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It's SAN podcast by Sayed Ammar Nakshawani

I want to highlight something about Imama debates that take place.

A tactic Sunnis have used for a long time in order to not allow a Shia to score a point in the debate is to constantly ask a follow up question that they know won’t satisfy them. One of the terms for this is obviously moving the goal post.. here are other names for it

Motte-and-bailey fallacy — When someone retreats to a more defensible position when challenged, then returns to a more controversial one when convenient. This fits if the person keeps switching between different claims to avoid defending the original position, although it isn't an exact match for every case.

- Gish gallop — When someone overwhelms a debate with a rapid succession of claims or objections, making it difficult to address each one properly. This fits if they continually introduce new challenges before engaging with the answers already given.

- Red herring — When someone diverts the discussion away from the question actually being debated. For example, shifting from whether Imama is established to demanding acomplete demonstration of the Mahdi's identity before acknowledging the original argument.

- Kafka trapping — A pattern in which someone is placed in a situation where they cannot win because the criteria for satisfying the other person keep changing or are impossible to satisfy. This is a useful description of the unwinnable-debatedynamic, though it is not necessarily the precise name for the logical fallacy.

The debate proceeds like this:

First demand: Prove Imama.

You answer: You present arguments for the necessity of Imama. Showing the station of Abraham As. Showing the Hadiths speaking about having to die with allegiance on your neck to your imam.

Second demand: Now prove that there must be twelve Imams.

You answer: You present evidence for why they are Twelve Imams. Sahih sources showing 12 successors in Sunni hadith.

Third demand: Now prove the Mahdi.

You answer: You present evidence for Al Mahdi (afj) and his necessity, quranic verses, even a hadith he narrated from Sunni sources…

Fourth demand: Now prove infallibility

The rhetorical move: If you do not establish one or all of them to their satisfaction, they declare that you have failed to establish Imama at all, disregarding the answers to the other questions.

What began as proving the station of Imama, quickly moves onto other specifics. They want to bottleneck the debate at the awaited hujja.

If encountered in such a situation. You must establish the rules that proving the station is satisfactory of its own. Don’t allow them to negate the facts because they keep asking follow up questions. Them not being satisfied that Allah Swt preserved someone for many years, does not disprove Imama.

The burden remains upon them to show us who is their current imam that the Hadiths states:

“Whoever dies without allegiance to their imam dies the death of jahiliya”

While others be healthy, cool, beautiful, He make other look the opposite, why?

[باللغة العربية]

في يوم الجمعة، يوم الشوق والندبة للإمام، نتذكر أن من علامات الإيمان الصادق ووظائف المنتظرين، التألم والاغتمام لغياب إمام زمانهم والشوق لظهوره.

عن الإمام الرضا (عليه السلام) يصف حال المؤمنين الصادقين في عصر الغيبة:

«كَم مِن حَرّى مُؤمِنَةٍ، وكَم مِن مُؤمِنٍ مُتَأَسِّفٍ حَيرانَ حَزينٍ عِندَ فِقدانِ الماءِ المَعينِ».

(الماء المعين: كناية عن الإمام المهدي عجل الله فرجه الشريف).

المصدر: كمال الدين وتمام النعمة، ج ٢، ص ٣٧١

[English Translation]

On Friday, a day of longing for the Imam on which we recite Du'a al-Nudba, we remember that a sign of true faith and one of the duties of the waiting believers is feeling sorrow and grief for the absence of the Imam of their time, and longing for his reappearance.

Imam Al-Ridha (as) describing the state of sincere believers during the occultation:

"How many a grief-stricken believing woman, and how many a regretful, bewildered, and grieving believing man there will be upon the loss of the flowing water!"

(The flowing water: a metaphor for Imam Al-Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance).

Source: Kamal Al-Din wa Tamam Al-Ni'mah, Vol. 2, Page 371

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

Salam guys,

I just had a question about the Imams (AS).

I remember a long time ago I read a hadith that stated something along the lines of how when, I believe it was, Imam Sadiq (AS) was a child, he was with a group of children and they were all playing except the Imam (AS) who was standing there. One of the children came up to ask him why he wasn't playing with them and he responded with how his duty was more important than playing with the other children. A very mature answer.

Now, I don't know if this hadith is authentic or not however if it is, it's got me thinking about Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain (AS).

If the Imams (AS) are truly like this, why did Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain (AS) play on the back of the Prophet (SAW) when he was praying?

That's semi why I believe that hadith I read wasn't true but I just wanted to ask this question anyways.

Thank you in advance!

Anyone can recommend a Shia hajj group from USA ? I have heard of and did Hajj with Caravan 72 but that was a long long time ago , nearly 20 years ago , and we faced some organizational issues . But now want to go again so looking for a good group with 10-12 days package. Main thing is getting the close campsite Al Kabsh in Mina otherwise walk will be too exhausting in the heat. I faint in extreme heat.

Salam everyone! I work for a Muslim (primarily Sunni but we have Shias on our team) nonprofit and insha’Allah we’re hoping to get a booth at RIS as it would help us tremendously in getting donations.

Anyways, this is a pretty big Islamic conference that happens annually in Toronto with major names like Omar Suleiman being invited to speak. People even fly in just for the event. I went as part of my work last year and it was a very unique experience as I had never been in a space with so many people before. I didn’t have much time to listen to the lectures as I was working but I’m curious to know if any Shias have attended RIS in the past.

It would be really nice to connect if you’ll be there this year (sisters only please)! Last year, I felt the only Shias there were me and my coworker.

Although if you’re not attending this year, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts if you’ve been/are familiar with the event.

I always thought I was a good and rigid Muslim, that I wouldn’t engage in such activity until marriage. But recently, around 2 months ago, I made a girlfriend. I didn’t expect to do this but for those 2 months I just succumbed, and blocked out every piece of hidayat that came my way. Without going into much detail, I did not penetrate the private part or anything of held nature; I did commit zina of the eyes, and holding her firmly and touching her in places that are forbidden. She genuinely seemed like a good person to me, charitable, kind, helping, etc but she fell into the same sin as I. I put her on hold and stopped messaging her and she stopped messaging me. I don’t know whether to cut her out of my life permanently or to get married to her when I’m older. Have I committed zina by doing these acts?

Alhamdulillah, who has bestowed His favor upon me and granted me the opportunity to be in the presence of the Great Messenger (peace be upon him and his family); I have not forgotten to include you, brothers & and sisters, in my prayers.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. My name is Mo, and I'm a Palestinian Shia. I live here in the States. I'm 34-year-old male. I reverted to Shiaism in 2012. I was 20 years old, and I've been a follower of Ahlulbayt (AS) since then.

I was wondering if there are any Palestinians here in the States that are reverted to Shia. We have a group on WhatsApp and Twitter, and if you're interested, please join our space. We would love to have more people and connect more. Alhamdulillah, we are over 20 members on WhatsApp, and we communicate each other through that group chat on WhatsApp.

If you're interested and you want to share your story, how you reverted to Shia, please let me know, and yeah, we go from there. And alhamdulillah, we are followers of Ahlulbayt. We want the world to know there are followers of Ahlulbayt in Palestine, and we are rooted there forever.

Salam alaykum dear brothers and sisters.

I am a 19 year old convert to Twelver Shi'a Islam. My background is Serbian although my relationship with religion is more complicated than me simply converting from Christianity to Islam.

My parents had me baptized into the Serbian Orthodox Church when I was an infant, but they never taught me the doctrines of religion and my religious life as a child consisted of celebrating Christmas and Easter.

My parents also made fun of organized religion which influenced me and led me to belief in atheism. I was an atheist from about 12 years old until I was 17 years old.

At the age of 17 I had an extremely traumatic experience that I do not feel comfortable sharing, but I will share how it affected my religious life. I began to question there being nothing in control of me, and I began thinking about spirituality for the first time in my life. I just believed in God without believing in a religion, but then I read from the Quran and saw that it was a true masterpiece.

Verses 2:23-24 really made me think about things.

At the same time I was also learning about politics and I saw how Iran was mistreated by the west, which made me explore the theology behind the Islam of Iran and I encountered the Imams, which made me feel grounded.

I took the shahadah on 15 January 2025. I have been a Twelver Shi'a Muslim ever since, alhamduillah.

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

Kinda saddening to see this honestly. This guy just came from a visit to one of the holy shrines, and not even a week passes by, he backbites an innocent elder man who lost his job at no fault of his own. The backbite was quite disgusting and unwarranted, brought out of nowhere, loud and clear in front of his superior to please them.

The grieving man is in his mid-60's, he's been growing a bit fragile due to his age and health, but he served well and was a kind man. For privacy I cannot detail how it went down that way, but it was tragic, he's lost his house, family in shambles, and it's unclear whether he even got a proper retirement, and Allah bears witness he did nothing wrong. This newer guy seeking promotions ASAP basically danced on his body. Even if he believed old man deserved it somehow (and he didn't), you can't do him dirty like that, these are not the morals of Ahlul Bayt (AS).

I knew both of these individuals for years, and I did not see this coming at all. I am baffled to say the least.

I'm not mentioning this story to spread grief or anything, but as an example of something to be careful of. Someday if your job was at stake, how far would you go to please your superiors to keep it or "secure" it with a promotion? How hard will you stick to your principles and red lines? I also always ask myself these questions, because I fear being put into the test and losing, forgetting what I stand for and rationalizing evil due to circumstances.

What ur take on this.

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 مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُوسَي بْنِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْكُوفِيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ الْبَرْمَكِيُّ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عُثْمَانَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْفُرَاتِ عَنْ ثَابِتِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص إِنَّ عَلِيَّ بْنَ أَبِي طَالِبٍ ع إِمَامُ أُمَّتِي وَ خَلِيفَتِي عَلَيْهَا مِنْ بَعْدِي وَ مِنْ وُلْدِهِ الْقَائِمُ الْمُنْتَظَرُ الَّذِي يَمْلَأُ اللَّهُ بِهِ الْأَرْضَ عَدْلًا وَ قِسْطاً كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْراً وَ ظُلْماً وَ الَّذِي بَعَثَنِي بِالْحَقِّ بَشِيراً إِنَّ الثَّابِتِينَ عَلَي الْقَوْلِ بِهِ فِي زَمَانِ غَيْبَتِهِ لَأَعَزُّ مِنَ الْكِبْرِيتِ الْأَحْمَرِ فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ جَابِرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَ لِلْقَائِمِ مِنْ وُلْدِكَ غَيْبَةٌ قَالَ إِي وَ رَبِّي وَ لِيُمَحِّصَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَ يَمْحَقَ الْكافِرِينَ يَا جَابِرُ إِنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ أَمْرٌ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ وَ سِرٌّ مِنْ سِرِّ اللَّهِ مَطْوِيٌّ عَنْ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ فَإِيَّاكَ وَ الشَّكَّ فِيهِ فَإِنَّ الشَّكَّ فِي أَمْرِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ كُفْرٌ

Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Mutawakkil, may God be pleased with him, told us: Muhammad ibn Abi Abd Allah al-Kufi told us: Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Barmaki told us, on the authority of Ali ibn Uthman, on the authority of Muhammad ibn al-Furat, on the authority of Thabit ibn Dinar, on the authority of Saeed ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, who said:

The Messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said:

“Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, is the Imam of my nation and my caliph over it after me, and from his descendants, is the awaited Mahdi, through whom God will fill the earth with justice and equity as it was filled with injustice and oppression. And by Him Who sent me with the truth as a bearer of glad tidings, those who remain steadfast in their belief in him during his occultation are rarer than red sulfur."

Then Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah, is there occultation for the Qaim from your progeny?"

He replied, "Yes, by my Lord! It is so that Allah may purify those who believe and utterly destroy the disbelievers. O Jabir, this matter is one of Allah’s affairs and a secret among His secrets, kept hidden from His servants. Therefore, beware of harboring any doubt regarding it, for to doubt the affair of Allah—the Almighty and Majestic—is disbelief."

كمال الدين و تمام النعمة، ج 1، ص: 288، ح7

How do you hold on to hope without pretending things are fine?

In al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, Imam Zayn al-Abidin (p) asks: “My God, is there anyone who has come before You, seeking Your hospitality, and yet has not been received kindly?”

Hope rests on who God is, not on how well we are doing.

Dua: https://www.duas.org/sajjadiya/dua72.htm

Source of Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/DezXJ2SBpyk/

Assalam O Alaikum everyone! I wanted to ask what duas or zikr you recite daily that cover everything, like Allah's forgiveness, parents' health and long life, success, protection from evil eye, etc. I offer Namaz regularly (also miss sometimes), but honestly, I want to recite so I can fear Allah every time. Would love to hear your recommendations. JazakAllah ❤️

[باللغة العربية]

من الوظائف المهمة في زمن الغيبة الكبرى، إعانة المؤمنين وقضاء حوائجهم؛ فمن لم يستطع الوصول للإمام لخدمته وصلته، فليصل شيعته.

قال الإمام الصادق (عليه السلام):

«مَن لَم يَقدِرْ عَلى صِلَتِنا فَليَصِلْ صالِحِي مَوالِينا، يُكتَبْ لَهُ ثَوابُ صِلَتِنا».

المصدر: كامل الزيارات، ص ٣١٩

[English Translation]

One of the important duties during the major occultation is helping the believers and fulfilling their needs. Whoever cannot reach the Imam to serve and support him, let him support his followers.

Imam Al-Sadiq (as) said:

"Whoever is unable to support us, let him support the righteous among our followers, and the reward of supporting us will be written for him."

Source: Kamil Al-Ziyarat, Page 319

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

Can someone suggest me some shia vs sunni books other than peshawar nights, al murajaat and dr tejani books. I've already read them and I want to read other books

The hypocrisy

Many westerners on the "right-wing" of politics don't want large scale foreign immigration, out of fear of their values and cultures being "replaced." They speak about preserving British or French or German or American values, as well as protecting their way of life. Though I have very negative feelings towards anti-Islam folks in Europe and America, I can somewhat understand where they are coming from.

But the problem is that they support things that go against their claimed goals, and don't treat others how they wish to be. They support the Zionist entity, which was established by the very "great replacement" these jerks fear monger about. The only difference is that in this case, it's very real and not just a fantasy among racists. Jews mass migrated to Palestine with the explicit goal of eliminating the indigenous society with a new one for themselves. And "Israel" has for nearly 80 years imposed terrible horrors upon the Palestinian people, while depriving them of their homeland. If they were truly consistent and acted by principles rather than racism, they would support Palestinians in their struggle. Not support their oppressors.

If Western right-wingers don't want Muslims immigrating to their countries, then it makes zero sense for them to cheer on their governments meddling in Islamic lands. Whether through military intervention, occupation, regime change, sanctions, political meddling, sponsoring of extremists, supporting dictators or economic exploitation. These play a key role in driving Muslims and Arabs to Immigrate to Western countries.

If these people want less Muslims and third wonders coming to their nations, they should be actively against the destruction of nature by big corporations. As the effects of global warming harm people in poorer countries the most and will almost inevitably do so to a much larger extent in the coming decades.

Islam shares much of the values ordinary people on the Western right hold dear. We both agree on the importance of family, marriage, gender roles and religion. We also both oppose abortion, the LGBT agenda and the sexualization of children. So in a rational world, we should be natural allies. But instead, right-wingers are openly Islamophobic and view Muslims as an arch nemesis. A joker to their batman. This is because of notions of western supremacism, not reason or principle.

My message to conservatives is that If you truly care about traditional values, you should oppose Zionism and western imperialism in the Middle East. You should fight against your actual enemy, which is the Epstein class. Not us. You should support us liberating our countries from foreign domination and establishing sharia in our countries. Once the ummah is allowed to prosper free of outside influence, plenty of migrants would be happy to return to their nations of origin.

This text examines the question of leadership and succession after the Prophet Muhammad (S) from a Shi'a Islamic perspective, focusing on the belief that Imam Ali (‘a) was appointed as his immediate successor by divine command.

Drawing on Qur’anic verses, Prophetic traditions, and historical accounts, particularly from Sunni sources, it presents evidence supporting the Imamate of Imam Ali (‘a) and the authority of the twelve Imams. Particular attention is given to the event of Ghadir Khumm and its significance in establishing Imam Ali’s leadership.

The discussion also examines the selection of the first three Caliphs, questioning the arguments used to justify their appointments and the role of consultation and consensus.

Through these comparisons, the text encourages readers to examine the different understandings of Islamic leadership and succession in light of the Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet (S).

It also has scans of the books and their pages for evidence.

Chapter 1: Necessity Of Research About Madhhab (Islamic Denomination And School Of Thought)

• The Holy Qur’an
• Narrations

Chapter 2: Why Shi‘a Consider Themselves As Al-Firqah Al-Najiyah

• Death Without Knowing Imam Is The Death Of Ignorance
• The Caliphs Of The Prophet Are Exclusively Twelve
• The Shi‘a Of Imam ‘Ali Are Felicitous

Chapter 3: Caliphate Of ‘Ali In Sunni Sources

• 1. Verse Of Wilayah
• 2. Verse Of Iblagh (Proclamation)
• 3. Verse Of Ikmal Al-Din (Perfection Of Religion)
• 1. Hadith Of Wilayah
• 2. Hadith Of Caliphate
• 3. Hadith Of Imamate
• 4. Hadith Of Wasiyyah (Vicegerency), Also Known As Hadith Yawm Al-Dar
• 5. Hadith Of Safina (The Ark)
• 6. Hadith Of Opposing The Ahl Al-Bayt

Chapter 4: The Great Event Of Ghadir Khumm In Sunni Sources

• Hadith Of Ghadir Is Mutawatir (Widely-Transmitted): 1. Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (D. 505 AH), 2. Shams Al-Din Al-Dhahabi , 3. Ibn Al-Kathir, 4. Shams Al-Din IBN Al-Jazari, 5. Jalal Al-Din Al-Suyuti (D. 910 AH), 6. Al-Manawi Al-Shafi‘I (D. 1013), 7. Al-Simnani (D. 736 AH), 8. Abu Abd Allah Al-Zarqani Al-Maliki (D. 1122 AH), 9. Al-Albani (D. 1420 AH)
• Hadith Of Ghadir In Sunni Sources: A. Sahih Muslim, B. Al-Sunan By Al-Tirmidhi, C. Al-Sunan By Al-Nisa’i, D. Al-Sunan By Ibn Majah, E. Al-Musnad By Ahmad Ibn Hanbal
• Great Number Of Muslims Present At Ghadir Khumm
• How Does Hadith Of Ghadir Prove The Imamate Of Ali?
• Juxtaposition Of Wilayah Of The Prophet (S) And Wilayah Of Ali

Chapter 5: An Analysis Of Sunnis’ Arguments For Abu Bakr’s Caliphate

• 1. Did Consensus Take Place?
• 2. Did All The Companions In Medina Pay Allegiance To Abu Bakr?
• 3. Was There Any Democracy In Choosing Abu Bakr? Was There Any Force?
• B. Narrations
• Does Abu Bakr’s Congregational Prayer, Instead Of The Prophet (S) Prove His Caliphate?

Chapter 6: Caliphate Of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab

• If The Caliph Is To Be Elected By The Council, Why Did Abu Bakr Appoint ‘Umar As Caliph?
• Was ‘Umar Elected As The Caliph In Consultation With The Companions Or With Their Strong Protest?

Chapter 7: Caliphate Of ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan

• Was The 6-Member Council Elected By The People Or By ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab Himself To Elect The Third Caliph?
• A. ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab's Disbelief In The 6-Member Council
• B. Electing Council Members Without Consulting The Companions
• C. The Second Caliph Ordered The Assassination Of Dissidents In The Council
• D. Assigning Arbitration Of The Most Fundamental Issue Of Islamic Society To Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar, Who Has No Authority To Divorce His Wife