1. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
  2. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

13 Questions

If a Majlis concludes at Maghrib and Matam occurs instead of performing Salat, does that mean the prayer is not done on time? Is a 15-20 minute delay in congregational prayer considered to still be praying on time?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

Imam Husain (AS) never delayed the Salat even when he was in the mid of fighting in Karbala. We are supposed to follow Imam Husain (AS) not our own thoughts. We should plan the timings of the Majlis and Matam both to finish before the time of Salat.

Wassalam.
Did Hazrat Ali provide assistance to people even before his birth? If so, how was that possible?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

All the previous prophets including Adam, Noah and Ibraheem (AS) prayed to Allah (SWT) to Help them by the Waseela of The Prophet Muhammad and his Holy Progeny (AS).

'Wassalam.
Is it appropriate to mourn or conduct Majlis, recite Noha, and perform Matam during weddings and Eid, considering that some Shia believe that Eid coincides with the 10th day of Imam Ali's martyrdom?
Zaid Alsalami

Bismihi ta'ala

Unfortunately, this is a clear misguided view and practice. In the dua we recite on Eid al-Fitr day, it says it is a day in which Allah ta'ala made it as Eid for Muslims. It is definitely not appropriate to change a happy celebration occasion to mourning and ma'tam. There is a time for each of them. 

As the hadith says, "Our Shi'ah..... they grieve when we grieve, and are happy when we are happy." 

Much more can be said about this, and the most important thing is one follows not what a small fringe group does, but what majority of Shi'ah do, especially our mainstream esteemed 'Ulama.

And Allah knows best
I am concerned about the practice of 'Laytm al Shoor' and its impact on the reputation of Shia Islam. Is this practice considered acceptable, and why is it allowed in the shrine despite the negative perception it creates?
Amina Inloes

Sometimes it is better not to worry too much about what other people are thinking.  Sometimes, Shi'a are especially concerned about seeming strange to Sunnis or on the world stage. While this is understandable out of fear of killing or persecution, most, if not all, of the world's religions have practices that seem bizarre to others.

At the same time, many types of practices are similar across world religions because they serve a same function with respect to our psychology and spirituality, especially involving sound, recitation, and movement. Sometimes these things are also what keep a person in the religion in difficult times, rather than formal and serious things like formal scholarship.

So sometimes it is better just to let people do things how they would like to do it, when it comes to optional (non-wajib) religious ceremonies and commemorations, even if it doesn't match one's own preference; one can always abstain and do something else.