| Sirat-al-Mustaqeem | The Straight Path |
Nowadays we consider a clergy system to be an essential part of religion. The clerics define the identity of the religion and we regard them as the official representatives. Our religious lives revolve around clerics. After all how can religion function without the services of the priests, the mullahs and the rabbis? We have accepted…
Abstract Taqleed demands absolute submission to the dictates of a Mujtahid. Whereas, only those appointed by God qualify for unconditional submission. Yet the Mujtahids have appropriated this function of the Imams. Moreover, it is impossible for people to identify a person who is all together pious, trustworthy and the most knowledgeable. Even Prophet Moses, when…
1. Who are the Fuqaha? The Mujtahids claim to be the Fuqaha (plural of Faqih), but do they fit the definition of Fuqaha as defined in the hadith literature? In the hadith, we find the Imams (as) describing the Fuqaha as the Muhaddithin (which literally means the narrators of their hadith). They have almost equated…
1. Abstract Islamic laws can simply not be “derived” – they are exclusively created by Allah (swt) and conveyed to us through the Masumeen (as). Ijtihad, where the aim is to derive new law, is forbidden and denounced by Masumeen (as) who declared it as an evil concept. Acting without hadith leads to destruction. Human…
Reading and pondering over hadith and acquiring knowledge directly from our Imams (as) is not the prerogative of the mujtahids only. It is a duty and responsibility of each and every muslim. We quote two hadith below from the Masumeen (as): I heard Abu Jafar say: By Allah, that companion of mine is beloved to…
Ilm-al-Rijal literally means ‘Knowledge of Men’ and is more commonly understood as the Science of Narration. This science is one of the most important founding pillars of Ijtihad (and thus the system of Taqlid and Marjaiyat). The purpose of this science is to distinguish between reliable and unreliable hadith by evaluating the biographies of the…
A common tactic used by the proponents of the religious (clerical) establishment to deceive the innocent followers and to impress on their minds that their leaders are rightly guided is to attribute to them stories about meetings with Imam-e-Zamanaajtf, and how through these meetings, the Imamajtf guides and corrects them. Many incidents have been narrated…
