بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم بسم ربك الأكرم الذي علّم بالقلم In the name of your Generous Lord, who taught by the pen This list is predominantly curated for the general audience, not experts or students of…
Author: Ali Safdari
Is the Quran a guide for all?
In some verses, God makes it clear that his book is descended as “a guidance for the people and clear proofs [that are of] guidance and [a] criteria [for discerning the truth]”. In other verses,…
A small poem dedicated to Sayyida Masumah (pbuh) on the anniversary of her demise:
With you our worries rest and new hope is found With you wills find strength our hearts peaceful and our minds sound You watch us journey through the years The joys and the tears The…
Zayd and Imāmah: Answering Objections
A reply was written by Muhammad Sharifi, a Zaydi brother, to my recent article on Zayd b. Ali (peace be upon them). I am happy to see intellectual exchange take place, but etiquette should always…
Did Zayd not know the Imāmah of his father?
Zayd, the son of Imam al Sajjād (peace be upon them), is a landmark figure in Islamic history. He led an uprising against the government to avenge the blood of his grandfather, Imam al-Husayn (p).…
9 Recommendations for Ramadan
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These are recommendations attributed to Ayatullāh Kashmirī, an eminent and contemporary teacher of akhlāq. Quality over quantity: Don’t simply complete (khatm) verses and supplications, rather, pursue digesting them. Take in small bites of (spiritual) food…
Understanding Repentance and Intercession in the Context of Embodiment of Deeds and Psychological Punishment
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…
Hawza & Reform
Every now and again, the topic of “reform” within the Hawza, for some peculiar reason, finds its way to social media. Sometimes it is raised by students and other times by outsiders, who can make…
A Period of Regress & Imitation or Clarification & Solidification?
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 History of Adam and the Case for Prehistoric Humans in the Scripture and Ḥadīth
بسمه تعالى Current scientific literature dates the appearance of modern human species, namely the Homosapiens, to anywhere between 65,000[1]-300,000[2] years ago.[3] Do these findings contradict religious teachings about the creation of Adam (p)? In answering…