His Eminence Grand Ayatollah al-Hakeem advises the preachers from Pakistan to reach the remote areas to spread the message of Islam and the Ahlulbait

His Eminence Grand Ayatollah al-Hakeem advises the preachers from Pakistan to reach the remote areas to spread the message of Islam and the Ahlulbait
2019/06/11

His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Saeed al-Hakeem spoke to male and female preachers from Pakistan of the necessity of reaching the remote areas of Pakistan in order to teach the people there the Islamic laws, and to invite them to the True Path, and to propagate to them the message of the Ahlulbait (peace be upon them).

This advice was also directed especially towards the female preachers. After exerting their efforts in learning and studying, they must undertake their duties as preachers, by explaining the Islamic laws pertaining to women, so that the women can benefit from them in those areas. His Eminence continued to advise preachers towards having good behavior and etiquettes, humility, and keeping close to other believers, so that every one of them can fulfil their duties towards God in a manner that pleases Him, the Prophet and the Infallibles (peace be upon them all).

At the end, His Eminence supplicated to God that He accept the guests’ ziyarah and good deeds, and He answers their calls, and He supports them in their endeavors and duties, while interacting with others with love, compassion, honesty and humility. He prayed that He gives them the fruit of their good acts in this life and in the Hereafter. He is, indeed, All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Day Questions

Can one watch a person dance on the streets? Can one watch a woman dance? Is the religious ruling different if this was watched on television?

Dancing is not prohibited by itself, and it is permissible for the wife to dance in the presence of her husband and vice versa. Watching a man dance is permissible provided that it is not associated with singing and music; otherwise, it is then prohibited since it is encouraging prohibition and mischief. Watching a woman dance is not permissible if it is accompanied with lust and desire, whether one watches it directly or on television.

If a couple in the West are not officially married and they have a child and they get married after a year, can their child lead prayers since they were together but just not officially?

If the parents were non-Muslims at the time of conceiving the child, and if the relationship between them was legitimately recognized by their religion, then the child is considered to be from a legitimate birth and can lead the prayers, if the relationship was not religiously recognized in their religion, then he cannot lead the prayers even after embracing Islam. If the parents were Muslims at the time of conceiving the child and the relationship was governed by a religiously-accepted marriage contract - even if it is verbal and not recognized by the state - then the child is recognized as their legitimate child and therefore he can lead the prayers, if there was no such religious contract, then the child is not from a legitimate birth and then cannot lead the prayers.

I have heard from Ahl Al-Sunnah that a Shia Marja stated the following: "Reconciliatory Taqiyyah. This type of Taqiyyah is done when a person intends to reconcile with the other side or when he intends to soften their hearts. This kind of Taqiyyah is permissible but not obligatory." They have related this belief to the verse: “When they [hypocrites] meet those who believe, they say: ‘We believe.’ But when they are alone with their evil ones, they say: ‘We are really with you, we (were) only jesting.’” (Quran, 2:14) I am having a hard time replying to this.

The connection made between reconciliatory Taqiyya – which is based on softening the hearts – and the mentioned verse is originated from intolerance against the Shias and ignorance of the reasons and justifications behind Taqiyyah. All Muslims are under the flag of Islam and softening their heart by the decrease of their differences is amongst the interests that has concerned the Shias and their Imams throughout history. The mentioned verse speaks of the hypocrites who do not believe in the Hereafter or in the foundations of the religion, and they claim to be Muslims in front of other Muslims. So how are those people considered to be attempting to unite the Muslims and decrease the level of differences between them? Those fanatics do not understand anything but intolerance and rejection of other sects and disregarding them, and do not care about the image of Islam or its high concerns. Today they are more harmful than the direct enemies of Islam as a result of their behaviors that originated from narrow-minded thinking and blind prejudice.

I work for a retail company in the West, and they pay my wages directly into my bank account. This money has never been withdrawn by me and has sat in my account since it was transferred. I do transfer a part of it into another savings account through the internet every month. After a year of transferring, but never withdrawing and holding the money physically, will this money be subject to Khums, and is Hajj obligatory on me if there is enough in the savings account to cover Hajj costs?

If you work in a state establishment and your salary is transferred directly to a state-owned bank, then the laws of khums and Hajj do not apply on the salary. They both apply on amounts that you withdraw from the bank. Both conditions must be present (working for the state and the bank being owned by the state) in order for this ruling to apply. If one of the two conditions are not fulfilled, like if you work for a private establishment or the amount is transferred to a private bank, or both of them are not present, the regular laws of Khums and Hajj apply. That is, if the amount adds up to what is sufficient to cover the cost of Hajj, it becomes obligatory. Likewise, Khums has to be paid from the unused portion of it at the end of the Khums year.