 Welcome to tonight's live program. My name is Muhammad Ali. Tonight's program we're going to be looking at the auspicious riladat of Imam Ali al-Rida al-Islam. The Imam has many titles, as all other Imams do. To name a few, he is known as Sabir, Al-Radi, Wafi, Abu Al-Hasan, Wali, but most popularly, Al-Rida. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is content with him and is content with him and is satisfied with the Holy Imam. Before I introduce my guests I will just mention a couple of things about the dynamic topic tonight. InshaAllah we'll be looking at the social dimensions of Waliya through Imam Ali al-Rida al-Islam. I'm honoured to be on tonight's live show representing Imam Hussein TV. Our chief guest tonight or guest tonight just to mention a few accolades about him. He is a director, a professor, world-renowned Majalis reciter, author of books, inspiring personality to young and old. He is Dr. Sayyid Amar Naqshwani. And welcome to you as well. Thank you. We're so happy to have you as part of our team. I'm sure the cameraman agrees. Great addition and congratulations to all the viewers out there on this occasion. Yes, absolutely. Mubarak to all the viewers around the world, the Tashayi followers of Hawli Ahl al-Bayt al-Haym Al-Salam. If we kick off this live programme tonight, hopefully inshaAllah we'll be discussing the life of the Holy Imam. But also we can maybe take some lessons from the life, apply that to the social way we live today. InshaAllah. And also really take lessons in terms of what Waliya is and how that relates to each Imam, but predominantly in this live programme to Imam Ali al-Rida al-Islam. So without further ado, he lived for 55 years from my understanding. 35 years was simultaneously spent with his father, and he spent a fair degree of his time in Medina, but then he emigrated as well. Now all the Imams have special titles, as we all know. Amir al-Malmouni and Ali ibn Ali al-Islam has numerous titles. Hasan al-Islam has numerous titles. What is specific to the term or the name or lakab as it were? Al-Rida al-Islam. Yeah, it's very interesting when you're looking at the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt al-Alam al-Salam, when you hear, for example, Baqr or Sadaq or Qatham or Rida or Jawad, many people assume that that's their name. So you'll find that in many of our communities, there'll be people who'll be saying, we're going to the Wilada of Imam al-Baqr or of Imam al-Sadaq. Many will not say I'm going to the Wilada of Imam Muhammad ibn Ali or Imam Ja'far ibn Muhammad. They'll say I'm going to Imam al-Baqr or Imam al-Sadaq, because you find that within our communities, many people do not realize that these are titles that were given to them. Specific ethical traits as well. I think when you're looking at, for example, Imams number five to ten, especially, or Imams number four to ten, they've all got these ethical traits related to their names. Zayn al-Abedin, al-Baqr, al-Sadaq, al-Qadam, al-Rida, al-Jawad, al-Hadi. And so when you're looking at these titles, one is talking about, for example, an adornment when it comes to worship. Another is the one who splits knowledge or goes to the very root of knowledge. But even if you have knowledge, you have to be truthful with it. But then being truthful with knowledge sometimes results in you having to restrain yourself in moments of hardship. What I'm doing really is when I'm going from Imam Zayn al-Abedin, al-Sadaq, I'm going through each title. You're going through a person who's a worshipper. Worship requires al-Baqr al-Aloom. But that al-Aloom requires truthfulness, al-Sadaq. But that siddq can sometimes be tested where you're going to have to restrain your anger in times of grief, al-Qadam. But when you do restrain your anger in times of grief, it shows that you are pleased with whatever situation Allah puts in front of you. And whatever trial Allah puts in front of you. When we're talking of the title al-Ridha, there are certain spiritual levels which the Muslim seeks to attain in their life. And there are certain stages and certain steps that you have to traverse in the spiritual path. And of them is reaching a level where you are pleased with the will of Allah. If Allah has willed this to happen, then you are pleased with the will of Allah. You recognize that others around you are like, why do you accept this? Aren't you angry? And you're like al-Radi al-Qadari al-Qadam. That's why sometimes you'll hear in the visit. Because it's not easy living the life that Imam al-Radha al-Salam lived. All of us today celebrate the achievements of Imam al-Radha al-Salam. But many of us do not appreciate how many difficulties Imam al-Radha al-Salam went through in his life. I'm still trying to wonder why the camera is below my feet. But anyway, when we look at Imam al-Radha al-Salam, we're seeing Imam al-Radha al-Salam and we're seeing that from the very beginning of the life of Imam al-Radha al-Salam, there are trials that he faces with his father Imam al-Qadam al-Salam. Imam al-Qadam is spending life in prison over a 20-year period from one prison to another prison he's moved. It's not 20 consecutive years. Rather from one prison to another prison he's moved. How difficult is it for the son to see his father go through those difficulties? Of course. But he accepts the will of Allah. Then he has to migrate as you mentioned. And the Ahlul Bayt al-Salam, they love the land of Madinah. For them, Madinah is their heaven. For them to have to leave that land is extremely difficult. But he accepts the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that I have to leave that land. So be it. So be it. Then he has to accept difficult political circumstances at that time. So when we're coming to this title, and you know this title there's a debate who gave him that title. Yes. One opinion was that al-Mu'mun was the one who gave him the title. But the Sheikh of Saduk says no. This title is the title that was given to him from the Ahlul Bayt al-Salam. So you'll find that when we look at the Imams of Ahlul Bayt, looking at their titles are also lessons for what we should aspire spiritually to become a reflection of. Of course. Because there are certain things that are going to happen in our life. Can we really say, God, if you've decided that this is what I'm going to have to go through, then I am pleased with your will. Yes. Yes. Many of us, there are some who may have a moment where they begin to doubt Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. There are others who may turn around and say why me? I'm such a wonderful human being. Why is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala testing me in this way? You know, so that title is one not just for us to say his name, but also for us to wonder, well, how can we encompass that in our lives? And also, if I can add, is it true that these titles are actually roots, root words from the names of Allah? Yeah, you'll find, for example, if you're looking at, let's say, Imam Al-Jawad's name. The genius. Yeah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If you want to see ultimate generosity, there is none like Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. None can come near that. But if you're going to see a bit of that, you'll see it in the character of Imam Al-Jawad, alayhi salam. Likewise, at the same time, we are all looking for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to be pleased with us and for us to be pleased with what Allah has promised us. Okay. Yes. Hence, you find whether in, you know, in some schools of Islam, next to the names of renowned personalities, you'll always hear. Of course, yes. Or for example, the idea in the Quran. Allah is pleased with them. And they are pleased with Allah. No, they are pleased with Allah. They are pleased with what Allah has bought for. Right. That's the level. So when today you hear in some schools of Islam, they'll say, for example, the following company is Ammar bin Yastar, Rabia Allah Hanh. Abu Dhar Al-Ghafari, Rabia Allah Hanh. Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Rabia Allah Hanh. All of us want to attain that level where we could say that Allah is pleased with us. And we can ascend. And we can ascend and say that we are pleased with what Allah has put forward in front of us. Right. And just to go back to your point in terms of the holy Ahlul Bayt, alayhi salam, you mentioned that Mahmood Rashid named him according to one Rewired possibly, Al-Rida. There's one that I came across. According to his son, Imam Muhammad Takdiya, alayhi salam, the glorious and the mighty Lord named him Rida because Allah was pleased with him in the heavens. Correct. And the Prophet of Allah and the Imams of guidance were pleased with him on earth. Also his friends and relatives, even his enemies, which is quite unique actually. Just to actually focus on that point. Even his enemies conceded that he was Al-Rida, the one who is content. Imam Rada, alayhi salam, is living, for example, at the time of renowned scholars like Ahmed bin Hanbal, who posthumously the school known as the Hanbali School is named after, and they all revere him. This person who has got such a following in the Ahlul Sunnah world today would talk of his reverence for Imam Rada, alayhi salam. Other scholars would revere him. And Medina, it was a great time for him because people would flock to his lessons from many different theological or legal backgrounds. What isn't commonly referred to is the point, the dear mothers of the Imams. Yeah. So on this, on this point, can you perhaps just allude to who the blessed Imam's mother was? Yeah. Imam Rada, alayhi salam. There are different narrations, which are mentioned. Okay. And sometimes you hear different names. Okay. Sometimes the ladies of al-Muhammad, you know, different names were given. But you find that Imam al-Qadim, alayhi salam, in his own lifetime, a narration is mentioned about a lady who he marries, right, who was a lady who his mother, Hamid, a wife of Imam al-Sadaq felt was the best lady for him. Okay. And that lady, some mentioned her name as Najma. Right. Later, they changed that name to Tahira, the pure one. And you're going to be quite pure if you're going to give birth. Of course. You know, you're going to be the purest of the pure when you're giving birth to someone like Imam Rada, alayhi salam. And with many of the Imam's mothers or even wives from Imam al-Sadaq onwards, you find there's an African origin there. Right. Okay. Okay. The what exactly took place, perhaps, if you can possibly just explain. After the shahadah of Imam Jafar al-Sadaq, alayhi salam, in terms of the ummah, was it revolting? Was it moving? After the shahadah of Imam al-Sadaq, alayhi salam leading up to Imam al-Qadim? Yeah. Well, Imam al-Sadaq, alayhi salam, towards the end of his life, it was a particularly difficult period with Al-Mansur al-Dawaniqi and the Abbasid government have firmly established themselves. So it's not an easy period at all. And this can be seen by the fact that even in his will, he doesn't, you know, in the will, he doesn't just say, well, my successor is Musa al-Qadim, rather he puts five different names in the will. Right. Because Al-Mansur al-Dawaniqi has told the governor that I want you to make sure that you go towards the will of Imam al-Sadaq, see whose name is there and execute the one whose name is there. So al-Mansur tells the governor to go and look at the will. Imam al-Sadaq, whose name is that you put on the will? First name, he's put the name of al-Mansur al-Dawaniqi. Second name, that governor. Third name, Musa al-Qadim. Fourth name, another son. Fifth name, Hamidah. So when this governor looks at this will, he's thinking, hold on a minute, I'm meant to kill whoever's name's on that will. I see. The first name is the caliph who sent me and the second name's my own. Yes, yes. That really goes to show you that that time there's a beginning of a period of taqiyyah. Now, sometimes there are people out there who will mock taqiyyah or the usage of taqiyyah. They'll say that you, the Shi'a, for example, are the people of taqiyyah. Yeah. I want to ask one question. Right. How did we reach a stage where we needed to do taqiyyah? What type of Islam were we living under? For a group of people who love Ahl al-Bait, alaym al-Salam, they love the family of the Prophet, peace be upon him, why would we have to conceal our beliefs? If Islam is this open religion where everybody can give their thoughts and opinions and many Muslims out there who in their defense of Islam say, why is there Islamophobia against us? We are a religion of peace. Our history is not a history. Yeah, sure. Our history is a history of expansionism. Mm hmm. Going towards other countries and anyone who does not believe in our beliefs in some cases was pillaged. Yes. And our history was a history where the grandchildren of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, the Taliban in particular. Right. Were being massacred. Yeah. In the time of Imam Al-Qadim, therefore, and around the time when Imam Radha, alayh salam, is born, we're only talking a hundred and a bit years after the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, his families died. There are people who cannot reveal their love of the Prophet Muhammad and his family unless they follow one particular theological current. And so, those who come and say, why are you performing taqiyyah? It's because of a religion of Islam that had leaders who were massacring people who did not agree with their theology. Yes. Yes. Yeah. I'm very sad when there are people out there who are like, oh, you know what? They're trying their hardest to explain taqiyyah and that, you know, and people are telling them, you know what? You know, you shout all about doing taqiyyah. Okay. I did do taqiyyah. Yes, I did because I was living on the butchers. Yes. I was living under people who would put you in prison if you had a different opinion to them when it came to the Quran. Yeah, absolutely. A different opinion to them when it came to Hadith. But you find that the Muslims try and hide this. Muslims try and show that the first couple of hundred years of their religious history was this really peaceful, wonderful period, era, when really the grandsons of the man who bought the religion of Islam were living in dissimulation. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, I think we're going to be going into a short break soon, so I'll get the signal soon. But just coming back to the point of Walayah, divine guardianship, authority, love. How did Imam Lutah al-Islam reaffirm the Jafri fit? Was it just a continuation of the education system that his grandfather had left as a legacy to continue? What was, were there, I'm sure, new chapters of knowledge that he brought to light? What exactly, how did it change? Obviously each Imam, you know, taught the ummah and revealed different paths, as it were, of knowledge to come nearer to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. So how in this case for the Holy Eighth Imam did he do that too? Yeah, it's a very funny period because a period of oppression? A period of oppression? A period where you're also starting to translate literature right from other empires, let's say Greek, Persian, etc. A period which some historians want to go back to and say is a golden age. A period where Baghdad is flourishing intellectually. So if you put all of this together, there are moments and there are flashes where that knowledge inherited from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family is able to be disseminated in Madinian circles because before Imam is forced to go towards Khurasan in Medina he's able to elaborate on every area of knowledge, not just jurisprudence today. When you look at the Islamic seminary, in many cases the Islamic seminary is jurisprudence. There's a focus on Arabic grammar, there's a focus on Qur'an tafsir, there's limited focus on morals, ethics, and history, but from Imam al-Baqarah to Imam al-Rada al-Salam it was normal for an Imam to elaborate on medicine, the golden medical dissertation, which I advise people to try and read, that golden medical dissertation highlighted that the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt weren't just jurists, it is an insult to limit the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt to simply being jurists even though there isn't a single law which they're not able to provide you with the answer for because when you look at scientists like Osul al-Feeq, these sciences become developed and begin to evolve post-occultation, while the remnants may be seen in pre-occultation, but what you find is that pre-occultation you've got an Imam there, you want to ask an Imam, a question, the Imam is right in front of you, you can ask him that question directly, of course, but you can also ask the Imam an astronomy, geometry, mathematics, Imam al-Sadaq al-Salam graduating people in chemistry and algebra and so on, thousands, so Imam al-Rada al-Salam continues this, where he continues to highlight that seeking knowledge from the cradle to the grave is not just to be limited to jurisprudence, you know, jurisprudence is a wonderful area to study, but we don't just want a conveyor belt of jurisprudence, we want people in the world of, if you look at it in my opinion in the world today, I think we need more people who have mastered the arts, you know, go into the world of art, the world of, for example, music in the sense, I know sometimes people want black and white on the issue of music, where it's right away, or you can't talk about music in that way, no, but rather looking at how we can implement something for a positive usage in our films, in our media and so on, so that's a major lesson to learn from the Imams, that the Imams did not want us to limit the religion of Islam to being this legalistic, very structured to the extent of being pedantic way of life, yes, law plays a major role, of course, there's no country on this earth that is able to survive without a legal constitution, but there's an ethical treaties, there's a medical treaties, there's a, you know, cosmological discussions, psychological discussions, yes, yes, I mean that all emerges what they are. Essentially one could say that you're seeking to be versatile and dynamic and evolving as it were with society, you know, and not being, you know, just as you said, just being staying put to be able to just talk about matters of effect and so on, so forth, so absolutely, there's a growing need, I think, and I think maybe in this day and age we need to portray that as well through lessons of the aimah. Well that's, you know, I find it so beautiful with Imam Al-Rada, that Imam at one minute he'll say something extremely spiritual, the next minute he'd have a fondness for, you know, for example, literature and poetry and praise of the Ahlul Bayt, you know, the famous poet of Ahlul Bayt, flourishes in the time of Imam Al-Rada, and then you look at people like Ayyub bin Nuh, you know, Yunus bin Abdel Rahman and other, you know, Ali bin Mazhiar and people like this, renowned companions of the Imam who are able to discuss such a variety of areas, in some cases you thought they were polymaths in their lives. We'll come to the migration shortly, but just want to sort of bring hopefully the audience into some sort of, you know, analysis. So I'll just quickly just read a few lines. Still Harun was antagonistic towards the Prophet's descendants and persisted in maltreatment of most of them in Medina. Political ranglings took place in Baghdad, between the two sons of Harun. His eldest son Amin, who had an Arab mother, had the support of the Arabs and most of the Abbasid elders, while the younger son Mamun had a Persian mother and was supported by the Persians. To console both factions, Harun took a pledge from both his sons that after his death Amin would rule the Arab part of the empire, while Mamun would rule the Persian side. When Harun died in far away too, it's the most northern town of his Persian empire, Mamun was with him and buried him there. Amin in Baghdad immediately proclaimed himself to be the caliph, as it were, of the whole empire and immediately disposed Mamun from the rulership of the Persian province. What happened exactly for the Imam to be, I wouldn't say forced, but to move or to do hijra from Medina to, why did he go? In terms of layman's terms, if we think about it, why was there need for the holy Imam to move? I don't think any Imam of Ahle al Bayt, Alaym Al Salam, wants to leave Medina. Right. If it was their choice, they'd never leave Medina. Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib wanted to leave Medina. Why did he go to Kufa? It's because you know that, for example, the Umayyads were getting stronger and stronger in Syria. More strategic to go to Kufa. Imam Al Hussain, Alayh Al Salam, did he want to go to Medina? Did he want to go to Kufa? If the people of Medina and the Caliphate at that time did not chase Imam Al Hussain out in the sense that they were ready to behead him, he wouldn't leave Medina. Right. Likewise, Imam Al Rada, Alayh Al Salam, does not want to leave Medina. But what you pointed out brilliantly there was that 150 years after the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, his family had died, the leadership of the Muslim world, the Caliphs of the Muslim world, weren't anymore the people of knowledge or the people of spirituality. Islam had now evolved wonderfully into an Arab political tribalistic empire. Began after the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, his family had died where it was all about let's go to Persia, let's conquer other lands. The Umayyads want to conquer parts of Africa and parts of Greece and so on. And really the Arabs just wanted to go around plundering everywhere. Right. And I think it reached a stage where even amongst each other as brothers, they were ready to fight each other. Greed. And that certainly was involved, envy was involved. Okay. And if one brother realized, you know what, on this chess board, that's a particular move I want to make because if I bring that man to the Persian side, I'm going to get a lot of votes. I see. And you want to win the Alid support. Okay, okay. Now what do you do? First you say, I need to bring him here. There's a big Alid community here. But I'll also make sure that when I bring him, he doesn't travel through the Alid communities where he could raise a mutiny or have some support that could cause us a headache. So what he ends up doing is he ends up making the Imam not go through Khufa but rather go through Basra. And if you go through the Basra en route, right, you're going to have less of a headache than going through the Khufan which is a center for, you know, for Shi'i identity at that time. And also then make a loud statement when I die, this is my successor. I see. When he knows that these are political statements that are going to win him the votes that he needs. What I mean by votes is he's already got control of that area but more supremacy, more power. And so Imam al-Raza al-Salam faces a very difficult time and I'll tell you why it's difficult. Okay. Imam al-Raza al-Salam, already people were questioning why he has no kids. You know, sometimes there may be listeners out there who are trying to have children but they can't have. Maybe it's the beginning of their marriage, five years in ten years and it's not working out. There's still no kids. Imam al-Raza al-Salam, first child came when he was in his 40s. He had married young but the first child came in his 40s. And there were people who were even questioning, are you really an Imam because where's your successor? So he's going through that trial, going, had already gone through the trial of his father being in prison. Going through a trial of many of his sisters having to leave Medina and Baghdad areas like this because of oppression. Sometimes you hear there's a shrine of a sister of Imam al-Raza in Azerbaijan. Sometimes you hear there's a shrine in Afghanistan. There's a shrine some say even in Indo-Pak sometimes. Why? Why are there shrines of the grandchildren of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon his family? Why do you find a shrine for example in Karachi? Yeah. Why do you find a rise of lovers of Ahl al-Bayt in the Indo-Pak subcontinent? The Umayyid oppression and later Abbasid oppression, that many of these had to leave their lands. Now when Imam al-Raza al-Salam was forced to leave his land he could relate to his great grandfather the Prophet, peace be upon him, his family who was forced to leave Mecca on the night of Hijrah. Yes. And that's the beauty about the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon his family. There isn't a single aspect of his life that you cannot take a lesson from. Right. Even when you're living in a country and I think many of our parents experienced this, that they lived in countries where they had to migrate because of oppression. Oppression. To preserve their identity. Absolutely. And nobody migrated like Ibrahim and Yusuf and Musa and Muhammad, peace be upon him, all of them migrated to pastures new because of safeguarding their faith or safeguarding their belief or because they were compelled to. Yeah, sure. So when Imam al-Raza al-Salam is compelled to go there then comes the next question. How could you as an Imam be willing to work with a government that is known as being not that religious or known as being corrupt? Right. And I find this very interesting because there are many out there when I recently on my Facebook I had talked about the Pakistan election and Imran Khan and so on and there were, you know, I was amazed to hear that there were people saying you know, we don't really know about politics Sayyed Ammar, you should stick to talking about religion. Now the first point that we have to make is a religion that does not have political discussion should not be called a religion. No. Because politics is a fundamental way of the gathering of society and the rights of people to air their views and the protection hopefully in a system of one's honor, one's property, one's religion and so on. Secondly, you're trying to teach me about politics and you're trying to teach me that there is only one direction in politics. Have you seen some of the decisions Ahlul Bayt made politically? Have you seen some of the decisions that the Ahlul Bayt made where I sit here a thousand years later and I'm bewildered but it's politics. Of course. But Ahlul Bayt. Yeah. You see if a politician today makes that decision you're like you know what double standards, 10 faced, 15 faced, 20, the fucking Muhammad peace be upon his family makes a treaty with a group of people who have tortured his companions and have attacked the religion of Islam. Yeah. But he decides you know what a treaty with those people who have been terrorists for years may sometimes be the way forward. Wallah I tell you if some of our community members were living at his time they would say how could you support, how could you be willing to do or have discussions or sit politically with a group of people who are terrorists. So now we'll just go for a break. After the break we'll continue. InshaAllah have some questions. Viewers do call after the break the telephone number is 0203 515 019 so InshaAllah we'll see you very shortly. Analyzing and discussing the social dimensions of Wallah. Say now just prior to the break we'll have some calls shortly but let's us revert back to the question if I may. We were talking and discussing about the political circumstances. Yeah. Yeah. If you could maybe just continue. Yeah I was saying I was saying that very clearly yeah very clearly that in the history of the Ahlul Bayt Aalim As-Salaam there are different political lessons to be learned. Right. Can you do a treaty with people who were ex-terrorists? Yes you can. The Hudaybiyya Treaty. Okay. Can you do treaties with people who are fortunate or in some cases are renowned hypocrites? Imam Al-Hassan will tell you about that. Of course. Can you for example be involved in a government with someone with a track record or from a family of a track record of being anti-Shi'a? Can you take a position as their good points representative or their deputy because Imam Al-Rada Aalim As-Salaam is asked this question where some of the Shi'a of that time are saying how could you take this position? Nothing changes by the way. Okay. Every single one in our community out there believes they know more about politics than anybody else. Whereas they don't know from the examples of the Ahlul Bayt there are different nuances which are involved in the political world and one of them is this they say so how could you take that position? He asked them he said I want to ask you a question who's greater the Prophet or his wasi? They said to him Prophet. So who's worse the kafir or the mushrik? They said to him mushrik. So what do you say about a prophet who served as economic minister under a mushrik? Which prophet? Yusuf? Yeah. Nabi Yusuf Aalim As-Salaam. Yes, absolutely. Served as the economic or the treasurer or whatever you want to label it under the king of his time? Yeah. Today when I see our people straight away jumping on this that how could you people support somebody who made the treaty or sat with audit and I'm not even going to go into Imam Aalim Nabi As-Salaam because with Imam Aalim Nabi As-Salaam he was willing to help personalities who are according to Shia belief had done so and so and so and so. Yes. So with Imam Ar-Raza As-Salaam Al-Ma'mun had told the people that this my representative Imam Ar-Raza also on certain occasions wanted to make clear that this Al-Ma'mun what he's telling everybody he's not going to fulfill. Right. We have some questions coming in and they're coming in quite thick and fast now. So the first one is why is Imam Ar-Raza As-Salaam known as Aalim Al-Alemain? It doesn't quite make sense to me. Does that resonate with you? Doesn't resonate with me at all. Okay. Yusuf from Pakistan, how do I learn Islam from start to finish with side notes for both historical and spiritual aspects? Well the first source for us would be the Quran. That's the first source of knowledge for all of us. Anybody who's able to study the Quran, study the reasons of the revelations of the verses of the Quran, study the spiritual lessons within the verses of the Quran. Right. Not just the historical. There are certain verses in the Quran which provide us with an understanding of how we spiritually grow. There's that major concept. So Allah talks about the successful ones are the ones who can purify their soul and part of that purification of the soul there are many other verses in the Quran which describe to us how the prophets of Allah, how they went through trials, how they overcame the trials, which supplications they would recite and overcome in the trials. So I would say that if you want to begin your journey in understanding Islamic history and spirituality, the Quran no doubt is the beginning. Then there are specific texts which one can study for each of these. Right. You know, Ayun Akbar Al-Raza of Sheikh Al-Saduq is a phenomenal text if one wants to study the biography of Imam Al-Raza. Right. So if you want to see the history of the period of Imam Al-Raza, I would personally recommend that as the text for you to study. Okay. Okay. Two more questions. How can we read the teachings of Imam Jafar Sadaq Al-Islam? Imam Al-Sadaq Al-Islam, his teachings can be found in a number of different sources. In different languages? Of course, different languages no doubt. But first and foremost, we have major textbooks of Hadith which have provided us with thousands of the legal, ethical, theological traditions of Imam Al-Sadaq Al-Islam. If you were to name let's say five or six of these canonical texts. Okay. Such as Al-Kafi of Sheikh Al-Kulayni. Sure. Or such as Manla Yadzarah Al-Faqih of Sheikh Al-Saduq, which is more legally oriented traditions of Imam Al-Sadaq. And Al-Tahdeeban Al-Stabsar of Sheikh Al-Tousi. As well as later on reading works such as Wasa'il Al-Shiaa, Mustadrak Al-Wasa'il, as well as Bihar Al-Anwar. These provide us with thousands of the traditions of Imam Al-Sadaq Al-Islam. Now, someone might turn around and say, but I'm not an Arabic speaker. So how will I be able to study the life of Imam Al-Sadaq Al-Islam if I don't speak the Arabic? Language. Okay. Sometimes you find that there are wonderful books, biographies of Imam Al-Sadaq that have been translated into English. Sheikh Al-Mufid may Allah bless his souls, famous work, Kitab Al-Irshad, which is available in the English language, has a whole section on Imam Al-Sadaq Al-Islam. You have, for example, the renowned scholar Baqir Sharif Al-Qarashi. Yeah. Has a biography of Imam Al-Sadaq Al-Islam. Okay. Do we have a caller online, a live caller? As-salamu alaykum. Alaykum, as-salamu alaykum, as-salamu alaykum. Yes, please. Your question, please. Al-Alam al-Alami. Right. This is... Thank you. I haven't got a clue. No. Okay. Sorry. Apologies. We do not have the answer for that. There is a question from Canada. Al-Alam al-Alami. Very interesting. Could be applied to all 12 of them. Yeah. Sorry. Go ahead. There is a question that has come from Canada. Personally, I think it needs to be addressed because if Islam claims to be a perfect religion, a perfect way of life, therefore it has to address an issue which may be controversial, which maybe we may not like to hear. So, I'm going to pose it. Yeah. Go ahead. And as-salamu alaykum, we recently learned that one of our family members is homosexual. Is there any advice that the Sayyid can give us on how we can behave with him? Do the debate have a stance on this from Canada? Everyone makes certain decisions related to their sexual life. And you're living in a country where people are free to choose what way of life they want to take, whether it's theologically, whether it's ethically. Whether you're in Canada or you're in Britain or you're in America, this way or this issue has to be dealt with either from a legal perspective or are we dealing with it from an ethical perspective? If we're dealing with this from a legal perspective, then the religion of Islam and its tenants prohibits that homosexual way of life in the same way the Jewish religion prohibits. Yeah, absolutely. Ethically, I will not show rudeness or hate to someone because of their sexual orientation. That person, they have decided that their conscience feels that this is something which is acceptable and that they feel that this is something which is in accordance with their nature, their worldview. And if that is what they believe, then I am no one to come and compel them to change this. I can provide them with guidance that I believe that my religion provides and that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon his family, was no different to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Moses spoke about it. Christ spoke about it. Muhammad spoke about it. So at the end of the day, the Abrahamic religions may prohibit such an act, but certainly I'm not going to come and attack somebody, whether it's emotionally or physically. Now, that person, because of their sexual orientation, should they be kicked out of our mosques, for example? And the reality is no. That person can be more than welcome to come to the mosque. If they're coming to the mosque to worship God, it's none of my business, what I haven't seen in my own eyes. And you know, sometimes our people also make many rumors about people's lives. But what I haven't seen in my own eyes, I'm not going to come and condemn somebody and tell them you could not come to the house of God. Because that person may just simply come, sit with the rest of the crowd, pray with the rest of the crowd, eat with the rest of the crowd, and they go home. They haven't spoken about their sexual beliefs or preferences. They're part of the congregation. Yes, if somebody, I think this is in any area, if somebody is going to walk into the mosque and is going to start saying, well, this is the only way, if you don't accept it, well, then there's going to be dissension within the mosque. But that person is another member of the community. And they're trying to all find their way in life. Then we should not be people who show hate towards different minorities. Right. There's another call on the line. Salaamu Alaikum. Alaikum, Salaam. Yes, brother, your question, please. Just saying. Well, you certainly don't sound like a new Muslim. You sound like as fresh a Muslim as possible. But maybe I got that wrong. But say you are a new Muslim and you're a, you know, revered to the religion of Islam. Where's the best, what's the best literature for you to read? Once again, such questions are very difficult to answer, because where do you want to begin with? There are certain ethical works which are brilliant to read. But how well versed are you in terms of different ethical discussions? There are some historical works, some theological works, some spiritual works. You can't just say, a person cannot just come and say, okay, I become a Muslim. What good books are there to read? A person has to be asking, well, there's a certain area I'm really interested in. Or there's an area that I want to increase my knowledge in. Now from there, we can guide you, for example. So if we could be a bit more specific with such a question, rather than just, you know, a random question or just asking questionable questions. If the caller can elaborate, or even perhaps email, I'm sure we can perhaps give him the guidance. We've only got about 15 minutes left, I think. So I'll quickly move on. How was, when traveling to a poem, from Basra, or via Basra, as it were, did the Holy Imam of Islam reinvigorate the Shi'a, Tashay'u followers, with points relating to Walayah, centralized through the morning, which was in respect and in remembrance of it, about Dalaim al-Sayn al-Islam. We hear about this often, and you also alluded to the point that there was a significant degree of oppression, whereby it led numerous followers, lovers of al-Adbait, to move. And there was a mass exodus of migration, as it were, from Iraq, Iraq, to this Indian subcontinent, Africa. I've heard that he almost regalvanized, re-energized the Tashay'u specifically through remembrance of Imam Hussein, and through the remembrance of, let's say, the Zayn al-Islam. Yes, no doubt the city of Qom, which was a city of the followers of Ahl al-Bait, from the Ash'ari tribe, years before Imam Ar-Raza al-Islam had come to Qom. But you're absolutely right, the footsteps of an Imam of Ahl al-Bait in any area, the energy of the presence of an Imam, no doubt galvanizes the people of that area. And the people of that area had felt for a certain period of their life, that they had been severely oppressed. So when the Imam went there, the Imam began to organize Majalis in honor of his grandfather Imam al-Hussein al-Islam. There is a real principle hadith, which we can take from Imam Ar-Raza al-Islam. He talks to his companion, Ibn al-Shabib, and he says to him, Ibn al-Shabib, He says, oh son of Shabib, if it gives you pleasure to be with us or you want to be with us in the highest levels of the heavens, then grief in our periods of grief and be happy in our periods of happiness. This is something that we have carried and has been the reason, the success of the lovers of Ahl al-Bait, al-Ibn al-Salam, wherever we go. That our love, allegiance, and taking on the williah of Ahl al-Bait, and not just the guardianship of Ahl al-Bait, the williah, that is amongst us as lovers of Ahl al-Bait, we're at times of the grief of Al-Muhammad, we grief. And at times which remember the happiness of the days of Al-Muhammad, we also will celebrate. This is unique to us that you will not find a group of Muslims in the world who remember the dates of the deaths of the grandsons or the grandchildren of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, organize a lecture, give out food, shed tears on the days of the grief, and on the days of celebration, organize a lecture, give out food, and smile amongst each other, like the followers of Ahl al-Bait. Sometimes our people have not realized the secret in spirituality lies in commemorating and celebrating the lives of Ahl al-Bait, al-Ibn al-Salam. It's a shame, it's a shame that you can have the, let's say, willada of Imam al-Raza al-Salam a couple of days ago, and it's a shame when there are many people who don't know it's the willada. Yeah, it's a shame. The same people will tell you all the matches in the World Cup. True. They'll say to this was the score, that was the score. The same people will tell you which films out, same people will tell you economically or politically what's happening in the world, but then if you were to ask them, did you go to any mosque, for example, on the 25th of Shawwal for the Shahada of Imam al-Salam, yabna al-Shabeeb, in sarra ka an takuna ma'ana fi darajat al-ulam in al-jinan, fa'hzun li-huznina wa ferah li-farahina, o son of Shabeeb, you want to reach the highest levels of Jannah? Be in a state of grief when remembering our times of grief. And celebrate, celebrate, when you say celebrate, listen some of our mosques don't celebrate. Some of our mosques, it's serious, no smiling, crying all the time. Okay, celebrate. A willada is a celebration. Get the poets out, like the Imam would get Da'bel bin Ali al-Khuzai out. Have a good time, enjoy yourself, let the kids have prizes, you know, let there be a growth in the camaraderie amongst the people. It has to be interactive. Honestly, there are some places you go there on a willada of an Imam, you think you've gone to a funeral? Yeah, I very quickly say it now, we've just got a few minutes, so I just want to bring two points to your attention. If we can very quickly elaborate on this, one is the great tragedy of fa'h. Okay, the other one is a dissertation of Imam al-Salam. So if we can quickly talk about that, so the great tragedy of fa'h is actually a repetition of Karbala, it's an echo of the great mantra. Imam al-Raza says, if Karbala hadn't happened, the greatest tragedy would be the tragedy of fa'h. Da'bel bin Ali al-Khuzai alludes to this tragedy where in his famous poem, he talks about how the Ahl al-Bayt have graves in Kufa, Madina and in Fakh. In Fakh, this area which is outside of Madina, they butchered the grandchildren of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon his family, the Abbasids ordered that the grandchildren of the Prophet Muhammad and his family were butchered. Imam al-Raza, if I'm not mistaken, and I'm doing my history mathematics here, Imam al-Raza al-Salam would have been just hitting if I'm not mistaken, he would have been just hitting. Oh God, he must have been in his 20s at the time. Yeah, yeah, must have been about 20, must have been in his 20 or just hitting his 20s. And they caught the kids of Ahl al-Bayt and they beheaded them. And I advise many of our listeners, type the incident of Fakh, F-A-K-H, and just look at how barbaric Islam the religion had to witness Muslims become, where you could gather kids. Nothing surprised me, listen, we saw ISIS, we realized things like this happened. So that incident the Ahl al-Bayt did not let go of. And when Imam al-Raza al-Salam says if it wasn't for the Barakah, if it wasn't, Imam al-Raza says if it wasn't for the incident of Karbala, then the greatest tragedy would be the incident of Fakh. Right, okay, if the producers can just remind us how much time we have left. Yeah. Is that one minute I believe we may have? So the dissertation, we probably won't have time to discuss it. We have future short, maybe Monday night, Monday night short. But we can obviously come back to this and we should do. We should. Hopefully on Monday night we'll be back. So I think we have run out of time. So on behalf of Imam Hussein TV and from Syed Dr. Amman Al-Shwani and myself, Muhammad Ali, I'd like to wish all of Tashayi followers around the world, Imam Al-Barak on the Related of Imam Al-Raza al-Salam. Insha Allah, I look forward to seeing you again. Insha Allah, I look forward to having Dr. Syed Ahmad in Islam.