Your Questions Answered (volume 4)

20: Why Imam Husain (a.s.) Did Not Resort To Taqiyah?

A person is obliged to save his life by means of Taqiyah, if it is in danger. Then, why Imam Husain (a.s) did not do so in Karbala?

A. Taqiyah is based on the principle of opting for the lesser evil. Telling a lie is not as big a sin as destroying a life. Therefore, a lie is preferable to putting one's life in danger.

Now, if safety of one's own life depends on endangering another believer's life then, by the same reasoning, Taqiyah is not allowed. Since one believer must die in either case it is better for you to die rather than cause the death of another believer. And this will not be treated as suicide on your part.

By the same token, if there is a danger that one's Taqiyah may destroy the belief of other believers, then Taqiyah is Haram. It means that if someone is of such a status (e.g. Imam Husain's (a.s.)) that if he resorted to Taqiyah, others would be misled to un-Islamic tenets and beliefs, then the basic principle demands that he must sacrifice his own life to save others from going astray.

Q 21: RE-APPEARANCE OF IMAM MAHDI (A.S.)

One of the brothers asked me about Imam Al-Mahdi (a.s.) I tried to explain from surah Baqarah verses 30 and 38, and also surah Qadr. Will you, please, tell me if there is any verse which says that Imam Al-Mahdi (a.s.) will come before Qiyamah. ?

A. You will not find every thing explicitly written in the Qur'an. Otherwise, there would have been no need of any interpreter of the Qur'an. Allah has ordained that the Qur'an and Ahlul -Bait (a.s) shall always remain together, so that the true meaning of the Qur'an may be known to the Muslims.

So far as the re-appearance of our beloved 12th Imam (a.s.) is concerned, there are some 'Ayat which point to it very clearly. For example, 'Aya No. 33 of Surah At-Taubah, which says:-

"He it is who sent His Apostle with Guidance and the religion of Truth, so that He may prevail it over all religions, though the polytheists may detest it."

This Ayat is repeated in Sura As-Saf (Ayat 9); and also 'Aya 28 of Sura Al-Fath says:- "He it is who sent His Apostle with the Guidance and the religion of Truth, so that He may prevail it over all religions; and enough is Allah for a witness."

In these 'Ayat a promise has been given to our Holy Prophet! (s.a.w.) that Islam will prevail over all other religions. This victory is of two kinds: First, the triumph of Islam over all other relgions; acceptance of Islamic tenets and ideologies by non-Muslim religions and societies is an established fact.

The world is inevitably marching towards Islamic tenets - even if it shies away from acknowledging its debts to Islam. Secondly, the triumph of Islam over all religions in such a way that no other religion remains extant in the world. This part of the promise will be fulfilled after the re-appearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s.). There are many traditions from our Imams (a.s.) interpreting this 'Aya in this way. Here I am quoting from Tafsir Safi:-

"Qummi said: It was revealed in the matter of Qa'ime-'AI-e-l Muhammad; And (Qummi) said that it is among those 'ayat which I have told that its fulfilment will be delayed from its revelation". "And in Majma'ul-Bayan a tradition is narrated from Imam Muham-I mad Baqir (a.s.) concerning this 'aya that 'this would happen at the time of appearance of Mahdi (a.s.) from the family of Muhammad (s.a.w.a.)',Thus there would remain none but would accept (the truth) of Muhammad (saw.)...............'

"And there is a tradition from Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a.s.) about this 'aya. He said: 'When Qa'im (a.s.) will appear there will be no pagan or unbeliever but that he would detest his appearance" "And it is recorded in Majma'ul-Bayan that the Holy Prophet (saw.) said (mentioning the reappearacne of Imam Mahdi): "There will not remain any house or tent but Allah will bring Islam into it"

Sunni commentators have said that ti promise will be fulfilled when hadrat Isa (a.s) will come again on this earth. Well, it makes no difference , because it is accepted even by them that hadrat Isa (a.s) will come again when hadrat Imam Mahdi will appear So the 'Aya refrers to he re-appearance of Imam Mahdi(a.s) even according to their own interpretation.

Q22.ABOUT IMAM MAHDI

What is the proof that Imam Mahdi Sahibuzzaman will rise again? Will he rise with hadrat Isa (a.s) or later?

A. He will not rise again, for the simple reason that he is not dead.You cannot use the word "rise again" for a living person.He will re-appear before Hadrat 'Isa. For more details refer to my work entitled "Muhammad is the last prophet", and "Day of Judgement".

Q23.WIVES OF ALI(A.S)

How many times did Hadrat Ali(a.s) marry?

A. He married 8 or 9 wives in all; 4 of them were alive at the time of his martyrdom.

Q24.WAS BIBI SHAHR BANO ALIVE ON ASURA DAY?

Was bibi sharbano (4th Imam's mother) present in karbala? Others say that She couldn't have been there,because her son was Imam-e-zaman just after the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (a.s)

A. She died within ten days of the birth of Imam Zainul-'Abidin (a.s).This is an historical fact. But the reason alluded to in your question is absurd. Imam Hassan Askari (a.s)'s mother survived him, and was one of the special representative of our 12th Imam (a.s).

Q25. We were able to know from your article in the light that Fatimah Kubra was the daughter of Umm-e-Is-haq (Father: Imam Husain) The marriage of Fatimah Kubra and Hasan Muthana(son of Imam Hassan) was done as per your article. But it is a famous "Riwayat"that Fatima Kubra was married to Janab Qasim s/o Imam Hassan.

We want to know the fact of Islamic History regarding this matter A. What was written in the Light is an historical fact. The myth of marriage of Hazrat Qasim on Ashura day was started by one Hussain Waez Kashefi a scholar of 9th century of Hijra, more than 800 years after the Karbala events.

He wrote in his book of Majlis, "Rawdatush- Shuhada" that the Imam (a.s.) married Qasim with one of his daughters. You will note that he did not write the name of the supposed daughter. Then this myth spread, and every generation added some more details in it, till gradually Zakirs who were ignorant of history attributed this story to Fatimah Kubra, not realizing that she had already been married, and that by mentioning her sacred name in that connection they were insulting her in the worst possible way. May Allah forgive us and them all.

Amen Then came the poets who used the word "the bride of one night" meaning Fatimah Kubra. If the marriage was performed on Ashura day as written in "Rawdatush-Shuhada," then from where comes the "night"? Some story-tellers built another story on that "foundation" and said that Fatimah Kubra became pregnant and later gave birth to a son who was, called Qasim, the second.

So, you see, how one small invented story grew and grew and grew till now people are surprised when they are told the truth. I should end this letter with the remarks of the famous Muhaddith Shaikh 'Abbas Qummi in the first volume of his famous book "Muntahal-'Amal":-

"It should be known that the story of the marriage of Hadrat Qasim in Karbala and his marrying Fatimah the daughter of Imam Husain is not true because it had not been seen in reliable books. Moreover, Hazrat Imam Hussain (a.s) had two daughters, as has been mentioned in reliable books.

One Sakinah, about whom Sheikh Tabrasi said that Imam Hussain had given her in marriage to 'Abdullah (s/o Imam Hassan (a.s)) and 'Abdullah was martyred in Karbala before Hazrat Sakina could be sent to his house; Second Fatimah who was the wife of Hassan Muthana who was present in Karbala, as we mentioned in the history of Imam Hassan (a.s)

"And if, relying on unreliable Rewayat, it is said that Imam Husain (a.s.) had another daughter named Fatimah, we have to point out that she was Fatimah Sughra and at that time she was in Madina and, as the story is told, she could not have been given in marriage (in Karbala on 'Ashura day) to Hadrat Qasim bin Hasan (a.s.).

"And the honoured Shaikh (Muhaddith, the expert in matters of Hadith and Riwayat, Thiqatul-lslam) Aqa-e-Hajj Mirza Husain Nuri (May Allah fill his grave with Light) has said in his book, "Lulu wa Marjan": "According to all reliable old books, written on the subjects of Hadith, Geneology of Ahlul-Bait, and biographies, it is impossible to find (that there was in Karbala) an unmarried (but of marriageable age) daughter of Hadrat Seyyid ush-shohada; (if such a daughter could be found) only then such an event could have been possible.

This is quite apart from other considerations concerning authenticity or falsity of this story. As regards the stories of Zubaida and Shahr Bano and Qasim the second, in the area of Ray and its neighbourhood, which have become current with the masses, they are such frivolous imaginations that they should be written on the back of Dastan-e-Amir Hamza and other such novels, and there are many proofs of its falsity.

Q 26: PROGENY OF HADHRAT "ABBAS

What happened to the sons of Hadrat 'Abbas (a.s.) after his martyrdom in Karbala? A.

Hadrat 'Abbas's family was perpetuated through his son Ubaidullah.

Q 27: DIFFERENCES IN MECCAN AND MADINITE SURAS

What are the differences between the Suras revealed in Mecca and Madina?

A. There is a marked difference between the Makki and Madani Suras For example:-

Makki suras, mostly, describe matters of basic faith-Refutation of paganistic beliefs, evidence of the oneness of Allah, His Attributes, proof of the resurrection on the Day of Judgment, prophethood of the Holy Prophet and that of previous prophets, building good character, removal of rust of evil from hearts of people etc. Etc Madani suras deal, mostly, with the code of life, rules of Shari'ah, like prayers, fast, zakah, khumus, etc.
Makki 'ayat and suras are mostly short; Madani 'ayat and suras are mostly long. For example the 28th Part is mostly Madani and it has 137 'ayat while Part 29 and 30 (mostly Makki) have 431 and 570 'ayat respectively
In Makki suras, whenever the audience has been addressed, the words (O People) or (O children of Adam) have mostly been used; in Madani suras on such occasions, mostly the words (O ye who believe) have been used.
All the Suras in which one is ordered (or recommended) to do Sajdah were revealed at Mecca - thus emphasizing the worship of One and Only Allah

Q 28; HOW MANY 'AYAT IN QUR'AN?

I happened to glance one of your books, viz. "Qur'an and Hadith'' I find you have not stated the exact number of 'ayat (verses) of the Qur'an. Based on your extensive research, is there any authentic tradition to confirm the number of 'ayat which the Qur'an contains?

Why a number of Ulama could manage to count the letters and vowels in the Qur'an rather than state at first, the complete verses. As testified by Hadith collected by Sunnis, the Qur'an has 6,666 verses I personally counted twice the Holy Qur'an 114 Suras; there are only 6,268 verses excluding 113 Bismillah. So, we could just imagine the big difference. How many Muslims could really admit that our holy Qur'an as we have now is incomplete?

A. Some writers say that there are 6,666 'ayat in the Qur'an. A Sunni tradition mentions 6263 verses (It is not very far from your 6268). But I did not quote these sayings in my book as I had not checked whether any of them were true.

is a part of every Sura (except Sura 9) according to Shi'a Ithna-'ashari Madh-hab. Counting there are 6350 ayat. Self, Some reciters have treated some 'ayat as being broken into more than one 'aya. For example, in the last Sura (Annas) some reciters treat the 4th 'aya as being 2 'ayat: according to themis the 4 th andis the 5 th 'aya.

Such controversial breaks are marked asin the Qur'an. Just to satisfy my curiousity, I also counted such Ayat. They are 107 in all. Even if we add this number to 6350, the total will be 6,457, and not 6,666. It seems that someone in oid days counted the 'ayat carelessly and wrote in his book that the Qur'an contained 6,666 'ayat, and those who came after him just went on copying it without taking the trouble of verifying that statement.

In any case, there has been no deletion whatsoever from the Qur'an. It is the total number given by the writers which is wrong, not the Qur'an sent by Allah.

Q 29: ISLAM AND SCIENCE SUBJECTS

Does Islam teach that the earth rotates on its own axis around the Sun A. Islam is a religion whose aim is to improve your relationship with your Creator, by enhancing your spiritual qualities and perfecting your character. It is not a science or an arts club. The Qur'an is a guide for life and a code of conduct, not a treatise on physics or astronomy. Therefore, your question is not properly framed.

Of course if Islam or Qur'an had said that the earth was static, then you could have protested why it gave the wrong information. So, you have to keep in mind this basic principle: Qur'an is a book meant primarily for religious, spiritual and ethical uplift of ه

mankind. If it fulfils this need, you should be thankful to Allah; and try to follow its teachings.

Then, if in passing, it throws some light on any scientific or historical subject, it is just incidental and not its main purpose. Of, course, if it contained any wrong information ,e.g. if it said that Nabi Ibrahim was before Nabi Nuh, such error could be used to prove that it was not the word of Allah. Because it was not accurate.

On the other hand, if this book remains silent on any such subject, no objection can be raised against it. I hope this explanation will enlighten you on the role of Islam and Qur'an in our life.