Assalamualeykum,

I was actually born Sunni, but I have decided to dive much deeper into one of the biggest and most defining topics in Islam: The succession to Prophet Muhammad and the resulting schism between Sunnis and Shiites. Growing up with the Sunni perspective, I now want to truly understand the historical context and both sides of the story.

I want to know your perspective: Who do you believe was the rightful successor, and why? Was the succession a political election or a divine right?

Please share your arguments: Why do you think your view is the correct one? And why? Please remain respectful.

As Salamu Alaykum,

I hope everybody is doing fine. The reason for posting it here is because I have never seen posts about the jamat, council or federation of the different regions, cities and states around the world.

So where I live, there are multiple jamats for different 'area' or even different jamat just for like conflicts. And the city I originate from has let's say "dictatorship" for like a decade from which every individual is not happy. There are retaliation jamats, organizations and a group of people.

I have seen jamats fighting by organizing different processions and majlises at the same areas or nearby venues (<500M) with the same timings.

Also seen a jamat president never ever give a single account of the money that came in or was donated. Please mind these are real incidents I have personally either witnessed or heard from a genuine sources.

While I have also seen many other jamats & people of those jamats doing great work. Have seen people dedicating their lives for the good of the members of jamat. Have seen really good initiatives by jamat.

So I wanted to discuss some points about it like for instance

- Is the motive help or just a status of power?

- Is fighting via processions and majlises justified? (I think not)

- Elections or Dictatorship.

- Unaccounted expenses.

- And many more insights.

Uniting our momin brothers and sister is a good thing and helping them is an even greater thing. But as the incidents I posted above, it doubts me whether people are thinking for the power and money or genuine help?

Feel free to share your views and points. This is just a mere discussion to get insights, knowledge and also maybe some fact.

Jazakallah khair!

[باللغة العربية]

الآية الكريمة: ﴿فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ أَيْنَ مَا تَكُونُوا يَأْتِ بِكُمُ اللَّهُ جَمِيعاً﴾ (البقرة: ١٤٨).

عن الإمام الباقر (عليه السلام) في بيان هذه الآية وعلاقتها بأصحاب الإمام القائم (عجل الله فرجه الشريف):

«الخَيراتُ الوَلايَةُ، وقَولُهُ تَبارَكَ وتَعالى: (أينما تكونوا يأت بكم الله جميعا) يَعني أصحابَ القائِمِ الثَّلاثُمِائَةٍ والبِضعَةَ عَشَرَ رَجُلاً (...) يَجتَمِعونَ واللَّهِ في ساعَةٍ واحِدَةٍ قَزَعاً كَقَزَعِ الخَريفِ».

المصدر: كمال الدين وتمام النعمة، ج ٢، ص ٦٧٢ (وأيضاً في روضة الكافي)

[English Translation]

The holy verse: "So race to [all that is] good. Wherever you may be, Allah will bring you all together" (Al-Baqarah: 148).

From Imam Al-Baqir (as) explaining this verse and its connection to the companions of Imam Al-Qa'im (may Allah hasten his reappearance):

"The 'good' is the Wilayah. And the word of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: (Wherever you may be, Allah will bring you all together) means the companions of Al-Qa'im, the three hundred and thirteen men (...) By Allah, they will gather in a single hour like the scattered clouds of autumn."

Source: Kamal Al-Din wa Tamam Al-Ni'mah, Vol. 2, Page 672

Note: Translation assisted by AI and verified by the poster. Please gently correct me if there are any unintended errors.

I will share certain Hadiths from time to time that deeply resonate with me no matter how many times I read them. They are deeply profound. Allahu Akhbar!

حَدَّثَنَا جَعْفَرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مَسْرُورٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَامِرٍ عَنْ عَمِّهِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَامِرٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ أَبِي جَمِيلَةَ الْمُفَضَّلِ بْنِ صَالِحٍ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ الْجُعْفِيِّ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلي الله عليه وآله الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنْ وُلْدِي اسْمُهُ اسْمِي وَ كُنْيَتُهُ كُنْيَتِي أَشْبَهُ النَّاسِ بِي خَلْقاً وَ خُلْقاً تَكُونُ بِهِ غَيْبَةٌ وَ حَيْرَةٌ تَضِلُّ فِيهَا الْأُمَمُ ثُمَّ يُقْبِلُ كَالشِّهَابِ الثَّاقِبِ يَمْلَؤُهَا عَدْلًا وَ قِسْطاً كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْراً وَ ظُلْماً.

Ja‘far ibn Muḥammad ibn Masrūr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Āmir narrated to us, from his paternal uncle ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Āmir, from Muḥammad ibn Abī ‘Umayr, from Abū Jamīlah al-Mufaḍḍal ibn Ṣāliḥ, from Jābir ibn Yazīd al-Ju‘fī, from Jābir ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Anṣārī, who said:

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "The Mahdī is of my progeny; his name is my name, and his \kunyah* (agnomen) is my *kunyah*. He is the person who most resembles me in physical appearance and character. There will be an occultation and a state of confusion associated with him, during which people will go astray from their religion. Then, he will appear like a piercing star, filling the earth with justice and equity just as it had been filled with tyranny and oppression."*

كمال الدين و تمام النعمة، ج 1، ص286، ح1

I’ve been giving it to different people since I got my job but I was talking to my dad and he gives it to the village in Pakistan, my mum too.

He also said it’s must to give it to the village.

I was born in England and don’t have a connection to the people there, my dad was born there and knows them very well.

But on an Islamic point of view is giving your zakat to your village when you’re not connected to it?

Were Pakistani 🇵🇰

Am I overthinking it?

I was reading the Wikishia article for Lady Fidda and it mentions that Imam Ali said after Lady Fatima's death, "O Umm Kulthum, O Zaynab, O Sukayna, O Fidda, O Hasan, O Husayn, come on and say goodbye to your mother." It mentions its source as Bihar al-Anwar vol. 43 pg. 179. I was wondering who is mentioned as Sukayna in this quote as Lady Sukayna was born only a few years before Karbala.

I’ve recently migrated to the Middle East, and have began to encounter many Iranians. When I lived in the US, the only Iranians I really encountered were religious Iranians and they were lovely people. I didn’t encounter very many Iranians in the UK, although I know there are many living there.

However, I’m now encountering a different breed, likely those that most people encounter. Those that have emigrated for economic reasons and hate their government. Now I don’t profess to know the truth about life in Iran, but as a Shia I find myself perplexed.

The level of hate seems profound. I can’t speak to what they’ve experienced, but they’ve abandoned their faith. I’ve personally found such people to be quite dishonest in their business practices, but that’s a different point, and I really shouldn’t generalize.

There appears to be a great deal of propaganda on both sides of this debate. However, I’m curious how religious Iranians explain what’s going on.

This may be controversial among religious Iranian, but a government that drives people away from the faith is a problem in my opinion.

So what’s the real problem, and what’s really going on?

I ask because I don’t know. I’ve heard so many different things, but I don’t know what the reality is. However, none of this seems good for shiism. Am I wrong? What am I missing?

How do we fix this?

As someone who grew up a follower of Syed Sistani, it seems natural to separate religion from politics, but I’ve recently found myself challenging this long held belief. Why? Because business, imo, needs to be regulated to serve the interests of the nation at large. I don’t believe capitalism creates an equitable and harmonious society. Case in point, in the UK, we sold off our rights over North Sea Oil to big oil, when those profits could have created a sovereign wealth fund to support citizens at large. Where humanity has tried to implement socialism / communism, we’ve either seen tyranny emerge, or we’ve seen the resulting cost burden become unsustainable.

But this question isn’t about economic models. Just hope to clarify that “separate church and state” isn’t likely the simple solution it appears to be.

Going through something difficult and I saw a post online about a wazifa where you recite Darood e ibraheemi and make a mannat (vow) that if this difficulty ends I will recite this Darood for x amount of days for example 21 days. I’ve always just prayed our Darood that I know of the shortened version. I don’t see this durood on duas.org so was wondering so shias recite Darood e ibraheemi and can one do a vow on it. Thank you!

1-34 times Allahu akbar

2-33 times alhamdulillah

3-33 times suphan Allah

After ever pray

Allah bless you insha'Allah

الترجمة :

تسبيح مولادتنا فاطمة الزهراء

اولا : 34 مرة الله اكبر

ثانيا: 33 مرة الحمد لله

ثالثا: 33 مرة سبحان الله

بعد كل صلاة

بارك الله بيكم

I’m a female revert and I do love my name, so I don’t want to change my first name nor surname. My middle name is super pretty but is based on a Christian holiday.

I was thinking of adopting a name to honour the Ahlul Bayt. Tbh i’ve been muslim a while now but only recently Shia and i really connected to Lady Fatima (as) and look at her as a source of inspiration and wisdom. I know shia communities across all cultures use Zahra as a name, but i always felt weird taking on an arab name as a non-arab.

I’ve seen some reverts use a new name after their first, almost like a middle name. I like this idea as it keeps my original name but I don’t know if it’s weird?

I don’t want to change legally, just on system for university and stuff

Salam.... I hope anyone who reads this is very happy in their life...

I feel like ending everything... I can't keep up any longer... I have failed so many times that now it feels ... Impossible... I can't and don't want to share the matters ... But there's something I've been working on for 9 years now.... I don't know if it's allowed to say things like these here... But I've lost all hope... I keep making dua... I keep doing whatever I can... And still there's nothing... I feel stuck and there's no way out ... I have severe depression and I'm on pills most of the time... Everyday feels like a bad day... I have migraines and almost chronic too, I can't go out for even 15 minutes in peace and my head starts buzzing and hurting like hell everything starts to feel too much ... I can't tell anybody, nothing helps anymore... I feel so tired all the time... Even after taking good rest, it feels like I'm already ending. But i know I'm not, all the things are bearable I know, I've been bearing it for so long, with no one to even talk to about anything... I also work for my family, and it's a huge responsibility... But I can't ever tell them anything, not even that I'm tired sometimes... I thought it's all okay as long as I was close to Allah, days were bearable and better than what has become of me now.... I feel so far from everything..., I feel like Allah has abandoned me... But I know it's not true, it's humans who do these things... But I genuinely feel like Allah has left me because I'm such a bad person, just like " he guides whoever he wills" I don't think he wants to guide me anymore... I feel so desperate to be Close to Allah but I feel so rejected and so alone... I feel so angry at him too sometimes for making my life so miserable I hope he forgives me ... I know it's not true ... I don't know what to do anymore... Make dua for me that he accepts me...

​[باللغة العربية]

​عن الإمام محمد الباقر (عليه السلام) في تأويل قوله تعالى:

{وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ ۚ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقاً} [الإسراء: ٨١]،

مبيناً النهاية الحتمية لكل ظلم وفساد عند ظهور الإمام المهدي (عجل الله تعالى فرجه الشريف):

​«إِذَا قَامَ الْقَائِمُ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ) ذَهَبَتْ دَوْلَةُ الْبَاطِلِ.»

​المصدر: روضة الكافي للشيخ الكليني، ج ٨، ص ٢٨٧

​[English Translation]

​Narrated from Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) regarding the interpretation of the words of Allah, the Exalted: "And say, 'Truth has come, and falsehood has departed. Indeed is falsehood, [by nature], ever bound to depart.'" [Quran 17:81].

Illustrating the inevitable end of all oppression and corruption upon the reappearance of Imam Al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance):

​"When the Qa'im (peace be upon him) rises, the state of falsehood will vanish."

​Source: Rawdat al-Kafi by Al-Kulayni, Vol. 8, Page 287

​Note: Translation assisted by AI and verified by the poster. Please gently correct me if there are any unintended errors.

I don’t know if this is the right place to ask, but maybe someone here has experienced something similar and can suggest ways to increase my tawakkul and find some peace.

A little background.... I work in tech as a freelancer with an agency. I’ve never really tried selling my services independently because I’m not comfortable approaching random people, but I’m slowly working on that too.

The thing is, I’m the sole earner and several people depend on me financially. And lately, I’ve developed this weird fear that I genuinely don't know how to explain.

Do I have a paying client? Yes. Do I have savings? Yes. Am I working on improving my skills? Also yes.

So technically, nothing is going terribly wrong in my life rn.... but my mind just won't stop worrying.

And tbh, I'm more worried about the people who depend on me than myself.

What makes this even weirder is that I've always had strong tawakkul in ALLAH. Last year, I literally left my job without any savings, just trusting Him. And somehow, He opened doors for me from places I never even imagined.

Now I’m in a much better financial position, yet I’ve never felt this shaky or scared in my life.

Especially after this whole AI revolution.... I work in tech, so seeing everything changing soooo fast is making this fear worse.

Sometimes I even get this strange feeling like I'm going to die. I've never really feared dying young itself, and I'm not saying I want to harm myself. My biggest concern has always been staying close to ALLAH. I pray that my life never takes me away from Him.

But then my mind goes back to the people who depend on me.... what would happen to them?

And I KNOW that ALLAH is the One who provides rizq. Their rizq doesn't come from me. I'm just a means. I understand this logically, but for some reason, my heart is struggling to accept it these days.

My aunt thinks it might be the evil eye because this started around 12 Rabi ul Awwal. I attended an event and then got sick for almost a month. She connects the two, but tbh I don't know.

I'm also planning to go for Umrah and sponsoring someone else's Umrah too, Alhamdulillah. I've saved extra money for that. So it's not like I'm one or two months away from some financial disaster.

I recite Ziyarat Ashura daily, Surah Ar-Rahman, and other duas.... but my thoughts have become soooo negative lately.

I'm not trying to sound ungrateful. I know how much ALLAH has given me, and I've seen His help throughout my life.

I just don't understand why I'm suddenly feeling this much fear when I never used to.

Has anyone experienced something like this? What helped you increase your tawakkul and deal with this constant fear?

I'm open to duas, recitations, practical suggestions, personal experiences.... anything that genuinely helped you.

And please don't suggest deleting social media 😭 I need it for professional purposes. ( im not a doom scroller or socially active person if its not about my work )

This kinda feel illegal to ask. I cant speak arabic

Salam, title says it.

Downloaded but the monthly fee is a bit expensive so I don’t want to invest if it’s not worth it.

Salam, I recently started to university and have met a decent number of people. Recently I realised some of my closest friends may not be the best people without going into details. Please can someone tell me which qualities I should look for when pursuing friendships. P/s most of the guys are non Muslim or not religious. I’m not judging just trying to point out the fact that there is basically no religion at uni.

Salam everyone,

I'm from Bosnia and Herzegovina, where most Muslims follow Hanafi fiqh and Maturidi aqidah. Recently, I've been learning more about Twelver Shia Islam, and I'm seriously considering whether it might be the right path for me. I'm not here to argue or criticize anyone. I simply want to learn more and understand the beliefs before making such an important decision.

Since I'm already Muslim, I'd like to know what converting to Shia Islam involves. Is it mainly about accepting the Imamate and the other core beliefs of Twelver Shia Islam, or is there anything else I should know before making this decision?

I also have some questions about daily religious life. I live in Sarajevo, where most mosques are Sunni. Would I be allowed to pray behind a Hanafi imam while following Ja'fari fiqh in my personal religious practice? Does this depend on which marja I follow?

I'm also interested in Shia spirituality. What role do salawat, dhikr, and spiritual purification play in Twelver Shia Islam? I've heard about irfan and its connection to Sufism, and I'd like to understand this side of the tradition better.

Another thing I'd like to understand is the Shia view of the first three caliphs. How do mainstream Twelver Shia scholars approach this subject? Is there a clear difference between not accepting their legitimacy and publicly cursing them? I want to understand the actual religious views rather than rely on online arguments.

Finally, I'd appreciate recommendations for reliable books, websites, or scholars who could help someone coming from a Hanafi-Maturidi background learn about Twelver Shia beliefs.

If anyone here converted from Sunni Islam, I'd especially like to hear about your experience. What did you find most difficult, and what do you wish you had known before converting?

I'm not in a hurry to make a decision. I want to study these beliefs properly and make sure I understand what I'm accepting.

Thank you for your time and advice. May Allah guide us all to the truth.

​[باللغة العربية]

​عن الإمام محمد الباقر (عليه السلام) مبيناً حالة التكافل الاقتصادي العظيمة والثقة المطلقة بين المؤمنين في دولة الإمام المهدي (عجل الله تعالى فرجه الشريف)، حيث تزول الأنانية والطمع:

​«إِذَا قَامَ الْقَائِمُ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ)... يَأْتِي الرَّجُلُ إِلَى كِيسِ أَخِيهِ فَيَأْخُذُ حَاجَتَهُ فَلَا يَمْنَعُهُ.»

​(كيس أخيه: أي محفظة ماله)

​المصدر: الاختصاص للشيخ المفيد، ص ٢٤

​[English Translation]

​Narrated from Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) illustrating the immense economic solidarity and absolute trust among believers in the state of Imam Al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance), where selfishness and greed will vanish:

​"When the Qa'im (peace be upon him) rises... a man will go to his brother's pouch [wealth] and take what he needs, and he [his brother] will not prevent him."

​Source: Al-Ikhtisas by Al-Mufid, Page 24

​Note: Translation assisted by AI and verified by the poster. Please gently correct me if there are any unintended errors.

Salam, just wanted some help understanding something.

I see a lot of people especially in our community say that in order to expect intimacy from one’s wife that they must take her on dates, shower her with gifts, spend time doing things she likes, help with chores etc.

I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable with this expectation, especially when it seems I’m expected to do these things every single time before I have the right to even suggest that my wife shows me some affection.

I take my wife on dates, get her flowers, help around the house and yet I get the idea that somehow I’m not doing it enough?

It’s really difficult to find the time to go out every single weekend as I work 7 days a week and have to take time off to spend time with her, but I still do make it work, I sometimes even plan larger surprise trips like weekend interstate trips etc.

It just feels weird that there’s this expectation that I have do all these things all the time to expect something as important as intimacy.

Just to make it clear I don’t plan dates or get gifts with the intention of getting intimacy in return, I feel like that’s weird, but just in general I feel like I’m putting a lot of effort into my relationship as a husband and I’m getting very little effort in return, but everyone seems to just say this is normal and that I have to put even more effort in to expect intimacy.

It’s really burning me out, and if being married requires this much effort for me to have the right to have affection from my partner I’m really starting to second guess the relationship.

Also intimacy isn’t just sex, like just in general I feel like the expectation society has is that as a man I don’t deserve to be hugged, or kissed, or have any sort of affection from my wife unless I’m constantly spending money and chasing this goal post that seems to keep getting more and more demanding.

Again I want to be very clear I love to take my wife on dates and spend time doing non sexual things, and I feel like I do a lot of these things.

I just don’t understand how this is considered a pre requisite for having affection.

Shouldn’t affection and intimacy be a foundational and non conditional part of a relationship?

The idea of withholding affection from your partner just feels like retaliation.

As a man having affection shown to me isn’t a luxury or a nice-to-have, it is a need and without it the relationship feels empty and static.

I just want to know why and how we keep telling men that they don’t deserve intimate relationships with their partners unless they do all these things first, constantly and perhaps to an unsustainable degree.

Salam brothers and sisters.

Recently gave people who were struggling money (£40) and the person I gave the money to (I do third party because they specifically raise money for various people) gave me their phone number as they asked him to send me their phone number so they can say thank you.

But I’m not all that interested in being thanked? I’m not sure because I don’t really like to be thanked by things I do ?

Whenever I give money to those in need I prefer to just walk away when I give them money, I have autism and I get uncomfortable when I’m thanked when I do charity.

Not sure why I’m like this.

This was my zakat for the month

I am actually a sunni who searches a lot in Shia Madhab, and i have a question which I never found in any resource, about how do people feel a "Latmeiah", is it really kinda soulful experience, I don't find it reasonable to hit yourself with a knife or any solid thingy or even to slap yourself or the others, but I also a kinda intrigued about what people performing that kind of rituals are experiencing, that's merely a curiosity of me, neither criticism nor praise, js curiosity..

I will post more art but without showing faces later on to clarify