Questions Archive
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What are the features and privileges of Behar al-Anwar?
6339 2015/05/03 Contextual studyBehar al-Anwa being a huge hadith collection is the most important work by Allamah Muhammad Baqir Majlisi. It is a big encyclopedia of Shiite traditions encompassing all religious issues and themes in
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I have a question concerning a hadith which normally lecturers and orators bring up during religious occasions. It is said that the Holy Prophet of Islam beseeched Allah to reduce the number of the rak\'ats of prayers to 17 as per Prophet Moses\' advice, otherwise it was 50 or 40 or 25. Is such a tradition true and reliable?
6039 2015/05/03 Contextual studyThe details and sequence which you have reported and mentioned in your message are not correct and we have cited the original tradition from Sheikh Saduq s book. This tradition has not been reported i
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What is the Islamic law on Forex trading?
18064 2015/05/03 Laws and JurisprudenceThe foreign exchange market forex or currency market is a global decentralized market for the trading of currencies such as rial dollar euro pound yen dinar etc. . If one who intends to trade currency
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If the imams are essentially infallible, can we follow them as role models?
6183 2015/05/03 عصمتThis question emanates from incorrect notion about the concept of infallibility that considers it something mandatory and gifted by God without a cause or reason. Obviously if we are to consider infal
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Is it permissible to change a lavatory into a mosque?
6532 2015/05/03 Laws and JurisprudenceIf the land of a lavatory has not been endowed to be used as toilet it is permissible to annex it to the mosque to be used by people who come to offer their prayers in the mosque. However if it is use
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Is it permissible to use a minor\'s property without his consent?
5588 2015/05/03 Laws and JurisprudenceIt is appropriate to explain a few technical terms before dealing with the question: 1. Great scholars have defined the term saghir minor as such: Saghir minor refers to a child who has not attained
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Is questioning pervasive and all-encompassing? What does questioning of prophets mean?
5294 2015/05/03 ExegesisAn important issue discussed in religious texts in connection with the Day of Resurrection is the subject of questioning on this very day. What is actually inferred from Quranic verses and prophetic t
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Is Muhammad bin Uthman Umari\'s claim that he has seen the Imam of Time (\'atf) during Hajj season true?
5505 2015/05/03 HistoryThe fact that the Imam of Time Imam Mahdi may Allah hasten his reappearance is seen during the period of occultation is indisputable and beyond doubt even though such a claim made by anyone that he ha
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Was anyone appointed as prophet by Allah from European and Indian peoples (not Semites)?
12122 2015/04/18 پیامبران و کتابهای آسمانیMan is a duty-bound creature and duty would necessitate prophets to be appointed and sent to deliver obligations, messages and injunctions to him, otherwise duty would be unwise or meaningless. The Ho
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What is the meaning of self-consciousness according to the Holy Quran?
15871 2015/04/18 ExegesisAccording to the Quran, self-consciousness means realization of one s own self through nourishing or nurturing and reviving one s own inner and inborn talents and potentialities followed by a profound
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What are the secrets and ways to success in life?
13421 2015/04/18 سعادت و شقاوتMost writers and scholars have endeavored to present an inclusive definition of success. Success, according to Islamic doctrines, means happiness and prosperity. Practically, absolute happiness and pr
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How is it possible to tell the difference between taqiyah on the one hand and telling the truth, hypocrisy and enjoining good and forbidding evil on the other?
7190 2015/04/18 Laws and JurisprudenceTaqiyah ( dissimulation or quietism ) is a strategy for emergency situations and it is meant to protect human forces and not to endanger momeneen [ believers ] in petty and trivial matters. The princi
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Please let me get a short sketch of the life, children and grandchildren of Imam Musa Kadhim (AS).
10263 2015/04/18 تاريخ بزرگانIf we are to embark on describing and narrating the lives of Imam Musa Kadhim and his children, we would need to write many books. This article gives a cursory look into the Imam s life and if you wou
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In every case or instance of knowledge, the knower must be different from the known object. In order for myself to know the self, how can "I" know the self?
5535 2015/04/14 عرفان و شناخت نفسFirst of all, it should be mentioned that knowledge or recognition has several degrees and stages, so does self-recognition. At every stage of recognition, it is not necessary that the knower be diffe
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What is reconciliatory Taqiyah and where is it practiced?
5455 2015/04/14 Laws and JurisprudenceReconciliation is the act of making friendly relations; it is the action of making one view or belief compatible with another in order to appease someone and make him surrender to something. This is w
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How does staying at Arafat lead t self-knowledge?
5932 2015/04/14 Philosophy of Religion and LawArafat is the name of a land near Mecca which is obligatory for Hajjis ( pilgrims ) to stay there on the 9th day of the month of Zilhajja during the Hajj pilgrimage. The word Arafat is derived from Ar
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What is the Islamic law on breastfeeding in the state of janabat (ritual impurity) and sexual intercourse in the presence of a breastfeeding child?
37127 2015/01/05 Laws and JurisprudenceRitual purity ( wduhu and ghusl ) are very effective on the child s upbringing and education and it is better or the mother not to breastfeed her child whilst she is in the state of ritual impurity (
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What is the Islamic law about looking at pictures of a Muslim and non-Muslim woman without modest dress?
17097 2015/01/05 Laws and JurisprudenceThe rules applicable to seeing or looking at a non-mahram woman are not applicable to looking at a non-Mahram woman s picture or watching such women s video unless the later is broadcast live. Therefo
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Does Paradise have several gates and do those gates have specific names?
9951 2015/01/05 اوصاف بهشت و جهنمParadise has eight different gates. As for their names and what group of people use which gate to enter, there are different reports and traditions. Their names such as Baab al-Rahmah ( Gate of Mercy
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What is the way of preventing Ehtelam (having wet dream) during sleep?
65836 2015/01/05 Laws and JurisprudenceAccording to Islamic teachings and experience of others, for decreasing concupiscence and preventing Jinabat, please refer to the following recommendations: 1. Avoid dreaming and try to make yourself
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If father relegates the custody of children to the mother in a court, is it necessary for a virgin to obtain her father\'s permission?
5037 2015/01/05 Laws and JurisprudenceOffice of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei ( may Allah grant him long life ) : As a measure of obligatory precaution, father s permission is necessary in a marriage with a virgin girl. Without his permission
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Please let me how to get rid of masturbation?
9163 2015/01/05 PracticalSin is like a foul-smelling swamp full of sewage; the more one sinks into it, the less he senses its smell, because he actually loses his sense of smell and can t tell that he is drowning anymore. At
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How did Adam\'s offspring grow? Whom did Adam\'s (A.S) children marry?
28134 2015/01/05 HadithAccording to the traditions and some interpreters viewpoints, the current generation of mankind is not from Abel or Cain, it s from Adam s ( A.S ) other son, Seth. However, when it comes to the marria
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What was Imam Sadiq (AS)'s argument about God's existence in his debate with Abu Shaker Daysani?
13604 2014/12/10 Contextual studyDuring the lifetime of Imam Ja far Sadiq ( AS ) , theological debates and discussions invovling the Imam himself were carried out quite often. One of the most serious topics around which discussions a
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What is the Islamic ruling about stealing from a protected building?
6214 2014/10/27 Laws and JurisprudenceAmong the conditions for cutting off the hand of a robber are the following: 1. Puberty, 2. Sanity 3. Freedom or free will 4. Not being compelled, 5. The thief should break into a protected area
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What is the meaning of mutawatir and ma'roof traditions?
9188 2014/10/01 Contextual studyFor information about the meaning of mutawatir traditions and its various types, see index the criterion for verbal, spiritual and ambiguous mutawatir traditions , question 2412. Ma ruf Hadith Diffe
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There are narrations even in the Shiite books that forbid building any edifices including mosques around and over graves. In the existence of such narration, how is it possible to justify construction of burial chambers and tombs over the graves of the imams (AS)?
9725 2014/09/28 TraditionalThe Holy Quran narrating the story of the Companions of the Cave explicitly and clearly approves of building a mosque over their graves. There are many traditions which not only allow worshipping near
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What are the distinct criteria through which we can distinguish a lafdhi mutawatir report from an ijmali or ma\'anawi one?
8678 2014/09/28 Contextual studyMutawatir literally means for things to come one after another, without any interval between them and in hadithic terms, refers to a hadith that has been narrated by a group of narrators that one can
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In Shi’a narrations have some Muslim individuals been called Fir’aun (Pharaoh) or Hamaan?
5607 2014/09/23 HadithConsidering some of the similarities that exist between individuals, sometimes one person s name may be used figuratively for someone else. This custom is prevalent in all languages and may be a refer
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What is the occasion of the revelation of Surah al-Nahl? What is meant by "Allah's commandment has come, therefore do not desire to hasten it?"
8950 2014/09/23 ExegesisGod, the Exalted, says in the beginning of Surah al-Nahl: اتى امر الله فلا تستعجلوه سبحانه و تعالى عما یشرکون [ 1 ] Allah s commandment has come for criminals and culprits, therefore do not desir
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What was the first fruit eaten by Adam on earth?
25526 2014/09/23 HadithThe story of Adam and Eve residing in Paradise and their expulsion from there occurs in the Holy Quran. For information about this topic, read the following answers on our website: The Sin of Adam a
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Can a man marry to a woman whom he has already committed adultery with?
6873 2014/09/18 TraditionalThere would be no problem for a man to get married to a woman whom he has already committed adultery with if she had no husband or got divorced but passed her Iddah ( waiting period ) completely on th
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Where does the domino effect of mutanajjis items stop?
10457 2014/09/18 Laws and JurisprudenceGrand Aytollah Khamenei s view about a mutanajjis ( an item which has come into contact with an essential impurity ) as to how many intermediaries are required in the number of transmission of impurit
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When and why were the terms Ayatollah and Hujjat ul-islam began to be used to refer to our scholars? I would like to explore about their origin, meaning and distinctions.
13521 2014/09/18 General TermsConsidering that the word Ayat literally means sign or symbol [ 1 ] , the expression Ayatollah can be used to refer to any signs of God. That is to say, God s every single creature is in fact a sign o
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What is the meaning of "Shaf'a Prayer" and what is its relationship with intercession?
8788 2014/09/09 ExegesisThe word shaf literally means adding something to something else. It also means even as opposed to odd. The Quranic verse says wash-shaf a wal-watr in which shaf means even while watr means one . [ 1