Shiism

Shiaism, Shia Islam or Shia Islam (or Shia, in Arabic: شيعة‎, romanized: šīʿa) constitutes one of the main branches of Islam along with Sunnismo. It is the traditional name by which the Ya'farite school of Islamic jurisprudence is known. Shi'ism is professed by around 15-25% of the world's 1.9 billion Muslims.

The main leader in the world today is Ali al-Sistani.

Meaning

A follower of Islam is known as a "Muslim," while a Muslim who believes that Ali ibn Abi Talib was the immediate successor and caliph of the Prophet Muhammad is called a "shia" — short for "chiat-u-Ali.", which means “supporter of Ali”—a term that has been castilianized as "Shiite".

Shia, which literally means 'supporters' or 'followers', refers to those who regard the succession of the Prophet as a special right of the Prophet's family, and those who in the countryside of Islamic sciences and culture follow the school of the House of the Prophet.

History

Etymologically, chía derives from the Arabic shi‘a, which means faction, party, or follower. Historically refers to the followers of the Shi'a of Imam Ali, party, faction or followers of Ali, in the power struggles that followed the death of Muhammad. The Shias believe that shortly before his death, Muhammad, returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca, gathered more than 100,000 believers in Ghadir Jum and told them that those who considered him his teacher should do the same with & # 39; Ali Ibn Abu Talib.

Ghadir al-Jumm

In the Qur'an it is mentioned that on his return from the last pilgrimage, the Prophet Muhammad received the following order from God:

O Messenger, spread what has been revealed to you from your Lord; if you do not, it would be as if you had not spread the message at all. God will protect you from people.

Koran 5:67.

Muhammad stopped at Ghadir al-Jumm on the 18th of du l-hijjah of the tenth year of the Hijra to deliver the message to the pilgrims before they dispersed. Since it was very hot, a platform covered with branches was built for him. Then the Prophet gave a very long sermon. At one point he asked his faithful followers if he (Muhammad) had more authority (awla ) over the believers than they had over themselves. The crowd shouted, "Yes, it is so O Allah's Apostle." Then Muhammad took Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and his son-in-law, by the hand and declared:

“For whomever I am his Maullah, this Ali is also his Maullah (‘Man kuntu Maulahu fa hada Aliyun maulahu’).”

On the 18th of du l-hijjah of every year, the anniversary of Ghadir al-Jumm's declaration is celebrated in the Shiite world.

Succession to Muhammad

When Muhammad died in 632, a group of his companions decided to ignore Ghadir al-Jumm's proclamation and named the Prophet's successor from among themselves. However, part of the believers took the side of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, since they considered that this was his only legitimate successor since he had been the person closest to Muhammad, and the Prophet had designated him as his successor. on several occasions, most notably at Ghadir al-Jumm. This group of supporters of Ali (chiat-u-Ali) refused to recognize the successive caliphs or successors of the Prophet: Abu Bakr, Ómar and Uthman.

After the death of the latter, Ali is finally elected caliph. However, accused of having instigated the death of his predecessor, his power will be contested by Mu'awiya, governor of Syria and member of the Umayyad family, thus starting a civil war between the two factions. On the Siffin battlefield both leaders agreed to submit their differences to the opinion of an independent arbitrator. However, a third faction will emerge from Ali's ranks, that of the Kharijites, who did not accept arbitration. This faction assassinated Ali in 661, and on the same day they also tried to kill Mu'awiya and the referee, without success.

Ali's supporters then pinned their hopes on his son Hasan, who, pressured and deceived by Mu'awiya, renounced power. Ali's second son, Husayn ibn Ali, refused to swear allegiance to Mu'awiya due to his corruption, and was killed along with 72 followers in the Battle of Karbala (Iraq) against the army of Yazid, son of Mu'awiya, composed of more than thirty thousand men. His death in the field, in 680, will mark the beginning of the schism between the Shiites and those whom he will later call "Sunnis." Shias commemorate this event on the day of Ashura, the tenth day of the month Muharram.

After the event of Ashura (the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali) the Shiites appointed Ali ibn al-Husayn as the next Imam. However, a minority, known as the Kisaniyah, followed Muhammad ibn Hanafiyah as their Imam and regarded him as the fourth and last Imam.

Ali ibn al-Husayn dies martyred in the year 95 of the Hegira in Medina (712 in the Gregorian calendar). The Shiites then name Muhammad al-Báqir as the next Imam. Again, a minority, known as the Zaydis, disagreed with this succession and considered that the Imam should be Zaid ibn Ali, another son of Imam Sayyad.

After the death of Muhammad al-Báqir, the Shiites named Ja'far as-Sádiq and then Musa ibn Ja'far (Musa al-Kazim) Imam. This last appointment caused a new schism among the Shiites, since one group considered that Ismail (another son of Já'far as-Sádiq) should be the next Imam after Sádiq. They are called Ismailis. Simultaneously, another group, known as the Fatahies, followed Abdullah Aftah, brother of Musa ibn Ja'far.

Musa ibn Ja'far dies on Rayab 25, 183 AH, and the Shiites name Ali ibn Musa (Ali ibn Musa ar-Rida) as their next Imam. Some Shias known as the Waqifiyah (those who stopped at the seventh Imam) consider that there is no Imam after the death of Musa ibn Ja'far.

After the martyrdom of Ali ibn Musa, the Shiites followed his son Muhammad al-Jawad and, later, Ali al-Hadi. After his martyrdom the Shiites followed Hasan al-Askari and later Mahdi ibn Hasan as well.

The latter has a special consideration for the Shiites. According to their beliefs, the Mahdi is still alive, hidden. They also believe that he is humanity's long-awaited savior.

Magnets

There are twelve Imams of the Shiites:

1. Ali ibn Abi Talib (600–661), also known as Ali, Amir al-Mu'minin
2. Hasan ibn Ali (625–669), also known as Hasan al-Mujtaba
3. Husáyn ibn Ali (626-680), also known as Husayn al-Shahid, or Sah Husseyin
4. Ali ibn al-Husáyn (658–713), also known as Ali Zayn al-Abidin
5. Muhámmad ibn Ali (676–743), also known as Muhámmad al-Báqir
6. Yá'far ibn Muhámmad (703–765), also known as Yá‘far as-Sádiq
7. Musa ibn Ya'far (745–799), also known as Musa al-Kazim
8. Ali ibn Musa (765–818), also known as Ali al-Riza
9. Muhámmad ibn Ali (811–835), also known as Muhammad al-Yawad
10. Ali ibn Muhámmad (829–868), also known as Ali al-Hadi
11. Hasan ibn Ali (846–874), also known as Hasan al-Askari
12. Muhammad al-Mahdi (869–"not dead"), also known as Mahdi

Theology and principles of Shiism

The Shia Islamic faith is vast and includes many different groups. Shia theological beliefs and religious practices, such as their prayers, differ slightly from those of Sunnis. While all Muslims pray five times a day, Shiites have the option of combining Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha', as there are three different times mentioned in the Qur'an. Sunnis tend to combine them only under certain circumstances. Shia Islam comprises a completely independent system of religious interpretation and political authority in the Muslim world. The original Shia identity referred to the followers of Imam Ali and Shia theology was formulated in the II century A.H. (after Hijra, VIIth century century). The first Shi'a governments and societies were established by the late II AH century (IX). Louis Massignon has referred to the IV century AH (X) as "the Shiite Ismaili century in the history of Islam."

According to Shiite doctrine, there are five principles of religion:

• Monotheism

Shiites believe in the existence of a single God, creator and ruler. Most of the Qur'anic verses on this matter emphasize the Unity of God with respect to Creation, orders (the direction of the world) and worship. It indicates that God is the only creator of the world, that only He has sovereign authority over it, and therefore, only He deserves to be worshipped.

• Divine Justice

All Muslims (including Shiites) believe in the Justice of God since justice must be part of the attributes of perfection attributed to him. They base this belief on the words of the Qur'an which denies for God any form of oppression and refers to Him as an "establisher of fairness".

• Prophecy
  Main article: Nubuwwah
  The Shiites believe that prophecy is the main path of communication between God and the human being. A prophet (Nabi) must report the revelation of God and therefore has the function of prophecy (Nubuwwah), that is, the function of bringing the Divine Law or Shariah. According to the Shiites, a prophet is the perfect manifestation of God and has the esoteric power to initiate men in the divine mysteries.
• Imamah
  Main article: Imamah
  One of the principles of Shiite belief is Imamat or Imanato (being Imam or Iman). Imam, from the point of view of philology, means leader and abject; also for the Shiites means a person with a special relevance within Islam and who exercises the leadership of the believers.

Imamah (Imamate or leadership) has a broad meaning in Islam, encompassing both intellectual leadership and political authority. After the death of the Prophet, the Imam was sought for someone capable of teaching people Koranic culture, religious truths and social regulations, someone worthy of being followed (and imitated) in all aspects, methods and dimensions, of so that the legacy of Muhammad and his objectives were preserved, as well as to give continuity to the leadership of his believers.

• Escatología

Yaum al-Qiyamah (يوم القيامة; literally: "Eschatology or Day of Resurrection" (Quran 71:18), also known as "the Hour&# 34;(Quran 31.34, 74.47), "Day of Reckoning"(Quran 72.130), "Day of Meeting", "Day of Judgment", 'Day of Trouble' (Quran 74.9), or the 'Great Announcement') is the Last Judgment for Shia believers.

Shiites believe in Qiyamah as one of the fundamental tenets of Islam. They believe that after the annihilation of this world, God will raise up humanity for the Last Judgment. In this trial each one will be responsible for what he has committed (Quran 74,38), and each human being will have to answer to his deeds.

Ramifications of Religions

According to the Shiite doctrine, the ramifications of the religion, following the most used classification, are:

1. The prayer (Order)
2. Fasting
3. The jums (quinto)
4. Mandatory alms (zakat)
5. The pilgrimage (hach)
6. The effort in the way of God (jihad),
7. Ordering good
8. To prohibit evil
9. Friendship
10. Exoneration

Hadith

Shiites believe that Ali's status is supported by numerous hadiths, including the Pond of Khumm hadith, the two heavy things hadith, the feather and paper hadith, the family invitation hadith nearby and the Hadith of the Twelve Successors. In particular, the Hadith of the Cloak is frequently quoted to illustrate Muhammad's feelings towards Ali and his family by both Sunni and Shiite scholars. Shiites prefer hadiths attributed to the Ahlul Bayt and his close companions, and have their own collection of hadiths.

Profession of faith

The Shiite version of the Shahada, the Islamic creed, differs from that of the Sunnis. The Sunni Shahada states that "There is no god except God, Muhammad is the messenger of God," but to this the Shias add that "Ali is the Wali (custodian) of God" (علي ولي الله). This phrase exemplifies the Shiite emphasis on inheriting authority through the lineage of Muhammad. The three clauses of the Shiite Shahada therefore address tawhid (the unity of God), nubuwwah (the prophethood of Muhammad), and imamah. i> (imanato, the leadership of faith).

Ali's base as the "wali" it is taken from a specific verse of the Qur'an, the Ayah of Wilayah.

Infallibility

Ismah is the concept of infallibility or "God-given freedom from error and sin" in islam. Muslims believe that Muhammad and other prophets in Islam possessed ismah. Imami (Twelver) and Ismaili Shia Muslims also ascribe this quality to Imams as well as to Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, in contrast to the Zaydins, who do not ascribe ismah to Imams. Although initially started as a political movement, the infallibility and impeccability of imams later evolved as a distinctive Shi'a (non-Zaidin) belief.

According to Shia theologians, infallibility is considered a necessary rational precondition for spiritual and religious guidance. They argue that since God has commanded absolute obedience from these people, they should therefore only command what is right. The state of infallibility is based on the Shiite interpretation of the purification verse (verse 33 of Al-Ahzab). In this way, they are the purest, the only immaculate ones preserved from, and immune to, all dirt. It does not mean that there are supernatural powers preventing them from committing a sin, but because of their absolute belief in God, they refrain from doing anything that is sinful.

They also have full knowledge of God's will. They possess all the knowledge brought by the angels to the prophets (nabi) and to the messengers (rasul). His knowledge encompasses the totality of all time. They act, therefore, without fail in religious matters. Shiites regard Ali as the successor to Muhammad, ruling not only over the community in justice, but also interpreting Islamic practices and their esoteric meaning. Hence he was considered free from error and sin (infallible), and chosen by God by divine decree (nass) to be the first Imam. Ali is known as the "perfect man" (al-insan al-kamil) similar to Muhammad, according to the Shiite view.

Concealment

The Concealment (al-Ghayba, or ghaybat in Persian) is the belief in some forms of Shia Islam that a messianic figure, a hidden imam known as the The Mahdi will return one day and fill the world with justice. According to the Shia Imamis, the Mahdi's main goal will be to establish an Islamic state and apply the Islamic laws that were revealed to Muhammad. The Qur'an does not contain verses on the Imamate, which is the basic doctrine of Shi'a Islam.

Some Shiites, such as Zaidinos and Nizaris Ismailis, do not believe in the idea of Concealment. The groups that do believe in it differ as to which lineage of the Imamate is valid, and therefore as to which individual is the one who has gone into hiding. They believe that there are many signs that will indicate the moment of their return.

Imamis believe that the Mahdi (the twelfth imam, Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi, named Abu ul-Qásim Muhammad, son of Hasan al-Askari) is already on earth, in hiding (originally to escape of his pursuers), and will return at the end of time. The Fatimids/Bohras/Bohras Da'udis believe the same but towards their 21st Tayyib, At-Tayyib Abu'l-Qasim, while the Sunnis believe that the future Mahdi has not yet come to earth.

Inheritance

It is believed that the armaments and sacred objects of all the Prophets, including Muhammad, were given in succession to the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt. In the Kitab al-kafi, Jaʿfar as-Sadiq mentions that "with me are the weapons of the Messenger of Allah. It is not open to dispute."

Furthermore, he affirms that with him are the sword of the Messenger of God, his coat of arms, his Lamam (pennant) and his helmet. In addition, he mentions that with him is the flag of the Messenger of God, the victorious one. With him are the Staff of Moses, Solomon's ring, and the tray on which Moses used to give his offerings. With him is the name that whenever the Messenger of God places him between the Muslims and pagans, no arrow from the pagans will reach the Muslims. With him is the similar object brought by the angels.

As-Sádiq also narrates that the succession of armaments is synonymous with receiving the Imamate (leadership), similar to how the Ark of the Covenant in the house of the Israelites indicated the faculty of the prophet.

Imam Ali ibn Musa narrates that "wherever the armaments between us go, knowledge will follow them and the armaments will never be separated from those with knowledge (Imamate)".

Sources on Shiism

The general books of hadith compiled that today are considered the reference axis of the doctrine and the norms of the Shi'ism are:

1. Al-Kâfîwritten by Muhammad Ibn Ya‘qûb Al-Kulainî (fallen in 329 HL), which is made up of eight tomes.
2. Man lâ iahduruh al-faqîhwritten by Muhammad Ibn ‘Alî Ibn Al-Husain Ibn Bâbûaih, known as As-Sadûq (306-381 HL), which consists of four tomes.
3. At-Tahdhîbwritten by Muhammad Ibn ‘Al-Hasan, known as Sheij At-Tûsî (385-460 HL), which consists of ten tones.
4. Al-Istibsârwritten by the same previous author, in four volumes.

This is the second set of compendiums of hadith compiled and ordered by the Shia throughout history through their painstaking efforts up to the fourth and fifth centuries AD. hijra As we have already mentioned, compendiums of hadith were produced during the time of the Imams in the second and third centuries, which are called “the first compilations”, that added to the “Usûl al- arba'mî'ah” (the four hundred documents elaborated directly by the companions of the Immaculate Imams) whose content was transferred to the second set of hadith compendia.

Since the Science of Hadith was always the object of attention by the Shiite, due to this, in the 11th and 12th centuries other compilations of the hadith were elaborated that we do not mention so as not to expand. The most famous of these compilations are Bihâr al-anwâr (The Seas of Lights) by 'Allâmah Muhammad Bâqir Al-Majlisî, and Wasâ'il ash-Shî 'ah (The Shia Media) by Muhammad Ibn Al-Hasan Al-Hurr Al-'Âmilî.

Sources of Islamic Law

The main ones (in order of importance) are the Qur'an, the Sunna (or prophetic tradition and that of the Imams their successors), the consensus of opinion (of the scholars of the community) and reason or intellect.

• The Quran: This book, from the time of the prophet of Islam so far has been known as the most important source of law, and Muslims to know Islamic knowledge, always beseech it.
• Sunna: Therefore the words and actions of the Prophet and the Imames constitute a valuable source of knowledge of the teachings of Islam. This source that is called Sunna or Sirah (the word ‘life or biography’) is authorized after the Quran.
• Iyma (the consensus of opinion): Sometimes the consensus of opinion (of the wise, “Iyma”) is considered another source of the law, in addition to the Qur’an and the Sunna, in the sense that if the jurists agree on an opinion, the rest of the people should proceed according to it although there is nothing in the Qur’an and Sunna that supports it.
  
  The jurists of the Chiita school argue that if it is in the Quran or the Sunna authorization regarding a rule of law, the question of consensus of opinion should not be raised. A preference should always be given to a Koranic or Sunna text on consensus of opinion. But if there is no authorization and the jurists have expressed an opinion on this, we consider it authorised, presuming that the jurists must have found courageous support for their opinion even if we cannot discover it. In this way, the validity of the rule of a law is based on such cases, really, on some authority given by the Sunna, not known to us.

• Intellect (Reason): Reason plays a basic role in iytihad (the effort to deduce new Islamic derivations or laws from their sources, the aforementioned). Their role in determining the rules of Islamic law is so important that reason and Islamic law are said to be inseparable. There is a maxim that expresses: “Any judgment which is pronounced for reason is equally pronounced by Islamic law and any judgment which is pronounced by Islamic law is equally pronounced for reason. ”
  
  As we deal with the question of the Quran and the Sunna we have seen that the deduction of the rules of the religious law of such sources requires specialization, which has to be carried out according to certain rules. At all levels or stages of legal deduction, intellect and reason must be applied. In one way or another the reason has to be used in limiting the application of the law, giving preference to one opinion on another or extending the application of the law to other cases on the basis of the generalization of its actual cause.

Shia esotericism

Shia believe that the Qur'an has a literal message, interpretable by any Muslim, which is valid. However, this literal or exoteric message is, in turn, an encrypted or esoteric message that hides knowledge that can only be interpreted by certain initiates. Said esoteric message is, in turn, a metaphor for a third message, even more hidden, and thus up to seven levels of esotericism. The ultimate message in any case is known only to God. Esotericism (especially strong in the case of the Ismailis) does not have practical repercussions as such for the majority of the faithful, who limit themselves to following the literal message of the Qur'an, but it is closely related to the institution of the imamate, marking distances from the Sunnism, which believes that any believer can be his own interpreter of the divine message. This implies, among other things, that in Sunnism (more than 80% of all Muslims) there is no clerical structure as in other Abrahamic religions, such as Christianity or Judaism.

The origin of Shiite esotericism must be found in the initial expansion of Shiism, according to the Wahhabis and Salafis, through Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, where it would have acquired characteristics of pre-existing beliefs, specifically philosophy Neoplatonic and Mazdaism. So too, according to these two sects, the supposed hidden messages studied by the initiates have many common characteristics with those strange philosophical schools (generally Sunnism, since the XII, rejects philosophy and theology). According to Salafis and Wahhabis, this would be a religious syncretism of Shiism in contrast to Islam's desire (according to Wahhabis and Salafis) to remain in its pure and original form, without mixing with other ideologies and beliefs.

Shia experts and clergy

In reality, there was no Shiite clergy until late times, but rather religious experts, who, however, did not belong to a collegiate body. These Shiite experts in the high spheres of training and intellectuality have been closely related to esotericism and the imamate. Since there is an invisible message and since the one who knows it is still alive but hidden, a body of interpreters capable of capturing the signs sent by the imam from its concealment is necessary. It could also be said that since the spiritual guide is still alive, the doctrine is not completely closed. The interpreters are the ulema, also called mullahs.

There are no traces of a hierarchical clergy until the XVII century, when the Safavid dynasty seems to establish it as a form of obtain a theological legitimation of their power. These Shiite clerics, unlike other faiths, do not take vows and are married. The mullah, by increasing his religious knowledge, becomes a hoyatoleslam, then an ayatollah, and finally a grand ayatollah; in the XIX century two more degrees are added: marjaʿ-e taqlid, reserved for a few, and the wali faqih who acts as the political and spiritual head of the community and is considered the representative of the hidden imam. In Iran, the latter is the supreme guide of the Revolution and his opinion is above that of the President of the Republic and Parliament.

The highest-ranking clerics, the marjaʿ-e taqlid (“sources of emulation”, مرجع تقلید), traditionally receive, as “representatives of the Imam” (nâyeb-e Emâm) a supplementary tax to the Sunni zakat called joms (in Arabic spelling, خمس), based on verse 41 of surah Al-Anfal of the Qur'an, consisting of a fifth of the unused capital for a year, and which has traditionally guaranteed Shiite religious a source of income independent of political power.

Divisions

The differences around the succession of certain imams are to a large extent the origin of the formation of various groups within Shiism. Most of the Shiites fall into four large groups: that of the Imamis or Twelvers, the majority, that of the Alawites, also Twelvers, that of the Zaydis and the Ismailis. The latter were in turn divided by the succession of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Mustansir.

To them we must add certain cults located on the periphery of Islam, that is, they arose from Shiism or previous branches, or that mixed Muslim ideas and other religions, but are not always considered Muslim. The most prominent are the Druze and the Alevis.

From the point of view of the character of the imams they would be divided into Zaydis (the imam is just a leader); intermediate (the imam is hereditary and guided by God, a belief supported by most Shiites); and extremists or "ghulat" (The imam is a manifestation of God, which is why they are considered non-Muslims —Ali-ollahíes or Ahl-e Haqq, Druze—).

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Dissemination

Islamic States with over 10 per cent Muslim population Green: Sunni areas, Red: Shia areas, Blue(Oman)

Shiites now make up about 15% of Muslims. They are in the majority in Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Bahrain, and southern Lebanon, and there are Shiite minorities elsewhere, notably in Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Seventh-day Shiism exists in India, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen. The Druze are mostly found in the region between southern Lebanon, the Golan Heights and northern Israel. The Zaydis are found mainly in Yemen. The Alawites are quite numerous in Syria. The family of Bashar al Assad, the current president of the country, belongs to this confession. Alevis are found in central and eastern Turkey.

Holy places

Mosque of the Imam Ali.

Both Shias and Sunnis share a certain veneration and religious obligations towards certain shrines and holy places, such as Mecca, Medina and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem but the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf (Iraq) and the Mosque Imam Husayn are also revered. After Mecca and Medina, Najaf and Kerbala are the holiest cities for Shiites.

Picture of Shiite Imams