How a Single Weak Report Became a New Taboo: Behbahani on the ‘Two Fatimahs’ Controversy
There is a fascinating fiqhi treatise written by Wahid Behbahani (1706–1791) addressing a jurisprudential matter that had gained currency in the community…
Jurisprudence
Fiqh on the Scale of Rationality: Rethinking Rulings Through the Lens of Custom and Contemporary Conditions
Book Introduction: The Alignment of Jurists with the Rational People (ʿUqalāʾ) Author: Mehdi Montazir Qa’imPublisher: Nashr-e NeyYear: 1403 (2024–2025 CE) Overview The…
An Analysis of Celebrity Culture and Its Critique from the Perspective of Islam
By Sayyid Husayn Sharafuddin – a professor and faculty member at the Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute. He is also a…
Book Review Session: “A Jurisprudential Analysis of Tashabbuh bil-Kuffar: With Emphasis on Symbolic Dress from Foreign Cultures”
Book Review Session: “A Jurisprudential Analysis of Tashabbuh bil-Kuffar: With Emphasis on Symbolic Dress from Foreign Cultures” This article presents a summary…
Cultural and Social Changes Reflected in the Inquiries Posed to Shaykh Haeri Yazdi During the First Pahlavi Period
Cultural and Social Changes Reflected in the Inquiries Posed to Shaykh Haeri Yazdi During the First Pahlavi Period By Shaykh Rasul Jafariyan…
The Jurisprudence of Social Systems: A Strategic Proposal for Making Fiqh Applicable in Society
By Hujjat al-Islam Ali Mirzaei Qasabeh, Senior Instructor and Member of the Ijtihadi Circle for Family Jurisprudence at the Higher Seminary of…
The Martyr in the Eyes of the Jurist
This is a translation of a lecture delivered by Ustad Soroush Mahallati at the Fahim Institute in Qom, on the night of…
The Woman’s Veil: Between Legislation & Administration
By Shaykh Ḥusayn al-Khechin[1] Translated by: Sayyid Burair Abbas | Reviewed, Edited, & Annotated by: Muhammad Jaffer Introduction Some contemporary scholars[2] and…
The Intra-Imami Dispute Over Fadak: Shaykh Muntazari’s Political Interpretation
The Intra-Imami Dispute Over Fadak: A Brief Overview of Shaykh Muntazari’s Political Interpretation and the Debates Surrounding It By Shaykh Haider Hobbollah;…
Linguistic Kufriyat (Blasphemy) in Farsi in the Hanafi School (Part 4)
One hundred and fifty-six words authored by the scholars of Balkh Translation: Abu al-Fadl Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Abi Nasr Additionally: One…
Linguistic Kufriyat (Blasphemy) in Farsi in the Hanafi School (Part 3)
This is part three of a series of posts on the topic of language, speech, words and utterances, and their relation to…
Linguistic Kufriyat (Blasphemy) in Farsi in the Hanafi School (Part 2)
This is part two of a series of posts on the topic of language, speech, words and utterances, and their relation to…
Linguistic Kufriyat (Blasphemy) in Farsi in the Hanafi School (Part 1)
What follows is a series of posts on a topic pertaining to language, speech, words and utterences, and their relation to blasphemy…
A Newly Discovered and Significant Text Regarding the Beliefs of the Nusayris
This article is from almost ten years ago, written by Dr. Hassan Ansari. Among the manuscripts I have examined in one of…
Utilizing the Capacity of Fiqh in New Circumstances and the Necessity of Transferring the Experience of Innovative Ijtihad to the Intellectual Generation
Utilizing the Capacity of Fiqh in New Circumstances and the Necessity of Transferring the Experience of Innovative Ijtihad to the Intellectual Generation…
Confrontation of the Ahl ul-Bayt with Cursing and Insults | Academic Seminar
Source: https://fa.abna24.com/story/1492997 The Ahl al-Bayt News Agency (ABNA) recently organized an academic discussion, critiquing the book “Cursing and Condemnation in the History…
Treatise in Refutation of Declaring a Believer an Unbeliever
By Shaykh Rasul Jafariyan In the late 12th century AH, one of the Ottoman scholars issued a fatwa declaring smoking forbidden, going…
Sectarianism in Islam: Centered Around the Concepts of Disbelief (Kufr) and Faith (Iman)
By Shaykh Rasul Jafariyan Introduction When we browse the introductory sections of books on Milal wa Nihal (the study of religions and…
The On-Time Prayers of Those Present in Arafat
By Sayyid Amin Mortzevi | Short posts published by Imam Muhammad Baqir Fiqh Institute It is best to perform each prayer at…
Is Animal Sacrifice An Ethical Act?
Is animal sacrifice an ethical act? The issue of sacrificing and being sacrificed in the way of God The below is a…
Law & Ethics – Determining the Differences
This was a single lecture delivered by Ustad Soroush Mahallati at Muassaseh Miftah-e Keramat on Wednesday, December 6th, 2023. The topic of…
The Jurisprudence of Ashura (Part 3)
By Muhammad Jaffer[1] [2] The prerogative to rationalize Imam Ḥusayn’s movement primarily emerged from theological-polemical exigencies and thereby entered the domain of…
The Jurisprudence of Ashura (Part 2)
In the previous article, we made some prefunctory remarks regarding the challenges of extracting jurisprudential discussions from the tragedy of Karbalā. We…
The Jurisprudence of Ashura (Part 1)
By Muhammad Jaffer[1] Despite the relatively short span of time in which its events transpired, the fateful tragedy of Karbalā is arguably…
The Jurisprudential Views of Imam Khumayni Regarding Music
Recently I taught a module on Music in Islamic Law, Culture and Society. During the module, I made a very quick reference…
The Use of Sirah al-Mutasharri’ah (Custom of Religious People) as Evidence for the Impermissibility of Shaving the Beard
A couple of months back whilst studying the jurisprudential discussion surrounding the impermissibility of completely shaving the beard in Sheikh Anṣāri’s Makāsib…
Birth of the Moon: An Alternative Position on Marking the Start of the Lunar Month
In 2017 I shared a short writeup from one of my teachers Ustad Sayyid Rafipour that explains the four positions on moon…
The Banu Hashim’s Share in Khums
By Shaykh Haider Hobbollah Translated by Faisal H and Sayyid Burair Abbas What is well-known, rather which may even be a consensus…
Walad al-Zina (Child Born Out of Wedlock) in Imami Law
By Shaykh Haider Hobbollah The question of an illegitimate child (al-ibn ghayr al-shar’ī) or a child born out of illicit relations (walad…
Principle of Human Sacredness (Hurmah) & Nobility (Karamah)
These are edited transcripts of khārij lessons given between December 15th 2018 to December 29th 2018, on the topic of Citizenship Law…
Fraternity Contract on Eid al-Ghadir
One of the most sacred and revered days for Shi’as is ‘Eid al-Ghadīr wherein like other auspicious days, there are some ‘amāl…
Abortion: An Overview of Considerations in Ja’fari Fiqh
Abortion – prematurely and proactively ending a pregnancy – is an extremely sensitive issue in the religious sphere. Approaching it theoretically requires…
Cosmetic Surgery in Imami Jurisprudence | Part 4 & 5
This is the fourth and fifth short lesson delivered by Ustādh Rafī’pūr – a teacher of khārij – in the city of…
Human Purity: Brief Overview
By Shaykh Haider Translated by Sayyid Burair Abbas Among the most crucial matters in Islam is the issue of purity of oneself…
Bid‘ah & the Principle of Religious Wariness: A Study on Newer Perspectives and Applications of the Concept
By Shaykh Haider Hobbollah Translated by Muhammad Jaffer, Sayyid Burair Abbas, and Sayyid Ali Imran Edited by Sayyid Burair Abbas Introduction Muslims…
Cosmetic Surgery in Imami Jurisprudence | Part 3
This is the third of five short lessons delivered by Ustādh Rafī’pūr – a teacher of khārij – in the city of…
Cosmetic Surgery in Imami Jurisprudence | Part 2
This is the second of five short lessons delivered by Ustādh Rafī’pūr – a teacher of khārij – in the city of…
Cosmetic Surgery in Imami Jurisprudence | Part 1
This is the first of five short lessons delivered by Ustādh Rafī’pūr – a teacher of khārij – in the city of…
Advanced Jurisprudential Discussions on Musical Instruments | Lesson 7
f) The last contextual indicator we can cite is by employing another principle from legal theory on the narrations themselves. We have…
Advanced Jurisprudential Discussions on Musical Instruments | Lesson 6
We have been discussing whether these narrations are considering musical instruments on their own prohibited in an absolute manner, or are they…
Advanced Jurisprudential Discussions on Musical Instruments | Lesson 5
The question we have been trying to answer regarding the narrations is whether they are addressing musical instruments from the perspective of…
Praying for Non-Muslims
Below is a brief summary – not containing any argumentation – of an opinion of Shaykh Haider Hobbollah on the topic of…
Advanced Jurisprudential Discussions on Musical Instruments | Lesson 4
In this lesson, we will look at just a few reports jurists entertain when discussing the subject of musical instruments. We will…
Advanced Jurisprudential Discussions on Musical Instruments | Lesson 3
In our previous lesson, we said that the intellect does not directly comment or give a judgement on specific musical instruments. However,…
Advanced Jurisprudential Discussions on Musical Instruments | Lesson 2
Our jurists generally begin their discussions based on the narrations, whereas we have reiterated many times that a discussion should begin with…
Advanced Jurisprudential Discussions on Musical Instruments | Lesson 1
These are transcripts from 12 advanced jurisprudence lessons given on singing (al-ghinā’) by Ustad Soroush Mahallati. These lessons were given during the…
Ayatullah Jaffer Subhani on Women Visiting Graves (ziyarat al-qubur)
The below is a translation of a treatise authored by Ayatullah Jaffer Subhani on the topic of whether Islam permits women from…
The Scope of ʿAql in Political Fiqh
The following is a speech delivered by Ustad Mohammad Soroush Mahallati at a conference in commemoration of the late Dr. Davoud Feyrahi…
Istiqbal wa Istidbar al-Qibla
This paper seeks to investigate the legal ruling on using the toilet while facing the qiblah or with your back towards it…
Sufficing With a Woman’s Adhan
One of the popular rulings within Islamic law is that if a woman gives the adhan, it does not suffice for a…
Principle of al-Ilzam and the Practice of the Commoners (Sirah al-Uqala)
The last few weeks, Ustad Soroush Mahallati was briefly covering the qā‘idah al-ilzām (QI) and summarized the evidence for and against it…
Advanced Jurisprudential Discussions on Ghina – Singing
بسمه تعالى These are transcripts from 12 advanced jurisprudence lessons given on singing (al-ghinā’) by Ustad Soroush Mahallati. These lessons were given…
Reliance on Taqiyya in Fiqh from Tusi till Ardabili: Transformation from a Cognitive to Themantic Method
This post was originally published on Shiism and Islamic History blog. Written by Sayyid Muhammad Kazim Madadi al-Musawi – Postgraduate and researcher…
Consuming the Meat of the People of the Book (2)
[To read the other translation in this series, click here. Note: MPB is the abbreviation for meat of the people of the…
Consuming the Meat of the People of the Book (1)
Translators note: The following is the translation of the advanced jurisprudential classes of Ayatollah Mohallāti which started on 14th November 2020. The…
Stipulation of Choice (Shart al-Khiyar) in the Marriage Contract
By Ustādh Rafi‘īpūr – teacher of baḥth al-khārij in Qom Translated by Sayyid Ali Introduction One of the discussions alluded to in…
The Significance of Watering the Graves of Deceased Muslims
About two years ago, a renowned elderly gentleman from the local community, who had served the community in various capacities, and who…
Ma’idah al-Khamr – A Jurisprudential Discussion
What follows is a transcript from lessons 107 & 108 – March 9th and 10th 2020 – of last year’s advanced jurisprudence…
Jilsah al-Istirāḥa – A Jurisprudential Discussion
Introduction This paper seeks to investigate the legal ruling on an individual sitting for a brief moment (jilsah al-istirāḥa) after performing the…
Shaykh Lutfullah al-Maysi and his Treatise on Iʿtikāf
وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَأَمْنًا وَاتَّخِذُوا مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى ۖ وَعَهِدْنَا إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ أَن طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْعَاكِفِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ…
Principle of Prohibition of Khaba’ith and Permissibility of Tayyibat
One of the principles covered in our advance jurisprudence classes with Shaykh Haider Hobbollah on the topic of Food and Drinks was…
The Grandson of George and Temporary Marriage
Originally published on Shiitic Studies. Introduction A more distinctive feature of the Imami Madhhab is its acceptance of Mut’a (temporary marriage), which it claims was sanctioned…
An Overview: Jurisprudence of Citizenship Law and Religious Minorities
By the grace of Allah (swt) this past academic year (2018-2019) one of the lessons I was able to attend was Jurisprudence…
Ṣalat al-Duha: Debates about the Validity and Origin of a Peculiar Muslim Ritual Prayer
By Afzal Sumar – a researcher in Islamic studies with a particular focus on Shi’ism. He also translates Arabic religious texts into…
Legal Age of Bulugh for Girls
What follows is a summary of a number of discussions held by me and three other seminarians, where arguments of numerous jurists…
Looking at a Woman Being Sought For Marriage
Recently a thread on the popular forum ShiaChat blew up into half-a-dozen pages, as a member posted up this ruling of Sayyid…
The Issue of Slavery in Contemporary Islam
Download PDF Translators’ Note Ever since the abolition of slavery in the 20th century, numerous Muslim scholars have addressed accusations against the…
What is the Meaning of Anti-Wilayat al-Faqih?
By Dr. Sayyid Abbas Salehi – Researcher and teacher in the seminary and university Original source: http://farsi.khamenei.ir/others-note?id=9793 – this article was published on the…
Introduction to General Legal Principles
This article was written by Shaykh Abd al-Hakeem Carney (d. 2007) and was originally published on a website he was running called Shiapedia.…
Faydh Kashani and Commanding the Good
Source: Dāvarīyeh Faydh Kāshanī miyān Pārsā va Dāneshmand, published by Nashriyeh Dānishkadeh Adabiyāt Tabrīz, Vol 9, 1336 (link here). It is also…
To Say or Not to Say: Justification for a Formless Marriage Contract (Nikah Mu’atat)
Written for the module: Islamic Family Law, taken at The Islamic College for a MA in Islamic Studies with professor Ali al-Hakim. Originally…
The Apostasy Ruling and its Justification in Twelver Shi’i Jurisprudence
Written for the module: Human Rights in Islam, taken at The Islamic College for a MA in Islamic Studies with professor Mahboubeh Sadeghinia. Originally…
Syed Khomeinī, Chess and Musical Instruments
Syed Khomeinī is a figure widely remembered as the pioneer in bringing about the Islamic Revolution in 1979 yet what is often…
History and Eras of Shi’i Imami Law (4)
The Occultation of the Imām (a) Towards and during the minor occultation we find certain reports that seem to indicate that the…
Ayatollah Ishaq Fayyadh and the Role of Women in Society
Source: Gāmī be pīsh dar fiqh banuvān, by Syed Hādi Tabatabā’ī (http://mobahesat.ir/16349) When the discussion of women assuming ministerial positions arose during…
Music and Musical Instruments (4) – Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Khamenei
Source: Syed Khamenei, Risāleh yeh Amῡzeshī (v.2), Ahkām e Mu’āmilāt, p. 120 – 127 Definition: Music in the general sense has two…
The Rulings Pertaining to Singing (3) – Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Khamenei
Source: Syed Khamenei, Risāleh yeh Amῡzeshī (v.2), Ahkām e Mu’āmilāt, p. 117 – 119 Third Discussion: The rulings pertaining to singing 1.…
Meaning of Singing (1) – Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Khamenei
Source: Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, Risāleh yeh Amῡzeshī (v.2), Ahkām e Mu’āmilāt, p. 106 – 110 The (purpose of bringing the) discussion…
The Prohibition of Singing (2) – Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Khamenei
Source: Syed Khamenei, Risāleh yeh Amῡzeshī (v.2), Ahkām e Mu’āmilāt, p. 111 – 116 Second Discussion: The ḥurmat (prohibition/impermissibility) of Singing Singing,…
History and Eras of Shi’i Imami Law (3)
Within Shī’ī Imāmī theology, when it comes to jurisprudence there is no real difference between the Prophet’s (p) time and the time…
History and Eras of Shī’ī Imāmī Law (2)
Structure of the Discussion Ustādh Maḥmūd Shahābī, who was a student of Muḥaqqiq Iṣfahānī, divides up the eras of Fiqh into two…
History and Eras of Shī’ī Imāmī Law (1)
The upcoming series of posts are based on lecture notes taken in classes given by our respected teacher, Ustādh Rafī’īpūr, in the…
Two Rulings Regarding Yawm al-Shakk
These are two rulings regarding Yawm al-Shakk (Day of Doubt), which is the day where one is unsure whether it is the…
Revisiting Traditional Fiqh in Respect to New Daily Occurrences
Location: Madreseh Fiqhi Imam Baqir (institute of Ayatollah Shubayri Zanjāni) Date: 7th March 2018 Speaker: Ayatollah Dr. Muhaqqiq Damad Transcribed by Sadiq…
Shī’ī Ruling on Praying in Congregation Behind a Sunnī Imām
The importance of prayers is acknowledged by both the Shī’a and Sunnīs, who consider it to be one of the major pillars…
How Shaykh Yūsuf al-Baḥrānī Argued for a Flat-Earth
One of the greatest Akhbārī scholars to ever live was the 17th century Shaykh Yūsuf al-Baḥrānī (1695 – 1772). He held a…
Choosing Between Two Equally Knowledgeable Jurisconsults – Sayyid ‘Alam al-Hoda | Lesson 7
Click for previous lesson. Our discussion on a’lamiyyah reached its conclusion in the last lesson, and we said it is only one…
Taqlid of the Most-Learned – Sayyid ‘Alam al-Hoda | Lesson 6
Click for previous lesson. Our discussion is on the obligation of doing taqlīd of the most-learned. The conclusion we arrived at is…
Taqlid of the Most-Learned – Sayyid ‘Alam al-Hoda | Lesson 5
Click for previous lesson. We went through some of the evidence for those who believe it is not permissible to refer to…
Taqlid of the Most-Learned – Sayyid ‘Alam al-Hoda | Lesson 4
Click for previous lesson. Our discussion is regarding imitating a jurisconsult who is not the most-learned. In other words, if there is…
Taqlid of the Most-Learned – Sayyid ‘Alam al-Hoda | Lesson 3
Click for previous lesson. We are discussing the necessity of following the most-learned juristconsult. Sayyid Kho’ī says that a verdict of a…
Taqlid of the Most-Learned – Sayyid ‘Alam al-Hoda | Lesson 2
Click for previous lesson. In some areas of the text and in the footnotes, I have made use of the work A…
Taqlīd of the Most-Learned – Sayyid ‘Alam al-Hoda | Lesson 1
These are class-notes taken from Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq ‘Alam al-Hoda’s Bahth al-Khārij on al-Ijtihād wa al-Taqlīd which began on October 11th, 2017 in…
Kitab al-Sawm III – Niyyah (Intention) | al-Fiqh al-Istidlali
We find Shaykh Ṭūsi in his al-Mabsūṭ[1] writing: نيّة القربة أن ينوي أنّه يصوم فقط متقرّبا به إلى اللّٰه تعالى، و نية…
Kitab al-Sawm II – Niyyah (Intention) | al-Fiqh al-Istidlali
In our previous post, we showed briefly how jurists have argued that Ṣawm is a worship that is ta’abbudi. All ta’abbudi acts…
Kitab al-Sawm I – Preliminaries | al-Fiqh al-Istidlali
In this series of posts, we will be going over a few rulings pertaining to fasting, generally found in Kitāb al-Ṣawm (Book…
Four Methodologies for Sighting the New Moon
A lesson given by Agha Rafi’pour (a jurist and teacher in the Hawzah of Qom), transcribed by Sayyid Husayni and translated by myself…