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

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

69 Questions

I am confused about the differences on Eid. Is it a case of one Marja sighting the moon and another one not being able to sight it?
Abbas Di Palma

as salam alaikum 

the are different opinions on how a person should see the new moon. The major ones can be summarized as follows:

SIGHTING THE NEW MOON LOCALLY (VALID FOR ALL PLACES THAT SHARE THE SAME HORIZON) WITH NAKED EYE

This is the fatwa of Ayatollah Khomeyni, Ayatollah Sistani, Ayatollah Mararem Shirazi, Ayatollah Shobeyri Zanjani, Ayatollah Subhani, Ayatollah Qorban Ali Kabuli and Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq Sadr.

SIGHTING THE NEW MOON IN A CITY WITH NAKED EYE AND VALIDATING THE SIGHTING FOR ALL THE OTHER PLACES THAT SHARE WITH IT THE SAME NIGHT 

This is the fatwa of Ayatollah Khu'i, Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir Sadr, Ayatollah Muhammad Araki, Ayatollah Ruhani, Ayatollah Ishaq Fayyad, Ayatollah Wahid Khorasani and Ayatollah Bashir Najafi.

SIGHTING THE NEW MOON LOCALLY (VALID FOR ALL PLACES THAT SHARE THE SAME HORIZON) WITH THE HELP OF A TELESCOPE 

This is the fatwa of Ayatollah Khamene'i, Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat, Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani and Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Mudarrisi.

SIGHTING THE NEW MOON WITH NAKED EYE AND VALIDATING THE SIGHTING FOR ALL THE OTHER PLACES THAT SHARE WITH IT THE SAME NIGHT BUT MAKING A DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE OLD CONTINENT (EUROPE, AFRICA, ASIA AND AUSTRALIA) AND THE NEW CONTINENT (NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA).

This is the fatwa of Ayatollah Muhammad Sa'id Hakim.

With prayers for your success.
Can we use the phrase "Alayhis Salam" with any Mujtahid or Marja's name?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

The linguistic meaning of it is (Peace be upon him) which is in fact used for every Muslim when you say to him : Salamun Alaykum.(Peace be upon you).

But as a term and common understanding , we have to be careful in using it to avoid mixing between the Infallible and others.

Wassalam.
On the basis that all Marja's are great scholars who give rulings within the bounds of the Sharia, can we choose to practice some verdicts from one Marja and some from another Marja as per our convenience and their expertise?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

If the verdicts of different Marja' s are different on certain matter, you must follow the most knowledgeable Marja'.

It is never a matter of personal convenience but the Islamic duty to follow the most learned.

Wassalam.
What is the justification for the opinion of some Maraji that it is permissible to collect interest from non-believers or from non-muslim banks?
Abbas Di Palma

as salam alaikum

this opinion of some Maraji' is based on ahadith like the followings:

It has been reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, said: "There is no Riba between us and the people who fight us".

It has been reported that Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: "There is no Riba between a Muslim and a Dhimmi".

On the other hand, we find hadith like:

It has been reportes that it was asked to Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him, "Is there any Riba between me and the polytheists"? The Imam answered: "Yes". 

All the above-mentioned ahadith can be found in the book "Wasa'il al-Shi'ah" by Shaykh  Hurr al-'Amili.

Another evidence is given by the fact that taking the money from a non-Muslim with mutual consent is allowed by consensus; therefore the interest taken from a non-Muslims should fall in the same category.

However Riba is one of the major sins and it is categorically condemned in the Qur'an and sahih ahadith with no exceptions. That is why you may find ulama that have opted for a more precautionary stance not allowing Riba in its absolute sense.

With prayers for your success.