This is not a technical paper, rather, some ruminations for the sake of intellectual benefit and food for thought. Theology and Life Theologians affirm that God possesses the attribute of “life” — that is, God…
Tag: original
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…
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…
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…
Answering some objections: On holding the beard and swaying the finger in the supplication of Rajab (2)
بسمه تعالى My good friend, Sayyid Ali Imran, produced an article providing new insights into the supplication of Rajab as well comments and observations on some of the arguments I made in my earlier writing…
On holding the beard and swaying the finger in the supplication of Rajab
In this writing, I will discuss: whether swaying the finger is part of the supplication of Rajab whether the gestures should be performed from the beginning or only at the end provide explanations for these…
Further Thoughts on “The Halal of Muhammad Will be Halal Until the Day of Judgement”
Introduction: Statements and laws issued by the Prophet (and for that matter any another of the maʿṣūmīn) fall into at least three categories: Hukm Sharʿī (religious laws, laws of Islam): what was issued from him…
Why do Prophets and Imāms ask for forgiveness if they are infallible from sin?
This dilemma puzzled me as a child: from one side, we are taught that Prophets and Imams did not commit any sins and from the other we read of their conversations with God that are…
Salvation of non-Muslims in the view of contemporary Imami scholars
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…
An inquiry into the possibility of ‘ilm al-ghayb (unseen knowledge)
(Reading time: ~10 minutes) With the grace of Allah (s), we will cover the following headings (click to navigate): Defining ‘ilm al-ghayb The problem of ‘ilm al-ghayb in the Qurʿān The problem of ‘ilm al-ghayb…