Day Questions

When I go to study in Najaf, then what do I have to study to become a Mujtahid?

Ijtihad is not a goal that a student should have from the beginning. A believer should aim to fulfill the religious responsibilities of upholding the orders of the Sharia; one of them is learning the Islamic laws and teaching them. This could be achieved by learning more about the religion – and not necessarily reaching the level of Ijtihad – by which a believer could serve the Right Path. One could serve the religion and be a role model amongst his society, family and friends by being obedient to the Islamic laws and by spreading the religious teachings in the areas where he resides. Ijtihad is a talent that can be achieved by studying with the guidance of Almighty Allah. A religious student should study hard and make use of his time as much as possible. If he achieves this, then he can thank Almighty Allah for this bounty. If he does not, he can still serve the religion.

What is the historical background of the Shia?

Shias are those who believe in the right of the Ahlulbait in the religious leadership after the Prophet (peace be upon him) because they believe that the latter ordered Muslims to follow the Ahlulbaitt and refer to them after his death. This idea was explained by many texts, one of them is the tradition of Al-Thaqalain in which the Prophet said: "I leave among you the two weighty things, the book of Allah and my progeny; as long as you are attached to them both, you will never be misguided". The said tradition is widely recognized in the Shia and Sunnis books of traditions. Similar to this is the tradition of Al-Ghadeer and other narrations as well. A number of companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) believed in this faith and defended it, like Salman, Abu Dharr, Ammar, Hudhaifa and others. This ideology remained in all different stages of Islamic history without any change.

During the Month of Ramadhan, I had a wet dream one night and woke up a few minutes before Fajr. I took the time to eat and drink something quickly and believed that I will be able to do ghusl before Fajr time. However, I forgot and the Fajr time began. I did ghusl as soon as I remembered, but was my fast that day valid?

Your fast was invalid, and you have to make it up based on an obligatory precaution.

If one doubts whether Hajj is obligatory on him in his current state and financial situation, and doubts whether he is islamically considered "able" to perform Hajj, is it obligatory on him to investigate to make sure?

It is not obligatory to investigate, but if one becomes certain of the ability, pilgrimage becomes obligatory on him.

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