Translation from Mohammad Baqir Malekian with my comments at the end. Books written about the history of Shīʿī Fiqh (which generally face various problems with respect to their structure, content and historical outlook) usually regard the 100-year period after Shaykh Ṭūsī until the time of Ibn Idrīs Ḥillī, as the period of regress of Shīʿī jurpiprudence … Read more

How can repentance (tawbah) and intercession (shafāʿah) be understood in the context of the theory of embodiment of deeds (tajassum al aʿmāl) and psychological punishment? 1 Introduction What does Hell look like? Why does God punish? These are questions that puzzle the mind of every person who has thought about hell and punishment. Amongst the different answers given, … Read more

By Dr. Hassan Ansari Contrary to their appearances, bāṭinī (esoteric) movements have generally been political projects; a kind of opposition and rebellion against the predominant political and theological movement. The premise of these movements is that the religious interpretation (tafsīr) of the predominant movements is only congruent with the ẓāhir (exterior) of the Sharīʿa and … Read more

(The main ideas of this writing are derived from a lecture given by Sayyid Munīr al-Khabbāz with additions and deletions. The last section was produced after critical remarks brought forth by TheMuslimTheist). Originally published on Mind in Momentum. Why does God place some people in believing families and communities and others in disbelieving ones? More … Read more

Translator’s note: This is a response by Shaykh Haidar Hobbollah to a question posed to him which can be found in his collection of published questions and answers Iḍāʾāt fī al-fikr wa al-dīn wa al-ijtimāʿ. Question: Is it not a paradox to believe in the saying of Imam al-Ḥusayn (a) “never to humiliation!” that the … Read more

By Shaykh Haydar Hobollah [Source]. Question: The idea of precaution that is found within the religion is based on a number of traditions such as “precaution is the path to salvation” and “take precaution in your religion”. However, this type of thinking has dominated over many religious people and has made them excessive in adopting … Read more

Originally posted on Mind in Momentum. In this writing, I will present the views of Imam Khomeini, Shahid Mutaharri and Sayyid Munir al-Khabbaz on this matter. Imam Khomeini (d. 1989): Deficient disbelievers (qāṣir) are those who did not subscribe to God’s religion because external factors outside their control prevented them from doing so. These factors … Read more

This is a translation of a response by Shaykh Haidar Hobbollah to a question posed to him which can be found in volume 1 of his collection of questions and answers entitled Iḍāʾāt fī al-fikr wa al-dīn wa al-ijtimāʿ. For the original article please click here. Three Contemporary Approaches to Understanding the Imamah Question[1]: What … Read more

  Below is a summary of a talk delivered by Shaykh Haider Hobbollah in Kuwait on 6th March 2017. Translated by Br. Muhammed Jaffer The conflict between rationality and revelation has been a source of great contention between philosophers for centuries and continues to remain a controversial issue to the present-day. In this discussion, we … Read more

وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ [42:52] …and indeed you guide to a straight path The 27th of Rajab is considered to be the day the Prophet (p) received the first revelation in the cave of Hira and marks the beginning of his (p) prophethood – the biʿthat. While prophethood is the most important subject of … Read more

Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, proponents of the so-called Ṭibb Islāmī (Islamic medicine – not to be confused with “traditional” medicine) have been actively using it as an opportunity to propagate their misinformation. Just a couple of days ago a certain proponent of Ṭibb Islāmī by the name of Taqīniyā interrupted a meeting … Read more

It was almost impossible to predict how the events of the coronavirus pandemic would unfold. To many, what began as propaganda or scaremongering soon morphed into a living nightmare – some eventually even losing their lives to it. A virus that ravaged China, eventually set its sights on Iran, and in the space of a … Read more

Originally posted on Shiitic Studies. Introduction Not everyone in the Shi’i scholarly tradition has been on-board with the direction of travel of systematic theology, beginning as it does with the Kalam (rational theology) of the Mu’tazili influenced Baghdadi scholars in the Buyid era, passing by way of the Peripatetic influenced-thinking of Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi (d. 1274), and … Read more

It is reported that on the 1st of Safar 61 AH, the head of Imam Husayn (a) was brought into Syria.   Imam Husayn (a) was someone who represented divine values and we ought to be mindful of the relationship a leader who represents divine values has with their followers, in contrast to the relationship … Read more

قَالَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ الْكُلَيْنِيُّ مُصَنِّفُ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ الْعَبَّاسِ بْنِ عُمَرَ الْفُقَيْمِيِّ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع‏ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِلزِّنْدِيقِ الَّذِي سَأَلَهُ مِنْ أَيْنَ أَثْبَتَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ وَ الرُّسُلَ قَالَ إِنَّا لَمَّا أَثْبَتْنَا أَنَّ لَنَا خَالِقاً صَانِعاً مُتَعَالِياً عَنَّا وَ عَنْ … Read more

Judgement Day- Ma’ād[1] Preface This paper is a summary of what the Imamiya school of thought or in other words the Shi’a Muslim theologians, mutakallimīn, say and believe about the Judgement Day. The topic of Judgment Day and the Resurrection, and what really happens to the world and human beings as we know it, and … Read more

By Sayyid Waḥῑd ‘Alawῑ Abstract Questions that are put forth here is what the Imaginal Realm is? What role and necessity does it have in the Islamic cosmology? The Imaginal Realms attributes and how it can be logically proved? What does the Qur’ān and the narrations of the prophet and the Imams say about it? These … Read more

By Shaykh Haidar Hobbollah Translated by Ali Jabbar A dear friend of mine asked me: Do you not think that some of the difficulty in understanding religious texts, and the need for scholars to exert all this effort in performing exegesis of the text, is evidence that the texts themselves are weak? Why is the … Read more

By Muḥammad Sorūsh Maḥallātī – one of the few jurists in Qom who has been giving advance classes on Islamic politics and governance for a number of years. Recently he published a book on the concept of Wilāyah titled, Wilāyat – Dar Mughālateh wa Muṣādareh. In our communities today, there are two perspectives taken by … Read more

This is a partial translation of a very lengthy interview given by Dr. Mohsen Javadi, that was published two years ago in Iṭelā’āt Ḥikmat wa Ma’rifat. I have edited and translated it in a way to make it as comprehensible as possible in English and though I translated the complete interview, I was not happy … Read more

Translated & Edited by Saiyid Hasan Ali Rizvi   Is Hadhrat Fatima al-Zahra’s (a) position and station higher than the other ma’soomeen (a)? We believe that “All of them are one light.” However, they all expressed humility in front of the grandeur of the Holy Prophet (s).   Did Hadhrat Fatima (a) hold the rank … Read more

This is the translation and transcript of the first of 10 lectures given by Āyatullah Miṣbāḥ Yazdī in the city of Qom, in Ramaḍān of 2006. The topic of this series was: Prophet Muḥammad (p) in Light of Nahj al-Balāgha Due to this year being dedicated to the Prophet (p) and especially since the forthcoming days will … Read more

By Saiyid Hasan Ali Rizvi The way Tawheed exists in the minds of Muslims can be broken down into 2 types.  The 1st type is a concept so simple, so undemanding, and so uncomplicated, that it becomes ‘childish’.  Think about it.  Isn’t that the 1st thing we teach our kids or were taught by our … Read more

This is one of my first ever translated works; translated from: مراسم قرآن به سر گرفتن — Question:  Salam and Greetings, Holding the Qur’an on the head is one of our performed acts on the Nights of Qadr. I wanted to see, that during what time this sunnah began and who was the first one that demonstrated this … Read more

This is an excerpt from the book Shining Sun: In Memory of Allamah Tabataba’i; page 127-131. The book was written by a close friend of Allamah Tabatabaee as a tribute to him. The style of the book is a bit distinct, in the sense that part of it is the various transcriptions of conversations and … Read more