Hadith and History

This article studies the influence of Imam Ḥusayn b. ͑Alī’s movement against the Ummayad Caliph, Yazīd b. Muʿāwiya, in the year 680/61 on the formulation of the concept of “revolution” in Islamic legal thinking.  There are four theories that are discussed in the article:
1) The supra-rational theory which maintains that the movement of Imam Ḥusayn remains an event surrounded by mysteries that surpass comprehension and go beyond the capacity of being utilized in any process of legal derivation; a matter that is unique to the personage of Ḥusayn b. ͑Alī.
2) The theory of involuntary confrontation and the evasion of pledging allegiance.  This theory states that purpose behind Ḥusayn b. ͑Alī’s parting Medina was to evade pledging allegiance to Yazīd.  His movement is to be interpreted solely within this context.
3) The rational political theory which states that the movement of Ḥusayn is capable of being comprehended.  It is to be interpreted as a political act with the purpose of seizing authority in order to amend the political and societal conditions that were existent during his time.  His intention, initially, was not to become a martyr.
4) The revival theory which maintains that Ḥusayn had gone with a predetermined intention of wanting to become martyred in order to shake the conscience of the Islamic nation via his death.  This would then pave the way for the initiation of societal reforms and the correction of the course of Islam. 
Following a critical and analytical assessment of the aforementioned theories, the article adopts the position that Ḥusayn had departed from al-Medina with the sole purpose of evading pledging allegiance to Yazīd.  Then, whilst he was in Mecca, he decided to proceed towards Iraq in order to change the political situation then present.  However, when at the land of Karbala all doors were shut in his face, he refused to surrender and preferred martyrdom over humiliation.
The article finally concludes, based on the studying of the nature of the Ḥusaynid movement’s objectives, that it is difficult to use this historical movement as a basis for justifying the concept or notion of violent revolutions against unrighteous systems of governance, except in very rare cases.

This article deals with the importance of studying comparative religion especially for students of religious studies.  It considers the approach of cross-religious comparisons not only a possibility but also a current necessity for religions.  Religions are no longer able to disregard the concerns of humans in the contemporary era.  Thus,  creating a common front and becoming present in the life of modern man are essential tasks that must be undertaken in a manner that guarantees their persistence and survival.  This presumes that religions consciously and maturely be acquainted with one another in order to create a unified or common consciousness.
Furthermore, studying comparative religion in a positive light - far from futile controversies and sectarian conflicts,- reinforces the rapprochement of religions and their modern awakening.  This, in turn, would have a role in impacting the global movement and global peace. Religions have a great influence on global events; the more united their positions are on contemporary issues the greater the impact they have. 
Since some religions emerged in the sequence of other religions, the article focuses on demonstrating that studying religions is necessary for humans to understand their own specific religion.  Islam, for example, came in the sequence of Judaism and Christianity.  Therefore, the Quranic text cannot be comprehended without being aware of and fully understanding the surrounding context in which it was revealed.  Understanding the other Abrahamic faiths along with non-revealed (polytheistic) religions that existed in the Arabian Peninsula is a precondition for conducting Quranic exegesis.
The article finally concludes with the necessity of establishing universities, institutions and publications specialized in issues related to religions in the Arab world in order to raise an awakened generation in this regard.

What follows is a summary of the book Shumūl al-Sharī‘ah (Comprehensiveness of the Shari‘ah – Discussions on Extents of Legal Reference Between Intellect and Revelation) written by Shaykh Haider Hobbollah. The published book is around 820 pages and as the discussions in this book are not very accessible in English, what follows below is an extensive summary of what the book contains.

This post was inspired by a number of lessons on this principle given by Shaykh Hobbollah in between his advanced jurisprudential classes on Citizenship Law and Religious Minorities.
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The Golden Rule is an ethical principle dictating how one should behave towards others. Most proponents of the principle say this ethical principle is innate to humans – it is fiṭrī – and perhaps this is why the maxim has appeared in the teachings of many different religions and is often worded in both affirmative and negative forms: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ and ‘Do not treat others in ways that you would not like to be treated’ – respectively.

Transcribed and translated by Syed Ali Imran (Canada) One of the classes I'm attending this year are lessons on legal theory focusing on Expediency (al-maṣlaḥa) and Purposes of Islamic Law (al-maqāṣid al-sharʿīyyah). These lessons are being delivered in Qom, by Shaykh Ḥaider Ḥobbollah. Over the first 50-odd lessons, a general outline of the discussion was covered, followed by an extensive discussion on the principle of laws being subordinate to benefits and harms, the principle of al-maṣāliḥ al-mursala and principle of al-sadd al-dharā'īʿ. As is the norm in advance classes, the teacher presents the issue, goes through the evidence put forth by proponents, analyzes them one by one, and presents critiques offered by other scholars, offers his own observations where necessary and concludes with his own opinion.

What follows are transcriptions of 7 lessons from the khārij of Fiqh classes on Jurisprudence of Citizenship Law and Religious Minorities, given by Haidar Hobballah. These specific lessons were given between December 30th 2018 to January 8th 2019 – and in my transcription, I have also on occasion made use of the published book for the same lessons Qawā‘id Fiqh al-‘Ilāqāh ma‘a al-Ākhar al-Dīnī: Dirāsāt fī Ḍaw’ al-Naṣṣ al-Islāmī wa al-Masīḥī, page 119-170.
In the context of establishing various legal principles that can be utilized in the subject of citizenship and religious minorities, one of the principles addressed was the principle of justice and fairness (qā‘idah al-‘adl wa al-inṣāf), and in particular critical observations are offered on Shaykh Yūsuf Ṣāni‘ī (d. 2020) - perhaps the most prominent contemporary Shī‘ī jurist to make use of this principle extensively in his jurisprudence.

The following is an abridged translation of a seminar given by Shaykh Haydar entitled "The Problem of Frustration and Regression in The Path of Students of Knowledge". In this talk, he outlines some of the challenges and obstacles that are faced by seminary students and offers some advice and solutions on how to mitigate them. The lecture can be viewed here.-Our discussion this evening will be touching on a condition that we all face in our daily lives as students of knowledge. I will begin my talk with a few introductory points, after which I will then begin discussing the challenges, the causes of the problems and I will conclude with some solutions. Introductory Points 1. The discussion is not limited to seminary students The discussion we are having today isn't exclusive to the seminary but is rather a common feature of academic and learning institutes across the Islamic world. However, in certain areas, some of the problems may only be specific to the seminary environment and I will be looking specifically at the seminary environment as that is the environment we are currently in. 2. The discussion will only be considering the educational elements I will be speaking specifically about the role of education and the religious cultural environment within the seminaries. I will not be touching on the role of scholars and their social activities, and I will only be touching on those elements that are to do with the educational matters of the student. 3. The pivotal role that education plays in the advancement of society

This is the Lesson #105, March 7th, 2020-the Uṣūl lesson was dedicated on the Covid-19 Pandemic. We were meant to begin speaking about the implications of Maqāsid-based ijtihād from today, but I would like to take a moment to speak about the crisis we are currently facing. As you all know, most of us have decided to self-isolate ourselves due to the coronavirus for the past fortnight. We have been conducting our lessons online during this period and trying to maintain things in order to the extent possible. However, until now, I had no idea that such a virus could have led to such a dangerous intra-religious discord. I was expecting that dispelling a danger that threatens the health, well-being and life of a human, would have been a natural course of action to take and that it would have been one of our top priorities as humans, as individuals, as a congregation, as an ummah, as a nation, as a religious duty. However, what has surprised us in these last two weeks is what we always feared. The presence of a dangerous strand of thought amongst us, which has been fueled and constructed over the years, and this incident has truly exposed it for all of us. On social media and on the internet, we have observed and read a plethora of things. The back and forth amongst politicians or amongst some scholars does not concern me right now. What concerns me is that the virus is growing day by day, sending many to the hospitals, suspending the lives of many, yet we are being harmed and injured by something other than the virus as well over the last two weeks.

Translation: Shayan Shirazi This is a translation of a response by Shaykh Haidar Hobbollah to a question posed to him, which can be found in volume one of his collection of questions and answers entitled Iḍāʾāt fī al-fikr wa al-dīn wa al-ijtimāʿ. For the original article please click here. Question 1 : What is your conception about the idea of Imām al-Mahdī ? Doesn't the occultation of Imām al-Mahdī give a divine dimension to the character of the Imāms (upon them be peace), in terms of his storage away from, and guardianship over, the people and his authority upon mankind throughout his noble life? That same divine dimension which you seek to deny and show the lack of proof for in your books and articles. Answer: Since long ago-and particularly today-there are three main approaches to be found among the Shīʿa in dealing with the subject of Imāmah, its details, the understanding of it, and its interpretation. The First Approach: Those of this approach tend to accept the highest degree and extent for Imāmah. They are those who, in addition to believing in what the second approach say (which will follow), believe that the Imāms are intermediaries of the Divine Emanation (wasāʾiṭ al-fayḍ al-ilāhī); that they are a manifestation of the Divine Names and Attributes; that they have guardianship over the realm of existence, and that they are kings of this 1 Haidar, Hobbollah, Iḍāʾāt fī al-fikr wa al-dīn wa al-ijtimāʿ, vol. 1, pp.44-49.

The Prophet Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh ﷺ symbolises the greatest personality in Islam, for he possesses the divine message and bears news from God, the Exalted. He is our window to the celestial realm and our path to divine revelation; the one whose Sunna is authoritative and whose conduct is an inspiration for different generations and peoples. He is one of the symbols of humanity and one of its major characters who changed, altered and transformed history.

translated by Syed Ali Imran (Canada) The following is an abridged translation of an article written by Shaykh Ḥaider Ḥobollah on 23 rd of April, 2012. The complete Arabic version can be read here.-Many words in any given language change in their meanings over the course of time. On other occasions, meanings may not change, but connotations can change depending on how society begins to use them. As such, the following type of changes can take place with words: 1) The meaning a word was originally coined for completely diminishes and all that remains is its historical presence. The value of the word is rooted only in its historical context, what it originally meant and how people of the past used it. These words either have no meaning anymore, not even amongst the people of the same language, or they acquire newer meanings that may have some resemblance to the previous meaning or perhaps not even that. At times, the newer meaning could be in complete opposition to what the word originally meant. 2) The initial meaning of a word does not completely diminish, and the particular changes in the word's meaning does not lead to a complete loss of its original meaning. These particular changes could be of various types, at times it can restrict the original meaning where the original meaning was more general whereas the newer meaning is limited to something more specific. At other times, a restricted meaning gains generality and means more than what the word originally meant. 3) The initial meaning does not diminish, however a newer meaning develops alongside it. The word can now mean two different things-this can be conceptualized in two possible ways: a) The newer meaning does not have a significant influence on its original meaning, such that both meanings come to mind when either of them is used. This is very often seen when a certain jargon means something very specific in one subject, but the same jargon means something different in another subject. Two popular examples are the words qiyās

Translated by Abu Dujana (UK) What follows is a translation of some of the conclusions reached by Sheikh Haider Hobbollah in his Rijāli discussions ‫السندي‬ ‫النقد‬ ‫(منطق‬ 1 : 863 ‫ـ‬ 378) whereby he discusses the obstacles in reaching intellectually sounds conclusions in this field and thus proposes a paradigm shift in how we look at the claims of early Rijāli scholars. Our Opinion: From Taqleedi 'Ilm al-Rijāl to Ijtihādi 'Ilm al-Rijāl The previous discussions that we have mentioned focused on delineating the theoretical framework for the epistemic and conventional value of 'Ilm al-Rijāl and its historical reliability. It has become clear that this science and its historical and documentary data does not hold any value unless the level of certainty and assurance (itmi'nān) is not reached regarding its conclusions, in accordance with the method of gathering indications and evidence (jam' al-qarā'in) which are conducive for building up the degree of probability (tarākum al-quwwa al-ihtimāliyya) here and there. The previous discussions have led us to satisfactorily say that the words of a Rijāli scholar alone usually does not give us certainty. This means that the words of a Rijāli scholar-regardless of whether he is from the older (mutaqqadimīn) or later generations (muta'akhkhirīn)-on its own can not be used as an independent valid proof (hujjah). This forces us to close the door of imitation (taqleed) in 'Ilm al-Rijāl. This is a great transformation that will occur in this science whereby we will remove it from the sphere of taqleed of Najāshi, Tūsi, Rāzi, Bukhāri, Aqīli, Ibn Hajr and others, to the sphere of taking their results and verdicts of

Many people say that cursing (laʿn) has been mentioned in tens of verses in the Qurʿān and they argue that this is evidence for the religious legality of cursing as well as a striking rebuttal to those who claim that it is forbidden or disliked. Does the cursing mentioned in the Qurʿān yield such a result?

During 2018-2019 academic year's lessons on legal theory by Shaykh Haider Hobollah, a brief discussion was opened up over two sessions (lesson 116 on April 6th, 2019 and lesson 117 on April 7th, 2019) in response to an analysis done by respected Ahl al-Sunnah scholars, Ahmad Raissouni and Khalid Zuhri. Both opine in some of their works that traces of Maqāṣid-based ijtihād can be found amongst the works of the classical Imāmī scholars. They predominantly cite the presence of various books written on ‘ilal (the causes or the reasons) by Shī’ī scholars, most significant of them being ‘Ilal al-Sharā’i of Shaykh Ṣadūq to argue their point.

We presented with extreme brevity, whilst attempting to understand this chapter, some exegetical principles which are suitable to be used generally in all exegetical studies, We shall present them once again as follows:
The first principle: The principle of exercising analytical ijtihād to distinguish between the Meccan and the Medinan verses, which can be used in addition the historical method of verification.
The second principle: The principle that the Quran is self-explicative and the impact this has on its relationship with external sciences.
The third principle: The principle of performing a general conceptual exegesis, which contrasts with the referential type of exegesis.
The fourth principle: The duality of knowledge and moral training within the Quranic text.
The fifth principle: The necessity of understanding the Arabic language separately from a Greek lens and its associated systems of logic, without being antithetical to it.
The sixth principle: The primary standing of the language and the early sources and to not be deceived by one’s own beliefs about the language.
The seventh principle: The principle of distinguishing between the conceptual meanings of words and their external references

Transcribed and translated by Syed Ali Imran (Canada) The following is an expanded transcript from advance lessons on Expediency (al-maṣlaḥa) and Purposes of Islamic Law (al-maqāṣid al-sharʿīyyah) being delivered by Shaykh Ḥaider Ḥobbollah in Qom. An article comparing the views of Imām Ṭufī and Imām Khomeynī from these same class was posted a few weeks ago. In lesson 67 (January 6 th , 2019) and 68 (January 7 th), while discussing the various elements one can resort to in order to prefer one action over another in case of conflict (tazāḥum), the element of quantity was brought up. The notion of tazāḥum refers to a situation when an individual is presented with two independent duties, where performing one of them necessarily implies the violation of the other. As an example, an individual may have an obligation to save a person drowning and this obligation is rooted in a great benefit. However, what if this person encountered a situation where two people were drowning at the same time and saving one of them would necessarily lead to the death of the other? The obligation to save each drowning person was rooted in expediency and benefit, however, in terms of carrying the act out, the person responsible is only able to save one. What elements can be relied upon in such a scenario to suggest which duty a person must carry out at the expense of the other? Extensive discussion is done on this topic in legal theory and the various elements that could be used to prioritize one responsibility over another. In light of the context given above, the discussion began looking at elements that can be derived from religious texts themselves. Some qualitative elements include things like: acts that have a lot of reward or chastisement for them in the hereafter, acts that are described as the pillars of religion, acts that have chastisements for them in this world, and so on. Each of these was discussed and commented upon. Amongst quantitative elements for preferring one act over another in cases of conflict is the idea that if a certain act has more traditions in the ḥadīth corpus than the other act, then it implies the important and priority of the former. The post which follows discusses this specific element of sheer quantity as an indicator of prioritization in cases of conflict.

What follows is a transcript from lessons 107 & 108 – March 9th and 10th 2020 - of last year’s advanced jurisprudence lessons on Food and Drinks given by Shaykh Haider Hobbollah in the city of Qom.
The discussion below is regarding the famous ruling on the prohibiting of eating or drinking on a table where there is alcohol. This was the second time the Shaykh covered the topic of Food & Drinks, the first time spanning over two years, while this time it was briefly covered in a year. Recently, these lessons have also been published in a 3-volume work titled Fiqh al-Aṭ‘imah wa al-Ashriba.
While the transcript below is brief and covered in two days, the extensive discussion can be found in volume 3 of the recently published book, between pages 340-360.
As these notes are for advanced readers, I will not be translating the Arabic traditions or technical jargon.