Source: al-Kafi: Book 3, Chapter 1, Number 159
Abdullah al-Deesani, an atheist had a dialogue with Hisham Ibn Hakam.
The Atheist: Do you believe in God?
Hisham replied in affirmative.
The Atheist: Is He Almighty?
Hisham: Yes, He is Almighty and All-Powerful.
The Atheist: Can He put the whole world inside an egg without enlarging the size of the egg or diminishing the volume of the world?
Hisham: Give me some time to think over it.
The Atheist: I give you one whole year, and left.
Hisham went to see Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (p) in a hurry and said: O Son of the Prophet Muhammad (p), Deesani has put a challenging question to me and as regards its answer I cannot rely on anyone except God or you.
Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (p) asked: What was the question?
Hisham related the question of Deesani.
The Imam (p): O Hisham! How many sense-organs you have?
Hisham replied: Five.
The Imam (p): Which one is the smallest among them?
Hisham: The pupil of the eye.
The Imam (p): What is the size of the pupil of the eye?
Hisham: About the size of a grain of lentil or a part of it.
The Imam (p): Alright, now look around and tell me what you see.
Hisham: I see the sky, the earth, the houses, the spacious mansions, the mountains and the rivers, etc.
The Imam (p): The One Who can put all you see inside a grain of lentil or a part of the same can also insert the entire world inside an egg without enlarging the size of the egg or diminishing the size of the world.
On hearing this Hisham was overjoyed and fell down on his face performing a prostration and kissed the hands, feet and forehead of the Imam (p) and said: O Son of the Prophet Muhammad (p), this answer will be sufficient for me.
Hisham returned to his place. The very next day Deesani came to see Hisham and said: O Hisham, I have just come to greet you and have not come for an answer to my question.
Hisham: Even so, here is the answer to your question.
Hisham then told him what the Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (p) had said in answer to his question.
Deesani then went to see the Imam (p) and requested an audience with him. The Imam (p) granted his request.
Addressing the Imam (p) Deesani said: O Jafar son of Muhammad! Show me the way to my God.
The Imam (p) asked him his name.
Deesani left abruptly without answering.
His friends asked him: Why did you not tell your name?
Abdullah al-Deesani said: If I had told him my name – Abdullah – he would have said, ‘Who is this One whose servant are you.’ (Note: Abdullah means ‘Servant of Allah’).
His friends said: Go to see the Imam (p) again and request him to guide you to your God without asking your name.
Deesani went to see the Imam (p) again and said: O Jafar son of Muhammad, guide me to my God but do not ask my name.
The Imam (p) asked him to sit down and relax. Deesani did so. Perchance a young boy was playing nearby and had an egg in his hand.
Addressing the young boy the Imam (p) said: Let me have this egg for a while.
The boy handed over the egg to the Imam (p).
Addressing Deesani the Imam (p) said: This is a protected castle. It has a hard covering and beneath the hard covering there is a fine covering and beneath that fine covering there is liquid gold and molten silver. Neither the molten silver intermingles with the liquid gold nor do the liquid gold merges into the molten silver and both remain as they are. Nothing comes out of it to divulge the secret of its precision and nothing enters in it to control the internal balance. No one knows if the final product will be a male or a female. All of a sudden it splits and results in a peacock like multicolored offspring. Do you not see a Supreme power behind all this?
Deesani remained engrossed in deep thought and then exclaimed: I bear witness that there is no god but God and that He is One and has no partners and that Prophet Muhammad (p) is His bondman and His apostle and I also bear witness that you are a divinely ordained Imam and the proof of His existence and I hereby disown all my previous misconceptions.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunni/Shi'ah Dialogue Re-uploaded
Salam Alaykum,
It has come to my attention that the previous link for the big Sunni Shi'ah dialogue on the Islam and Friends show is down. Though, it has been re-uploaded to a different channel.
This was a dialogue performed in January, by brother Rex (Islam and Friends host), brother MacIsaac (ShiaChat host, representing the Shi'i side), myself (Advent Islam blogger, dialogue host), and brother Orthodox (Sunni side). It was a very informative discussion, and everyone was very respectful. If you'd like to hear it, click below:
It has come to my attention that the previous link for the big Sunni Shi'ah dialogue on the Islam and Friends show is down. Though, it has been re-uploaded to a different channel.
This was a dialogue performed in January, by brother Rex (Islam and Friends host), brother MacIsaac (ShiaChat host, representing the Shi'i side), myself (Advent Islam blogger, dialogue host), and brother Orthodox (Sunni side). It was a very informative discussion, and everyone was very respectful. If you'd like to hear it, click below:
Monday, March 16, 2009
In response to brother Shalmo...
Peace be upon you all, and may God bless His prophets and those chosen to carry out God's righteous duties.
I would like to make a quick response to brother Shalmo, who has commented on my latest post here on Advent Islam. Firstly, Salam 'Alaykum brother, and thank you for your comment.
Firstly, you claim that I give greater authority to the Sunni 'Sahih' books than the words of the 12 A'immah (a). This is contrary to what I have been saying both on the forums and on this blog - in fact, I have an article here which disproves the infallibility of Sahih Bukhari. However, the reason why I sometimes site ahadith from these sources is due to my large Sunni Muslim audience (check the poll to the right) and my familiarity with Sunni Muslim sources (me being a former Sunni Muslim myself). There are still many ahadith in these Sunni Muslim sources which prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, in the 12 A'immah.
For example, my article on Imam al-Mehdi (a) uses a multitude of ahadith from various Sunni Muslim sources, in an effort for them to realize that their own books support ideas such as 12 Successors, the Mehdi's rule, the Occultation, etc.
Secondly, you have said that the 12 A'immah are the best source. One must remember that the Qur'an is first and foremost, the best source for Islam ad Muslimeen, as it is the authentic word of God. This is why, more than anything else, I use the Qur'an. I am still in the process of studying al-Kafi, Sahifa'l Sajjadiya, and other collections in Arabic, which is why I haven't cited them as much as the Qur'an, Nahjul Balagha, Bukhari, etc. Insha'allah I will use these alternate sources in the future.
At the end of your post, you claimed that I am 'just another sectarian'. You have also claimed that I am a kafir (heretic). Do you have evidence for these claims? I have always been FOR reconciliation between the Sunni and Shi'ah, and my personal beliefs are ones that do not contradict the Qur'an, the authentic ahadith of the Prophet (s) or the authentic sayings of Ahlul Bayt. The only thing they do contradict are the extreme views of some in the Sunni Muslim and Shi'i sects; views such as a "perfect" sahaba, "completely sahih" collections, incarnation of the Ahlul Bayt (from light to flesh), etc.
And finally in response to Kevin, I do not have AIM, but I do have an MSN. You can find me at qaim[AT]live.ca
I would like to make a quick response to brother Shalmo, who has commented on my latest post here on Advent Islam. Firstly, Salam 'Alaykum brother, and thank you for your comment.
Firstly, you claim that I give greater authority to the Sunni 'Sahih' books than the words of the 12 A'immah (a). This is contrary to what I have been saying both on the forums and on this blog - in fact, I have an article here which disproves the infallibility of Sahih Bukhari. However, the reason why I sometimes site ahadith from these sources is due to my large Sunni Muslim audience (check the poll to the right) and my familiarity with Sunni Muslim sources (me being a former Sunni Muslim myself). There are still many ahadith in these Sunni Muslim sources which prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, in the 12 A'immah.
For example, my article on Imam al-Mehdi (a) uses a multitude of ahadith from various Sunni Muslim sources, in an effort for them to realize that their own books support ideas such as 12 Successors, the Mehdi's rule, the Occultation, etc.
Secondly, you have said that the 12 A'immah are the best source. One must remember that the Qur'an is first and foremost, the best source for Islam ad Muslimeen, as it is the authentic word of God. This is why, more than anything else, I use the Qur'an. I am still in the process of studying al-Kafi, Sahifa'l Sajjadiya, and other collections in Arabic, which is why I haven't cited them as much as the Qur'an, Nahjul Balagha, Bukhari, etc. Insha'allah I will use these alternate sources in the future.
At the end of your post, you claimed that I am 'just another sectarian'. You have also claimed that I am a kafir (heretic). Do you have evidence for these claims? I have always been FOR reconciliation between the Sunni and Shi'ah, and my personal beliefs are ones that do not contradict the Qur'an, the authentic ahadith of the Prophet (s) or the authentic sayings of Ahlul Bayt. The only thing they do contradict are the extreme views of some in the Sunni Muslim and Shi'i sects; views such as a "perfect" sahaba, "completely sahih" collections, incarnation of the Ahlul Bayt (from light to flesh), etc.
And finally in response to Kevin, I do not have AIM, but I do have an MSN. You can find me at qaim[AT]live.ca
Monday, March 9, 2009
Show of Sunnah-Shi'ah Unity in 'Iraq
Picture: http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2009-03/45433986.jpg
Alhamdulilah! Praise be to God for all that is, was, and will be. May His peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you all.
Today, the effort of the Islamic unity campaign has shown tremendous results. 'Iraq, which is the most volatile region in the world, has been a stand off between Sunni Muslims and Shi'i Muslims for decades. First, with the brutal and biased rule of President Saddam Hussein, then with the 'Iraq & Iran war, and again after the U.S. invasion of 'Iraq. In the early years of the war, Sunni Muslims and their resistance had been prime targets of the U.S. occupation and Shi'i militias, and Shi'i civilians were the targets of groups like Al Qaeda in Iraq.
But today, in the city of Samarra, Sunni Muslims welcomed over 1 million Shi'i pilgrims for prayer at the Imam Hassan al-Askari (a) shrine to mark to anniversary of his death. al-Askari (a) is the 11th Imam in Twelver ideology. The shrine, which was attacked in 2006, is in its final stages of reconstruction.
About 5,000 Sunni and Shi'i Muslims attended a joint-prayer in Samarra's Grand Mosque, chanting slogans such as "Sunni and Shi'ah are brothers!" and "This homeland won't be betrayed!". Praise be to God and Him alone, no attacks, no dead and no wounded in this special occasion.
The significance of this event shows that 'Iraq is finally beginning to turn the page. Sectarian tensions have been down recently, with less 'Iraqis being killed or captured based on sectarian lines than ever before. I, at Advent Islam, hope that 'Iraqis continues to rebuild its unity, and continues on the path of Islamic unity - pleasing God.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-samarra7-2009mar07,0,6090449.story
Alhamdulilah! Praise be to God for all that is, was, and will be. May His peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you all.
Today, the effort of the Islamic unity campaign has shown tremendous results. 'Iraq, which is the most volatile region in the world, has been a stand off between Sunni Muslims and Shi'i Muslims for decades. First, with the brutal and biased rule of President Saddam Hussein, then with the 'Iraq & Iran war, and again after the U.S. invasion of 'Iraq. In the early years of the war, Sunni Muslims and their resistance had been prime targets of the U.S. occupation and Shi'i militias, and Shi'i civilians were the targets of groups like Al Qaeda in Iraq.
But today, in the city of Samarra, Sunni Muslims welcomed over 1 million Shi'i pilgrims for prayer at the Imam Hassan al-Askari (a) shrine to mark to anniversary of his death. al-Askari (a) is the 11th Imam in Twelver ideology. The shrine, which was attacked in 2006, is in its final stages of reconstruction.
About 5,000 Sunni and Shi'i Muslims attended a joint-prayer in Samarra's Grand Mosque, chanting slogans such as "Sunni and Shi'ah are brothers!" and "This homeland won't be betrayed!". Praise be to God and Him alone, no attacks, no dead and no wounded in this special occasion.
The significance of this event shows that 'Iraq is finally beginning to turn the page. Sectarian tensions have been down recently, with less 'Iraqis being killed or captured based on sectarian lines than ever before. I, at Advent Islam, hope that 'Iraqis continues to rebuild its unity, and continues on the path of Islamic unity - pleasing God.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-samarra7-2009mar07,0,6090449.story
Friday, March 6, 2009
Ash-Shamsy wal Qamar - The Sun and the Moon (poem)
Salamu 'Alaykum, may peace be with you all.
I've just written a poem. It's based the Prophet Muhammed (s) on his Farewell pilgrimage, I hope you all like it. Hint: Read the first letter of each line starting at the 3rd stanza.
Imagery: the Sun = Prophet Muhammed (s) and the Moon = Imam 'Ali (a)
http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=234960413
I've just written a poem. It's based the Prophet Muhammed (s) on his Farewell pilgrimage, I hope you all like it. Hint: Read the first letter of each line starting at the 3rd stanza.
Imagery: the Sun = Prophet Muhammed (s) and the Moon = Imam 'Ali (a)
http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=234960413
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