"They know it better than us..."

Imam al-Ridā used to confirm that all that which he would say was the pure truth that was inherited from the Holy Prophet and that the genuine heritage of Prophethood was held by none except him. In this respect, it has been narrated that Ya`qūb ibn Ja`far said that he was accompanying Imam `Alī ibn Mūsā al-Ridā in Makkah when a man said to him, “You are interpreting the texts of Allah’s Book (i.e. the Holy Qur'ān) in an unprecedented way.” Answering the man, Imam al-Ridā said,
“Before it was revealed to the people, the Qur'ān had been revealed to us; and before it was explained to the people, it had been explained to us. We thus know best what is lawful and what is unlawful therein... This is the knowledge of what I have conveyed to you so long as I am bound by this duty. If you accept from me, you should then thank; and if you neglect, then it is Almighty Allah Who witnesses all things.”

Ref; Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Saffār: Basā'ir al-Darajāt 198 H. 4.

Theory of Evolution...

This is a helpful Documentary on Evolution and its story. Though mainly born in Greece, the theory has grown efficiently, its nutrition has been corrupted media reports and falsified information. Watch the video to get some knowledge on what Evolution is and what it's not.

Peace

A detail account is also presented on peace from an Islamic perspective.

Peace is an essential pillar of the political theory presented and advocated by Imam Shirazi in all his books, researches and studies.

Peace is:

·        An aim and objective, on the one hand,

·        And, on the other, a means and a way.

 That is to say, peace is a total strategic principle. Within this framework, Imam Shirazi puts forward the following slogans: -

·       Peace always and forever

·        Peace is the guarantee for the maintenance of a principle

·        Peace produces the safest and best consequences

·        Peace in speeches, peace in the writings, peace in action, and peace everywhere and with everyone.

In this very wide sense of the word, peace becomes a total political vision. First because of its totality and the assertion it enjoys as a quality.

Imam Shirazi builds this total and comprehensive vision of peace, remarkable as it surely is, relying on an important collection of justifications and reasoning:

1- The Islamic Legal evidence (as stated in the holy Qur'an)

“Do enter all in peace, and do not follow the steps of Satan”,

 “And their greetings in it (paradise) is peace”,

 “Be kind and courteous, and you will soon find that those with whom you have enmity become very close friends... Only those who show patience (perseverance) will enjoy this; only those with great luck shall do”.

 “Do not swear at those who seek (Deity) in other than God”,

 The prophet is quoted as saying,

 “O Ali, the best of qualities in this life and the hereafter are words of courtesy, generosity, and to forgive those who inflict injustice on you”.

2- The infallible Tradition

 When Makkah fell, the Messenger of Allah pardoned the (tribe of) Quraysh, including the most vicious of that tribe, who persecuted him, expelled him and fought battles against him. To them he said the well-known phrase:

 “Go! For you are now at liberty.”  

 Imam Ali (PBUH) never fought his enemies in the battles of "the Camel", "Nahrawan" and "Siffin", without first giving them the unequivocal answers to their arguments, and gave them warnings and plenty of opportunities to reflect. Even when he won his victory over them, he never took revenge on any of them. He pardoned them all. Imam Hussain (PBUH) did the same. Imam Ali's slogan after the fall of Makkah was:

Today is the day of mercy; today, the inviolables are protected.

 3- Sound Thought

For it leads to peace, and saves lives, brings plenty to all, protects the honour and chastity of human beings, expands human relations, and enables the good earth to give its best.

4- Experience 

For all the governments, regimes and parties that used violence have vanished, or are on their way to demise. Peoples and nations in particular and mankind in general hate them.

Imam Shirazi speaks in detail of peace in the field of the Islamic movement. He thus puts forward the following criteria:

1.      The Islamic movement must adopt peace as a slogan, for it is the symbol and motto of Islam, peace of the world, of the country, of the family, and peace of the whole society.

2.      Relations between members of the movement must be based on peace. “ Members must have complete harmony, and there should not be disputes and disagreements between them...”

3.      The relation between the movement and others based on this honourable human principle, i.e. peace. To that effect he says, “The activists of the movement must embody peace in their thought, words and actions, towards both friends and foes”

4.      The movement must do its utmost to educate its members to the tune of this great moral value. “Themovement must educate its cadres according to the ethics of peace in words, thought, writing, and deeds, whatever the cost” , he says.

5.      Peace should be the Islamic movement's means to achieve its objectives, for “war, boycott and other methods of violence, as well as abnormal emergencies are, unlike the Islamic fundamental principles, similar to eating a dead animal's carcass out of desperate necessity...”

Extracts from Muhammad G. Ayyub's book: "Features of the Political Theory of Imam Shirazi's Thought".