Pearl of Wisdom

'I came to Abu Ja'far [al-Baqir] (AS) and said to him, may I be your ransom! I am a man who wishes to go to Makkah but I have an overdue debt to a Murji'ite, so can you please advise me?' The Imam (AS) replied, 'Pay your debt and focus on meeting your Lord without any debt on your shoulders, for verily a believer does not betray [his trust].'

Abu Thumama
'Ilal al-Shara'i', p. 528, no. 7

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Question : #204 Category: Shia Sunni Dialogue
Subject: misc enquiry
Question: Assalamuiliekum Wa rohmatolahi wa barkartu,

May peace and blessings be upon you always.

Hello my name is Faruq. I am a Muslim revert from Australia who now lives in Indonesia with my wife.

I have some questions about Shia Islam that I hope you can answer for me.

So far I have been following Islam mainly according to the Maliki school of fiqh. Which although uncommon I feel Imam Maliks rulings make the most sense for me.

I have however always believed in the complete unification of this Ummah because from what I have read it is what the prophet Muhammad wanted from us, to be unified. Thus I have always kept communication open to all Islamic groups and mixed freely with them all, including Shia.

Now in Indonesia I have no Shia friends like I used to have in Australia. There are some questions though that have resurfaced for me recently through listening to some of Prof. Hussanain's lectures on Tauweed.

1. Shia follow 12 imams after the Prophet and the Sahaabat. Do these imams introduce new aspects to Islam or new Dalal outside what we received from the first generation of Muslims who accepted the original message? Or can they be compared to the four Imams of the major mazhabs in Islam?

2. Do all Shia practice self mutilation? Is this a practice from the 12 Imams or because of cultural spiritualisim (like sufisim)?

3. Is there disagreement amongst Shia scholars on the permissibility of Muta'ah/Temporary Marriage?

I hope you can answer my questions and my sincere hope is that my questions can bring me closer to my Shia brothers in Islam for Allah has made us all brothers in faith and we should honour this always.

Wassalamuiliekum wa rohmatolahi wa barakartu,
Answer: Salamu Alaykum


1) The Ithna-Ashari or 12 Imams follow the prophet and after him the 12 leaders of Islam chosen by God al-mighty. They respect the chosen Sahabah and according to the fatwa of Ayatollah Khamenei and other Maraja it is haram to insult the Sahabah of the prophets and the wives of the prophet. The Islam which the 12 Imams preach is the same Islam that the Prophet (p.b.u.h) preached, which is there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the last messenger of Allah and the same fiqh the prophet taught. The 4 Imams can not be compared to the 12 Imams due to the fact that the Shias believe the 12 Imams were chosen by God and they had infallibility.

2)Self-Mutilation is Haram in Islam, so neither the Shia practices this nor the Imams.

3)There is no disagreement amongst the Shia Scholars on the permissibility of Mutah, All scholars consider Mutah to be halal within the condtions and an Islamic Marriage.

With Prayers
Wasalam

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