Spirituality

The meaning of spirituality has developed and expanded over time, and various connotations can be found alongside each other.Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man", oriented at "the image of God" as exemplified by the founders and sacred texts of the religions of the world. The term was used within early Christianity to refer to a life oriented toward the Holy Spirit and broadened during the Late Middle Ages to include mental aspects of life.
In modern times, the term both spread to other religious traditions and broadened to refer to a wider range of experience, including a range of esoteric traditions and religious traditions.

182239

Meditation . Spirituality

What kind of spiritual practice or meditation did Hazrat Ali (ra) engage in?

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

Hazrat Ali (AS) had highest degree of dedication to Allah (SWT) after the degree of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). Both of them Knew, loved and obeyed Allah like no one else in the whole creatures. Both of them were with Allah in every moment in their life.

Wassalam.

174983

Angels . Grave . Death . Burial . Spirituality

Where does the questioning by two angels occur? Is it within the material grave or in another spiritual realm? Does it take place immediately after death or is there a delay until burial?

According to the narrations, the questioning by the two angles occurs after burial in the grave, unless the dead person has no grave because he was not buried for any reason e.g. drown in the sea or ocean or burnt in chemical or atomic or nuclear bomb and his dead body was not found, then it will happen after reasonable time after his death.

Wassalam.

171345

Spirituality

What steps can I take to attain a higher level of spirituality and establish a closer connection with Allah SWT and the Ahlul Bayt AS?

The best way to attain nearness to Allah (SWT) is to attain nearness to Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) being the last and final successor of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).

The nearness to Imam Zaman (AS) can be achieved by :

1. Living with him all the time, in your heart,so you love him more
than you love yourself and your family.

2. Remembering him in practice, that you do not say or act before
being sure that he will be happy with your act.

3. Remembering him and saluting him and reciting his Ziyarat, and

continuous prayers for him in our Namaz and after Namaz and in all the
situations.

4. Doing good deeds on his behalf like doing good to your parents,
relatives and people especially the poor and needy, then gifting the
reward to Imam Zaman ( AS),

5. Preparing yourself to be a humble servant of Imam Zaman (AS). This
can be practiced now in serving any Momin or any good cause which is
in the frame of the teachings of Imam Zaman (AS).

6. Reciting Du'a Al-A'hd every day in which we re confirm out
allegiance to Imam Zaman (AS).

7. Reciting Ziyarat Aal Yaseen which has great benefits for us and it
makes us more near to him.سلام على آل ياسين

الس
‘Wassalam.

164530

Ghusl . Time . Tayammum . Spirituality . Najasa (Impurity) . Salah (Prayers)

If a married couple have become impure, and they don't want to do Ghusl for health or such reason, is it permissible to extend offering Salah until such a time that only Tayammum remains possible?

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 2 years ago

Bismihi ta'ala

Looking at this example, the reason to avoid ghusl is for aesthetic reasons, so as to avoid loss of hair, due to excessive ghusls per day.

The couple can cut down on what leads to ghusl, and prioritise their 'ibadah and make sure their relationship with Almighty God is always stronger than their lust.

Intimacy is very good, but not such that it makes one think in this kind of a way, and deliberately miss out on prayer.

Ghusl should not take more than 2 minutes, all together, and not that much water as well. Therefore, if the couple do have a fear of hair loss, minimising the shower time is good option. It is also mentioned that cold water is good for hair.

And Allah knows best

163964

Spirituality

Can you provide additional maxims similar to the Hadith of Unwan Basri and the Muttaqeen sermon that offer profound spiritual knowledge?

I advise you to ponder on maxims from Ameerul Mo'mineen (AS) in Nahjul Balaghah which have great Spiritual knowledge as well as the advice of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (AS) to Hisham ibn Al-Hakam which is quoted in volume one in Al-Kaaf1 book of Hadeeth.

'Wassalam.

126489

Salah (Prayers) . God (Allah) . Spirituality

What can I do on days when I feel distant from my religion? I cannot concentrate during prayers nor do I find myself contemplating about Allah and I feel spiritually low. How can I get rid of this phase?

Repeating Istighfaar and Salawaat and Laa ilaaha illallah is very useful in cleaning the heart from the effect of bad acts and bad thoughts. Long Sojood is also very useful especially during night and when you are alone.

Visiting graveyard especially the graves of your parents and people whom you knew is also very useful for better spirituality.

Reciting Quran with clear voice or listening to Quran recitation is also helpful.

Repeating supplication and seeking from Allah to make your heart more clear is very good, e.g. RABBI ESHRAH LI SADRI WA YASSIR LI AMRI رَبِّ اشرَح لي صَدري ويَسِّر لي أمري

Wassalam.

121664

Life . Spirituality

What is the best way to diagnose one's spiritual diseases? How can I know on which aspects of life I should work on more?

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. To diagnose spiritual traits a person needs to be aware of their actions, attitudes and states and then they need reflect on why they act or feel the way they do.

For this reflection it helps to understand some schemas of the soul and how personality development is viewed in Islam. When a person is aware of something that they would like to improve, the next stage is to seek methods that will facilitate that movement towards the desired outcome.

Sometimes simply being aware and controlling impulsive behaviour is enough to deal with some traits and at other times real life changes are the only way to get rid of persistent problems. The ones that need more work are the traits that are more deeply rooted. There are some fundamental changes a person can make to deal with a host of problems, but the development process is a life long journey, full of successes and failures, progression and regression, remembering and forgetting. At the same time, when meaningful change is achieved it results in coming closer to a truly Islamic personality.

May you always be successful

118719

Anxiety . Spirituality

I suffer from panic attacks and anxiety disorders. How can I treat it in a spiritual manner?

Side by side with your medical treatment, you can get great benefits from remembering Allah. Remembering Allah is the best remedy for peace of mind. Allah says in Quran ( Surely, by remembering Allah hearts get peace.)(Sura 13, verse 28). These are some examples:
1. Reciting Quran with voice which you can hear or at least listening to Quranic recitation.

2. Reciting and repeating Salawaat and Estighfaar.

3. Reciting Du'a (Supplications) like Du'a Komail, Du'a Abi Hamza, Du'a Sabaah, Du'a Makaarim Al-Akhlaq etc.

4. Reciting Ziyarat Ashura every day.

5. Performing Salat Al-Layl (Namaz e Shab).

Wassalam.

114222

Spirituality . Students

How can I increase my spirituality as a student?

This is a very important question for those who really care to improve themselves and achieve a better degrees of success in this life and hereafter. These are few practical steps which can add to spirituality and Taqwa (Piousness):
1. Asking yourself before any act or word whether Allah (SWT) likes it or not? That is the best degree of remembering Allah (SWT) along with continuous remembering him in our heart and tongue.
2. Reciting Quran and Du'a with understanding and pondering and gifting its reward to Imam Al-Mahdi (AS).
3. Performing Nawaafil prayers especially Night Prayer ( SALAT ALLAYL or NAMAZ E SHAB) every night.
4. Talking to Imam e Zaman (AS) every day and night as he listens to us and responds to the pious believers.
5. Gifting the reward of all our good deeds to Imam Al-Mahdi and all Ahlul Bayt (AS) which will not only multiply our reward, but also make us more near to them.
6. Having best Akhlaq (Manners) with parents, relatives especially your family members and with all people.
7. Being with Wudhu all the times as much as you can.
8. Trying to strengthen our will power by avoiding evil desires and performing good acts even if it can look like difficult like fasting, performing morning Prayer on its time, giving charity,etc. We need to control our desires and never allow our desires to control us.
9. Helping needy people in any possible way for the sake of Allah (SWT).
10. Trying to make believers happy by respecting them, caring for them, smiling in their faces and in any other act of generosity and kindness to them or their families.
11. Performing obligatory Prayers on time with out any delay. Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) performs every Prayer on time, so, your praying on time will make your Prayers elevated to Allah (SWT) with the Prayer of Imam Al-Mahdi (AS).
12. Keeping your most important supplication and wish, the reappearance of Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) and sincerely praying for him, more than praying for yourself and your family.
Wassalam.

67570

Spirituality . Interest . Credit Card

Does owning or using a credit card adversely affect one's spirituality due to the element of interest?

Owning and using Credit Card is allowed as far as you utilize the money of non Muslim banks or financiers in lawful way.

Wassalam.

106059

Jealousy . Heaven . Husband . God (Allah) . Spirituality

Why is it that women's jealousy will be removed in heaven and she will be with her husband but a man will have access to multiple partners? Doesn't this suggest that God does not view women as spiritual equals to men?

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 4 years ago

When the Qur'an speaks of removing bad feelings in heaven (7:43), it speaks of it for all people in general, not only women. So one can assume that neither men nor women feel bad feelings like resentment or anger or jealousy in heaven.

Jealousy is related to this life because of our restrictions due to our physical bodies and social factors, as well as things such as concerns over lineage, or fear of loss if one's spouse goes to another, but in Paradise, those are no longer considerations since the environment lacks the same restrictions as the material world.

My understanding of verses such as 36:55-57 which talk about spouses enjoying each other's company in Paradise is that it is a general use of the word "azwaj", meaning that human beings in general will be with enjoyable and appropriate partners, not that this is specifically referring to men and their earthly wives.

This is because most human beings have the inclination to unite with another because the human being is incomplete whereas Allah is complete. Therefore in Paradise they would also have the opportunity to unite with others, without the same social or material restrictions that they have here, although of course the greatest pleasure is to be in the presence of Allah.

This is similar to the apparent usage in 4:1 where it speaks of creating the soul and its mate (zawj) in an apparently ungendered fashion, albeit in practice many Muslims, including Yusufali in translation, render this as creating the man and his woman. But the actual language of the Book does not specify this distinction.

So, from this angle, one does not get the sense that specifically a man will be enjoying all the hur al ayns and the woman is bound only to her husband. In fact, that makes no sense because some women marry many times, and some marry no times. Some women also marry men like Yazid who is the last person they would ever see or want to see in Paradise.

However, inshallah if someone wishes to be reunited with their husband or wife in Paradise, they will be able to do so and enjoy each other's company there.

In any case, when we discuss the Hereafter, we really just take our best guess based on our understanding and what has been transmitted - none of us can say with entire certainty; what is certain is that we will find out.

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God (Allah) . Ahl al-Bayt . Spirituality

Can you suggest books for a beginner that can help him to build himself spiritually as well as help him to know more about Allah (swt) as well as the Prophet (PBUH) and the Ahlulbayt (AS)?

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. A useful book to start with is Self Building by Ay. Ibrahim Amini (rA) and it can be found at the following link:

https://www.al-islam.org/self-building-ibrahim-amini

May you always be successful