Peace be upon you. Welcome to Live in London on this auspicious and joyous occasion of the birth of Imam Sadiq. Imam Hussein TV would like to extend his congratulations to you at home and also to the Imam of our time. Who was Imam Sadiq? A lot of people would be busy commemorating the Prophet's birthday. And do we neglect this Imam? Imam had a great impact on the religion of Islam, but how? How did he affect the religion spiritually? How did he affect the religion academically? Why are we known as the Jafri School of Thought? These questions and much more will be discussed with Dr. Sayyed Amman Akshwani, Dr. Salamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi. How are you this evening? Alhamdulillah very well. As I mentioned before in the introduction, in regards to a lot of people will be commemorating the Prophet's birthday. What about do you feel that the community neglects Imam Sadiq on this occasion? Because they do share the same birthday. Well it's an honour for us to be gathered remembering Imam Sadiq. And the sadness of all sadnesses in the world today is that there are many who have never heard of Imam Sadiq. There are many who have never been raised with the name of Imam Sadiq or the heritage or the legacy of Imam Sadiq. But you're right, in the week of 17th of Rabi'al Awal, I find that many Muslim communities will say that today is the will of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, and his family. And even on the advertisements in some of our Hussainiyas or some of our Imam Barghers, you'll find that the people will mention, for example, the birth of the Prophet and everybody will say, Mubarak on the birth of the Prophet. But hardly there's a mention of Imam Sadiq, in many cases, I think this is something very innocent. I think there are many people who would love to honor Imam Sadiq, every day of the year. Naturally, all of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt, would always stress on the greatness of the one who set the example for every human being, and that is the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family. I also believe at the same time, if on the night of the birth of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon his family, maybe we can have programs on the day of the birth, looking at Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, and the reason we've done two nights is because we believe that for many years, Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, hardly gets a look in, hardly gets a mention on the 17th of Rabi Al Awwa. Not that I think Imam Sadiq would be too unhappy for Rasulullah, peace be upon him, gets all the plaudits. You know, the first of us is Muhammad, peace be upon him, the middle one of us is Muhammad, the last of us is Muhammad, peace be upon him, and they're all honoured to have the mention of the Prophet Muhammad in every aspect of their life. But Alhamdulillah, I hope we set what I hope is a principle for many communities now, that two nights, one for the Holy Prophet, one for Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, in order that we're able to learn from the many lessons that there are from their lives. For the viewers at home, if you have any questions that you would like to direct to the doctor, please call us on 0203 515 0199, or alternatively, there will be a WhatsApp number provided on the screen and you could send in your questions there, and we'll do our best to get through all of them. Doctor, a more personal question in regards to our community. Imam Sadiq is known as being one of the most knowledgeable. Do you feel that we haven't given justice to that knowledge? Do you feel that maybe we have lacked a little in academia as a community, as a shared community? Are we not? Do you think Imam Sadiq would be proud of us and our academic and our learning in today's modern society? I believe that we have so many sincere individuals in our communities. But sincerity is part of the whole equation. It's an important part, but there has to also be that active reading, the active writing, the active seeking of knowledge. Imam himself, alayhi salam, on many occasions, would give you a classification of his followers and the different types of followers that he has. There are many who wanted to be associated with him. We are the Shi'a of Jafar Sadiq. We are the Shi'a of Ahlul Bayt, alayhi salam. And the Imam himself would mention that there's one type, there's a second, there's a third. If you were to divide the Shi'a into three groups, he said there are those with knowledge. There are those who are seeking to gain knowledge. And the rest is really a waste of time. And so I think it's very important for us to realize that in our lives, it's fundamental that we continue the legacy of his grandfather, the Prophet, peace be upon his family. When the first of the verses revealed to him was the word read. The second sort of the Holy Quran to be revealed to the Holy Prophet was called Qalam, pen. So already in the first two surahs, which are revealed in the Holy Quran, you've got a focus on reading and a focus on writing. There are many who claim to be Jafari or Jafari in their madhab. Yet if you were to ask them how many books have they read recently? In relation to the lives of the Ahlul Bayt, alayhi salam, there are some who will go a whole year without having read one book. We're not asking you to, for example, read the Holy Quran. Say, you don't have time, you find it difficult. Okay, at least these days with the technology that you have, try your hardest to be of those who Imam Sadaq says, either you're the people of knowledge or the people seeking knowledge.  And it's sad today how many you find in the world who are wasting their time. When there is so much literature out there, let me quote another hadith of Imam Sadaq related to this. Imam Sadaq says, alayhi salam, an orphan is not one without a mother or father. An orphan is one without literature. Our definition of orphan normally, what is it? Someone who's lost their parents or lost both. Imam Sadaq alayhi salam wanted to turn this definition on its head by saying, if you want to know the orphans of our community, it's those without literature.  And so the Imam himself would continuously seek to stress on the fact that no two days are the same for any Shi'a. You know, I vividly remember how he would make clear to his own companions that, you know, for a Shi'a, no two days are the same in the sense that if yesterday I were at one eye of the Quran, tomorrow I'll read two. Yesterday I picked up and thought of and reflected on one tradition. Tomorrow I'll reflect on two. If we are exactly the same two days consecutively, then we've not made that criteria of the signs of the mu'min in the eyes of Imam Sadaq alayhi salam. Today, when you have all these Amazon and Kindle and PDFs and you're able to download PhDs and able to download journal articles from very established journal pages and websites, there really is no excuse for someone to say that they are not knowledgeable. All of us have a resident alim in our community. That resident alim is someone you can go and sit with five minutes, 10 minutes, ask them to recommend for you a book on history, a book on ethics, a book on theology, a book on law, a book on spirituality. Do you think that someone who says there's not enough English literature, is that an excuse? There's a lot of English literature out there. I'm surprised when someone says there, you know, there's not a lot. However, to give them benefit of the doubt, I must agree with them that many don't have the guidance as to which books to read. For example, on my Facebook, you'll find that we began last year Imam Ja'far al-Sadaq book club and every month, I tried to recommend a book in the English language for people around the world to be able to read and to be able to benefit from and I purposely named it Imam Ja'far al-Sadaq book club because we know very well the most narrations that we have in the school of Ahlul Bayt al-Salam is from Imam al-Sadaq al-Salam and the greatest of students within his school, outside of his school, emerge in his classes. So, there on the Facebook, we're trying on a daily basis or monthly basis to recommend books which people are able to benefit from. But to say that there isn't enough English works out there, there are. There are many English works. If you look at the website, for example, al-islam.org, a-l-dash, islam.org, phenomenal website, many who have volunteered and endeavored tirelessly to make sure that people have got the best of works readily available for them. But it's up to us to take time out from ourselves. Otherwise, what do we Muslims become in reality? Like the donkey that carries luggage. Yes. The Qur'an and on a day like this on a Friday, many of us go to the mosque. We hear that the examples of those nations who came before us who carried a holy book is like a donkey that carries luggage. Yeah, you're carrying it, but you don't read it. Don't study it. Many followers of this book have nehj al-balagh at home. I guarantee you that in the last year, many of them have not spent 20 minutes reading any sermon. Many have rasalat al-hukuq, sahib al-sajjadiyah. Yes. You know, other works. Many ulama have left treasures of knowledge. So, a true Jafari is either a person of knowledge or a person who's seeking to gain more knowledge. In Al-Kafi of Sheikh Al-Kulayni, you have the narrations from the Imams which talk about the merits of those people who, for example, if they memorize 40 traditions, they are raised as one of the scholars in the hereafter. 40. Is it that difficult for a person to go out there and memorize 40? I don't think so. Not in a lifetime. No. I don't think so. The ability is there for a person to be able to go out and memorize 40 traditions. Naturally, sheytan is going to stop you. Sheytan is going to whisper to you. Don't go out and read.  But make a balance in your life. Enjoy. No problem. But have that balance where you're continuously gaining knowledge. That's right. Being known as the Jafari school of thought, why have we been blessed with such a name? I thought we were the Shia of Ali. Why wouldn't we be called the school of Ali? Well, I think such a title is given is really given to us, you know, one may post humorously. I don't think it's given to us in the time of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt. Yes. Imam Sadaq himself mentions the fact that the behavior of his Shia has a bearing on his name. There is this idea of the adab of Jafari Sadaq. There isn't necessarily the idea that there is a madhab called the Jafari madhab. One may argue in the Safawid period, that's when this emerges, this title of the Jafari school of thought or the Jafari school of law. Some will mention it in contrast for example to the other madhab as Mahmood Shaltu the scholar of al-Azhar had mentioned when he talks of the five schools of law. Yes. But certainly in relation to the fact of how the Shia relate to Ja'far or Ja'far bin Muhammad, you have narrations where the Imam talks of the fact that our our etiquettes, our morals, our behaviors with those around us of other schools, our school, or different school has a bearing on the name Ja'far on the followers of Ja'far, on the impression of Ja'far, the famous lines where he talks of the fact that if there is another school in Islam, say they have a janaza, Salat al-Maid. People ask, can I go to the Salat al-Maid of other schools in Islam? Of course you can. Can I pray behind other schools in Islam? Yes, you can. And it all goes back to the fact that when the people see you doing this, they will say truly Ja'far al-Sadaq has given the best adab to his Shia. So in terms of title, when we're looking at title and someone wants to say, for example, these people are Ja'far that comes much later. But in terms of relation to Imam al-Sadaq and our behavior, that can be seen very early. In regards to Imam Ja'far, we know that he must be one of the greatest teachers. So how did he actually create a learning center there in Medina? How big was this learning center? How many students did he have? Well, you're looking at a period of upheaval. He's around 50 years of age or definitely in his late 40s when the Umayyads fall. And when that Umayyad empire falls, you find the Imam in the aftermath of the fall of the Umayyads and the rise of the Abbasids. It's at this period where there's relatively more freedom for him. Any revolution, one government overtakes another. In that small period of transition, there's a bit more leeway for you to be able to discuss for the first time, in over 100 years, the teachings, the merits, the laws, the ethics, the theology of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and the religion of Islam. Because if you look at the first four Imams, let's say, they're living in a period where they can't openly express due to different political circumstances. With Imam al-Baqir, there's a bit more of that expression. And then Imam al-Sadaq flourishes. And I'll give you an example of how that has an effect on the situation of the Shi'a at the time. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, died in the 40th year after Hijrah. For 92 years, nobody knew where he was buried. Wow. Because he was buried secretly in the middle of the night. Okay. The Khawarij had wanted to burn his body. So he asked Imam al-Hassan and Imam al-Fussain to bury him secretly in the night, like his wife was buried secretly in the night. 92 years, nobody knew where Imam Amir al-Mumini, peace be upon him, was buried. Some of the Ahl al-Bayt would go to his grave with very close companions of theirs. But without revealing to anybody else, just that close companions. So Imam Zain al-Abideen, for example, would take Abu Hamza al-Thumali and they'd go near the grave of Imam Ali. Stand there. Abu Hamza, for example, at that moment would not know this is the grave of Imam Ali, peace be upon him. And then Imam Zain al-Abideen would tell him this is the grave. The first person to openly declare where Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, was buried was Imam Al-Sadaq. Now that gives you a hint of the year 132 after Hijrah. Imam Al-Sadaq is about 50 odd at the time. Abbasids have just overthrown the Umayyads a couple years earlier. And even where Imam Ali's grave now can be known before hitherto that point, you would not know where Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali Sam's grave was. But now Imam Sadaq in that few years, there's a transition period. In Medina, therefore, it's no surprise when we read over three and a half thousand students. Wow, three and a half thousand. Yes, three and a half to four thousand students would sit in the class of Imam Al-Sadaq, peace be upon him. So this is that one time you're saying. Well, some will say over a period of time that's the maximum numbers that were recorded. Some of these are the biggest names you'll ever find. When you hear the names of Abu Hanifa, for example, and Nauman bin Thabit. You find that there are many, for example, today in Pakistan who follow the Hanafi school. In India, there are many who follow the Hanafi school. You find, for example, Malik bin Anas, the Maliki school. Many in North Africa follow the Maliki school. There are others who study under Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, huge personalities. There are others who are contemporaries of Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him. But the way they describe him, there's a spirituality which is unique, knowledge which is unique. And when Abu Hanifa says in his famous lines, if it wasn't for my two years with Imam Sadaq, I would have been perished. Just two years. Two years.  Also, inshallah, one day. Inshallah, we receive the intercession of the Ahlul Bayt. All of us and the viewers, inshallah. So what you have with Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, is that that period where the Habba said, overthrow the Umayyids, allows that school to flourish. You have people from far and wide flocking to come and study under him. Okay. Because they know that nobody in his time was as learned as Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him. Yeah. Awesome. And with such a personality and such an influence on people coming to study with him and having being, you know, the greatest of teachers, I mean, is that still honored today? Is his influence still felt today? For example, are the universities named after him? Are there certain people who have, you know, written biographies or have accredited and acknowledged his input and impact on the academic society of the Middle East? Sadly, they're really as a campaign, be it from the end of the life of Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, until today of people who have purposely tried to ensure that credit is not given where credit is due in the case of Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him. They're willing to discuss Abu Hanifa but won't discuss who taught him. They're willing to discuss Malik bin Anas and they won't discuss who taught him. They're willing to discuss the period of knowledge but they won't discuss the greatest theologian, the greatest man in the world of ethics, world of spirituality, the greatest mind when it came to the Quran and the world of Hadith. Sadly, even some of the most famous narrators of Hadith who have, you know, huge works which are revealed until today, the likes of Muhammad bin Ismail al-Bukhari, for example, or Muslim bin Hajjaj al-Nisaapuri, they have the famous works, Muslim. They have quotes from certain people but they won't quote from Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him. You wonder why? Some try to say, well, he's a jurist and that's why they don't. Well, there's a few jurists they quote from without hesitating and I wonder what is it that stopped them from quoting from the likes of Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him. How is it that we have so many quotes, so many traditions from Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, but Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim which were written at least 50 odd years after Imam Sadaq passed away will not quote anything from Imam Sadaq. That, of course, does not stop certain great books written about Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him. But if you're asking me in the Muslim world today, if I go to Egypt or I go to Sudan, if I go to Medina where he's buried, or if I were to go to, for example, Pakistan, will I find universities which are happily named after Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him? I've seen universities which are named after students of Imam Sadaq. Okay. I've seen students, I've seen students, of the students of Imam Sadaq have named after, universities named after them. But then part of that, we have a responsibility. Why don't we, for example, fund a chair? That's a university. Same way there are chairs which are named after Iqbal, or Nehru, or JFK, or Gandhi, or Luther King. We should have a chair at a prestigious British or American university named after Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him. I look, for example, the Saudi prince, Walid bin Talal. He's funded chairs which are named after himself at prestigious universities in America and in the UK. So, when someone asks me, has history honored Imam Sadaq in the way he deserves to be honored? I'd say no. If someone asks me, should we blame others on this issue only? Again, I'd say no. We are also responsible for ensuring that we don't cocoon Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, to ourselves. It's fundamental that the world learns about Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him. One of my favorite works in the English language, on Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, is called Imam Sadaq, the great Muslim scientist and philosopher. Wow. You wouldn't normally associate, when you think of the Imams, you think theology, you think ethics, you think law, you think spirituality maybe, in terms of the traditions, but you don't normally think of science and discussions of, you know, the world of biology and chemistry and physics and geometry and astronomy. And yet this work, which is available on the internet, Imam Sadaq, the great Muslim scientist, philosopher, seems to be a group of scholars who've come together in France at a certain period and written about Imam Sadaq and how he discusses theories, you know, postulated by the greatest of minds in Europe, greatest of philosophers, greatest of scientists and how he's discussed them a thousand years before they've even, you know, given service to humanity. This highlights to us that Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, is not just a personality for the Shia or for the Muslims. Every human being in this world should be one who benefits from the principles and the knowledge of Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him. That's right. That's right, Doctor. We're talking a lot about his academic background and we're talking about his impact on education and universities, but he is an Imam of the time, no? And is it our fault that we haven't touched on his spirituality side as a community and that we don't know much about how he spiritually improved us and our community as a Shia? Well, I must admit that my understanding of Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, growing up was a very legal Imam Sadaq. Imam Sadaq, Madhab el-Jafari, fiqhi school. So my understanding of Imam Sadaq when I was growing up was looking at a lot of the traditions or even in our studies we look at a lot of the traditions of Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, related to Tahara, Najasa, Talaq, you know, let's say for example areas such as Salah, Som, Hajj, you know, whenever people would mention Imam Sadaq, I always remember, you know, traditions on Salah, traditions on Hajj, look through my fingers, you'll see the real fajjad. A lot of legal traditions I would find and I think it's sad if we narrow Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, to simply being a person of law simply because there's a madhab called el-Jafari named after him. Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, in spirituality some of my favorite supplications are from Imam Sadaq, peace be upon him, supplications for the Zawar of Imam al-Hussein, peace be upon him, from Imam al-Sadaq, Oh Allah, forgive me my brethren and the visitors of the shrine of Hussain, peace be upon him, the tradition is from Muawiyah, son of Wahab, Sahih tradition, wonderful chain, narrated a number of works, forgive me, forgive my brethren and the Zawar of Hussain, peace be upon him, those who spend their wealth to go and see him, put their lives in danger for him, because of their relationship with us and because they want to put a smile on the face of Rasulullah, peace be upon him, so then he says, Oh Allah, have mercy on those cheeks that rub themselves on the grave of Aba Abdullah, and then he could say, and have mercy on those eyes that shed tear for us, and have mercy on that heart that burns for us, have mercy on that person who wails and screams when they remember Awama Sa'ib, Oh Allah, these Zawar I leave them with you on the day of judgment, that you are the one who quenches their thirst from the pool of kotha. That supplication for the Zawar of Imam Hussain, peace be upon him, is a very underrated supplication, sadly there are many who don't know this supplication, dua for Zawar Hussain, peace be upon him, many do not know that this is a supplication from the wonderful lips of Imam Al-Sadaq, peace be upon him, also you want to see the spirituality of Imam Al-Sadaq, peace be upon him, the dua, the supplication we recite after Salat Al-Aisha on Rizq, Allahumma, that he is not the one who knows the matter of Rizq, and that what I ask of him is for dangers to be risked on my heart, so I say to him in his request to the countries, that I am in what I ask of him as an Iranian, I don't know if he is in the mountains, or in the earth, or in the sky, or in the mountains, or in the sea, and on his hand always and always, and I have learned that his knowledge is with you and his reasons in your hands, and so on, supplication from Imam Al-Sadaq, peace be upon him, many people in the world today, when they recite the dua, the supplication after Salat, do not know the supplication comes from Imam Al-Sadaq, peace be upon him, these supplications have been left behind for us, because truly what defines the greatness of the Imams of Adib, in contrast to all around them, and she as a particular, our supplications cannot be compared, there is no school in Islam that has supplications on how to talk to Allah like the supplications we have within the school of Ahlul Bayt, do you agree? 100%. So what would you say about our supplications? I would say about our supplications, I think they're very very intricate, very very sensitive, and they managed to use the right words and create the right mood and emotion in order to create and strengthen the relation with other subhanahu wa ta'ala. Look and say, you can see in the period of Hajj, look in the period of Hajj, you can sit next to a tent from any other school in Islam, all of them are Hajj, but you listen to the dua, oh Allah forgive me, oh Allah forgive my brothers and sisters in Bosnia, Chechnya, Palestine, oh Allah forgive my parents, okay good, it's good, you've supplicated to Allah, you've taken the odd dua from the Quran, it's good, but can you have a supplication like dua Araf of Imam Hussain, and that's why you'll find some out there who'll say, but we love Ahlul Bayt as well brother, you don't need to teach us about Ahlul Bayt, we love Ahlul Bayt, okay, tell me dua Araf of Imam Hussain, have you read it? You claim to love Ahlul Bayt, it's not bad, just love, there are many Muslims out there when you mention Ahlul Bayt, they're like, yeah, but brother, you see, you don't understand, we don't have a problem with Ahlul Bayt, we love Ahlul Bayt, which dua of Ahlul Bayt have you ever recited? Which legacy of the supplication of Ahlul Bayt have you ever read in your mosques? When it comes to books of certain hadith narrators, you memorize them inside out, and there's nothing to do with Ahlul Bayt, but when it comes to the legacy of Imam Al-Hussain, Imam Zain Al-Abideen, Imam Al-Sadaq, where's your love of Ahlul Bayt there when it comes to their supplications? So Imam Al-Sadaq, I agree with you saying, Mohsin, we've limited him as Imam Al-Sadaq, the Imam of Fiqh and Shari'a and forgotten that Imam Al-Sadaq, alaihi salam, when it comes to supplication and spirituality, you'd be hard pressed to find people who have the whispered prayers and that relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala like Imam Al-Sadaq, alaihi salam. In regards to Imam Al-Sadaq teaching, I mean, was there not much opposition and vice versa? Imam Al-Sadaq, like you said, the Umayyad dynasty was falling down, the Abbasids were taking over, he didn't want to start his own revolution or something, he focused just on educating the Muslim Ummah. I think the policy of the Imam, alaihi salam at this stage, was a policy where there's no more rising against the governments or being too politically active or close with the governments. I think that's a policy they decide has to be adopted. One may argue they believe that's until the rise of the Mehdi and while their cousins from the descendants of Imam Al-Hassan, alaihi salam, were certainly causing a lot of damage to the Abbasids. See, the Abbasids gained power with a slogan that authority belongs to. Ahlul bayt, alaihi salam, but they were meaning themselves, not the Imams. And people felt let down, people felt betrayed. And certainly the grandsons of Imam Al-Hassan, alaihi salam, your nafs al-Zakiyyahs amongst others, you know, people who were rising against the Abbasids. But the Imam himself doesn't call for any rise or any mutiny against the Abbasids. At the beginning, because of the upheaval of the revolution, he's able to disseminate knowledge with a lot more ease. But that doesn't stop the Abbasids from keeping an eye on his activities. You know, in Baghdad, one of the most expensive areas in Baghdad is an area by the name of Mansour. And that is named after the man who poisoned Imam Al-Sadaq, alaihi salam. Many Araqis, mind you, will not know anything about this when it comes to Al-Mansour. Sayyidi, Al-Mansour is in Baghdad. You say, okay, Mansour is named after who? Who's Al-Mansour? Why is this expensive area named after a killer of Imam Al-Sadaq, alaihi salam? And you find that Al-Mansour becomes the caliph who begins to harass the Imam more than anybody else. You know, to the extent that Imam Al-Sadaq, alaihi salam, before he passes away, Al-Mansour wants his governor to keep an eye on the will of Imam Al-Sadaq, alaihi salam. At the beginning of the life of Imam Al-Sadaq, there's a lot more freedom at the beginning of his Imamah. Whereas towards the end of his Imamah, even his will, he doesn't put the name of Imam Al-Qadim as the only person in the famous story where five names are there because Al-Mansour orders that whoever's the successor is to be executed. And the Imam puts a number of names. So, Na'abasid was certainly keeping a close eye. By the time, with their political revolution was taking place and stabilizing their government, he had that bit more freedom than the rest of the Imams of Ahl al-Bait. Al-Santa. Say no, we're going to have to go for a break. Sure. So, viewers, please join us after the break as we'll be continuing the discussion on the life of Imam Al-Mansour al-Sadaq, alaihi salam. Join us after the break. And if you'd like to call in, call us on 0203 515 0199. Alternatively, you can send your question or via WhatsApp and inshallah we'll read them out and answer them for you. See you after the break. Salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Welcome back to Live in London, where we'll be discussing Imam Jafar al-Sadaq alaihi salam on his birthday. And inshallah all of you are celebrating and congratulations from us on behalf of Imam Hussein TV, extending to your family and also the Imam of our time. If you'd like to call in and have a question in regards to this discussion, please call us on 0203 515 0199. Or alternatively, you can WhatsApp us and we will do our best to answer your question. With me say Dr. Imam Rakhshani, salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Doctor, we were discussing Imam Sadaq and his spirituality and hadiths. You also said that he narrates the most hadith, most of the hadith we have in the Shia School of Thought, originate from Imam Sadaq. What about the hadiths of the other Imams? What happened to them and how come he kind of said all of the hadiths? Well, I think as I said, there's a couple of reasons that one may look at why he has the most narrations. I think if you look in terms of the first four Imams of Ahlul Bayd, there wasn't really that writing culture that was either encouraged or in some cases prohibited in the early period after the death of the Holy Prophet peace be upon his family. If you ask many of our Sunni brothers and sisters, what's the earliest book of hadith that they have in their houses, for example? Or that they see in a library in any of their famous seminaries? You won't find a book of traditions until maybe early second century. And if you're looking at the likes of Sahih Al-Bukhar and Sahih Muslim, you're looking at late second century. So the idea that early Islam, you had a lot of books compiled or that written tradition was the head of oral tradition, I think you'll find that the caliphs after the Prophet peace be upon him and his family dies, not only do none of them have any books, but they don't seem to be encouraging the publishing of books. If anything, Omar bin Abdul Aziz, the Umayyad Caliph is the first one who we really see an encouragement of works to be published. Now, when it comes to, for example, looking at the later Imams of Ahlul Bayd, if one wants to say, for example, why does Imam Al-Sadaq have more hadiths than Imam Al-Jawad or Imam Al-Asqari? Imam Al-Jawad, Imam Al-Asqari, if you add their life on the earth, they lived between them less than Imam Al-Sadaq, if you add their years on the earth, you're just about in your early fifties. Imam Al-Sadaq died in his late sixties. The oldest Imam of Ahlul Bayt, Aleem Al-Salam, to pass away was who? Was Imam Al-Sadaq, born in the year 80, died in the year 148, 68 years of age, Imam Al-Sadaq died. Imam Al-Jawad and Imam Al-Asqari, between them, you add both of their ages, you're going into the early fifties. So Imam Al-Sadaq, not only lives at a time where writing is already encouraged, publications are now becoming a plenty, but you've also got the fact that the Abbasid's overthrown of the Umayyads allows for more freedom in narrations. And you've also got the fact that he lives longer than any of the Imam of Ahlul Bayt, Aleem Al-Salam. I do believe we have a caller on the line, so I'd like to invite him on. That was a nice question. Okay, unfortunately to have technical difficulties in the caller couldn't remain on. Please try calling again and get through to us and inshallah you can ask your question and Sayyid will answer it, inshallah. I don't think we've had a show where we haven't had technical difficulties. Inshallah. It's not my fault. No, the backroom team hopefully, you know, this time in the year 2040 would have sorted it out, inshallah. We were talking about Hadith and you were saying at this time, Imam, the time of Imam Jafar, al-Sadaq, al-Salam, writing was encouraged. For the viewers, considering it is both the birthday of the prophet and also Imam al-Sadaq, al-Salam, is there any literature you actually recommend to them, you know, to help them gain a bit more knowledge in the lives of these two individuals? Well, in terms of the life of Imam al-Sadaq, al-Sadaq and the Prophet, peace be upon his family. Imam al-Sadaq, al-Salam, the greatest work I have ever seen on the life of Imam al-Sadaq, al-Salam, is Musnad al-Sadaq, al-Salam, by the late Sayyid Muhammad Qadim al-Qazweeni. It's a phenomenal, phenomenal work, 57 volumes and counting, 57 volumes, 57 volumes, Musnad al-Sadaq, al-Salam. And you want to see traditions on every single area of the life of Imam al-Sadaq, al-Salaq, is phenomenal. Sayyid Muhammad Qadim al-Qazweeni, the late Sayyid Muhammad Qadim al-Qazweeni, phenomenal research and really it highlights to you the impact and the legacy of Imam al-Sadaq, al-Salam. One also has to remember the great scholar that is Muhammad Jawad Mughniah, the Lebanese scholar and his work looking at the school of law of Imam al-Sadaq in comparison to the other schools. One also has to look at the grand scholar that is Ayatollah Al-Rauhani and his work, the Fiqh of Imam al-Sadaq, al-Salam. So these are three which I would highly recommend for anyone who wants to study in depth the life of Imam al-Sadaq, al-Salam. Now we're going to give the caller another go, we're going to try, inshallah, get this question to come through. Salamu alaykum, your name and where you're calling from? Yes, my name is Zafar. I just had a quick question for the Sayyid. Thank you very much, brother, inshallah they say we'll answer your question. Thank you so much brother, God bless you and thank you for your kind call. Of course our understanding of the Holy Qur'an comes to us from the Ahlul Bayt al-Salam and from not only their narrations but the narrations of their companions. You look at when people study for example today the recitals and the readings and the understanding of the readings of the Qur'an and they bring up the names of Hafs and Asim and Warsh and so on. You find that all of these are students of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt al-Salam or peers and contemporaries of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt al-Salam and many of them would have got guidance from the Ahlul Bayt al-Salam. So those who today are telling us and giving us these names of people in relation to the recital of the Qur'an and the discussion concerning for example compilation and collection, much of our knowledge will come from the Imams and the disciples of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt al-Salam and this is not disagreed upon by even our Sunni brethren. Our Sunni brethren will refer to these personalities, mention the Qara'ah of the Qur'an by these personalities but very few will know that these are disciples or students of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt al-Salam. I do believe we have another caller on the line inshallah we'll be able to get through to them. Salamu Alaikum, your name and where you're calling from? I just saw they started watching the program but maybe you may have already described the definition of fitajafri. Why do we call fitajafri? Is it not fit of Muhammad al-Mustattab? Asad, asad. Doctor has actually discussed this before and but for your benefit I'm sure you'll be able to give us a short answer again and that's quite good actually People of the other schools of thought will come up and say why are you calling yourself jafri fiqh? Why are you not relating it to Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam? Who is the person that unites us all and who actually initiated this fiqh in the first place? As I mentioned early in the program and I'll repeat inshallah there are a few ways in which we understand the answer to this question. First and foremost the idea of the jafari school of fiqh is not something which is necessarily seen in the lives of the imams and such a title rather it's seen in the Safawid period where there is this mention of al-fiqh al-jafari. Secondly, polemically it would be mentioned because there is al-fiqh al-hanafi, al-fiqh al-maliki, al-fiqh al-shafi, al-fiqh al-hambali. So in polemics people would refer to the contemporary of those people or even their teacher in the case of two out of four of them. Thirdly, whatever imam al-sadaq alayhi sallam says is the words of imam al-baqir, the words of imam sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, from Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. So if we believe that we are known as the jafari madhhab then we recognize that whatever our imam has said is the exact words and the purest way to get to his grandfather, the Holy Prophet peace be upon him and his family. I think you're quite popular tonight because we've got another call on the line. InshaAllah we'll be able to answer this question as well. Salamu alaykum. You're naming where you're calling from? Salam alaykum. It's Daniel George from home. Salam alaykum. Salam alaykum. My question is we say that Abu Hanifa was a student of imam jafari sadaq alayhi sallam. If that's the case why didn't Abu Hanifa follow the jafari school but instead establish his own? Thank you very much for your question, quite a good question actually. Sure I don't think any of them really establish their own schools. These are all people of knowledge, people of learning and they attend different classes and they come to their own conclusions. But certainly Abu Hanifa is told very clearly by imam sadaq alayhi sallam that if you're going to reach your conclusions on the basis of conjecture and give an opinion in my presence then you've not understood where the knowledge of imam comes from and where your knowledge comes from. In the study on mantik we make a clear distinction between knowledge which is khudori and knowledge which is khusuli. Knowledge which is khudori is that knowledge which is direct, immediate. Knowledge which is khusuli is that knowledge which is acquired. Abu Hanifa acquires his knowledge from attending the classes of different teachers. Imam sadaq alayhi sallam acquires knowledge either through ilham, inspiration, direct, from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to the heart of the imam, or from kesp, from the imam al-baqir acquiring from imam sadaq alayhi sallam, from imam al-Husayn, from imam al-Husayn, from imam al-Amin, from Rasulullah, from Jibrail, from Allah subhanahu, wa ta'ala. So when a person comes and says Abu Hanifa, these schools the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi, Hanbali schools were not actually established by those who they are named after and they certainly weren't codified as the four main schools of Islam until one may argue a hundred odd years after some of the main protagonists even pass away. So a person who imagines that the Hanafi school was present and codified by the government in the time of Abu Hanifa not at all. Abu Hanifa on the contrary had problems with the government of his time. Yes, one may argue that a couple of hundred years after Abu Hanifa lives because there's so many different schools of law, they narrow them down to four. We're confident when we say that we are Jafariya because we know that our school is the one that purely goes back to Rasulullah through imam al-baqir and I doubt anyone Muslim of any school can say there's anyone more knowledgeable than imam al-baqir in this time. Through imam sadaq alayhi sallam, I doubt anyone could tell me there's anyone more knowledgeable than imam sadaq alayhi sallam, imam sadaq alayhi sallam, through imam al-Husayn, no one's more knowledgeable than imam sadaq alayhi sallam, through imam al-Husayn, no one's more knowledgeable than imam sadaq alayhi sallam, through imam alayhi, I defy anyone Muslim to show me someone more learned than imam alayhi when imam alayhi is alive. Back to Rasulullah, back to Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi sallam, Abu Hanifa school is a fiqh school, imam sadaq should never be narrowed down to a legal school. He's our imam in fiqh, our imam in theology, our imam in spirituality, Abu Hanifa may be an imam for many in fiqh, but they don't take their theology from Abu Hanifa, might take their theology from Abu al-Hasran al-Ashhari for example, or from Maturidi, or from Tahawih, but they won't take their theology from Abu Hanifa, my theology, my understanding of Tawheed, nubua, qiyam, it's from who, imam sadaq, my understanding of spirituality from imam sadaq, my understanding of laws from imam sadaq alayhi sallam. Ascent, ascent say it. I do believe I will never call on the line, inshaAllah I'll be able to get through. Salaamu alaykum. Your name and where you're calling from? Hello. Hello, Salaamu alaykum. Wa alaykum as-salam. Can you hear me? Okay, loud and clear. Your name and where you're calling from? Yes, my name is Al-Itraq Gureshi, and I'm calling from London. Can I talk to Sayyasi? You're more than welcome to fire away your question.  Yes, Sayyasi, first of all, I want to thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I want to thank you. You're spreading the most possible knowledge there is in the world, and I've been calling you for papers now, and because of you, I'm going through the Zira of Imam Salaam on the 17th of December. MashaAllah. MashaAllah. Remember us in your day? Yes, and I dream of coming out to the Zira with you as well one day. InshaAllah. So my question is that, can you tell us about some books that our youth can read about the Imams, because it's very important for us to connect to Imam, our Imams directly, right? So that was my question. Thank you very much for your question. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Well, I have to plug in the 14 infallibles, you know, my book on the Imams. I think it's, you know, hopefully for the youth, it would be a beneficial. InshaAllah. Give away signed copies, inshaAllah. InshaAllah. Why not? Or you could just go to Amazon and order it. I think as well, the great scholar of Najaf, Sharif Baqar Al-Qarashi, phenomenal biographies of the lives of the Ahlul Bayt, Alaym As-Salaam. Big collection. And they're translated in the English language, each one of them, from the biography of the Prophet, peace be upon his family, all the way till the biography of Imam Mahdi, Haji Allah Farajah, Sharif.  Also, Sheikh Al-Mufid's work, Kitab Al-Irshad is a great classical text for a person to get an understanding of the lives of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt, Alaym As-Salaam. That's right, that's right. Doctor, we've been discussing Imam As-Salaam, we've been discussing the different schools of law. Can we move our conversation towards the different theological debates that he had and how he tackled and refuted their arguments? I think one thing what's amazing about him is his open-mindedness and his tolerance of different opinions. You know, I find that in our communities today, if we hear somebody is, for example, an atheist, where, you know, we're straight away on the bandwagon, let's kick them out, let's not talk to them, let's not get close to them, let's not discuss anything with them, or someone's a polytheist, you're always wary of are they najis, are they not najis? What's the purity laws?  Maybe something that people like myself and others should learn from and try to adapt within our own discussions, really, because none of us are perfect and no better examples than the Ahlul Bayt, Alaym Al Salam, is true. How to look at opinions, no, he'd always mentioned, this is the opinion of the people of Medina, this is the opinion of the people of Kufa, you know, open discussion, atheists would sit with him, one would come to him and say, show me God, you know, and some of us might feel well antagonized if someone comes to our mosques and says, show me God, you guys all believe in this God, where is God? And he'll tell the person, look at the sun. Person would look at the sun, remove his eyes, and the Imam said, what's wrong? He said, all the rays of light were hurting me. And the Imam said, if you can't bear to see the creation, how do you expect to see the Creator? He didn't kick this atheist out of the gathering. He didn't turn around and say, well, if someone doesn't believe in God, then they should be excommunicated from society. At the end of the day, someone who doesn't believe in God, they may have their reasons. Some, for example, scientifically, they base their whole worldview on science. And they say that, listen, this scientific conclusions are not giving me the certainty that there is a God out there. Some may believe that there is something out there. Some may say there is a first cause, but they don't want to call it God. But we should be looking at the tolerance of Imam Sadaq. Secondly, look at Imam Sadaq. He sees that there are other theological groups at the time. There are those who believe in complete predestination. There are those who believe in complete free will. There are those who believe God has a body. There are those who believe God can never be seen and has no body.  There are those who, for example, revere the Abbasids and have no respect for him. But with each one of them, he speaks to them at the level of their intellect, and that is the sign of wisdom. When you speak to a person on the level of their intellect, and you appreciate that they may have a different worldview to yours, you know, you'd find sometimes people would say to him, if our Sunni brothers, for example, have God, let's say, if at the time those who are different to the Shia have got a Janazah prayer, do we join? He said, join them. Pray behind them. Many occasions, he'll always praise those of his community who try and revive the affairs of Ahl al-Bayt, and when they ask him, how do we revive their affairs, he says, gain from our knowledge and give it to the people. You know, so there was a lot of theological debates happening at this time, but the beauty of his discussions, you know, with atheists, with even members of his own community who want to explain to him, who want to ask him, explain to us creation. There's this discussion he has with Mufaddal, the son of Umar, where he talks about how God creates everything. You know, it's a wonderful, I think there's a book called Tawheed al-Mufaddal, where people, you know, discussions about the reliability of the conversation and dialogue, but however, it's a wonderful discussion about how creation happens, you know, the necessity of the first cause, reflecting on the creations of Allah and recognizing the beauty of that creation. So what I find most fascinating is that in that period where there are many theological debates and discussions, there isn't a single person in the history who looks at Imam Sadaq in a negative manner. It's always the man who was a man of such calmness, such morality, such ethics, such beauty, and that is what we need to apply in our discussions as well. Masha'Allah, Masha'Allah. Let's take the discussion towards his more, his personal life. We know about his father, Imam Bakr al-Islam, but who was Imam Sadaq's mother and also his wife, Imam Sadaq's wife, and what kind of relationship did they have and how did she aid him in his mission, in his campaign? Yes, his wife has a major role in his life. Her name is Hamidah, and he becomes the first of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt to marry from North Africa. This actually sets a trend where all the Imams who live after him marry from Africa. And he marries this lady, Hamidah al-Barbariya. She's from the Burbaz of North Africa. And it seems they have the most amazing relationship. He praises her in the most unique way. You know, normally that type of praise is reserved for, for example, another of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, or one of the highest companions. But she occupies praise where he says, you know, she is Hamidah in this world, Mahmoudah in the hereafter. If you want to seek knowledge, go to Hamidah's door, she'll give you knowledge.  So this lady, I think, really sets an example in terms of those sisters of ours who may be watching the show tonight, who may be thinking, can I one day become an Alima? Can I become a Mujtahidah? Can I become a Thakira of Ahl al-Bayt, Mulyani? Can I become someone who gives Majalis on behalf of Imam Al-Husayn, alayhi salam, the likes of Hamidah al-Barbariyah, the likes of Asma ibn Umayyus, the likes of Sayyidah Zaynah, the likes of Umm al-Baneen, the likes of Sayyidah Fidda, the likes of Sayyidah Fatima al-Masoumah, you know, they give you wonderful examples of how knowledge is able to impact the lives of those around them. You know, Hamidah is welcoming the woman of Medina on a regular basis. Any of you who have any questions, and sometimes in our communities, our women in our communities, if they have questions, it may be difficult for them to open up with these questions to the male scholars of the community. And we need and we, Alhamdulillah, year upon year you see more and more women in our communities getting the microphone, providing us with wonderful lectures, learning, you know, lectures where we can learn so much from them. And we need many more who can follow the example of that Hamidah al-Barbariyah, inshallah. Inshallah. We're coming towards the end of our show, but I think this is a very important topic that we must discuss is the sons of Imam Sadik alayhi salam and also a split within the inheritance of the imamship. We know about Imam Musa al-Qadim, but the Ismaili sect, or maybe they prefer to be called the Bora sect, they have a different opinion and a different history you could say. Would you like to discuss that? Well, within the Shia sect, you have the Zaydi Shia, who of course go up to Zaid, the son of Imam Zana Abideen, brother of Imam al-Baqir, so the uncle of Imam al-Sadaq alayhi salam. Then you have this difference between the Ismaili and the Ismaili. Ismaili take Imam Sadik's eldest son, Ismail, as being the Imam who is the successor to Imam al-Sadaq. Whereas the Ismaili take his third son, Musa ibn Jaafa, as being the successor of Imam al-Sadaq alayhi salam. You mentioned the Bora. Of course, the Ismailis are divided into two. You've got the ones who follow today, the Agha Khan, the Nazaris, and you have the Bora, who have a huge community, one finds in India, for example. So in the eyes of the Ismail dies before Imam al-Sadaq, and therefore cannot be his successor. Some turn around and say, well, that means his son could be the successor. One goes into occultation and so on, and the chain continues until today. There's a split seemingly at the 21st of the successes of Imam al-Sadaq alayhi salam. That's where you have the Nazaris and the Bora going into their own different versions of authority. Whereas we believe that no, Imam al-Sadaq alayhi salam and made clear that Imam al-Kawam is his successor. So these are differences which can be discussed amongst the scholars, inshallah. And also what to do with the burial of Imam al-Sadaq alayhi salam. Where is he buried? I mean, can we expect to find a nice huge monument, a big dome where he's buried? Well, sadly, you know, the state of his grave is nothing, kings in Saudi Arabia have better graves than the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Imam al-Hassan, Imam Zain al-Abideen, Imam al-Baqir, Imam al-Sadaq al-Aul buried in Madinah, in Jannah al-Baqir. And their graves were demolished by the Saudi royal family in 1925. Saudi royal family felt that if you build or erect an edifice with a dome on top of someone's grave, then you're leading to polytheism. Hitherto that point, virtually every school in Islam had this as a practice for their different saints and those who left a great legacy until they demolished all of this in 1925. It doesn't stop us honoring Imam al-Sadaq alayhi salam. They've tried to demolish the grave of Imam al-Hussain alayhi salam and there are 20 or 1 million who visit Imam al-Hussain over a few days. They try and demolish the grave of Imam al-Asqara, Imam al-Hadi in Samarra and still people flock there. And they continue to try and, you know, demolish graves. That is the, you know, the low level of the morals of these people. Doesn't really surprise me when I saw ISIS demolishing the grave of Prophet Jonah, Prophet Yunus. Who's the Prophet for the Jews, for the Christians, for the Muslims? This is what you expect of the barbarity which Saudi Arabia spreads. Of course, we can't talk about Saudi Arabia because, you know, they have important oil alliances with certain countries and therefore one has to stay quiet. Otherwise, you know, you have certain people who will not be too happy. But when it comes to Imam al-Sadaq alayhi salam, inshallah, there will be a day where we'll erect an edifice like it was before on the grave of Imam al-Sadaq alayhi salam. And if it doesn't happen in our lifetime, we will ensure that we'll keep on spreading his legacy and his knowledge. I feel sorry for those who have never heard of Imam al-Sadaq. And I feel sorry for those who have had Imam al-Sadaq hidden from them in the books of history where they mention his students and not mention him.  Until today, wherever you travel in the world, you'll hear that there are sons who are called Ja'far. If they're not named after Ja'far al-Tayyar, then they're named after Ja'far al-Sadaq. Doctor, I do believe we have a caller on the line. Very popular tonight, masha'Allah. Salamu alaykum. Your name and where you're calling from? My name is Abbas and I'm calling from Amsterdam. Salam alaykum, Abbas. Your question, please, to the Sayyid.  My question is that I have two questions, actually. The first one is that I want to know if there's a link or any platform that we can be directing our questions related to the Sayyid. And the second question is that if we can have some references from Sayyid Buhari or Sayyid Muslim with regards to Mawlid Nabi, well, if we can also make a comparison with what the Sunni, our Sunni brothers will say they are, for example, if we are going to compare it with Salat al-Tarawee or any of those things that they do in Mawlid Nabi, insha'Allah. Insha'Allah, thank you for your question. Thank you. In terms of direct questions, they can send direct questions to Sayyid Ahmad al-Shawani on Facebook, or you can send direct questions to here on Imam Hussein TV3. In terms of those who argue that the birth and or the celebration of the birth, the Mawlid is a bid'ah. We discussed this on our show last night and you can refer to the show last night. And I have a lecture on YouTube about celebrating the birth of the Holy Prophet where I provide references from the Qur'an, from the world of hadith, not only about the concept of certain days being days of blessings, not only about prophets who said peace be upon me the day I was born, not only about God mentioning how certain people, peace be upon them the day when they were born, not only how the Ahlul Bayt al-Masalam had the greatest of joys when remembering the days of births of their own beloved ones, but also the opinions of many of the Ulema. This is not a Sunni Shi'a issue. The idea of the celebrating the Mawlid or the bid'ah, this is all Salafi propaganda that is spread everywhere. Otherwise, in the Sunni and the Shi'a world, the Mawlid is the day in which people remember the greatest blessings ever sent to mankind, but they remember it by exchanging amongst them smiles. Smile is a form of charity, knowledge. Knowledge is a form of charity and knowledge is an obligation. And following the Sunnah and that's an obligation as well. It's not bid'ah, therefore, when you do those three. We have another caller on the line. Please, your name and where you're calling from? Hello, brother. My name is Muhammad Baqir and I come from Sweden, Malmö. Your question please for the Sayyid. First of all, Salam alaykum Sayyidina and may God bless you for every nook that you're spreading. Thank you. What is the relationship between Ahlul Bayt's philosophy and the great philosophers like Aristotle, secretaries or playwrights? Thank you very much. Okay, we'll discuss that with the Sayyid. Sayyid, philosopher from the Ahlul Bayt and the philosopher from other schools of philosophy. You know, this is a discussion that requires its own show entirely. To summarize in just a couple of minutes, looking at Aristotelian or look at Greek philosophy in general and comparing it with the teachings of Ahlul Bayt, Salam requires its own show. There is the remnants of the philosophy of the Greeks that still can be seen in the seminaries. Until today, there are, you know, within the study of Mantak and the seminaries, you'll look at certain principles of Aristotelian logic and the discussions looking at, for example, analogy, syllogisms, for example, inductions, the different processes that are involved and the different breakdowns of the way the human being thinks and what are the mistakes we make when we're thinking. A lot of this they will inherit and are open to admitting are discussed in relation to Aristotelian or Greek philosophy and the literature that we have from there. Then you have, for example, there is an opinion that some may put forth that we have to be careful what we get from the philosophers who are not the imams of Ahlul Bayt, Salam. And until today, in between Qum and Mashhad, for example, you have debates as to the value of philosophy but where that knowledge of philosophy comes from. Do I need to refer to these philosophers when I have the greatest minds of the minds of Ahlul Bayt, Salam? You find that there is one school which says that you can, you know, wisdom is the lost treasure of the believer.  For example, you can gain wisdom even from someone who's non-Muslim. And there is that school that says there is nothing wrong at the end of the day. All of this is for the benefit of human being and for the growth of the human being. Then there are others who say that, no, you start to pollute your minds by taking certain principles or reach certain conclusions or take up certain axioms, for example, which may differ with the teachings of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt, Salam. Then there is this whole debate and discussion concerning whether these Greek philosophers are seen as messengers of God on the earth. Were they people who weren't just philosophers but were rather amongst the 124,000 prophets of God with some believing they were others completely denying this? So there is definitely an interaction that takes place either until today in the studies in the seminary or in terms of certain controversial debates that continue between scholars who are pro or anti the usage of Greek philosophy within the Shi'i seminaries. I said we were discussing about Jonathan Bakhi and Medina. What can we do to help save the Shi'i heritage in Medina? Because I even believe that there's ruins of the university of Imam Sadiq. There's bits of broken stones and things like that. His name is still there. His name, anyone who goes this year to Amr or Hajj, you'll see the names of the 12 Imams in the mosque of the Prophet in Medina. Many don't know this. The names of the 12 Imams in the mosque of the Prophet in Medina. If you look up, if you just take about I would say 15 steps back from the back of the grave of the Prophet, 15 steps walk backwards. If you look up, normally they put this big white type of cover. Look up and you'll see the names of the 12 Imams of Ahlul Bayt. Imam Sadiq's name is there. It seems that sadly the Wahhabi movement is adamant and intent on destroying the heritage of the Ahlul Bayt. And the heritage of Islam in general. Those areas and those pieces of heritage related to the Prophet peace be upon his family, his companions, the caliphs, the Ahlul Bayt, a lot of them have been destroyed, a lot of them have been bulldozed, replaced by hotels, replaced by car parks. I think the likes of Robert Fisk amongst others, well-known journalists who have discussed the heritage of Ahlul Bayt, the heritage of the Prophet and how it's been destroyed in Medina year upon year and how the Saudis are adamant and intent on doing it. I think there is a need for us to try through different methods, whether it's through the United Nations and their programs of preserving heritage, whether it's through diplomatic discussions to see if there is a way in which in the political world, sometimes if you see someone meeting anyone from Saudi Arabia straight away, I would be like, how could you? This is wrong. Sometimes it could be a discussion concerning. So we have to find different ways in which we're able to sit on a round table and hopefully discuss these things. I think they've got their own issues and there's a few five-star hotels with princes locked up in them at the moment. So I think they've got to deal with those issues for now. If we have time just for one question from the WhatsApp, it's in regards to Ta'abut and having symbols of the Ahlul Bayt and touching it and kissing it. Is this shared? Isn't this a practice of the Hindus? Are we actually allowed to do things like that? And how do we refute people who have this sort of ideology? I think there's nothing written in our literature about a Ta'abut, for example, a coffin going around a congregation with people touching it. That's not there in the in the teachings of the Ahlul Bayt. Yes, the word Ta'abut is mentioned in the Qur'an as a box which preserved the heritage of the prophets of God. It's mentioned towards the end of chapter two of the Holy Qur'an from verse two, four, five onwards in relation to the heritage and artifacts of Moses and David's inheritance. But in terms of the Ta'abut that goes around, normally this is cultural acts which seek to remember the plight of the Prophet Muhammad's family, peace be upon them. And if you want to hold that Ta'abut, you can. If you want to stay on the side and just watch it, go around, you can. There's no obligatory act required and not much that's recommended, in fact, in relation to this. These are just ways in which a person tries to express their love of the Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon him. Say the final point for the viewers before we vlog off. I think it's great and we celebrate with the viewers and congratulate them on the birth of Imam Salaam and let's pray there'll be a day we sit together and give a lecture in Jannah al-Baqia next to his grave. Insha'Allah. We have an Insha'Allah Monday. Yes, we are. Insha'Allah. Insha'Allah. So that's it for tonight. Thank you very much for joining us and we hope that you are celebrating and enjoying yourselves on this Jewish occasion of the birth of Imam Salaam, whatever you are at home or in the mosques. And Insha'Allah, please join us for a new discussion on a new topic on Monday at 9 p.m. with myself and Dr. Sayed Amman Akshwani, peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and his blessings.


In this video, we're gonna consider a function that is described numerically. That is, we actually have a table of values that determine the relationship for our function. So our function will be called f and it's gonna have five or six points in its domain. So this function will be defined for x equals 10, 14, 18, 22, 26 and 30. And those are the only values for which this function is defined. So with the first question, what's the domain of the function, we actually can list what the domain is. We can just list all the values. This function's only defined for 10, for 14, for 18, 22, 26 and 30. Those are the only values in its domain. There's only six numbers in the domain of this function. The range of the relationship that the function gives us is that it's gonna make the connection that when x is 10, y, the y coordinate, it's gonna be negative 12. In other words, looking at the first column of the table here tells us that the function evaluated at 10, f of 10 will just be negative 12 because that's what the table tells me. Or if I wanted to do f of 22, I would look at this column right here. When x is 22, we'll assign that to the number one. So f of 22 is equal to one. And that's how we can do evaluation with the table here. So when it comes to the range, right, the range is all the possible output of the function. Or we could think of it as these are all the y's that come associated to x's. We are just, to find the range, we just have to look at the bottom row of this table here. Now we could put them in order if we wanted to, which it is actually in ascending order, which is fine. But the order when you list it doesn't matter too much here. Negative 12, negative six, negative two, one, three and eight. And so this is a very simple way of describing a function relationship. The domain is just the numbers on top. The range is just the numbers on the bottom. If we do function evaluation, we just look up the number on the table. So look at this one right here, f of five. What is f of five? Well, if we look along the table, it's like 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30. There's no five, right? And because there's no five in the table, and that's the entire function, then it turns out that f of five is actually undefined. It's not inside the domain. Five's not in the domain. So there is no number associated to five. It just wasn't defined for this function. So we would say that it's undefined. Sometimes we use the acronym D in E, which is short for does not exist. F of five does not exist because for whatever reason, we never decided what f of five should be. And there are a lot of practical reasons why one would not define this function for five. We don't necessarily have to worry about the context of this thing. We are just interested in how is it defined? It's the fives not defined here. So there is no f of five. That's how we're gonna do evaluations on these things. It turns out solving equations with this tabular approach to functions is pretty nice as well. It's pretty simple. So if we wanna solve the equation f of x equals negative six, we have to look for any x-coordinates whose y-coordinate is negative six. So we're gonna search along the bottom row of the function because that's where the f of x's are, that's the y-coordinates. We can see that there's a negative six right here. And so this would tell us that when x equals 14, f of 14 would equal negative six. So that's a solution there. Now you'd have to go look for the whole bottom right because there could be more than one solution maybe. Not in this situation. Turns out there's just the one. And so solving the equation f of x equals negative six means x equals 14. On the other hand, what about solving the equation f of x equals zero? So what this means is we're looking for an x-value such that the y-value is equal to zero. Now as we search the bottom here, we don't find any y's equals zeroes, right? It turns out that for this function, at no time, can f of x equals zero. And so since there is no choice of x that makes f of x equal to zero, that would mean there's no solution. There's no solution to this equation. Sometimes you'll see people draw the circle with a line through it. That means that's shorthand for no solution. Now on the other hand, if we wanna consider the inequality, when is f of x greater than zero, f of x here is the y-coordinates, the bottom row of this table. We wanna look for all values that will make f of x greater than or equal to zero. Well, that's not negative 12, that's not negative six, that's not negative one. Oh, it is greater than zero for one, three, and eight. So we're gonna report the corresponding x-coordinates there. So our solution would be x is equal to 22, 26, or 30. Those values of x will make f of x be greater than equal to zero there. And so that's all one has to do when you solve equations or inequalities with a table function. Or if you just wanna do function evaluations, you just look up the information on the table and you just have to record it. No equations have to be solved because this function is described in a numerical fashion. It's just a table. And so you can see some huge benefits of having this table. Solving equations is easy when you have a table. It just comes down to how difficult it is to search the table. And if the table's not too big, it's not too hard to search. But I should also mention though that if you have a lot of values, you know, tens of thousands of values, it might be very difficult to search the table. And so although it's nice, this numerical approach is very nice, it does have limitations. The bigger and bigger the function gets, the harder and harder this process gets. But I did wanna show you an example of solving equations and evaluating functions when it's in this numerical slash tabular form.