Shi'a

Shia (شيعة‎ Shīʿah, from Shīʿatu ʿAlī, "adherent of Ali"), also transliterated Shiah and Shiʿah, is a branch of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam (leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from the caliphate as a result of the incident at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunni Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor and consider Abu Bakr, who they claim was appointed Caliph through a Shura, i.e. community consensus in Saqifa, to be the first rightful Caliph after the Prophet. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shias of Ali, Shias or the Shi'a as a collective or Shi'i or Shi'ite individually.

59976

Sunni . Woman . Father . Mother . Marriage . Shi'a

As a Sunni woman am I allowed to get married to someone born of a Shi'a father and a Sunni mother and who considers himself to be a Sunni?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 6 years ago

Yes you are allowed to get married to him because he is a Muslim like you and all Muslims are allowed to marry with Muslims as far as the marriage does not cause harm to religion.

Wassalam.

Sunni . Woman . Father . Mother . Marriage . Shi'a

As a Sunni woman am I allowed to get married to someone born of a Shi'a father and a Sunni mother and who considers himself to be a Sunni?

Abbas Di Palma, Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in... Answered 6 years ago

as salam alaikum

a Sunni woman can marry a Sunni man with a Shia father.

It is worth to note in this regard that three of the four major Sunni schools - the Maliki, Hanbali and Shaf'i schools - require the consent of the wali/father for marrying the woman; the Hanafi school however does not deem it necessary.

With prayers for your success.

52699

Salah (Prayers) . Shi'a . Eid al-Fitr . Takbir

How many takbirs are performed in each rakat in the Shi'a performance of the Eid Al-Fitr prayer?

as salam alaikum

In the first rak'ah: after the Takbiratul-Ihram, the recitation of surah al-Hamd and the other surah, there are five takbirs with a final takbir added before going into ruku'.

In the second rak'ah: after the recitation of surah al-Hamd and the other surah, there are four takbirs with a final takbir added before going into ruku'.

Therefore in total there are twelve takbirs: seven in the first rak'ah and five in the second rak'ah.

With prayers for your success.

58842

Twelver . Shi'a

Is it correct to say that there are two broad groups within Twelver Shia, the Usuli, Akhbari and Shaykhi being the orthodox group and the other group being the Alawi, Alevi and Nimatullahi? If so, which one or ones are correct and by what criteria?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 6 years ago

It is difficult to answer the question of "who is right" since everyone thinks their religion is right! Answering the question of "who is orthodox?" also brings up the question of who has the right to determine what is orthodox.

(Keeping in mind many Muslims consider all Shi'is to be unorthodox!)

Anyway, as you say, many people today consider the strongly fiqh-based approach to Twelver Shi'ism (i.e. the first stream of thought, in that Shaykhism also emerges from that line) to be the "mainstream" or "orthodox" one.

It is also argued by scholars of religious history that Alawism and Alevism are heavily syncretic religions (i.e. strong mixes of Islam/Shiism and other religions). My understanding is that some Nimatullahis self-identify in this way today (that is, as strongly integrating beliefs prior to Islam), but I don't know if that reflects the whole tradition, and, in any case, just because a belief is ancient does not necessarily mean that it is wrong. However, it could be construed as "less orthodox" insofar as it there is no evidence that it comes down a direct line from the Prophet/Twelve Imams.

My impression has always been that today's Alawism and Alevism are more "cultural religions", i.e. they are practiced in some areas as local traditions but don't absorb outsiders easily.

Anyway, my view on this is, firstly, to follow the advice of Imam Ali (A) - namely, first know the truth, and then you will come to know the people who are on the truth.

Second, insofar as Islam is a scriptural religion, you can read Qur'an and hadith, especially the Qur'an, and compare the beliefs and practices of these different groups and see what seems to fit best with it.

Third, there is no harm in taking what is good from different places. If you have the option to practice Shi'ism in one or more of these interpretations, you can see what leads you to the truth, what beliefs and practices are healthy or unhealthy, which reflect the spirit of the Qur'an, what you think best reflects the intent of the Prophet (S), etc.

Lastly, of course, seek divine guidance.

Usually we already know what is true and the kernel of the answer is already in our heart, but sometimes we aren't ready to act on it yet, and we have to wait until the time when we are ready to acknowledge whatever we know is true.

Twelver . Shi'a

Rebecca Masterton, Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been... Answered 6 years ago

People have always sought to arrange people into groups and to declare which are correct or not correct, or orthodox or not orthodox. First of all, what do you mean by 'orthodox'? Secondly, the Usuli and Akhbari both accuse each other of heterodoxy. Both are Twelver Shi'a. The Shaykhis are Twelver Shi'a and the Ni'matullahis are Sufis and are also Twelver Shi'a, except that one branch of the Ni'matullahis praises 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. Much Sufism that developed among the Shi'a during the medieval period incorporated elements of the Sunni Sufi silsilas, yet practitioners of that Sufism would consider themselves to be Twelver Shi'a. There are different 'Alawi groups - so which ones are you referring to? In the early period, the name 'Alawi was just another name for the Shi 'a of 'Ali [as]; the term 'Alawi also came to be use for the descendents of Abu Talib's [ra] household; there are also Sunni 'Alawis descended from Imam al-Hasan [as]. You say which ones are correct and by what criteria: correct from what perspective? A Sunni perspective? A Shi'i perspective? A secular perspective? Please clarify.

Twelver . Shi'a

This statement is not correct.

The name of Twelvers came from the Prophetic statement that my successors will be twelve. This most authentic Hadeeth is narrated in main Sunni books including Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah, Musnad Ibn Hanbal hundreds of Hadeeth books.

While all Muslim scholars believe that the Prophet said this, but only Shia Muslims follow the Prophetic teachings by following the Twelve successors.

In fact every Muslim must believe and follow the Twelve Imams If he really wants to abide to the Prophetic orders.

The Osooli and Akhbari and Shaikhi are not different sects, as all of them believe and follow the Twelve Imams from Ahlul Bayt (AS), but some of their scholars have their attitude to derive the Islamic rules from the Hadeeths.

The criteria to know the truth among all the different opinions and sects is the authentic evidence from Quran and authentic Hadeeth.

Wassalam.

59310

Shi'a

In brief, what is the genesis of Shi'ism?

In the early period, the word 'shi'a' was understood simply to mean 'follower'. Hence there were those known as the shi 'a of Mu'awiya, the shi'a of 'Uthman and the shi'a of 'Ali [as]. In the early period there was fierce debate as to who could be categorised as a Shi'a of 'Ali [as]. Sunnis who considered him superior to the first three khulafa were known as Shi'a of 'Ali. Due to propaganda and war, any such slight inclination towards Imam Ali [as] could mean being accused of being one his Shi'a. From the persepective of the Imams, their Shi'a were those that were utterly trustworthy, and intelligent enough to imbibe their teachings. People who simply loved the Imams were generally known as 'lovers and supporters' and were appreciated by the Imams, but could be of little use to them because of their lack of capacity to imbibe knowledge and be absolutely trustworthy. There is a narration of Imam al-Sadiq [as] that says '‘a simple profession of love for us (walayah) does not turn a person into a follower (shi‘a), rather those who profess love simply diminish the solitude of our followers.’ (Usul al-Kafi, Vol. 3)

Shi'a

In brief, what is the genesis of Shi'ism?

1. Shia means the followers. In Quran Allah called the sincere followers of the Prophet Musa as his Shia (The person who was from his Shia seeked help from him against the person who was from his enemies) (فاستغاثه الذي هو من شيعته على الذي من عدوه) (Sura Al-Qasas, Verse 15.)

2. Allah in Quran called prophet Ebrahim as a Shia (sincere follower) of the prophet Noah. ( وان من شيعته لابراهيم )(And verily, among his Shia (followers) are Ebrahim). (Sura al-Saffaat, verse 83.)

3. The Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) called the sincere obedient Muslims as Shia of Ali and said that they will be the winners in the Day of Judgment.

( Tafseer al-Tabari, Vol 30, Page 146)

(Tafseer al-Dorr al-Manthoor by al-Soyooti 6/379) and many other Sunni books.

4. Shia Muslims are the sincere followers of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) who took his Sunnah and Tafseer of Quran from his holy Progeny Ahlul Bayt (AS) being he most authentic source.

Wassalam.

58850

Sunni . Hadith . Ilm al-Rijal . Shi'a

It has been suggested that Sunni hadith collections seem to have many politically motivated fabrications and problematic narrators classed as reliable. Are Shi'a scholars stricter than Sunni scholars when it comes to grading of hadith?

Our Shia scholars are always very strict in assessing every narration by studying and assessing every narrator
of every Hadeeth. There is no scope in our books of Hadeeth to accept
any narration or consider any narration which is politically motivated
as our leading scholars in our history stood against every tyrant
ruler whether he was a Sunni or a Shia. So no narration is accepted if
there is s slightest doubt that it is fabricated for the sake of
pleasing the rulers or justifying their wrong deeds.

Wassalaam.

58340

Shi'a . Tawassul

If supplicating to Allah through a Wasilah is superior in terms of having the Du'a being accepted, does that make supplicating to Allah directly redundant in the Shi'a belief?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 6 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Not at all. Praying through the wasilah of the Infallibles (as) is a direct prayer to God. The form it takes is to ask Allah by the honor of that wasilah in His eyes. So one may take the Quran as a wasilah, or the Kaba or a prophet and so on. It is perfectly fine for someone to pray without asking by the right of a wasilah.

May you always be successful.

58284

Shi'a . Flagellation

What is the ritual of Zanjeer and why do some Shi’a practice it while others consider it wrong?

Zanjeer involves hitting yourself with chains or sometimes blades as part of a mourning ceremony for Imam Husain. It is customary in some areas.

There is a difference of opinion on this these days. Some Shi'is consider it to be a good expression of dedication or loyalty to Imam Husain or as a practice they associate with their identity. (Personally I think some people associate it with being manly, as women do not usually do it, but admittedly no one around me has ever put this into words.)

Other Shi'is consider it wrong because it does not have a solid basis in Qur'an/hadith, because there is evidence that it is a later addition to Shi'i practice, because they feel it gives Islam a bad image, because it could distract from doing acts that the Qur'an teaches about, or because it might lead to self-harm.

Anyway there are plenty of enthusiastic debates about this online which you can read.

God knows best!

58192

Maghrib . Sunni . Shi'a

What is the correct timing for the Shi'a Maghrib prayer and is it permissible to pray at the Sunni timing?

Seyed Ali Musawi, Seyed Ali Musawi studied religion and history at the University of California, San Diego and subsequently he studied for more than 8 years at the Islamic Seminary in Qum, Iran, focusing on Islamic... Answered 6 years ago

Salaam Allaikum,

There may be some slight differences between the marajah, so it is important to check this with your specific Marja, but in general, the time of maghrib begins when the redness in the Eastern sky has dissipated.

Oftentimes, people think maghrib is when the redness of the western sky (where the sun sets) has dissipated but this is actually not the case and Maghrib occurs a bit earlier than this....

Shi'a

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