Dr. Sameena Khan

Editor-in-Chief @ezalmagazine. Dentist, Freelance Research and Academic Writer 🇮🇳🇸🇦

[Shahab @hashurtag]

One of the martyrs of Karbala was the son of Imam Hussain (RA), Ali Al-Akbar (RA). Ali Al-Akbar’s mother, Laylah bint Abi Murrah, was the granddaughter of Abu Sufyan. Imam Hussain married Laylah right after his brother, Imam Hassan, made peace with Muaweyah (uncle of Laylah) and as a sign of improving relations between the 2 families. Context such as this is very important to learn if you want to truly understand history.

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

A non-Muslim has better understanding of Shia Islam not being authentic Islam, than majority of the Muslims today.

[𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢 @ColdBrief]

A brief personal note before I begin: I am not a Muslim- I want to be clear about that. However, I have studied religious history and religious studies at university level.
But if I ever were to convert to Islam, I would follow the Maliki school. No hesitation.
Why? Because Maliki jurisprudence roots itself in something rare: the living, continuous traditions of Medina - the city where the Prophet actually lived, governed, taught, and died alongside his companions. Malik ibn Anas made a powerful argument: that this unbroken, generation-to-generation practice carried a weight that written texts alone simply couldn't replicate. The people of Medina were the living Sunnah. I find that deeply compelling.
The school also developed something I think is underappreciated - Sadd al-Dharai, or blocking the means. The idea is simple but sharp: if an otherwise neutral act almost certainly leads to harm, you prohibit it at the source. As a tool against religious radicalization, it's remarkably well-suited. More schools could learn from it.
Now for the harder part.
I don't believe Shia Islam represents authentic Islam as understood from its original sources. That's a personal view, and I hold it carefully. It doesn't mean I want Shia Islam suppressed, and it certainly doesn't mean I look down on Shia Muslims. I don't. But I think the tradition departs from some core Islamic principles in ways that deserve honest discussion rather than polite avoidance.
So here's my thinking.
The Imamate. The doctrine that divine, infallible leadership passed through a specific bloodline after the Prophet's death simply isn't in the Quran. Islam's whole foundation is Tawhid - the absolute, uncompromising oneness of God. When you start attributing infallibility and divine appointment to human beings, however noble their lineage, you're introducing something that Islamic theology was never designed to accommodate! That's not a footnote. That's a foundational problem.
The seal of prophethood. The Quran is clear: Muhammad was Khatam an-Nabiyyin - the final prophet. Revelation ended with his death. But the Shia concept of Ilham - that the Imams received divine inspiration and held exclusive authority over hidden Quranic meanings - effectively extends prophethood under a different label. The theological issue doesn't disappear just because the word changes.
The Sahaba. The entire chain of Islamic transmission rests on the companions who memorized, recorded, and passed down the Quran and Hadith. If you argue that most of them became corrupt or went astray after the Prophet died, you've created a serious logical problem: you can't discredit the transmitters while trusting what they transmitted. The chain of custody matters. It always does.
Infallibility. God alone is perfect. God alone knows the unseen. That's not a minor theological preference in Islam - it's the whole point. Claiming the Twelve Imams were entirely free from error and possessed knowledge of the unseen assigns divine attributes to human beings. I think that crosses a clear line!
Taqiyyah. I understand the historical context - practicing concealment under threat of persecution.
But from an evidentiary standpoint, it creates a problem that's hard to get around: if any historical statement that contradicts current doctrine can simply be dismissed as an instance of concealment, how do you verify anything? It becomes an unfalsifiable system!
The Occultation. The belief that the Twelfth Imam went into supernatural hiding in the ninth century and is still alive today, waiting to return - there's no Quranic foundation for this! It arose during a moment of acute political crisis, when the Eleventh Imam died without an obvious successor. The imagery - a hidden savior, a messianic return - maps closely onto pre-Islamic mystical traditions of the region. That's not coincidence. That's historical borrowing!
So for me shia islam is not real Islam.

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

@Farid_0v @IbnMahbub_ So he urged Sunnis to lament on Al-Husayn’s (ra) passing? On a specific date?

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

@9tttty Yes

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

The “Wahhabis” spread khair even in industries where there is apparently no khair.
May Allah continue to guide you all and forgive you for your shortcomings. May Allah continue to let Saudi Arabia be a source of immense goodness.

[TURKI ALALSHIKH @Turki_alalshikh]

نجم فيلم سفن دوج و Breaking bad جيانكارلو اسبوزيتو ينطق الشهادتين ويشارك فريق العمل الصلاه يوم امس في المسجدبعد ارتياحه من التعامل مع المسلمين أثناء التصوير في المملكه العربيه السعوديه والفديو له امس مع موظفين شركة صله 🇸🇦❤️🙏🏻 الحمدلله

[Indian Muslim Archives @Rustum_0]

Malik Deenar Mosque, Kerala, India.

[MK 🇸🇦 @MKdawah]

This pile of deviant garbage will slander you if he doesn't like you, boycott you for buying a coke despite his buddies buy it, he insults scholars/Arabs while praising his colonisers whom he willingly chooses to support and pay taxes to!

Indeed, ikhwanis are today's munafiqeen.

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

@HothaAli So true, all these people living in the west and accusing Muslim leaders of giving “jizya” to Trump are all voluntary dhimmis in non-Muslim lands, paying jizya to their governments. There is no other way to look at it.

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

@Rainmaker1973 We don’t need cashmere anymore. Let’s these beautiful creatures live

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

@Kr9qjmg8bfK As for Daniel, give him some time. So many people have called it that he will indeed turn out to be an agent/plant. I’ve commented extensively on it - he is Musa Cerantonio 2.0. who turned out to be exactly that. Give it a few years and his truth will be revealed

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

This guy never called out Daniel Haqiqatjou and others like him who call every second Muslim, not just duaat, but random Muslims, a zionist. Is that not takfir? Mass blanket takfir of govts. and Muslims by calling them zionists.
Someone please point that out to him.
Hypocrite!

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

@Kr9qjmg8bfK So are you accidentally agreeing that Zionist=Rafidhi?
Whichever way you look at the term Zionist - either from the secular nationalist framework or the Jewish theological framework - labeling a Muslim Zionist is covert Takfir.
While labeling someone Rafidhi pig is not.

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

@KnowledgeNorth Why does anyone even engage with this madman? Why has the discourse reached so low?

[Faris Al Hammadi @FarisHammadi]

Why did Mohammed Hijab attack Ibn Abdul Wahab (again)?

[Dr. Hamza Al-Shaafii @DrHamze_M]

What this exposes is not merely inconsistency, but a deeper crisis in how many Muslims engage with reality itself. A great number of people no longer approach issues through اصول, but through reaction, sentiment, and allegiance to personalities. The virtual world has magnified this disease.

Many Muslims today experience the Ummah almost entirely through screens. Their understanding of events, scholars, sects, and conflicts is shaped by clips, threads, and emotionally charged narratives. In that world, complexity dies. Everything becomes reduced to heroes and villains, allies and enemies, “our side” and “their side.”

This is dangerous because Islam was never built upon emotional tribalism. Allah جل جلاله said:

“And do not let the hatred of a people cause you to be unjust. Be just that is nearer to piety.”

Surah al-Ma’idah 5:8

Justice is not conditional. It does not disappear because someone belongs to a group you dislike.

This is why you find some who will excuse major theological deviations, political crimes, and open ظلم under the banner of “unity” when it serves their wider narrative. Yet those same people will show no hesitation in vilifying entire communities of Ahl al-Sunnah over historical grievances, theological disputes, or labels inherited from polemics.

This reveals that for many, unity is not an اصل, but a tactic. It is invoked selectively.

If Iran is not to be criticised publicly because it weakens Muslim ranks in times of war, then by the same logic why is there no restraint when attacking those labelled “Wahhabi”? If division is harmful there, it is harmful here too. Principles cannot be suspended depending on preference.

And this is where the danger of sloppy language enters. The casual use of labels such as “Wahhabi,” “Madkhali,” “Murji,” “Khariji,” and others has become normalised to the point where entire populations of Muslims are dismissed without knowledge. These labels often replace actual engagement with beliefs and evidences. It is intellectual laziness disguised as scholarship.

The Salaf warned against this. Ali ibn Abi Talib said:

اعرف الحق تعرف اهله

“Know the truth, and you will know its people.”

Meaning: truth is not known by men, but men are known by truth.

But in the digital age, many have reversed this. They know men first, and through men they decide what truth is.

This is why personalities dominate. A speaker makes one statement and thousands adopt it uncritically. Another speaker is hated, so even his correct statements are rejected. This is not منهج. This is factional psychology.

The harsh reality is that many online Muslims have become addicted to conflict. They consume controversy as entertainment. They confuse debate clips with knowledge. They think watching polemics is طلب العلم. Meanwhile, they neglect Quran, Hadith, Arabic, and sitting with Ahl al-Ilm. Real knowledge disciplines the soul. Social media inflames it.

And this is why so much discourse lacks adab, justice, and sincerity. The goal is no longer الوصول إلى الحق, but defeating opponents, humiliating rivals, and preserving one’s online tribe.

A Muslim must rise above this. He must anchor himself in revelation, in sound scholarship, and in consistent principles. Praise truth even if it comes from one you oppose. Reject falsehood even if it comes from one you love. Without that, we are not serving Islam. We are merely serving camps.

[Musa Adnan @MusaAdnan]

If someone chooses a specific geopolitical position that I disagree with, I won’t accuse them of things they are undeserving of.

However, one thing that should be pointed out is the extreme double standard that some fall into.

They are willing to propagate unity with certain Shī’as, despite their crimes against Muslims, arguing that now is not the time for disunity. Yet they simultaneously ostracise an entire community of other Muslims who they disagree with theologically.

Are the Wahhabis non-Muslims? Have we become takfīrīs now? We attack takfīrism when it comes to Iran, but we’re okay to be sloppy when it comes to Wahhabis.

Oh yes, I forgot. “The Wahhabis have such a bad history!” Even if you believe this, why don’t you invoke the same principles that you invoke when it comes to Iran’s crimes?

“It’s a bad time to critique Iran, this leads to disunity”

“It’s a great time to critique Wahhabis” - doesn’t this lead to disunity?

Or maybe this is a disunity that we don’t care about.

This is me thinking out loud.

[Dr. Sameena Khan @AnaSalafee]

@Haqiqatjou “His ancestors are slandered for sexual misconduct”

Hijab himself would be charged with sexual misconduct if he lived in a Muslim country for the way he behaved online in a recent interview with a non-Muslim’s wife. The man is unhinged and should be put away. Utter disgrace

[Indian Muslim Archives @Rustum_0]

Jodha Akbar was indeed a propaganda movie

Its Hindu director depicted Empress Consort Mariam-uz zamani, an Indian Muslim (Khanzaadi) princess, as a Hindu princess in order to appropriate Indo-Muslim legacy.

As an act of devoution to Islam, she built Begum Shahi Masjid (ruined).

[Indian Muslim Archives @Rustum_0]

Why and how did Indians convert to Islam?

Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese traveller to India (c. 1500-16) tells us the nature of Islamic conversions in India.. (#read_full)

"...every day many Gentiles (Hindus) turn Moors (Muslims), to obtain the favour of the king and governors..."

This entry is crucial in understanding how Islam in India.. and it did predominantly through state patronisation, instead of force or persecution.

You see? If Rajputs ruled a landmass, the most favoured community would naturally be Rajputs. The Brahmin Peshwas similarly favoured Brahmins and even persecuted the rivals of the Brahmins, such as the Prabhu caste. Likewise, under Muslim rule, Muslims would be the favoured group.

But there is a crucial difference between Rajput and Muslim rule - you cannot become a Rajput or Brahmin, you are born one, whereas you can become a Muslim and potentially improve your social and political status. At the very least, your chances of upward mobility were significantly higher than they had been before.

[Evan @EvanWritesOnX]

I wrote a post last year descriptively on how the US will abandon Israel when and why.

Shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has read it.

It's not about alliance.

It's about fluid, shifting incentives.