Rebecca Masterton

Most scholars say that it is permissible for him to marry a second wife even if the first wife does not approve of it (unless stipulated in the marriage contract); however, as the Qur'an says, taking more than one wife depends upon a husband being equitable between wives.

It prohibited to sell alcohol or to promote the selling and consumption of alcohol, or anything else that is haram.

Further to that, if one thinks of one's mission in life as including 'amr b'il-ma'ruf wa nahy 'an al-munkar, then one should actively prevent the advertising and promotion of anything that is harmful.

By the nature of oral literature, when a story is told, it is often altered or embellished, and this is not considered a problem in cultures that transmit their literature and history orally. The oral retelling of historical events still continues in many parts of Africa, almost as a spiritual ritual. The genealogist, or story-teller, will claim to have heard the story from his father, who heard it from his father, and so on. There is meant to be a chain of transmission which should protect against error; nevertheless, while you can find the same basic framework of the narrative in different accounts, there will often be notable differences.

The narratives of the Bible were compiled over time by different groups of scribes. Initially, narratives from the Bible were transmitted orally - even for several generations. Eventually they came to be written down. The accounts that have been written in the Bible may not be the only accounts that exist of certain narratives. There may be several variations.

In fact, often certain points that the Qur'an makes about particular doctrines held among Jews or Christians actually refer to apocryphal beliefs that were not held by the majority. There were often sects and sub-sects in Arabia and Iraq and not much has been written about them.

Back in 2003 when I was coming to the Shi'i path, I investigated the fiqh for going for hajj. According to both the Shafi'i School and the Ithna'ashari school, a mahram can be a group of women, or even one another woman. As Mrs. Donati says, the issue is one of safety.

If you are talking about actual Saudi law, which prohibits unmarried women from going on hajj, some women still do travel with their brothers, as an example.

Therefore, different schools of thought in Sunni Islam have different rulings, and the Shafi'i School is in accord with the Twelver School.

I can recommend reading about it in Wilferd Madelung's The Succession to Muhammad [s]. This gives a brilliant breakdown of the mechanics of what happened and the motives of various personalities who brought it about.

The Imams of Ahl al-Bayt (as) teach that Allah (swt) does not have emotions, as emotions are changing states, and Allah (swt) is above and beyond changing states; therefore, He does not 'get angry' in this kind of anthropomorphic sense.

We can think of sacred laws as being an ideal to which to aspire. It could be argued that all Muslims fall short of fulfiling the sacred law as it should be. A sacred law is designed to keep humanity in harmony with cosmic or universal laws. If a law is not fulfilled, or is violated, then this challenges or violates the harmony that is aimed at, or intended by that law. The consequence of that violation is therefore a kind of necessary cause-and-effect result.

Scholars generally argue that, if someone does not fulfil the law, or violates it, but accepts that the law is valid, then there will be fewer resultant consequences than if they do not fulfil it, or violate it, but argue that they are doing so, because the law is not valid.

There are many reasons for not wearing the scarf - e.g. if your life is danger. Scholars have argued that it is permissible to remove the scarf in these circumstances. In Algeria, women who had been used to being totally covered, including their faces, set aside their hijab to wear Western clothes in order to infiltrate the French quarters of Oran and other locations in Algeria as part of their armed resistence against a colonial regime that had to be removed.

The spiritual consequences of not wearing the scarf therefore depend upon the intention of the person and their reasons for not wearing it.

In our societies over the last few decades, the pursuit of individual freedom has been promoted and encouraged; but this has tended to lean over into narcissism and selfishness and a lack of awareness about the needs of our fellow human beings around us. furthermore, freedom without knowledge is of no use. We don't have much of a wisdom tradition in our societies anymore. Islam is a wisdom tradition that provides the seeker with the knowledge of how to manage life's challenges.

Islam encourages the fulfilling of rights towards others: the rights of parents, of children, of animals, of plants. Its vision is that we are part of a social network and that interacting with other human beings in a way that fulfils their rights and fulfils the needs of justice requires proper study, learning and practice.

Islam teaches a different kind of freedom: freedom from of the vicissitudes of life. It teaches detachment from worldly desires so that one is not a slave to the world, nor to one's desires.

It teaches the importance of dignity, and also the importance of standing up to tyranny. One can be 'anti-establishment' without destroying oneself.

The banning of all intoxicants prevents the potentially vulnerable from killing themselves or slipping into alcoholism.

It establishes a brotherhood based upon ethical behaviour and spiritual bonds. The bond between Muslims is sacred.

It teaches reliance on the Transcendent, which in turn cultivates courage in the face of difficulties. Shi'i Islam in particular teaches about the importance of cultivating the intellect; of being an intelligent believer. Islam is against blind following of beliefs.

It teaches about a 'deeper way of being' where the spiritual aspect of the human being is central to our life in the world. It has many methods for enhancing our spiritual sense.

It is a disciplined way of life that provides stability in world where, outside of one's working routine, one could otherwise be in total chaos - as social life has often been since the 1970s.

It is about facing the reality of life and death and preparing oneself for a journey into the next world.

It teaches men and women to treat each other with respect; lude jesting is prohibited, as is any touching between unrelated men and women. This means that either sex does not have to tolerate verbal abuse which is often dismissed as 'office banter', or physical abuse either.

Our children today live in an adult's world and are exposed to everything that adults indulge in, and that is because adults have put the pursuit of their freedom first, which has led to an unconsciousness and unawareness of the kind world that has been created for children. The care of and attention towards children is of prime importance in Islam.

These are just some introductory points.

The narrations say that there have been 124,000 prophets sent to mankind, which I take to mean 'an uncountable number'. The Qur'an says 'some of them you know, and some of them you don't know', so there have certainly been more than a selected few in the history of humanity.

With every station (or 'privilege') comes responsibility. How would you have felt having to face the army of Yazid, with the full responsibility of keeping the true Islam alive for humanity and for ever after?

Many people envy other people's positions or stations, but don't realise the intense difficulties and burdens that go with the station.

The Imams have said that it is possible for other human beings to come awliya'. The station of a waliyullah is very close to that of an Imam (see Usul al-Kafi), but again, it requires solid self-discipline and sacrifice.

There are different ways of explaining the concept of the soul. You may want to search for the article 'Explanation of Soul or Self in the Holy Qur'an and Atman in the Ancient Upanishads' by Dr. Ali Reza Khajegir and Mohammad Reza Afroogh, in the Journal of Religion and Theology, Vol. 2, SRYAHWAR Publications.

Also, see the work by Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini on the Ma'ad in the Qur'an on this website.

If you read French, you may also want to read about the work of ‘Alaudawlah Semnānī and Qādī Sa‘īd Qummī in Henry Corbin, En Islam Iranien, pps 176-180. Here, they talk about the different levels of the soul that correpond to different levels of time. I have translated these pages if you would like me to send them.

According to narrations it is obligatory to accept someone's apology, even if you may even suspect that it is not sincere; however, there need to be more details given about this particular case in order to give the correct answer.

Could you clarify which relics you mean exactly - his hair, or his maqam, or something else?

According to Ayatollah Syed Mohsin al-Hakim Tabatabai, when you doubt as to whether you have completed three or four raka'at, complete the salah assuming that you have completed four raka'at. Then do salat al-ihtiyat, consisting of one raka'a standing, or two raka'at sitting.