Articles

The reality of bada' is founded upon two principles. The first is that God has absolute power and authority over the whole of existence, and whenever He wills, He can replace a given destiny with another one... The second principle regarding bada' is that acts of supreme power and authority issue from God; and when He brings about the replacement of one destiny for another, it is not without wisdo...

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Imamate (Leadership) in Shi‘i Islam

Beliefs & Creeds » Prophethood & Imamate

Imamate (Divinely Appointed Leadership) is a very high position, and it is only Allah who can decide who is qualified for it. And if the Prophet Muhammad (S) announced to the people that the Twelve Imams are the leaders, or that the Ahlul Bayt are the people that we must refer to, or in that Imam Ali is his successor, it was only because he was asked by Allah to do so...

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Who are the ‘Twelve Imams’?

Beliefs & Creeds » Prophethood & Imamate

A set of hadiths narrated by our Sunni brothers about twelve successors of the Prophet will be presented in this article. There are different versions of these hadiths; sometimes the term amir, or ruler/leader is used for the twelve Imams and sometimes the term caliph, or successor, is used. It is interesting to note that in these sets of hadiths, the number twelve is always used...

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The authority of the Ahl al-Bayt in Hadith of Thaqalayn

Beliefs & Creeds » Prophethood & Imamate

The famous narration of the Prophet, the Hadith of Thaqalayn, is narrated in different versions by all Islamic schools of thought with regards to the Ahl al-Bayt. The Prophet may have mentioned it on different occasions due to its importance and to ensure that many can hear it: O People, I leave among you two precious things: the book of God and my household. As long as you hold on to them, you w...

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The Importance of Imamate (Leadership of Ahlulbayt)

Beliefs & Creeds » Prophethood & Imamate

A person who does not know the Imam of his age is likened to a person who died before Islam, or more specifically, the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah). In any case, the saying “Whoever dies while he does not know the imam of his age” indicates the necessity of an Imam and the responsibility Muslims carry to identify, know, and believe in him...

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Sources of The Sharī‘a (The Legal System of Islam)

Beliefs & Creeds » General Beliefs

Was not the Qur'ān enough on its own? The Qur'ān is a book of guidance which was sent for the entire human world till the end of time. As such, it only deals with the general issues and mentions only the basic principles underlying the Muslim way of life. The Qur'ān is more like a constitution than a book of law. The deals were left to the Prophet...

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A Brief Look at What Happens after Death

Beliefs & Creeds » Resurrection

Those who do not believe in God consider death as the end of human beings, and life is just limited to one or two days. But those who believe in God say that human beings are immortal and that death is just a ladder which will take us through the world purgatory to Resurrection and the everlasting abode in the hereafter...

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The Return (Ma‘ād) and Resurrection (Qiyāmah) in Islam

Beliefs & Creeds » Resurrection

How is it possible that a God who had no need to create us, and whose aim in creating us was only to train us and make our existence productive, could be satisfied merely with this present world? How could He cut the root of man's existence before he became aware and reached fruition and annihilate him?...

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Leadership (Imamate) of Imam Ali (as)

Beliefs & Creeds » Prophethood & Imamate

In the light of this reality, the Shi‘as proceeded to investigate the original texts and documents of Islam and they came across an enormous quantity of sources which made them conclude that there are clear, sufficient, precise orders from the Prophet of Islam about his successor: the verse of wilāyah, the hadith of Ghadīr, the hadīth of Safinah, the hadīth of Thaqalayn, and many more, all of whic...

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How can a person be Ma‘sūm (Infallible)?

Beliefs & Creeds » Prophethood & Imamate

Someone asked the Prophet of Islam, why he himself indulged in worship of God to such an extent that he would physically suffer since he was purified and had no sins. His answer was that why should he not be a grateful and thankful slave of God?1 So it was not out of fear of punishment that the Prophet used to worship God to such an extent, it was out of a sense of gratitude...

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