Divine RevelationHadith al-QirtasSunni-Shi'a
It is claimed that the Prophet (s) asked for pen and paper but it was not given. Was it Wahi that he wanted to write or something from his own mind?
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59943
Mahmood Abu Maryam,

Trying to make sense of it all...

54 Answers
Hamid Waqar,

Shaykh Hamid Waqar was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and converted to Islam at the age of sixteen. He started his Islamic studies in the year 2001 in Beirut and, a year later, moved to Qum where he has been studying since. He currently studies at the highest levels of Islamic jurisprudence, translates many books and runs the Muntazar website.

2 Answers
Passed
Mohammed Al-Hilli,

Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hilli, originally from Iraq, has a Masters in Pharmacy from the University of London. He completed his Hawza degree from the ICAS in London under the supervision of Ayatollah Fadhil Milani, and also has an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University via the Islamic College. He is a teacher at the Hawza Programme at Islamic College in London.

8 Answers
Passed
Faiyaz Jaffer,

Shaykh Faiyaz Jaffer is the Associate Chaplain and Research Scholar at the Islamic Center at New York University. He attained an MA degree in Islamic Studies (UK), with a concentration on early Islamic history, after his undergraduate degree from SUNY Stony Brook University in Political Science and Religious Studies. In pursuing the classical course of Islamic education, Faiyaz has studied in the Seminary of Karbala, Iraq.

1 Answer
Passed
Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour,

Sheikh Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour is lecturer of Islamic Studies at the Islamic College for Advanced Studies, London, and a visiting lecturer at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Oriental Studies. He was raised in Iran and holds a BA and an MA in Sociology from Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran. He has also studied at Queen Mary College London and the London School of Economics.

15 Answers
Passed
Zeinab Donati,

Zeinab Donati has been studying books about various Islamic subjects for more than 19 years. She is deeply interested in history and politics as well as social issues in particular those pertaining to women.

32 Answers
Passed
Saleem Bhimji,

Shaykh Saleem Bhimji was born and raised in Canada. After completing his post-secondary education at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), he moved to Medina, New York, to study at the Imam al-Asr Theological Seminary. He later continued his religious studies at the Hawza of Qum. To date he has translated over 40 full-length books into English that have been printed worldwide.

15 Answers
Passed
Jerrmein Abu Shahba,

Jerrmein Abu Shahba is originally from Egypt and has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a masters in Chemistry from Rutgers State University in the US. She is actively involved in many Islamic projects that include organizing annual youth camps, teaching Islamic subjects, writing articles and translating texts from Arabic.

2 Answers
Passed
Ayub Rashid,

Shaykh Ayub Rashid is a graduate of the Islamic Seminary of Qom, Iran. He has a BA in Islamic law and MA in Islam and Community Studies from the UK and is also a qualified Muslim Chaplain from the Markfield Institute of Higher Education in Leicester.

No Answers
Passed
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 thesis on the challenges faced by educators of young Muslims in modern day Britain. He has also co-authored a book on Qur’anic sciences for the Islamic College as well as translating several works from Persian into English.

14 Answers
Passed
Greg Sowden,

Ali Mahdi Greg Sowden studied world history at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Since then he has been a student at Al-Mustafa International University in Qom, in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

No Answers
Passed
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 religious questions. In the past, he has also spent significant time in India guiding the community.

4499 Answers
Passed
Vinay Khetia,

Shaikh Vinay Khetia has studied at various traditional Islamic seminaries in London, Iraq and Syria. He has an undergraduate degree in Religious and Near Eastern Studies from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in the History and Philosophy of Religion from Concordia University. He is a PhD Candidate in the department of Religious Studies at McMaster University with a focus on the intellectual history of Islam and specifically Shi'ism.

15 Answers
Passed
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 teaching for seventeen years through different media, and has also worked in media for ten years, producing and presenting programs for several TV channels.

116 Answers
Passed
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 from the University of Exeter in the philosophical and mystical readings of Mulla Sadra in the context of the schools of Tehran and Qum.

374 Answers
Passed
Shahid Pradhan,

Shahid Pradhan is a graduate of Al-Mustafa International University, Qum. He is an activist and interested in Indian and international political and social issues.

1 Answer
Passed
Nour Tessie Jørgensen,

Nour Tessie Jørgensen has an MA in Islamic studies from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and a degree in Philosophy of Ethics at Al Mustafa International University in Qum, Iran. She works as an Islamic Studies teacher and a counselor in spiritual and female-related issues.

18 Answers
Passed
Mateen Charbonneau,

Sheikh Mateen Joshua Charbonneau achieved a certificate from Harvard University in Islamic Studies. He undertook Howza classes under esteemed scholars since 2013 and has been teaching at Imam Mahdi Howza since 2017. He has compiled and published several books, has filmed several documentaries on Islamic subjects and has also promoted Islamic propagation in US jails.

64 Answers
Passed
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 Islamic College in London and also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies.

730 Answers
Passed
Abbas Di Palma,

Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in London, Damascus and Qom and taught for different institutions in Italy and UK.

208 Answers
Passed
Berak Hussain,

Berak Hussain is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) in Canada. She has a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Educational Counseling from the University of Ottawa. She speaks on a variety of Islamic and psychological issues bridging the connection and misconceptions around Islam and mental health and Islam and women. She has worked locally and internationally on a variety of mental health initiatives working tirelessly to break the stigma around the topic within the community.

1 Answer
Passed
Syed Nabi Raza Abidi,

Syed Nabi Raza Abidi is based in the US and has a PhD in Theology and Philosophy having attended Howzah in Iran for several years. His research was conducted under the guidance of Ayatollah Ja'far Subhani. He has also taught various subjects such as Usul, Fiqh, Philosophy, and Tafseer in different Islamic schools.

3 Answers
Passed
Abolfazl Sabouri,

Abolfazl Sabouri is based in New Zealand and has an MA in Jurisprudence and Islamic Studies. He is a graduate of Elmiyeh seminary in Qom with more than 15 years of study and research where he has also taught Tafsir, Theology and Jurisprudence.

43 Answers
Passed
Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb,

Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb has a BA in Law from Guilan University, Iran and has also undertaken Hawzah studies in Qom. He used to be a Cultural Affairs director of Ethics Group of Al-Mustafa Open University. He obtained his Master's degree in Applied Ethics and now is a PhD candidate in Islamic Ethics besides doing his Bahse Kharej in Qom Hawza.

101 Answers
Passed
Mohammad Zakaria,

Mohammad Zakaria is a senior lecturer at the Islamic College where he specialises in Research methodology and Islam's Education Philosophy and Teacher Training. His doctoral work focused on the intersection between Race, Human Rights and Education.

5 Answers
Passed
Anwar Jaffer,

Born and raised in London, Sheikh Anwar Jaffer has a Bsc in Economics and Finance from Queen Mary University of London. In 2010 he began his religious studies in Najaf and transferred to Qom in 2015 where he currently resides with his family.

No Answers
Passed
Shyrose Jaffer Dhalla,

Zakira Shyrose Jaffer Dhalla is a graduate of York University in Canada from where she obtained a BA in Psychology and Sociology and a Masters in the field of Education. She lectures on Islam at mosques, universities, churches and interfaith gatherings and also recites majalises in Urdu, English and Gujarati. A published freelance writer, playwright, motivational speaker and Anti-Racist Educational Counsellor by profession, she conducts workshops on Race and Cultural sensitivity and often appears on TV program panels and radio talk shows to speak on Race Relations.

4 Answers
Passed
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 Islamic College in London. She also has a Diploma in Counselling and is a Qualified Chaplain and worked with women prisoners at Holloway and with Hertfordshire Police advising them on Muslim matters.

10 Answers
Passed
Hassanain Govani,

Hassanain Govani is based in Sweden and has an MA in History of Religion from Uppsala University and an MA in Islamic Studies from the Islamic College of London, and has also studied Arabic in Damascus. He has a position as project secretary at SST, the committee for state support for religious communities.

11 Answers
Passed
Sayed Mohammad Saleh Qazwini,

Sayed Mohammad Saleh Qazwini has a BA from the University of Michigan and an MA from Wayne State University. He is a graduate of the Islamic Seminary of Qom, Iran.

3 Answers
Passed
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 ANU, Canberra. He has written and translated several Islamic texts and also prepared educational videos on Islamic rulings and practices.

856 Answers
Passed
Nasim Walji Pirmohamed,

Nasim Walji Pirmohamed is a religious lecturer and a teacher in Islamic Religious Education, Holy Qur'an and Arabic language. She has translated works from Persian to English, and has been very active in working for the improvement of women’s condition and their mental health across many countries.

1 Answer
Passed
Amir De Martino,

Amir De Martino is of Italian origin and has an MA in Islamic Studies from the Islamic College and a combined BA degree in Persian Language and Studies of Religion from SOAS in London. He has also obtained a PGCE in Social Research Methods from the Department of Education at Roehampton University as part of his preparation for doctoral studies, and is a members of Westminster’s Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education.

No Answers
Passed
Seyed Ali Musawi,

Seyed Ali Musawi studied religion and history at the University of California, San Diego and subsequently he studied for more than 8 years at the Islamic Seminary in Qum, Iran, focusing on Islamic history and jurisprudence.

12 Answers
Passed
Jaffer Ali Ladak,

Shaykh Jaffer Ali Ladak is from Milton Keynes in the UK and has studied at Jami'a Imam as-Sadiq (a) Hawza Imam al-Jawad (a) in Karbala and at Al Mahdi Institute in Birmingham. He is currently completing his Masters Degree in Islamic Law at the Islamic College in London. He has also authored a book on Lady Umm Kulthum, the daughter of Imam Ali (a).

No Answers
Passed
Sayed Mohammedhassan Alsheraa,

Sayed MohammedHassan Alsheraa attended the Hawzah in Detroit, Michigan, in the United States. Thereafter he continued his Islamic studies in the Hawza of Karbala, Iraq. Alongside his Hawza studies, he is also a student of political science at the University of Michigan, USA.

1 Answer
Passed
Seyed Ali Shobayri,

Seyed Ali Shobayri is of mixed Iranian and Scottish descent who found the path of the Ahlul Bayt (a) by his own research. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University through the Islamic College of London. He also studied at the Hawza Ilmiyya of England and continues Hawza and Islamic studies with private teachers.

164 Answers
Passed
Seyed Saied Alavi,

Seyed Saied Alavi is a researcher based in Qom who has studied from the Howzah of Qom and also completed a Pastoral studies program. He is currently a university lecturer in the fields of Shia Theology and the History of Religions as well as other subjects.

9 Answers
Passed
Mahmood Abu Maryam, Trying to make sense of it all... Answer updated 3 years ago

The hadith of “pen and paper”, or the hadith al-qirtas, is also called the raziyya yawm al-khamis that translates to ‘The Calamity of Thursday’.

The authenticity of this event cannot be disputed, it is recorded in multiple sources including the Sahih of Bukhari and the Sahih of Muslim and they record it multiple times.

What is extremely important is the essence of what that event was all about. Can we actually know what the Prophet (s) would have written?

I suggest that we can know with full certainty. And the reason may surprise you.

The answer is contained within the words of the Prophet Muhammad (s) that also show that not only was he in his full faculties, unlike what some people around him alleged at the time to try and dissuade him from writing those words, but also that he left the clue for what he was going to say in his choice of words.

  • Narrated Ibn `Abbas: Thursday! And how great that Thursday was! The ailment of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) became worse (on Thursday) and he said, 'Fetch me something so that I may write to you something after which you will never go astray."

The construct used by the Prophet (s) was:

أَكْتُبْ لَكُمْ كِتَابًا لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدَهُ أَبَدًا

The lan tadillu ba’dahu abada(n) phrase, and its very minor variants, have the Prophet (s) promise that his followers will never go astray if they follow that instruction.

Now, clearly if the Prophet (s) failed to write the words and if that was the only time he was going to state something of such importance it would mean he did not fulfil his responsibility to the people. That cannot ever be the case.

And so we must look for all the earlier times that the Prophet (s) used the same construct throughout his career as a Prophet (s).

One might think that must have been on tonnes of occasions.

But, interestingly, it isn’t!

The Prophet (s) was fully cognizant of what he was doing. He chose words that would allow future generations to understand the opposition that he faced, in his final days, to his choice of the system of successorship, whilst also making sure that future generations would be able to identify with precision what that was from a record of his earlier pronouncements.

In other words, this is a perfect use of balagha and a consistency of discourse.

So where else did the Prophet use the construct ‘you will never go astray after me’?

He mentioned it on the day of Ghadir Khumm, in public, several weeks earlier to the Calamity of Thursday event.

(Al-Hakim says:) The first tradition (mentioned above) is supported by this one narrated by Salamah ibn Kuhayl, from Abu al-Tufayl, which is also sahih according to the requirements of al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Narrated to us Abu Bakr ibn Ishaq and Da`laj ibn Ahmad al-Sijzi, both of them from Muhammad ibn Ayyub, from al-'Azraq ibn `Ali, from Hassan ibn Ibrahim al-Kirmani, from Muhammad ibn Salamah ibn Kuhayl, from his father, from Abu al-Tufayl, from Ibn Wathilah that he heard Zayd ibn Arqam, may God be pleased with him, say:

"The Messenger of Allah , may Allah 's peace and benedictions be upon him and his progeny, came down at a place between Makkah and Madinah near the trees with five big shades and the people swept the ground under the trees. Then the Messenger of Allah , may God's peace and benediction be upon him and his progeny, began to perform the evening prayer.

After the prayer he began to address the people. He praised God and extolled Him, preaching and reminding (us), and said what God wanted him to say.

Then he said, 'O people! Verily, I am leaving behind two matters among you- if you follow them (the two) you will never go astray.

These two are: the Book of God and my ahl al-bayt, my `itrah.'

Then he said thrice: 'Do you know that I have more right over the believers than they over themselves?' The people said, 'Yes.'

Then the Messenger of Allah , may Allah's peace and benedictions be upon him and his progeny said, 'Of whomever I am his master (mawla) `Ali also is his master.'"

Source - al-Mustadrak `ala al-Sahihayn, Haydarabad: Da'irat al-ma`arif al-nizamiyyah (4 vols), 1334-42 AH, vol. 3, p. 109

This hadith of the Prophet (s) using the same construct, is attested to in multiple sources, in longer and shorter versions. It is considered not just authentic but mutawatir by Sunni scholars as well.

There are also another set of narrations that also use the same construct of lan tadillu ba’di but instead of the Ahl al-Bayt or ‘itra they mention the sunnah.

Although on face value that does not contradict the successorship of the Ahl al-Bayt as announced at Ghadir Khumm, research scholars have determined that the sunnah versions are all weak and fabricated.

For instance, the version in the Muwatta’ of Imam Malik does not have a full chain of narration. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in his Is’af al-Mubatta’ attempts to find full-isnad versions of the sunnah versions and ends up producing just a few that are filled with confirmed liars and fabricators, not even just weak or forgetful narrators.

For details of this research, see The Hadith of the Will (wasiyya) about the Thaqalayn: The Book and the Sunnah

Clearly, the original and true words of the Prophet (s), using the same language he used on that fateful Thursday, and what he would have written if allowed, was that the Muslims should follow after his death the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt, with ‘Ali b. Abi Talib as the first member of that leadership.

The rest is history.