What You Should Do Just before Death

Death is a reality in which all human beings believe. However, it is also a reality which most of us like to keep out of our minds.

In Islam, death is not an end to our existence; it is a passage, which takes us from this world to the hereafter – the actual purpose for our creation and the result of our work in this life. Whether we fear death or not depends on how much we have prepared for the reckoning of the Day Judgement.
Preparing for death is a lifetime’s job. It begins on the day you reach the age of bulugh and are held accountable for your deeds in the eyes of Almighty Allah. Imam ‘Ali bin Abu Talib (a.s.) has beautifully described the preparation for death as follows: “Fulfilling the obligations, refraining from forbidden [things, and acquiring noble character.”

In this article, I have attempted to present some of the things which all believers are either required or strongly urged to do just before death by the Shari’ah.

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Divine Justice

The problem of justice as one of God's attributes has had its own distinct history. Various schools of thought in Islam have held different views on the subject, interpreting it in accordance with their own distinctive principles.
Some Sunnis who follow the views of the theologian Abu'l Hasan Ash'ari do not believe in God's justice as a matter of faith, and they deny that justice is accomplished by the divine acts.
In their view, however, God treats a certain person, and whatever punishment or reward He gives him, irrespective of what he might appear to deserve, will represent justice and absolute good, even though it might appear unjust when measured by human standards.
These Ash'aris, thus, distinguish God's attribute of justice from His acts and they, therefore, regard as just whatever can be attributed to God. If He rewards the virtuous and punishes the sinful, this is justice, but so would be the reverse; it would still be in the broad sphere of His justice.
Their claim that the very terms "justice" and "injustice" are meaningless when applied to God is no doubt intended to elevate God's most sacred essence to the position of the highest transcendence. But no thoughtful person will regard these superficial and inadequate notions
as having anything to do with God's transcendence. In fact, they involve a denial of order in the world, of the principle of causality both in the general order of the world and in the conduct and deeds of individual men.
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The Role of 'A'ishah in the History of Islam Volume Three

The history of Islam and knowledge of its famous and important personalities serve as a
necessary starting point of departure for an understanding of the main text of Islam. We may
even venture to claim that without a proper and exact understanding of the history of Islam,
one cannot get a true feeling of the facts and realities of this faith. For, on the one hand,
knowledge of the great and well-known Islamic personalities and their ideas, conducts and
deeds which form a part of the text of religion and which are translated into the term
"tradition", is not possible without a knowledge of the time, place, customs, habits and morals
of their contemporaries, and on the other hand an understanding of the characters opposing
Islam reveals the perspicacity Islam, and shows the manner of the combats and strivings of
Islam and leaders against the wicked and wickedness.
In view of the importance of this principal fact we see what the role of a true history and its
worth and position are in the religious Life of the Muslims. We realize to what extent a
knowledge of historical facts helps us in our clear understanding of the realities of our religion,
and after being alien for many centuries from the rise of the bright sun of Islam, to what
extent we are capable of noticing this brilliant light and how close we are getting to this
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The Role of ‘A’ishah in the History of Islam Volume Two

The present book which is at the disposal of the reader, is the translation of a part of the book called Ahadith of Umm al-Mu’minin ‘A’ishah The text of the book is written by the great traditional scholar, Mr. Sayyid Murtada ‘Askari. The religious, social and cultural services of this author are so many that he is lauded by both enemies and friends, and a description of his services requires an independent pamphlet. One example of his scientific and cultural service is the book of “Ahadith of Umm al- Mu’minin ‘A’ishah” in which he portrays the ideas, beliefs, qualities; characteristics and spiritual peculiarities of ‘A’ishah for the reader and familiarizes him with the true visage of this women. This book gives an account of ‘A’ishah’s life and her role in producing some very important political events. But the main purpose of the author is not to give a full and detailed history and biography. He has a much wider and higher goal, namely to discuss the large and considerable number of traditions narrated by her and show to what extend they are right or wrong, reliable or unreliable. Before beginning the discussion of this wide subject, it has been considered necessary to describe in an introduction to this book, some of the historical events in the occurrence of which ‘A’ishah had played a part, in order to give a true picture of the personality of this narrator of so many traditions, thereby clarifying their value and validity. Therefore the author has, in his study of A’ishah’s adventurous life, divided it into definite parts and periods the most important of which are the following three:
l-’A’ishah in the time of ‘Uthman’s rule.
2-’A’ishah in the time of ‘Ali’s rule.
3-’A’ishah in the time of Mu’awiyah’s rule.CLICK HERE FOR DOWNLOAD

The Role of ‘A’ishah in the History of Islam Volume One

The truest of words is the Book of God, and the way of salvation is the one shown by our lord Muhammad (p.b.u.h.). The worst of deeds is innovation which causes deviation that ends with the fire of hell.” Thus spoke ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud (May God be pleased with him) to his companion peers and to his pupils and followers, describing the signs of the ways of religion. When he spoke of knowledge, he meant the highest goal, which has been sought by religious scholars and seekers of truth in discovering the truth alone and avoiding deviation and wrong words. He said: Attainment of truth is not possible except through two fundamental principles of the noble religion of Islam, namely the Book of God and the utterances of His prophet, the former being the highest and noblest truth ever uttered in the past and present, which cannot be excelled in future, and whose validity will never be diminished. Why should it not be so? The reason is that it has descended from God Almighty, and mankind has confessed his own weakness and inability before the eloquence of its phrases and its brilliant truth. It is the most decisive evidence for the prophet hood of Muhammad. Next are the utterances of an untaught and unlettered Prophet, an exalted personality through whom the heavenly Book has been communicated to the people all over the world; a person who has not offered anything on his own behalf, nor has he added anything on his own behalf, nor has he added anything of his own, nor given
any instructions except for the inspirations received from the source of divine revelation.
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Perfect Man

The subject under discussion is the perfect man from the viewpoint of Islam. A perfect man means an exemplary human being, who is superior and exalted, or any other interpretation that one can make. Like everything else, a human being may be perfect or imperfect, and sound or defective. A sound person, too, may be both sound and perfect or sound and imperfect.
To know a perfect or exemplary human being from the viewpoint of Islam is necessary for Muslims because it is like a model and example, by emulating which we can, if we wish, attain our human perfection under Islamic teachings. We should, therefore, know what a perfect man is, how he looks spiritually and intellectually, and what his peculiarities are, so that we may improve ourselves, our society and other individuals based on that model. But if we do not know what a perfect human being is in Islam, surely we cannot become a perfect Muslim, or even a relatively perfect human being.
From the viewpoint of Islam, there are two ways of knowing a perfect person: One way is to see how the Qur'an in the first place and tradition in the second place have defined a perfect man, even if it is meant to be a perfectly faithful and good Muslim. A perfect Muslim is a person who has attained perfection in Islam; a perfect believer is one who has attained perfection in his faith. Now we must see how the Quran and tradition have portrayed such a person and with what peculiarities. As it happens, we have many things to quote from both of these sources.
The second way is to regard real individuals who are built up on the model of the Qur'an and Islam, not an imaginary and idealistic being, but a real and objective personality who exists in various stages of perfection at its highest level or even at slightly lower stages.
The holy Prophet himself is an example of a perfect man in Islam. Imam Ali is another example. To know Ali (as) is to know a perfect man, and that means to know him thoroughly, and not only his name, lineage and apparent identity. We may know that Ali is the son of Abu Talib and the grandson of Abdul- Mottalib, and that his mother is Fatima, daughter of Assad-bin-Abdol-Ezi, and his wife is Fatima Zahra (as) and he is the father of Hassan and Hossain, and at what dates he was born and died, and what battles he fought etc. But this knowledge is only about his apparent identity, and not about him as a perfect man. Recognition of Ali means knowing his personality, rather than his person.

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Imam Rezas Pilgrimage

We thank God the Almighty for the opportunity granted to us to undertake the preparation of IMAM REZA'S PILGRIMAGE PROCEDURES AND PRAYERS. Imam Reza (MGB)1 is the eighth Immaculate Leader of Muslims from the progeny of Muhammad the Prophet of God (MGB). Imam Ali ibn Musa known as al-Reza was also known as Abal-Hassan. He was born in Medina on Thursday, 11th Dhu'l Qi'dah 148 A.H. (765 A.D.). He was poisoned by alMa'mun at the age of 55 in Mashhad on Tuesday, 7th Saffar 203 A.H. (818 A.D.) and buried in Mashhad

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Short Stories

Dear Readers,
To embody the general concepts of the Islamic viewpoint concerning life is the aim behind these stories. I believe concepts at the theoretical level cannot produce a change or an effect as they can when presented in the form of events or incidents from real life. Thus the Holy Qur'an gives examples and values through pictures with details of the events in which prophets and the righteous suffered for the sake of Allah.
If these short stories are knitted of imagination, they are certainly taken from the depth of present-day Muslim girls' lives. Hence, any girl may read in these stories, incidents she has experienced in some way or directly.
In each story, there is the positive stance of an Islamic viewpoint. The difference is great between this pure and sublime Islamic stance and the impure, corrupted stance of non-Islamic views.

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For a Better Future

200 questions and answers regarding the concerns of the youth, marriage and children The book contains 200 questions and answers regarding the concerns of the youth, marriage and children.
I present this humble effort to my father and mother, who brought me up when I was little, gave me a good name, taught me writing and religious principles, and married me as soon as I became an adult. They have completed their duties towards me; in fact, they have done to me more than I deserved.
I pray to Allah the Almighty to make me successful in achieving my duties towards them as long as I live and to gather me with them in Paradise near Prophet Muhammad (S) and his pure progeny (a.s.).
I hope with this dedication to give a reward to the soul of my dear father and to be dutiful to my dear mother (May Allah keep her safe and sound).
O Allah, accept my effort and guide my children to do better than I have done!
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Faith and Reason

Islam espouses an enlightened mind and hence, it has been termed as the path of knowledge. In the Qur`an the number of verses in which ‘ilm (knowledge) or its derivatives and associated words are used is 704. The aids of knowledge such as the book, pen, ink, etc. amount to almost the same number while other words associated with writing occur in 319 verses.1
By responding to the call of the Qur`an to ponder over creation in order to understand the greatness of Allah (awj) and reflecting this honored the pursuit of knowledge, considered a meritorious duty, Muslim scholars have amply demonstrated that knowledge elevates the sincere seeker.
In response to a person who posed him a difficult question, Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib ()ع said: “Ask in order to understand, and do not ask in order to find fault, for surely the ignorant man who wants to learn resembles a man of knowledge, and surely a man of knowledge who wants to be difficult resembles an ignorant man who wants to find fault.”In response to a person who posed him a difficult question, Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib ()ع said: “Ask in order to understand, and do not ask in order to find fault, for surely the ignorant man who wants to learn resembles a man of knowledge, and surely a man of knowledge who
wants to be difficult resembles an ignorant man who wants to find fault.”

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Does God Have a Mind?

In this paper, the history of the concepts of soul, mind, and spirit are reviewed in order to deny that such terms correctly apply to God. The positions taken on the nature of mind and divinity are reviewed through the Greek philosophical tradition to Augustine and Islamic philosophy. In Islamic philosophy God is not understood as having a mind, but is nevertheless knowing, willing and living.
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ISLAMIC CORRESPONDENCE COURSE ADVANCED-Book 3

Name: Muhammad. Agnomen: Abu ‘l-Qasim. Title: Rasulu ‘l-lah; Nabiu ‘l-lah; Khatamu ‘n-Nabiyyin. Father: Abdullah bin ‘Abdu ‘l-Muttalib. Mother: Aminah bint Wahab. Birth: 17th Rabiu ‘l-Awwal, 1st year of ‘Amu ‘l-Fil at Mecca; i.e., 53 years before the hijra. Death: 28th Safar, 11 after hijra. 1. Birth to Bi’that The last prophet of God is Muhammad al-Mustafa—upon whom be blessings and peace. He was born on 17th Rabi’u ‘l-Awwal, 1st Year of ‘Amul Fil in Mecca amidst the family of Banu Hashim (of the tribe of Quraysh) who were considered the most honoured of the Arab families. Banu Hashim were descendants of Isma’il, the son of Prophet Ibrahim. The Prophet’s grandfather, ‘Abdu l-Muttalib, was the chief of Banu Hashim and also the guardian of the Ka’bah. His father was called ‘Abdullah and his mother, Aminah bint Wahab. His father passed away a few months before his birth. At the age of six, the Prophet lost his mother as well and was placed under the care of his paternal grandfather, ‘Abdul Muttalib. But his grandfather also passed away after four years; and at this time the Prophet’s uncle, Abu Talib, took charge of him and became his guardian, taking him to his own house. Thus the Prophet grew up in his uncle’s house and even before reaching the age of adolescence used to accompany his uncle on business journeys by caravan. The Prophet had not received any schooling; yet, after reaching the age of maturity he became famous for his wisdom, courtesy, trust-worthiness and truthfulness. He soon became famous as “as-sadiq al- amin” (the truthful, the trustworthy). Abu Talib used to say: “We have never heard any lies from Muhammad, nor seen him misconduct himself or make mischief. He never laughs unduly nor talks untimely.” As a result of his sagacity and trustworthiness, Khadija bint Khuwaylid, a Qurayshi lady well-known for her wealth, appointed him as the custodian of her possessions and left in his hands the task of conducting her commercial affairs. The Prophet once journeyed to Damascus with Khadija’s merchandise and as a result of the ability he displayed was able to make an outstanding profit. Before long she asked to become his wife and the Prophet accepted her proposal. After the marriage, which occurred when he was twenty five years old, the Prophet began the life of a manager of his wife’s fortunes, until the age of forty, gaining meanwhile a widespread reputation for wisdom and trustworthiness. He refused to worship idols, as was the common religious practice of the Arabs of the Hijaz. And occasionally he would make spiritual retreats to the cave of Hira’ in the mountains of the Tihamah region near Mecca, in which he prayed and discoursed secretly with God.
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ISLAMIC CORRESPONDENCE COURSE ADVANCED - Book 2

Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah is the last and final messenger of God. The message he brought from God is known as "al-lslam," and the scripture he was given by God is known as "al-Qur'an." 1. Arabia at the Prophet's Birth The Arabs prior to Islam were idol-worshippers; they believed that apart from the life of this world there was no other life. It was a society in which respect depended on wealth and family. Woman was a commodity, counted as wealth of the father, husband and son; and after death she was inherited like the other possessions. It was a disgrace to have a daughter, and in some tribes the family buried this shameful thing with their own hands. The situation of the poor, women and society was not much different in other parts of the world. Every human society at that time was sunk in darkness, decline and oppression. Throughout the whole world, no glow or gleam of light met the eyes. A darkness like a thick heavy cloud in the sky had submerged the daily life of all societies in a deep sleep; and a horrible, powerful obscurity reigned which only the rising of a radiant sun could disperse. This darkness was more overpowering in Arabia than in any other place, as if they had been invaded to the depths of degradation and debasement. See what Imam 'Ali (a.s.) says about those days: You people of Arabia followed the worst religion; you dwelt amongst rough stones and poisonous serpents. You drank putrid water and ate filthy food. You shed the blood of one another and paid no heed to relationships. Idols are established among you, and sins cling to you.' (Nahju 'l-Balagha, sermon 26.) 2. The Birth of the Prophet of Islam Muhammad opened his eyes to the world on the 17th of Rabi'u 1-Awwal in the 53rd year before the hijrah (570 AD). His father, 'Abdullah, was from the family of Prophet Isma'il, and had died before he could see his son. His mother was one of the most pious women of that time. Muhammad was entrusted to a virtuous woman called Halimah, who suckled him and nursed him. One day, Muhammad (s.a.w.) who had not yet reached the age of four years, asked Halimah if he could go into the desert with the other boys. Halimah said, "I bathed Muhammad and anointed his hair with oil. I put collyrium on his eyes and hung a Yemenite stone on a string and put it round his neck so that no harm could come to him from the spirits of the desert. But Muhammad tore the stone from his neck and said, 'Don't worry about me. My God is taking care of me!’
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ISLAMIC CORRESPONDENCE COURSE ADVANCED - Book 1

Why Study Religion? Why should we investigate about religion and study about God? What provokes us to consider religion? There are three reasons: (A) LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE: We all want to know the truth about the world in which we live: Did the heaven with its beautiful stars, the earth with its glorious landscapes, the beautiful birds, the colourful fish, the blue oceans and the high mountains—did all these come into being by themselves or are they the product of an All-Knowing and Powerful Creator? Besides all this, the first question that comes to mind for all of us is the origin of ourselves: Where did we come from? Why are we in this world? Where are we heading to? The love of knowledge and the searching spirit within us dictates that we must not rest until we find the answers to these questions. Thus the first reason that compels us to inquire into religion is our thirst and love for knowledge. -IslamicBooks

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Woman’s Value and Role & Rights

This book discusses the status of women in Islam and sheds some light on a lot of important issues which the woman is exposed to in her daily life, such as her value and role, her rights, her learning, the veil, marriage, divorce, chastity, woman‟s work and so on.
Praise be to God, The lord of all the worlds. And God‟s prayers and peace be bestowed upon the messenger of mercy Muhammad ibn Abdullah and his household.
It is doubtless that great Islam has within its concepts and rules the path of the guidance for all the people in order to get them out of darkness into light. These rules are decreed, so that they will be adequate to the human being with all his/her characteristics, inclinations, and peculiarities and so that they will grant each person the guidance path which suits him/her.

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Islam and Religious Pluralism

An indepth discussion on the Islamic perspective of Religious Pluralism. This book offers rational answers to questions such as: will the great inventors and scientists, despite their worthy services for humanity, go to Hell? Will the likes of Pasteur and Edison go to Hell whilst indolent people who have spent their lives in a corner of the Masjid go to Heaven?
My deliberations with a number of such academic members of our community revealed their unawareness that the original concept of religious pluralism was a subtle defence to the doctrine of salvation through Christ.
Thereby, providing in Christianity, toleration for other religions. Essentially, the roots of religious pluralism lie in the development of political liberalism in eighteenth century Europe, which was reeling from the horrible tales of religious persecution.

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Muntakhab Al Asar Vol1

Today, in our times, the Muslims are being tested with modern, materialistic, secular philosophy. Islam, with its solid divine laws withstood all the deviations in all its modes in every era and time. Its great book (the Holy Quran) guides towards that which is most upright as it was at the time of its revelation. This is the first volume of this voluminous book concerning our Master Hazrat Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) and is captioned as “Muntakhabul Asar” (A Selection of Traditions). We have selected them so that the masses may derive independent benefit from it, underlining the significance of Caliphate, the status of Wilayah and Imamah. Allah, the High, informs us: On that day We will call every people with their Imam.

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shia in Islam

This book, which we have called Shi'ite Islam, seeks to clarify the true identity of Shi'ism which is one of the two major branches of Islam - the other being Sunnism. It deals in particular with the way Shi'ism originated and later developed, with the type of religious thought present in Shi'ism, and with Islamic sciences and culture as seen from the Shi'ite point of view.

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FATIMA The Gracious

In the name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
All praise is due Allah who created mankind and made for them an example to follow throughout their fierce battle with evil.
Prophet Muhammad (S) was the last apostle sent by Allah to commu- nicate to mankind His Divine code (i.e. Islam). Because this code was a comprehensive one, it also dealt with the needs of women throughout history, and assigned a perfect example for them to prove beyond doubt that what Islam preaches is practical and, if properly followed, leads to everlasting felicity. This example set by Islam to women was manifested in the person of Lady Fatima Zahra (A), daughter of Allah's Messenger.
Yet, the English Library lacks a comprehensive book in regard to her life; so I was asked to take upon myself the duty of translating the work of a profound Shiite speaker - Muhammad Kazim Qazwini- entitled Fatima Zahra Min Al-Mahde Ila al-Lahd, into English. As I was translat- ing, I found the book to be in the form of speeches regarding the success- ive events of Fatima's life; therefore I decided to depend mainly on the said book for recording Fatima's biography until the time of the Prophet's death. Because of the extremely sensitive period which fol- lowed his death, and the everlasting effects which the events thereafter left upon the Islamic ideology and the structure of various Muslim sects and issues, I deemed it necessary to study various historical books, espe- cially those which dealt with Lady Fatima Zahra's life, to come up with the most accurate information regarding the prime of the post-period of the Prophet's death. Moreover, various sermons, which were delivered during those events, were intentionally included in the book-especially Fatima's speeches-so as to allow researchers to study the said historical events independently.

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World S Most Outstanding Lady Fatima Zahra

The historical proceedings of the Prophet's (s) daughter Fatima Az Zahra, from childhood until marriage. Then an account of the sufferings and hardships after the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet (s), till the moment of her martyrdom.


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