Imam al-Taqi (as): Allah (SWT) can give you much more

When our 9th Imam, Imam Taqi (as) was only 9years old, his father our
8th Imam, Imam Ali Ridha(as) was killed by the king Mamun al-Rashid.
Mamun al-Rashid decided that hewould try to buy (bribe) Imam Taqi (as)
into his way of life because ImamTaqi (as) was still only a child.
Mamun al-Rashid took Imam Taqi (as) to his palace and gave him
whatever money could buy, but Imam Taqi (as) was not interested,
because he knew Allah (SWT) could give him much much more.
No matter how much Mamun al-Rashid gave him, Imam Taqi (as) did not do
anything against Allah's (SWT) commands as Mamun al-Rashid wished.
Moral: Whatever anyone gives you always remember that Allah (SWT) can
give you so much more but only if you are a good Muslim and do as
Allah (SWT) tells you. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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Imam Taqi (as): You should not fear anyone other than Allah (SWT)

The story of Mamun al-Rashid's first meeting with the young son of
Imam Ali Ridha (as) is interesting. Once when our 9th Imam, Imam Taqi
(as) was only nine years old, he was walking down a street of Baghdad,
when Mamun al-Rashid and his soldiers came by. All the other children
on the street ranaway but Imam Taqi (as) did not.
Noting this, Mamun al-Rashid stopped his carriage and asked,"Young
man, why did you not run away like theother children?"
Imam Taqi (as) replied calmly, "Neither had I committed a crime, nor
was I blocking the way. Why should I have run away or be afraid? And I
also know that you will not cause any unnecessary trouble when your
way is not blocked."
Mamun al-Rashid was surprised with this mature reply and asked,"What
is your name?"
"Muhammad," came the reply. Whose son are you? asked Mamun al-Rashid.
"Son of Imam Ali Ridha (as)."
Mamun al-Rashid rode on. During his hunt the hawk returned to him with
a fish in its beak. Mamun al-Rashid was surprised. He returned back
toward the city. Once again, he found children playing on the same
spot, who ran awayseeing the caliph's soldiers, except this young man
who said he was Muhammad son of Imam Ali Ridha (as) who remained where
he was.
Mamun al-Rashid hid the fish in his palm, stopped his carriage near
Imam Taqi (as) and said, "Tell me, what is there in my fist?"
Imam Taqi (as) replied,"Allah (SWT) has created tiny fish in the
river. The hawks of kings sometimes catch fish from there and bring it
to the Kings. They hide it in their fist and ask a member of the Ahlul
Baytof the Prophet, "Tell me what is there in my fist."
Mamun al-Rashid said,"Truly, you are the worthy son of Imam Ali Ridha
(as). Mamun al-Rashid took the young Imam Taqi (as) with him, and let
him live in a nearby house next to the Royal Palace.
Moral: You should not be scared of anything or anyone as Allah (SWT)
is the strongest and will look after you.

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Fiqh (Jurisprudence) Matters - The Salam (Sale of Payment in Advance)

The salam is payment in advance with delaying the receipt of the sold
item. The Muslim faqihs (jurists) define the salam as: "A contract
according to which the price of a clearly defined item is paid in
advance atthe place of concluding the contract, and the sold item is
to be received later."
This kind of transactions is permissible according to the Quran, the
Sunnah (Prophetic Tradition) and the consensus of Muslim scholars.
What proves that is what Allaah, The Exalted, Says (what means): {O
you who have believed, when you contracta debt for a specified term,
write it down...} [(Quran 2: 282]
Ibn 'Abbaas says: "I testify that Allaah has made lawful to
us(Muslims) to pay in advance for the price of a thing to be delivered
later after a specified term. He then recited this above-mentioned
verse."1
When the Prophet arrived at Madeenah and found its people paying in
advance the price of fruits to be delivered later after a year, two or
three, he said: "Whoever pays in advance the price of a thing - (or
"...of fruits..." according to another narration) - to be delivered
later should pay it for a specified measure at specified weight for
aspecified period." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
This Hadeeth proves that the salam is permissible when these
conditions are fulfilled. Besides, Ibnul-Munthir and other scholars
report that scholars uniformly agree that the salam is permissible3.
Moreover, people need the salam, since one of the parties of the
transaction may be in need for being paid the price of an item in
advance while the other may be in need for buying an item for a cheap
price.
In addition to the conditions of selling, there are some conditions
necessary for validating the salam:
First: The sold item whose price isto be paid in advance must have
definite properties. This is because items whose properties cannot be
defined undergo many changes, which causes disputes between the two
parties of the sale (at the time of receiving the sold item).
Thereupon, the salam is not valid in items whose properties may
change, such as pulses, leather, utensils and jewels.
Second: The kind and the class of the sold item must be defined. For
example, if the sold item is wheat, the kind must be defined, which is
wheat here, and the class of that wheat must be defined such as
As-salamuni (a type of wheat).
Third: The sold item must be a specified quantity, weight or measure.
This is according to the meaning of the Hadeeth in which the Prophet
says: "Whoever pays in advance the price of a thing to be delivered
later shouldpay it for a specified measure or aspecified weight and
for a specified period." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Besides, if the quantity of the sold item is unspecified, it becomes
difficult to be exact.
Fourth: There must be a specified period for receiving the sold item.
This is because the Prophet says in the above-mentioned Hadeeth,
"...for a specified period." Besides, Allaah, Exalted be He, says
(what means): {O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a
specified term, write it down...} [Quran 2: 282]
With regard to this issue, both the Hadeeth and the noble verse state
that in the salam both parties agree to the condition stating that the
sold item is to bedelivered later according to a specified period
known to both of them.
Fifth: The item sold must be present when the time of reception is
due, in order to be delivered at the stipulated time. Thereby, if that
item is not available when its time of delivery is due, the salam does
not become valid, such as paying the price of ripe dates and grapesin
advance and stipulating that the sold item be delivered in winter,
(such crops are not available at such a time).
Sixth: The price of the sold item must be paid fully in advance at the
time of concluding the contract. This is according to the Hadeeth in
which the Prophet ( ) says: "Whoever pays in advance the price of a
thing to bedelivered later should pay it for a specified measure..."
In this connection, Imaam Ash-Shaafi'i said: "The transaction of the
salam is not valid, except when the price is paid in advance and
before the two parties (the seller and the buyer) leave the place
where theyhave concluded the transaction. Besides, if the price of the
sold item is not paid at the time of concluding the contract, it will
beregarded as selling a debt for a debt, which is impermissible."
Seventh: The sold item is not to be specific (e.g. a certain house or
a specified tree). Rather, it should be regarded as a debt in the
seller's liability. Thereby, the salam is not valid when specifying a
certain house or a certain tree to be given, because this tree or
house may get damaged before being delivered to the buyer. In this
way, the desired purpose for which the salam has been decreed will not
be fulfilled.
Besides, the delivery of the sold item is to be in the same place
where the contract of the salam has been concluded, if possible.
Ifthis place is not fit for delivery (e.g. they concluded the contract
at a certain spot on land or at sea), then the place of delivery must
be mentioned in the contract. Moreover, if the two parties agree on
the place of delivery, the salam becomes permissible. Otherwise, they
must resort to the place where the contract has been concluded, for it
was fit for concluding the transaction from the start, as mentioned
before.
One of the rulings on the salam isthat it is impermissible to sell
theitem sold according to the salam to someone else (by the buyer)
before it is received. This is because the Prophet ( ) forbade selling
foodstuffs before receiving them4. In this case, the hawalah5 is
invalid, since the hawalah is only valid regarding a stable debt while
the salam can then be annulled.
Another ruling on the salam is that if the sold item is not present or
available at the due time, such as in cases when the trees have not
born fruits at the year of delivery, the one who has paid for the item
in advance may choose whether to wait until the fruits are available,
or he may askfor annulling the contract and ask for the money he has
paid. This is because in case the contract is annulled, it is
obligatory for the seller to repay the price paid in advance. If the
payment given by the buyer against the sold item is damaged, a
compensation for it must be paid. And Allaah, Exalted be He, knows
best.
In fact, allowing such a kind of transactions is a sign of the
facilitation and benevolence by which our Sharee'ah is characterized.
This is because thesalam facilitates many things for people and helps
them do what benefits them. Besides, the salamdoes not involve ribaa'
or the like of other forbidden transactions. All praise is due to
Allaah for the facilitation He grants.
Endnotes
1. Al-Hakim (3189) [2/342], Al-Bayhaqi (11081) [6/30] and 'Abur-Razzaq
(14064) [8/5].
2. Al-Bukhaari (2239) [4/540] and Muslim (4094) [6/42]. See also
Al-Bukhari (2253) [4/457].
3. See: "Al-Ijma ' " [p. 54]
4. Ahmad (15253) [3/402] and An-Nasaa'i (4610) [7/329].
5. Hawalah: The transference of a debt from the liability of the
debtor to the liability of another person. - - ▓███▓
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Fiqh (Jurisprudence) Matters - The Concise Presentation of the Fiqh of the Sunnahand the Noble Quran

There is no doubt that there is a considerable shortage in the books
of Fiqh in the English language. The need is so big, almost any time
an additional book found itsway to the market, it became an immediate
success.
This should not, however,be construed to mean that Fiqh is an easy
subject to write about. On the contrary, the books of Fiqh are not all
equal. A few can quickly distinguish themselves especially if they
were to be small and brief in their presentation of the issues
discussed in addition to being based on Daleel (evidence) fromthe
Quran and the Sunnah and not on mere statements of what a specific
Math-hab (School of Jurisprudence) or scholar says about the topics
included. And the book at hand, in this review, is one such book.
This is not a statement against following the well-known four
Mathaahib (plural of Math-hab ) –by necessity; the overwhelming
majority of Muslims must follow one of them. Any Muslim who is not a
scholar capable of making Ijtihad must follow a Math-hab –in fact even
when we don't know it, anytime we consult a book, seeking an answer or
a Fatwa, or ask a scholar for it, our Math-hab becomes that of whoever
gives us the answer or the Fatwa. What is a major shortcoming of most
Mathaahib books –especially the late ones—is that they have eliminated
the mention of the Daleel which made them mere statements of
rulings—thus taking Ittiba' or `following' out of context and making
it pure imitation of others as well as missing the chance of educating
theirfollowers.
Throughout this book, the Concise Presentation of the Fiqh of the
Sunnah and the Noble Quran, a Muslim can learn most of the topics of
Ibadah (acts of worship) as well as many of most needed issues of
Mu'amalat (dealings) in our times with great ease and confidence. "
...albeit small in comparison with the larger works, " this book, as
described by theforwarder, " has combined together two books. " What
he meant was that the extensive use of Hadeeth, by the author, as
evidence for the issues discussed, made the book look like a book of
Hadeeth combined with a book of Fiqh . This is a great display of the
statements and actions of the Prophet Muhammad thus the "
...combination of these two is a great blessing. "
Since this book was originally written in Arabic, it is important to
mention that its translation is professional and faithful to the
subject which should make it easy to read and facilitate the learning
of Fiqh from it. Also, this edition containshelpful tools that should
further facilitate understanding and learning, and an easy to follow
Glossary with Arabic to English translation, a transliteration chart
and a Symbols directory.
One good advantage of this book is that it draws from Saheeh or
authenticnarrations, which allows the reader to grasp basic aspects of
Fiqh but not get overwhelmed with lengthy details that typically arise
from relying on disputed narrations. Over all, I was very impressed by
the book and I pray that everyone who reads it feels the same and
learns a lot from it. In reading the final words of the author I felt
a great deal of satisfaction because his statement at the last section
in the book dealt with emancipation. He did so hoping to get
emancipated from Hellfire and receive the mercy of the
All-Compassionate, Most-Merciful God, Allah—may He be praisedand
glorified. - - ▓███▓ Translator:-> http://translate.google.com/m/
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