Reflections |
"Surely, the month of Ramazan is a great month. Allah multiplies in it the good deeds, erases in it the sins and elevates in it the ranks."
- Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H)
"The best of the months is the month of God - the month of Ramazan - and the heart of the month of Ramazan is the Night of Qadr "
- Imam Sadiq (A.S.)
"(Ramazan) is the month, whose beginning is mercy, its middle, forgiveness and its end, emancipation from the fire (of hell)."
- Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H)
" Someone who recites one verse from the Book of Allah, The Mighty, The Glorious, in the month of Ramazan, is like one who has recited the entire Holy Quran in the other months"
- Imam Reza (A.S.)
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FAQ
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Question : Is it permissible to learn dancing?
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Answer : It is not allowed at all, as a matter of obligatory precaution.
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Question : Is it permissible to organize dance parties where each husband dances only with his own wife to the sound of soothing musical tunes, wearing dresses that are not indecent?
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Answer : It is not allowed.
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Question : Is it permissible for women to dance in front of other women or for men to dance in front of other men in a gender-wise segregated gathering with or without music?
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Answer : Dancing of women in front of women or dancing of men in front of men is problematic, as a matter of obligatory precaution, one must refrain from it. The rules governing music have already been discussed earlier.
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Question : Is it permissible for a wife to dance for her husband with music or without music?
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Answer : It is allowed as long as dancing is not accompanied with haram music.
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Question : Some schools in the West make it obligatory that their male and female students learn dancing. This dancing is neither accompanied by the common song, nor is it for entertainment; it is part of the educational curriculum. So, is it haram for the parents to allow their sons and daughters to attend such classes?
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Answer : Yes, if it contravenes the religious upbringing. Rather it is, based on obligatory precaution, forbidden absolutely, if the student has reached the age of maturity — except if he has a valid reason for approving of it; for example, if he follows a mujtahid who allows it. In the latter case, nothing prevents him from allowing his child to take part in [such activity].
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Question : Is it permissible to draw or produce a scene which shows the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), one of the past prophets or the infallible Imams (a.s.), or other luminaries and show it in cinema, on television or theatre?
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Answer : If due deference and respect is observed, and the scene does not contain anything that would detract from their holy pictures in the minds [of the viewers], there is no problem.
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Question : Is it permissible to give away as gift, copies of the Holy Qur’an, prayer books, and amulets to non-Muslims?
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Answer : There is no problem in it, if such is not exposed to desecration and insult, and they are shown the requisite respect.
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Question : How could one go about dispensing with papers carrying the names of Allah or the Infallibles, as well as some loose pages of the Qur’an, when it is not possible for us to throw them in the sea or the river? That said, we do not know where would the garbage end up and what is done with it?
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Answer : It is not permissible to put them in rubbish bins because that involves desecration and disrespect. However there is no problem in erasing the writings on the papers even by using some chemicals burying them in a clean place, or shredding them so that they turn into dust.
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Question : Has istikhara any basis in the shari‘a? Is there a problem in repeating the istikhara [for the same intention] by paying alms [before it] in order to get a guidance that is to one’s liking?
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Answer : One may resort to istikhara (albeit with the intention of raja’an) in situations where he is confused and cannot prefer one side [of the issue] to the other, after having pondered over it and having consulted [those who know about it]. Repeating the istikhara is not right, unless it is for a different issue
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Question : If a person has doubts about the integrity of a representative of the marja‘ as a result of alleged misappropriation of religious dues; (a)Is he allowed to talk about it to other people, even if he is not certain about the truth of the allegations levelled against the representative? What if he is certain about them? (b)Is he allowed to still pay his religious dues to that representative as long as he is uncertain about his not being trustworthy?
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Answer : (a) It is not permissible for him [to talk to the others about it] in both situations. In the second case [of certainty], he can inform the marja‘ directly in complete confidence about the real situation so that the marja‘ may take whatever action he deems appropriate. (b) He should rather pay his religious dues to a representative who is known for his integrity and honesty in acting according to his ijaza, i.e. in using some portion of what he has collected of it in their appropriate causes as mentioned earlier and sending the rest to the marja‘.
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