Title: Seeking Truth in the Information Age Question: sir I was always in search of truth. When I started using internet I was inclined towards the manazra websites. There I have read many things. I discussed those things with people but nobody responded positively, commonly the answer is simple denial know that the scholars have this common answer to a layman who is in search of real truth that first you become a scholar yourself then start research but I think unless one knows which is the true fiqqah etc one should never blindly follow it. I am sending you few links about the manazra websites of Shiites inquired from their marjas and mostly they said that what strange shocking things are presented in these websites are true. www.answering-ansar.org , www.shia-nj.org , www.ansar-e-karbala.org , http://books.shiachat.com/ , http://groups.msn.com/shiaofahlulbayt (i think this group is now closed). I have also read few manazra books written by barelvi ulema like allama dr kokab noorani okarvi, deoband to bareilly etc. I also read the hassam ul haramain by ala hazrat ahmed raza shah barelvi in which he collected fatawa e takfir against the most noble scholars of deoband. Sir after reading so much manazra material my mind is totally confused ,however I must admit that I don't believe any more in the concept that all sahabas were righteous. I also believe that ali was the rightful and most deserving for the caliphate. Sir if you will read these manazra websites and clear my doubts I will be so grateful that I cannot tell you in words. Answer: My dear brother, the enthusiasm for seeking and exploring the truth is one of the best qualities that an individual can have and for this I sincerely congratulate you. This is an endeavour that should always stay with a self reflective person and should never perish. I totally understand your concern. The new age of technology has made it very easy for people of our generation to come across any type of belief and conflicting debates and arguments. While this explosion of information definitely has a huge advantage for any one who seeks the truth, it can also be a source of frustration. For almost any argument that is provided in books or through websites one can easily find a counter argument. As soon as one thinks that one is totally convinced by an argument, one may immediately become exposed to numerous counter arguments that again put one's mind in a doubtful state. Given the above adventurous, but at the same time frustrating situation, the one who sincerely is looking for truth has two main options: Option One: A bottom-to-top approach: In this approach, you will try to read all the arguments and debates that are available to you. Typically, and naturally, these debates revolve around very technical and secondary aspects of a belief, rather than the foundations of a belief. You can spend all your life reading these debates before making up your mind about what is the truth. However, normally this never happens. Our life is too short and we are too busy to look at all possible debates and never-ending arguments and even if this was possible, often reaching any conclusion is very subjective. This is why people who choose this approach practically 'decide' at a certain point in their search for the truth that they are 'convinced'. This means from that point on they either do not continue reading any counter arguments or they read these counter arguments with prejudgement. Option Two: a top-to-bottom approach: In this approach one considers certain criteria and sources as absolutely correct and reliable. One then examines any arguments with these criteria and sources. Typically and naturally, these debates mainly look at the foundations of beliefs rather than technical details and secondary issues. The advantage of this approach is that you arrive at a conclusion much faster than the bottom-to- top approach and that it provides one with a basis that can help him to easily decide whether an argument is acceptable or not. Within Islamic faith-based discussions, the only source and criteria that can be used in a top-to-bottom approach is the Qur'an. The Qur'an introduces itself as the criteria, the differentiator, definite and clear. Therefore, while studying the Qur'an and exploring its rich meaning can take a life time, verifying a belief by the Qur'an should be quite easy for any student of Islam. Based on my own experience which is not a unique one, I suggest option two, a top-to-bottom approach, is not only the better approach but in fact the correct and rationally sound approach. I therefore suggest that your main priority should be to equip yourself with the knowledge of the Qur'an. Once you do this, then it will be quite easy to decide whether an argument (in the context of Islam) is correct or not. In doing this, inline with the top-to-bottom approach, it is also important to distinguish between fundamental aspects of a belief and its secondary aspects, and to concentrate on those fundamental aspects when examining a belief with the Qur'an. For example, you might like to consider 'Ali (ra) being the most deserving for the Khalifa' as the foundation of belief of those who hold this to be true or it is in fact a conclusion and outcome of a more fundamental belief. You can then explore what that (fundamental) belief is and then see if the Qur'an directs you to that belief. In a nutshell, and as a quick guide, any obligatory belief (attributed to Islam) should be firmly and clearly established in the Qur'an, otherwise it is either false or not obligatory. I am sure you appreciate that it is not possible for us to read all the debate websites and to provide our views on every one of them. I suggest you take another look at these debates, this time adopting a top-to-bottom approach, as described above. If you then had any certain questions with regard to any specific argument raised in any of the debates we will be more than happy to provide you with our understanding of the issue under discussion. Abdullah Rahim February 15, 2007