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Sunnis vs. Shia
Disclaimer: This section of our site is highly critical of Shiism. There are many evil and blasphemous beliefs in Shiism; however, Shia, as individuals, are not necessarily evil. Many Shiites do not have full knowledge about all the doctrines of Shiism. So, this section is not intended to offend the Shia, but rather to uncover the evil and blasphemous beliefs in Shiism. We do not harbor hated toward the Shia. Furthermore, we oppose acts of violence between the Shia & Sunnis that are committed against individuals simply because they are Shia or Sunnis.
Note: I am, the founder of this site, a direct descendant of Shia's fourth Imam, Ali bin Al-Husain (also known as Zain El-Abideen), the son of Al-Husain ( Imam Ali's son). So, prophet Mohammad (s. a. w.) is my great grandfather. I am a member of Ahl Al-Bayt (Prophet Mohammad's family) and I love them very much. I am, thanks to Allah, a Sunni Muslim and a living proof of the falsehood of Shiism.
The purpose of this section about Shiism:
(a) To enlighten Sunni Muslims about the evil and blasphemous beliefs in Shiism.
(b) To invite the Shia to revert to pure Islam. People have the right to choose the religion they want to follow. If you were born to a Shia family, you don't have to spend your life as a Shiite. We know that many of the Shia beliefs we uncover in this section will shock you. You may indeed say that these doctrines are not part of Shiism. The sad fact is that these beliefs are truly part of Shiism. When we present a Shia belief or doctrine, we mention the Shia reference book and page on which this belief is stated, so just read these books.
(c) To warn people interested in reverting to Islam that Shiism represents a deviation from pure Islam and the doctrines of Shiism have no basis in Quran or Hadith.
The relationship of Shiism to Islam is very similar to the relationship of Christianity to Jesus' true message. Like Christianity, Shiism lures and deceives its followers by operating under the name of Islam and incorporating some Islamic doctrines while adding new doctrines that have no basis & contradict with Islam as taught by the Quran and preached by Prophet Mohammad.
We have to be more cautious regarding classifying or labelling individual Shiites. Because Shiism encourages Taqiya (concealing and lying about one's true beliefs), it is hard to know what a specific Shiite individual truly believes. We will leave it to Allah to judge the true beliefs of individual Shiites. The more a Shiite individual follows Shiism, the more likely he/she will be straying away from Islam.
Who are the Shia & what is Shiism?
Shia (Shi'a) is a plural word that refers to the people who follow Shiism. Shii (or Shiite) is singular word that refers to an individual who follows Shiism. Shiism (or Shiaism) is the name of the religious beliefs or ideology of the Shia.
The Shia are those who elevate the status of Imam Ali (& his descendant Imams), who was prophet Mohammad's cousin and son in law. The way the Shia elevate the status of Imam Ali is very similar to the way Christians elevate the status of prophet Jesus and worship him. Sunni Muslims highly respect Imam Ali as a Caliph, cousin, companion, & son-in-law of prophet Mohammad. Unlike the Shia, Sunni Muslims tend to be good hearted and don't hate the Shia, but regard them as misguided.
All Shia sects together represent 10% -12% of people who claim to be Muslims. The Shia consist of several distinctive sects. They are very insistent on distinguishing themselves as followers a specific sect.
There are many Shia sects. The following are the main Shia sects:
(a) The Twelvers (sometimes called Imamis or Jafaris) are those Shia who believe in twelve divinely-appointed Imams. This is the largest Shia sect today and its adherents represent 90% of the population of Iran, about 55% of the population of Iraq, 55% of the population of Azerbaijan, 27% of the population of Lebanon, with significant presence in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Yemen.
(b) Ismailis are those Shia whose line of Imams is continuous. The Agha Khan, a billionaire living in Europe, is their current Imam. They believe that the Quran has a esoteric/hidden meaning that is different from its apparent meaning and only their Imams know this esoteric/hidden meaning, not even prophet Mohammad knew this esoteric/hidden meaning. Today, the largest concentration of Ismailis is in India and Pakistan.
(c) Arab Alawis are a sect founded by Ibn Nusair, that is why Alawis are also called Nusairis. They primarily live in Syria, and to a lesser extent, in Northern Lebanon and Southern Turkey. Even though Alawis constitute not more than 15% of Syria's population, the president of Syria, Assad, comes from a Alawi family and he maintains his power by relying on the Alawis who hold top leadership positions in the Syrian army and domestic intelligence service. Little is known about the true beliefs of the Alawis because they are secretive. Twelver Shia don't consider Alawis as Shia.
(d) Turkish Alewis are a sect that combines Shiism with Sufism. They are very different from the Arab Alawis in terms of their beliefs, even though their name is almost the same. They constitute about 15% of Turkey's population.
Throughout our discussion about Shiism and Shia, we will be mainly focusing on the beliefs of the Twelver Shia.
Unlike the Shia, the Sunni Muslims (also called Ahl-Sunna) do not have distinctive sects, but rather four schools of thought (called Mazahibs) and it is not compulsory to follow any specific Sunni school of thought.
The Shia believe Imam Ali & his descendant Imams were sinless, similar to prophets. They believe the Imams have a divine mission to rule the Muslims and be God's representative on Earth. They believe Imams receive divine revelations, similar to prophets. The Shia believe their Imams have extra-ordinary abilities and attributes. The Imams have full knowledge of the past, present and the future. According to the most influential Shia scholar in modern time, Iran's AyatuAllah Khomeini, the Shia Imams used to be made of light, before being sent to Earth by God.
The Shia believe in a very dangerous doctrine called Taqiya (which allows concealing their true beliefs, lying, deceiving). Their scholars have said Taqiya is nine tenth (90%) of their religion. That is why it is very difficult to know what they truly believe in. The Shia use Taqiya most often to publicly claim to have beliefs very close to mainstream Sunni Muslims, while in their heart, they may have totally different or opposite beliefs.
Some Shia (particularly the Ismaelis & Arab Alawis) believe Ali is God; while others reject this. However, many of the Twelver Shia even though they don't believe Imam Ali is God, yet they assign to Imam Ali some of God's functions and attributes. For example, they say that Imam Ali is the one who determine who will go to Hell and who will go to Paradise. This is one of the most serious blasphemies of the Shia because this constitutes "Shirk" (associating partners with God) which is the most serious sin in Islam. Furthermore, the Khomeini, who was the top religious figure of Twelver Shiism in Iran and around the World, said in his book Al-Hukumah Al-Islamiyyah: " Our Imams occupy a rank unattainable by either an angel or a major Prophet....before the creation of the universe, the greatest Prophet s.a.w., and the Imams - peace be upon them - were in the form of light which Allah made orbit." Such beliefs have no basis in Islam and contradict Islam. For example, the Quran makes it clear that Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.) was an ordinary human being. Khomeini is suggesting that Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.) and the Imams existed before the creation of the universe and were in the form of light.
Furthermore, given the fact that Shia believe in Taqiya, it is fair to assume that some of those who claim they do not believe Ali is God, do in their heart believe that Ali is God, but because of the Taqiya, they deny such a belief.
One example of the blasphemies of the
Shia is the following Shia narration: يا بشير أن من زار قبر الحسين عليه
السلام عارفاً بحقّه كان كمن زار الله في عرشه ["Whoever visits the
tomb of Al-Hussain, peace be upon him, acknowledging his status, it is as if he
has visited Allah."]
The Shia are waiting for their 12th Imam called Imam Mahdi (they also call him "Al-Qa'im") whom they expect will appear before the Day of Judgment and will bring the full Quran. The Shia believe today's Quran is only is small part of the original full Quran. Sunni Muslims believe today's Quran is fully authentic and complete. Sunni Muslims also are expecting a Caliph (Leader, not a prophet) titled Al-Mahdi to appear at the End Times, based on prophecies of Prophet Mohammad. However, the characteristics of Shia's Imam Mahdi are different from Sunni's Al-Mahdi. The trouble is that some of the Shia may reject the true Mahdi because he is not going to be a Shiite and instead they may wait until the Anti-Christ appears and follow him, thinking he is the Mahdi. Shia believe Imam Mahdi has been alive for the past 1200 years since he supposedly disappeared and went into a state of occultation. While the Sunnis believe that the Mahdi will be normal human being and will be born 30 - 40 year years before he accepts the leadership of Muslims. The Anti-Christ is similar to Shia's Imam Mahdi in the fact that he has been alive, but chained, at least since the time of Prophet Mohammad, but he will not be released until the End Times.
The Shia believe that Imam Al-Mahdi will
be a prince of vengeance who will kill Sunni Scholars and will resurrect those whom the Shia perceive as their
top enemies,
such as Prophet Mohammad's companions & Caliphs, Abu Bakr & Omar, and Prophet
Mohammad's wife, Aisha, and will punish them severely.
1. Sunnis vs Shia Videos Explaining the difference using videos 2. Exposing Shia's Beliefs (excellent video series that sheds light on the blasphemous beliefs of Shiism) 3. How Shia view their Imams (Every Muslim should read this ! Lots of blasphemies ! ) 4. Shia's awaited Imam Mahdi is likely to be the Dajjal (Anti-Christ) Hot topic ! 6. Ayatollah Khomeini's Background revealed Khomeini was installed by the West to rule Iran. Khomeini's father was British. 7. Islamic Rulings on Shiites (Opinion of Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.), Imam Ali, and Muslim Scholars regarding the Shia) 8. Shia converts/reverts to Islam 10. Videos about the Shia in Arabic 11. Shia & the Practice of Taqiya (Taqiya is a very dangerous doctrine that allows Shia to lie about their true beliefs) 12. Comparison between Sunni Islam vs Shiism 13. Shia & the Practice of Intercession 14. Shia's Creed & Doctrines - by Dr. Abd Rahman Dimashqiyah 15. Shia' s Beliefs by Abdullah Al-Faisal 18. Shia's view of Hadith Narrators & Books 20. Shiism & Hatred 22. Ghadir Khumm 23. Shia's History 24. Answering Shiism 25. Who killed Imam Al-Hussain 26. Women in Shiism 27. Mut'ah Marriage 28. Shia's Self-torture & Blood-shed Rituals 29. Shia's view of Prophet Mohammad's Companions 30. Succession of the Rulership/Leadership of Muslims after the death of Prophet Mohammad 31. Shia's view of Prophet Mohammad's Wives 32. The Shia as mentioned in the Quran 34. Nahj ul Balagha (a book about Imam Ali's speeches) 35. Al-Kafi (Shia's main book for narrations from their Imams) 36. Originator of Shiism: Abdullah Ibn Saba
Other sites that reveal the beliefs of the Shia & Shiism: 1. www.islamicWeb.com/beliefs/cults/shia.htm or http://shia.islamicweb.com 2. http://AbdurRahman.org/innovation/index.html (This web page has information about all groups that can be called "Innovators" meaning those who add new doctrines to the original pure Islam. The Shia are among the Innovators) 3. www.AhlElBayt.com (A Sunni perspective on Shiism)
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