All our jurists became Mujtahids when they were teaching, not when they were studying! So, congratulations, teaching is double learning.

In short:

1. God speaks our language so that we understand Him, thus the Qur’an is revealed in a human language i.e. Arabic.

2. As such the Qur’an maintains the Arabic grammatical rules, inasmuch as when you speak English you must follow its grammatical rules, otherwise you will not be understood correctly.

3. One of the grammatical rules in the Arabic language is: Arabs use a feminine pronoun only for feminine names, whether real or figurative. An example of a real feminine noun is ‘Fatemah’, and an example of a figurative on is ‘the Sun’, which in Arabic is a figurative noun. For all other nouns, whether masculine (including figurative like ‘the Moon’) or not (like objects, or anything, or any other beings) they use masculine pronouns. For example, in Ayah 216 of Surah al-Baqarah: کُتب علیکم القتال و هو کره لکم

The pronoun ‘Ho-wa’ (he) refers to ‘al-Qital’ (fighting) although ‘fighting’ is neither feminine nor masculine. Similarly, Angels are referred to by masculine pronouns although they are gender-free.

4. Therefore, grammatically ‘Allah’ is also referred to by a masculine pronoun, although He the Almighty is beyond any gender, rather, He is the Creator of all genders.

Answered by: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Originally posted by www.askthesheikh.com

This question can be approached from two different angles. The first angle is to ask if Muhammad (s) was truly a prophet and not an imposter.

This question could be asked about every prophet. How do we know that Jesus was a Prophet and not an imposter? And the same could be asked about Moses and others. We know that there have been many people during history who have wrongly claimed prophecy. Couldn’t Muhammad, Jesus or Moses have been one of them?

The answer for all three would be the same; the content of their teachings supported by miracles they performed, and reinforced by their character before and after their mission, convinced not only their companions, but billions of other people after them that they were truthful in their claims. Their message was from God because godly people could connect to it and realised its truth from the depth of their hearts. The hearts of the believers recognised their message and confirmed it.

The second approach is to look at the Quran itself. The greatest miracle of Prophet Muhammad is said to be the Quran. Why is that so, and why is it so compelling in its content and style that no man has ever been able to bring anything like it?

The following points are convincing evidence that the Quran is a heavenly book and is not written by man:

1) The content of the Quran testifies that it cannot be written by human capacity. Its spiritual appeal, its theological rationality, its cosmological description, the way it describes God, its prophecies – all of which came true, its historical accounts, and the amount of knowledge it provides about previous Scriptures are all outside human capacity.

2) The style of its literature was so miraculous that it could not be denied by anyone. Although the Arabia of that time was not an advanced civilization, but they boasted about their poetry and the style of their literature which was hardly found in any other language. Despite that, when the Quran was revealed it mesmerised the greatest poets and literatures of that time. In fact, the Quran challenged them that if they were in doubt about the divine origin of the Quran, they should provide one chapter like it. This challenge is still in place and is yet to be answered.

3) All these were provided by a man who had not read any book before, and until the end of his life could not compose even one line of poetry. The Quran coming from such a person is like asking someone who has never been to any school or university to design a spaceship with all its physical, meteorological, metallurgical, electrical, and electronic details.

4) Unlike the Old and New Testaments, which were written over a considerable period of time, the Quran was memorised and written during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and was provided as a written document to all Muslim territories shortly after him. Several manuscripts of the Quran have been discovered recently which are carbon dated back to the time of the Prophet or his Companions, which are identical with what Muslims read today as the Quran. This is another fulfilment of a Quranic statement which says: “It is We who sent down this Reminder and We will preserve it.” (The Holy Quran: 15:9)

Answered by: Sheikh Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour

Originally posted by www.askthesheikh.com

The people who narrated the actions and words of the Prophet (pbuh) to us were his companions (ashab). Some of these were people who had met the Prophet only a few times or who did not have much interaction with the Prophet and they are called companions in a general sense. Others lived with the Prophet (pbuh) on an everyday basis and they were his companions in a specific sense.

When it comes to the companions, Sunnis and Shia have different beliefs.

The Sunnis believe that all companions were pious and that their word should be trusted and they should be followed. They have a false narration that says: ‘my companions are like stars, whichever of them you follow, you will be guided’. They also rely on the following Ayah:

وَالسَّابِقُونَ الأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالأَنصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّضِيَ اللّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُواْ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

“And (as for) the foremost, from among the Muhajirs and the Ansars, and those who followed them in goodness, Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them for ever; that is the mighty achievement.” (9:100)

They argue that if the Qur’an praises the companions, how can we blame or criticise any of them?

We answer by saying that we criticise some of the companions and praise others. This is because this is also what the Qur’an does. The Qur’an says ‘from among the Muhajirs and the Ansars’ not all of them. This is why it uses the word ‘min’. It is praising those of them that were pious and who did good deeds. However, those who did not do good deeds and who were not pious are criticised by the Qur’an like anyone else would be. It does not make sense that they should not be criticised for doing the wrong thing just because they lived with the Prophet- this is a form of prejudice and has no logical basis.

We too praise the companions, as Imam Sajjad does in his Sahifatul Kamila, but only those of them who do good deeds and are faithful.

Answered by: Dr Ali Alsamail
Certified by: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Originally posted by www.askthesheikh.com

“And know that anything you obtain of war booty – then indeed, for God is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in God and in that which We sent down to Our Servant…” Quran 8:41

1. the term ‘Ghanemtom’ means ‘you profited’. The booty of war is only an example of that. For example, in Ayah 94 Surah Nisa we read: “There are much more profits ( مغانم ) with Allah”.

2. Sunnis who deny Khoms on financial profits also believe there is Khoms on mines, which is not a booty of war.

3. The contents of the Ayah is about the battle of Badr. However, the content is only an example, it does not limit the meaning of the Ayah to the booty of war. Because the Almighty Allah says: ماغنمتم من شیء which means ‘whatever you gained and profited’. The term ‘whatever’ is general and includes any profit whether the source of it is the booty of a war, a business, finding a treasury, etc.

For example, in Ayah 7 Surah 59 we read: “and whatsoever the Prophet gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it).” The contents of this Ayah is about a kind of booty that we call: الفیء. But can we say obedience to the Prophet is only on the booty of war? No, why, because the Ayah is general. In fact, this is the style of the Quran, to make a general rule through an example.

4. The percentage of Zakat varies on different items and circumstances. For example, if the farm of wheat or barely was irrigated by rain or any natural water-which did not cost the farmer anymore to irrigate it, once the corps reaches the threshold, 1/10 of it is due for Zakat, whereas if the farm was irrigated artificially, then 1/20 e.t.c.

Answered by: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Originally posted by www.askthesheikh.com

The science of ‘putting signs and dots’ on the words of the holy Quran is called in Arabic علم إعجام القرآن (the science of making Quran readable for non-Arabs). The common Arabic font during the advent of Islam was a kind of Kufi script which had no dots nor any signs (E’rab). Arabs, especially the literates, did not have any problem reading those texts as many of them were eloquent and well versed in their mother tongue. Besides, most Muslims knew the holy Quran by heart and never needed to read its text.

With the spread of Islam and the conversion of (large numbers of) non-Arabs, the need for making the text of the holy Quran readable for non-Arabs emerged. Although there is no unanimity among the historians as to who is the first person who added the dots and signs to the original text of the Quran, there is an indisputable fact that this development was fulfilled under the instruction of Imam Ali (a.s). Al-Qalqashandi; the famous Egyptian linguist of the 15th century A.D. says: “ The first person who invented Arabic grammar was Abul-Aswad al-Doeli by the order of Amirul-Mo’meneen Ali Ibn Abi Talib (May God honour his face- and he is also the first person who put the dots on the words of the holy Quran.” (Sobhul-A’sha, vol. 1, p. 420) أول من وضع النحو أبو الأسود الدوئلي‏، بأمر أمير المؤمنين عليّ بن أبي طالب- كرم اللّه وجهه- و هو أول من نقّط المصاحف النقط الأول على الاعراب.

Abul-Aswad was one of the students of Imam Ali (a.s) who died in 69 (A.H). Other opinions suggest that this science was developed by Yahya Bin Ya’mar (died in 129 A.H), or by Nasr Bin ‘Asem (died in 89 A.H), who were both the students of Abul-Aswad.

Answered by: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Originally posted by www.askthesheikh.com

The Shia Muslims believe that all the prophets were ma’sum, sinless and infallible; they could commit no sin— neither a major sin nor a minor sin; neither intentionally nor inadvertently; and this applies to them from the beginning to the end of their lives.

This is the belief of the Shí’a Ithna-‘Ashariyyah. Below are three quotations from the Shia scholars of early days to the present century that shows the consistency of this belief among the Shias.

Shaykh Abu Ja’far as-Saduq, a scholar born during the Minor Occultation (ghaybat sughra) of the Present Imam and died in 381 AH, says: “Our belief concerning the prophets, apostles, Imams and angels is that they are infallible (ma’sum), purified from all defilement (danas), and that they do not commit any sin, whether it be minor or major…He who denies infallibility to them in any matter appertaining to their status is ignorant of them. Our belief concerning them is that they are infallible and possess the attributes of perfection, completeness and knowledge, from the beginning to the end of their careers…”

‘Allamah Ibn Mutahhar al-Hilli (d. 728 AH) writes the following on prophecy: “He is immune to sin from the first of his life to the last of it.”

Shaykh Muhammad Rida al-Mudhaffar, a famous Shia scholar of the first half of this century, writes: “We believe that all the prophets are infallible…Infallibility means purity from all sins, both major and minor ones, and from mistakes and forgetfulness.”

Answered by: Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

The word literally means “O God”. The vocative يا known as حرف النداء has been omitted to highlight than nothing comes before God. The letter م is attached to the end of the word to indicate the presence of on omitted letter at the beginning of the word.

The word اللهم is typically translated as “O God” or “O Allah” but it’s actually an expression whereby you’re invoking Allah by all of His names and attributes that are known and unknown to you.

God has 99 formal names that are known to us but His essence is beyond our comprehension. Thus, as His servants, we call upon Him by His known names and also by the attributes that have been veiled from us.

Answered by: Shaykh Azhar Nasser