His Eminence Sayyid al-Hakeem calls the Turkish Alawite community to establish brotherly ties with other communities, and to learn the teachings of Islam and abide by them

His Eminence Sayyid al-Hakeem calls the Turkish Alawite community to establish brotherly ties with other communities, and to learn the teachings of Islam and abide by them
2019/05/06

His Eminence, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammed Saeed al-Hakeem advised the Turkish Alawite community to strengthen the ties of love and brotherhood between themselves and other nations, and to continue the visitations of the holy shrines of the Infallible Imams (peace be upon them), to follow their virtuous path and to extend the bridges of acquaintance and friendship with the brothers in faith. His Eminence gave this advice during a meeting with visitors from the Turkish Alawite community.

His Eminence also recommended that they familiarize themselves with the laws of Islam and they learn their religious duties, through liaison and communication with scholars and preachers, and by abiding by the guidance of the Ahlulbait (peace be upon them), and by performing their duties in their prescribed times.

His Eminence expressed his pleasure in meeting with them and having this dialogue, and reminded them of their religious principles which they are obligated to preserve, as well as their attachment to the Ahlulbait (peace be upon them), doing what is necessary to abide by the religious decrees.

His Eminence prayed for their success and for the acceptance of their good deeds, and asked them to convey his greetings to their relatives in Turkey.

Day Questions

What does the Quran say about people born with various illnesses, deformities and handicaps? How does Allah explain it?

Allah Almighty created this life for testing and trialing us; He did not create it to be a place of happiness. Rather, eternal happiness is in the Hereafter after passing the tests of this life. Almighty Allah might create a person without the sense of sight or hearing, or create a person that suffers from chronic disease, or create a healthy person who lives in poverty, or one that suffers an accident that results in losing a limb or a sense, or any other trials and tests that people undertake. One should respond to that with gratitude for the other blessings that God has bestowed upon him and with patience over his suffering, so he that he becomes deserving of the rewards of gratitude and patience. This itself will be the means to alleviate his suffering and pain, as long as he believes that all of this is in the hands of Almighty Allah, the Merciful.

Some people claim that both the Sunni and Shia authentic books of ahadith contain such narrations from which it is proved that the Holy Quran present in our houses is not exactly that Quran that was revealed upon the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny). Is there any truth to this?

The mentioned narrations are rejected by Shias and Sunnis, which suggests the lack of credibility in these traditions. Muslims were paying attention since the very early days of Islam in memorizing the Holy Book, reciting it, teaching it and spreading it. It was reported that the month of Ramadan is the spring season of the Holy Book, referring to the best time of the year. It was a common practice to recite the entire Quran during this month. Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) recited the Holy Book ten times during the holy month. It was also narrated that Imam Ali Al-Ridha (peace be upon him) did the same. Since the earliest days of Islam, there were certain reciters who specialized in the recitation of the Quran and they taught it to others. As such, the Book was widespread amongst the Muslims in general, not to any special class in the Muslim society, and they went to great lengths to preserve the words of the Quran without any changes and alterations. All of this indicates that the Holy Quran which we currently have, reached us from generation after generation. Therefore, the claim that you refer to in your question is meaningless and rejected.