INTRODUCTION OF SHIA ISLAM
(Arabic: شيعة, Shīʻah, Persian: شیعی; pronounced /ˈʃɪə/) is one of the two denominations of Islam,
The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī (شيعة علي), meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali"
Similar to other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is based on the teachings of the Islamic holy book, the Qurʻān and the message of the final prophet of Islam, Muhammad. In contrast to other schools of thought, Shia Islam holds that Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt ("the People of the House"), and certain individuals among his descendants, who are known as Imams, have special spiritual and political authority over the community. Shia Muslims further believe that Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and was the rightful successor to Muhammad and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three caliphs.
Shias regard Ali as the second most important figure after Prophet Muhammad.
History
Ali is the central figure at the origin of the Shia / Sunni split which occurred in the decades immediately following the death of the Prophet in 632. Sunnis regard Ali as the fourth and last of the "rightly guided caliphs" (successors to Mohammed (pbuh) as leader of the Muslims) following on from Abu Bakr 632-634, Umar 634-644 and Uthman 644-656. Shias feel that Ali should have been the first caliph and that the caliphate should pass down only to direct descendants of Mohammed (pbuh) via Ali and Fatima, They often refer to themselves as ahl al bayt or "people of the house" [of the prophet].
When Uthman was murdered while at prayer, Ali finally succeeded to the caliphate. Ali was, however, opposed by Aisha, wife of the Prophet (pbuh) and daughter of Abu Bakr, who accused him of being lax in bringing Uthman's killers to justice. After Ali's army defeated Aisha's forces at the Battle of the Camel in 656, she apologized to Ali and was allowed to return to her home in Madinah where she withdrew from public life.
However, Ali was not able to overcome the forces of Mu'awiya Ummayad, Uthman's cousin and governor of Damascus, who also refused to recognize him until Uthman's killers had been apprehended. At the Battle of Suffin Mu'awiya's soldiers stuck verses of the Quran onto the ends of their spears with the result that Ali's pious supporters refused to fight them. Ali was forced to seek a compromise with Mu'awiya, but this so shocked some of his die-hard supporters who regarded it as a betrayal that he was struck down by one of his own men in 661.
Mu'awiya declared himself caliph. Ali's elder son Hassan accepted a pension in return for not pursuing his claim to the caliphate. He died within a year, allegedly poisoned. Ali's younger son Hussein agreed to put his claim to the caliphate on hold until Mu'awiya's death. However, when Mu'awiya finally died in 680, his son Yazid usurped the caliphate. Hussein led an army against Yazid but, hopelessly outnumbered, he and his men were slaughtered at the Battle of Karbala (in modern day Iraq). Hussein's infant son, Ali, survived so the line continued. Yazid formed the hereditary Ummayad dynasty. The division between the Shia and what came to be known as the Sunni was set.
An opportunity for Muslim unity arose in the 750's CE. In 750 except for a few who managed to flee to Spain, almost the entire Ummayad aristocracy was wiped out following the Battle of Zab in Egypt in a revolt led by Abu Al Abbass al-Saffah and aided by considerable Shia support. It was envisaged that the Shia spiritual leader Jafar As-Siddiq, great-grandson of Hussein be installed as Caliph. But when Abbass died in 754, this arrangement had not yet been finalised and Abbas' son Al Mansur murdered Jafar, seized the caliphate for himself and founded the Baghdad-based Abbassid dynasty which prevailed until the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258.
FUNDAMENTALS OF FAITH OF THE SHI'Ã IMAMÃ ITHNA ASHARÃ
THE SHAHADAH: THE DECLARATION OF FAITH
La iláhail Alláh, Muhammadan Rasúl Alláh, AlÃyun WalÃ-Alláh, WasÃyu Rasulillah, wa KhalÃfa tuhu bila fasl. There is no god but Alláh, Muhammad is the Messenger of Alláh, 'Alà is the Friend of Alláh. The Successor of the Messenger of Alláh And his first Caliph.
USUL AL-DÃN: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ISLAM
1) TawhÃd(The Oneness of Alláh)2) 'Adl (Divine Justice)
3) Nubuwwah (The Prophethood)
4) Imámah (The Imamate)
5) Qiyámah (The Day of Judgement)THE POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES OF ALLÃH
1) QadÃm:Alláh is eternal. He has neither a beginning nor an end.
2) Qadir: Alláh is omnipotent. He has power over all things.
3) 'Alim: Alláh is omniscient. He is all-knowing.
4) Hai: Alláh is living. He is alive and will remain alive forever
5) MurÃd: Alláh has his own discretion is all affairs. He does not do anything out of compulsion.
6) Mudrik: Alláh is all-perceiving. He is all-hearing, all-seeing, and is omnipresent. Alláh sees and hears everything though he has neither eyes nor ears.
7) Mutakalim: Alláh is the Lord of the Worlds. He can create speech in anything: the burning bush for Musa and the curtain of light for Muhammad.
8) Sadiq: Alláh is truthful. His words and promises are true.
THE NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES OF ALLÃH
1) SharÃk:Alláh has no partners.
2) Murakab: Alláh is neither made, nor composed, of any material.
3) Makán: Alláh is not confined to any place and has no body.
4) Hulúl: Alláh does not incarnate into anything or anybody.
5) Mahale hawadith: Alláh is not subject to changes. Alláh cannot change.
6) MarÃ: Alláh is not visible. He has not been seen, is not seen, and will never be seen, because he has no form or body.
7) Ihtiyaj: Alláh is not dependant. Alláh is not deficient, so he does not have any needs.
8) Sifate zayed: Alláh does not have added qualifications. The attributes of Alláh are not separate from His being.
FURU AL-DIN: THE MAIN BRANCHES OF ISLAM
1) Salat (Prayer)
2) Sawm (Fasting)
3) Zakát (Poor-due of 2.5%)
4) Hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah)
5) Khums (The Charity of 20%)
6) Jihad (To Struggle in the Path of Alláh)
7) Amr bil ma'ruf (To Promote the Good)
8) Nahy 'an al-munkar (To Forbid the Wrong)
9) Tawalla (Loving the Prophet's Family)
10) Tabarra (Shunning the Enemies of the Prophet's Family)
THE TWELVE IMAMS
Name Title Year of birth and death
1)Imam 'Alà ibn Abu Talib al-Murtadha (The Satisfied One) 600–661
2) Imam Hasan ibn Ali al-Mujtabah (The Chosen One) 625–669
3) Imam Husayn ibn Ali Sayyid al-Shuhudah (The Lord of the Martyrs) 626–680
4) Imam 'Alà ibn Husayn Zayn al-ÃbidÃn (The Jewel of the Believers) 658–713
5) Imam Muhammad al-Báqir (The Spreader of Knowledge) 676–743
6) Imam Ja'far al-Sádiq (The Truthful One) 703–765
7) Imam Músa al-Kazim (The Patient One) 745–799
8) Imam 'Alà al-Ridhá (The Accepted One) 765–818
9) Imam Muhammad al-Taqà (The Pious One) 810–835
10) Imam 'Alà al-Naqà (The Pure One) 827–868
11) Imam Hasan al-Askarà (The One with an Army) 846–874
12) Imam Muhammad al-Mahdà (The Rightly-Guided One) 868—
The Twelth Imam is still alive. He is in a state of occultation. He will reappear at a moment determined by Alláh. He is the Awaited One who will spread justice throughout the world.
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH OF THE TWELVER SHI'ISM
I bear witnessthat there is no god but Alláh and that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is His servant and Messenger, and that 'AlÃ, the Commander of the Faithful, and the Chief of the Deputies of Alláh, is the Imam whose obedience has been made incumbent by Alláh on all people; and that Hasan and Husayn, 'Alà ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad ibn 'AlÃ, Ja'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja'far, 'Alà ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn 'AlÃ, 'Alà ibn Muhammad, Hasan ibn 'AlÃ, and the Living One, the Mahdà (the blessings of Alláh be upon them all), all the Imams of the believers and the Proofs of Alláh for the whole of creation are my Imams, the rightly-guiding and the pious. I bear witness that: Alláh is my God, Muhammad is my Prophet, Islam is my religion, the Qur'án is my scripture, the Ka'aba is my qibla, 'Alà ibn Abú Tálib is my Imam, Hasan ibn 'Alà is my Imam, Husayn, the Martyr of Karbala, son of 'AlÃ, is my Imam, 'Alà Zayn al-'ÃbadÃn is my Imam, Muhammad al-Báqir is my Imam, Ja'far al-Sádiq is my Imam, Musa al-Kádhim is my Imam, 'Alà al-Ridhá is my Imam, Muhammad al-Taqà is my Imam, 'Alà al-Naqà is my Imam, Hasan al-Askarà is my Imam, and al-Huja al-Muntazar is my Imam. They, upon whom be peace, are my Imáms, Masters and Intercessors before Alláh. I love them, all of them, and shun their enemies in this life and the next.
I bear witness that: Alláh, the Almighty, the Exalted, is the best Lord; that Muhammad, the blessings of Alláh be upon him and his Family, is the best Prophet; and that the Commander of the Faithful, 'Alà ibn Abú Tálib, and his offspring, are the best Imams; and that the message Muhammad brought from Alláh is true, death is true, the questioning in the grave by Munkar and NakÃr is true, the Resurrection of the dead is true, the appearance before Alláh is true, the Bridge (al-sirát) is true, the Divine Scales are true, the dissemination of the book of one's deeds at Doomsday is true, paradise is true, and hell is true; and that there is no doubt about the coming of the inevitable Hour of Reckoning; and that the rising of the dead from their graves is true.
ShiasToday
Iran is overwhelmingly Shia - 89%.Shias also form a majority of the population in Yemen and Azerbaijan, Bahrain and 60% of the population of Iraq. There are also sizeable Shia communities along the east coast of Saudi Arabia and in the Lebanon. The well known guerilla organization Hizbollah, which forced the Israelis out of southern Lebanon in 2000, is Shia. Worldwide, Shias constitute ten to fifteen percent of the overall Muslim population.
Within Shia Islam there are different sects. Most Shias are "Twelvers", i.e. they recognize the 12 Imams. There are also Sevener and Fiver Shias who don't recognize the later Imams.
The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī (شيعة علي), meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali"
Similar to other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is based on the teachings of the Islamic holy book, the Qurʻān and the message of the final prophet of Islam, Muhammad. In contrast to other schools of thought, Shia Islam holds that Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt ("the People of the House"), and certain individuals among his descendants, who are known as Imams, have special spiritual and political authority over the community. Shia Muslims further believe that Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and was the rightful successor to Muhammad and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three caliphs.
Shias regard Ali as the second most important figure after Prophet Muhammad.
History
Ali is the central figure at the origin of the Shia / Sunni split which occurred in the decades immediately following the death of the Prophet in 632. Sunnis regard Ali as the fourth and last of the "rightly guided caliphs" (successors to Mohammed (pbuh) as leader of the Muslims) following on from Abu Bakr 632-634, Umar 634-644 and Uthman 644-656. Shias feel that Ali should have been the first caliph and that the caliphate should pass down only to direct descendants of Mohammed (pbuh) via Ali and Fatima, They often refer to themselves as ahl al bayt or "people of the house" [of the prophet].
When Uthman was murdered while at prayer, Ali finally succeeded to the caliphate. Ali was, however, opposed by Aisha, wife of the Prophet (pbuh) and daughter of Abu Bakr, who accused him of being lax in bringing Uthman's killers to justice. After Ali's army defeated Aisha's forces at the Battle of the Camel in 656, she apologized to Ali and was allowed to return to her home in Madinah where she withdrew from public life.
However, Ali was not able to overcome the forces of Mu'awiya Ummayad, Uthman's cousin and governor of Damascus, who also refused to recognize him until Uthman's killers had been apprehended. At the Battle of Suffin Mu'awiya's soldiers stuck verses of the Quran onto the ends of their spears with the result that Ali's pious supporters refused to fight them. Ali was forced to seek a compromise with Mu'awiya, but this so shocked some of his die-hard supporters who regarded it as a betrayal that he was struck down by one of his own men in 661.
Mu'awiya declared himself caliph. Ali's elder son Hassan accepted a pension in return for not pursuing his claim to the caliphate. He died within a year, allegedly poisoned. Ali's younger son Hussein agreed to put his claim to the caliphate on hold until Mu'awiya's death. However, when Mu'awiya finally died in 680, his son Yazid usurped the caliphate. Hussein led an army against Yazid but, hopelessly outnumbered, he and his men were slaughtered at the Battle of Karbala (in modern day Iraq). Hussein's infant son, Ali, survived so the line continued. Yazid formed the hereditary Ummayad dynasty. The division between the Shia and what came to be known as the Sunni was set.
An opportunity for Muslim unity arose in the 750's CE. In 750 except for a few who managed to flee to Spain, almost the entire Ummayad aristocracy was wiped out following the Battle of Zab in Egypt in a revolt led by Abu Al Abbass al-Saffah and aided by considerable Shia support. It was envisaged that the Shia spiritual leader Jafar As-Siddiq, great-grandson of Hussein be installed as Caliph. But when Abbass died in 754, this arrangement had not yet been finalised and Abbas' son Al Mansur murdered Jafar, seized the caliphate for himself and founded the Baghdad-based Abbassid dynasty which prevailed until the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258.
FUNDAMENTALS OF FAITH OF THE SHI'Ã IMAMÃ ITHNA ASHARÃ
THE SHAHADAH: THE DECLARATION OF FAITH
La iláhail Alláh, Muhammadan Rasúl Alláh, AlÃyun WalÃ-Alláh, WasÃyu Rasulillah, wa KhalÃfa tuhu bila fasl. There is no god but Alláh, Muhammad is the Messenger of Alláh, 'Alà is the Friend of Alláh. The Successor of the Messenger of Alláh And his first Caliph.
USUL AL-DÃN: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ISLAM
1) TawhÃd(The Oneness of Alláh)2) 'Adl (Divine Justice)
3) Nubuwwah (The Prophethood)
4) Imámah (The Imamate)
5) Qiyámah (The Day of Judgement)THE POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES OF ALLÃH
1) QadÃm:Alláh is eternal. He has neither a beginning nor an end.
2) Qadir: Alláh is omnipotent. He has power over all things.
3) 'Alim: Alláh is omniscient. He is all-knowing.
4) Hai: Alláh is living. He is alive and will remain alive forever
5) MurÃd: Alláh has his own discretion is all affairs. He does not do anything out of compulsion.
6) Mudrik: Alláh is all-perceiving. He is all-hearing, all-seeing, and is omnipresent. Alláh sees and hears everything though he has neither eyes nor ears.
7) Mutakalim: Alláh is the Lord of the Worlds. He can create speech in anything: the burning bush for Musa and the curtain of light for Muhammad.
8) Sadiq: Alláh is truthful. His words and promises are true.
THE NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES OF ALLÃH
1) SharÃk:Alláh has no partners.
2) Murakab: Alláh is neither made, nor composed, of any material.
3) Makán: Alláh is not confined to any place and has no body.
4) Hulúl: Alláh does not incarnate into anything or anybody.
5) Mahale hawadith: Alláh is not subject to changes. Alláh cannot change.
6) MarÃ: Alláh is not visible. He has not been seen, is not seen, and will never be seen, because he has no form or body.
7) Ihtiyaj: Alláh is not dependant. Alláh is not deficient, so he does not have any needs.
8) Sifate zayed: Alláh does not have added qualifications. The attributes of Alláh are not separate from His being.
FURU AL-DIN: THE MAIN BRANCHES OF ISLAM
1) Salat (Prayer)
2) Sawm (Fasting)
3) Zakát (Poor-due of 2.5%)
4) Hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah)
5) Khums (The Charity of 20%)
6) Jihad (To Struggle in the Path of Alláh)
7) Amr bil ma'ruf (To Promote the Good)
8) Nahy 'an al-munkar (To Forbid the Wrong)
9) Tawalla (Loving the Prophet's Family)
10) Tabarra (Shunning the Enemies of the Prophet's Family)
THE TWELVE IMAMS
Name Title Year of birth and death
1)Imam 'Alà ibn Abu Talib al-Murtadha (The Satisfied One) 600–661
2) Imam Hasan ibn Ali al-Mujtabah (The Chosen One) 625–669
3) Imam Husayn ibn Ali Sayyid al-Shuhudah (The Lord of the Martyrs) 626–680
4) Imam 'Alà ibn Husayn Zayn al-ÃbidÃn (The Jewel of the Believers) 658–713
5) Imam Muhammad al-Báqir (The Spreader of Knowledge) 676–743
6) Imam Ja'far al-Sádiq (The Truthful One) 703–765
7) Imam Músa al-Kazim (The Patient One) 745–799
8) Imam 'Alà al-Ridhá (The Accepted One) 765–818
9) Imam Muhammad al-Taqà (The Pious One) 810–835
10) Imam 'Alà al-Naqà (The Pure One) 827–868
11) Imam Hasan al-Askarà (The One with an Army) 846–874
12) Imam Muhammad al-Mahdà (The Rightly-Guided One) 868—
The Twelth Imam is still alive. He is in a state of occultation. He will reappear at a moment determined by Alláh. He is the Awaited One who will spread justice throughout the world.
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH OF THE TWELVER SHI'ISM
I bear witnessthat there is no god but Alláh and that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is His servant and Messenger, and that 'AlÃ, the Commander of the Faithful, and the Chief of the Deputies of Alláh, is the Imam whose obedience has been made incumbent by Alláh on all people; and that Hasan and Husayn, 'Alà ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad ibn 'AlÃ, Ja'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja'far, 'Alà ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn 'AlÃ, 'Alà ibn Muhammad, Hasan ibn 'AlÃ, and the Living One, the Mahdà (the blessings of Alláh be upon them all), all the Imams of the believers and the Proofs of Alláh for the whole of creation are my Imams, the rightly-guiding and the pious. I bear witness that: Alláh is my God, Muhammad is my Prophet, Islam is my religion, the Qur'án is my scripture, the Ka'aba is my qibla, 'Alà ibn Abú Tálib is my Imam, Hasan ibn 'Alà is my Imam, Husayn, the Martyr of Karbala, son of 'AlÃ, is my Imam, 'Alà Zayn al-'ÃbadÃn is my Imam, Muhammad al-Báqir is my Imam, Ja'far al-Sádiq is my Imam, Musa al-Kádhim is my Imam, 'Alà al-Ridhá is my Imam, Muhammad al-Taqà is my Imam, 'Alà al-Naqà is my Imam, Hasan al-Askarà is my Imam, and al-Huja al-Muntazar is my Imam. They, upon whom be peace, are my Imáms, Masters and Intercessors before Alláh. I love them, all of them, and shun their enemies in this life and the next.
I bear witness that: Alláh, the Almighty, the Exalted, is the best Lord; that Muhammad, the blessings of Alláh be upon him and his Family, is the best Prophet; and that the Commander of the Faithful, 'Alà ibn Abú Tálib, and his offspring, are the best Imams; and that the message Muhammad brought from Alláh is true, death is true, the questioning in the grave by Munkar and NakÃr is true, the Resurrection of the dead is true, the appearance before Alláh is true, the Bridge (al-sirát) is true, the Divine Scales are true, the dissemination of the book of one's deeds at Doomsday is true, paradise is true, and hell is true; and that there is no doubt about the coming of the inevitable Hour of Reckoning; and that the rising of the dead from their graves is true.
ShiasToday
Iran is overwhelmingly Shia - 89%.Shias also form a majority of the population in Yemen and Azerbaijan, Bahrain and 60% of the population of Iraq. There are also sizeable Shia communities along the east coast of Saudi Arabia and in the Lebanon. The well known guerilla organization Hizbollah, which forced the Israelis out of southern Lebanon in 2000, is Shia. Worldwide, Shias constitute ten to fifteen percent of the overall Muslim population.
Within Shia Islam there are different sects. Most Shias are "Twelvers", i.e. they recognize the 12 Imams. There are also Sevener and Fiver Shias who don't recognize the later Imams.
