Overview

The Shi'a Islam Doctrinal Series is an attempt at a comprehensive treatment of Shi'a Islam from an emic or inside perspective from within Shi'a Islam itself, as opposed to the perspective of orientalism, or of comparative religion, or sociology, or some other branch of the humanities with its modern Western perspectives, all of which are philosophical approaches (in the sense that they have philosophical rather than religious underpinnings and bearings) and therefore do not, strictly speaking, deal with the religion itself as it is understood by the clerisy of its practitioners, but do so from a perspective and ideological framework that is alien and indeed antithetical and at times hostile to it. There is a severe dearth of source material which the English-speaking reader can rely on to provide him or her with the proper understanding of Shi'a Islam based on the self-understanding of the religion itself. The Shi'a Islam Doctrinal Series (as well as other series) of the Lion of Najaf Publications hopes to do its part in filling the lacunae that exist, thereby firstly providing Moslems who have emigrated to or have been born outside of the Islamic heartland with reliable material for them to gain a better understanding of their religion; and secondly, to provide non-Moslems who are interested in learning more about Islam, and about Shi'a Islam in particular, with first-hand and dependable resources which are sourced from the heart of Islamic civilization. In the first essay of the present book, Intercession (Shafa'at), the meaning of intercession is discussed, followed by a discussion of the following questions: Who is the ultimate intercessor? Who is granted permission to intercede? And, Who is counted among the beneficiaries of intercession? The essay ends by responding to certain false assertions & misunderstandings concerning intercession. In the second essay, Intercessory Recourse (Tawassol), the literal and technical meanings of tawassol are provided, followed by a survey of the different positions concerning intercessory recourse (tawassol as a prohibited act; tawassol as a permissible act; and the third position which differentiates between different types of tawassol). Having established the permissibility of certain types of intercessory recourse on a rational basis, the essay then proceeds to provide Qoranic proofs for the permissibility of intercessory recourse including recourse to the names of God the Sublimely Exalted, recourse by way of good deeds, recourse to the supplication of the Prophet, recourse to the supplication of the believer's brothers in spirit, recourse to the spirit of past prophets and to the righteous among the faithful, and recourse to the right of the righteous among the faithful, and on account of their dignity of character and exalted spiritual rank. The essay continues by completing the scriptural proofs by providing hadith proofs from Sonni sources for intercessory recourse by way of the Prophet's words and deeds, as well as providing Shi'a hadith scripture. The essay ends by providing an analysis of the false accusations leveled against the lawfulness of intercessory recourse and concludes by asserting that all of these false assertions should be rejected.

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9781543062557

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