1

Chapter

THE CREATION OF ADAM (AS)

'Ali b. Muhammad [reports] from Salih b. Abi Himad from al-Husayn b. Yazid from al-Husayn b. 'Ali b. Abi Hamza from

Ibrahim form Abi 'Abd Allah (Imam al-Sadiq (as)) that -

As Allah intended to create Adam he commanded Jibra'il on the first hour of the Friday to extract with his right hand a fistful of dust from the seventh heaven to the physical heaven of this world (sama al-Dunya'). And with his left hand to extract a fistful of dust from the first layer of this earth to the seventh layer.

Then He commanded Jibra'il to retain the dust in his hands and then he was told to open his hands and the dust spread and separated. Then He said to the dust in the right hand of Jibra'il,

"it is from you that I shall create my Apostles, their disciples, the angels, the believers, and those I wish to reward," and thus it was. He then said to the dust in the left hand of Jibra'il,

"from you shall I create the tyrants, the infidels, the idolaters, the rebellious and those I wish to disgrace," and thus it was.

Then Allah commanded Jibra'il to combine both the dusts in his hands and this is the meaning of the verse -

"Allah cleaves the seed and the date stone" (6:95) The seed is the nature of the faithful in whom Allah has placed His friendship while the date stone is the nature of the disbeliever who has been removed from all goodness.

Allah has said -

"He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living." (6:95)

"Living" is that believer whose nature has become purged from the nature of the disbeliever while "dead" is that disbeliever whose nature has become removed from the nature of the believer. Thus the believer is "living" and the disbeliever is 2

"dead".

And this is the very meaning of the words of Allah -

"As for the one who was dead and We gave him life." (6:122!) His "death" was an expression of the nature of the disbeliever within him and his "life" is an expression of Allah emancipating him from the nature of the disbeliever.

3

2

Chapter

THE WISDOM IN THE CREATION OF ADAM

(as)

Muhammad b. Yahya [reports] from Ahmad b. Muhammad

and 'Ali b. Ibrahim from his father from al-Hasan b. Mahbub from Hisham b. Salim from Habib al Sijistani. He said: I heard Aba Ja'far (Imam Al-Sadiq) (as) say-As Allah brought forth the progeny of Adam from his back in order to take the covenant of His Lordship and the verification of the prophethood of every prophet from them. The foremost of the prophets, the covenant of whose prophethood was taken from them, was Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah (s).

Then Allah the (the mighty the magnificent) said to Adam:

"Look! What do you see?"

He said (i.e Abi 'Abd Allah)

Then Adam looked at his progeny as if they were tiny particles spread in the heavens. [At this] Adam (as) said:

"O Lord how numerous is my progeny! For what purpose have you created them? And what is it that You intend from them by taking the covenant"?

Allah the mighty the magnificent said:

"That they worship me and associate nothing with me and bring faith in my Messengers and follow them"

Adam (as) said:

"Then O Lord why do I see some of the specks bigger than others while some have greater radiance and some have less and yet some do not have light at all?"

So Allah the Mighty the Magnificent said:

"In this manner have I created them to test them in everyone of their states."

4

Adam (as) said:

"O Lord permit me to speak that I may talk".

Allah the Mighty the Magnificent said:

"Speak for indeed your spirit is from my spirit while your nature is other than my essence ( kaynunah)"

Adam (as) said:

"Had You created them on a single example, to the same extent, with one nature, [of] identical disposition, with similar colours, same ages and equal sustenance then no one of them would have oppressed others. There would not have existed among them mutual envy or hatred nor differences [of views]

regarding any matter."

Allah the mighty the magnificent said:

"O Adam! By my spirit have you spoken and through your weakness have you burdened yourself with that of which you have no knowledge and I am the Creator and the All Knowing.

By my knowledge have I caused differences in their creation and by my will shall my command prevail within them and to my organisation and destiny do they proceed. There is no changing in what my creation. I have not created the Jin or man except that they worship me. I have created the Paradise for those who obey Me and worship Me from them and follows My Apostles and that is right with me. I have created the Fire for those who disbelieve in me and disobey me and do not pay

heed to my Apostles. I have created you and your progeny

without any need for you or them. I have not created you or them save to examine you and them [to know] who from you is the best in deeds in the abode of the world, in your lives before your deaths. It is for this reason I have created the world and the Hereafter, life and death, obedience and disobedience, Heaven and Hell. This is what I have intended in my destiny and organisation. Through My penetrative knowledge of them did I make a difference in their forms, bodies and colours, ages and sustenance, obedience and disobedience. Thus I made

among them the wretched and felicitous, seeing and blind, short and tall, beautiful and deformed, knowing and ignorant, wealthy and poor, obedient and disobedient, healthy and sick, one with chronic illness and one with no defect. [This in order]

that the healthy looks at the diseased and praises Me for his well being and the one who is defected looks at the healthy and 5

supplicates to Me and asks me to grant him wee being and per-ceivers upon my trail that I may reward him with the best of my blessings. [So that] the wealthy may look at the deprived and praise and thank me and the poor look at the wealthy and supplicate and ask [from] me. [That the] faithful sees the disbeliever and offers praise to Me for his guidance. For this reason have I created them that I try them in ease and in hardship, in well being and tribulation, in what I provide for them and what I prevent from them. I am Allah the Majesty the all-powerful. I have the right to cause to prevail everything that I have ordained upon everything I have organised. For Me is the right to change what I want from that to what I want to precede from it what I have delayed and to delay what I have preceded. I am Allah the Doer of what I will. I am not questioned for what I do and I question my creatures of what they do."

6

3

Chapter

THE PROPHET OF ISLAM WAS THE FIRST

TO TESTIFY TO THE LORDSHIP OF ALLAH

Muhammad b. Yahya reports from Ahmad b. Muhammad

from al-Hasan b. Mahbub from Salih b. Sahl from Abi 'Abd Allah (the 6th Imam) (as)-

That a group of Quraysh said to the Messenger of Allah (sa)

"Through what merit do you precede the prophets while you were sent as the last of them and as their seal?"

So he said-

"I was the foremost in bringing faith in my Lord and the first to respond as Allah extracted the testimony of the prophets and

[as he] made them witnesses upon their souls, saying 'am I not your Lord?' I was the first prophet to say yes [o Lord]. Thus I preceded them all in giving testimony to Allah"

7

Part 1

PRECEPTS - AL-QAWA'ID

8

4

Chapter

THE PRECEPT OF THE SANCTITY OF

MUSLIM PROPERTY (Qa'idah Ihtiram Mal

al-Muslim)

It's Meaning: What is intended by The Sanctity of The Property of a Muslim in this context is the prohibition of its unau-thorised, transgressive or unlawful usage.

Al-Shaykh Murtadha al-Ansari, may God be pleased with him, has stated as regards this matter that the benefits and services are a form of liability in a void lease-contract (al-ijarah al-fasidah): Every act performed by an agent for someone else, in accordance to their request and the attainment of their object-ive, has to necessary be compensated for, in accordance with the two Precepts of "Sanctity" and "No Detriment" (al-ihtiram wa al-dharar).(1)

The Source: It is possible to demonstrate the Precept by the following:

I. Traditions: Traditions are found in various chapters in relation to the non-permissibility of utilising the property of a Muslim, except by his consent. It is from the unrestricted nature of these reports that the Precept is derived. These reports shall be cited in the context of other precepts, God willing. Here we shall suffice with mentioning one tradition that is explicit in its application regarding the Precept: The Prophet (s) stated: "the abuse of a believer is immoral…" to the extent that he (s) said, "the sanctity of his wealth is like the sanctity of his blood/life". (2)

This Authentic (al-Sahihah) report indicates that the property of a Muslim is sacred and the analogy between it and the

blood/life of a Muslim directs us to the utmost importance of it, since blood/life is from among the most important issues in 9

Jurisprudence.

Al-Muhaqqiq al-Gharawi also indicates to it by his statement:

"the Precept of Sanctity is taken from the statement of the Prophet (s) and the sanctity of the property [of a Muslim/believer] is like the sanctity of the blood [of a Muslim/believer].(3)

(1)Al-Makasib: al-bay', p. 103

(2)Usul al-Kafi: vol. 2, p. 268 in the chapter of the Abuse of a believer, tradition 2

(3)Footnote of al-Makasib: vol. 1, p. 87

II. Judicial Concurrence (al-Tasalum): There is Concurrence of Judicial opinion amongst the scholars regarding the meaning of the Precept [of the sanctity of property of a

Muslim], without disagreement.

III. The conduct of the Mutasharri'ah: (4) The Conduct of the Mutasharri'ah has been established as regards to the wealth/property of Muslims and the non-transgression and

non-utilisation of it without having the consent of the owner. If transgression un-consented utilisation does take place, then it is regarded as blameworthy by them.

It should be clear that this Precept is distinguished from the Precept of Causing Wilful Damage (al-Qa'idah al-Itlaf) in two ways:

Firstly: The Precept of Sanctity [the property of a Muslim]

takes upon itself to explain the prohibition of the wealth/property of Muslims from anyone other than its owner, resulting in payment or replacement by the other. Thus the Precept gives the meaning of sanctity primarily, and then the meaning of re-payment consecutively.

This is in contrast to the Precept of Wilful Damage (al-Itlaf), which does not signify more than the liability of the price of the commodity or its replacement.

Secondly: The Precept of Sanctity [of the property of a Muslim] indicates at the non-permissibility of utilisation regarding anyone else's property, as positive law (Taklifiyyan).

As for the Precept of Wilful Damage, it indicates the circum-stantial law (al-Hukm al-Wad'i) [of liability] only, as stated by 10

al-Sayyid, al-Ustadh (Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khu'i): What is intended by the word sanctity/prohibition (al-hurmah) in the Prophets (s) statement "that the sanctity/prohibition of his wealth is like the sanctity of his blood/life" is that the word is used in contrast to permissibility, thus it refers to Positive law (al-hukm al-taklifi).

In other words the meaning of the Precept of Sanctity illustrates responsibility before utilisation, and the meaning of the Precept of Deliberate Damage illustrates the responsibility after utilisation regarding the property of others. It is stated by al-Muhaqqiq al-Gharawi: what is apparent is that the sanctity of [a Muslim's] property, is not due to the consideration of it's being a property within itself necessitating recompense. Rather it is due to its addition, i.e. the addition of ownership of the property to a Muslim. Keeping in view, that the law is based upon that, which is qualified through a consideration that is apparently restrictive, not causative. Therefore the sanctity is due to the consideration in regards of the property belonging to a Muslim, and under his authority. This does not require

[anything] except the lack of permissibility of using it without permission.

It does not require the recompense of its worth since that would derive through the consideration of the worth of the property, not its ownership by a Muslim. It is for this reason that unpaid propriety of a property is not regarded as a violation of the Sanctity of the property.

(4) The conduct of Muslims existing during the era of the legis-lator, i.e. the Prophet or the Imams (s), whose actions are in accordance with instruction from the Legislator-hence the designation "adherents of the legislation".

11

5

Chapter

THE PRECEPT OF CONSENT REGARDING A

THING IS CONSENT IN ITS RELATED

BENEFITS (Qa'idah al-Idhn fi al-Shay' Idhn

fi Lawazimihi)

It's Meaning: The meaning of this Precept is that when permission has been granted for a thing, which has related benefits, then that [primary] permission is also permission for its related benefits. What is meant by 'related benefits' are matters that do not separate from what they are related to (in this case the authorised thing) conventionally ('urfan). Such as when a person permits another to live in his house, then this permission of usage (bi al-tasarruf) of the house is also permission in relation to use [for example] the water and electricity and other related benefits of the house. Similar is the case when [for example], a person purchases a house then he would be entitled to the drive/path way to it also.

The Source: It is possible to demonstrate the Precept by the following:

I. The Tendency of Wise men: The tendency of Wise men, throughout the world, is in agreement that the related benefit of a thing will enjoy its law totally in every sense ( tamaman).

They have phrased the Precept as: "one who has the right to a thing has right to its related benefits".

II. Traditions: There is a report transmitted by al-Shaykh al-Tusi, may God have mercy on him, by a chain leading to al-Hasan al-Saffar who wrote to Abu Muhammad (8th Imam, a.s.);

"I asked him regarding possession of related benefits of a land which I was buying from [another] man. The Imam ('a.s.)

stated: When a defined land is bought then the owner shall 12

have whatever is within it, God willing. (1) What the report indicates as regards the related benefits that are attached [to a piece of land is that they] follow the land in its rulings ( hukman). One such report is the trustworthy narra-tion ( mu'tabar) of al-Sukuni from Abu Abdallah ('a.s.) who said that the Prophet (s) decided a case regarding a man who sold a date palm ( nakhl) while he exempted the produce of a group of date palm trees. The Prophet (s) judged [in favour] that he could enter and exit the grove and utilize the extent covered by the date palms. (2)

The entitlement of the buyer, regarding the related benefits of the grove, is the indicative of the meaning of this Precept.

The Precept confirms is further strengthened by the reliance of the scholars upon it. As is the case with al-Shahid al-Awwal, Muhammad bin Makki (may God have mercy on him) regarding

his ruling of the right to lease a property [initially] taking it on lease from another. Basing it on the Precept that Permission with regard to a thing is permission with regards to its related benefits.

(1) al-Wasail : Vol. 12, p. 405, Section 29 from the Chapter of Rules of Contracts

(2)al-Wasail : Vol. 12, p. 406, Section 30 from the Chapter of Rules of Contracts

13

6

Chapter

The Creed of Shi'a from Their Own Sources

<A creed is a fixed set of principals that must be accepted by individuals to be considered a member of a certain group or hold a certain belief. As will be shown what is in this list that has creedal value to a Shi'a is misrepresented and is without context to serve an individual opinion or based on a deliberate misinterpretation of both words and intent. It causes me little problem when someone says that they don't like Shi'ism or that they hold a different interpretation of a particular text but I am totally at a loss to understand what a person hopes to achieve by exposing their own ignorance in producing lists of this type. As far as I can discern from my reading of Usul al-Kafi the author of this list, Mufti Afzal Hoosen Elias, does not directly quote from the text that he refers to in the footnotes but lists his own impression of the meaning of the hadith or statement. The first few words of each section are what he seeks to use as an attack upon Shi'a belief and my answers to his base-less attacks are in bold type. Shaykh M. Amin >

Allah

1.)He has the Quality of 'Badaa'. <Shaykh Abu Ja'far al-Sadooq reports (in I'tiqadatu 'l-Imamiyyah) that Imam al-Sadiq as. said, "He who asserts that Allah the Mighty and Glorious does something new which He did not know before, from him I dissociate myself." and he said, "He who asserts that Allah swt., after doing something, repents concerning it, then he in our opinion, is a denier of Allah the Great."

A definition of bada' is given in Usul al-Kafi 371-8, "I have heard Abu Ja'far saying- Among the Divine Decrees there are some in a state of suspension with Allah. Among such decrees 14

He sends them forth or delays them as He wills."

Ayatullah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khu'i wrote, "This subject is important because the actual meaning of bada' is unknown to many Muslim scholars, and hence, they have attributed to the Shi'ites that of which they are innocent. Moreover, they have not been able to comprehend the subject well and have not been fair in their critique. If only they had proceeded with cau-tion or had suspended their judgement when they did not know the subject." From the chapter on modification in creation, Prolegomena to the Quran (Al-bayan fi tafsir al-Quran.)> 2.) This means he forgets. < "They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them"

9,67. Of this verse al-Sadooq (ibid)

continues- And the meaning of all this is that He, Glorious and Mighty, shall requite them for their scheming, beguiling, mock-ery and forgetfulness; and that is He will make them forget themselves, as He, the Mighty and Glorious, has said, "And be not ye as those who forgot Allah, therefore He caused them to forget their souls." 59,19. For in reality Allah, the Glorious and Mighty, does not scheme nor does He beguile, deride or forget. Exalted is Allah beyond all this by His Greatness and Glory.>

3.)He makes mistakes. < Al-Shaykh al-Toosi says, "Allah is All knowing in the sense that everything is clear and manifest to Him and there is not anything hidden from Him, for Allah's acts are all perfect and thorough. Therefore He is evidently All-knowing."

Usul al-Kafi 374-11, Abu Abdilah (as.) said, "Allah does not effect bada' from (because of) ignorance. >

4.) He plans but this does not take effect. < "Allah ef-faces whatever He will, and establishes whatever He will; and with Him is the Essence of the Book." Holy Qur'an 13,39.> 5.) He does not know who to appoint as the next message conveyor, the next Imaam.

<Amazing! Usul al-Kafi,

508-4, Abu Hamzah said, "I heard Abu Ja'far (as) say that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: Alah (swt) said, 'My proof has been terminated for the wretched of your community, those 15

who have abandoned the Wilayyah of 'Ali and the successors after you. Indeed, in these is your Sunnah and the Sunnah of the prophets before you. They are the treasurers of My Knowledge after you.'

Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: Jibril has informed me of their names and the names of their fathers." >

6.) "We (shias) do not worship such a god who gives

authority to rascals like Yazid, Mu'awiyyah and Uth-

maan."

<Indeed we do not. Allah swt. allows the sinful or

those in error a time in which to repent and turn to Him, most Sublime. He, swt. does not appoint anyone to their misdeeds.

We believe in the Justice of Allah swt. whereby He suspends reward and punishment to the time after man decides, by His leave, whether to be obedient or not.>

7.) They say "Ali says… ...I am the first and I am the last. I am the manifest and I am the hidden and I am the heir of

earth."

<He speaks of the knowledge he held of what oc-

curred before creation, before time, when Allah (swt) specified the potentials of and existence for all things and of the return of all things beyond time.>

8.) Shias say that the Imaams are the face of Allaah, T his means that they judge all situations, occurrences and peo ple in submission to what Allah (swt) has ordained for them. Al-Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, in his book Al-Furqan quotes the following hadith of the Messenger of Allah, "Allah ta'ala says: I have declared war on anyone who is an enemy of my allies. There is nothing better with which My slave can come closer to Me than fulfilling all that I have made obligatory upon him. Then my slave will continue to come closer to Me by mak-ing extra efforts until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his leg with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will give him refuge. I have not hesitated in anything which I do as I hesitate in taking the soul of My believing slave. He dislikes death and I dislike annoying him but he must meet his death.">

16

9.) The eyes of Allaah among his creation. <They are upholders of truth and will testify to what they have seen before Allah, swt.Usul al-Kafi, 496-1. Sama'ah said," Abu 'Abdilah (as.) said concerning the words of Alah (swt.): How then shall it be when We bring forward from every nation a witness and

bring thee to witness against those? The Holy Qur'an, 4-41; It was sent down especially for the community of Muhammad

(saw). In every generation of them there will be an Imam from amongst us, who is a witness over them, and Muhammad (saw) is a witness over us." >

10.) The tongue of Allaah among his creation. <As the preservers and interpreters of the Prophetic mission their speech will only be what Allah, swt. has permitted.>References according to Elias:(1.) Usul Kafi- Babul bad'aa - Al- Kafi Vol- 1 -

P283 India Ed. ( 2.) Ibid (3.) Ibid .(4.) Ibid. (5.) Ibid. (6.) Kash-ful Asraar - 107 - Khomeni.. (7.) Rijaal Kashsi . 138. India Print.

(8.) Usul- e-Kaafi -83. (9.) Ibid. 10.) Ibid.

17

7

Chapter

THE EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY AND

HOMOSEXUALITY ON SOCIETY

The literal meaning of pornography is "writing about prosti-tutes." It also means relating information about sexual actions of one's self or about others, to those who feel delighted in ab-sorbing such information, or who, as a consequence, are drawn to it.

From time immemorial, lewdness and shamelessness are

present in human nature if they are not properly controlled. In the Bible, Torah and the Qur'ân, we come to know about Qawm Lût, the people of Prophet Lût (Lot), who were involved in per-verted sexual activities which attracted Allah's wrath. All these great scriptures have preached towards regulated sexual activities and procreation.

Sexual activities began with the creation of man. Human

sexual intercourse was portrayed in a sandstone engraving as early as 7000 BC. Art from Peruvian ceramic funerary pots dating to about 1500 BC included portrayals of explicit sexual behaviour, and "anal coitus is one of the most common behaviours depicted". Phallic imagery was prominent on Grecian urns and cups, which were decorated with explicit scenes of both hetero- and homosexual activity.

Ancient written works such as the Indian Kama Sutra

provided sexual instruction, and other explicit works were of-ten "published openly and legally, including Poggio's Facetiar-um liber in 1470 and Cynthio Degli Fabritti's Orignie delle Vol-gair Proverbi in 1526. Chinese novels dating from about 1610

18

under the Ming Dynasty depicted explicit scenes of sexuality.

Su Wo P'Ien or The Lady of the Moon provides the framework for introducing illustrations of positions for sexual intercourse.

Most such works were destroyed when the Emperor observed

limitless moral decay and ordered the country rid of "incestu-ous and other immoral works" (Brewer, 1982, p. 319). The Jahiliyyah Arabs before the advent of Islam practised adultery through limitless polygamy. The Jahiliyyah poets wrote poems describing sexual parts of the human body.

In recent times, in various media, print as well as electronic, there seems to be an explosion of pornographic material and the relatively current media content seems to be generally phonographic. Under some definitions of pornography, anything that serves to arouse sexual feelings qualifies as pornographic. Such an interpretation could include broadcast, cable and satellite-delivered television. Other forms of explicit sexual depictions tend to be circulated to relatively specific

audiences.

New technological development has brought about unregu-

lated pornography. In the old days, a privileged few could com-promise their erotic imaginations and experiences by reading about sexual engagements or by perusing drawings or paint-ings of such engagements. "Nowadays, any conceivable sexual activity performed by others can be witnessed in living colour and sound. The portrayal has 'you-were-there' quality. In fact, video presentations are said to show sex that is 'bigger than life' by closing in on the events in ways that go beyond the un-armed eye and ear. However, the social dimension of exposure to such super-iconic representations of sex is probably more significant. Pornography has gone truly public. It reaches all the people. Any adult has assured access, and almost all ad-olescents seeking access manage to attain it. The proliferation and distribution of pornographic materials are such that more and more children find access."

In Islam pornography in any of the forms discussed above is harâm (unlawful) and therefore strictly forbidden. According to Shaikh Yûsuf Al-Qardâwî, 'awrah (nakedness) that which is to 19

be hidden denotes those parts of the body which Islam requires to be covered in front of others whether of the same or the opposite sex, and exposing it is harâm. Everyone naturally feels a sense of shame for exposing it. There are reasons why Muslims are obliged to cover nakedness in public. The first and foremost reason is to develop a healthy Islamic society and to preserve peace and harmony in the ummah. When everybody fol-

lows the commandments of Allah and His Messenger to cover their 'awrah, disputes arising out of chasing men and women in a shameful manner will be greatly curtailed. The Messenger of Allah forbade Muslims from looking at the nakedness of another, whether of the same or the opposite sex:

"A man should not look at the nakedness of another man, nor the woman of another woman, nor should a man go under one cloth with another man, nor a woman with another woman."

However, there is an exception concerning looking at and

touching the parts of the body which must otherwise be

covered arising out of need and necessity, such a case is medical treatment or emergency first aid.

The consequences of looking at other's 'awrah leads to coming closer to zinâ (adultery) or committing zinâ which is strictly prohibited in Islam. When one looks at another's 'awrah with lust and desire it will encourage or lead one to commit zinâ which the Messenger of Allah calls the greatest evil after shirk (polytheism):

"There is no sin after shirk and greater in the eyes of Allah than a drop of semen which a man places in the womb which is not lawfully for him."

Islam prohibits every step and every means that leads to

committing zinâ as mentioned in the Qur'ân:

"Do not come nearer to adultery for it is a shameful deed and evil, opening the road (to other evils)."

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Islam not only considers adultery as a great sin but also an act which opens the gates for other shameful acts, which destroy the very basis of the family, leading to quarrels and murders and the ruin of reputation and the spread of numerous diseases both spiritual and physical.

At times, certain types of dress which reveal certain parts of the body, come under the category of nakedness because the libâs (dress) is not in accordance with the requirements of Sharî'ah e.g. the tightly fitting or see through clothes which de-lineate various curves of the body, especially those parts which are sexually attractive. Abu Hurairah narrates that the Messenger of Allah said:

"I will not be a witness for two types of people who are destined for the fire: people with whips, like the tails of cows, who beat the people (i.e. tyrants who are the enemies of their own people) and women who, although clothed, are yet naked seducing and being seduced, their hair style like the tilted humps of camels. These will not enter the paradise nor will its fragrance reach them although its fragrance reaches a very great distance

Allah has stressed in the Qur'ân and asked the Prophet to declare:

"Tell the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their sexual organs: that is purer for them. Indeed Allah is well acquainted with what they do. And tell the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their sexual organs."

Allah also says in the Qur'ân:

"And not display their adornment, except that which is apparent of it, and they should draw their head coverings over their bosom, and not display their adornment except to their husbands or their fathers or their husband's fathers, or their sons or their husband's sons or their brothers or their brother's sons or their sister's sons or their women, or those whom their 21

right hand possess, or male servants who lack sexual desire, or children who are not aware of women's nakedness: and that they should not strike their feet in order to make known what they hide of their adornment."

Nakedness in respect of man has to be covered from another man is from the knee to the naval. It means that man is prohibited to look at the 'awrah of another man between the knee to navel. In a Hadîth the Messenger of Allah said:

"Parts of the body from the knee are 'awrah, and what is be-low the navel is 'awrah too."

However according to Imâm Mâlik, thighs are not part of the

'awrah and there is no harm in exposing it. The majority of the jurists differ with him and say that thighs are part of the

'awrah as mentioned in the following Hadîth:

Once we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah and my

thigh was not covered and the Messenger of Allah said: "Don't you know that thigh is part of the 'awrah?"

In another Hadîth, the Prophet (S.A.W.) said as narrated by

'Alî:

The Prophet said to him (Ali): "Do not expose your thighs Another Hadîth, the Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

It is related by Abû Dâ'ûd on the authority of Ali: "Do not look at the thighs of a person either alive or dead."

In reality Rasul-Allah did not only forbid us from looking at the 'awrah of another, but he forbade us also from looking at our own 'awrah. He said:

"Restrain yourself from nakedness, because with you have certain parts which will not separate from you, except when you are in the bathroom or when you consummate with your wife."

22

Although pornography has been seen in other cultures and religions, its rise and spread unrestrictedly began in the West in recent times. Even up to the 1950s, people felt shy to purchase pornographic materials and if one wanted to buy even in the United States of America, one only did so "through a friend of a friend". Pornographic material in print began to appear in paperback books a decade later, but they still avoided the use of vulgar terms to describe sex acts, genitalia, excretion, or other sexually related activity. Still photography depicted scantily dressed women in grainy black and white photographs that hid the pubic area. This avoidance of genitalia, according to the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (U.S.

Department of Justice, 1986), enhanced the popularity of

magazines, photographs were taken in nudist colony settings which appeared in these magazines. It was only by the 1960s, public displays of phonographic materials became common.

Simulated sex acts with no exposed genitalia …… began to appear in colour pictures.

Nudist magazines then began to portray photographic integration by gender, portraying male and female nudists playing and working together. By the mid-1960s, a group of pseudo-nudist magazines began to feature more attractive models than those who appeared in traditional nudist magazines. By 1967

or 1968, another group of magazines emerged that featured a kind of photograph designed to emphasize the female genitalia.

Also in the late 1960s, a group of magazines began to cater for male homosexuals. The era also saw the growth of a small

number of fetish books and magazines. By the early 1970s, sexually explicit magazines began to use more females and males and some depicted males and females together. With the liberalized Supreme Court attitude toward published obscen-ity, secondary publishers in the late 1960s and early 1970s began releasing new editions of almost all books that has been previously considered to be obscene. By 1970, Romance novels began to appear in which the most salient characteristic is sex and 77% of story titles directly implied some sort of sexual activity as the main theme for the story. Among the sample stories, 63% included coitus, 60% kissing, and 18% petting.

The 1970 Commission on Obscenity and Pornography reported 23

that "adults only" paperback fiction represented "one of the largest areas of pornography production in the United States".

In 60% of the coded episodes, the motive for sexual activity included only physical gratification, almost one-third involving the use of force by the male against the female. Males frequently coerced females.

Homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality have been con-

demned in all the great religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The constant tradition of the scriptures in these religions, especially the traditional texts condemn homosexuality. Before examining what Islam says about al-liwât (homosexuality) or the âmal (practice) of Qaum Lût, we shall quickly cast a glance at the Christian and Jewish view. One Christian view sees the heterosexuality alone as divinely willed and homosexuality as a reflection of the flawed and broken nature of the world after the fall. Therefore, homogenital acts are condemned as contrary to human nature. In Roman Catholic teaching, they are described as 'intrinsically evil' because sexual intercourse (which can be morally good only in marriage) is ordained for the two purposes of union with the beloved and procreation.

Christian judgement relies heavily on biblical texts that are traditionally understood as clearly and unequivocally condemning homosexuality. There are biblical sanctions that im-pose the death penalty for homosexuality, mostly as proof of their conviction that it is a moral evil. At one time the Church endorsed publicly the death penalty for homosexual people, and "AIDS" is considered as God's punishment.

St Thomas Aquinas used the physical act of insemination to distinguish natural from unnatural sexual acts. The bottom line for this analysis is the possibility of insemination. Those acts that promote insemination, according to St Aquinas are natural and, therefore both moral and good; those acts that impede or eliminate insemination are unnatural and, therefore, both immoral and bad. The argument here rests on whether or not one is convinced that the possibility of insemination is or should be a requirement for the moral acceptability of sexual intercourse.

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The American Lutheran Church in 1979 issued a position paper on homosexuality stating that homoerotic behaviour was wrong, but that celibate homosexual people do not violate the Lutheran understanding of Christian behaviour. The statement also urged local church support for gay and lesbian civil rights.

The Lutheran Church in America (LCA), in a 1970 statement entitled Sex, Marriage and Family, stated that "homosexuality is viewed biblically as a departure from the heterosexual struc-ture of God's creation."

American Baptists do not give official recognition to their gay and lesbian caucus and a 1988 resolution of the Southern

Baptist Convention, after ten minutes of debate, condemned homosexuality as an abomination in the eyes of God, a perver-sion of divine standards and a violation of nature.

As far as Judaism is concerned, there is no direct unanimous Jewish answer for gays. For Traditionists, homosexual behaviour is forbidden. The so-called compassionate see it as an illness and the rigorist look at it as a sin, and the commended therapy ranges from counselling to stoning. The prohibition on homosexual relations in halachah, the Jewish law, is based on the explicit prohibitions of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. Certain narrative passages are also associated by traditional Jewish commentators with homosexual acts, including Gen. 9:22, 19:5, 39:1 and Judges 19. While only male sexual relationships

are identified biblically, later talmudic law extends the prohibition to women as well. The prohibitions are codified in Maimonides' authoritative 12th-century work, the Mishneh Torah.

Maimonides distinguishes between male homosexual acts,

which are capital crimes, and female homosexual acts, which are merely "obscene". In other words, Judaism categorically rejects the notion that homosexuality constitutes a legitimate alternative life-style.

For some time now, the new thinking in Christianity and

Judaism is "homosexuals and lesbians are present in the world as a sign of the rich diversity of creation, and their homosexual 25

expression is as natural and good in every way as heterosexuality." The merging view, as pointed out by McNeil is that "the love between two lesbians or two homosexuals, assuming that it is a constructive human love, is not sinful nor does it alienate the lovers from God's plan, but can be a holy love, mediating God's presence in the human community as effectively as heterosexual love."

Islam looks at homosexuality and lesbianism as unnatural act of sex to satisfy one's passion. The Qur'ân gives the example of the people of Lut, (Prophet Lut) who, in spite of the warning from Prophet Lut they committed sodomy and their entire society became involved in it.

The Qur'ân speaks of them in the following words: "We also sent Lût; he said to his people: 'Do you commit adultery as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For you practise your lusts on men in preference to women: you are indeed a people transgressing beyond limit.

"Islam therefore considers homosexuality a great sin and a crime punishable by Islamic law. Muslim jurists however differ regarding the nature of punishment. According to the Hanafi school of legal thought, the act of sodomy does not amount to adultery and therefore there is no specified punishment to be given to the offender and the decision will be left to the judge and the court. The Mâliki school on the other hand argues that hadd punishment will be applied whether the offender is married or not. Shafi'i, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaibani maintain that the married offender will face the the hadd of stoning to death while the unmarried will face the Ta'azir [any penalty the judge decides to apply]. According to Sayyid al-Khoi of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence, the offender will be treated in the same way as the one committing adultery and must face the hadd.

(Editors note: This abridged version of Shaykh Michael's article contains without any major alteration the Introduction, dis-courses on Qur'an, ahadith and rulings and his conclusion. The unpublished parts of the article are a series of thorough and detailed reports on different types of pornography, case 26

histories, offences and offenders that are of value to specialists in this area of social law rather than for a discussion of the Sharia issues.)

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8

Chapter

The New Moon

We will briefly look at the criterion or criteria involved in the determining of the new moon.

Based upon the understanding that night precedes the day

and that east precedes the west if the moon were to be established in any region of the of the world then the moon in relation to the regions which are west of it will be established without any major disagreement among the scholars. The

areas of problem are the eastern regions to the place where the moon has been established. This is due to the reasoning that since the east is before the west and that night is before the day, the eastern regions prior to the establishment of the first moon have already embarked upon a new day and thus the moon will be considered to make the first of the month the next day.

The major issue is however regarding the criterion used to establish the new moon. Whereas according to some it is the possibility of or the physical sighting of the moon others con-tend that it is merely the birth of the new moon and yet others are of the opinion that both the factors equal. That is to say the moon's birth and its sighting.

As for the first group they maintain that it was the practice of the blessed Prophet and it is in accordance with his instruc-tions that the moon be sighted by the naked eye. At most what can be said is, that by whatever method, if it can be ascertained that the moon might be seen by the naked eye but is 28

unseen due to an impediment, then that would be sufficient to determine the first day for that region and regions west of it.

As for the second group they assert that the physical sighting of the moon was a mere means for ascertaining the birth of the new moon and hence the real criterion for determining the new moon is its birth. Therefore there would be no need for the sighting of the moon if its birth can ascertained by other means since sighting itself is a mere means of ascertaining its birth.

There is a difference among the advocates of this reasoning in-sofar as the time of the birth of the moon. Whereas some maintain the birth has to be prior to the setting of the Sun in order to declare the next day as the first by its birth others see no difference as regards the time of its birth, prior to or after the sunset. A case much similar to the first group who support the physical sighting of the moon but allow its sighting to take place before the sunset and after the sunset until the noon prayers of the following day to determine that day as the first by the sighting. According to this group the region of the birth of the moon and regions to its west will be deemed to have the first of the month by the birth of the moon.

As for the third group their claim is that both the sighting and the birth all equally influential in forming the criteria of ascertaining the new moon. Based on this reasoning if the moon is sighted in a region then the areas to its west are without a shred of doubt included in it as being the first of the month.

But further to that they assert that prior to the sighting of the moon it has obviously taken birth in the eastern regions to the place of its being sighted and so the eastern areas will also be included. However the question remains as to how far to the east can be included? The answer they give to determine the eastern regions is all the regions sharing a portion of the night with the place where the moon is seen. Thus the countries to the west of the place of seeing the moon are without doubt included but also those to its east are included provided they share a portion of the night.

The second and the third group are similar in essence with the difference that the second suffice with the ascertaining the 29

birth of the moon by any authentic means while the third claim like the first of the possibility of sighting the moon by the naked eye.

(Editors Note- The footnotes and references for this short article were unfortunately found to have been stored on a faulty disk and are not at present available)

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9

Chapter

AL-MAHDI JOURNAL #4

There have been several newspaper articles that have caused a great deal of indignation to be shown by Muslims of late.

While I share these feelings I do not agree with some of the suggested responses.

If we regard boycotts and commercial

disruption as the first and legitimate response to someone writing something we don't like then what argument can we offer when a newspaper editor refuses to print our opinions because he does not like them.

It is a common practice by those that call for these cam-

paigns to first list the alleged offences so that the reader knows what to look for. This is fine when the insults, errors or lies are actually there in the text but on at least three occa-sions during the last year I have found that the original article has been misread or in others an opinion about the author and the views expressed has coloured the assessment. This does little except to devalue the protest and reinforce prejudice in the minds of uncommitted readers.

We should not remain passive and silent in the face of sensa-tionalist journalism or anti-Islamic propaganda but we should respond in the best and most constructive way for Islam. Rather than venting our frustration we should concentrate our efforts at ensuring that these paltry scribblings are exposed for what they truly are by presenting well written truthful information and well reasoned rational arguments. Journalists, publishers and broadcasters do respond positively to positive com-ments and they come back to ask for more information about Islam on other issues!

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One final point. As a lover of language and good writing I beg you all, please, please no more specimen letters that be-gin, "Dear Sir, I am disgusted……."

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10

Chapter

Serialization of Topics Relating to the

Master of Our Age (a.s.) (May our souls be

ransom at his feet)

Section: 4The situation before his emergence: Corruption, Innovation, Oppression, Excessive transgression and the power of the transgressors, lack of emphasis on obedience of Allah, spreading of evil, and open indecency.

Kamal al-Din(Completion of Faith)

Reported on the authority of Hasan b Ahmad b Idris from his father from Abu Sa'id Sahl b Ziyad al-Adamiy from Muhammad b Adam al-Shaibani from his father Adam b Abu Iyas from

Mubarak from Faddalah from Wahb b Munabbah who attribute

the tradition to Ibn Abbas, he said: The Prophet said: When my Lord the Almighty ascended with me to the heavens he called upon me,

"O Muhammad!" I answered: "I hear and obey O lord of grandeur!"

Allah then revealed to me, "O Muhammad! Do you know why the great angels argued?"

"I have no knowledge regarding that my God",

I said."O Muhammad! Have you appointed a vizier, a brother, and Successor after from among the people?"I said,

"O my Lord! Who shall I appoint? You must appoint yourself for me O my Lord."

Allah then revealed to me, "O Muhammad! I have chosen for you from among all the people Ali the son of Abu Talib.""O my Lord! He is but the son of my uncle!"

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I answered."O Muhammad! Ali shall be thy heir, the one to inherit the legacy of knowledge after thee, the bearer of the flag of praise on the day of judgement, the custodian of your pond from which any believer from thy nation who shalt pass by it will be quenched.

"Allah then revealed to me, "O Muhammad! Indeed I have made a true pledge upon myself that the one who harbours

hatred for you, your household, or your pure progeny shall never ever drink from the pond. I say unto you, I shalt enter all of thy people into paradise save for the one from my creation that refuses."I said, "O my Lord! Can anyone refuse to enter paradise?"

"Of course!"

He said."How can he refuse?" I asked.He answered, "O

Muhammad! I chose thee from my creation, I then chose a successor for you giving him the same position as that of Aaron in relation to Moses except that there can never be another prophet after thee. I then instilled his love in thy heart mak-ing him the father of your grandchildren. Therefore, his right upon thy nation is like thy right upon them during lifetime.

Whomsoever shalt dispute his right has disputed your right.

Whomsoever, refuses to support him has refused to support thee, and he who refuses to support thee has refused to enter paradise."I then fell down in prostration showing my gratitude to the Almighty Allah for the great favour upon me. At that same time a voice announced, "Raise thy heard O Muhammad!

Ask me and I shalt grant thee!"I called, "O my Lord! Unite my people after me under the leadership of Ali the son of Abu Talib so that they may all come to drink from my pond together on the day of judgement."

"O Muhammad! Indeed I have decreed upon my servants before I created them and my decree shalt come to pass. I shalt destroy with it whomsoever I wish and I shalt guide whomsoever I wish. I have granted him your knowledge after you upon your family and nation as a firm decision from me. I shalt enter into paradise whoever loves him and I will not enter into paradise whoever hates him, fights him, or disputes his leadership after you. Whoever angers him angers you and whoever angers you angers me. Whoever wages war against him has waged

war against you and whoever wages war against you has

34

waged war against me. Whoever loves him has loved you and whoever loves you has loved me. I have granted him this favour and I have granted you the favour of producing from him

twelve rightly guided personalities and they are all from your progeny from your pure daughter. The last man from among

them will have the honour of leading Jesus the son of Mary in prayers. He shall spread justice on earth just as evil and oppression had been widespread. It is through him that I shall save from destruction and through him that I shalt guide from darkness. I shalt grant sight to the blind through him and cure the sick."I said, "O my Lord and Master! When shall that be?"

He said, "This will happen at the time when knowledge shall vanish while ignorance shall be rife, the number of those who preach what they do not practise shall multiply, and good deeds shall be scarce. Killing shall be rife. Scholars and guides shall be few while deceptive and misguiding scholars will increase, poets will increase, and their graves shall be turned in-to Mosques, Qur'an will be decorated and Mosques will be adorned with beauty and indecency and corruption will be widespread. Evil shall spread and you nation shall encourage towards it while they shall prevent from good. Men shall desire man while women shall desire women. The leaders shall become clear apostates and their ministers evil, and their helpers oppressors and bureaucratic. They advisors shall be hypocrites. At that time there shall be three lunar eclipses in the East and one in the West, and another in the Arabian peninsu-lar. Basra shall fall at the hands of a man from your progeny whose followers shall be black. A man from the children of Hu-sain shall appear, and so shall the Dajjal appear from the Eastern region of Sajistan. The Safavids will also appear."I said, "O my Lord! How long after me shall this evil be?"

He then informed me about the Umayyad rule, the fitnah regarding my uncle's son Abbas, what will be and what should have been until the day of judgement. I then informed my

uncle's son all this when I returned to earth when I executed my duty of propagating the message. I praise Allah for that just as the Prophets have sang His praise, and as everything before me has praised Him, an whatever he is to create until the day of judgement.

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He (the narrator) has reported this tradition in al-Bi-harMuhammad b Yahya from Ahmad b Muhammad from the

companions of Ali b Ibrahim from his father from Ibn Abu

Umayr all of them reporting from Muhammad b Abu Hamzah

from Hamran from Abu Abdullah (sa) (in a long hadith in which he mentioned some of the things that shall manifest among people; evil deeds, innovation [bid'ah], and fitnah), he said: When you see that truth is dead and its proponents and fin-ished, and you see that transgression has spread on earth, and you see that the Qur'an has been adulterated/fabricated and things that are not part of it are invented in it and it is directed towards vain desires, and you see that din [the Muslim way of life] has evaporated just as water evaporate, and the proponents of falsehood have overpowered the proponents of

truth, and you see manifest evil which is not prevented and its proponents are justified and excused, and you see transgression manifesting itself, men sufficing themselves with men, and women with women, and you see that a believer is silent and his word is not considered while the transgressor can lie and his lie and concocted words are not rejected, and you see that the young look down upon the old, and you see that the family ties have been broken, and you see the one that glorifies evil being laughed at and his word is not rejected, and you see the young boy being given the same given to a woman, and women marrying women and you see women increasing in num-

ber, man spending his wealth in other ways than the obedience of Allah and while he is not prevented or stopped, and you will see the onlooker seeking Allah's protection from the believer's hardworking/striving/ independent reasoning, and you see the neighbour harming his neighbour and no one stops him, and you see the disbeliever happy from the happiness he sees in the believer who rejoices at the corruption he sees on land, and you see alcohol being consumed openly while people who have no fear of Allah will gather around it, and you see the one who enjoins good being humiliated, and you see the one transgressing in what Allah arbours enjoying power and being

praised, and you see those calling towards verses [in another manuscript, Traditions] and those who supports and love them being humiliated, and you see the path of good being blocked while the path of evil being followed, when the house of Allah 36

has been neglected and people are ordered to leave it, and you see a man saying what he does not do, and you see man fatten-ing themselves ( gaining weight) to attract other men, and women to attract other women, and you see that the source of a man's sustenance is his anus and that of a woman is her

private part, and you see women frequenting public gatherings the same way men do, and you see that gender bending is common among the sons Abbas and dyeing is common while they

comb their hair in the same way a woman make up for her husband, and men are given wealth for their private parts, and the rich is respected more than the believer and interest is strife and cannot be changed, and a woman is praised for her

promiscuity, and you see a woman encouraging her husband to have sex with other men, and you see most of the people and even those from noble families assisting women in their

promiscuous acts, and you see a believer being grieved and humiliated, and you see promiscuity and innovation [bid'ah], and you see people considering false witnesses, and haram being legitimated, and halal being outlawed, and religion is based on personal opinion while the Qur'an and its laws are being neglected, and the night is not enough to hide from transgression of Allah's laws, and a believer is not capable to prevent from evil except with his heart, and you see the one endowed with great wealth spending it in transgression against Allah, and the leaders befriending the disbelievers while alienating the people of goodness, and the leaders accepting bribery in ruling, and the leaders accumulating wealth and you see the blood relatives marrying each other, and you see a man being executed only on the basis of suspicion, and you see a man being criticised for preferring women [over men], and you see a man eating from what her wife has earned from her private parts

[pimping] knowing fully well and approving it, you will see a woman dominating her husband, working and gathering wealth which she spends on her husband, and you will see a man hir-ing out his wife and slave and being pleased with despicable food and drink, and you will see a lot of false oath on Allah, ex-cessive gambling, open and legitimated trade in alcohol, women presenting themselves to the disbelievers, you will see a lot of amusement centres emerging and people will be passing by them and no one preventing others from entering them, you 37

will see the honourable being humiliated by the one who fears his authority, you will see that those who befriend the leaders will be the same people who praise and legitimate our insult i.e. the insult of the ahl-al-bayt, you will see those who love us being falsified and their testimony being rejected, people competing to give false testimony, when listening to the Qur'an becomes difficult, and listening to falsehood is easy, a neighbour honouring a neighbour due to fear of his tongue, Allah's penal laws being neglected, people acting according to vain desires, and you see that the Masjids have been beautified, the most trustworthy among people will be those fabricating lies, when evil, gossip and back biting is strife, when rebellion has spread, when back biting shall be considered interesting and people congratulating each other for it, when one shall desire hajj and jihad for reasons other than the pleasure of Allah, when a leader will humiliate a Muslim for the sake of pleasing a disbeliever, when you shall see more ruins than buildings, and you see a man eating from deceptive measurements, when blood shed

will not be taken serious, when a man will seek leadership by worldly treasures and using his evil tongue to gain fame so that he may be feared and that all affairs may be directed towards him, when daily prayer will not be taken serious, when a

wealthy man will never pay regular charity since possessing his wealth, when the dead will be exhumed and mutilated and his shroud/coffin being sold, when you will see turmoil increasing, when a man will sleep drunk and wake up drunk and none shall bother about his situation, you will see people [marrying]

engaging in sexual intercourse [nikah] with animals, you will see animals preying on each other [a dog eat dog situation], a men coming out for prayers returning naked, when people's hearts become hard and their eyes blind (from truth), when re-membrance (admonition) becomes heavy upon them, when il-

legal possession are many and people competing in them,

when a person shall pray only to show people that he prays, and when a faqih shall seek knowledge for the world desiring power and leadership, when people will be on the side of the winner, when a person seeking lawful means will be blamed and criticised while the one seeking unlawful means will be praised and respected, and when actions which do not please Allah shall be practised in the two holy places [haramain] and 38

no one will dare prevent them, and when music shall be strife in the two holy places, when you will see a man saying some truth enjoining good and preventing from evil and the one whom he is advising standing up and saying, "leave this topic!", when you will see people looking at each other and paying attention to the evil people, when a person will be alone on the path of truth with no one to tread with, when a person shall pass by the dead without experiencing any fear (of death), and when every year bid'ah and evil will be worse than the previous year, when the people will follow non other than the rich, when a needy will be given but with laughter and only shown mercy for other reasons than the sake of Allah, when the signs in the skies shall frighten no one and when people shall cohabit just like how animals cohabit and no one shall prevent evil fearing people, when a person will spend more in the disobedience of Allah and refuse to pay even little for the sake of Allah's obedience, when disobedience of parents shall be strife, and when their status shall not be granted any significance and they will be treated as though they are the worst of people in the child's eyes and the child will be happy to see them being defamed, when women will take over authority and take over every issue and they will only be approached for desire, when a child shall rejoice when his parents are being defamed and he shall pray against them and celebrate their death, when a day shall not pass when a man has not engaged in a major vice or earned through deceptive measurements [in trade] or cheat-ing, drinking alcohol in sorrow thinking that day to be the worst of his life, the leaders will hoard food, and you see the wealth of the blood relatives being distributed unjustly and casting lots on it, using it to drink alcohol. You will see the alcohol being used as medicine and being prescribed to the sick, when people shall stop enjoining good and preventing from evil and they will stop emphasising on them, when the winds of the people of falsehood and the hypocrites everlasting while the winds of the people of truth fails to move, when Adhan and

[leading]

Salah shall be paid for, when the Masjid will be full of people with no fear of Allah gathering in them for backbiting the people of truth and describing the drinking habits in it, when a 39

drunk will pray with people without any recollection, and drunkenness will not be considered a problem and when one drinks he shall be honoured, feared and will be left alone without being condemned and punished, when the one consuming the wealth of the orphans will be praised for his piety, when judges shall judge with laws other than what Allah revealed, when leaders shall trust the treacherous, when the leaders shall appoint the hypocrites as heirs confiding in them and what they desire, when the Mimbar shall be a place where people are commanded to fear Allah and the speaker will not act according to what he preaches, when prayer in the right time will not be considered important, when charity will be given not to please Allah but people, when people's main concerns shall be their stomachs and private parts they shall not bother regarding what they eat or who they marry, when the world shall follow them, and you see the most prominent proponents of truth shall be obliterated, be on your guard and seek Allah's salvation, know that people are in Allah's wrath and He just respites them for a order/matter intended for them, be careful and strive hard so that Allah can see you doing contrary to what they are doing. If the punishment is to come while you are among them then you will have hastened towards the mercy of Allah and if you are delayed then they will be tested and you will saved yourself from the transgression on Allah the Almighty they engage in and remember that Allah will not waste the reward of the righteous and that the reward of Allah is closer to the righteous.

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11

Chapter

Al-Malahim wa al-Fitan

From what they mentioned in Kitab al-fitan of Na'im b

Hammad al-Khuza'i who reports from the Shaikhs (teachers) of Bukhari and al-Rumadi and other scholars of hadith. They said: Na'im told us that al-Walid and Rushdin told him while reporting on the authority of Abu Lahi'ah who is reporting from Abu Qubail from Abu Ruman from Ali (as) that he said: When a

caller shall call from the heavens that Truth is with the family of Muhammad (sa), at that time the Mahdi become the main

topic of discussion on people's mouths while they rejoice and they shall not have any other topic of discuss other than him.

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12

Chapter

Bihar al-Anwar: Kitab Tarikh Qum.

It has been reported from al-Sadiq (as) through a number of chains that he mentioned Kufah saying: "Kufah shall be devoid of believers and knowledge shall sneak out of it just as a snake sneak out of its hole. Eventually knowledge shall appear at a place known as Qum. It shall become the mine of knowledge and virtue so much that even the young girls shall be veiled (from the eyes of strange men). This will happen towards the appearance of the Mahdi. Allah shal make Qum and its people the representatives of truth and authority. Had it not been for that the earth would swallow its people and no hujjah would be left on earth. Knowledge shall gush from it (Qum) to the rest of the world; in the East and West and Allah authority will be completed on his creation so much that there shall be no one upon the face of this earth to whome the message of Islam and the knowledge has not reached him. At that moment the Mahdi shall appear and he will become the reason of Allah's wrath and anger because Allah will not take a people to account until they reject the Truth.

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13

Chapter

Al-Burhan fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi

The proof regarding the sign of the Mahdi of the end of time: Daraqutni mentioned a hadith in his Sunan on the authority of Muhammad b Ali that he said: Our Mahdi shall have two signs which have never happened since Allah created the earth and the heavens. The moon shall eclipse on the first night of Ra-madan and the sun shall eclipse in the middle of the same year and this has never happened since Allah created the heaven and earth.

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14

Chapter

Sunan Ibn Majah (vol.2) The Chapters of

Fitan: The Chapter of the Signs

Ali b Muhammad told us that Waqi' told him that Sufyan told him while reporting from Furat al-Qazzaz from 'Amir b Wathil-ah Abu Tufail al-Kanani from Hudhaifah b Usaid Abu Sarihah that he said: The Prophet appeared from Arafat while we were discussing the events of the end of time and said: The final hour shall not approach until after ten signs: The rise of the sun from the West, the Dajjal, the smoke, the beast, Gog and Magog, the return of Jesus the son of Mary (as), three eclipses; one in the East, one in the West, and one in the Arabian penin-sular, etc. Abu Dawud (al-Sijistani) reported in his Sunan (Sunan Abu Dawud also known as "Risalat Abu Dawud ila Ahl Makkah") in the chapter of the signs of hour in the book of battles, from volume 2 with his own chain from Hudhaifah and others. Muslim (Muslim b al-Hajjaj al-Qushairi) also reported it in his Sahih (Jami' al-Sahih) in Kitab al-fitan wa ashrat al-sa'ah in the chapter of the signs before judgement day.

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"Wisdom is the lost property of the Believer,

let him claim it wherever he finds it"

Imam Ali (as)

Document Outline

- Chapter 1

- Chapter 2

- Chapter 3

- Part 1 - PRECEPTS - AL-QAWA'ID

- Chapter 4

- Chapter 5

- Chapter 6

- Chapter 7

- Chapter 8

- Chapter 9

- Chapter 10

- Chapter 11

- Chapter 12

- Chapter 13

- Chapter 14

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Part 1 - PRECEPTS - AL-QAWA'ID

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14