Al-Sayyid al-Hakeem Passes Away

Al-Sayyid al-Hakeem Passes Away
2021/09/03

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Indeed, we belong to Allah, and to Him do we indeed return.

His Eminence, Grand Ayatullah al-Sayyid Muhammad Sa’eed al-Tabataba’i al-Hakeem, has passed away to and returned to his Lord, the Most High. We pay our condolences to the nation of Islam, especially to the followers of the Ahlulbait (Peace be upon them) and the Islamic seminaries (Hawzas).

 We pray to Allah Almighty to bestow upon him His extensive and abundant mercy and blessings, and to raise him with the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Ahlulbait (peace be upon him).

There is no power or strength, except that of Allah, the Most High, the Most Mighty.

 

The Office of His Eminence al-Sayyid al-Hakeem, 25 Muharram 1443 (3 September, 2021)

Day Questions

Please could you explain why it has become widely circulated that the Shias pay the Khums, while the payment of Zakat is not common amongst them, although I know that they are both equally obligatory?

Zakat is among the obligations that have been emphasized by the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Prophet and the Ahlulbait (peace be upon them). Not paying it is considered among the major sins for which Allah has promised hellfire. The jurists have explained the conditions and rulings about Zakat in their books. Zakat is obligatory on the following three groups of properties: (1) Gold and silver minted coins. (2) The four crops: wheat, barley, raisins and dates. (3) The four livestock: camels, cows, goats and sheep. Gold and silver coins are not used as tender nowadays, so the Zakat on this group does not apply. The Zakat on the other items are not obligatory unless their quantity reaches a particular threshold, which most people do not possess nowadays. One can see that the application of obligatory Zakat is much less than Khums, which is obligatory on all net income, as Allah has said: “And know that whatever thing you gain, indeed a fifth thereof is for Allah, and for the Messenger and for the kinsman and orphans and the needy and the wayfarer” (8:41).The condition of the obligation of Khums, which is the existence of a net income, applies to almost everybody, however little it may be. On the other hand, Zakat is only applicable for those who own at least a particular amount of the mentioned crops and livestock.

My nephew has married a Christian woman in the Christian way, but my nephew is still a Muslim. Will his relationship with the Christian woman under this marriage be considered as adultery?

In the marriage contract, the proposal and acceptance must be present between the man and woman. If this is not included in the contract, it is invalid. One can redo the marriage contract correctly between the man and the woman. The woman will say, “I marry myself to you on a dower of such-and-such”, then the man accepts by saying, “I accept.” The dower must be stated and determined and they should agree on it.

As per the jurisprudence of Ahlus-Sunnah, it is permissible to offer Funeral prayer in Absentia. For the purpose of unity with Ahlus-Sunnah, is it permissible for us to offer Funeral prayer in Absentia for the deceased Sunnis, especially for their deceased clergies and scholars?

It is permissible to perform it with them if it cause closeness between the hearts and uniting the word of Muslims.

To me, all the mujtahids are equally knowledgeable and God-fearing, and I cannot distinguish between them. What should I do?

It is not possible for non-expert Muslim to find out the most knowledgeable and God-fearing, he should refer to the experts to determine this. If you could not ascertain the most knowledgeable, or the most God-fearing, based on what the experts inform you, then you can choose one of marjas and follow his edicts.

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