Faith (Iman)

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Circumcision is obligatory in every Muslim male if he is still uncircumcised no matter what his age is. Uncircumcised Muslim male is not ritually impure though he is not allowed to perform Tawaf around the Ka'bah. He is allowed to perform all the other worship practices like Salah, fasting etc. preparing the body of your father after his demise  is valid even if you are still uncircumcised. I advise you to get circumcised as soon as you can.

Wassalam.

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Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 1 year ago

Bismihi ta'ala

In no way does marriage weaken faith. Rather the exact opposite. Marriage is half of religion, and the Prophetic (s.a.w.) hadith says. 

It's just a matter of managing your life, your time, your self-discipline and your spiritual growth. 

And Allah knows best

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

In general, marriage between any Muslim woman and Muslim man is permissible provided such marriage does not cause harm to faith or religious practice. 
'Shi'a woman must do her best to bring up her children on loving and following Ahlul Bayt (AS).

Wassalam.

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 2 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. The first step it to not be too harsh on yourself. Allah forgives all sins and most humans follow a path of mistakes before enlightenment. While you should avoid sin, even if you do sin don't be so hard on yourself that it effects your faith but instead seek a way back and try to reform. Seek forgiveness and make an intention to make meaningful changes and follow a good way. It is to then sincerely seek the truth and try and find it through knowledge and self purification until you manage to establish your feet on the straight path.

May you always be successful 

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 2 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. The journey to eliminate doubt is different for different people. Instead of ignoring doubt, try holding doubt until you find answers that will satisfy those doubts such that your heart can follow. Having doubts does not take you out of the fold of Islam.

May you always be successful.

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 2 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. An inappropriate comment from someone else doesn't necessitate a change on your behalf unless you think there is something genuinely pointed out that you need to address. The onus of the inappropriate comment lies on the one that made it. Niqab is not obligatory for women according to most jurists in our current times.

May you always be successful

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 2 years ago

Love of one's homeland, and nationalism/patriotism are somewhat different things.

Love of Allah's creation is a good thing, and it is also a good thing to want to care for and defend your homeland.

Nationalism and patriotism in the modern era are ideological movements. Nationalism oftentimes relates to an arbitrarily drawn set of boundaries which separated formerly related peoples.

Today, nationalism and patriotism have an ugly side which can sometimes lead to hatred of the "other" or the "outsider", worshipping the flag, or caring only about what happens to the people within one's nation-state or ethnic/racial group. (For instance, neo-nazism.)

So it is good to love and develop one's homeland, but it is also good to be cautious about the negative side of modern nationalism.

Regarding hadith, there is a narration that love of one's homeland is part of faith (hubb al-watan min al-iman). However, the narration is weak, and poorly sourced, and some people consider it to have been fabricated so it is not really certain that the Prophet (S) said it, although it is often quoted today. Watan (homeland) here has also been understood to mean the hereafter, since the hereafter is the final home of everyone.

Here are some reflections by 'Allamah Tabataba'i in Tafsir al-Mizan on the nature of a society which might be pertinent. As one can see, a society is inherently neither good or bad (thus, supporting it is not inherently good or bad in and of itself, and most societies have both good and bad):

"The Qurʾan teaches that society is formed from a collection of individuals while being more than merely the sum of its parts. When people form a society, they create a new entity with its own life and identity. A society lives, ages, and dies; feels and decides: grows weaker and stronger; has its own duties; and is capable of both virtue and wickedness, and of attaining both happiness and misery, just like any individual human being. All of this has been explained by a multitude of verses in the Qurʾan, and it is something we have repeatedly pointed to through the course of our previous discussions."

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 3 years ago

It is good to continue to pray for guidance and to find the truth (as we all must do regularly!), since Allah answers those who sincerely pray for guidance. It is also good to follow whatever you know is true. Lastly, it is good to reflect on the Qur'an (I am sure you do that, but doing that more be helpful, as our understanding of the Qur'an often changes as we go throughout life).

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 3 years ago

Inshallah you will find someone. As they say, there is somebody for everybody.

Attraction is somewhat different from conventional standards of beauty or handsomeness; sometimes two people like each other even if they don't fit society's definition of what is attractive. And, of course, different people have different ideas of what they find attractive in a mate. So, I am sure you have some features or qualities which are appealing!

And, of course, not everyone is looking primarily at physical appearance; some people value inner qualities such as compassion, helpfulness, reliability, and other things; or they admire other skills such as artistic skill, intellect, sports skill, charitable work, good conversation, or whatever. This is, of course, apart from religiosity.

If you really feel you are not physically appealing, then maybe it is good to focus on demonstrating the other personal qualities you have to offer, and this could make you look good in the other person's eyes. Most people would much prefer to be with someone who genuinely demonstrates they will look after them and be there for them or other demonstrations of good character (such as helping others) rather than someone who just looks good. 

If you are male, you could consider that a lot of women don't look primarily at physical appearance especially if they are looking to settle down and have a stable life. If you need to convince the family, certainly most women's families couldn't care less what the man looks like. At the end of the day, physical appearance waxes and wanes, but a person's character remains. 

As for career, do your best (and these are difficult times). But also remember that, these days, depending on where you live, there isn't always a social expectation that the man will be the sole provider (even if he is obliged to be by shariah). Also, as women get older, if they are single, they are more likely to have a career and income. So, this might become less important if you look to marry someone in a slightly older age bracket. Inshallah Allah will enrich you upon marriage, as the Qur'an says. 

In my observation, the main factors for people getting married and staying married are not handsomeness/beauty and wealth, but, rather, having a good set of family values and a strong sense of commitment, as well as maintaining strong social ties with others. (This is somewhat counter to what people think.)

Put differently, most people who genuinely want to get married, do get married.

Often, when people don't get married, there is sometimes some underlying reason; for instance, they aren't really wanting commitment, they are unable to make up their mind, or there is something else pushing a potential spouse away (apart from financial reasons). So if you know someone who has good insight into human beings, you could ask the if there is anything that you might change in how you are looking for a spouse or how you are interacting with potential spouses or their families.  

Of course, there could be nothing for them to say and it could simply be a matter of circumstances or simply not being the right time for you.

Anyway, inshallah, will do duas for your finding a good spouse. Continue to ask Allah especially on laylat al qadr and Allah is shy to reject duas! 

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 3 years ago

You should try your best to get married with a suitable believer as soon as possible. Outer looking is not important nor financial situation as far as faith and morals are nice.

Marriage itself opens gates of income as we read in the Hadeeth: Get married for more income, surely marriage brings blessings in income. تزوّجوا للرزق فإن فيهن بركة.

Keep on repeating Salawaat and Istighfaar and reciting the verse: إنّ هذا لَرِزقُنا ما له مِن نَفاد Sura 38, verse 54.

Wassalam .

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 3 years ago

1. Imam Ali (AS) has the maximum and highest level of intellect after the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), that is why his faith in Allah is the maximum after the  Prophet (SAWA). The Hadeeth stated that the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) told Ali (AS): O Ali, no one Knew Allah (properly) but myself and you. 
2. Seeing Allah by eyes is impossible because He is above all senses and He can never be confined or limited to any sense. Allah is The Creator of all senses and whatever can be sensed and whatever can not be sensed. 
3. Proper Intellect leads us to the fact that lot of things in the existence are comprehended and known by intellect and reason not by materialistic senses. 
4. Realities of Faith in Allah (SWT) are in each and every thing in this universe, but many people don't see it because of their indulging in darkness of sins which disable their intellectual abilities. When the heart is clean from sins, mind is transparent and more able to see the realities which are behind the outer senses. These realities lead the human being to the absolute Truth of Allah. 

5. Realities of faith are for every believer according to his degree in the purity of heart and proper thinking. More purity in heart leads to more proper thinking which in turn leads to discovering more realities of faith.

6. The Faith in Allah is the faith in the greatest Truth in the universe. Proper intellect can never deviate from clear facts, what about the greatest Fact. Faith in Allah increases by proper thinking which leads to comprehending more realities of faith.

Wassalam.

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 3 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. What is being referred to in this hadith is perhaps along these lines: Physical beings are senses with the physical senses and since Allah is not confined to matter and doesn't have a material form He cannot be seen with the physical eyes. But the human is endowed with senses that are capable of comprehending the metaphysical. In order to make use of them a person cannot be in doubt of their existence. The realities of faith are sensed with these senses and this is the field of religious experience. God is seen through the veil of His Perfections deep within the being of a human.

May you always be successful