Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Ask a Zaidi, 2011 edition

Over the past month, some new questions have popped up in earlier posts. Here they are, with the answers provided so far.
Please note that there is now an "Ask a Zaidi" page in English at the www.anazaidi.com website. I have posted one of these questions on that site as well.

14 comments:

  1. Anonymous said...
    Beating yourself on Ashurah has no place in islam.only the Ithna Ashari''yah do it.All other Shi''ah Groups(zaydi,ismaili,Alawi,nusari,Ahl-e-haqq,Usoolis) deny it.I wonder why?
    December 28, 2010 7:06 PM
    ProAhlulBayt1 said...
    The reason is simple. The 12rs through the narration of Hisham ibn Hakam believe Jihad is suspended. They gave up revolting against the illegal governments. As a results, to show their contributions against injustice, they beat themselves. This is not the case for the other Shia sects.
    December 28, 2010 10:18 PM

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  2. Anonymous said...
    in Ahl Al-sunna the Scholars merely look at the Text and accept allah as he Describes himself.Allah for Example Says he Has Two Hands.but then Zaydis say he has no Hands.isnt that kufr Akbar?And Do The Zaydis base their'''Metaphorical Interpretation''on any Qu'ran or sunna Evidence?i dont want whats perceived as ''Logical''Evidence,because thats a Bi'da.especially in Regards to Aqidah.i mean all i hear from Psuedo-Mutazilites is Plato and Aristotle not the Usul Al-Deen.no sunni ever said,except maybe the ''Asha'ris'',that We are able to Describe this ''Hand''and ''Face''or that its like our Hand and Face and we can PErceive this hand and face with a form or Detail,but why dont You Accept the Words,without trying to Speculate on it,and Add Your own Interpretation.
    December 28, 2010 7:15 PM
    zaida said...
    The Qur'anic verse 7 in Al Imran mentions "ayaat mutashaabihaat" i.e. allegorical verses. Muhammad Asad explains in his appendix of his translation on the Qur'an that "only a small segment of reality is open to man's perception", and that the human mind cannot visualise something that lies "outside the realm of previously realized experiences". Therefore, in the Qur'an, "parabolic illustrations" are used, by means of something we know from experience (e.g. hands), of something that is beyond our perception. If we take every Qur'anic passage in its outward, literal sense, we would be "offending against the spirit of the divine writ".
    Early Qur'an interpreters (like Zamakhshari) understood this, it was the more recent literal interpreters (like Ibn Kathir) who were the innovators.
    January 25, 2011 5:00 PM

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  3. salaamz!

    Just thought that we would contribute to the second question:

    The scholars who are known as Ahl-as-Sunnah also accept metaphorical interpretations. One can simply refer to the books of Sunni tafsir (like Tafsir at-Tabari, Tafsir al-Kabir by ar-Razi, Ad-Durr al-Manthur of as-Suyuti, to name a few) the books of Sunni ahadith, as well as the hadith commentaries. Also, refer to Sunni websites such as www.marifah.net

    Nowhere does Allah say that He has two hands! Subhanahu wa ta'ala! This lie was propagated by the likes of those deemed as scholars by those who call themselves "salafi."

    Zaidis do not say that Allah does not have "Hands," we simply say that He does not have Hands in the literal sense. If you open any lexicon, you will see that "hand" (yad), "eye" ('ayn), etc. have non-literal meanings.

    Our interpretations are based upon those of the Imams of the Prophet's Household as well as the statements of the salaf. Therefore, our interpretations are textually based and intellectually consistent.

    It is incorrect to say that the salaf did not do metaphorical interpretations! Please refer to the above aforementioned references and you will see that the salaf did ta'wil.

    And Allah knows best!

    IRS

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  4. Can you tell us why Zaydism is only restricted in Yemen ? Why didn't Zaydis send missionaries to Asia and Africa ? In past there were Zaydis ruling in Iran, but again that was just Iran. Also what steps are Zaydis doing to spread their madhab to the Western nations such as America & Europe?

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  5. salaamz!

    Good question! We have tried to emphasize to our Yemeni brethren of the importance of seeing the bigger picture beyond Yemen. This madhhab is bigger than Yemen! Some of the brothers and scholars we've talked to recognize this. The ones who are qualified to teach do not speak English and the ones who speak English are not qualified to teach.

    Also, Zaydis are even struggling in Yemen to maintain their identity.

    Historically, Zaydi imamates have been in Asia and Africa (i.e. the Idrisids) but fell prey to puritanical Sunnis and Shiites. There are some North Africans and Asians adopting the madhhab and spreading it in their respective locales. But there is no organized missionary effort per se.

    Regarding Zaydis in the Western world, we are making efforts to translate books, set up blogs and websites. The effort is slow but it is building alhamdulillah.

    Hopefully, this year we will publish our book on Zaydi aqeeda in English.

    And Allah knows best!

    IRS

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  6. To Anonymous:
    The Mutazillah view in theology is closer to Ahlul Bayt's (as) view, then what the Sunni theology says.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aad8O40j-Mg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u7FlYLDULo

    As for your statement about Greek ideas added within theology here is clip which clears that up.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTZ-12kpcgQ

    Also watch this Ashari vs Mutazilla clip.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClBLyqxv8W4

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  7. Do I have to attend Sunni Friday prayer,where there is no zaidi muslim except me?

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  8. Hi Anonymous, I think if you usually go to Friday prayers jut keep going with the Sunnis. You won't stick out with your arms hanging by their sides because some Sunnis (Malikis) do the same.

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  9. Please bare in mind that you have to pray thuhr after Friday prayer. As the friday prayer has certain criteria which are not met today. The most important is having an imam.

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  10. Assalamu'alaykum

    i'm Abu Usamah Rendy sabardi from Indonesia

    do you know any Zaidi from Indonesia? what is zaidi position to Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, and his mahzab? also what is Zaidi position to Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab?

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  11. w/salaam
    There are some articles dealing with Zaidi views of Sunnism in the August 2010 section of this blog, e.g. Zaidi reply to ahlus sunna, zaidism and hadith authenticity. Zaidis disagree with the Wahhabi/Hanbali literalism in theology, Zaidis are closer to mu'tazilism. There's one Indonesian brother already following this blog, he's khalil_786, his symbol is the circle with the white background.

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  12. the Day when the Shin shall be laid bare and they shall be called to prostrate , but they shall not be able to do so,
    (surah 68:ayah 42)
    So allah has a leg.what is the metaphorical meaning behind leg?Are they then secure from Allah's deception (makra Allahi)? None deemeth himself secure from Allah's deception (makra Allahi) save folk that are losers. S. 7:99
    you are a loser for trusting in mohamed's Allah who has a Leg wich all mankind shall prostrate too(surah 68:42).
    btw muhammad was just a title that man put for himself.he changed his name because it exposed him.his real name was Qthem (rotten),muhammad is just a title.eh was called Qthem because the time gap between Abdullah's passing away,and muhamamd's Birth was 4 years.so the banu hasem called him son of adultery.so when he claimed to be a prophet,he called himself muhammad to hide his origins.

    /watch?v=2gQKso8vQiU
    see the truth.

    username/allahaleg

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  13. "leg" is the wrong translation, the verse should be interpreted/translated "the day when the tree trunks will be bare" (of bark etc), this interpretation is found in tafsir of Baydawi, who PRECEDED the literalists interpretation of ibn Kathir etc, and it is the Wahhabis (the enemies of the Zaidis) who are anthropomorphists, so I suggest you criticise their misinterpretations on their Wahhabi websites instead of here on this blog. As for your bizarre theory about Muhammad, it's not worth commenting on.

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  14. Salam 2 zaidi bro. Plz tell the basic aqeedah on zaidisim.
    How many Imams do they have (As Prophet said that there will 12 caliphs/Imams after me), plz give their names.

    Which madhab do zaidis follow Imam Jafar or any 4 among the Sunnis

    What their view on ramdhan, hajj, zakat, khums, day of judgment, their beliefs,

    Waiting for the answers, jazakallah wa shukran

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