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

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

18 Questions

Is the cutting of hands as punishment for stealing really a part of the Shariah? If yes, is it not counter productive since the one who has stolen will never be able to reform and get back on track in life?
Zoheir Ali Esmail

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. This punishment is after a number of stages which allow for the person to reform their ways and after which they would be aware that another instance of theft would result in such a consequence.

May you always be successful
Is Sharia law the only "true" truth of Islam or is there room for a more "progressive" form of Islam that would be more compatible with a free Westernized democracy?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

First of all we need to understand the real meaning of Sharia law, away from the claimed Sharia of the terrorist groups, and away from the Western media propaganda which gave people an impression that Sharia Law is mainly cutting hands of the thieves and killing the fornicators.

Real Sharia Law is the full comprehensive law which makes human life based on justice and equality to achieve peace and tranquility for individuals and societies.

Real teachings of Islam taken from the Prophet (SAWA) and his Progeny (Ahlul Bayt )(AS) are the most progressive, but unfortunately, most people look at Islam today through Western media propaganda which is misleading as well through the crimes of so-called Jihadi groups who want to hijack Islam.

Those who really want a progressive society need to read and understand the real teachings of Islam which came through Ahlul Bayt (AS). Let them read Nahjul Balagha and the statements of Imam Al- Sajjad on the Human Rights as examples. The United Nations has issued a statement on 2002 advising the leaders of Muslim world to follow the teachings of Imam Ali (AS) to Maalik Al-Ashtar.

Wassalam.
How does one respond from the Qur'an to an Islamophobe who insists that all Muslims are terrorists and want Sharia law and that the Qur'an says it is ok to lie to the enemies?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

Human beings from all faiths and culture have many things in common, one of the most important common thing among all of them is the intellect.

Intellect says that false allegation is wrong and no one can believe any allegation before examining the evidence.

Whatever is been said by our enemies about Islam is based on lies and baseless allegations. We invite every one to study Quran and authentic Hadeeths if they really want to understand Islam. If they study Islam properly, they will know that it is the Real religion of Justice and Peace. If they do not want to read and see the facts, but just to put allegations on us, we can not help them. Life has always witnessed good and bad people when bad people put false allegations on the good people. 

Wassalam
What would be the purpose of having extra-Qur'anic information, such as Mushaf Fatimah and al-Jafr, if it is only accessible to the Imams? Wouldn't that information regarding Fiqh and Sharia be beneficial to the people as well?
Amina Inloes

Interesting question!

One has to assume that if the possessors of these books chose not to share them, then it is not necessary for us to know the contents. Mushaf Fatimah and al-Jafr, according to hadith, contain more than fiqh and shari'ah; for instance, according to hadith, they contain detailed future prophecies, and perhaps this information would not be beneficial for us. According to hadith, Mushaf Fatimah was narrated to her as a form of consolation due to her grief for her father, so from that angle, there may have been a personal purpose. 

There are a number of sacred items mentioned in hadith as being passed on from the prophets to the Imams as a sign of spiritual authority and these can be looked at in this light.

There is no indication that the Imams required these materials to learn, but that does not mean that there is any problem in their having them or consulting them. Perhaps it was reassuring to some people around them, who did not believe in the imamate, that they were referring to texts received from their forebears. 

We live in an era where the value of things is measured very materially, especially in the era of the Internet, when it is assumed that anything worthwhile should be shared publicly. However, this brings up the question of, do things have value if people do not see them? (For instance, a tree in a forest.) Is it possible for something to have purpose if it is seen by only one or a handful of people? It is reasonable to argue that there is a spiritual value to the existence of these items; however, for them to have an existential value, it is not necessary that they be available to the majority of people.