His Eminence, Grand Ayatollah al-Hakeem, receives the Lebanese Ambassador to Iraq

His Eminence, Grand Ayatollah al-Hakeem, receives the Lebanese Ambassador to Iraq
2019/05/05

His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammed Saeed al-Hakeem received Mr. Ali Adib al-Habhab, the Ambassador of Lebanon in Baghdad, along with his aides, on Sunday 5 May 2019.

Day Questions

How do we explain the punishments imposed by the Sharia for various crimes, such as the death penalty for apostates, while the Quran says that there is no compulsion in religion?

Applying the Sharia-defined punishments is the duty of the Prophet and the Imams (peace be upon them). No doubt, applying them is a form of justice and not an oppressive act. The punishment is set in the Sharia after the evidence is established and becomes clear in such a way that the noncompliant is considered as an oppressor against himself and the society. As such, the Sharia-defined punishment is not considered against human rights. The verse alluded to refers to the fact that the religion is based on beliefs, and beliefs are not imposed, and does not indicate that there is no punishment imposed by the Sharia for disbelief out of stubbornness and transgression.

If a person has not paid khums, can we eat or use something from his earnings?

Yes, it is permissible to do so. The religious responsibility of paying the khums is on the owner of the money and it is not on the person that makes use of it or benefits from it.

I travel often to another city which is around 180km away. Driving there and back makes me drowsy and tired, and fasting can make it more difficult to drive this distance. Can I skip the fasts during this journey and make up for it later?

If in the normal course of your life or the nature of your work requires you to travel frequently to this distance, then you should fast in your travels. You could hire a driver or use a form of transportation that doesn’t require you to drive. If you are not a frequent traveller, then your fast is invalidated by such travel while you are travelling, and you should make up for the missed fast later.

Some people in our society have a faith that Imam Ali (Peace be upon him) is superior to Prophet Muhammad (Peace upon him and his holy progeny). What is the truth?

This is a big fabrication and cannot be accepted. There is no doubt in the narrations of the Ahlulbait that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) is better than all mankind and the superiority of the Ahlulbait over mankind is based on their relation to him and being the closest ever to him in their action and faith. It is enough to refer to this narration that Al-Kulayni reported to clear this fallacy: “A man asked Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Since when has your Lord existed? Imam replied: "When was He ever absent so one could ask: since when did He exist?". The man then asked the Imam: “O Commander of the Believers, are you a prophet?” Imam replied by saying: "Woe to you, I am only one of Mohammad’s slaves."