Salam O alykom va rahmatollahi va barakato.
Dear respected brothers and sisters, May Allah have mercy on you and increase you all in wisdom and knowledge.
I was born in Iran, and lived there for 9 years. My parents are both from Afghanistan but they had to leave Afghanistan, 10 years before I was born because of the war and due to the fact that Iran had better life opportunities. They lived in Iran a great deal of their time and that's why shiasim become the norm in their hearts. My Father left us, when I was 5 years old, to go to United Kingdom, where life opportunities were greater, so he sold everything he had to come to this country. 4 years later, when I was at the age of 9 my father got his visa and was granted permission to bring his family to the UK. At that time, we couldn't come from Iran to the UK, they did not give Afghanis any visa and permission, so we had to go to Pakistan to get visa and travel to UK. And that's what happened, we travelled to Pakistan via Afghanistan and we finally arrived to UK and I was around 9 years old.
My story, starts when I was 14 years old. I had always seen my family hitting themselves in the time of ashura, either with light touches on the chest to buying small chains and hitting their top of their backs, and always say phrases ( to this day ), "ya Ali Madad" or "Ya Hussain" or "Ya fatimah Zahra" and I always see them having objects around the home that is supposedly protecting us from the devil. I always heard them swear at the companions of the prophet saw.
Based on the religion of my father, I did not ever think this is the true path. How can Gods religion who is so perfect have a religion where filthy language is used, and why would God want us to hit ourselves, or ask these silly objects around the home (evil eye castings) protect us when he is supposed to be all powerful? This caused me to become an atheist, I did not believe in God for a space of 2 years.
Around this time, I was in college, and that's when I started to debate theists about the existence of God, the evidence for God, suffering and the modern world as we speak. "People are just following their fathers and they followed their fathers and etc", is what I used to say.
I started to listen to lecture debates on professor Lawrence Krauss,Richard Dawkins, Christian Missionaries, Jew Rabbi, Muslim Shiekhs, Buddist/Indian representatives etc . And my heart started to melt when I started to listen to Dr.Zakir Naik. I am a Professional Mechanical Engineer, so I have taken Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathametics modules in College and then attended University to complete my Bachelors of science as well as my Masters, so I knew a thing or two about science. When I started to listen to Dr.Zakir Naik, he said evidence of science in Quran and that everything is correct in Quran and that its perfect....
I bought books on this topic and found out that a French Surgeon by the name of Maurice Bucaille had done a scientific research, using the scientific method in comparing the "The Bible, The Quran, and Science" or in French as he put it, "La Bible, Le Coran et La Science" . I was amazed! Verses from "we have made you from water" to "mountain as pegs" to "and it is we who keeps expanding it" to many many more. This got me really interested. Then I found Nouman Ali Khan, where he showed me the linguistic Miracle of the Quran and I remember wallahi to this day, I had goose bumps all over my body as I could not believe the amazing linguistics contained in the Quran. From linguistics, I moved on to historical miracles of the Quran, to future miracles of the Quran, and to various other Miracles, which now included the ahadeeth where the prophet saw said what will happen to the end of time from "bare footed Arab men competing in construction of tall buildings" to "music on their heads" to various others! Subhana Rabbil A'ala . My love for Islam grew and that's when I started to talk to my family about Sunni Islam as all of these superstitions were now clear as glass and gone! and that true Islam resonated in my heart.
However, this did not go well.
I had several heated debates with my father in which he hit me ,abused me verbally and physically. My Father and Mother in which I love the most in this world, whom I want guidance for the most, did not accept what I came with. I had so many arguments and I have learned from my mistakes as I was naive when I was a kid. Now I try to give them dawah with the up most respect and honour, and I am guilty as I did not do that as a kid and this is one of my many regrets.
Today, at the age of 21, alhamdolliah, I am learning the Arabic Language, I am learning my own Native Language ( Dari and Persian) and I am trying to Memorise the Quran and become a hafiz. I am planning to travel abroad to Egypt or Saudi to study hadith, so I can break the misconceptions that our shia fellow men have and that Allah uses me as a source of guidance for the people. Family is the most important and it is the hardest to deal with. I am so alone in my journey as every single person in my entire lineage that I am aware of were all shias and to this day, Im the only Sunni in my family and wallahi its very lonely. I sometimes get jealous of individuals where Allah granted them a true Muslim Family.
If you read this far, I ask you to make sincere dua for my parents, that Allah guides every parent, and that Allah guides my parents to the truth, that Allah places noor and iman in their hearts and mine and that Allah forgives their sins, as they don't know better.
Jazakallo Khairan for reading this.
Your brother in humanity and Islam
Hasan
Admin note: Thread title improved.
You've said four things here;
Hitting themselves with hands on their chests or with chains on their upper back.
Saying phrases such as, 'Ya Ali Madad, Ya Hussein, Ya Zahra etc.
Having objects around the house to protect themselves from the devil.
And swearing and cursing the companions etc.
Is this Shiaism according to you? Or have you limited Shiaism to this?
I don't think you exactly know what Shiaism is about and what the principles of its faith/belief are.
Hitting yourself either with your hands on your chest till it turns red and blue or hitting your upper back with either chains or small knives attached to chains in some places, who said that you have to or must do this? I don't do it so does that throw me out of Shiaism or am I no longer a shia? Who said you have to do this otherwise you're not a Shia?
Some people who happen to be from the Shia community commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein in this particular way. In Iran they use chains and hit their upper back. In Pakistan you have small knives attached to the end of chains and they hit the upper back with that. In other countries or parts of the world where Shias exist and live such as Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon etc you probably would have a different practice based on tradition or custom.
But what does this have to do with the Shia belief and faith or the entire Shia community globally? What seems to be the problem with saying Ya Ali Madad or Ya Hussein or Ya Abbas or Ya Zahra? Don't say it if you don't want to or if you're not comfortable with it. But what seems to be the issue with it if you can let me know that would be nice.
What kind of objects did your parents keep in the house to keep demons, devils or probably bad spirits away if you don't mind me asking?
And now you've become a Suni, which one have you become and why? Do you know about being a Suni? Do you know they have four different school of thought? Apart from this they are categorised or divided such as Deobandi, Barelvi, Wahabi, Salafi, Ahle Hadees etc. It's getting a bit too long and much for you so I'll leave it here.
To answer your question, a deviant sect also carries with it it's disease. You see the ahl sunnah, put much emphasis on tawheed, and the main pillars of islam. They drilled it in our heads, in the same way they do it to yours. However, as a kid in Iran, seeing the entire nation and not "some people" as you tried to sugar code it, hit them selves with chains, says a great deal about their faith and religion. There are shia scholars who try to argue and they command you to do such actions! ofcourse they are who say otherwise, but point being, a deviant sect contains it's diseases and this is an example of such disease.
Secondly, it is not about if "I" want to say it or if "I" want to do a particular action. The shia community and scholars should prohibit such disgusting actions! . How can you call upon someone else when Allah created you and HE gave you life? Look at the filth that is contained in this religion.
The fact that the scholars of shiams don't do much in these matters as they have iktilaf or differences between each other just shows how far away they are from the truth.
Thirdly, its evil eye home amulet, ornament nazar that they put around the homes to protect against evil and the devil.
Finally, yes I am fully aware of the different madhibs within Sunni Islam. Just to be clear, I have looked into shia Islam and also did my research on it, I think this point wasn't mentioned before so it's not as if I just left it without any research. I found that most of the arguments that shias bring forth are based on mutashabehat evidences, and the hadith they bring forward has always been distorted and taken out of context. I have seen shia sheikhs quote from hadith Bukhari or Muslim only the parts that suit them and I had studied those hadiths which wallahi made me absolutely hate shiams more as its just falsehood upon falsehood. 10/10 the hadiths they mention, is part of the story of what has happened, and they have not bothered or properly have and are hiding from the public, they have not read the full story and looked at it with full details.
I ask my brothers in shias, why believe in shiasm? Is it to please your parents and to be part of your culture and family? What good is it if will not save you from punishment of Allah? The Quran is crystal clear on every important matter. Dont associate partners with Allah by calling upon them. So why do you my brothers? Don't rely on evil castings to protect you, so why do you go with the culture and not call it for what it is, pure falsehood, as it is Allah who protects you. Why hit yourself when you know the messenger saw would never allow that. These are easy easy questions ya ikwan.
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December 28, 2014, 10:51:40 PM
