lost in a sea of ayatollahs/marja's(marajii).
I'm trying to find my real "place" within Islam and it's not that easy. I expected a list of like 5 ayatollahs that people follow, kind of like the four schools of thought in sunni Islam. Nope, I got a list of 69...and those are just the ones that are still living.
My husband follows Shirazi, although there are even multiple Shirazi's and I'm so confused by Arabic names that I only know it's the right one by recognizing the layout of his website. If they ever redesign I'll think it's a different guy!
Too be honest, Shirazi's a little strict for my liking. Like, about things like Chess...
When choosing your marja or madhab, do you have to agree with everything? I feel like that's almost impossible. But then I've been told you can't really pick and choose from all of them, you pick one and stick to it.
It's confusing, because say I claimed to "follow" (I dislike that term) Shirazi...but yet I continue to play musical instruments, chess, and shake men's hands in formal situations. There are religious leaders who permit these things within religious guidelines. Shirazi is not one of them. Just because I claim to be a follower of his jurisprudence, if I commit these "sins" (according to him) yet in actuality they aren't sins according to God, will it end up being a sin anyway because I was told it was but did it anyway? I mean, it seems like restricting yourself so much to just one train of thought kind of limits you. People are people, which means they are flawed. These people are ABSOLUTELY more knowledgable than me and I'm so thankful they do the hard searching for answers so that my life can be easier. With that being said, I don't believe any one of them is going to be 100% on ever ruling. How do you address this issue in your own life?
This stuff gets me confused. I want Islam to be easy, like it's supposed to be. Five pillars. That's all. Advice is MORE than welcome.
23 comments:
Its hard to give advice since you are shia and follow something completely different than I do...only advice is to never follow anything blindly, always double check with the qur'an and hadith.
Honestly, do you think that your young followers have more knowedge to give you advice,
The majority are mixed up themselves ,picking and choosing what they want.I think it's ill advised to ask new converts what they think is right it will only confuse you more.Find a masjid and contact a good scholar and ask him your questions.
So many young people and these blogs distribute advices left and right without even thinking of the consequences of leading someone astray.
Honestly, do you think that your young followers have more knowedge to give you advice,
The majority are mixed up themselves ,picking and choosing what they want.I think it's ill advised to ask new converts what they think is right it will only confuse you more.Find a masjid and contact a good scholar and ask him your questions.
So many young people and these blogs distribute advices left and right without even thinking of the consequences of leading someone astray.
Have a look at Fadlallah inshaAllah. I know he died recently but his fatwas are up to date still and I really think that he was one of the best.
Sistani is also veeeery good!
I wouldn't recommend Shirazi... only because he is so strict and doesn't leave much room for other views, in my opinion.
No one is going to be 100% correct all the time but you choose your marja based on who you think is a) the most learned and b) the most suited to you. I think that Sistani is the best one out there but for my women's/social issues I follow Fadlallah... inshaAllah I will choose between them one day but yeah I would research those two first.
*hugs* Just hang in there and choose wisely. I was a big fan of Fadhullah (may he rest in peace). Maybe you could look up his successor?
You have to choose someone you mostly agree with. When you follow a ruling of theirs they become somewhat responsible for your action. That is why they say only the truly qualified should give advice on certain issues...they have to take the heat from God if they end up wrong.
Also, I do want to point out that once you've chosen a marja, you'll use them quite rarely to be honest. It's only really if you have a question that you can't find yourself, so it definitely is an easy thing - don't get too worried about it :) Don't pressure yourself to choose one though either. If you're having difficulty, it's all from Allah (swt) so perhaps there's another path that's more comfortable for you!
For me, I am still looking for my madhab. For now, I try to do the best research that I am able to do, or to ask people at my masjid that I trust to have more knowledge than me.
As sunnis (if I am not mistaken) we view the four madhabs as a mercy to muslims. If there are four legitimate opinions on an issue, inshaAllah any of those legitimate opinions will be accepted and it is up to your conscience and ability to pick one of the accepted positions. I feel like this is something that you shouldn't stress about too much inshaAllah.
Personally, I don't know anyone that follows a madhab 100% though.
I'm pretty new to Islam as you know and not a Shia so I'm far from the ideal person to be answering a question like this.
But just logically, if something is right in the eyes of God, then it's right in the eyes of God. It doesn't become wrong because there's someone respected believed it was wrong.
In the end, from what I can tell, the marjas are scholars who are respected in their interpretations but do not necessarily agree. That is, some of them are wrong at least in a little way (everyone can't be right)!
It seems like a good idea to follow one in particular just for convenience because it would be impossible to read every respected scholar's opinion on every subject and when you have someone you respect and trust in advance, you just don't feel the need to look at all the other opinions.
I'd say you just haven't found one that's right for you. Until then, seems like it would be good to keep searching. Seems nothing wrong with getting a little here and a little there, they are all respected opinions in the end. It's just more trouble for you!
I don't plan on looking for/choosing a marjah, or a madhab, or any of that. I believe that my relationship with God is something between me and God and no one else. I don't believe in letting some sheikh interfere with it. Although I'm Muslim, I accept the reality of the fact that organized religion can be incredibly corrupt. If Muslims (or people of any faith, for that matter) kept their religion between themselves and God, we wouldn't have so-called Muslims trying to justify blowing themselves up with Quranic verses, or fanatical Christians blowing up abortion clinics, or any of that. I don't see the point in having a marjah. I have a relationship with God that may be unlike any of the madhabs/marjahs/ayatollahs/whatevers, but it is every bit as valid.
I don't even consider myself strictly Sunni or Shiite. I'm non denominational and I think divides of any kind, whether its the Sunni/Shiite divide, or the four madhabs, or the five ayatollahs, don't and cannot help anyone. All they do is create disunity and confusion among Muslims.
Just have to say, Anonymous is lame. I'm young, am NOT a new convert, and don't 'pick and choose'.
*standing up for all the converts lol*
why do we -sunni or shi3a- have to follow someone even if we think that he is somehow strict.
i guess the Quran and the sunna have it all. yes it needs more knowledge and questionning and you only can find that with those who knows better, but..
i don't know but inshAllah you will find the perfect soultion for this because after all, Allah is going to ask us not them.
Though anonymous' used harsh words in his/her comment, but i agree that maybe the best way is to seek through mosques and good scholars.
May Allah guide you to the right path and Good luck dear :)
@alabaster - good advice for anyone. Too often something that looks "official" on a website is taken as fact. And thanks for standing up for converts.
@ anon - there is no shi'a mosque anywhere near where I live. And if I can't even figure out ayatollahs, who basically communicate through websites, where am I going to dig up a scholar from? I DON'T have all this at my fingertips which is why I'm asking on my blog. In Islam we're told to ask those with more knowledge. I'm a new Muslim, but I may know more about one aspect, while another convert may know more about another, right? Therefore, we can share what we have learned, and gain from each other. In reality, though, I was asking for advice on how to sift through all of this information, and on how people "use" their marja in their day to day Islam. I was not asking "who should I follow?" I was asking how to search and how to know if I "fit."
@Ellen - thanks, I know I've heard you talk about Fadlallah. My husband seemed pretty adament against him for some reason, but it's my Islam and he truly wants me to research and fine my own way. I asked if his parents followed Shirazi and he said yes. I then asked if that's why he chose him as well and he said no, that he researched for himself at a certain age. I think his deal with Shirazi is that the stricter you are, the safer you are. At least in my husband's logic. I don't know all that much yet, but I do know I'm generally not a strict literalist in my personal interpretation of Islam, and believe that most things have to be looked at in specific contexts. Anyway, I'll keep looking. What prompted this was my frustration with only Sunni information coming up with any of my searches. I needed a Shia site to answer my questionsn. (It was actually a search about eyebrow plucking, lol, but now I'm really wanting to find the correct view on how to make up fasts missed from breastfeeding)
@LK - thanks. I need the hugs! It's overwhelming sometimes. Like, people make religion so much tougher than it needs to be. I understand we may not all have the time to research as in depth as these men, but I truly believe we have brains and with the use of Qur'an, sensible hadith, and common sense we can figure most things out, at least roughly, on our own (insha'Allah). Anyway, rambling. :)
@luxury - i get what you're saying. And I'm a bit of a Qur'an heavy semi Shi'a. If that's possible. :) And you're quote "All they do is create disunity and confusion among Muslims." rings very true in many instances. For one the Shia/Sunni divide, but even within both... Actually when searching through these maraji I was looking at khomeini and my husband said something about people following khomeini not liking shirazi followers...something like that. All I could think was, "do we really need MORE division...MORE stuff to fight about?" I said on Ellen's blog, I think, that Muslims brag about Islam being the fastest growing religion in the world, but yet, many Muslims only believe a very select few (i.e. those just like them) are truly MUSLIM. You can't have you're cake and eat it too, right?
Nikki, let me look around at a few and I'll see what I can get for you in regards to fasting while breastfeeding and eyebrow plucking. I'll send them in a facebook message :)
Nikki, I just wanted to leave you a comment and let you know how much I enjoy your blog. I've been reading for about a year now, just lurking. :-) But since I have also converted to Islam, your blog has given me comfort to know that I'm not alone. We have a lot in common--both Nikkis (even if yours is only a pseudonym--Nicole is my real name, and Nikki is what my family calls me most often), both really interested in linguistics, languages, and ESL. :-) Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for writing the blog. I really enjoy it.
Salaam Nikki,
I would strongly advise going to www.al-islam.org, as it has a great deal of information regarding Shia perspectives, written by scholars, sheikhs, and other researchers. I would also recommend shiachat.com, as there are many knowledgeable members who can answer any questions or concerns you have (or at least point you to reliable resources).
As for choosing a marja', take your time. There's no need to rush. Perhaps go with who your husband follows for now, but continue reading and researching about the others. As someone else mentioned, you won't be clinging desperately to them - you'll just be going to them when you have a very specific question or circumstance that you are unsure of. Much of what we need to know is already present in the Quran and hadith, as Islam is based on logic and reason - it's not difficult to figure out. The scholars exist to help us understand the changing world around us and the Islamic approach to all the details.
I agree with Sakina08, take your time. I can help you out with those 60-something by telling you this though, hehe... Fadlallah doesn't "permit" shaking hands with non-mahrams, and neither does Sistani (my personal marja). To be honest, I don't think many agree that's allowed at all. Also, I know Sistani ruled playing chess and some musical instruments as impermissible, which might be enough to cross him off your list.
You might want to check which ones even have the English Q&A / ask a question available on their website, or have a book available to you. I know Sistani and Fadlallah do, but others like Vahid Korasani only offer this in Farsi.
Good luck!
BTW, I just saw you mention something about brow plucking... Sistani permits this, I can't remember his explanation but LOL it did make sense when I read it before. I guess that doesn't help though :( Sorry! As for the breastfeeding question, I don't know off the top of my head but you could always ask a couple and see what answer you get?
The madhab people follow is, logically speaking, the madhab of their own teachers. Which madhab did Imaam as Shafi'ee follow? Being a student of Imam Malik was he a Maliki? Or did he differ in opinion after finding sahih hadeeths that Imaam Maalik hadn't found yet? What about the students of Imam as-Shafi'ee? Some of his students actually found hadeeths that he hadn't found himself, so that's why his own students also differed in opinion with their own teacher. All these great scholars wouldn't have done the differing if they truly wanted to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah.
The best student of imaam as Shafi'ee actually proved his own teacher wrong concerning this one issue, and Imaam as Shafi'ee respected his student for that. They weren't blind in their following.
In short, we're all actually just following the madhab of whatever we've learned is from Qur'an and Sunnah.
:)
Wow this is really interesting. I can't actually give you any advice except to pray istikharah (are Shia's allowed to do that?)
Honestly, I don't even know that much about Shias. For example, I've always wanted to know... can Shias and Sunnis pray in the same mosque? Cos I notice some don't come to our mosque which I feel is sad cos there's only ONE mosque in this city! I mean I hate to see people being left out, aren't we all Muslims at the end of the day?
All the best in finding your path =)
Salaam Nikki,
Just wanted to say how much I appreciate ur blog - i just discovered it two days ago and have read all of it! You have a lot of courage to put out there so honestly this journey of yours = what so so so many sisters (and not just converts, even those of us born into Islam) feel when they begin to commit to the deen more deeply, even in the face of disappoint and non-acceptance of even those closest to them.
I didn't get a chance to read other's comments but I just have something small to say.
In the Surat al Baqara in al Qur'an il Kareem, Allah swt commands the Jews to sacrifice a cow. They don't do it, before asking a million and one questions. Just as they were given an answer to one question, another question was to follow.
The jews made it so hard for themselves (mainly due to being unbelievers). Allah had a command, and they couldn't just follow through with it. They had to make it difficult by asking more and more questions.
What is this telling us? Allah swt gave us a book which has everything in it. Why do we, as human, complicate things so much?
I know that you are a follower of my Al-nissaa blog, but at the moment it is on private. I am doing lots of research at the moment, but if you want I can give you a password at some stage. Just contact me through the MyHijabPlus blog if you like.
Ramadan Kareem :-)
I would like to comment sis Houda's tafsir on Al baqarah, where the jews asked too many questions. No doubt they did ask too many questions but they did so because they were too lazy to obey Allah's commands. Not because they were actually unsure of what to do.
There is no problem about asking questions that you don't know about. It's actually a good thing so that we could make sure that we are on the right path. The problem about the jews in al baqarah lies in their attitude which is a whole different situation than ours. :)
I'd just say look into yourself and what you believe. If you believe in the five pillars only and the Qur'an, and don't want to complicate things with conflicting advice and fatawa from the many different scholars and schools, then don't. When you want understand something, read from the original source, read the background, then read everyone's different opinions (it is still good to hear what people who have dedicated their life to the study of the subject have to say) and decide what you think.
You don't have to call yourself shia or sunni, you don't have to be what your husband is either.
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