Sunni misconceptions about Shias
One of the ironies of our Islamic history is the Shia-Sunni divide. We must make every effort to eliminate misconceptions on both sides of the divide.
Following are some common misconceptions that Sunnis have about Shias.
Responses have been consulted with two Shia scholars in America: Dr. A. S. Hashim of Washington and Imam Muhammad Ali Elahi of Detroit.
Misconception 1: Shias have a different Quran. They add another ten chapters to the original Quran.
Response: Not true. I have checked many of the Quran kept in Shia homes and mosques. It is the same as the original Quran found in Sunni homes and mosques. More recently, I took care of an Iranian lady patient hospitalized here. I saw a copy of the Quran by her side. I borrowed it from her and browsed through cover to cover. In Arabic, it was the same as one you would find printed in Saudi Arabia. Of course, since I did not know the Persian language, I can't say much about the translation.
Misconception 2: Some Shia consider Ali as God.
Response: Not true. It is disbelief to even think of such a thing. During the time of Ali, some pagan groups called Gholat considered Ali to be Lord. When he found out, they were severely punished.
Misconception 3: Shias have different declarations of faith, and they add to the call to prescribed prayer.
Response: The declaration to become a Muslim, as administered to non-Muslims, is the same. Some Shia add, "Ali is a friend of God, or Ali is a spiritual leader of God," after the call to prescribed prayer, but not as part of the call to prescribed prayer.
Misconception 4: Shias do not perform Sunnah prayers. Sunnah prayers are non-obligatory prayers performed by Prophet Muhammad.
Response: Shias do perform non-obligatory prayers, 36 cycles per day in total, but call it Nawafil and not Sunnah.
Misconception 5: Some Shia believe the Angel Gabriel made a mistake, and prophethood was meant for Ali and not Muhammad .
Response: Not true. No Shia thinks of such false claims. "Only demented minds think of such questions."
Misconception 6: Shia slander and ridicule the first three caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman) and Prophet Muhammad's wife, Ayisha.
Response: Shia consider the first three caliphs as great companions and good Muslim administrators, but not spiritual leaders (imams). Imam Jafar Sadiq, whose mother and grandmother came from the line of Abu Bakr, said of Abu Bakr, "He gave me birth twice." Ayisha is respected by Shias as the "Mother of Believers," as Ali respected her when he sent her back from Basra to Madinah after the Battle of the Camel. If some Shia do slander the three caliphs and Ayisha, they do it out of ignorance and should ask God's forgiveness.
Misconception 7: Shias combine all five prayers into one prayer in the evening.
Response: Not true. All five daily prayers are performed in Shia mosques, whether in Iran or the USA. Some working Shia do combine noon and afternoon and evening and night, but Shia scholars recommend performing them separately.
Misconception 8: Shias do not pay Zakat (poor-due).
Response: Not true. They pay 2.5% left from savings as zakat and an additional 20% as khums or general charity. However, they prefer to pay directly to the needy rather than the government, as is the case in some Sunni majority countries.
Misconception 9: Shias practice temporary marriages (mutah).
Response: Mutah (temporary marriages) was allowed during the time of Prophet Muhammad . Later, Caliph Umar prohibited it for social reasons as the Islamic world was rapidly expanding. Shias discourage mutah but do not consider it prohibited. Some do abuse this.
Misconception 10: They consider Imams infallible and above the prophets.
Response: Not true. All prophets are born Prophet but as mentioned in the Quran about Abraham, after passing the test, a prophet becomes a leader (Imam). Imams are carriers of the message of Islam. Shias consider Ali only as an Imam, but Muhammad is the Prophet (nabi), Messenger (rasul), and leader (imam).
Excerpt from Dr. Shahid Athar's article "Some common misconceptions about Shi'ism"
Shahid Athar M.D. is a Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a writer on Islam.
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totally wrong..i am shia and Quran pak is a holy book in which we
cannot make any changes according to Allah He himself is a protector
of a Quran...sunni and shia have same Quran..and offering prayers at
their own time is also believed in shia'ism..but if any of the
prayer is missed we can offer it later as qazah prayers its better
to offer then to leave..come on guyz where is your common
sense...and if u are muslims then read the translation of DAROOD E
IBRAHIMI AND DAROOD SHAREEF(Small one) its clearly mentioned that:
"O Allah, let Your Blessings come upon Muhammad and the (family of
Muhammad), as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You
are Praiseworthy and Glorious. Allah, bless Muhammad and the family
of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You
are Praiseworthy and Glorious".
Your Blessings come upon Muhammad and the (family of Muhammad),so u
guys should respect his family..and Hazrat Ali (A.S) is his first
cousin and husband of his daughter BIBI FATIMA TU ZAHRA and IMAM
HASSAN (AS) AND IMAM HUSSAIN (A.S) ARE HER SONS...wakeup muslims
i am shia and i surprised becouse of reading this misconceptions, most of them is completly mistake and others are diffrent from what have been said, i think most of sunnis don't know shia belives at all. i think this kind of articles should be weriten very much.
god bless
"And most surely Abraham was among the Shia(follower) of him (i.e., Noah)" (Quran 37:83)
"And he (Moses) went into the city at a time when people (of the city) were not watching, so he found therein two men fighting, one being of his Shia and the other being his enemy, and the one who was of his Shia cried out to him for help against the one who was of his enemy" (Quran 28:15)---->>> ALLAHU AKBAR
LA SHIA WA LA SUNNI, WAHID AL ISLAM
I thank the author who wrote this article. And thanks to Islamic City for not slandering or spreading lies about the muslims who follows(shia) the tradition(sunnah) of Ahlul Bayt (AS). May there be more articles about muslim unity, because we do need it. I ask the sunnah brothers; I emplore you to help create unity peace and understanding between the two schools of thought. We must let go of the bigotry and the hate that is poisoning our soles by the Shaitan.
There are four principles of Faith:
"Reliance on God, Accepting God's supremity, Acceptance of God's judgement and submission to God's command." Imam Ali (as)
sallam aleikom
i have read yr artical. it is very good artical. sir pls add the word of (ra) (Radi Allah anhu) after the name of caliphs and wife of profit.
it will make a good impression thank.
sir also print the articals of other muslim scollars like Pro. Dr. Allam Tahir-ul-Qadri and Allama Talib Johari and other sunni & shia muslim scollars.
Khuda Hafiz
fazal
The Holy Qur'an says:Don't say to those people who say Salaam(Arabic form of greeting which is a sign that Moslems know each other) to you,you are not a believer( Wa La Taghooloo Le Man Algha Elaykoms Salam Lasta Moamenaa).
It is the age of technolgy and trough Inter Net we can browse the Authentic Books of all Islamic sects.
Was Salaal Alikum WR
Ahlul Bayat, but they abandoned Imam Hussain at karbala to be killed, they did the same thing with
another Ahlul bayit Zayd ibn 'Ali, and thats how they gained the the brand name "rafidhi" which means "rejecter", because they rejected Zayd ibn 'Ali while they should be fight aignaist Umayyadas, only because Zayd ibn 'Ali told them that he and his descendants never dissaossiate from Abu Bakar (ra), and Umor(ra).
Briefly, I was frustrated at the time. I noticed no other recent articles (at iviews/IslamiCity) concerning Iraq and/or terrorism against Shiites. Brother Ahmed Asgher is in fact one of the more sensible people I have encountered in my life, in addition to being Muslim and of course in addition to his calling himself a Shiite. Also, I was frankly embarrassed about forgetting to express sympathy for the Shiites who were killed in the recent terrorist attacks during Ashura.
Shias and Sunnis should unite as we are united in one faith.
I would lke to add that it is dubious to refer to those "corrupt Sunni governments". It is hard to consider governments who oppress anyone, Shia or otherwise, and violate the teachings of Islam as Sunni or Islamic.
Again, it is time for Shias and Sunnis to put aside whatever differences people may think they have and work together in a manner of brotherly and sisterly love for the good of the whole Islamic umma.
Islam is a great religioun. We have a rich history and a miraculous Book, the Koran. United we can achieve great things for the Islamic Umma and the world as whole.
But most important of all: Allah SWT has given us a name in the Qur'an. It is "Muslim." The Qur'an has not called us Shias or Sunnis. So, for the sake of our own souls and for the ummah, let us drop these labels.
Muslims must unite and shed all these self-imposed, Man-made sects, false labels and differencees within the ummah. if we do not do so, we will continue to suffer defeats and degradation that Muslims have experienced in recent history. Let us unite as one Ummah. There can be no victory or salvation for us unless we do so.
I believe in author's right to write what he believes in but there needs to be some kind of checks on behalf of Islamicity to make sure articles are close to the standards that it holds.
Saying its better to change the times of prayers than not praying at all, well how about we start praying only on weekends to cover the whole week.
In the past I came across a book I think was called Ijaz Al-Iola, which spoke about Holy Prophet (pbuh) being accused of rape, theft and drinking (In all honesty I don't know how important is that book in Shia sect if at all, but a really knowledgeable Shia allowed me to read few pages from it to prove his point)
That being said, growing up most of my friends were shia and I found them very nice people. They practiced religion mostly like us Sunnis and called the differences "ignorance".
Insha'Allah my only real wish would be to serve in the cause of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala). My hope is that my reward would be found in the glory of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala).
May each of you have Allah's protection, peace and blessings and of course Allah's mercy. Ameen.
This is not to say the Allah can't change hearts and forgive all the same but it would make a mockery of HIS justice - of HIS Adl Al-Ilahi.
Thus i plead with those to think before rushing to condemn a whole people. We must never do that, not for Shiite, not for Jews/Christians or any other race or creed.
Someone asked the Prophet pbuh: "Who does Allah love most." He said "The one who brings peace between two warring parties.". The man then asked, "Who does Allah love next." The Prophet said: "One of the two warring parties who is the first to extend his hand in peace."
Blessed are the peacemakers, as Christ said also. And you are the lover of Allah. As for me, even though i had no fight with anyone to begin with, i am happy to kiss the forehead of our dear brother Yahya Bergum and beg for foregiveness if i offended him. i hope he understands that people from the ME live with consequences of decisions made in far a way places in which they have no say whatsoever. And sometimes these decisions touch their livelihood, honour and decency.
Peace be upon all.
Brothers Yahya, and Ahmed Asghar. Please I beg you, do not fight with one another, please appreciate your differences, and your similarities. Fighting with each other is exactly what this Republican administration in the USA wants. I pray that Allah gives us Taufeek, it makes me cry to see us fighting with one another in today's time. I love you both, I love you br. Ahmed for loving Allah, and I love you br. Yahya for loving Allah. We are all say S.A.A.W. after saying the Prophet's name. Before we start making up our minds about each other, take some time and make Istikhaara, and then Insha'Allah we will realize that yelling at each other over who's right, who's wrong, is not the point. We should be embracing each other and preparing for the punishment that we will face before Allah (swa) for not loving one another. May Allah (swa) give us taufeek, to go on the right path, and let us gain some akhlaq before conversing with each other, for others are watching us and noting that Sunni's and Shia's are acting in such a manner with each other. I suggest we should reach back to the Prophet and the over thousand years in our history in order to learn on how to disagree with each other and be okay about it, and also to realize the truth. For this dear brothers is called Silsila. It takes much Ihsan, and very important, we all Shia's and Sunni's must have tawakkul (to trust in Allah), so therefore I suggested that we should put our trust in Allah by making Istikhaara before condemning one another.
Brother Ahmed, I know your Qur'an is the same as my Qur'an. I do think you guys are really both over reacting. Think of it the way I do in a positive light. Sunni's and Shia's have more in common with each other as compared with anyone else in the world. Isn't that a good enough reason for us to emrace each other in the spirit of Islam? Please think about it. Barak-Allah.
Wassalaam
thanks.
Let me ask: A) Who asked the Americans to come and liberate us? Ahmed Cahalbi has his own agenda!
B) Why did America back Saddam during the 9 years of war against Iran? C) Who is going to pay for the loss of life and the destruction of environment in Iraq with massive amount of UDM and ginormous increase in cancer rates??
Please leave politics out of it for it is a no brainer. You will NOT be able to argue that with a Middle Easterner. Q: How many Muslim soldiers have roamed US cities in the last 200 years? and visa versa?? Q: Why does the US support despots in the ME? Do they really care about democracy in the ME? etc. etc.
Please do not talk to me about politics. Talk to me about the affairs of the heart. About Allah swt. About his justice. About life after death adn accountability. About Akhlaq and education and our common heritage as human beings first and Muslims second. Then you will find me most honourable and profoundlly humble even lower than a dog who begs for a crust of bread. More to come....
I am an arab sunny, and I feel that all muslems are brothers, and the shia imams are sinceres muslems schoolars who are also our spiritual leaders.
Looking to the histroy, Ali, Fatema, Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain were not treated properly by the so called 3-Khalifs and others. To patch-up the differneces, Sunni Scholars will have to accept this fact highlighting the sacrifice of these personalities.
Similar to Sunni, Shia also have many wrong or right concepts about Sunnism. It would be much better if all Sunni-Shia scholars should have open seminars around the globe and discuss their differences in public and after a while start accepting common ground and try to narrow their differences, and finally bury the differences accepting middle ground. It may take years or decades, but still better to start now with one committment not to harm each other mentally or physically.
May Allah forgive my shortcomings,
Ameen!
It is about time our mainstream major organizations and websites recognize that we need to come together as one Ummah and promote mutual respect and unity among all. Thank you Dr. Athar
Nahal Ameri
MPAC
Forgive me Allah for anger at the ignorance of the ignorant.
You stated: "The Quran issue- yes Shia do believe in a different Quran- however they dont have this Quran- they believe it will come with the Dhajjal." This may apply to Albatinia? The author's mistake is that he does not specify what type of Shia he is defending making his article sound misleading. I am not attacking the author because his attempt may be innocent with the intent to unite us Sunnis & Shias. Your mistake and your husband's is that you are generalising in a negative tone. Actually, all the three of you are generalising; the author is doing it with a positive tone. Anyways, this is very unislamic by the way. Can you all please specify who you talking about Shia Albatinia, Arrafida, Anusairia, Alismaelia because trust me Shia Ithna Ashria and Shia Zaydia are innocents of your claims and misconceptions. What you are doing is called Quadf in Islaam, accusations in English and that is a horrible haraam. Believe it or not, Shia Ithna Ashria and Shia Zaydia are the majority and other Shias are relatively a minority. Shia Ithna Ashria and Shia Zaydia are MUSLIMS and are the closest in faith and practise to us Sunnis. Most respected Sunni scholars agree that they are Muslims. Read Sheik Fadl Allah and Sheik Tabatibi and Allama Mohammad Baqer Sadr books to see that there are few difference between us. In fact, Shia Zaydia are the closest to Sunnis in faith and practise. BTW: All of us Muslims and everyone with a sound brain please provide your evidence before accusing or defending people.
May Allah forgive us all,
Ameen!
[3.105] And be not like those who became DIVIDED and disagreed after clear arguments had come to them, and these it is that shall have a grievous chastisement.
The Cattle
[6.159] Surely they who DIVIDED their religion into parts and became sects, you have no concern with them; their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what they did.
The Romans
[30.32] Of those who DIVIDED their religion and became seas every sect rejoicing in what they had with them.
The Counsel
[42.13] He has made plain to you of the religion what He enjoined upon Nuh and that which We have revealed to you and that which We enjoined upon Ibrahim and Musa and Isa that keep to obedience and be not DIVIDED therein; hard to the unbelievers is that which you call them to; Allah chooses for Himself whom He pleases, and guides to Himself him who turns (to Him), frequently.
[42.14] And they did not become DIVIDED until after knowledge had come to them out of envy among themselves; and had not a word gone forth from your Lord till an appointed term, certainly judgment would have been given between them; and those who were made to inherit the Book after them are most surely in disquieting doubt concerning it.
The Clear Evidence
[98.4] And those who were given the Book did not become DIVIDED except after clear evidence had come to them.
AA, brothers and sisters:
The above extracts from Quran show that DIVISIONS will never end until the Day of Judgement since God Himself knows the nature of HIS creation. What we must do is to just serve HIM the best way we can by following His teachings. Let us love each other as a human being no matter what our origins, beliefs, or faiths are. Let God be The Judge as He states Himself. INSHALLAH
In responce to Misconception 7: Shias combine all five prayers into one prayer in the evening, you stated, 'How can a Sunni who does not pray at all be better than a Shia who combines prayers?' My answer to that it the sunni muslim is infact not a muslim, therefore its unfair to compare someone who recognizes God to someone who does not. I personally think this is a moderate attack on sunni muslims. I don't think there is such a thing as sunni and shia. there is only one Religion and that is islam and there is one God and his last prophet Muhammad (pbuh). i would like to ask one question in hope for a replay from someone (perferabley shia) do you recognize Ali as more powerful that Muhammed(pbuh). It states in that artical Misconception 2: Some Shia consider Ali as God, this is unfair to compare him to the creater of mankind and perhaps the Misconception hides some truth about how Ali is portrayed in the eyes of a shia muslim. Inshallah (God-willing) i will recieve a respone on my comments from someone who is not bias and its educated. Allah be with all muslims!
I am originally from India. I belong to a particular muslim community in India. Our community is spread over more than 40 towns and villages. Approximately,70% of population in our community belongs to Sunni and the rest to Shia belief. In my home town, Muslim population is equally divided between Sunni and Shia belief. I have lots of friends from both communities.
(1)I have always heard Azan (call for prayer) from Shia Mosque which is definately different, containing additional phrases. In my town, we have 2 shia mosques.
(2)They do not follow sunnas of Mohammad such as dressing up islamic way, growing beard, not involving in business involving interest etc. to name a few.
(3)I had attended functions organised by my Shia friends where the Imam from Shia community stated that ALI's status is above Mohammad, moon etc.
(4) They do combine all five prayers into one at(Isha times).
(5)They continue to follow some of the traditions of Hindu religion. I have also been told that their quran is different. I have not seen it myself though.
(6)They consider the word from their Religious leader as final, irrespective of what has been said in the Quran. I am aware of one incidence where the religious leader remarried the divorced couple only after making them pay fine to the community funds.
There are lots of things followed by the Shia community which are different than the mainstream Islam.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un.
If I said it for Saddam's sons, I should certainly say it for innocent Shiite victims of terrorism -- in Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere.
Now -- at the risk of offending you (and other Shiites) -- my countrymen and my country's allies' countrymen are dying nearly every day, on the field of battle, to shield your family members (in Iraq) from the ravages of civil war. What say you to that? (Suggestion: "Verily...")
Furthermore, after learning of the sort of "venom" spewing forth (about my countrymen) from loudspeakers at Shiite shrines over the past two days, I am growing impatient (astaghfirullah) with the ways of dissimilitude. I would hope to be forgiven for having unduly offended anyone but, honestly said, I am beginning to wonder if leaving Kurdish population centers (in any way) subjugated to Shiite authorities might not qualify as some sort of war crime on the part of the United States. At least the Kurds do not seem to be cursing my countrymen -- at least during their sermons -- for having died in the course of bringing freedom to the Kurdish people of Iraq (or perhaps of either autonomous or independent Kurdistan -- insha'Allah).
Allah hafiz wa barakatuhu -- may you be accountable for having enjoyed the protection and bountiful blessings of your Lord. (In my way of thinking, that particular prayer has dual use, as a curse, by the way.) For whatever it might be worth to you, Ahmed Asgher, you are the most rational sounding Shiite I can remember having (ever) encountered -- that is, who wasn't already (i.e., actually) a 'revert' to Sunni Islam -- masha'Allah. Also, I apologize for any use of dissimilitude on my part -- hopefully, I at least had good intentions (in so using it). "And the truth shall set you free."
First, the things were mentioned about those "misconceptions" are true and do exist among some groups of shia. To confirm that you can read Alkhoumaini's book and how he cursed Saiduna Abu bakr and Umar may allah bless them and all the companions.
Second, in regards to mutah marriage, how can a human being, claiming that he is a muslim, say this about our beloved prophet, peace be upon him,that he had a son from adultry.
Third, how can a web site like this publish an article like this without doing any scientific research about its contents, I am very disappointed.
Please refer to alburhan.com about what shias say about these issues and worse(documented).
Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un.
Now -- at the risk of offending you (and other Shiites) -- my countrymen and my country's allies countrymen are dying nearly every day, on the field of battle, to shield your family members (in Iraq) from the ravages of civil war. What say you to that? (Suggestion: "Verily...")
In addition, after hearing the sort of "venom" spewing forth (about my countrymen) from loudspeakers at Shiite shrines over the past two days, I am growing impatient (astaghfirullah) with the ways of dissimilitude. I would hope to be forgiven for having unduly offended anyone but, honestly said, I am beginning to wonder if leaving Kurdish population centers (in any way) subjugated to Shiite authorities might not qualify as some sort of war crime on the part of the United States. At least the Kurds do not seem to be cursing my countrymen, at least during their sermons, for having died in the course of bringing freedom to the Kurdish people of Iraq (or perhaps of either autonomous or independent Kurdistan -- insha'Allah).
Allah hafiz wa barakatuhu -- may you be accountable for having enjoyed the protection and bountiful blessings of your Lord. (In my way of thinking, that particular prayer has dual use, as a curse, by the way.) For whatever it might be worth to you, Ahmed Asgher, you are the most rational sounding Shiite I can remember having (ever) encountered -- that is, who wasn't already (i.e., actually) a 'revert' to Sunni Islam -- masha'Allah. Also, I apologize for any use of dissimilitude on my part -- hopefully, I at least had good intentions (in so using it). "And the truth shall set you free."
So -- would this be an example of 'dissimilitude' on the part of Shiite clerics? Please forgive me but I am beginning to have some serious doubts about continuing to argue for my country entrusting Shiites with the future of that particular region of the world (let alone with the future of their own country).
Assalamu alaikum (i.e., please don't kill me for having told what I had been thinking at the time was the truth).
I would like to let you know that one can praise a prophet by saying alaihi salaam and can praise Imaam Ali by saying alaihi salaam as well and it is not Bid'a to do so. It is commun among us Sunnis to say Karrama Allahu wajhah instead of Radia Allahu anhu when Imaam Ali's name is mentioned simply because Imaam Ali is the only Sahaabi who never bowed down to an idol. Karrama Allahu wajhahu means Allah has dignified his face but there is no harm in using Radia Allahu anhu meaning Allah is pleased with him or Alaihi Salaam meaning peace be upon him. What we Sunnis need to learn is not to use this form of praise when the name of Muawiya is mentioned because he is not a Sahabi; he is actually a Taleeq!
THE FOLLOWING ARE THE BELIEFS OF SHIASM:
IN GENERAL FALSEHOOD BELIEVE FOR SHIASM
1. They have their own Qur'an (Which is 17000 ayats) and believe our Qur'an is incomplete
2. They have their own hadith Books (Usul-e-Kafi).
3. They do not believe in our hadith Kitaabs- Bukhari etc.
4. They have their own Fiqh,) Fiqh - Jafari.
5. They believes that Imaams get 'Wahy' Divine Revelation.
6. They Practice 'Muta' (Temporary Marriages).
7. Terms of Sehri and Iftaar are different.
8. Ghusl for the dead is different than sunni.
Alternative Comment by the same visitor
SOME BASIC DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHIASM AND SUNNISM.
ABOUT NEW KALIMAH
Laa Illaaha Muhamdur - Rasulullah, Ali waliyullah wazi Rasulullah was Khalifauhu bila Faslein"
Shia 'Islaam' based on 5 pillars - Salaat, Zakaat, Fasting, Hajj,Wilaayat.
Azaan is "Ash Hadu Anna - ali-an Waliullah Wasu Rasulullah was Khalifatu hu bila faslrin"
ABOUT IMAAM:
They believe in12th Imaams after Rasulullaah (PBUH), First being Ali (R.A).
Last 12th Imaam Mahdi, who is in the Cave 'Surra - Man- Raa'
ABOUT THE 12TH IMAAM:
He is alive and observing the world from the cave 'Surra - Man- Raa' and have the knowledge of unseen.
ABOUT THE QUR'AN:
The sunni people's Qur'an is not completed and their Qur'an (Which is 17000 ayats) with their 12th Imaam Mahdi.
Do not produce Hafiz.
Do not perform the salatul Taraweeh in the month of Ramadhan.
ABOUT SAHABAHS:
They say Abu Bakr (R.A) Umar (R.A) and Uthmaan (R.A) robbed Ali (R.A) of his position of being Khalifa. They say Abu Huraira (R.A) used to fabricate Ahadith.
ABOUT MUTA (temporary marriage)
It is permissible to have Mutah marriage.
One-time 'Muta' reward is Jannat.
You are a Shia and are calling yourself a Sunni. This article which you have posted here after editing heavily, has been in circulation for quite sometime. I invite the readers to read the original article in its entirety and then make a judgment.The writer is actually a Shia but he is claiming to be a Shia, an example of 'Taqiya'. The original article by this Shia doctor from Pakistan can be found on the popular Shia site: http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/education/0000254.php (copy and paste the entire link).
Coming to your article:
Misconception 2: Some Shia consider Ali as God.
ANSWER: Nusairis and Alawis do consider Ali as God. Shias call Ali Alaih Salam(AS). Why? Only prophets are said Alaih Salaam(AS=Peace Be Upon him.)
Misconception 3: Shias have different declarations of faith and they add to the call to prescribed prayer.
ANSWER: Shahada is a pillar of Islam and the most basic Ibadat. Adding anything to Ibadat and the pillar of Islam is Bid'a at the very least.
You say "Shias do perform non-obligatory prayers, 36 cycles per day in total, but call it Nawafil and not Sunnah."
ANSWER: Sunnis also perform Nawafil and call it Nawafil. In addition, Sunnis also perform Sunna Prayers.
You say: "How can a Sunni who does not pray at all be better than a Shia who combines prayers?"
ANSWER: How do you know that the Sunnis donot pray at all? What if a Sunni who prays regularly criticizes this Bid'a of combining all the prayers without a valid reason?
You have written a misleading article against Sunnis ridiculing their religion and practices on the pretext of clearing the misconceptions about Shias among Sunnis. Have you ever written an article clearing misconceptions among Shias about Sunnis?
On the Shia site you call Sunnis terrorists. You say :"These non-Muslim American audiences of mine are surprised to learn that some of the known tyrants like Saddam Hussain and troublemakers like the PLO and Hamas are all Sunn
You start on a positive note then you inject venom. No Shiite does Hajj to any site other than Macca.
It is ignorance of terms as you mention that give us a ba name. To correct you, Shiite do Ziarat at such shrines, not Hajj. What is the difference one might ask? The difference is that Hajj is obligatory whereas Ziarat - or visit - to a Shrine is made out of love for the deceased. Pretty much like one visits one parents graveside an rcite Alfatehah for their soul. Nowhere is Quran such an act is forbidden, in fact Quran implores us to visit graveyards so that we are reminded of this temorary abode.
Granted some Shiite revere this act but never more than hajj as you seem to note - there must be millions of Shiites who have done the Hajj but never have visited places like najaf and Karbala, myslef included. BUT I very much look forward to such a visit, to pay my respect to Ahle Bayt of Rasool Alaah, pbuh., as indeed I paid my respect to our dear Prophet in Medina. Why you guys makes such a mountain out of a mole hill??
Why can't you accept such differences and argue "be alati hia ahsan", with knowledge and wisdom for turly we are Muslims like any other, We believe in Alah, swt and bow to none other, we pray the same prayers, we believe in the finality of Mohammad's prophethood, Al-Quran as you have it, life after death and the Yum Alhesab.
other defferences can be argued based on knowledge so that issues can be clarified but never to divide for Allah does not like division.
I venture to say that some of you even are happy that Shiites being killed in Quetta, Pakistan in the mosque and by the 100 in Karbala. If you happen to be one of those and only Allah knows what is in the hearts, then perhaps you should fear Youm Al-Jazza'a, and God is All-Knower.
Peace and let there be peace.
u have tried to best to bridge the differences that truly exist between shia and sunni, but these"misconceptions" we are listening since childhood, if they are not true than why are they created afterall,i think there are shias who do have these beliefs which u call"misconceptions", sir please try to search more and then prepare the answer. It will be better if u post that on this site.
I think it is important when defending Shi'ism to bring that defense from Shia scholars and citations from their books and writings. Many a times, we as nonscholars are not even familiar with the actual views held by our scholars.
Jazakallahu khairan.
As a masters student in Pakistan, I shared room for 4 months with a dear friend belonging to Ahle-Hadiths school of thought. When ignorant people would ask questions about my being a Shia, he was my biggest advocate to remove all those misconceptions that many sunnis have.
It also cleared some of the misconceptions we shias have about the so called 'fanatic' school of thought many label is "wahabi".
This friend live in Jeddah and was our host, guide and companion when I took my mother for Umra about 8 years ago.
Time has some to remove this divide. And I addres it to both ignorant Shias and Sunnis.
Can you think about it... when was the last time in US, when a Catholic church preached to go and shoot protestants in the nearby church... Guess what, we keep doing that in the so called Muslims
After 20 years
and for man taht's can't effort marriage there r solution in alquran. that's is FASTING. it should betwen MUT'AH AND FASTING. don't mix it.
and mut'ah is banned by rasullullah at the last year of his life(not all companion know this), and Ali banned it too(i'll give the hadith later, well of course shia will not accept suni's hadith)
in indonesia there is place taht's call puncak(province west java)some men from midle east come there to do mut'ah for 2 days till 1 weeks (depend on mahar) and these girls could do that's for 5 time a year, they make this a job(exactly as a prostitued) and u know where they end, became a whore.
i ever meet a man that's usualy do mut'ah for 1 hour. (adultery hide behind deen)
and one of my friend found pregnant, and this give shock to their parent cause they never know that's their daughter did mutah behind them(cause u can not tell to other that's u do mut'ah).
a woman taht's has husband do mut'ah with other men taht's has wife (this is fact here)
there is wisdom behind strict rule of nikah, but by mutah the rule became loose, u can't imagine the damaged.
there is polygamy, and Allah give way to control ur lose by fasting.
our PURPOSE IN ISLAM is BE BETTER PERSON. control ur lust is one of ur test. u think Allah will not give u test. if u fail in this test, ur eman not strong enough, if u pass this, u'll be better person. if u take ur weak as ur reason, all killer and homosex will do the same.
prophet is our role model, look at yusuf as, take a lesson from him.
nikah (with it's strict rule)protect woman, give dignity to her and her child,give her honour
mutah(with it's loose rule) degrade woman (adultry that's hide behind the rule of islam)
I saw mentionned here some "clarifications" about prayer practice ,about proper "appellation" or "title" but it all came across to me as poor marketing if i may.The same way religion has its foundation in faith ,those "minor alterations" must have roots in somekind of beleif that allowed them and that , i find, has been somewhat overlooked here.
This was my humble opinion,we all have but one judge.
But if shias are not different ,why are they ? They wouldnt have to explain why,how they r so "undifferent"if they we not, and in a way that goes way beyond what is implied here.
I have no reproach to shi'ism but the fact that it spiritually doesnt make much sense to me .it is not truth .truth makes perfect sense always .
I am no expert but i am always eager to learn ,and when i tried to find out about shi'ism all i came across was odd regulations that would in some way or another make lawfull some money,or power or sexe,never did i come across some shi'ia regulation that even mentionned the soul ,or anything related to the spirituality of human being .......... the heart ,what makes us human .May GOD have mercy on me if i am misguided ,
I think you are trying to build bridge between us.The points you have covered may be true.But the one fact whidch you did not mentioned is that Shias use the word (Alai his Salaam) for Hazrat Ali;which is actually said to paigambar.For e.g.
Adam(A.S),Ibrahim(A.S) Moosa(A.S),etc.We sunni use Raziallahuanha for Hazrat Ali.
Please Clearify this.
One good man comes to unite us by writing an article and he is shot down like an infidel. Brother, if you can't find a kind word to say then better say nothing to your brother.
in my whole life of 50+ years, having travelled and lived amongst various people, I have never come across so much venom directed amongst Muslims, except from the Suadi border guard while checking our passports. I was with my father travelling for Omra/Hajj. The guard spat at our feet on account of us being shiites! Some of you remind me of that incedent, sadly.
Would I ever do that to a Sunni. NEVER in a million years, because that would make me a vengefull ignorant. Allah does not like such behaviour.
yet I wonder what new msulims make of such bickering? an indictment on our akhlaq?
Zinedine here is a hadith which is vetted by all the Sunni scholars regarding Mahdi:
The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left (before the day of judgment), Allah will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person from my Ahlul-Bayt who will be called by my name. He will fill out the earth with peace and justice as it will have been full of injustice and tyranny (by then)."
More on this and many other issues raised here about Shiite and Sunnis are clarified in this site. I strongly advise those who seek more knowledge, not rehtoric, to visit this site:
http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/
Only Allah guides those whom HE wishes, but assuredly one must first have the desire to be guided and indeed an open clean heart is the first requirement for such desire.
With respect and peace.
"Mutah (temporary marriages) was allowed during the time of Prophet Muhammad and he himself practiced it."
IS THER IS ANY AUTHENTIC PROVE OF THIS STATEMENT?
IF SO KINDLY MAIL THAT REFRENCE OF HADITH
THE SECOND POINT IS
"As a temporary privilege during travel, it is better than adultery."
DOES IT MEANS THAT ITS BETTER TO DO A SMALL SIN THAN TO DO A BIGGER ONE AS ACCORDING TO US MUTTAH IS NOT RIGHT THING
First I think it is good that sunni and shia tolerate each other with articles like these. But I am against the fact the author did not seem to understood some of his sayings. I only been muslim for three years and I could already refute some of what he is saying. I dont know about most of the article of shia beliefs but I know i met some shia's who do believe Ali is God (may god fogive me for such an impure utterance). I do know the shia do hate the 3 caliphs and aisha. And that temoporary marraiges was abolish by prophet (Saw) and not umar but shia dont beleive that saying to be authentic like most of sunni haddith letature. Only the ones that go with there creed. If this was article was dont better with more better info on both sides it would be better. Please docotor stick with medacine and let the knowledge of aqeeda stick with alim. take care
wasalaamo alaykum
It seems that people have their own opinions and their conceptions of Shi'as. It brings me joy to see that some of the misconceptions are being revealed and being altered. I pray that their will come a day when Shi'as and Sunnis will stop fighting, Muslims and Muslims will stop fighting, Muslims will stop fighting the other people of the Books. Ameen. I was reading the Bible and i read one of the quotes of Prophet Jesus when he says to love each other, love your family, your friends, your neighbours, but this will not give you any reward, you must show love and truly love your enemies also, this will surely bring you great rewards from Allah s.w.t. i hope people understand what this means to us as muslims, and what Prophet Jesus gave showed the world and the believers of One God. W'salaam.
- Al-Kafi was written by Al-Kulayni Al-razi and not Mullah Baqar whereas both enjoy almost an infallable status among the shias.
Furthermore, the following are a couple of writings by Mullah Baqar which are filled with "sahabah-Bashing" and many kuffar ideas and beliefs:
- Aynul Hayat
- Haqqul Yaqeen
You must get awareness to the history of Islam. Beginning with the martyrdom of Uthman, the battles amongst the companions, the martyrdom of Hussain and his family, the massacre of Abbassiids by the tatars, the evolution of Fatmids accompanied by plenty of innovations, the atrocities of the safavids in Iran (and later of khomeini regime against the ahl-sunnah), all the way to the present-day iranian vows to implement the shia protocols in the land of ahl-sunnah!!!
An in-depth analysis will force you to change your opinions if only you had a caring heart.
Mullah Baqar is one of the most reknowned and notable shiite scholar. I would suggest you read his book "AL-KAFI" to get a thorough insite on many issues, including Mut'a, the bashing of sahabah, and the status of Ali & Quran in shiism. If you do not have enough time to even scarcely browse through the book and other shiite material then please visit:
www.allaahuakbar.net
and read about the reality of shiias and shiism. By the way, shias have high respect for Mullah baqar and his book.
I greet you with the saying that is used by Ahlus-Sunnah, and Shiites. brother Bashir, please try to refrain by saying things like, all Sunnah salaat are wajib and obligatory upon all Muslims. This is not hte case. Study all four madhabs, you will find that this is true for Hanafi Madhab. There are some sunnah prayers which are moqaddat, but some are not - If you are hanafi, please respect that those who follow Imam Ahmed (hambali), As-shafee, and Imam Malik, there are differences, but we all respect each others differences and do not say the other is wrong. If you are trying to say that Shia's are not Muslim, then are you saying that 65 percent of the people in Iraq are non-Muslims? You talk about the hadith about the 73 sects that the Ummah will be divided into, but your understanding of this hadith seems to me to be limited by what you say. I would ask you to please take a deeper look into the four schools of thought as a beginning point and learn that one day, people like you and me, if we do not work on bridge building with others who have a difference of opinion, then sooner or later we will be the losers, for not extended our hands out in peace to all people of the world. Just try and think, what would Prophet Muhammad (saaw) do? What about the Jews of Medina, did the prophet do to them what you suggest we do to Muslims today? How about Umab bin Al-Khattab when he entered Jerusalem? He didn't even enter a CHURCH for the reason being that he feared that it would disturb the ways of worship of Christians, and so he respected the Church by saying, I will not enter is because if I do, then other Muslims will enter it and might decide to convert it into a Masjid. He wanted to perserve the Church....be of our Abrahamic core..do what Rasool-Allah (saaw) did, he wrote a letter to monks of Eastern Europe I cannot recall whereabout exactly, but the prophet pledged protection forthem, read more k?
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040228/ids_photos_wl/r1176372762.jpg
a good article to post, it encourages the spirit of tolerance and Islamic Unity - something our Ummah needs right now, as always.
Being a Sunni, i have heard such sayings before - know i can verify they are untrue and misconceptions.
May Allah strenthen the Ummah and help us bridge the sunni-shia divide that has held us back for so long.
All these questions are from shia that are doing what it is call appeal to pity.
All these statement areo fshia faith; Even as one of their doctrine to hide their faith while in public till they catch up with their prey.
There have several Nigerians that have studied in shia land their experiences are nasty about the nature of Islam being propagated by them, from grave worship to saint worship and eeven the worship of fatimah and Ali (RA).
So there is lie in the sect as being heretic. Even though we there are different subsect among them, but inthe final analysis they are thesame. The Holy prophet (SAW) said fron Aisha ( on of the personality the shites Hate) that anything not part of our religion (Islam as practised by the prophet) will not be accepted by Allah (on the day of judgement).
So think twice and change your way to the Sunni path. That is the best for you.
May Alla guide you right.
Amin
The RASOOLULLAH PBUH said " This ommah will divide in 73 firqa(sects),one will enter the Paradise and 72 will be in the Hell". There is difference in Sunnah and Nawafil prayers. Sunnah moqadah prayers are wajib and obligatory.True muslims respect all in full and follow them in full. The Khullafah Rashideen are the true trainees of RASOOLULLAH PBUH. Their Iteba [to follow] is obligatory and incumbent on muslims as said in forementioned hadith.
I read at least 10 books written by Shia scholars exposing Sunnis ignorance. I a Sunni myself know that I had to work hard to eradicate lots of misconceptions about Shia. I would like to defend Shia Zaydia & Shia Ithna Ashria from Jahalaat Ahl Sunna wal Jamaa. I read all books written by Ali Samawi including "Tumma Htadayt" translated "AND THEN I WAS GUIDED". Again, I repeat the problem I have with Shia scholars is that they relie too much on Aql, reason and that's their big mistake because in human terms life is not always in black and white so please stop accusing Sahaaba of hypocrisy because Allah stated in the Quran: "Rasulu Allahi wa ladheena ma'ahu ashidda'u a'la lkuffari ruhama'u baynahu; tarahum sujjadan rukka'an yabtaruna fadlan mina Allahi ridawanan..."
The problem with us Sunnis is that we relie heavily on NAQL, reported tradition & we ignore the facts & common sense, this way we fall prey to contradictions. We don't even read our resources & we pay less attention to some itchy relatioships between Sahaaba & worse we ignore their mistakes because we are brainwashed to call all of them SAINTS when they are just HUMANS. Take for instance Muawiyya Attaleek, who become Muslims under duress, the beautiful ayat below does not apply to him but Sunni scholars fiercly say Radia Allahu Anhu whenever this hypocrit's name is mentioned. He is not even a Sahabi (prophet's companion). That aggreviates Shia & anyone with a sound brain. That's why some of them think we are dumb. Some Shia are dumb too for believing that the twelveth Imaam is hybernating for hundreds of years. That contradicts their use of reason. -How can a Human being hybernate for hundreds of years to come in the form of Almahdi almuntadhar in the end times?
You see what Sunni procecution can do to some Shia brains? We Sunnis must stop calling the Umawiyyeen & Abassiyeen khulafaa because they are Mulook & not khulafaa. Pls read Ahadith Saheeha carefull
Good to hear this brought out as we all Muslims are one in Islam. The dialog between the Sunni and Shai (this terms should be hurtful to us Muslims as they convey division) should have happened a long time ago (it is never late to make this dialog). Where are the big Ullamma at the big mosques? The silence is deafening. How come never any actions or words of good leadership from any of them? Anyway, forget about the big Ullama who are on corrupt government payrolls or whatever their shortfall (remember these Ullama supported the slaughter between Iraq and Iran war of the 1980's (my heart bleeds when I think about it). Real leadership lies among each one of us as how we deal with each other, our actions in Sunni/Shai dealings. We Muslims should not harbor any ill for any Muslims. We Muslims have the ultimate control of our faith. So, please brothers treat each other well and harbor no ill towards each other (all the good teaching from Hadith, yes..)
As a Shia you have tried to malign all Sunnis. This article which you have posted here after editing heavily, has been in circulation for quite sometime. I invite the readers to read the original article in its entirety and then make a judgment if the writer is really a Sunni as he is claiming or a Shia in the garb of a Sunni out to malign Sunnis: an eg. of 'Taqiya'. The original article by this Shia doctor from Pakistan can be found on the popular Shia site: http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/education/0000254.php (copy and paste the entire link).
Coming to the edited and sanitized article:
Misconception 2: Some Shia consider Ali as God.
ANSWER: What about Nusairis and Alawis?
Misconception 3: Shias have different declarations of faith and they add to the call to prescribed prayer.
ANSWER: Shahada is a pillar of Islam and the most basic Ibadat. Adding anything to Ibadat and the pillar of Islam is Bid'a at the very least.
You say "Shias do perform non-obligatory prayers, 36 cycles per day in total, but call it Nawafil and not Sunnah."
ANSWER: Sunnis also perform Nawafil and call it Nawafil. They donot try to pass off Nawafil as Sunnah.
You say: "How can a Sunni who does not pray at all be better than a Shia who combines prayers?"
ANSWER: How do you know that the Sunnis donot pray at all? What if a Sunni who prays regularly criticizes this Bid'a of combining all the prayers without a valid reason?
You have written a scathing article against Sunnis ridiculing their religion and practices on the pretext of clearing the misconceptions about Shias among Sunnis. Have you ever written an article clearing misconceptions among Shias about Sunnis?
On the Shia site you call Sunnis terrorists. You say :"These non-Muslim American audiences of mine are surprised to learn that some of the known tyrants like Saddam Hussain and troublemakers like the PLO and Hamas are all Sunnis......"
I agree with comments suggesting that the author should cite sources, in support of the author's personal observations -- including sources of "formal directives" for those who adhere to "official" Shia doctrine (hopefully some suggestions have been offered). I think that, as believers in the Qur'an, we ought to justify our positions based on the Arabic Qur'an or based on well-respected translations of the Arabic Qur'an (especially when presenting our case at an "Islamic forum").
It is obvious that the author does something else for a living. I think that someone who (for example) considers themselves to be a Salafi might perhaps wish to consider being conscious of that sort of thing (wa jazak Allahu khair).
May the author and other readers and other commentators be rewarded for good deeds and intentions. I would hope that the author would continue strengthening and expanding this work, in an effort to serve in the way of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala).
I have extensively read about the life of Prophet (saw) but this is the first time I ever came across this name, Ibn Zubayr.
"Mutah (temporary marriages) was allowed during the time of Prophet Muhammad and he himself practiced it. Ibn Zubayr was born out of the temporary marriage. Later on Caliph Umar prohibited it due to social reasons as the Islamic community was rapidly expanding."
Asalam alaykom wa rahmat-o-Allah
My parents have taught me to identify my self as a Muslim not a Shia or a Sunni, and this is what I will teach my children
Judge not lest you be judged. Leave judgement to Allah and unite in HIS cause. Again for those who judge the Shiites by hearing the village mullah, then they should visit this site for more balanced knowledge about the perceived ways of the Shiites that are different to the Sunni brothers, yet by no means these should drive a wedge between us.
http://al-islam.org/nutshell/
Again final judgement belongs to Allah. I say these things to unite us and not divide us. Truly in Islam there is no Shiite or Sunni. There is only Islam. If one delves into our differences they are not fundamental because we share the same Shahada, thus we are all Muslims.
It is now that Islam needs us as a united front - to be good to all and be steadfast in our duties. "Be good to all for if they are not your brother in Islam then they are your brother in creation." Thus said the Prophet pbuh. By collectively attacking others we are attacking Allah's creation.
Aoodhu bilah. ina le Allah wa ina ilayhi rajeoon. No one escapes HIS judgement.
peace be upon all.
this article does bring up some points in defense of shia's, however remember what our glorious prophet said, "there will be 73 sects of Islam and only one Islam" and only one of theme is thr true path!! also it has been said my or Prophet peace be upon him, that the largest "sect" will be the true one!! praise be to ALLAH InshAlla he will be of most forgiving
Well, I might dissagree on some of the Responses, I am not trying to condamning Shia, it just i will strongly dissagree on some of their arguments and they beliefs.
I have a friend who actually a very strong shia, he is inteligent and a bussiness man. He strongly declare that Aisha, the wifes of the Prophet and the Shahaba (Umar, Abu Bakar, Ibn Thaimiyah) were went ashtray, he even show me some hadeth and Quran verses refering those arguments. So therefore, i am not totally agree with some points of the response. Yet on some i do agree, for instance on 5 dayly prayers.
Further more, I've study a Shia website in Indonesia which also mentioned as i said above. And so, Shia has some different Tafseer(interpretations) of the Quran, as for instance the strongest one is Chapter 80.ABASA.
another instance i've study, in Indonesia, I read a Shia's book, from that book the outhoor explain about "DUA" Shia are respecting the Imam's as Budhists respecting the preasts, even the Imam's graves are very highly respected and consider as one of holy places, they pray(dua) on the graves and they believe that the Passed Imams has power to fullfill they prayers.
The further i study shia and have long discussions with my Shia friends, i found many which might strongly disagreeable by the Prophet teachings.
Please kindly study deeply on this topic, coz it can really missleading in some crytical points.
I also told that there are many different Shias, it is much wiser if beside showing the Misconceptions, please kindly show us what is the difference of the Sunni and Shia's teaching. Because I've read more than one book and study a lot on this matters which just a desire to seek the truth. I agree that we muslims should not go againts each other and built harmonic hablum minannaas, but in Hablum minallah we should really very carefull on taking choices.
As for me, I am the slave of Allah, a Muslim who follow Quran, Hadeth and As Sunnah. Islam has no atr
The Dr. seems to be misinformed about Shi'ism, its history and ideology. There is nothing gained by writing or publishing articles that are factually inaccurate. Nowadays, anyone can verify such inaccuracies by visiting a hoseinie or even "more moderate" Shia center and experience the truth first hand. There are many books written by Shia authors on their own ideology that belie the Dr.'s statements.
Indeed, there are groups among the Shia that hold the ideas mentioned in this article and carry out the practiced listed in this very article.
In case the Dr. reads this, the word "imam" simply means leader in Arabic and in the Arabic Nahjul-Balagha, which I suppose the Dr. accepts as authentic, Ali(RA) is quoted to have said that the first three Caliphs(RA) were chosen as "Imams" by Ansar and Mujaherin. Of course, in English and Persian translation, the Arabic word "Imam" in this narration is translated as "Caliph".
I'ld have expected a higher standard for Islamicity.
Wassalam.
I pray to Allah swt to unite all muslims & to get away from the small meaningless differences AMIN summa amIN
JAZAKA ALLAH QAIRAN
The gap between sunni and shia start from question who should lead the ummah after the prophet saw pass away. Did prophet do not forsee what would happen to his ummah after him, and forget to appoint leader? If so, can we say that the prophet was failed in his mission?
It's the duty of all muslim to undestand the misconception and try the bridge the diffenrences between sunni and shia. When our enemy attack Islam, they do not differenciate whether you are sunni or shia. The main objective is to the destroy islam.This is happen now. The clear example is in the middle east.
Dear brother in Islam Dr. Shahid,
First of all let me say that I appreciate your effort to clear the misconceptions and bridge the divide between these 2 biggest sects amongts the Muslim ummah. I have to disagree with many of your conclusions on the so called misconceptions about Shia'i beliefs that you have drawn. I also did not see a single citation of the sources from where you got you answers. Please follow the link below and read the articles with authentic citations that clearly explain why there is an unbridgable divide between the Sunni's and Shia's.
http://www.alinaam.org.za/library/dbeliefs.htm
Jazak-Allah Khair
I still remember one word "QAMAL."
Imam Hussain died at the hand of Moawiyyah's son Yazid. Yazid killed Hussain and all his 72 followers,including children. He then cut off their heads, stuck the heads on spears and roamed the city of Kufa. Note that Hussain was the grand child of our Prophet Mohammad pbup., of whom the Prophet has said many glorious proven ahadiths.
For 70 years Ali was cursed on the palpits of mosques on Moawiya's order. This is the son in law of the Prophet and his adopted son. Ali's father adopted our Prophet pbuh. So, Hussain was indeed dear to Prophet's heart because he was from him beloved daughter Fatima and from his adopted son Ali.
Once people of Kufa realised their guilt by association for not coming to the aid of Hussain, they began moarning Hussain's death. As time went on they moarned "Ya laitna kuna maak" = "Wish we had died with you Hussain". Today's cries for Hussain mirrors that guilt and keeps his memory alive. He saved Islam. He never bowed to tyrrany. Take that as a lesson. Yet I do not believe in beating oneself, except that we all must learn about Hussain and follow his footsteps.
Some Sunnis have exhalted Moawiya and excused his fanatism, calling him "The Leader of the Faithful" Anyone who ascribes to such opinion is similar to those Zionists who, by attacking Gibson they associate themselves with Christ's killers (even though Muslims don't believe he was crucified but Christians/Jews do).
At least the Shiites have not washed their hands from such guilt and will always shed a tear for the beloved grand son of our great Prophet who was Allah's beloved. So, my dear Sunni brother/sister join me to shed a tear for Hussain, for the sake of Mohammad, Fatima and A
Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful exhortation; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.
Quran 3:114
They believe in God and the Last Day; they enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and they hasten (in emulation) in (all) good works: They are in the ranks of the righteous.
I would like to make a few comments.
First of all, if you are a Muslim then you are a Muslim, period. Why are we giving our selves other names like shia or sunni etc. Our Prophet Mohammad did not say which sect he belonged to. "The Message is clear for those who wish to understand", reference The Quran.
Brothers and sisters, Anti-Muslim forces are hard at work, and are beggining to create a divide from a tiny crack. Time has come to unite and stand as one under the banner of Islam. Muslims are under a great test today, and I pray that we as Muslims pass the test.
If there is no difference then whats the difference.
In his book "Kasf ul Asrar" the imam khomeini did criticize the 3 khulafa. The only shia group that respect the 3 right guided khulafa is the Zaidites: The followers of Zaidul Abideen. The Isna-hashari (The twelvers whoo believe in the 12 Imams)do believe in the "Imam Mahcoum" (Imam that will not make a mistake), and we know that even the Prophet was not "Mahcoum" but guided by the Koran and rectified in every step of the way. The Druzes (Lebanon) are the one who believe in the mistakes of Djibril and most Shia groups do not recognize them as Muslims.
We do have differences that can be worked out. The only question that a Sunni should ask himself, as I do, is: If I were in those time of fitna in whose side should I be? Ali vs Moawiya or Hussein vs. Yazid. Righteousness vs Corruption?
Or may be act as Ibn Oumar not to join the fitna and this is another possibility. And this debate will be go on until the day of Judgement. And Allah will Judge. But "Tilka Ummatan gad Khalat..." This is a Ummah that has passed to it what it has work for itself (Baqarah)
And believe me I am a Sunni and I love Ahl-albayti as much as I love Ahlal-Khidayat.
Sorry for intervening in this debate.
If they looked at these books they will see what Zinedin has already stated and a lot more. Whilst Ali was burying the Prophet p.b.u.h., the three other Rightful Companions were discussing who should lead next. They appointed Abu Bakr and later asked for Ali's allegiance whilst justifying this under Quran: "wa amrakum shura beynakum." Yet how could this be shura when Ali and the others with Ali during the burial were not present in this shura and were not even told about it? The Account of Ghadir Khum are detailed in the 5 books of the Sunnah. Those who sided with Ali at that time were referred to as Shiite. In Arabic this means 'aligned with." And since they did so during Prophets life also as in Ghadir Khum, then in truth Shiite is not a sect.
It is an insult to Shiite like myself to say that I have another Quran or bow down to Ali. What a load of rubbish you guys have been fed. Please change your attitude for Muslims are brothers unto each other. In my household many of my family members have married into Sunnis. In Bahrain there are many such marriages and there has never been antagonism between us.
We testify in the One and Only Allah s.w.t and that Mohammad p.b.u.h. is the last of HIS prophets and that the Quran as you have it, is the true word of God and that we will be judged Yum Al-Qiammah. Anyone who believes such is a Muslim. The rest is carried forward from tribal stuff and we owe it to ourselves to seek Islamic history's knowledge from the various sources, not only from your village mullah.
Read more about Ali, his wisdom and history first-hand from his own writings here:
http://www.al-shia.com/html/eng/p.php?p=Nahjul_balagha&url=Nahjulbalagha
Strongly suggest reading about Shiite here:
http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/
Can you please give Quranic reference to this statement of yours please.
Who is his mother ???
Did he gain the age of maturity??
How long he lived??
What about your comments on Ayat(verse:40), Surah Al-Ahzab:33, Para : 22 ??????????
Who is responseble for the child born out of MUTAH ???
Thanx
Regards & Waitng for your Reply
i read and feel very please after reading this article but from a point in miscoception number 9
"Mutah (temporary marriages) was allowed during the time of Prophet Muhammad and he himself practiced it."
And
"As a temporary privilege during travel, it is better than adultery. "
Is there any authentic prove form hadith shareef
that MUHAMMAD (PBUH)practiced muttah.
And for (sunnis) muttah is now prohabbited and to practice it is a sin and adultery is also a sin.
and a muslim should have control on his (nafs) wishes is best than any other solution.
IT IS A FORM OF ADULTERY
I am a Sunni Muslim. I agree that we should at the very least try to minimise the misconceptions about the Shia, however they exist usually out of something that is said to a Sunni along the way by a Shia. I had a Shia friend whom I lost contact with and who was from a different ethnic background to me. He tried convincing me that he didn't have to fast Ramadan because he was Shia. Of course this is completely incorrect as it is one of the five pillars of Islam, however it had me wondering whether all Shia Muslims believed this. I later met another Shia Muslim from a completely different ethnic background yet again and queried him on this issue. He laughed, and stated that he shared my amusement at such a comment.
Perhaps a lot of the differences, whether they be misconceptions or not, are cultural more than anything else, as I am sure that even other Shia Muslims from the first persons country practice the religion differently to him and his family. After all, do all Sunni Muslims practice the religion in the same way all over the world?
I see no difference between Shiats and Sunnis as we all are Moslems and pray to the same God and believe in the same prophet! As long as Muslims disregard each other and even kill each other over unimportant issues, Governments such as USA, Israel, and UK will be so happy and will get the most out of it for themselves!!!
Great God sent us good prophets and holy books over time to think logically (use our brains) and improve our lives (and societies) for a better world full of peace, happiness and justice for everyone, but unfortunately we are doing the opposite!!! Think about it my Muslim sisters and brothers; let us educate ourselves with deep thinking and conservative-free minds about our responsibilities towards God and other people!
God bless you all,
Ashkan Rahimi-Kian,Ph.D.
Dept. of ECE, Faculty of Engineering
University of Tehran, Tehran,Iran
Just do a Yahoo search by putting in something like Shias beating themselves up....and you will be horrified by the pictures. They even cut their little children's heads with swords! Disgusting!
i once thought all muslims are the same. maybe i should read more. so i'm sorry if i sounded naive.
there is one comment saying 95& of all muslims are either shia/sunni (sorry again, i can't remember exactly). but considering the east asia has the largest muslim population. & i believe most of them don't know about this shia/sunni divide. i think the percentage is not really proven...
As a Shia you have tried to malign all Sunnis. This article which you have posted here after editing heavily, has been in circulation for quite sometime. I invite the readers to read the original article in its entirety and then make a judgment if the writer is really a Sunni as he is claiming or a Shia in the garb of a Sunni out to malign Sunnis: an eg. of 'Taqiya'. The original article by this Shia doctor from Pakistan can be found on the popular Shia site: http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/education/0000254.php (copy and paste the entire link).
Coming to the edited and sanitized article:
Misconception 2: Some Shia consider Ali as God.
ANSWER: What about Nusairis and Alawis?
Misconception 3: Shias have different declarations of faith and they add to the call to prescribed prayer.
ANSWER: Shahada is a pillar of Islam and the most basic Ibadat. Adding anything to Ibadat and the pillar of Islam is Bid'a at the very least.
You say "Shias do perform non-obligatory prayers, 36 cycles per day in total, but call it Nawafil and not Sunnah."
ANSWER: Sunnis also perform Nawafil and call it Nawafil. They donot try to pass off Nawafil as Sunnah.
You say: "How can a Sunni who does not pray at all be better than a Shia who combines prayers?"
ANSWER: How do you know that the Sunnis donot pray at all? What if a Sunni who prays regularly criticizes this Bid'a of combining all the prayers without a valid reason?
You have written a scathing article against Sunnis ridiculing their religion and practices on the pretext of clearing the misconceptions about Shias among Sunnis. Have you ever written an article clearing misconceptions among Shias about Sunnis?
On the Shia site you call Sunnis terrorists. You say :These non-Muslim American audiences of mine are surprised to learn that some of the known tyrants like Saddam Hussain and troublemakers like the PLO and Hamas are all Sunnis......"
http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/education/00
Do your own research on Shite beliefs. If they want to separate from others then good riddance.
Ahl as Sunnah comprise about 95% of all the 1.5 Billion Muslims on this planet. Why worry about a mere 5 %???
About the marriage of mut'ah, I am not a learned person about it. However, to my knowledge, if the procedure of something is prohibited, hence that something is not lawful/legal.
For example, if we slaughter an animal not in the name of Allah, then it is unlawful for us to consume the meat while we know it.
The mut'ah marriage is prohibited until the day of judgement. Therefore, it cannot be said that it is better than adultery. Something prohibited cannot be said to be better than another which is prohibited as well.
What good comes from Allah and otherwise comes from my weak self.
Wassalamualaikum warrahmatullah wabarakatuh.
On the issue of mu'tah:
It was narrated from 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade mut'ah marriage and the meat of domestic donkeys at the time of Khaybar. According to another report, he forbade mut'ah marriage at the time of Khaybar and he forbade the meat of tame donkeys.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3979; Muslim, 1407.
It was narrated from al-Rabee' ibn Sabrah al-Juhani that his father told him that he was with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said, "O people, I used to allow you to engage in mut'ah marriages, but now Allaah has forbidden that until the Day of Resurrection, so whoever has any wives in a mut'ah marriage, he should let her go and do not take anything of the (money) you have given them."
Narrated by Muslim, 1406.
Ahadeeth Sahih.
It wasn't Umar (radiyallaahu 'anhu) who forbade it. Indeed it was the Prophet (salillaahu 'alayhi wa sallam).
With regard to those who said that it is permissible, they are among those who did not hear that it had been forbidden. The Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) - including 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib and 'Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr - refuted Ibn 'Abbaas's view that mut'ah was permitted.
It was narrated from 'Ali that he heard Ibn 'Abbaas permitting mut'ah marriage, and he said, "Wait a minute, O Ibn 'Abbaas, for the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade it on the day of Khaybar and (he also forbade) the meat of tame donkeys."
Narrated by Muslim, 1407.
This is sufficient by itself to show that the topic was poorly researched. Everything in Islaam is based off of proofs and evidences. Someone should be asking him for his.
These cult like groups are much more of a concern, along with deviant sunni groups such as Ahmedis and Rashidis, than mainstream Shias.
Mainstream shias do not at least blatantly violate the core tenets of Islam.
There are shops selling photographs of Hussain RAA and Ali RAA !!!!
If this is not distortion of Islam ..then what
May Allah guide us all to the right path ..Ameen
I want to nudge all the muslims to be brethen and not enemies or be distributed in sects!
HolyProphet would have never thought of his generation so much violent and against each other.
Infact he said: "oh you servents of God,be brothers"
and again: "Muslims are like blocks of building, each block supports the other one"
this is how muslims can create a model in front of all other non-muslims and tell them the power of their unity.
Once again i urge all of you to spread the messege of peace and unity among muslims and act upon this all.
NOORUSSABA
While I agree with the effort to bridge the divide, espescially since a great number of close friends are Shia, I also have to point out that a few of the "misconceptions" listed aren't misconceptions.
Misconception 6: Shias slander and ridicule the first three caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman) and Prophet Muhammad's wife, Ayisha.-
I have heard my Shia friends do this.
Misconception 9: Shias practice temporary marriages (mutah).
My friends father did this. And this is still occasionally practiced, at least in India.
well, well, well... I read some of the comments in the "against" section. Interesting. I am an Iranian Shi'a living in the US now, and many of the things that were attributed to Shi'as in the "against" section are news to me.
When talking about shi'a beliefs, we have to make a distinction between what's in the original books, and what's practiced by some (most of the time a very minor group). At least, I can tell you what's done and believed by the majority in Iran:
- No, we don't have a different Quran, and we don't believe that the real Quran will be presented by Imam Mahdi. To say the least, Imam Ali was involved in writing the Quran (Khalif Osman's time?). I know some extremist groups do believe in such stuff, but you don't have to look hard to find weird beliefs among some minor Sunni groups, do you?
- We DO believe in Sunni hadith books. We just don't believe EVERY SINGLY hadith in those books is correct (we don't make such a claim about Shi'a books either). Our scholar textbooks refer to a lot of hadith in Sunni books. We do believe that Abu-Horayreh fabricated a lot of ahadith: the prophet (PBUH) couldn't have said all the ahadith that he narrated even if he had talked nonstop all his prophethood.
- Shi'as in Iran do slander the three Khalifs. Personally think it's stupid, but they do. This is the only point that I found untrue in Iran with respect to this article.
- We definitely don't believe that Angel Gabriel made a mistake. Do you really think we are so stupid to think that God Sobhanahoo va Ta'aala couldn't have stopped such a mistake? Funny.
- Azan: shi'as do add "Ash-hadu anna aliyan vali-yol-laah", not as "part of" azan, but as "mustahab". I personally don't say it (some scholars say "if you intend it as part of Azan, your azan is void"). But then again, a minor point, right? I think it was Khalif Umar who added "as-salatu khayron men nowm" to the morning Azan.
OK, I am running out of space.But l
wasalam
I would be grateful to you if you can kindly tell me about these misconceptions.
Asalam 0 liakum,
Naveed Shakil
http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=20738&dgn=4
AsSalaamuAlaikum,
I was very disappointed in the author's response to many of these ideas - the answers are very broad and incomplete:exp- the Shia do use the same Quran as Sunnis - However he failed to add that their hadith tells them that there is another copy of the Quran the RasuluAllah revealed to Ali and it will be revealed to the world at a later date. Mutah - many leaders of the Shia community still support this act today -The Imams may not be considered above the prophets - but they are considered infallibe/perfect - and their ideas/words are taking as hadith delivered by them influenced from God - Which is used to modify/add to the religion - or perfect and protect it.
Regarding the first three Caliphs - the author says if "some Shias slander the three Caliphs...." this may not have been the way of Ali but it is a very general practice today amongst the majority of Shia - Maybe the author will expand on the Shia view of Aisha - The Prophet's (SAW) wife - and a very valuable source to much of the Hadith we read today.
We would all love for these differences to be abolished - and for the Ummah to be united - but trying to accomplish this by minimizing these differences and portraying them as insignificant is not the way to accomplish this. Maybe Islamicity will continue this article in a series - and instead of trying to eliminate the misconceptions - they will inform the world on what the differences truly are.
Allah Knows Best.
I owe no apology to anybody for calling a spade a spade especially when it concerns ISLAM. We are muslim(the name chosen for us by Abraham(AS)) and not shia or sunni or this or that. Any indication to the contrary amounts to denial of Allah's statement,or addition to the deen of Islam which either way you look at it amounts to a big sin that may lead altimately to doom. So I call on all MUSLIMS to desist, go back to the Quran, read and ponder, research the hadith, act the way of the prophet(SAW) and the Companions in this world so that we may prosper here and the hereafter.
There is no two way about it. There is only one truth, and that is to be a MUSLIM who submits and obey Allah(SWT) and obey the prophet(SAW). A friend of mine says, but it is good to have differences as even the Companions had at one time or the orther. Yes, that is true but the Companions never group themselves, to the extent of assigning names to these groups(It was a later innovation). They lived and died with only one label ie MUSLIM. And Allah knows we will have such differences so He offered solution to it, He said, we should hold on to the rope of Islam and never divide, any difference we have, we should go back to the Quran and Sunnah to iron it out.(This is pharaphrasing the verse).
As I indicated lets ponder the Quran and see what Allah really wants us to be in this temporay world before it is too late. We have divided to so many bits already and could be the source of our problems all over, who knows?. It is now time to reflect and return back to the true religion of God, Al-Islam and die not, as that beloved prophet of God Jacob(AS) demanded of his Children, but as muslims..(submitting to Allah's will).
Response: Mutah (temporary marriages) was allowed during the time of Prophet Muhammad and he himself practiced it. Ibn Zubayr was born out of the temporary marriage. Later on Caliph Umar prohibited it due to social reasons as the Islamic community was rapidly expanding. Shias discourage mutah but do not consider it prohibited. Some do abuse this. As a temporary privilege during travel, it is better than adultery.
****** Comment. A one night or one week stand is just adultery. We can not make it marriage by "Ankahtuka" or "Mutah". Would anyone accept that for his wife or sister? Mutah was only permitted in 'Wars' & forbidden thereafter in Islam. Pls do not make a General statement that prophet practised it, implying it was his habit and that the practice is legal. Even his 11 marriages are not permitted now.
****
Misconception 10: They consider Imams infallible and above the prophets.
Response: Not true. All prophets are born Prophet but as mentioned in Quran about Abraham that after passing the test, a prophet becomes a leader (Imam). Imams are carriers of the message of Islam. Shias consider Ali only as an Imam, but Muhammad is the Prophet (Nabi), Messenger (Rasul) and leader (imam).
***** Comment. You are implying that Prophethood is lower than Imaamat,that there are Prophets who failed test so could not become Imaam. Pls name a few ! Correct position as per Qur'an is that all Prophets are selected for Prophethood in His mercy, tested by Allah severely and they remained steadfast. Prophethood is degrees higher than Immamat. Let us not confuse the issue.
Shia's giving precedence to Hadrat Ali (RAA) over Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is similar to Sunni's giving more importance to Awlia Allah over Allah.
This must be clarified to the people who have the misconception.
Rest of the responses are fair, Alhamdo Lillah.
May Allah show us light.
Brother in Islam,
Khali
Muslim's believe should be based on Quran and Prophet Teaching not on Historical events.
I myself** love and respect all those who was near and dear of prophet and prophet said that mulsims will be judge on TAQWA.
We have no right to pass our decission about who was on top or below.
I have lot of proofs(Historical Fact) that show that How shiaism started because of Abdullah Bin Sabah and his group.
For Example: Most of the shia says that Hazrath Ali is eligible for Khilafat becuase Prophet lead him on his bed before Hijrath and handed over all "AMMANAH" to be handed over to their owner. And Hazrath Ali took risk for his life for that night.
If above is the case then, As per Prophet hadith allah select Hazrat Abu Bakr to be companion in Hijrath, both Prophet and Abu Bakr was at Risk till they Reach Madinah, Hazrath Ali was sleeping in bed of Rasool, and in case of Abu Bakr, Rasool was sleeping in lap of Abu Bakr, Hazrath Ali was taking care of Rasool Responsiblities, Abu Bakr was taking car of Rasool himself.
Now every body should use his common sense to judge.
True Muslim are those who believe in Oneness of Allah and Phrophit Mohammed(pbuh) as his messengar.
Accepting Allah as one means accepting Allah as supreme Power, and all sort or form of our prayer should be done for ALLAH alone.
Accepting Mohammed(pbuh) as Prophet means, surrendering all our wills and wishs to prophet orders and command.
Now come the issue of Shia,Sunni if some one is basing his believe on some one action or on history than it is big devation from true islam
**I myself said to be belongs to prophet family atleast we have our lineage for last 6 grandfather who travelled to india from IRAQ.
May Allah show the Islamicity Team the path of honesty. Any May Allah help them see RIGHT from WRONG.
Wasalaam.
Can anyone enlighten on this since from Sunni scholars, this marriage is no longer allowed. Does Shia still allow it?
Any commments?
1. They have their own Qur'an and believe our Qur'an is incomplete
2. They have their own hadith Books (Usul-e-Kafi).
3. They do not believe in our hadith Kitaabs- Bukhari etc.
4. They have their own Fiqh,) Fiqh - Jafari.
5. They believes that Imaams get 'Wahy' Divine Revelation.
6. They Practice 'Muta' (Temporary Marriages).
7. Terms of Sehri and Iftaar are different.
8. Ghusl for the dead is different.
We are all muslim brothers and sisters. Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.) wanted oneness in Islam and among Muslims.
We need to join our hands and stand united. Put our differences aside as far as schools of thoughts in Islam as concerned. Someone who is more intelligent than all of us are cutting these different branches of Islam. Before we all realize the branches will be cut and scattered all over without any use. The tree (Islam) without the healthy branches will be barren, cannot give any shade nor any shelter.
Please let us not fight on differences of beleifs and let us get united specially when the time is getting tough for Muslims all over.
I hope the muslim scholars take active part in bringing all Muslim sects together without minutely looking into ones belief (whether Sunni, Shia, Sufi or whatever).
May Allah help us and give us forsight to bring unity amongst us. Amen.
Salaam.
I wanted to commend you on your article entitled "Sunni misconceptions about Shias." As our brothers in Islam, the Shia are usually misunderstood and misrepresented. They also follow the sunnah as we do and follow the same holy book. As Muslims, it is our duty to unite against oppression. InshaAllah this article serves as an example of how similar we are and the oneness of our Ummah. I ask Allah (swt) to guide all Muslims and to take us to the straight path. Rather one is a Maliki, Hanafi, Ahmadi, Shafii, or Jaafari, he is to be considered a Muslim. Thank you for breaking down the barriers of ignorance in your article.
wasalaam,
Omar Khan, USA
ABOUT NEW KALIMAH
Laa ilaaha illaahu Muhammadur Rasulullaah -Alli waliyullah, Khomeni Hujjatulillaah
Laa Illaaha Muhamdur - Rasulullah, Ali waliyullah wazi Rasulullah was Khalifauhu bila Faslein"
Shia 'Islaam' based on 5 pillars - Salaat, Zakaat, Fasting, Hajj,Wilaayat.
Azaan is "Ash Hadu Anna - ali-an Waliullah Wasu Rasulullah was Khalifatu hu bila faslrin"
ABOUT IMAAM:
They believe in12th Imaams after Rasulullaah (PBUH), First being Ali (R.A).
Last 12th Imaam Mahdi, who is in the Cave 'Surra - Man- Raa'
ABOUT THE 12TH IMAAM:
He is alive and observing the world from the cave 'Surra - Man- Raa' and have the knowledge of unseen. WHEN HE COMES, HE WILL BE NAKED RASULULLAAH (SM) WILL SWEAR ALLEGIANCE TO HIM. THEN, HE WILL DIG THE GRAVE OF ABU BAKR (R.A) AND UMAR (R.A) AND HANG THEM ON A STAKE FOR ALL SINS OF MANKIND.
ABOUT THE QUR'AN:
The sunni people's Qur'an is not completed and their Qur'an (Which is 17000 ayats) with their 12th Imaam Mahdi.
Do not produce Hafiz.
Do not perform the salatul Taraweeh in the month of Ramadhan.
ABOUT SAHABAHS:
They say Abu Bakr (R.A) Umar (R.A) and Uthmaan (R.A) robbed Ali (R.A) of his position of being Khalif.
They say Abu Huraira (R.A) used to fabricate hadith.
They say Muawiyya (R.A) poisoned Hassan (R.A).
ABOUT MUTA (temporary marriage)
It is permissible to have Mutah marriage.
One-time 'Muta' reward is Jannat.
When they touch hands, sins fall from their fingers.
Contractors of 'Muta' will cross the 'Pul Siraat' like a flash of lightning.
IN GENERAL:
1. They have their own Qur'an and believe our Qur'an is incomplete
2. They have their own hadith Books (Usul-e-Kafi).
3. They do not believe in our hadith Kitaabs- Bukhari etc.
4. They have their own Fiqh,) Fiqh - Jafari.
5. They believes that Imaams get 'Wahy' Divine Revelation.
6. They Practice 'Muta' (Temporary M
I would just like to say that I think this issue of categorizing the Shias as Non-Muslims is a very delicate one. It is an issue which requires a lot of thought and rash, uncontemplative arguments should not be tolerated against the group. As Muslims, whether Shia, sunni or otherwise; I think we would all agree that in Islam it's not recommended that we try to 'judge' people's Imam, and in so doing condemn them to the hell fire. We don't have the final decision as to who goes to heaven or not, what we do have however, are guidelines which must be followed if we are to atleast expect Allah's mercy and good grace. Those guidelines are straight forward and leave little or no room for ambiguity. I would like to point out as well, that there are many blatantly deviated groups/sects which claim to belong to Islam in some way. One such example is 'The Nation of Islam', from what they belief and advocate, we (the group of Muslims who adhere to the Quran and Sunnah) can safely omit them from the religion of Islam. The consequences of having such groups posing as 'Muslims' are numerous, it doesn't take a genious to understand the problems these fabricators pose to Islam. The one thing I know for sure is, that we as Muslims; cannot afford to do is to have our religion misrepresented. The issue is a complex one, especially given the considerable number of shias in the Muslim world. My point basically is though, as the preservers of Islam (Allah knows who you are), we cannot and should not tolerate the propagation of a false Islam. We don't have to fight with these people, just educated them...and maybe convert them. I will let the scholars of Quran and Sunnah decide what the pre-requisites of being a Muslim is.
That's all. Thank u.
Salam.
Shaneeza.
The fact that Sunnis and Shias are blowing each other's mosque and killing each other is a very good example of kind of Muslim we all arel. The only hope for us is let the "old" generation die out and the new and educated "young" generation, take their place.
As parents, it is our at most responsibility to teach our children that there are no sections nor divisions in Islam. May be in the next few hundred years we all be one Nation, all Muslim and all sisters and brothers, as God all mighty had asked us to be. May God strengthen our faith and gives us wisdom to achieve this goal.
One Quran, One Prophet, One Book, One Kaaba.
We all Are One. We need to come closer.
This article is a good try in uniting the ummah but through out history, Shias have back stabbed Sunnis many times. Did you see last year on Yahoo news and other news outlets all those horrible pictures of Shias cutting up their bodies at Karbala? Do we want to associate ourselves with such people? No way is that Islamic.
Once again, we have our Doctors trying to act like scholars and throwing out misleading articles. Tell them to stick to their profession and win some noble prizes for Muslims. They are long overdue.
The scholars have every reason to caution us about Shias. And what they write is after they have read from Shia books. Just visit a Shia site and you will find out the truth yourself. There are tons of them. We have nothing against Shias. If they do not believe in what we believe, then they are not sunnis. And the name sunni is there to differentiate ourselves from distorted Shia beliefs.
Salam
I am and still Sunni and consider Ahl Albayt and Al'atra Tahira as well as Shia Ithna Ashria and Zaydia branches Sunnis. Shia litterally means supporter but with time it developped religious & political connotations. I agree with Tafazal Chaudhry that comparing a Sunni that does not pray with a Shia that prays Salat Aljam' is bad comparison simply because you can't compare two different things. I must correct you Afazal that combining prayers is permissible in Islam under as long as it's not a daily occurence. Get informed before you attack Shia Muslims please. The same applies to Shia: please tell your uneducated crowds to stop insulting Sahabah. Abu Bakr, Ayeesha, Umar & Uthmaan, Zubair & Talha made historic mistakes against Ali, Fatima Zahra & Alhassan & Alhussain. Muawiya, the political opportunist,poisoned and killed Alhassan and his son Yazeed, the bucher and drunkard, killed & mutilated the body of Alhussain. We also know that those two were criminals & hypocrits & are called Tolaqa because they were given the freedom & security to live but reluctanly accepted Islam after the opening of Makkah. Yes, Some of us Sunnis know that Fatima was denied her right to inheritance thank to the bad interepretation of Abu Bakr who made a horrible mistake going against the Koran and followed a week hadith. Yes we know that the messenger of Allah was burried after three days and that Abu Bakr and Ayeesha don't know where he was burried and did not pray salat aljanaza. Yes, it is a lie that the messenger of Allah pbuh was burried in the house of Ayeesha but the truth is that he is burried in the house of Fatima & Ali. Yes, we know Fatima asked Ali to bury her at night like her father so that Abu bakr...dont know where she is burried bec...
May Allah guide us all on the Righteous Path.
Jazak-Allah kheir
only allowed muttah for the travelling armies
and he later on outlawed it, as the sunni's
believe. Why make keep doing it, if something
goes against the ethos of islam, causes
societal breakdown and fatherless children,
or is it because we men are animals and
cannot control our cardinal desires! Grow up
oh my beloved ummah, this is not about
disunity but about waking up!
also what gives a bad image of the Shias is the brutal auto-mutalition by an active minority to remember Hussein martyr in Karbala.
004.024: Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess: Thus hath Allah ordained (Prohibitions) against you: Except for these, all others are lawful, provided ye seek (them in marriage) with gifts from your property,- desiring chastity, not lust, seeing that ye derive benefit from them, give them their dowers (at least) as prescribed; but if, after a dower is prescribed, agree Mutually (to vary it), there is no blame on you, and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.
Tauseef
Thank you for highlighting/clarifying the artificial divide set by Satan among Sunni and Shia. I love the Shia, they a good Muslims and I have never found anything lacking in their worship. We should not allow ourselves to fall into the traps set by Satan. The Shia are part of the universal Ummah of Islam. I want to thank our Brother Shahid for removing the barriers that continue to plague us as a religious community.
Sir, you said that shia does not try to birng down the other 3 caliphs & Aisha or the Prophet Mohammed(pbuh, Sir in many shia channel you can cthe face of the catoons of Prophets n other companions but u will never see the face of Ali, Hussian, or other Imams.Sir in a liberal site like your one must see that they are more careful of what is mentioned in a articel.
I am not tryin to bring you effort down but tryin to remind yourself that without bein fair you cant bring the required result between the Muslims.
Although the main belief in Islam is to believe there is only 1 GOD to worship and that is non-other than the merciful Allah SWT and to believe that Prophet Muhammad is Rasullullah and the final seal of prophethood in Islam, cursing and slandering another Muslims brothers and sisters are far away from the teaching of our beloved Rasullullah. If the 3 great companions and the others have indeed became the infidels, it is not up to us, mere mortals and weaklings in the view of Allah SWT, to judge who are Muslim and who have become infidels. Especially us.... we were not there to witness such events. Some histories were made for political flavours.
The 4 great companions and the rest of lesser known companions of Rasullullah have their own characters and specializations to help Rasullullah to shape Islam from the beginning. Thus we should respect them.
Leave the greediness for political power back in the stable. Let us as Muslims think again about this whole Sunni-Shia dialogue as it will not bring to happy ending to either side either. The breaking of Islam into sectarian regions is the work of the Devil, who will never rest until the Islam broken up into tiny pieces. Let us not see Islam goes into that path. Believe in Allah as the only God and accept Prophet Muhammad as the final prophet of Islam and as Rasullullah. Respect his companions but never to idolise them.... even if your school of thoughts encourage to slander and curse them. For only during Kiamat then, we shall know who are the true slanderers and devil in disguise.
Secondly I would like to ask the author where did these misconceptions originate from?.
Declaration of Faith, By this misconceptions answer can we assume that anyone MAY add anything to the declaration?
Misconception 9: Mutah had a lot of restrictions on it even when it was NOT prohibited. Was it not originally created for armies fighting long wars at far off lands???
I have another question was Hazrat Ali (R.A) a Shi'a, Did he (R.A) not pray Sunnah's, and did he (R.A) do all the things Shi'as do today?
These are the questions and thoughts which came in my mind after reading the article I am sorry if I offend anyone and may Allah forgive me. I look forward for answers and clearing my misconceptions. Thank You. Salam
The writer better be careful while declaring his own concepts on ISLAM. There is no proof of a concept of a such a ridiculous and absurd concept of mutah in ISLAM neither at the time of the PROPHET (PBUH). The concept of mutah does not relate to ISLAM at all. Shia's do have different declarations of faith and do add to prayers as well I have seen it in every Shia community. You ask others not to offend anybody but the writer himslef potrays an offending image by saying that sunni's have a corrupted government. If the writer wants to know more about Shia's then please go and sit with people from Shia community who just know about cursing the first three caliphs. The writer better clear his misperseptions about the reality rather than coming up with vain judgements with such a poor research.
You people should repent to ALLAH, and I ask Allah to forgive you from this KUFR.
troid.org:ManhajAbandoning Innovation and It's People Imaam Ahmad said:
Wakee' narrated to us from Sufyaan, from Ja'afar, from his father, from Jaabir who said: The Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam) stood and gave us a sermon. So he praised Allaah, and lauded Him with what was befitting of Him, and he said: Whoever is guided by Allaah, then no wayward person can misguide him. And whoever is misguided [by Him] then there is no guide for him. Verily the best of speech is the Book of Allaah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (Sallallaahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam), and the worst of matters are newly invented ones. And every newly invented matter is an innovation. And every innovation is in the Fire. [A combination of different versions of this hadeeth by Jaabir Ibn Abdullaah - in Muslim (3/11), Ahmad (3/381), Nisaa`ee (1/234), Bayhaqee (3/214). The above combination was put together by Imaam al-Bayhaqee in his Al Asmaa Was Sifaat.]
I think you should stick with medicine.
Salam
Fisrt thing that Shias read the same Quran as Sunnis but they beleive that the origional Quran is with Imam Mehdi and he will come and bring it to them.Untill then they have to read this Quran
Second thing that they beleive in "Badaa".They say that the Gabreil has to go taking Wahee to ALi(R.A.A) but he went by mistake to Prophem Muhammad(S.A.W).
Next thing is that they beleive in Mutah.(Can a Shia give his sister or Mother for Mutaa to other.And they beleive if a person does mutaa(Naooz-o-bilaa) his rank can go equal to the prophets.
I think the writer have never heard about "Tabaraa"?.It is when the Shia people openly abuses the Caliphs of islam.
About Zakat....It is for sure that they do not pay Zakat.They have to pay 25% of their income to their religious scholars(Faqeeh).(I do not know which Islam has these rules)
I think writer only tried to show a very mild picture of the difference s and ignored the major diffrences.
Anyhoe i apprecaite the ideas of riter that we should not at least fight with each other.
It is a commandable effort from the author in trying to eliminate the misconception regarding the different between the Sunni and Shia teaching but unfortunatelly the author using a counter argument by comparing the misconception with putting down non-practice Sunnis follower against the Shia's religious practice. This is not the best way to help uniting the two parties due to this comparison. We need just put the fact and not our opinion for this type of article. We need to unite and work for the comman goal in this difficult time. All Muslim/Muslimah should follow the Prophet Muhammad SAW, thus we all are Sunnis (The One Who Follows The Sunnah) and perform our prayers and other religious rite by following the Prophet way/example. Lets not reinvent new way of doing our religious duty that is harram for us and will make us just as corrupt as other Ahlil Kitab. There is only one way of practicing our belief by following the Qur'anic teaching and the Sunnah.
May Allah blessed us by uniting all of us for reaching the comman goal of living the true Islamic way and be a good/examplanary citizen where ever we life.
Wassalamualaikum,
Mustafa A. Syammach
Is the difference only cultural or ritual as well?
Please explain.
Jazaak-Allah
Jazakalahu Khayran for a much needed discussion.
I have thought about this issue for a long time. I love both sides and I also dislike and sometimes hate certain ways of conduct on both sides. I do not label myself as shia or sunni, but a follower of our beloved prophet Mohamed (SAW). I think if one could ignore the conflict that brought about the split and focus on the prophet(SAW)and his massage we would not be in this mess. It sounds very naive and simple, but i am afraid this is as simple as it gets to save yourself from a burning fire. After all when one is brought into his/her account by Allah, you are not going to be asked which side of the conflict did you side with but how well you followed the massage brought to you thru Mohamed (SAW). This conflict does not matter. SO MY SIMPLE ADVISE IS STARTING TODAY YOU BETTER LEARN ABOUT THE REAL MASSAGE. IF WE CAN AGREE ON ONE THING IT IS THE QURAN SO I THINK THIS IS WHERE TO START. THEN YOU MAY WANT TO LEARN THE HADIT AND LEARN BOTH AND FILTER IT YOURSELF AND CHOOSE FIRST THOSE THAT ARE CONSISITENT WITH THE QURAN. SINCE THE TWO TRADITIONS MAY HAVE DIFFERENT CONTENT OF HADITH.
Again it sounds very simple but this is how I practice myfaith. My God bring all of us back to the right path.
Please forgive me if I have offended you the least.
Differences and change within boundaries are allowed, for example with the different madhabs in the Sunni Islam.
However, any contradiction to the Quran is not allowed. For this reason the Shia sect of Ismailis (Aga Khanis) are not Muslim as they blatantly regard the Aga Khan to have qualities of God such as the ability to grant forgiveness. In the Sunni sect Ahmedis and Rashidis are not considered Muslim as they to violate the Quran and claim another Prophet after the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh).
This article should note that like who call themselves Sunnis, there are some who call themselves Shias but would answer the authors "misconception" questions quite differently.
Lovely article.Per 60's the 'hate that hate produced ' Insha'allah, as more of us men folk control our Nafs better -bigger Jihad-. The better off the whole world would be. Insha'allah.
Wassalam,
Kashif
1. Why should one hurt himself by beating some part of the body? It more like a practice in some part of Asia.When and who introduce this ritual?
2. Why Mutaah? What happen to the woman after it over? For a start, woman should not be treated like this. We should be able to control ourselves (Iman), whether we are singles or married, anywhere, anytime.
3. Why we should have a spiritual leader/s? This is more like that nasrani. All muslim should be free to decide what he desires as long as they are not against the teachings of Islam.
Lastly, I would like to see all the misconceptions between Sunni and Shia are iron out in spirit of brotherhood. We have the Holy Quran and the Prophet's traditions (Pbuh) as our reference and that it. There should be no Sunni or Shia.
1st. Quran
2nd. Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
So if some one doesnot practise the sunnah and do some other prayer with context is irrevalent ( allah knows better)
First is Faraz then comes Sunah and later n least come nuwafil
I am glad to see some misconceptions about Shia cleared up. I am Shia and I feel that our Ummah is in deep need of unity. We must unite and be guided by Allah and his Messenger (Saw) and his holy progeny peace be upon them. The misconceptions are based on absolute ignorance and I commend Islamicity for showing that they are not biased and are rightly guided. I have one correction I would like to make in all humility. We do not add anything to the call to prayer (azan). We say it as it was said during the time of our Prophet(saw)-which included the saying "haya Ala Khayr Al Amal"-meaning come to the best of deeds. To my knowledge this was later deleted from the Azan by Caliph Omar as he feared it would dicourage people from taking part in Jihad. We also in the azan If we choose to (it is not obligatory) may add "Ashadu Ana Aliyun Waliy Ullah"-which is what our Holy Prophet (saw) proclaimed him to be at Ghadir Khum, when he said to the faithful that Ali is their Mawla (leader). This is agreed upon by all schools of thought, no one can contradict the statement our blessd Prophet (saw) made at Ghadir Khum.
May Allah reward you for your desire to preach unity in a world which Shaitan is trying to spread his tentacles and divide us.
From the time of primary education I was taught that Shias are axed from the Muslum community which can be said as a general conception in our country (Bangaldesh).If all of these conceptions are against the truth, I am not able to understand why this type of division exists, Why they are known as Shias instead of Muslim.
"We the Muslim Ummah" this is our main identity.
I disagree with the ending sentence of misconception 7 in the sence that this supports the division which is against of the abstract of this article.
Ma'assalam
Salaam.
JazakAllahu Khair
First of all i want to say Allahmdullilah that Allah subahn O'tala gave my berth in Sunni family. The writer did not tell why they become "Shia"? Why they diverted from the mainstream? Why they killed Uthman Razi Allah O' unoh (RAU),? Why they want that Ali RAU should be Imam? Why they still crying and weeping on great martyars (Hasan and Hussain) while Islam prohibt mourning more than three days and spcially crying? Were other martyars or battel of Uahad and Battle of Bader were not martyars like Hamza RAU, the uncle of prophet? Why they play color like Hindus of India on Navroz? Is it Islamic tradition? Why they still bury the "Tazias" thinking they are martyars? Why they put something under their forehead like paper, or piece of mud when they pray? What is this? How they can say the place of worship is impure? Why not they put whole piece of their body over a pure thing? Why onle forehead? There are a lot of Whys. In the least but not least if you look the History you will see all the branches like, Ismailites, Bohras, Aghashahi, Suhroworthy, Seveners, Eleveners, Twelvers, and so on are all the Branches from Shia Sect and non of them from Sunni Sect. A small diversion from the main caused a big loss to islam. Alas at that time they did not make a new sect so Islam would be the strongest religion. Although it is still.
I just wanted to say that this article makes no sense to me, I think the muslim ummah need unity, and people who practice shiaism, are going aginst our Islam, and biggest proof of this is their Kalima Shadaat, which different from what was brought to us in the Quran.? Why, not focuz on that point???
There are people of all faiths including Muslim sunnis that do a lot of different things that are not in accordance with Islam. You've made your point well, I see them as Muslims not as shias, after all, they have taken the shadada like all muslims, I urge everyone to move away from divisive language (sunni, shia) and use language that unites us. Iran is Muslim and not shitte muslim etc.
I have read books published by both Sunni and Shia authors and have found both schools of thought to have hadith to support their practices. I have chosen to follow a Sunni school of thought, but I will not condemn the shia for their practices. I am just a human, which makes me imperfect and limited in knowledge. With that said, I will leave judgement of right and wrong to Allah(swt) for He knows best.
Wa alaikum salam,
Allah has said we should never divide and call ourselves names but we ignore the order. We will die and we will be ask? Are you "the shia" or "the sunni" prepared to answer the question? I for one a muslim who submit to the will of the almighty Allah, love Him and adore His prophets and acknowledge the Sahabas who He said He has forgiven and follow the path these noble people followed I think 'm ready. I only hope you will also be. May Allah continue to bless the world of the muslims, ameen.
I think an opportunity should be given to 2 Sunni scholars who have lived among Shias to respond to this important debate by telling what is the great
divide between the two.
Unless we receive accurate information and democratically determined debates we would not be able to change our prejudices and fears.
Mohsin Hingun
misconseption 8. shia's only pay zakat on their wealth once in a lifetime and not every year. please get your facts in order before misleading the ummah
Specially, this sensitive time when west media doing propaganda against Muslim world. May Allah reward you for this noble work.
Hope to see more of such articles. These articles can ease the tense situation between Shia and Sunni brothers.
"Muslims will divide into 73 groups. All will be in Hell, except one. The one me and my companions are on today."Additionally, the prophet, peace be upon him, said that as the Jews and the Christians divided into 71 or 72 sects, that you (meaning the Muslims) would divide into 73 groups and all of them would be in HELL, except for ONE.
And the "saved sect" would be those who remained on what he and his companions were on: "Quran and Sunnah."
We see clearly from the above that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has named us as "Muslims" alone.
Additionally, when we consider that the deviant groups always have to have a name of some kind in order to distinguish themselves from the others, we begin to see the pattern. If someone feels that it is necessary to describe himself as a certain kind of "Muslim" then this is his or her problem.
Now of course one could say that: "I am a tall Muslim." or "He is a fat Muslim." and then this type of description is for the purpose of identifying physical characteristics.
Additionally, a person might use someone's country or nationality to describe a Muslim for the purpose of determining their heritage such as a "Pakistani Muslim" or an "Arab Muslim."
These types of descriptions do not put a person out of the fold of Islam.
We must understand that Allah Subhannah wa Ta'ala has made it perfectly clear both in the Quran and in the sayings of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, that the religion of Islam was perfected and completed during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and that no new religion would come until the Last Day and that those who followed Islam were called by Allah, MUSLIMS. THIS IS ADVISE I APOLOGISE IF I
Any way, we believe in Allah and his prophet (PBUH) and our goal is same. I have not seen any Sunni talking against Hazrat Ali or any Sahaba. They respect every one and that is all required to come near to each other.
For both Shia's and Sunni's, it is mentioned in Surah [47:33] O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the apostle, and make not vain your deeds! At-Taghabun [64:12] So obey Allah, and obey His Messenger. but if ye turn back, the duty of Our Messenger is but to proclaim (the Message) clearly and openly.
You may find more such surahs in Quran, it is clear that it is not Hazrat Abu-Bakar, Omar, Usman or Ali but just Quran and prophet (PBUH) to follow. So respect them but do not divide yourself and earn hell fire.
May Allah Guide us, Ameen
First of all additions to Islam are sinful. Secondly comparing a person who is wilfully praying in a manner contrary to the teachings of Islam to a person who does not pray at all is an odd way of making wrong right. An on top of that examplifing the later person to be a Sunni and first one as shia, is not a good thing to say.
I believe that Dr. A. S. Hashim of Washington and Imam Muhammad Ali Elahi of Detroit should give valid hadeeth to support this combining of Prayers. They should not demonise Sunni's as well if they are truely sincere about better relations between the two factions.
I found your article about the misconceptions about Shea'ism completely ludicrous and false, for example you only need to look in the books written by their spiritual leader Khomeni to find the major shortcomings in their beleifs. For example what Khomeni has himself written regarding the sahabah (RAA).
A disappointment to find you propagating such an article.
First, I'm sunnit. Second my English is very bad. I just want to say that I heard fron a long time before this kind misconceptions but I never belived in it because it is against logic. I always think that if Shias love and respect Ali and his sons, they cannot be against prophete Muhammed who is the grand-father of Ali's Children and who is, also, the father of the Hassen and Hussein's mother. If the contain of this article is true, so I thing that Shias are the true and real Sunnit. About Salat I thing that it is concern of the Baha-i and Ismailit whose belive on Batinia (the insight) and that the practice is not important. To conclude, I think that all this questionnable ideas are from those persons whose want to maintain the muslim splited in many category in the goal to kill Islam. But Allah protect his religion and all muslims people. I was very happy to read this article and I hope that all muslism can read it.
Wa'Salamu aleyikum
Warmest Greetings
Phil Ramsey
Bismillah,
This article is a complete lie. Dear brothers and sisters, I refer you to the shia book al-kafi. This is their main source of islamic knowledge and similar to the sunni sahih al-bukhari. Within it you can find so called shia 'hadiths' which prove many of the things you have claimed to "clarify".
To summarise the shia beliefs as follows (taken from al-kafi and the writings of the shia imams such as Al-Khomeni):
(1) The Quran is not complete, incorrect and false
(2) There is a true Qur'an which is three times the size of our Qur'an and contains nothing which the sunni Qur'an contains
(3) That Jibreel is an enemy who "betrayed the trust of Allah"
(4) That our mother, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, committed Zina.
(5) That the shia's must do everything they can to decieve and lie to the sunnis, and that this was the practise of Ali may Allah be pleased with him (and he is above the things that they say about him)
(6) That no one will enter jannah until they have performed temporary marriage
(7) That the shia imams have knowledge of the unseen to the level which is "greater than any of the prophets, angels or [others]"
(8) That all of the atoms in the universe prostrate to and worship the shia imams
(9) that all of the sahahbas apostated except 3, or 5 or 7
Ya ikhwaan, the majority of these beliefs make you a non muslim and this is the reality about the shia who understand this and believe with certainty in their books. They are outside of Islam and closer to the Jews than the Muslims.
90% of the above information, including all of the beliefs which amount to kufr, can be found in their book al-kafi in any shia mosque.
And it is not permissable to unite with them, nor to support them, and indeed those of them who are not outside of islam are from the most devient of the muslims.
And all success lies with Allah, and may the peace and mercy of Allah be upon His messenger, and all thos
The best way to combat these misconceptions is through education, and articles like these are an important step in doing so. May efforts like these continue, and may Allah reward you for your efforts.
I am sorry to say that the six point is not very true. Even the most moderate Iranian Shiite author that I have ever read decribed sayyiduna Abu Bakr as "an otherwise good person, but a usurper (of Ali's and some of his descendants' exclusive, God-given right to govern the Ummah)". According to even the most moderate shiites, Umar was "not only a usurper but also an obstinate and strident man, being the ant-thesis to the mericul Ali" (May Allah be pleased with them both).
If I were a slightly more emotional person, I would certainly cry after reading the most moderate Ja'fari-Shiite's words about Uthman bin Affan, the third Caliph. Uthman was "a usurper, a nepotist, an oppressor and lover of his worldly belongings" according to him.
Mr. Athar's comment on the prohibiton of Mut'ah marriage is also ahistorical. The second caliph Umar prohibited it because the last order of the Prophet was the prohibition of that type of marriage. But not all Muslims had heard of it at that time, hence the mistaken assumption that prohibiting mutah marriage was Umar's own