Life

66147

How can we respond to people who say that no crime in the time-bound finite life of a man can entail everlasting punishment for all time to come? How does that reconcile with Divine justice?

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 6 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. There are a number of responses to this question as the question is usually raised with a number of presuppositions. The Justice of God is not measured by the benchmark mentioned in the question as what it means for God to be Just is that He accords everything and everyone their rightful place. Justice is not an issue of time in punishment, as otherwise it may be asked that why should someone, who in a short moment in their life did something awful, like killing a child, for example, face a lifetime in prison.

As such, one responses is that the time in which humans are tested within a corpreal plane is enough for them to make a decision about their actions. There are only certain people that will face everlasting punishment and they are the type of people that are not repentant for their wrongful actions and as such would continue performing them into perpetuity. They are therefore deserving of everlasting punishment as given the opportunity they would oppress in such a manner too. Everlasting punishment is, therefore, the correct place for them.

May you always be successful

64991

Life . Insurance . Islam

Is whole term life insurance allowed in Islam?

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 6 years ago

Yes, life insurance is allowed according to our leading scholars because it is taken as what is known in jurisprudence as (هبة مشروطة) ( Conditional gift) because of the agreement between the costumer and the insurance company that he gives to the insurer a certain amount ( premium) with a condition that the insurer must give him or his family a certain amount if any thing happens to him or his family, etc.

Wassalam.

64218

Life . Number

Where can I find a list of all the obligatory acts that a male has to do in his life and also the number of times you have to perform them?

You need to read brief books of jurisprudence e.g. Jurisprudence made easy which can be found in websites like:

www.sistani.org

www.sistani .net

www.rafed.net and many other websites.

Wassalam.

53885

Life . Du'a (Supplication)

What is the best Du'a to remove obstacles in life?

We have many Du'as and recitations to remove obstacles like :

1. DU'A Al-Jawshan Al-Sagheer.

2. Ziyarat Ashura.

3. Salatul Layl ( Night Prayer or Namaz Shab).

4. Repeating Estigfaar.

5. Repeating Salawaat.

6. Repeating LA HAWLA WALA QOWWATA ILLA BILLAH.

7. SADAQA.

Wassalam

51426

Philosophy of Religion . Sin . Tenets . Life . Repentance (Tawbah)

If I haven't prayed or participated in religion that much, but I haven't done any major sins either, and I still believe in its tenets and do wish to change, how may I still transform my life for the better?

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 6 years ago

Bismihi ta'ala

As you know Islam encourages a positive and healthy spiritual and moral lifestyle, where one of the most important elements of life is building a relationship with our Creator, Almighty God. This can be done by offering a minimum of a few minutes a day and devoting it to praying to the Almighty.

What God wants from us is not that much, and all the benefit will come back to us.

Avoiding sin is one side of religion, and indeed an important side, but so is participation. A Muslim must try to practice as much of Islam as possible, furthering his or her spiritual progress.

Change will occur when you put your mind to feeling God in your practical life. When you surround yourself with Allah ta'ala, you will automatically turn to following His commands. You will feel an inner strength, and this will make your go through the transform that you need.

Living an Islamic lifestyle will give you the enlightenment that you need as a human being, and it will fulfill your purpose in this dunya.

I would encourage you to read books on Islamic Akhlaq, like certain books written by the late Shaheed Ayatullah Dastghayb.

Wassalam

52255

Islam . Soul . Body . Life

What does Islam teach about our soul existing before it enters our body? What life were we living before being born physically?

The Hadeeth says: Allah has created the spirits f people two thousand years before He created their bodies.

The spirits were living where ever Allah has made them to live. We believe in The World of Thar where all people were created but not in their bodies but before that.

51533

Islam . God (Allah) . Life . Qur'an

What principal belief of Islam does this verse relate to: “O believers, respond to Allah and the Messenger when He calls you unto that which will give you life” (Qur’an 8:24)? What is the core meaning of this verse and what does 'life' refer to?

This verse means that the real human life can never be achieved with out True faith which is the call of Allah (SWT) and the Messenger (SAWA). With out Real Faith and practice, disbelievers are like animals or even worse (Sura Al-A'raaf; 179) also (Sura Al-Forqan; 44)

In Sura Muhammad ;12, Allah (SWT) says about he disbelievers : They enjoy and eat like the animals eating and the hellfire will their destination.

Responding to the call of Allah and His messenger leads to the Real life in this world and hereafter.

50988

Dunya . Life . Philosophy

What is the purpose of dunya? What are we supposed to gain from being here for some decades then passing on to eternal life? What is its philosophy?

Rebecca Masterton, Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been... Answered 6 years ago

Nahj al-Balagha is an excellent source for understanding what the dunya is for human beings. What the dunya is depends upon how you see it and what you do here.

Dunya . Life . Philosophy

What is the purpose of dunya? What are we supposed to gain from being here for some decades then passing on to eternal life? What is its philosophy?

Masuma Jaffer, Dr Masuma Jaffer is a qualified dentist, with a Masters in Islamic Studies and has also attended Hawza in Qum. She obtained a PGCE - teaching qualification – and has taught Hawza studies at the... Answered 6 years ago

The dunya is the womb for the soul - just as the foetus needs the womb of the mother to grow and when it has outgrown the womb it comes out into this world - the soul requires this world to grow and when it has outgrown this world it moves on in its journey to eternal life. Unfortunately not all souls outgrow this world but the body becomes weak through illness or old age and so can no longer hold onto the soul and do the soul leaves not having reached is potential.

51208

Life . Death . Secrecy . Suicide

If someone dies by taking their own life, such as through drug overdose, and people ask the cause of death, are we to say the real cause or keep it a secret by saying that they died in their sleep or something similar?

Abbas Jaffer, Sheikh Abbas Jaffer is an optometrist by profession and has a Master’s degree in Islamic Sciences. He is a part time lecturer at the Islamic College in London and is currently writing his doctoral... Answered 6 years ago

You should not lie about the cause but not broadcast it either, in case you increase the pain of the relatives.

regards

Abbas Jaffer

Life . Death . Secrecy . Suicide

Bismihi ta'ala

Such deaths are not only hard for the immediate family, but also difficult to explain to others, as they may quickly be judgmental.

No, it is not necessary at all for you to inform people of the cause of death, and you can just say "he/she passed away, please pray for him/her." And if they have a follow-up question, repeat that sentence.

As you know, lying is haram, and so you should not make something else up, but just rather feel confident that you do not need to tell people this kind of personal information.

If they care and are concerned, they would just leave it at that, and respect your feelings and privacy and just do dua for the marhoom/marhoomah.

Wassalam

50587

God (Allah) . Life . Angels . Jinn . Planets

Are Angels, Jinn and mankind the only creation of God or could there be life on other planets? Have the Prophet (s) or Imams (a) spoken of other such forms of life?

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 6 years ago

This is a good question. As a wise scholar once said, it is likely that, in the Qur'an, Allah focuses on angels and jinn as the main sentient creatures other than humans since they are the ones we are most likely to have some sort of interaction with. However, this does not preclude the possibility (or, indeed, likelihood) of the creation of other beings.

It is narrated from Imam al-Baqir (A): ‘Perhaps you think that Allah has only created this single world, and you think that Allah has not created anyone other than yourselves! Nay by Allah, Allah has created a million worlds and a million Adams and you are in the latest of these worlds and of the latest Adams.' - Tawhid al-Saduq

There is a hadith from one of the Imams saying that Allah has a planet with a different length of day from Earth on which the inhabitants do not know that Allah is disobeyed anywhere. (I do not have the reference offhand, but perhaps someone can add it.)

Best wishes!