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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Your Questions Answered (volume 6) Q. 20: Selection of an a 'lam How is an 'Alim declared to be an A 'lam? Who are the present Maraji -e-Taqleed and who is the most learned of them? A: There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of eye specialists in your city, Bombay. Yet if one asks a knowledgeable friend where one should go for a complicated case, the friend will name only 3 or 4 doctors. Who elected them to become top-most eye- specialists?

You will say: They were not elected; but their intelligence, knowledge, experience and continuous study have brought them to the fore-front. The same is the case with mujtahids. At present, Ayatullah al-'Uzma Muhammad Fazil Lankarani (Qum) and Ayatullah al-'Uzma Sayyid 'Ali Sistani (Najaf) are considered to be A'lam. This word in Shi'a terminology means, one who has got top-most expertise in deriving the rules of shari'ah from its approved sources. Q.

21: Mothers of 'AwN AND Muhammad: Who was the mother of 'Awn and Muhammad (sons of 'Abdullah ibn Jafar) who were martyred at Karbala? Their ages? A: 'Awn's mother was Hazrat Zainab (daughter of Amirul Mu'mineen 'Ali A.S); and Muhammad's mother was Khawsa' (from the tribe of Wa'il). First, Muhammad went to the battle-field, fought and killed ten warriors; finally he was slain by 'Amir ibn Nahshal. Then 'Awn went forth and killed 3 riders and eighteen foot.

He was slain by 'Abdullah Ibn Battah at-Ta'i. It is difficult to say how old they were in Karbala However, the age given for them in the marthiyas (i.e. 9 and 10 years) is definitely incorrect. They could not be so young. See Bihar-ul-anwar, vol. 45 for more details. Q. 22: Children of Amru'l-Mu'mineen: How many children Amir 'l-mu 'mineen 'Ali (A.S) had got? Were there more than one Zaynab and Umm Kulthum? A: There are various reports about the number of his children, varying from 25 to 35.

3 sons were named Muhammad (the eldest of them was Hazrat Muhammad Ibn al-Hanafiyah); 2 sons were named 'Abbas (the eldest of them was the standard-bearer in Karbala). There were two Zaynabs, two Umm Kulthums and two Ruqayyahs. The eldest Zaynab and Umm Kulthum were the daughters of Bibi Fatimah (A.S); Zaynab (the younger) was the daughter of Umm Sa'id, and the younger Umm Kulthum's mother was a slave-girl. For more details see Biharul anwar vol.

Manaqib of Ibn Shahr Ashob and other relevant books. Q.