it, so he replied,

‘Because it has been seven

days since we have had no

guests.

11. Complement your food with

hunger and discipline your-

self with contentment.

12. Not to have a thing is less

humiliating than to beg it.

13. He who puts himself in

situations of accusation

should not blame those

who doubt him.

14. Protect your wealth by

defraying the Zakat.

��

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Sayings of Imam Ali (A.S.)

Rabi-us-Sani 1440 AH The Message

3

Q.1: In my Nikah papers, a

piece of land was given to

me by my father-in-law

but it was not registered

legally. After the death of

my father-in-law can I

claim that this property is

mine?

Ans.: Yes you can, as long as

you have that in your posses-

sion.

Q.2: Can an old person

enter the Haram without

ihram for doing ibadah if

he has not done umrah of

that month?

Ans.: No, it is not allowed to

enter the Haram without

ihram if one has not done

umrah of that month.

Q.3: Can we use crocodile

skin or snake skin vault

and shoes? Is it Najis?

And if it is not najis, can

we pray with it e.g. with

belt made of snake skin?

Ans.: Leather products made

in non-Muslim countries from

hides of snakes and crocodiles

and displayed in non-Muslims

markets are considered pure

(tahir); but cannot pray with it

based on the obligatory

precaution.

Q.4: Is it permissible for a

woman observing iddah of

divorce to attend a wed-

ding ceremony?

Ans.: Yes, she can but in

revocable divorce her hus-

band’s permission will be

required.

Q.5: If I receive a weekly

salary and I pay the

Khums from it every week,

have I paid the obligatory

Khums for the year?

Ans.: If one pays Khums

every week from his weekly

salary, then he does not have

to pay Khums at end of the

Khums year. If he did not do

so, as he is permitted to delay

the payment of Khums until

the end of the Khums year,

then he can pay the Khums

from the remainder of his

earnings after the payment of

the yearly expenses.

��

Your Daily-Life Questions Answered


4

It is the night of Imam al-

Hassan al-‘Askari’s birthday. It

is a night of celebration. It is

a night for which we should

all congratulate the holy

existence of Sahib al-Amr, the

Imam of the Time (may Allah

hasten his glorious advent).

We should of course have

expressed esteem and paid

our respect. The holy being of

Imam al-Hassan al-‘Askari was

one of the infallible Imams

who was under extreme

pressure. This was because

the closer the time of the holy

Imams got to the time of the

Imam of the Age, the more

difficult their task would have

become.

He was in Samarra’, which

was the center of the gov-

ernment at that time. The

center of government was

transferred from Baghdad to

Samarra’ during the time of

“Mu‘tasim”. The reason for

this was the oppression the

army of Mu‘tasim had towards

the people, who later com-

plained. Mu‘tasim did not

listen at the beginning but

they finally managed to make

him agree to the transfer of

the center to Samarra’, so

that his army would be far

away from the people.

Imam al-‘Askari and Imam al-

Hadi were residing in Samar-

ra’ by force in an area called,

“al-‘Askar” or “al-‘Askari”,

which means the location of

the army and it was in fact

the army base. In other

words, the house they were

residing in was especially

chosen in an army base so

that they could be under

surveillance.

The Imam died at the age of

twenty eight (and his great

father was about forty two

when he left this world). The

period of his Imamate lasted

only six years. According to

the historical facts, during

these six years, he was either

imprisoned or if he was free,

he was forbidden to socialize

and forbidden any visits.

Imam al-Hasan al-‘Askari (A.S.)

By: Martyr Ayatollah Murtaza Mutahhari


5

It seems, as you know, that

each of the holy Imams had a

certain quality that was more

apparent in them. Khwajah

Nasir, in his twelve-verse

poem, has described each of

the holy Imams with their

special quality. The holy being

of Imam al-‘Askari was

distinguished by dignity and

so-called good looks. The

greatness and dignity reflect-

ing on his face was in such a

way that whoever visited him

would get influenced by his

appearance even before the

Imam said a word. This story

is fully specified in the majori-

ty of narrations. Even the

enemies, who constantly

pursued the Imam and were

sometimes taking the Imam to

prison, could not resist paying

their respect towards him

when confronting the Imam.

In this relation, “Muhaddith

Qummi” narrates a story from

Ahmad ibn ‘Ubayd Allah ibn

Khaqan in his book entitled,

“Al-Anwar al-Bahiyyah”.

Ahmad ibn ‘Ubayd Allah ibn

Khaqan was the son of the

minister al-Mu‘tamid ‘Ali Allah.

He quotes from his father a

story in which he was also

present. It is an extremely

amazing story which at the

moment I have not got time

to narrate.

It was wide spread among

people and they all knew that

al-Mahdi of the Nation will

emerge from the backbone of

this holy existence. This was

the main reason for the

extreme surveillance of the

Imam. The same thing

Pharaoh did with Bani Isra’il

when he had heard that a

birth from among Bani Isra’il

would cause his downfall. He

killed all the new-born boys of

Bani Isra’il and only kept the

girls alive. He had appointed

some women to go to the

houses of Bani Isra’il and to

find out which of the women

were pregnant and keep them

under surveillance.

This is exactly what the

caliphate system did with

Imam al-‘Askari. How good

Mawlawi says, You attacked

the hidden prisoners, To close


6

the way on the concealed

one.

This foolish man never

thought that if this were true,

could he stop a divine order?

Once in a while, they would

send some more people to

search the Imam’s house.

This was done especially

when the Imam passed away,

because they were often

hearing that Imam al-Mahdi

had been born.

You all have heard the story

of the Imam’s birth when

Allah, the Almighty, veiled the

birth of this holy being and

only a few people found out

during his birth. He was six

when his great father passed

away. During his childhood

the special Shi‘ahs who came

from different places, the

Imam would introduce him to

those special followers. The

general public was not aware

of this but finally the news

that a son is born for Hassan

al-‘Askari and they are hiding

him spread among people.

They would sometimes send

somebody to the Imam’s

house to find this child and, in

their thoughts, get rid of him.

But, when Allah wants some-

thing, can the servant do

anything against it? Meaning

when the divine decree has

been decided for something, a

human being can no longer

have any role there. After the

Imam’s death and coincidently

with his demise, their officers

poured into the Imam’s house

and thoroughly searched it.

They sent their woman spies

to inspect all the women,

whether a slave girl or not, to

see if there were any preg-

nant women among them.

They suspected one of the

slave girls to be pregnant.

They took her and kept her

for a year. Then, they realized

that they had made a mis-

take. The mother of the holy

being of Imam al-‘Askari is

called “Hudayth”. She was

famously known as “Jaddah”

(grandmother) because she

was the grandmother of the

Imam of the Time (may Allah

hasten his glorious advent).

The late Muhaddith Qummi


7

(may he reside in Allah’s

paradise) wrote in “Al-Anwar

al-Bahiyyah”, “She was the

Shi‘ah shelter after Imam al-

‘Askari.” In other words, this

honorable woman was the

Shi‘ah refuge. Inevitably, in

that time (because Imam al-

‘Askari was twenty eight,

when he passed away and if

we also calculate the age of

Imam al-Hadi), she was a

woman of fifty to sixty years

of age. This woman was so

learned and great that when a

Shi‘ah came across a problem,

he would present it to this

woman.

A man said, “I went to visit

Imam al-‘Askari’s aunt; i.e.

Hakimah Khatun, the daugh-

ter of Imam al-Jawad. I went

and spoke to her in relation to

the dogmas and beliefs and

the issues of Imamate and

etc. She spoke about her

beliefs until she got to Imam

al-‘Askari and said, ‘At pre-

sent, his child, who is hidden

and in occultation, is my

Imam.’ I said, ‘Now that he is

in occultation, who do we

refer to if we have any

problems?’ She replied, ‘Refer

to Jaddah.’ I said, ‘How

strange! The Imam passed

away and made a will to a

woman?’ She replied, ‘Imam

al-‘Askari did the same thing

Imam al-Husayn did. The real

trustee of Imam al-Husayn

was ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn, but did

he not leave most of his will

with his sister Zaynab? Al-

Hassan ibn Al-‘Askari did

exactly the same thing. His

inward trustee is this child

who is hidden but he could

not overtly say he is my

trustee. He had ostensibly

appointed this awesome

woman as his trustee.’”

By Your Name, O the Great,

the Most Magnanimous, the

All-mighty, the Most Glorious,

the Most Generous, O Allah!

O Allah! Make us appreciative

of Islam and the Qur’an.

O Allah! Make us be grateful

for our Prophet.

O Allah! Make us appreciate

the pure Ahl al-Bayt.

��


8

1. Age and Features

‘Umran ibn al-Husayn said: I

said to the Messenger of Allah

(S): “Kindly describe that man

(al-Mahdi) to me and mention

some of his characteristics.”

The Prophet (S) said: “He is

from my progeny; his stature

is that of the men of the

Children of Israel—firm and

robust; at the time when my

ummah is in difficulty and

affliction, he will rise up; the

color of his countenance is

similar to that of the Arabs;

his appearance is like that of

a forty-year old; his face will

shine like that of a half-moon;

he will fill the earth with

justice and equity when it

would have been full of

oppression and injustice; he

will take charge of affairs for

twenty years and he will

conquer all the cities of kufr

such as Constantinople and

Rome…”[1]

Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (‘a)

said: “…God will extend the

age of Hazrat al-Mahdi (‘atfs)

during the period of occulta-

tion (ghaybah). Thereafter, by

His infinite power, He will let

him appear in the form of a

young man less than forty

years old.”[2]

Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) said:

“During the advent of Hazrat

al-Qa’im (‘atfs), the people

will deny him and no one will

cling to him except those with

whom God has made a

covenant in the ‘alam adh-

dharr.[3] He (‘atfs) will appear

with a perfect, proportioned

(muwaffaq) and normal young

face.”[4]

The Commander of the

Faithful (‘a) said: “At the time

of the uprising of al-Mahdi

(‘atfs), his age will be be-

tween thirty and forty.”[5]

Marwi said: I asked Imam ar-

Rida (‘a): “What is the sign

and symbol of your Qa’im at

the time of his uprising and

appearance?” The Imam (‘a)

Physical Features of Hazrat Imam al-Mahdi (‘atfs)

Excerpts from the book, “An Overview of Imam al-Mahdi’s (atfs) Govern-ment” by: Ayatollah Najmuddin Tabasi


9

answered: “The sign is that

he (‘atfs) would be old but he

will appear young such that

anyone who would look at

him will think that he (‘atfs) is

forty years old or even

younger. Another sign is that

the passage of time will not

render him old till such time

that his life would end.”[6]


“Certainly, like Ibrahim

Khalilullah, Wali Allah (Imam

al-Mahdi) will be 120 years

old, and he will appear with a

youthful perfect thirty-year-

old face and visage.”[7]

The late Majlisi said: “Perhaps

it (one hundred and twenty

years) means the term of his

(‘atfs) governance and rule, or

that it is his age but God has

extended it.”

What is meant by the word

“proportioned” (muwaffaq) is

the normalcy of the bodily

limbs and it is an allusion to

his being in middle age or the

last phase of youth.[8]

There are also other state-

ments concerning the age of

Hazrat al-Mahdi (‘atfs) at the

time of the advent (zuhur).

Artat said: “Hazrat al-Mahdi

(‘atfs) will be sixty years old

(at the time of the ad-

vent).”[227] Ibn Hammad

said: “Hazrat al-Mahdi (‘atfs)

will be eighteen years old.”[9]

2. Bodily Characteristics

Abu Basir said: I said to Imam

as-Sadiq (‘a): “I have heard

from your father that the

Imam of the Time (‘atfs) has

a broad chest and wide

shoulders.” He (‘a) said: “O

Abu Muhammad! My father

tried on the armor of the

Prophet (S) but it was so big

for him that it would touch

the floor. I also put it on but it

was too large for my stature.

That armor is as appropriate

and fitting for Hazrat al-Qa’im

(‘atfs) as it was for the

Prophet (‘atfs). Its lower

portion is short to the extent

that anyone who saw it would

think that they have formed a

knot around it.”[10]

Riyan ibn Salt said: I asked

Imam ar-Rida (‘a): “Are you


10

the master of this affair?” He

(‘a) replied: “I am the Imam

and master of the affair but

not the master of the affair

who will fill the earth with

justice and equity at the time

when it would be full of

oppression and injustice. How

could I be the master of that

affair when you can see my

physical limitations?

Hazrat al-Qa’im is he who, at

the time of his advent, will be

of old age but he will look

young. He will have a strong

and well-built body such that

if he would extend his hand

toward the largest tree, he

would be able to uproot it; if

he shouted across the moun-

tains, the rocks will crack and

be pulled up. He will have the

staff of Musa (Moses) (‘a) and

the ring of Sulayman (Prophet

Solomon) (‘a).”[11]

His Moral Excellences

Like the other infallible

Imams, Hazrat al-Mahdi (‘atfs)

will have special moral

excellences. As the Infallibles

(‘a) are perfect human beings

and are the models and

exemplars of mankind in

every aspect, they have the

most excellent morality.

Hazrat ar-Rida (‘a) said: “Al-

Mahdi (‘atfs) will be the most

knowledgeable, humble and

virtuous man (of his time). Of

all men (during his time) he

will be the most forgiving,

brave and pious.”[12]

1. His Fear of God

Ka‘b said that Hazrat al-

Mahdi’s (‘atfs) fear of and

submissiveness to God is like

the submissiveness of the

eagle to its two wings.[13]

Perhaps, what is meant by

Ka‘b is that although the eagle

is a powerful bird, this power

depends on the degree of the

assistance of its two wings. If

the wings would not assist it

for only a moment, it will fall

to the ground.

Similarly, although Hazrat al-

Mahdi (‘atfs) would be the

most powerful divine leader,

this power emanates from the

Essence of God, the Exalted.

If God would not help him for


11

one moment, he will not have

any capability to continue his

work. Therefore, in facing the

Divine Essence he has the

utmost submissiveness,

obeisance and fear.

Based on Ibn Tawus’ narra-

tion,[14] the submissiveness

of al-Mahdi (‘atfs) to God has

been likened to the submis-

siveness of the two points of a

spear. The speed of action

and precision involved in

aiming at a target and throw-

ing a spear depend on its two

points which are like two

wings; if one point is curved,

it will miss the target.

Perhaps, it means that the

power of al-Mahdi (‘atfs)

emanates from God and

totally depends on divine

succor.

2. His Asceticism (zuhd)


“Why are you in a hurry for

the advent of Hazrat al-

Mahdi? God knows that his

clothing is rough and coarse;

his food is barley bread; his

government is the govern-

ment of the sword; and his

death is at the point of the

sword.”[15]

‘Uthman ibn Hammad said: I

was present in the assembly

of Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) when a

person said to the Imam (‘a):

“‘Ali ibn Abi Talib used to wear

coarse clothing that cost only

four dirhams while you wear

valuable clothing!” In reply,

the Imam (‘a) said: “‘Ali (‘a)

used to wear that clothing,

which was not condemnable

and detestable at that time.”

The best clothing in every

period is the clothing of the

people of that period. At the

time when our Qa’im would

stage the uprising, he will

wear something similar to the

clothing of ‘Ali (‘a) and he will

adopt the policy and course of

action of ‘Ali (‘a).”[16]

His Garments

The hadiths tell something

about the special garment of

Hazrat al-Qa’im (‘a) at the

time of his advent. Some

mention the shirt of the

Messenger of Allah (S) while


12

others mention the shirt of

Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) (‘a) as

his garments at the time of

his advent.

Ya‘qub ibn Shu‘ayb said:


“Would you not like me to

show you the shirt to be worn

by Hazrat al-Qa’im at the time

of his advent?” I said: “Of

course, I’d like to see it.” The

Imam (‘a) asked for a small

chest. He opened it and took

a denim shirt out of it and

opened it. There was a blood

stain in the corner of its left

sleeve.

The Imam (‘a) said: “It is the

shirt of the Prophet (S) which

he was wearing on the day

when his four front teeth were

broken (in the Battle of

Uhud). Hazrat al-Qa’im will

stage the uprising wearing

this shirt.” I kissed the blood

(stain) and put it on my eyes.

Then, the Imam (‘a) wrapped

up the clothing and returned

it.[17]

Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar said:

Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) said: “Do

you know what the shirt of

Yusuf was?” I said: “No.” The

Imam (‘a) said: “Since they

kindled a fire for Ibrahim (‘a),

Jibra’il brought a shirt for him

and let him wear it so that the

heat and cold would not harm

him. As the time of his

departure from the world

arrived, he wrapped it in a

prayer cover and placed it on

the arms of his son Ishaq (‘a).

Ishaq gave it in turn to his

son Ya‘qub (‘a). When Yusuf

(‘a) was born, Ya‘qub placed it

on the arms of Yusuf. Some-

thing happened to Yusuf and

he became the ‘Aziz of Egypt.

When Yusuf brought it out

from the two prayer covers,

Ya‘qub smelled it and made

the statement which can be

read in the Qur’an regarding

Yusuf: “I sense the scent of

Joseph, if you will not consid-

er me a dotard.”[18] It is the

same shirt that has come

down from heaven.”

I asked: “May I be your

ransom! In whose possession

is the shirt now?” The Imam

said: “It is in the possession


13

of its owner; the shirt will be

with our Qa’im when he

appears.” Then the Imam

said: “Any knowledge or any

other things acquired as a

legacy by any prophet are all

bequeathed to Muhammad

(S).”[19]

His Weapon

The Messenger of Allah (S)

said to ‘Ali (‘a): “When our

Qa’im rises up and the

mission of his advent arrives,

he will have a sword that will

tell him: ‘O Friend (wali) of

Allah! Rise up and slay your

enemies’.”[20]


“During his advent Hazrat al-

Mahdi (‘atfs) will wear the

shirt the Prophet (S) had worn

during the Battle of Uhud as

well as the Prophet’s turban

and armor on his body. He

will take hold of Zu’l-Fiqar, the

sword of the Prophet (S),

unsheathe it and for the

period of eight months the

slain among the wicked will be

piled in mounds of corps-

es.”[21]

Jabir Ja‘fi reported that Imam

al-Baqir (‘a) said: “Hazrat al-

Mahdi (‘atfs) will appear along

with his vizier and three

hundred or so (thirteen)

persons of his followers in

Mecca between the station of

rukn and maqam having the

covenant and instruction of

the Prophet (S) as well as his

(S) banner and weapon.

Then, the harbinger from the

sky above Mecca will call out

the Imam’s name and the

wilayah (guardianship) such

that all the people on earth

will hear that name; his name

is that of the Prophet (Mu-

hammad) (S).”[22]

Notes:

1. Ibn Tawus, Malahim, p. 142.

2. Kamaluddin, vol. 1, p. 315;

Kifayah al-Athar, p. 224;

A‘lam al-Wara, p. 401; Al-

Ihtijaj, p. 289.

3. ‘Alam adh-dharr: the world

prior to the creation of hu-

man beings on earth in

which God obtained their

acknowledgment of His di-

vinity and lordship.


14

4. Nu‘mani, Ghaybah, p. 188;

‘Aqd ad-Durar, p. 41; Yanabi‘

al-Mawaddah, p. 492.

5. Ihqaq al-Haqq, vol. 19, p.

654.


A‘lam al-Wara, p. 435; Kha-

ra’ij, vol. 3, p. 1170.

7. Bihar, vol. 52, p. 283.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibn Tawus, Malahim, p. 73;

Kanz al-‘Ummal, vol. 14, p.

586.

10. Ibn Hammad, Fitan, p. 102.

11. Basa’ir ad-Darajat, vol. 4, p.

188; Ithbat al-Hudah, vol. 3,

pp. 440, 520.


A’lam al-Wara, p. 407; Kashf

al-Ghumah, vol. 3, p. 314;

Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 52, p.

322; Wafi, vol. 2, p. 113; Ith-

bat al-Hudah, vol. 3, p. 478.

13. Yanabi‘ al-Mawaddah, p.


p. 537; Ihqaq al-Haqq, vol.

13, p. 367.

14. Ibn Hammad, Fitan, p. 100;

‘Iqd ad-Durar, p. 158; Ibn

Tawus, Malahim, p. 73; Mut-

taqi Hindi, Burhan, p. 101.

15. Ibn Tawus, Malahim, p. 73.

16. Nu‘mani, Ghaybah, p. 233-

234 with a slight difference;

Bihar, vol. 52, p. 354.

17. Al-Kafi, vol. 6, p. 444; Bihar

al-Anwar, vol. 41, p. 159; vol.

47, p. 55.


Ithbat al-Hudah, vol. 3, p.

542; Hilyah al-Abrar, vol. 2,

p. 575; Bihar al-Anwar, vol.

52, p. 355.

19. Surah Yusuf 12:94.

20. Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 232;

Kamaluddin, vol. 2, p. 674;


327.

21. Kifayah al-Athar, p. 263;

‘Awalim, vol. 15, section 3, p.


p. 563.



223. See Shaykh al-Mufid, Al-

Irshad, p. 275.

23. Al-Usul as-Sittah ‘Ashar, p.

79; Ithbat al-Hudah, vol. 3, p.

588; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 26,

p. 209; Mustadrak al-Wasa’il,

vol. 11, p. 38.

��


15

The answer of this question

can be inferred with precision

from the anecdote of the

honourable Prophet of Islam

when he rhetorically asks

those who have incorrect

behaviour: "How can you

embrace your wife with the

same hand that you beat her

with?"[1]

Through this meaningful

expression, it is clear that our

holy Prophet who is the

authority on Islamic divine

rules, by this question and

answer, seriously disapproved

beating and punishing of the

wife by the husband.

To those who use verse 33 of

Chapter “The Woman” of the

Glorious Quran, to prove

discrimination between men

and women, it is necessary to

explain logical and correct

meaning of this verse before

explaining our reasons in this

regard: “Men are the protec-

tors and maintainers of

women, because Allah has

given the one more (strength)

than the other, and because

they support them from their

means. Therefore, the right-

eous women are devoutly

obedient, and guard in the

(the husband’s) absence what

Allah would have them guard.

As to those women on whose

part you fear disloyalty and ill-

conduct, admonish them

(first), (next) refuse to share

their beds, (and last) do

dharb (have separation); but

if they return to obedience,

seek not against them means

(of annoyance) for Allah is

Most High, great (above you

all). [Sura An-Nisa 4:34]

For understanding of the real

meaning of this verse, please

pay attention to the following

points.

Meaning of Responsible

(Protector & Maintainer)

The word "Responsible" in this

verse means to be in charge

of protection and mainte-

Has Islam Permitted the Man to Punish His Wife?

By: Sayyid Rida Husayni Nasab


16

nance of the family. For this

reason in lexical meaning, the

word “Responsible"; applies to

whoever understands effec-

tive responsibility. Since the

responsibility of undertaking

and providing the subsistence

and supporting the financial

requirements of a family,

according to Islam, is on man,

the overlord in this verse of

the Quran, has introduced

men as the supporter of

women. The men are respon-

sible for undertaking the

subsistence of life and provid-

ing the expenses of the family

members.

Encouraging righteous

women

Those who have question

regarding this verse in the

Glorious Quran did not pay

enough attention to this verse

which encourages and exalts

the proper characteristics of

righteous and benefactor

women, who are devoutly

obedient, courteous, modest

and chaste, compared to the

admonished disloyal and

disobedient women. There-

fore, the rule of encouraging

and appreciating its correct

meaning is superior to the

threat to and affliction pain on

women.

What is the meaning of

"Disloyalty & ill-conduct”

in this verse?

It is obvious that every

difference in opinion and taste

in even trivial affairs of the

family like selecting the

colours of clothing or the

kinds of food and so on do

not mean "disloyalty and ill-

conduct”". Because intellectu-

als never accept that these

differences in taste or opposi-

tion in trivial affairs are causes

to punish or injure the wife.

Therefore, the literal meaning

of the word "rebellion" is

women who disobey divine

rules and without any reason,

harm her matrimonial rela-

tionship or betray her hus-

band.

Prevention of Disobedi-

ence and Rebellion

Obviously, there are some of

the members in each society


17

who break the laws and are

rebellious. However, the rules

of each society provide

different methods in order to

prevent committing of crimes

and controlling them. It is not

limited to men or women or

any other specific group but

all of the people in the society

should follow them.

The Glorious Quran discusses

the ways of admonishing

disobedient men, women and

all the lawbreakers. At the

end of the above verse, the

Quran explains some of the

ways of preventing and

controlling the disobedient

women who infract the

sanctity of the divine laws.

In this verse, the three

recommended steps in

response to preventing

disobedience and rebellious-

ness are as follows:

• Admonish and advise as

the first measure;

• Next refuse to share their

beds; and

• lastly have dharb (separa-

tion) from them.

The meaning of admonish-

ment and advice is clear. But

other two ways, "refusing to

share their beds" and "separa-

tion", need more explana-

tions.

Allamah Tabatabai in "Tafsir al

Mizan" has expressed that the

expression, "refuse to share

their beds", does not mean to

break-up the marriage and

leave the bed totally, but it

means to remain living

together and just separating

their beds or the husband

turning his face and paying no

attention to her. Other

interpreters believe that it

means the total separation of

man from their beds.

What is the meaning of

“dharb" in this verse?

The word "dharb" in Arabic

language has different mean-

ings. It has different mean-

ings in different dictionaries.

For instance, in the book,

"Lesan Al Arab", it means:

achieve and invoke. In order

to prove this meaning for

"dharb", refer to a poem of


18

"Kumait" who is a famous

literal Arabian poet. In this

poem he argued that “dharb"

is request and the “dharaba"

also means requested.

Also, in "Lesan Al-Arab" the

word “dharb" means preven-

tion or prohibition, and it says

"I do dharb one person from

other person". It means that I

prevent him. Also others hold

that the term means "to

separate or keep away".

In this book the term “dharb"

means "to separate or keep

away".

Therefore, this word has

different meanings and it does

not mean "beat" only. Even

some of the intellectuals

believe that the word " dharb"

in this verse, is not necessarily

"beat the woman", but means

demand and request for

getting their attention by the

help of psychological ways,

and preventing them from

committing actions of guilt

and by Islamic legal system.

Also Islamic traditions inter-

preting this verse, conclude

that the purpose of “dharb" in

this verse is not related to

hurt somebody as commonly

believed.

With regards to the anecdotes

told by some of the great

commentators of the Glorious

Quran, like Tabarsi in "Majma

Al-Bayan" and Allameh

Tabatabai in "Tafsir Al Mizan"

it is found from an authentic

justifiable book such as

"Wasail Al-Shia", that Imam

Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) while

explaining "dharb" says: “Beat

your wife with a toothbrush”.

It is obvious that, the purpose

of this word in this verse is

not to smack and beat by lash

and whip but is a very delicate

way of catching the attention

of the other side.

For this reason, the Prophet

of Islam Muhammad (S) told

some of the men who beat

their wife in astonishment:

"How do you embrace your

wife while you beat her?"

To whom is this verse

address to?

As mentioned, the word

“dharb" in this verse does not


19

mean to beat or strike as is

commonly understood. But if

someone considers that it as a

physical punishment, then

here is a question: "To whom

is this verse addressed to and

who is responsible for pre-

venting rebellious women

when they are disobedient? Is

this verse addressed to

husbands and can these

husbands punish or admonish

their disobedient wives, or are

the legal authorities and

justice system responsible for

it?”

Our answer to this ques-

tion is as follows: According

to the rules of admonishment

and prohibition and penal

laws in Islam, the advice to

disobedient wives regarding

this matter can be made by

their husbands, relatives and

acquaintances. Husbands do

not share the beds with them.

But, legal authorities and

judges are responsible for

carrying punishment including

corporal punishment and no

one else can proceed to

punish the women by them-

selves. For instance, the

Glorious Quran states: "And

(as for) the man and the

woman who steals, cut off

their hands as a punishment

for what they have

earned".(5:38)

It is obvious that, common

people are not addressed in

this verse. Therefore, no

individual person can punish a

thief and cut off his hand.

Punishment for thieves should

be operated in special condi-

tions. For example:

• The value of the stolen

goods is equal to or exceeding

the specified amount.

• A person who steals due to

hunger and poverty is not

liable to punishment.

• He commits the crime by

breaking and entering the

property of the owner.

Obviously, the judge is

responsible for recognizing

the mentioned conditions in

Islamic Jurisprudence as he is

expected to know the princi-

ples of Islamic Jurisprudence.

There are several other


20

conditions related to the issue

which the lay people are not

familiar with.

This Islamic rule shall be

applied when punishing

disobedient women. There-

fore, the court of justice and

judges, who knows the rights

and Islamic Jurisprudence and

the principles of the civil law

are responsible for recogniz-

ing women’s disobedience or

rebellion. An ordinary person

without any knowledge about

legal laws is not authorized to

evaluate his wife's behaviour

and judge it as disobedience

and rebellion and act like a

judge and punish his wife.

Conclusion

As mentioned, it is clear that

firstly: the word "dharb" in

this verse of the Chapter “The

Woman”, does not mean to

beat or strike. Secondly, if we

consider the word "dharb" in

this verse means to punish

physically the disobedient

person, the authorized judge

is responsible for recognizing

and determining the type of

the crime and its punishment.

Therefore, Islam does not

authorize and permit a man to

punish his wife on his own

recognition.

Notes:

1. Hadith mentioned in al-

Mizan, by Allamah Tabataba’i,

Commentary of Surah al-Nisa’,

vol. 8, verses 32-35, A Dis-

course On Men’s Authority

Over Women pages 202-213,

the hadith is mentioned at

page 208. Here is the Arabic

and exact reference to the

hadith, and its translation:

From Abi Maryam from Abi

Ja`far (AS) said, the Messen-

ger of Allah (SAWAS) said:

"how does any of you hit his

wife, then remains embracing

her?"

��

Sayings of Imam Hassan

Askari (A.S.)

* Do not be generous to

someone with what may be

heavy on him.

* How bad from a faithful it is

when he has a desire a thing

that degrades him.

��


21

Whom May We Select As A

Spouse?

Now we have reached the

most sensitive and important

point of our discussions!

Whatever we have discussed

so far was a prelude and

prefix to this chapter. That is

to say, whom may we select

as a spouse? With what sort

of qualities, peculiarities,

standards and criterions, so

that we may lead a prosper-

ous life with each other, and

be the cause of each other's

progress, completion, and

comfort?

This is the real stimulant and

aim of our discussion. All our

pursuits in these topics and

discussions is that the youth

(girls and boys) may select

spouses in a way to be equal,

well-matched and proportional

to each other, and conven-

tionally speaking they must go

together well. If this condition

is procured and secured, and

this co-ordination and balance

is realized, then the other

matters and difficulties are

comfortably solvable. If they

do not slip at this stage

crossing and traversing, then

the other phases would be

easy.

We can say boldly and

daringly that most of the

difficulties which appear in the

family life are due to the fact

that the boy and the girl have

made a mistake here and

have not selected a spouse

well-matched to themselves.

Many spouses have been seen

to be pushed into a state of

misery and destruction due to

an imbalance and lack of

homogeneity. Most of the

difficulties, controversies and

conflicts in the selection of the

wrong spouse.

Subtlety!

Brother, sister! As you intend

to select someone to be

beside you for the whole of

your life, observe minutely

whom you are going to select.

No selection, in human life,

Criteria of Spouse Selection

By: Ali Akbar Mazaheri


22

after the selection and choos-

ing of belief and school of

thought, can reach and match

the spouse selection in its

importance and sensitiveness.

This selection has a basic and

fundamental role in your

success and prosperity or

misery and misfortune!!!

Do care, check, examine, and

seek advice as much as you

can. Be cautious and careful

not to make a mistake.

Beware not to take a senti-

mental decision. Be careful

not to be subjected and

affected by digressive factors.

It would be very difficult for

you to cope and deal with an

unsuitable, unequal and

heterogeneous, and incon-

sistent spouse. Do not ever

tell yourself: “For now, let us

marry! If we cannot live

together in the days to come,

we can divorce and separate!”

Drive such an idea totally out

of your mind. Divorce is a

very difficult thing and some-

times even impossible,

particularly when there are

children.

Encourage and uphold the

idea that I want to choose a

spouse with whom I intent to

spend a prosperous and

happy life.” You must burn

your boats and accumulate

and concentrate all your

sense to choose a permanent

and lifelong partner. Exercise

extreme care!!!

As far as the recommenda-

tions about a quick and swift

marriage, are concerned,

which we discussed in the

previous chapters, it does not

mean haste, disregard and

neglect. Instead, speed must

be with precision, accuracy,

and carefulness.

And these two (speed and

accuracy) are not contradic-

tions to each other; instead, it

haste which is in contrast to

precision.

Subtlety in Selection,

Smoothness in Marriage

When we consider the collec-

tion of laws of Islam with

regard to marriage, we

conclude that: Islam has

commanded to be easy,

lenient, indulgent and simple


23

most of the matters pertaining

to marriage; such as dowry,

wealth, ceremonies, rituals,

and customs, but it has

ordered carefulness in 'spouse

selection'. For example:

“Be lenient ... do not exercise

extreme care.”

“The best marriage is the

easiest one.”

“The best of wives are those

whose dowry sum is small and

their expenditure and upkeep

is low.”

But when it come to the

discussion of 'spouse selec-

tion' and 'its criteria and

standards', Islam says be very

careful.

• Avoid the greenery

(herbs) growing over a

sewer (cesspool).

• Avoid marrying stupid and

silly (insane) ones.

• See what you are putting

around your neck.

And tens of other caution and

warnings.

So be completely mindful and

alert that these two kinds of

ordains are not mixed up and

taken erroneously. Leniency

and easy attitude have their

own place; whereas minute-

ness, precision, carefulness,

and strictness have their own.

Everything is suitable in its

own place.

Criteria of Spouse Selec-

tion

We must have certain stand-

ards for the selection of a

spouse. That is to say, girls

and boys must have criteria

and know what kind of spouse

they wish to have and with

what qualities and virtues.

This is the actual work. It is

much like someone who

wants to travel, so he must fix

and specify his destination

and then start the journey.

But if he only knows that he

needs to travel but does not

have any aim, objective or

destination in his mind, he

wanders around and gets lost.

There are two kinds of

standards, qualities, and

specifications that should be

taken into consideration when

selecting a spouse:


24

(a) Those which are the pillars

and foundations and definitely

required for a prosperous life.

(b) Those which are the

conditions of attaining com-

pletion, and are necessary for

the betterment and welfare of

life and are mostly relevant

and dependent upon the

taste, style and the status of a

person.

Now we consider these

standards, criteria and quali-

ties.

First: Religiousness (from

the Fundamental and

Inevitable Factors)

He who does not have religion

does not have anything

whatever he owns and

possesses, he is considered

and evaluated as 'nothing'. An

irreligious man is actually a

'moving dead body'. The

person who is not committed

and bound to religion, which

is the most real matter of life,

there exists no security and

guarantee that he would be

committed to the rights of his

spouse, and be bound to the

norms of a shared life.

A religious and pious person

cannot go along with an

irreligious spouse and have a

prosperous and blessed

common life. A pious person

may possibly tolerate and

bear other shortcomings of

the spouse, but can never

bear and accommodate the

irreverence and recklessness

of the spouse.

Yes, if both of them are

without religion and heedless

to the laws of religion, it is

possible. But their lives would

never be successful. Prosperi-

ty is absolutely impossible to

achieve without honesty.

Absolutely impossible!! Yes,

they might have accepted

something as prosperity and

consider themselves as

prosperous, but this consider-

ation is 'sheer ignorance.'

That is to say, they are in fact

unfortunate and miserable,

but they think they are

blessed and successful.

Anyhow, a religious and pious

person wants a religious

spouse. If one is religious and

the other, irreligious and


25

uncommitted, they will not

become prosperous.

Of course, being religious

means being so in the real

sense of it. Meaning being

absolutely committed to

Islam, accepting it from the

core of one's heart, and

practicing upon it, not the

shallow, rootless and feigned

religiousness.

A reflection of the Prophet's

(S) saying: A man came to

the Muhammad (S) to seek

guidance in connection with

the selection of a spouse. He

(S) said to him:

“It is (binding) upon you to

have a religious spouse.” [1]

On another occasion, he (S)

ordered all people of all ages:

“It is binding upon all of you

to select a religious spouse.”

And again in another case he

(S) said:

“A man who marries a woman

for the sake of her wealth,

Allah leaves him in his own

condition, and the one who

marries her (only) for her

beauty, he will find in her

(things) which he dislikes

(displeasing matters) and the

one who marries her for the

sake of her faith (religious-

ness), Allah will gather up all

these things for him.” [2]

There is an elegant and subtle

point in the tradition; that is,

if he marries her (only) for her

beauty, he sees unpleasant

things in her.

Perhaps these 'unpleasant

matters' mean that the beauty

of an irreligious wife would be

the cause of a bad name,

scandal and disgrace. The

same beauty that was the

stimulant of marriage with her

becomes the cause of nui-

sance and dishonour.

Question & Observation

At this stage, a question and

objection comes forth; that is,

if being religious is the real

standard of success, then why

do we see many religious

ones who do not lead good

lives and their lives are

disturbed and unhappy?

Answer: Firstly, religious-

ness (devoutness) means real


26

religiousness. That is, we take

only such a person as reli-

gious whose entire practice,

speeches, morality, and all the

rest of his life's matters are

subject to Islam. Such an

individual would really be

decent and gentle. Islam is

the law of Allah for the

prosperity of man and if

followed and practiced, it does

positively bring felicity and

blessings. Islam is not merely

a set of a few obvious practic-

es that anybody performing

them may be a real religious

one.

Secondly, it is possible that

the fault be at another place,

which means they may be

really religious, but lacking

some qualities and peculiari-

ties being the condition for

prosperity of the shared and

common life. For instance,

they might not have ideologi-

cal, moral and physical co-

ordination, homogeneity and

harmony. Because, whilst

being religious is the real

standard, there are some

other criteria, which must be

observed when selecting

spouse. (These will be de-

scribed soon).

Thirdly, the difficulty and

fault may be present at the

other end. That is to say, you

may know one of the two

spouses as a religious person

and not know the other one

and be completely unaware

about his or her spirits.

Perhaps he or she is not really

religious and the root of the

difficulty lies there.

Fourthly, one of both of

them may be suffering from a

nervous or spiritual disease.

These diseases cause many

difficulties in the joint life.

Religious people too, having

been affected by certain

factors may suffer from

ailments and nervous and

spiritual complications.

Anyway, being religious and

pious is the basic condition

and quality of a suitable

spouse and there must be a

thorough enquiry and con-

templation about it before

marriage takes place.


27

The Fruit of Religiousness

This quality and virtue has

many other fruits. That is to

say, religiousness is like a root

or origin, which has many

branches and fruits.

(a) Piety:

A religious person is positively

pious; and if he is not, then

he is not religious one.

(b) Veil:

The veil is from the fruits of

the 'tree of religiousness'. The

Hijab (veil) is not only speci-

fied for women and girl, boys

and men too must wear a

(spiritual) veil. To sum up, the

veil of a woman and a man

has some differences which

exist due to women's phy-

sique, being bodily more

attractive, and the physical

and sexual differences be-

tween the two sexes.

(c) Nobility

(d) Modesty:

“The one who does not have

modesty lacks religion.” So

the one who has modesty,

does have religion as well.

What Should The Irreli-

gious Youth Do?

All that has been described so

far, regarding the standards

and the first virtue (religious-

ness) was mostly related to

the pious ones. So what

should the irreligious youth

do?

Answer: Firstly: They must

also become pious and

practice like the pious ones.

Religion and faith are the

provision and stock of the

world and prosperity in the

hereafter. So it is obligatory

for every sane man to attain

this provision. Any amount of

research, study, investigation

and consultation taking place

on this road is worthwhile.

Just as the human intellect

and mind deems it fit that

man must search and en-

deavour for the sake of

earning a livelihood in this

material life, so does it

demand to seek the way of

eternal bliss.

Secondly: The irreligious

youth must also possess some

of the qualities and merits of


28

the religious ones. The man,

who is not bound to faith and

religion, must take into view

some of the merits of the

pious ones when selecting a

spouse. For instance, an

irreligious spouse must too

possess modesty, nobility, and

sexual purity; otherwise their

lives would become full of

misery, distress and difficul-

ties. This is because even

irreligious persons cannot

tolerate immodesty, impurity,

debauchery and libertinism

(unless they may have

negated humanity, in which

case, they are out of the

scope of our discussion).

The more a person is modest,

noble, and clear, the more he

is religious, although he

himself may not be aware of

it. Modesty, nobility, purity

and all the virtues and peculi-

arities, which are considered

positive and beautiful, are a

part of religion.

So the irreligious and faithless

persons must at least practice

the first part of the standard

of religiousness; that is,

modesty, nobility and sexual

purity.

We, at the end of this chap-

ter, shall again talk about it.

Second: Morality (A Basic

and Positive Specification

for Both Parties)

Morality does not alone mean

to be conventionally booming,

smiling and good-natured,

since laughing on certain

occasion is not only anti-

morality, but also immoral.

Instead, morality means good

etiquette and lovely habits

and virtues from an intellectu-

al and religious point of view.

Status of Morality in

Spouse Selection

The Prophet (S) said about

the virtues and qualities of a

suitable and decent spouse:

“When someone with whose

morality and religion you are

pleased comes to you (for

marriage), conclude the

marriage. If you do not do it,

then a great commotion and

disturbance and corruption

would take place on earth.”


29

Please observe that the

prophet of Islam (S) described

'morality' and 'religion' as two

real standards and criteria of

marriage and spouse selec-

tion. These two are the

foundation of prosperous life

and the importance of other

standards follows them.

A Muslim, named Hussain Bin

Bashar Baseti, wrote a letter

with the following content

about a person who had

asked the hand of his daugh-

ter in marriage, to Imam ar-

Ridha’ (a.s) and enquired as

to what his duty was in the

matter: “... A person from

among my relatives, who is ill

natured, has asked the hand

of my daughter in marriage.

What must I do now? Shall I

marry my daughter to him or

not? What do you say about

it?”

Imam wrote in response to his

letter: “If he is ill natured (bad

tempered), do not marry your

daughter to him.”

You see that Imam (a.s)

responds distinctly, vividly,

and negatively due to this one

vice. To live alongside an ill

natured and bad tempered

person is similar to a lifelong

vigorous imprisonment. The

bad temper of one of the two

spouses affects the other and

the children as well.

Specimens of Decent and

Indecent Behaviour

Now we discuss the meaning

of 'decent attitude' and

morality in detail and describe

two example of these so that

the meaning of morality when

it comes to spouse selection is

illustrated and explained

explicitly.

1- Using Decent and

Indecent Language

Using foul and dirty language,

insolence, and talking disre-

spectfully, carelessly, and

abusively are specimens and

indication of bad tempera-

ment and immorality, whereas

sweet language, soft conduct

and talking respectfully are

the symbols of morality and

good character.

As a matter of fact, 'the

tongue' is the representative


30

and translator of one's

internal conditions.'

“The same matter trickles out

of a pot which is inside it.”

It is not possible that the

interior of a man be sound,

healthy, and pure but his

tongue be dirty, foul, abusive

and pungent. The tongue is

the window, which exhibits

the contents of the interior.

Man's tongue is the mirror of

his heart.

2- Magnanimity and

Jealousy

Jealousy is the important

indicator of ill nature, and

magnanimity and generosity

are the salient specimens of

good character and morality.

3- Sweet-Naturedness and

ill-naturedness

Leading a life with an ill

natured and bad tempered

person is very difficult and life

with a sweet natured and

well-behaved person gives

pleasure, enjoyment and

hope. A good nature is one of

the sign of faith and ill-

naturedness and impoliteness

is the manifestation of a

weakness in faith.

Of course, as has been

described in the beginning of

this discussion, good-

naturedness or smiling is not

always and everywhere a sign

of good conduct. For instance,

the mirthfulness of women

and men in the presence of

an unfamiliar person

(stranger) is against morality

and is highly disagreeable.

And similarly, laughing and

making others laugh through

backbiting, slandering,

mockery, and describing

others' errors is illegal,

prohibited and against moral

values and Islamic ethics.

4- Accepting the Truth and

Stubbornness

Stubbornness and obstinacy

inflicts heavy damages upon

family life.

5- Wise Humility and Stupid

Pride and Arrogance

6- Truthfulness and Lying

7- Grace, Deliberateness,

Ungraciousness and Debauch-

ery


31

8- Forbearance, Impatience

and Incapaciousness

9- Favorable Opinion and

Mistrust

10- Being Warm and Affec-

tionate and Being Apathetic

11- Forgiveness and Hostility

12- Respect and Disrespect

13- Boldness and Fear

14- Politeness and Rough

Attitude

15- Faithfulness & Disloyalty

16- Generosity & Parsimony

17- Contentment and Greed

Third: Nobility of the

Family (A Fundamental

and Unavoidable Condi-

tion for Both Sides)

Family nobility does not mean

fame, wealth, and social

status. Rather it means

modesty, purity and religious-

ness. Marriage with someone

is equal to a bond with a

family, tribe, and a race.

It is not logical that in connec-

tion with marriage one says:

“I desire to marry this person

and have notion do with his or

her family, relation, and

tribe”, since:

1- This person is part of the

same family and tribe and is

the branch of the same tree.

This branch has received its

nutrition and growth from the

roots of the same tree. It is

certain that most the moral,

spiritual, intellectual and

physical qualities and specifi-

cations of that family have

been transferred through

heritage, training, environ-

ment, habits, etc to this

person.

The prophet of Islam (S) said

in this regard: “Marry from a

decent family, for genealogy

affect very much.”

At another place he (S) said:

“Investigate very carefully and

minutely as to where you will

place your child, for genealo-

gy affects very much.”

2- Even if you do not have

anything to do with them,

they would have something to

do with you!

Never can you detach your

spouse from them. Neither


32

can you yourself cut off your

link with them. You must be

associated and linked to them

for a whole lifetime. If the

spouse's family is wicked and

corrupt people, they will

agonize the person. And one

cannot totally refrain and put

an absolute constraint upon

their interference in one's life,

and on the bonds with them.

3- Their good or bad name

and reputation remains

attached to a person for the

whole of his life and does

have effects upon it. It will be

much too difficult for you to

endure and withstand their

bad name.

4- Their qualities and peculi-

arities have effect upon the

future of the children.

The Muhammad (S) said in

this connection:

“Choose a proper and suitable

place for your semen, be-

cause children become similar

to their maternal uncles.” [3]

Brother and sister! You must

never be subjected to senti-

ments and emotions and take

decision in that condition

regarding important matters.

If 'spouse selection' is exclud-

ed from the influence and

hold of intellect and reason

and is placed into the realm of

sentiments and superficial

views, it would be followed by

misery and misfortune.

Now you are positioned and

stationed on the threshold

and doorway of a great

change. Minutely think and

contemplate what you are

doing to connect your future

with a family. The result of

this linkage should be pro-

gress, completion and pros-

perity, not downfall, retro-

gression, and misery. See the

glorious prophet of Islam (a.s)

with the eyes of your heart,

addressing you, and hear his

alarming and warning mes-

sage with the ears of your

soul, as he said: “The prophet

of Islam (S) stood to deliver a

speech and said, “Oh people,

beware of the greenery

(growing) upon a dung hill.

He was asked “Oh prophet of


33

Allah (a.s), what is the

greenery on the dung hill?”

He replied, “A beautiful

woman raised and brought up

in a bad nursery (family).”[4]

We have seen many youth

who have been deceived by

the apparent and outward

show and have thrown

themselves into sewers and

marshes from where the exit

has become impossible.

Question and Answer

Question: We have observed

that sometimes decent, nice

children come of bad families

and indecent and wicked

children come from good

families. Why?

Answer: Yes it is as you say,

but this happens only some-

times and is an exceptional

event. Sometimes a flower

blooms in a bad place and a

thorn does in a good place.

But laws cannot be based

upon exceptions. What we

describe is on the basis of

majority.

Secondly, these exceptions

have common roots with their

principle. Without doubt, the

effect of these common roots

is in their existence, which

may not appear in normal

situations and circumstances,

but do become apparent in

turbulent and abnormal

conditions.

Thirdly, if somebody is sure

that this branch is different

from the main tree, and

similarly he may be able to

separate and detach this

branch from the origin, and

does not permit that his or

her family have any role to

play, interfere in his or her

future, and so on, then he or

she can marry. But it is not

everyone's job.

[To be continued…..]

��

Sayings of Imam Hassan

Askari (A.S.)

* It is sufficient in order for

you to be polite that you

avoid what you hate in others.

* If all the people of this

world were intelligent, the

world would be ruined.

��


34

One of the most difficult

decisions many Muslim sisters

face is the decision to start

wearing hijab. This is certainly

true for reverts, but may also

be true for sisters whose

families or even whose

cultures are not particularly

observant. As a revert myself,

I have been through the

whole thing. I would like to

offer some advice that I hope

inshallah will be helpful to

sisters who are considering

wearing hijab but find that

something is holding them

back.

The first step is to learn about

hijab. There is so much

information out there. Many

Muslim sisters who will assist

you in this regard.

Deciding to wear Hijab

This is where the difficulties

usually come in. For many

sisters, it truly is a jihad. I

remember very vividly how

scared I was the first day I

put on the headscarf and

went out into public. As long

as you are just wearing the

modest clothes, nobody has

to know that you are a

Muslim. Once you complete

your hijab with the headscarf,

you are suddenly announcing

to everyone who sees you

that "I am a Muslim". Here is

some advice based on my

own experiences.

Wear it for the sake of

Allah (SWT)

Various statements are made

about why you should wear

hijab, such as for modesty or

for protection, but the real

reason that we wear hijab is

that Allah (SWT) has

commanded it. Whenever

anyone asks you, why do you

dress like that, that's the only

answer you need to give

them.

Allah (SWT) is the source of

everything we have, our

existence, our life, our

capability, even our goodness.

If He ever stopped sustaining

The Decision to Start Wearing Hijab

Source: http://imamreza.net


35

us, we would vanish in that

instant. If He ever took away

what he gives us, we would

never have even a speck of it.

If we worked for millions of

years, we could never repay

Him for all that He has given

us. And yet He does give it to

us, and all He asks in return is

that we do our best to obey

what He has commanded us.

Surely wearing hijab is a very

small thing that you can do

for Him compared to what He

does for you!

Wear it for the hope of

Jannah

Allah (SWT) makes tests for

us in this world. He makes

things difficult for us. He

wants to see if we will

remember Him, if we will have

faith in Him, and if we will

trust in Him. These qualities

are what is meant by "sabr".

This world we live in, although

it seems at times to be the

only real thing, is actually

fleeting compared to the

Hereafter, which is better and

more abiding. The trials of

this world will seem as

fleeting as a nightmare when

seen from the Hereafter, and

the pleasures of this world will

also seem as fleeting as a

dream when seen from the

Hereafter. It's our happiness

in the Hereafter that we

should be most worried about

attaining, because it is what

will last forever; and it's our

suffering in the Hereafter that

we should be most worried

about avoiding, because it

also will last forever.

Allah (SWT) has promised

Jannah to those who remain

steadfast in their faith in Him

and who trust in Him. The

more difficult it is for you to

have sabr, the greater the

reward for it. So what will it

be? Ease in this world, and

perhaps the eternal sufferings

in Hell? Or difficulty in this

world, and inshallah the

eternal bliss of Jannah? Let's

face it, the old clichés are

true: there's no such thing as

a free lunch and you can

almost never have your cake

and eat it too. We've all got to


36

face difficulties some time.

Better by far that they be in

the world than in the

Hereafter.

So that's what you should set

your mind to. Yes, it's difficult

to wear hijab. You may be

rejected by your family or

your friends, you may face

harassment and persecution

or be fired from your job.

These are very scary

thoughts. But if you have sabr

and keep trusting in Allah

(SWT), I swear to you sister,

this is the path to Jannah, and

when you look back on the

Day of Qiyamah you will know

that it was worth it and have

no regrets.

Wear it today and trust in

Allah (SWT) for tomorrow

What do I mean by that?

What I mean is that you

should take it one day at a

time, or even one outing at a

time. Sometimes the future

seems to stretch on forever

and ever and you don't think

you can make it that long.

You want to give up before

you even begin.

So sometimes the best thing

to do is to keep you mind

focused on what is

immediately at hand. Allah

(SWT) will take care of the

future. If you have to go out

to the market, then

concentrate on being able to

wear hijab just for this activity

and on getting through it. If

you do get through it and

nothing bad happened, then

give thanks to Allah (SWT) for

making it easy for you, and

turn your mind to your next

outing.

Or if you have to go out to

school or work, then

concentrate on being able to

wear hijab just for this one

day and on getting through it.

And give thanks to Allah

(SWT) when you have made

it, and turn your mind to the

next day.

Eventually the outings will

turn into days and the days

into weeks, and the weeks

into months. One day you will

realize that you have been

wearing hijab for quite a long

time and it isn't really as bad


37

as you feared, and Allah

(SWT) helped you get through

it. Don't be ashamed.

Sometimes it is like this. The

most important thing is to

have sabr and keep your trust

in Allah (SWT) always.

Wear it and spite the shaytan

My dear sister, the worries

and fears in your mind are the

whisperings of the shaytan.

He wants to talk you out of

obeying Allah (SWT).

So the thing you have to

remember is that you do not

need to be perfect in iman to

wear hijab. If perfection were

a qualification, where is the

sister who could wear it??

You must also not fall into the

trap of thinking that you

should wait until all your

worries and fears have

disappeared. They never will!

Trust me on this, sister.

True courage is going ahead

to do what's right even

though you are still nervous

and scared. So don't listen to

the shaytan. Ignore the

worries and fears he whispers

into your mind. Tell him that

you will not let him keep you

from obeying Allah (SWT) and

you will not let him rule your

life.

Make the decision to wear

it

Once you have come to know

in your heart that you must

wear hijab, then you have to

set a day and JUST DO IT !!

This is the only way. Set a day

and when that day comes,

you have to do it. Don't back

down. Don't give up. Do it.

Offer salat al-istikhara. Make

du'a. Make lots of du'a. Do

not stop making du'a. Ask

Allah (SWT) to give you

strength. Ask Him to make it

easy for you. Ask Him to help

you. He will, I swear it to you.

He is always there for you

when you turn to Him.

Remember how much He has

given you, how everything

that you have, even your very

existence, is due to Him.

Remember that He deserves

this from you. Remember the

promise of Jannah.


38

Remember that remaining

patient and faithful through

difficulty now may lead to

Jannah, inshallah. Even if bad

things happen, keep these

thoughts in your mind. Don't

worry about tomorrow. Just

concentrate on getting

through today, and leave

tomorrow to Allah (SWT) until

it gets here.

That's how you do it.

Final Words of

Encouragement

I have been wearing hijab

since September 1999. I do

not regret it. I have never for

one instant regretted it. I do

not regret it even one iota.

Inshallah, you will discover

that you feel the same. Even

within a few months I came

to feel that I would not be

properly dressed if I went out

not wearing hijab. This is

when you know that you have

made it!

Never feel that you are alone,

or that you are the only one

who is scared and worried

and nervous. Just about every

other sister who has travelled

down this road has gone

through the same things. I

know I have. Your sisters are

here for you. We have been

where you are. We are

encouraging you and cheering

you on. We know what it

takes because we had to find

that in ourselves too. We are

praying for your success just

as we prayed for our own.

Come and join us.

Allah does not burden a soul

except what it can bear. For it

is what it has earned, and

upon it is what it has made

due. "Our Lord and Sustainer,

do not condemn us if we

forget or do wrong. Our Lord

and Sustainer, do not put a

burden on us like the burden

You put on those who were

before us. Our Lord and

Sustainer, do not put a

burden on us that we cannot

endure. And blot out (our

sins) and forgive us, and be

gentle to us. You are our

Protector. So help us against

the rejecters." (2:286)

��


39

Question

Why is it permissible to eat

shrimps and forbidden to eat

crabs and lobsters? Please

explain the difference be-

tween them, their genus,

category and other distin-

guishing features?

Brief Answer

Although all Islamic laws are a

result of the benefits or

disadvantages and harms that

back them, and there is a

particular reason behind each

and every one of them,

discovering the exact reason

in detail for every one of them

is extremely difficult. The

most we can do is give some

general guidelines regarding

these laws, and what we

mean here by ‘general’ is not

that there are not any excep-

tions either. When it comes to

the permissibility of consum-

ing shrimps, what has been

mentioned in some narrations

is that shrimps are from the

category of scaly fish which is

why it is halal to eat but crabs

are not from the said catego-

ry.

Detailed Answer

To get your answer, several

points need to be considered:

1- Based on the true theory

that Shia scholars and ulema

believe in, the laws Allah

(swt) legislates are all based

on the benefits they entail or

the harms and disadvantages

they prevent, in other words,

if something is made wajib, it

is because of the one or many

important or crucial benefits it

entails, and if something is

made mustahabb, it is be-

cause it entails non-crucial

benefits. The same goes for

haram and makruh acts; if

something is haram, it means

that it has one or several

extremely bad and harmful

outcomes, and if something is

makruh, it shows that the bad

things it entails aren't very

severe or harmful. As for acts

that neither have a dominat-

ing benefit nor a dominating

harm are mubah (which

Why are Shrimps halal and Crabs haram?

By: Hojjat al-Islam Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani


40

means permissible). One thing

that must be noted is that

when we say benefit or harm,

it has a vast meaning that

covers more than just worldly

ones; it has to do with all

perspectives and existential

dimensions of man.

2- Although the abovemen-

tioned principle that says

Islamic laws follow the real

benefits and harms certain

actions entail is one accepted

by all and is for sure, never-

theless, discovering exactly

why and what reasons cause

a ruling is extremely hard and

challenging because:

Firstly: Such a task calls for a

great deal of knowledge in

many different fields.

And Secondly: No matter

how much man's knowledge

develops, what he knows will

be a drop in comparison to

what remains unknown to him

and he hasn’t discovered yet

“…and you have not been

given of knowledge except a

little”[1].

Maybe the reason why our

imams didn’t explain the

reasons for these laws was

because the scientific and

scholarly status of the world

back then totally differed from

now and the people then

wouldn’t understand anything

that was being said to them,

and this might have even led

to a backfire, resulting in their

dislike of the religion. Imam

Ali (as) says: “People are the

enemy of what they do not

know.”[2] This led to the

imams not engaging in such

matters.

Add to that the fact that

religion and its laws pursue

the goal of us becoming good

people and building ourselves

both in spiritual matters and

in knowledge, and to be free

of bad knowledge and actions,

and this goal is reachable

through acting upon religion,

even if we don’t know why

religion has asked us to do

certain things, the same way

we listen to the doctor even

though we might not know

exactly why he has prescribed

a certain drug and know that

we will get better. The


41

believers know that religious

commands and laws come

from individuals who are

infallible and whose

knowledge comes from above,

making it flawless, therefore

they are sure the goal of their

creation is obtainable through

acting upon these orders.

3- Although finding the exact

reasons for Islamic laws is

very difficult and taxing, it is

possible to present some

general guidelines regarding

them. Of course generality in

law-related matters differs

from generality in philosophy;

in philosophy if something is

general it means that there

are no exceptions, and that is

not the case in law. What is

meant by general guidelines

here, is that they usually

apply, but there also might be

exceptions sometimes.[3]

4. When it comes to the

general guidelines about halal

and haram animal, there are

many criteria and standards

stated in the narrations of the

Infallible Imams (a.s.); for

instance, certain rules and

guidelines have been ex-

plained for terrestrial animals,

birds and aquatic animals.

The criterion mentioned for

halal aquatic animals is that

they should have scales. It

has reported[4] that Muham-

mad bin Muslim asked Imam

Baqir (a.s.): "They bring us

fish without scales (what

should we do)?" Imam Baqir

(a.s.) replied: "Eat the fish

that has scales and do not eat

the fish that does not have

scales?" Scales are the small,

thin horny or bony plates

protecting the skin of fish and

reptiles, typically overlapping

one another.[5]

It should be noted that the

fish should be from the

category of scaly fish and

there is no objection, if the

fish have lost their scales due

to certain environmental

factors or the way the fish live

as stated in the narrations.[6]

As for shrimps, we have

special narrations according to

which "eating shrimps is

allowed and that shrimps are

a kind fish."[7]


42

As for the philosophy of the

permissibility of eating

shrimps, there are different

probabilities which are enu-

merated as under:

1. Shrimps are from the

category of scaly fish though

we do not see the scales with

naked eyes.

2. Shrimps have had scales in

the beginning but they have

lost their scales over time.

3. Despite the fact that,

essentially shrimp don’t have

scales, from the legal per-

spective it is set within the

category of fish that have

scales. In other words, for

reasons we are not aware of,

it has been considered as an

exception and consequently

halal, although it does not

have scales.[8]

In addition, we have a hadith

that states the impermissibility

of crab: “Eating jerī (type of

fish), turtle and crab is

haram.”[9] It is clear that

crabs are not from the cate-

gory of scaly fish.

Having said that, it is clear

that shrimps are permissible

to eat and crabs are haram to

eat even though we cannot

tell precisely the essential and

typical difference between

them. If the science has not

been able thus far to discover

the essential and categorical

difference between these two

creatures, it does not mean

that there is no difference

between them. We hope that

a day will come when food

experts will be able to discov-

er the difference through their

extensive research.

Notes:

1. Isra : 85.

2. Selection of Mizanul-Hikmah,

vol. 1, pg. 214.

3. With help from Question 1967

(website: 2070).

4. Wasail al-Shi'ah, vol.16, pg.

397-398, hadith 1, chapt.8.

5. Ibid, hadith 3 & 7.

6. Ibid, chap.10, pg. 405.

7. Wasail al-Shi'ah, pg. 408,

hadith 5 & 12.

8. Footnote of Wasa’il, pg. 408.

9. Wasa’il al-Shia, vol. 24, pg.

146, book of foods and drinks,

chapter 16, hadith 1.

��


43

One of the most eminent

among the students of the

Late Ayatollah Khou'i is

Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Husayni

Sistani, who is known for his

genius, knowledge, and talent.

Hereby, we shall try to give a

brief account (a biography) of

this remarkable personality:

1- His Birth and Upbring-

ing:

Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Husayni

Sistani was born in Rabi-ul-

Awwal 1349 A.H. (1930 A.D.)

in Mashhad, into a family

known for its religious back-

ground. He learned Arabic

literature and rhetoric, while

he learned theological and

rational sciences from many

eminent and well-known

religious scholars in Khorasan.

Ayatollah Sistani attended

many lectures at the Kharij

stage and benefited from the

knowledge of Allamah Mu-

haqqiq Mirza Mahdi Isfahani.

After that, in 1948, Ayatollah

Sistani traveled to Qom - in

the lifetime of the late Ayatol-

lah Boroujerdi - and began

studying in its seminary.

He benefited greatly from vast

knowledge of the late Ayatol-

lah Boroujerdi, especially in

Usool and Fiqh; thus he

agreed with almost all of his

points of view. There, he also

attended the lectures of

Ayatollah Hujjat Kuhkamar'i.

His thirst for religious

knowledge led Ayatollah

Sistani to migrate to Najaf in

1951, where he attended

some lectures of Ayatollah

Hakeem, Shaykh Husayn Hilli,

and the late Ayatollah Khou'i.

In particular, he attended the

lectures of Ayatollah Khou'i on

Fiqh and Usool for more than

ten years. Ayatollah Sistani

also completed series of

lessons on Usool which he

learned under Ayatollah

Shaykh Husayn Hilli.

Meanwhile - exactly from the

year 1948 until now, Ayatollah

Sistani has been teaching the

Kharij stage (based on the

book titled "al-Makaasib" by

Ayatollah al-Uzma Sistani

Source: http://imamreza.net


44

Shaykh Ansaari). He also

teaches the book of Taharah

(purity) and many parts of the

book on Prayers, in addition

to parts of the book of Khums

(the one-fifth tax). In 1964,

Ayatollah Sistani began

teaching the Kharij stage of

Usool.

2- His Scientific Genius:

Ayatollah Sistani is one of the

few students who obtained a

degree of Ijtihad. He is known

for his intelligence and his

vast research activities on

biographies. He is also well

acquainted with many theo-

ries on many scientific sub-

jects of the Hawzah. Ayatollah

Sistani was involved in

scientific competitions with

martyr Muhammad Baqir

Sadr. This had been certifi-

cated by the late Ayatollah

Khou'i and also by Àllamah

Shaykh Husayn Hilli whom

both had confirmed his being

a Mujtahid on two separate

certification dated 1960, in

which the two Ayatollahs had

appreciated his personality

and knowledge.

It is worthy to say that until

that date, Ayatollah Khou'i had

never certificated any of his

students' knowledge or

Ijtihad, except for Ayatollah

Sistani and Ayatollah Shaykh

Ali Falsafi (an eminent àlim in

the Hawzah of Mashhad. On

the other hand, the famous

Àllamah Shaykh Agha

Buzurgh Tehrani wrote a letter

to Ayatollah Sistani in 1960 in

which he eulogized him for his

intellectual talents on biog-

raphies and hadith. This

means that Ayatollah Sistani,

had been granted his high

scientific rank when he was

only thirty-one years old.

3- His works:

Ayatollah Sistani began

teaching the Kharij stage on

Fiqh, Usool, and biography 34

years ago. He held many

lectures on the book entitled

"Makaasib", and on many

subjects such as purity,

prayers, judgment, khums,

and other rules of Fiqh like

usury, Taqiyyah (precaution),

and the rule known as "ilzam"

(obligation). Ayatollah Sistani


45

also taught Usool for three

complete sessions - some of

which are ready for publica-

tion, like his research on the

scientific roots (principles),

"taàdul and taraajeeh", some

researches on Fiqh, some

chapters about prayers, the

rule of Taqiyyah and ilzam.

Many eminent scholars, such

as Àllamah Shaykh Mahdi

Murwarid, Àllamah Sayyid

Habib Husaynan, Àllamah

Sayyid Murtadha Isfahani,

Àllamah Sayyid Ahmad

Madad, Àllamah Shaykh

Baqir Irwani, and many other

teachers in the hawzah, have

recorded his researches.

During that, Ayatollah Sistani

was busy in compiling im-

portant books and some

treatises, in addition to what

he had written on Fiqh and

Usool. Hereunder, are some

of Ayatollah Sistani's books

and treatises:

1- Explanation on "al-Ùrwa

al-Wuthqah". 2- Researches

on Usool. 3- The book of

Qadha' (judgment). 4- The

book of Sale and Choices. 5-

A treatise on doubtful clothes.

6- A treatise on the rule of

"Yadd" (hand). 7- A treatise

on the traveler’s prayers. 8- A

treatise on the rule of

"tajawuz" & "Faragh". 9- A

treatise on "Qiblah". 10- A

treatise on "Taqiyyah" (pre-

caution). 11- A treatise on the

rule of "ilzam" (obligation).

12- A treatise on ijtihad &

imitation. 13- A treatise on

the rule of "La Dharar wa la

Dhirar". 14- A treatise on

Usury. 15- A treatise on that

the correspondence of ibn abi

Ùmayr is reliable. 16- A

criticize on the treatise titled

"The correction of Chains" of

Ardabili. 17- An explanation

on the book titled

"Mashyakhat al-Tahthibayn".

18- A treatise on the past

methods in regard to the

reliable narrations; and many

other handwritten compila-

tions and treatises on rules for

the imitators.

4- His Methodology in

Researching & Teaching:

Ayatollah Uzma Sistani has his

own method of teaching


46

which differs from other

teachers and scholars. For

example, his method in

teaching Usool distinguishes

with the following features:

A) He speaks about the history

of the research he is discuss-

ing, to know its fundamental

sources which might be

philosophical, like the issue of

the simplicity of "mushtaqq"

and its constructions. Or, they

might be concerned with

beliefs and policy, like the

research of "taàadul and

tarajeeh", in which he had

explained that the difference

of hadiths returns to intellec-

tual clashes and the political

circumstances of that time

during which the Holy Imams

(A.S.) had lived.

B) Ayatollah Sistani always

connects between the thought

of Hawzah and the contempo-

rary civilizations. In his

discussing the literal meaning

and distinguishing between it

and the highest meaning, and

whether this difference is

subjective or not; Ayatollah

Sistani chooses the thought of

al-Kifaya's author, who

believes that the said differ-

ence is external. However, he

himself builds his opinion on

the modern philosophical

theory.

And when he discusses the

name of Time, he deals with

this subject according to a

Western modern philosophical

theory, which declares that

Time must be taken from

Place, having the conse-

quence of light and darkness.

As to the form of imperative,

Ayatollah Sistani discusses

this matter depending on

some sociologists' theories,

which say that the reason

behind dividing the request

into: Order, Begging, and

Asking, is the intercession of

the requester in his request,

as whether it is of higher,

equal or lower than the

normal level.

C) Ayatollah Sistani always

looks after the principles in

relation with Fiqh. He thinks

that the Hawzah students

became bored because most

of scholars are dealing with


47

subjects on Usool exaggerat-

edly, by repeating the others

researches, instead of inno-

vating new researches of their

own. Thus, the students

cannot be enticed with such

unuseful and boring repeti-

tion. But fortunately, we do

not find this situation in the

lectures or lessons that are

being held by Ayatollah

Sistani. He rather, discusses

the subject from all its sides

until he reaches a final logical

conclusion.

D) The Marriage to the

Infidel: This is one of the

disputatious rules about which

the scholars have different

opinions. They believe that it

is a mere intellectual rule. But

Ayatollah Sistani regards it as

a part of the rule called

"Idhtiraar" (obligation) which

is a legal rule confirmed by

many historical texts like

"Anything which Allah has

prohibited is lawful for who-

ever is driven to necessity".

Or sometimes, he amplifies a

rule by emphasizing what

seems to be important.

E) His Social View about the

Text: There are many Fuqaha

who deal literally with histori-

cal texts and remain stable

upon their mere words and

meanings, and do not try to

move even one step forward.

For instance, such fuqaha

depend on the apparent

meaning of the prophetic

hadith in which the Holy

Prophet (S) had prohibited the

Muslims from eating the meat

of domestic asses during the

time of the battle of Khaybar,

and believe that the asses'

meat is prohibited, without

objection.

But, from Ayatollah Sistani's

point of view, a faqih must

penetrate into the real mean-

ing behind the text's words.

He says that the Holy Proph-

et, and for sure, wanted to

utilize the few number of

asses the Muslims have in the

best and most useful ways.

One of those ways is that

these asses must be kept

alive to convey the arms and

other important provision to

the Muslim army, since they


48

were the only means available

for transportation. Thus,

Ayatollah Sistani believes that

the prohibition must have

been temporary and must not

be understood as absolute

permanent one.

F) Experience & Acquaint-

ance: Ayatollah Uzma Sistani

believes strongly that a faqih

must be acquainted with

Arabic literature, civilization,

orations, poems, gram-

mar,...etc., otherwise he

wouldn't have enough ability

to deal with any text, and so,

he cannot distinguish this

meaning from that. And, also

a faqih must have enough

knowledge about historical

biographies and dignities, in

order to be able to recognize

any text in relation to that

personality. Moreover, it is

amazing to mention here, that

Ayatollah Sistani, and in many

occasions, disagrees with

rules that are unanimously

agreed by most of scholars.

As an example, the ulama do

not accept ibn al-Fadha'iri's

criticism book in regard to

some personalities, either, as

they believe, because of the

huge number of criticism he

had against those personali-

ties, or because they doubt

his being the author of the

book. While Ayatollah Sistani

believes that ibn al-Fadha'iri is

the real author of that book,

and that he must be regarded

more reliable than even

Najjaashi, al-Shaykh, and

others, for his criticism.

Ayatollah Sistani always

encourages the scholars to

study the different copies of

hadith, and distinguish

between them to fetch the

differences, and also study

the biography of the narra-

tors. He does agree with

those who regard al-Saduq

more reliable (in narrating

traditions) than al-Shaykh. He

rather believes that al-Shaykh

is trustworthy enough.

However, Ayatollah Sistani

and martyr Sadr both try to

give a new formation to the

subject.

Now, when Ayatollah Sistani

discusses the rule of "taàadul


49

and tarajeeh", he refers to the

secret concealed inside this

rule, which is the reason of

the hadiths' difference. So, if

the scholars attempt to point

the reasons of the difference

behind the legal texts, there

will be no problem at all. The

same subject had been

discussed by martyr Sadr, but

he had dealt with it according

to the absolute intellection,

while Ayatollah Sistani gave

many temporary and historical

evidences, until he got

important rules through which

many disputes have been

solved and removed. It is said

that Ayatollah Sistani is using

this method in the Fiqh

lessons he is holding.

G) Comparing between

different schools: Commonly,

many scholars try to constrict

their researches to this

religious school or that, but

Ayatollah Sistani differs. He

always compares his research

or discussion with the two

main centers of knowledge,

namely the Hawzah of Mash-

had and the Hawzah of Qum

on the one hand, and the

Hawzah of Najaf on the other

hand. For instance, he con-

veys the opinions of Mirza

Mahdi Isfahani (one of the

scholars of Mashhad), Bor-

oujerdi (an àlim from Qum),

and the opinions of the three

researchers, Ayatullah Khou'i,

and Shaykh Hasan Hilli (as

scholars from Najaf). The

Sistani's method in Fiqh has a

particular feature, some of

which are related here below:

1) Comparing between the

Fiqh of Shia and other Islamic

sects' Fiqh.

2) Benefitting from the

modern laws (like the Iraqi,

Egyptian, and French laws) in

some Fiqh subjects, especially

when he discusses the

subjects such as the Sale and

the Choices.

3) Renewal in discussing

some Fiqh rules and according

to this era's circumstances,

contrary to some scholars

who deal with the historical

texts as they are without

attempting to change any part


50

of it as the conditions may

request that.

5- Ayatollah Sistani's

Personality:

Whoever associates with

Ayatollah Sistani, he will notice

how high spirituality he earns,

the spirituality that Ahlul Bayt

(A.S.) have always called to.

This feature, indeed, has

rendered him one of high

rank's scholars and a true

pious. However, the most

remarkable characteristics of

Ayatollah Sistani are the

following:

A) Equity and Respecting

Others' Opinions: Because

Ayatollah Sistani is fond of

knowledge and always does

his best to reach the truth,

and also because he respects

everybody's opinion and every

objective point, he keeps

reading and researching all

the time. He is very anxious to

know others' thought and

discover the target points of

his mates. Many times and in

many occasions we see him

referring to one of the schol-

ar's opinion even this scholar

is not one of his masters, or

he is not very known in the

Hawzah, only because that

opinion has an objective point

(or points) of view.

B) Discussing Subjects

Politely: It is known among

the scholars that subjects and

on many fields are being

discussed roughly in the

Hawzah of Najaf. It is no

doubt that such a manner may

cultivate the students'

knowledge and purify it from

every incorrect understanding.

However, the students quarrel

about something unimportant,

and thus, the same manner

may be mere squabble. In this

case, more precious time

would be wasted in vain, and

no one would reach the holy

aim, which is certainty, for

which he pays all that en-

deavor and exertion. On the

other hand, we see Ayatollah

Sistani avoids disputes and

void argumentation, or

disregarding others' opinions

and conclusions. He always

tries to use polite phrases, and

always does his best to keep


51

the scholars' respect and

veneration. Another feature is

that Ayatollah Sistani used to

repeat his speech and phrases

that consist important points;

but if he noticed a continuous

arrogance and obstinacy from

a student, he then prefers

silence.

C) Training beside Educa-

tion: Education is not only an

official job through which a

teacher may practice a routine

work against his salary. Such

behaviour shall certainly

deviate the teacher from the

main target which is training

his students. A teacher must

regard his work as a heavenly

mission which he must

practice with love, care, and

full responsibility. It is said

that Ayatollah al-Hakim's high

behaviours were Sistani's

excellent model. He himself

became a model of his

master, the late Ayatollah

Khou'i, and is treating his

students exactly as the late

Ayatollah Khou'i used to treat

his students. Ayatollah Sistani

always encourages his stu-

dents to ask and research,

until they reach the truth. In

the same time, he insists on

respecting the scholars and

ùlama.

D) Piety: Sometimes, the

Hawzah undergoes problems

or critical attitudes which, if

they are not to be faced

bravely, many facts that affect

the principles of the Islamic

religion shall be concealed.

There is no doubt that all

ùlama must stand with

courage in front of these

incorrect currents. But the

same situation may rise

because of personal enmity or

competitions to reach a higher

rank or hollow reputation. In

this case, many àlims, such

as Ayatollah Sistani, prefer to

stand aloof instead of partici-

pating in this dilemma, as

happened after the demise of

Ayatollah Boroujerdi and

Ayatollah al-Hakim. Ayatollah

Sistani is very well-known for

his humble and simplicity in

life way. He earns ordinary

house and furniture, and

wears inexpensive garments.


52

He does not care about

fashion or modern mode.

E) Ayatollah Sistani's

Intellectual Works: Ayatol-

lah Sistani is not merely a

faqih; he is rather a well-

educated personality. He is

acquainted with most of

contemporary knowledge and

civilizations, and has modern-

ized thoughts and opinions.

Ayatollah Sistani is heedful of

the international economic

and political information.

Thus, Ayatollah Sistani can be

considered as a modern faqih

with genuine principles.

6- The Religious Authority:

Some masters in Najaf Ashraf

relate that, after the demise of

Ayatollah Sayyid Nasrullah

Mustanbit, many scholars had

suggested on Ayatollah Khou'i

that he should prepare the

appropriate base by choosing

a personality from the Hawzah

(of Najaf) so that the religious

authority may remain alive

and effective. His choice

became correct and the choice

was Sayyid Sistani for his

knowledge, good manner,

stable policy, and many other

virtues. Ayatollah Sistani then

began to perform the prayers

at the niche of Ayatollah

Khou'i, and started studying in

his school.

Later on, he wrote a commen-

tary on the Resalah of Ayatol-

lah Khou'i. After the death of

Ayatollah Khou'i, Ayatollah

Sistani was one of those six

personalities who participated

in the funeral and he himself

performed the funeral prayer

on his body. After that,

Ayatollah Sistani became

marja-e-taqleed. He began to

send duties and salaries, and

teaching in the same class-

room of Ayatollah Khou'i (in

Masjid Khadhra'); thus, his

followers increased day after

another, especially in Iraq, the

Persian Gulf region, India, etc.

Ayatollah Sistani has the

highest rank among the

mujtahids and scholars

throughout the Islamic World,

and especially in the hawzahs

of Najaf Ashraf and Qom.

��


53

Writing an Islamic Will

1. Is it necessary?

Although the law (Canadian as

well as Islamic) does not say

that making of the will is a

must, but by looking at the

consequences of not having a

will, it is necessary - both from

legal aspect as well from the

shari’ah aspect.

Firstly, if a person dies without

a will, the government ap-

points an executor who will

divide the estate among the

heirs as he/she seems fit. The

pay of the executor for this

job will come out of your

estate, and the government

system takes it time in getting

jobs done!

Secondly, from the shari’ah

point of view, your heirs may

get more or less than the

shares specified for them in

Islam. By not writing a will,

you are leaving the door open

for a non-Islamic authority to

distribute your estate accord-

ing to its own views.

So not having a will is costly

as well as problematic from

both Canadian and Islamic

points of view. Considering the

consequences, I think it is

wajib for a Muslim in Canada

to have an Islamic will; more

so when you realize that the

law of the land allows you to

do so.

2. The One-Third Option

After a person dies, what is

the relationship between him

and his estate? There are

three possibilities:

• He has full control over it

through a will.

• He has partial control over

it through a will.

• He has absolutely no

control over it.

Islam has taken the middle

position. It says that when a

person dies, he still retains the

right to decide about up to

one-third of his entire estate.

But as far as the two-third is

concerned, the deceased

Making an Islamic Will

By: Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi


54

person loses the right to

dispose according to his wish.

The two-third must be divided

according to the shares

specified by the shari'ah.

(Most of these shares have

been specified in the Quran

itself.) This law is part of the

over-all system which Islam

has introduced for the distri-

bution of wealth in society.

This right of disposing the

one-third according to your

own wish can be exercised

only by making a will. You can

do whatever you like with the

one-third: give to a family-

member, a relative, a friend, a

charitable cause or organiza-

tion, etc.

For example, you can use the

1/3 or a part of it to make -if

you like- the shares of your

wife or your daughter equal to

those of your other children.

When the Qur'an talks about

wasiyyat which is normally

translated as “will”, it refers to

the will covering the one-third

only. For example, it says, "It

is prescribed upon you, when

death approaches (any) one of

you - if he leaves behind

wealth – then he should make

a will (wasiyyah) for his

parents and near relatives in a

fair manner [in the one-third].

This is a duty upon the pious

people. (2:180)

Writing more than one-third to

a person or a cause means

depriving the potential heirs of

their rightful share in the

estate; and, therefore, it is

considered unjust and wrong.

The Quran says, If a person

fears that the testator is

[wrongfully] inclined [to one

party] or is sinning [by

depriving the rightful heir in

the will, and so that person

intervenes between the

testator and the potential

heirs] and makes peace

between them – then there is

no sin on him. Allah is Forgiv-

ing, Merciful. (2:182)

What has been described in

this verse as wrongfully

“inclining to one party” and

“sinning by depriving the

rightful heir” is related to the

two-third of the estate.


55

3. What is the "estate"?

An "estate" is the collective

name for everything that you

own. The estate consists of

the followings:

• all properties, goods and

investments that are in

your name.

• half of the specified

portion of the goods and

investments in which you

are a co-owner.

The first type of property is

very straight-forward. But

there are certain cases in the

second type which need

explanation: Joint Account:

According to Canadian laws,

with death of one spouse, the

money becomes the property

of the surviving spouse. Such

a transfer of money is not

valid in Islam: Islamically, half

of the money in that account

becomes part of the surviving

spouse and the other half will

become part of the deceased

estate.

House: Houses are normally

in the name of the couple.

Such ownership can be of two

types: common ownership and

tenants in common. “Tenants

in common” is also without

any problem because when

one spouse dies, his/her share

becomes part of the estate.

But in "common ownership",

there is a problem because

with the death of one spouse,

according to Canadian laws,

the entire property becomes

that of the surviving spouse.

This is contrary to Islamic

laws, which says that the

surviving spouse gets his or

her 50% and the remaining

50% becomes part of the

estate of the deceased.

We will talk more about this

below.

4. Wife's Share

Firstly, as the definition of the

“estate” shows, a house

jointly-owned by a couple is

divided - according to the

shari'ah - into two: half

becomes part of the estate of

the deceased, and the other

half was from before the

property of the surviving

spouse.


56

Secondly, according to the

shari'ah, the wife is not

entitled to land of her husband

(whether an agriculture land

or a residential lot): she only

inherits the house on the land

according to her proportional

shares in inheritance.

In common ownership case,

the wife is the owner of 50%

of the house and the land; the

other 50% becomes part of

her husband's estate from

which she will inherit 6.25% of

the house. So in the end, the

wife becomes the owner of

56.25% of the house and

50% of the land.

Both the above rules

3 & 4) create practical prob-

lems in this part of the world;

therefore, I suggest the

following:

• Either give the house to your

wife during your life-time

• Or, if the value of the 50%

of the land is within the one-

third of your entire estate,

then you can write that land

to your wife in your will. In

this way, half of the land is

her property from before and

the other half will go to her on

strength of the 1/3 option in

your will. Actually you can do

this for the entire 50% of your

residential property (house

and land together) if it falls

within the 1/3 of your estate.

In theory it will work out like

this:

• 50% of the land and house

belongs to your wife

• 6.25% of the house is your

wife's share of inheritance

• 50% of the land + 43.75%

of the house goes to her by

using the 1/3 option

• Or, if the value of the 50%

of the land is more than the

one-third of your estate and

your children are mature

(baligh), then discuss it with

them and ask for their consent

to write the entire house for

your wife in the will. If they

give the consent (which is

irrevocable), then you can

write the house to your wife in

the will even if it is more than

her proportional share of

inheritance.


57

5. Executor or Executrix

(A) It is a normal practice to

appoint your spouse or

another family member as the

executor of your will. There is

nothing wrong with this. The

only conditions which are

necessary for an execu-

tor/executrix is he or she

should be baligh, sane, and

Muslim. It is not necessary for

him/her to be àdil.

(B) I am told that by making

your children the heirs of their

shares, your children will end

up paying tax on that; where-

as if your wife becomes the

heir of everything than no tax

is applied. If this is true, than

you can do the following: You

can make your wife the

executrix of your will and also

leave everything to her – BUT

she must know (through a

private will or a letter) that

she owns only her specified

share according to the shari'ah

and she has to hand over the

shares of her children when

they become mature enough

(not just baligh) to handle

their own finances.

(C) If you accept to be an

executor for someone's will,

then it becomes wajib for you

to fulfill your duty. You can

only reject this responsibility

while the testator is alive; you

cannot reject this role after

his/her death.

6. Guardian of Children

In this part of the world, it is

very important to write in your

will about the guardian and

custodian of your children.

Under normal circumstances,

the surviving spouse is made

the guardian, and this is

indeed the best decision. The

guardian must be a Muslim,

sane, and trustworthy. Those

who have the right of custody

of children (in order of prefer-

ence) are: father, mother;

paternal grandfather; and

then anyone specifically

appointed as the guardian of

the children. However, the

duty of maintenance for the

children falls upon the follow-

ing (in order of preference):

father; paternal grandfather;

mother; other grandparents

collectively. ��


58

Thinking, reflection,

meditation

Imam Ali (a.s) said: Be aware!

Knowledge without thinking

has no profit!

Be aware! Recitation of the

Qur’an without reflection is of

little use!

Be aware! Worship lacking

reflection has no effect!

Brief Description

Filling the brain with scientific

formulas, logical rules and

philosophical principles and

other knowledge has little

effect if it is not based on

proper reflection, a clear

world-view and familiarity with

fundamentals of man’s life.

Reciting holy verses of the

Holy Qur’an has little effect

when it is not accompanied by

reflection and thinking about

them. Similarly, other forms of

worship devoid of the light of

thinking and wisdom are like a

spiritless body and unable to

impart their high educational

value.

Measure of Deliberation

Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) said:

Improving the situation of life

and association is possible

through using a measure, two

thirds of which is vigilance and

one third of which is negli-

gence.

Brief Description

No work project can be

started without proper study,

planning and vigilance, and

yet a project cannot be

completed in a timely manner

without some bold decisions

based on intuition, experience

or outright risk-taking.

In other words, if we dive into

endeavors without careful

investigation, feasibility

studies and work plans, we

will not succeed. However,

this should not mean that we

get bogged down for months

and years in trying to tie up all

loose ends and going into

unnecessary details to cover

all possible uncertainties. In

most cases, time is of essence

for a successful outcome.

The Lessons of Life

By: Ayatollah Shaykh Nasir Makarim Shirazi


59

Hence the need to balance the

vigilance for most part (two-

third) with some non-vigilance

or expediency (for the remain-

ing one third).

What About the Soul's

Food?

Imam Hasan (a.s.) said: I

wonder about those who think

about their body’s food, but

do not think about their soul’s

food. They keep undesirable

food away from their belly,

but fill up their heart with

destructive subjects.

Brief Description

Our people are usually quite

careful with their food and do

not start eating unless they

know what it is. They avoid

anything that looks doubtful

and some go to great lengths

to ensure that the body

receives good, clean, healthy

diet.

Yet, when it comes to the food

for the soul, these same

individuals will throw caution

to the winds. With eyes

closed, unaware of the reality,

they would have no hesitation

in pouring down any mental

food into their soul.

They harm their souls by

accepting without question the

speeches of unsuitable friends,

misleading press reports and

suspicious or poisonous

propagation, and this is very

surprising.

Role of The Pen

Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) said: I

have not seen any weeper

nicely smiling like a pen.

Brief Description

The pen divulges the feelings

and interprets the wisdom of

man.

The pen is founder of civiliza-

tions and rotates the wheels

of society. The pen conveys

the worries and pain of man

through its continuous weep-

ing. It can at the same time

brighten the landscape with its

smile when it touches upon

life’s beauty and love, desire

for life and its mysteries.

But it is regretful that when

this pen is in hands of an

incompetent person, its tears


60

will change to drops of blood,

and its smile is a snicker on

the utmost human credits.

Between Two Great Re-

sponsibilities

Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) said: A

faithful believer is always

anxious concerning two

things: for his past sins and

how God will treat him for

these sins; and for his remain-

ing life and the uncertainty

about how he will spend it.

Brief Description

The most manifest sign of

belief is feeling responsibility,

both for what has transpired

and for the duties and obliga-

tions that should be fulfilled.

Those who possess these two

feelings will always think

about compensation for past

negligence, as well as finding

the best possible way for

using future opportunities.

These thoughts are instrumen-

tal in the continuous develop-

ment and progress of a man

or a nation.

The ones who are oblivious of

their past mistakes and have

no intention or plans to

improve the future lead a poor

and miserable life.

Causes for Destruction of a

Society

If any one of the following

four things enters a home it

will ruin the home and divine

blessing does not re-establish

it: treachery, larceny, drinking,

adultery.

Brief Description

This is true for homes as well

as for the entire society. When

treachery penetrates into a

society, the spirit of confi-

dence disappears.

When larceny, in its different

forms, appears therein, peace

will not be found anymore.

When alcohol drinking be-

comes popular among people,

they will have weak thoughts,

disabled children and useless

youth.

Lastly, when they are stained

with adultery, the foundation

of families will be weakened

and their next generation will

be mischievous.

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Kids

Corner

Generosity of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s)

Dear kids! The eleventh

bright star of Imamate Imam

Hasan Askari (a.s.) appeared

on the horizons of the sky of

Wilayat in Madina on 10th of

Rabi-us- Sani. On this joyous

occasion we extend our

heartiest greetings to all the

lovers of Ahlulbait (a.s.) and

pray to Almighty Allah to

make our world peaceful and

give us strength to follow our

Imams in every respect and

imitate their actions.

Like all other infallibles,

Imam Hassan Askari (a.s.)

was also generous and loved

serving guests. Ali Ibne

Ibrahim relates: I went to

meet Imam Hasan Askari

(a.s) and found him in a

disturbed state. When I

asked the reason he said, "I

am having some guests today

but I have nothing to serve

them." I said, "Son of

Allah's Messenger, just

mention it, I will get all that

is needed." The Imam said,

"We Ahl ul-Bayt do not

serve our guests at the

expense of others." "All

right! Then tell me what I

can do?" I said. He told me,

"Go and sell this Yemeni

sheet of mine." I said, "Son

of Allah's Messenger, it is

so cold now-a-days and you

do not have any other quilt

or sheet. Do not sell it." The

Imam said, "The God Who

gave this would give anoth-

er."

I did as the Imam had

ordered and sold the sheet

for ten dirhams and brought

the money to him. Immedi-

ately he began to make

arrangement for a dinner. I

was much aggrieved at the

Imam's condition. The Imam


62

said, "Why are you looking at

me with pity? I would not

have been as much happy by

covering myself with the

sheet, as I am in entertain-

ing these guests."

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Division of Labour

After Imam Ali (‘a) and Lady Fatimah Zahra (‘a) got married, they began their new life together. They organized their belongings as needed and went to the Holy Prophet (s) for his advice in the division of domestic chores. ‘Guide us, O Prophet of Allah (s), as to how we should divide our domestic chores between us,’ requested Imam Ali (‘a).

The Holy Prophet (s) de-clared, ‘Ali, you will do all the chores outside the house, while Fatimah will perform all those inside the house.’

Lady Fatimah (‘a) was over-joyed with his division. She said, ‘I am so relieved to

have nothing to do with men.’ Ali (‘a) would purchase wood, grain, groceries and other essential items from the market, while she would grind the flour, cook the meals, do the laundry and keep the house clean. Be-sides, whenever Imam Ali (‘a) found extra time he would help with the chores inside the house.

One day the Holy Prophet (s) visited them and found them both working together. He (s) asked, ‘Who is the more exhausted of you two, for me to assist?’ ‘Fatimah,’ said Ali (‘a).

He (s) sent her to rest and helped Ali (‘a) to complete her chores.

Islam was in its early days and Imam Ali (‘a) had to accompany the Muslim army for Jihad more than often. He provided her with all the essential items, but, when-ever the need arose, Lady Fatimah (‘a) went to the market herself and pur-


63

chased whatever she needed in those days.

Life went on smoothly until the family grew and the house was echoing with the innocent joyful laughter of children. However, the burden of work inside the house had increased mani-fold. One day Imam Ali (‘a) noticed that grinding, cooking, carrying waterbags from the well, washing and cleaning, besides feeding, bathing, and babysitting the children had left Fatimah (‘a) with sore hands, a scarred back and worn-out clothes. Despite his help, she was busy all the time.

Sorrowful on her condition, he advised her to request her father for a serving woman. Lady Fatimah (‘a) agreed. She went to see her father, but found him busy conversing with some people. She returned home without voicing her request.

However, the Holy Prophet (s) noticed her coming and going, and understood that

she had come for something important. Next morning, he went to visit her to find out the reason for her visit the day before. At the door, he greeted the inmates in a loud, clear voice, ‘Assalam o Alaikum.’

Both Ali (‘a) and Fatimah (‘a) were resting. They felt embarrassed that they were still resting, and did not respond aloud. It was the Holy Prophet’s (s) habit to repeat the greeting thrice and return if he failed to get a response. Imam Ali (‘a) knew his habit, so he quickly replied, ‘Walaikum Assalam, O Prophet of Allah (s). Do come in.’

The Holy Prophet (s) sat at the head side of his daugh-ter’s bed and asked, ‘You came to see me yesterday, Fatimah, and then returned. I am sure it was important. What did you come for, my child?’

Imam Ali (‘a) replied, ‘If you permit me, I will tell you why Fatimah went to see you. I


64

sent her to you. The reason was that her chores within the house have increased manifold. It grieves me to see her sore hands, scarred back and dusty clothes because of working all day long. I sent her to request you to provide a woman to assist her.’

The Holy Prophet (s) did not want any member of his family to enjoy facilities that were not available to the poor Muslims, especially the immigrants, who were in a state of extreme poverty in those days. He knew the spiritual level of his daugh-ter’s faith, so he said, ‘Would you prefer it if I give you something better?’

‘We will be pleased to accept, Ya Rasool Allah (s).’

‘Everyday, before going to bed, recite Allah o Akbar, 34 times, Alhamdolillah, 33 times and Subhanallah, 33 times. It will give you more strength to perform your chores than any helping hand.’

Lady Fatimah (‘a) had not uncovered her face until this moment. She removed the cloth from her face and said, ‘My pleasure lies in what pleases my Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (s).’

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Golden Sayings of Imam Hasan Askari

(A.S.)

• Anger is the key to every

evil.

• The heart of a fool is in

his mouth, and the mouth

of a wise man is in his

heart.

• The friend of an ignorant

is always tired.

• There are two qualities

such that there is no

quality above them; faith

in Allah and the serving

of brothers.

• It is not from politeness

to show joy before a dis-

tressed person.

��


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Cover Page (Front) - Zahra Academyzahraacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/msg/rabisani...The Message Rabi-us-Sani 1440 AH 2 1. My God, it is Honor enough for me that I am Your serv-ant,