Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamoalakum Burhan Bhai.

Shia`s combining the daily prescribed prayers, Turbah and Imamat?

1)    Shia`s tend to combine the daily prescribed prayers. I`m aware that this can be done in a state of emergency only, then can you please explain why the Shia`s do this.

2)      Why do Shia`s place a stone (clay) before commencing Salah and prostrate on it?

3)      I was watching a program called `Aalim Online` on which the host invites a Sunni and a Shia scholar to discuss religion related matters.

On a recent episode, the Shia scholar was asked about the 3 questions that one will be asked in the grave, he replied, for us followers of the fiqh jafariyah there will be `4` questions asked.

He went on to say that the 4th question will be: `Who was you Imam`?

Can you please shed some light onto this matter?

Jazakallah Khair

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Why shia pray different

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verse 79-80:

We have sent you (O Mohamed) as a Messenger to mankind, and Allah’s witness suffices for this. Whoever obeys the Messenger, in fact obeys Allah, and whoever turns away from him, he will be accountable for his deeds. Anyhow, we have not sent you (O Mohamed) to be a guardian over them.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 31-32:

O Prophet, tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah, follow me. Then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His Messenger.” And if, in spite of this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love those, who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a sermon: “The best speech is that which is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran; and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the innovations, and every innovation is an error.”

Dear and beloved Brother in Islam, Allah Subhanah revealed the Guidance and the Glorious Quran, and perfected the deen with the advent of the Last and Final Messenger of Allah, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws)…..Thus if one wishes and intends to follow the Straight Way of Islam, it is absolutely imperative that one unconditionally obey each and every Command of Allah and His Messenger (saws).

As transpired with the communities of the Prophets which came before us, some unscrupulous people who had their own agendas and ambitions, distorted, changed, altered, and innovated in the deen, and divided the Ummah into sects and creeds to further their own ambitions.....

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 30 Surah Rum verses 31-32:

This (Islam) is the right and true faith, but most people do not know. (Be steadfast on this) turning wholly and sincerely towards Allah Alone, and fear Him, and establish the Salat, and do not be like the mushriks, who have set up their separate creeds and divided themselves into sects, each sect rejoicing in what it has.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 45 Surah Al-Jathiyah verse 17:

Then (the people of old) they differed amongst themselves after the knowledge (of Truth) had come to them, only because they wanted to wrong one another. Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning the matters in which they have been differing."

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Mu’minoon verse 52-55:

And you all belong to one and the same ummah, and I(Allah) am your Lord; so fear Me Alone! Yet afterwards the people divided themselves into different sects, and each sect rejoicing in what it has. Well, leave them deeply involved in their heedlessness up to an appointed time. What? Do they think that, by continuing to provide them with wealth and children, We are solicitous for their welfare? Nay, they do not understand the reality of the matter!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 171 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘There will befall my Ummah exactly (all those) evils which befell the people of Isra'il, so much so that if there was one amongst them who openly committed fornication with his mother there will be among my Ummah one who will do that, and if the people of Isra'il were fragmented into seventy-two sects my Ummah will be fragmented into seventy-three sects. All of them will be in Hell Fire except one sect.’ They (the Companions) said: ‘O Allah's Messenger (saws), which is that?’ Whereupon he (saws) said: ‘It is one to which I and my companions belong.’

Allah is our witness brother, the Messenger of Allah (saws) and his noble companions were neither Shias, nor Sunnis, nor Hanafis, nor Malikis, nor Shafeis, nor Hanbalis, etc…..and they all considered it an honor to be called and recognized only by the name their Lord Most High had Himself chosen for the believers: ie. ‘Muslims’.

Thus my beloved brother, if one truly wishes to follow the deen of ‘Islam’, it is absolutely imperative that one unconditionally obey and follow the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws)…..

Questions like why exactly did a small minority of the people chose to break away from the mainstream ‘Muslim Ummah’ and create their own sect; or why do things in a particular way different and distinct from the mainstream ‘Muslim Ummah’, etc. are best posed to their scholars, and it is they who should be asked to provide their evidence for the beliefs, deeds, and acts from the Quran and the Sunnah!

Why exactly do our brethren who call themselves ‘Shias’ offer their prayer three times everyday, when under normal circumstances the Messenger of Allah (saws) himself led five prayers at their appointed and distinct times; or why exactly do our brethren insist on prostrating on a ‘turbah’ when there is absolutely no evidence that the Messenger of Allah (saws) practiced or commanding such a thing; or what exactly made the scholars of our brethren sect add the 4^th question to the three questions which the Messenger of Allah (saws) guided the Angels will ask each person in their graves, etc…..these questions are obviously best asked to the learned people amongst the particular sect who propagate such beliefs and acts, and it is they who should be asked to provide their evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah!

Beloved brother, if they can provide the evidence for their beliefs and acts from the Quran and the Sunnah, one should accept them…..but if they cannot provide the evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah for their beliefs and acts, then one should know with absolute conviction that these beliefs and these acts are a figment of someone’s imagination and have absolutely nothing to do with the Truth revealed by Allah Subhanah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 45 Surah Al-Jathiyah verse 17:

Then (the people of old) they differed amongst themselves after the knowledge (of Truth) had come to them, only because they wanted to wrong one another. Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning the matters in which they have been differing.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan