Gate of Knowledge

Why Shi'ah? Most asked Question?

ْ‫صمُواْ بِحَ ْبلِ الّ جَمِيعًا َولَ تَ َف ّرقُوا‬
ِ ‫وَاعْ َت‬
And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah and be not divided
among yourselves
Al-Imraan (Qur'an 3:103)

Why Shi'ah?
The term "Shi'ah" is an adjective used by Muslims who follow the Imams
from the Family of the Prophet (Ahl al-Bayt). They use it not for reasons of
sectarianism or for causing divisions amongst Muslims. They use it because
the Qur'an uses it, the Prophet Muhammad used it, and the early Muslims
used it - before words such as Sunni or Salafi ever came into existence.

Shi'ah in the Qur'an

The word "Shi'ah" means "followers; members of a party". Allah has mentioned in the Qur'an that
some of His righteous servants were Shi'ah of His other righteous servants.

And most surely Abraham was among the Shi'ah of him (Qur'an 37:83) Al-Saafaat

َ‫لَ ْبرَاهِيم‬
ِ ِ‫وَإِنّ مِن شِيعَتِه‬

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 Shi'ah and the other being his enemy, and the
 one who was of his Shi'ah cried out to him for help against the one who was of his enemy
(Quran 28:15) Al-Qassas)

ِ‫خلَ ا ْلمَدِينَةَ عَلَى حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ مّنْ أَهِْلهَا فَوَجَدَ فِيهَا رَجُلَ ْين‬
َ َ‫وَد‬
‫يَقْتَتِلَنِ هَذَا مِن شِيعَتِهِ وَهَذَا مِنْ عَدُوّ ِه فَاسْتَغَاثَهُ الّذِي مِن‬
َ‫علَيْ ِه قَال‬
َ ‫شِيعَتِهِ عَلَى الّذِي مِنْ عَدُوّ ِه فَوَ َكزَهُ مُوسَى فَ َقضَى‬
ٌ‫ضلّ مّبِين‬ِ ‫هَذَا مِنْ عَمَلِ الشّيْطَانِ ِإنّهُ عَدُوّ ّم‬
Thus Shi'ah is an official word used by Allah in His Qur'an for His high rank Prophets as well as
their followers.

If one is a Shi'ah (follower) of the most righteous servants, then there is nothing wrong with being
Shi'ah. On the other hand, if one becomes the Shi'ah of a tyrant or a wrong-doer, he shall meet
with the fate of his leader. The Qur'an indicates that on the Day of Judgment people will come in
groups, and each group would have its leader (Imam) in front of it. Allah says:

(Remember) the day when we will call every people with their Imam
(Qur'an 17:71) Al-Israa

ُ‫يَوْمَ نَدْعُو كُلّ ُأنَاسٍ بِإِمَامِهِ ْم فَمَنْ أُو ِتيَ ِكتَابَه‬

On the Day of Judgment, the destiny of the "followers" of each group depends on the destiny of
their Imam (provided that they really followed that Imam). Allah mentioned in the Qur'an that
there are two types of Imams:

And We made them Imams who call to the fire, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall not be
assisted. And We caused a curse to follow them in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they
shall be of those made to appear hideous
(Qur'an 28:41-42)

َ‫صرُون‬
َ ‫وَجَ َعلْنَاهُمْ أَ ِئمّةً يَدْعُونَ ِإلَى النّارِ َويَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَ يُن‬
The Qur'an also reminds that there are Imams who are appointed by Allah as Guides for the
mankind:

And We made of them Imams to guide by Our command when they were patient, and they were
certain of Our communications
(Qur'an 32:24) As-Sajjada

‫جعَلْنَا مِ ْنهُمْ أَ ِئمّةً َيهْدُونَ بِأَ ْمرِنَا لَمّا صَ َبرُوا وَكَانُوا بِآيَا ِتنَا‬
َ َ‫و‬
َ‫يُوقِنُون‬
Certainly, the true followers (Shi'ah) of these Imams will be the real prosperous people on the
Day of Resurrection.

Shi'ah in the Hadith

In the history of Islam, "Shi'ah" has been especially used for the followers of Imam 'Ali (a). This
phrase is not something invented later! The first individual who used this term was the Messenger
of Allah himself. When the following verse of the Qur'an was revealed:

(As for) those who believe and do good, surely they are the best of creatures
(Qur'an 98:7) Al-Bayyana

ِ‫إِنّ الّذِينَ آ َمنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصّالِحَاتِ ُأوْلَ ِئكَ هُمْ خَ ْيرُ الْ َبرِيّة‬
The Prophet (s) said to Ali: "It is for you and your Shi'ah."

http://quran.al-
islam.com/Tafseer/DispTafsser.asp?l=arb&taf=TABARY&nType=1&nSora=98&nAya=7
Narrated by Ibn-e-Abbas (Abdullah Ibn-e-Abbas) Haddassna Ibn-e-Humeed- Qala: Sanna Eisa
bin Farqad, An-Abi Al-Jarood, an- Mohammed bin Ali “Aulayka Hum Khair-Al-Bareya” Fa-
Qaala-Al-nabi (Sal-Allah-o-Alaey Wa Aley-Hi-Wa-Salam “Anta Ya Ali Wa-Shiatoka.

ِ‫ك ُهمْ خَ ْيرُ الْبَرِيّة‬

‫ عَنْ َأبِي‬, ‫ ثنا عِيسَى بْن فَ ْرقَد‬: ‫ل‬
" ‫ت يَا عَلِيّ وَشِيعَتك‬ َ ْ‫ " َأن‬: َ‫وَسَلّم‬
َ ِ‫أُولَئ‬
َ ‫ قَا‬, ‫ح َميْد‬
ُ ‫ح ّدثَنَا ِابْن‬
َ - 29208 : ْ‫ َو َقد‬. ‫خيْر ا ْلبَ ِريّة‬ َ ْ‫ك مِنْ النّاس َفهُم‬ َ ‫ل ذَِل‬َ َ‫ن َفع‬ْ َ‫ م‬: ‫يَقُول‬
ّ‫خيْر ا ْلبَ ِريّة } َفقَالَ ال ّنبِي‬
َ ْ‫حمّد بْن عَِليّ { أُوَل ِئكَ ُهم‬ َ ُ‫ن م‬ ْ َ‫ ع‬, ‫الْجَارُود‬

He further said: "I swear by the one who controls my life that this man (Ali) and his Shi'ah
shall secure deliverance on the Day of Resurrection."

 Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur, (Cairo) vol. 6, p. 379

 Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tafsir Jami' al-Bayan, (Cairo) vol. 33, p. 146
 Ibn Asakir, Ta'rikh Dimashq, vol. 42, p. 333, p. 371
 Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, (Cairo) Ch. 11, section 1, pp
246-247

The Prophet (s) said: "O Ali! (On the day of Judgment) you and your Shi'ah will come
toward Allah well-pleased and well-pleasing, and there will come to Him your enemies angry
and stiff-necked (i.e., their head forced up).

 Ibn al-'Athir, al-Nihaya fi gharib al-hadith, (Beirut, 1399), vol. 4 p. 106

 al-Tabarani, Mu'jam al-Kabir, vol 1 p 319
 al-Haythami, Majma' al-Zawa'id, vol. 9, number 14168

The Prophet (s) said: "Glad tiding O Ali! Verily you and your Shi'ah will be in Paradise."

 Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Fadha'il al-Sahaba, (Beirut) vol. 2, p. 655

 Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani, Hilyatul Awliya, vol. 4, p. 329
 Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi , Tarikh Baghdad, (Beirut) vol. 12, p. 289
 Al-Tabarani, Mu'jam al-Kabir, vol. 1, p. 319
 Al-Haythami, Majma' al-Zawa'id, vol. 10, pp. 21-22
 Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikh Dimashq, vol. 42, pp. 331-332
Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, (Cairo) Ch. 11, section 1, p. 247

‫ضهُمْ عَلَى الْ َملَئِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنِبئُونِي‬

َ ‫وَ َعلّمَ آدَمَ الَسْمَاء كُّلهَا ثُمّ َع َر‬
Baqra-2 -}31{ َ‫بِأَسْمَاء هَـؤُلء إِن كُنتُمْ صَا ِدقِي‬
And He taught Adam all the names, then presented them to the angels; then He said: Tell
me the names of those if you are right.

NAMES

Angels are obedient beings. There is no "becoming" (change) in the angelic sphere. Each
of them has a fixed status to carry out a particular function. Man, on the other hand, made
of matter, endowed with vast potentialities and scope for progress and development, is fit
to reflect or to react to the various aspects of the higher will. The potentiality of matter
reveals itself in many forms, but it is only through the organism of man that its highly
refined potentiality develops into intellect, reason and contemplation, the essential
requirements for wisdom and knowledge. According to verse 75 of Sad, Allah has created
Adam with His two hands, matter and spirit, which gives man the distinctive power of
expression, termed as biyan by the Quran. This expressive power is related to His
vicegerency, because the vicegerent, as the representative of the principal, gives
expression to His will and command. The higher the ability of recepiency and the
reflective power, the greater will be the scope and canvas of representation. It is on this
basis that all the messengers and prophets of Allah will be standing under the standard of
the Holy Prophet, which will be in the hand of Ali, on the day of resurrection.

The names Adam learned from Allah were not in the knowledge of the angels, because
these names did not refer to the phenomena known to them. The hum of aradahum does
not refer to the "names" but to the "named", and as a plural term cannot be used for Allah,
therefore, it cancels the possibility of interpreting these names as the names of Allah.
When reference is made in Arabic to several objects of inanimate nature, a singular
feminine pronoun is used, but when the objects are conscious beings, a plural masculine
pronoun is used, as done here through aradahum, to point out the "named ones". If the
object referred to is inanimate, the singular feminine pronoun, tilka or hadhihi should
have been used. Here the personal demonstrative pronoun refers to the conscious beings
of a superior-most status, knowledge of whose names entitled Adam to the vicegerency of
Allah. Thus the existence of the beings of the highest status has been established. Due to
the affinity between Adam and these highest beings (alin), he was capable to function as
the medium of their manifestation. Verse 4 of al Tin says that the status of man, in the
order of creation, is the highest in excellence. The alin, the highest beings, referred to in
this verse, are the most perfect and the most blessed human beings, for whose
manifestation in the arc of ascent, Adam was chosen. Till then the names of the highest
beings along with the insight and vision of their realities, their latent qualities and
inherent endowments were unknown to the angels.

-}68{ َ‫َوِإنّهُ لَذُو عِلْمٍ لّمَا عَلّ ْمنَاهُ وَلَـكِنّ أَ ْكَثرَ النّاسِ لَ يَعْلَمُون‬
Yusuf -12
And surely he was possessed of knowledge because, We had given him knowledge, but
most people do not know.

Najam-An – 53 -}5{ ‫عَلّمَهُ شَدِيدُ الْ ُقوَى‬

,The Lord of Mighty Power has taught him
He was taught by one Mighty in Power,

-}66{ ‫قَالَ لَهُ مُوسَى َهلْ َأتّبِعُكَ عَلَى أَن تُعَلّ َمنِ مِمّا عُلّمْتَ رُشْدًا‬
Kahf-Al -18
Musa said to him: Shall I follow you on condition that you should teach me right
knowledge of what you have been taught?

-}14 { ‫ِإّننِي َأنَا اللّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلّا أَنَا فَا ْعبُ ْدنِي َوَأقِمِ الصّلَاةَ لِذِ ْكرِي‬
Haa-Taa – 20
Surely I am Allah, there is no God but I, therefore serve Me and keep up prayer for My
remembrance:
35 -}28 { ٌ‫ِإنّمَا يَخْشَى اللّهَ ِمنْ ِعبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاء إِنّ اللّهَ َعزِيزٌ غَفُور‬
Faatir -
Those of His servants only who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah; surely Allah is
Mighty, Forgiving.

29 -}43{ َ‫ضرُِبهَا لِلنّاسِ وَمَا يَعْقُِلهَا إِلّا الْعَالِمُون‬

ْ ‫َوتِلْكَ الْأَ ْمثَالُ َن‬
Ankaboot-Al –
And (as for) these examples, We set them forth for men, and none understand them but
the learned.

‫َبلْ ُهوَ آيَاتٌ َبيّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِآيَاِتنَا إِلّا‬
Ankaboot-Al – 29 -}49{ َ‫الظّالِمُون‬
Nay! These are clear communications in the breasts of those who are granted knowledge;
and none deny Our communications except the unjust.

‫حقّ َوَيهْدِي‬
َ ْ‫َوَيرَى الّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ الّذِي أُنزِلَ إَِليْكَ مِن ّربّكَ ُهوَ ال‬
Saba -34-}6 { ِ‫صرَاطِ الْ َعزِيزِ الْحَمِيد‬
ِ ‫إِلَى‬
And those to whom the knowledge has been given see that which has been revealed to
you from your Lord, that is the truth, and it guides into the path of the Mighty, the
Praised.

‫َي ْرفَعِ اللّهُ الّذِينَ آ َمنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ وَاللّهُ بِمَا‬
Mujaadila-Al-58 -}11{ ٌ‫تَعْمَلُونَ َخبِي‬
Allah will give you ample, and when it is said: Rise up, then rise up. Allah will exalt
those of you who believe, and those who are given knowledge, in high degrees; and Allah
is Aware of what you do.
But how could the Prophet (s) use such a divisive term?

Was Prophet Abraham a sectarian? How about Prophet Noah and Prophet Moses? If Shi'ah was a
divisive or sectarian term, neither Allah would use it for His high rank Prophets nor would
Prophet Muhammad (s) have praised them.

It should be emphasized that the Prophet (s) never wished to divide Muslims into groups. He
ordered all people to follow Imam Ali (a) as his agent during his lifetime, and as his Successor
and Caliph after him. Unfortunately those who heeded the Prophet's wish were few and were
known as "Shi'ah of Ali". They were subjected to all types of discrimination and persecution, and
suffered from the day that the Mercy to Mankind, Prophet Muhammad (s), passed away. If all the
Muslims had obeyed what the Prophet wished, then there wouldn't exist any group or school
within Islam. In a tradition, the Prophet (s) said:

"Shortly after me discord and hatred will arise among you, when such a situation arises, go
and search out Ali because he can separate the Truth from falsehood"
 Ali Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-'Ummal, (Multan) vol. 2 p. 612, number 32964
Regarding the Qur'anic verse quoted earlier, some Sunni scholars narrated from Imam Ja'far al-
Sadiq (a), the sixth Shi'ah Imam from the Family of the Prophet (Ahl al-Bayt), that:

"We are the Rope of Allah about whom Allah has said: And hold fast, all of you together, to the
Rope of Allah and be not divided among yourselves
 Al-Tha'labi, Tafsir al-Kabir, under commentary of verse 3:103
 Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, (Cairo) Ch. 11, section 1, p. 233
Thus, if Allah denounces sectarianism, He denounces those who separated from His Rope, and
not those who hold fast to it!

Conclusion:
We have shown that the term Shi'ah has been used in Qur'an for the followers of the great
servants of Allah, and in the traditions of the Prophet for the followers of Imam Ali (a). One who
follows such a divinely appointed Guide is safe from the disputes in the religion and has grasped
the Strong Rope of Allah, and has been given the glad tidings of Paradise.

The Term "Shia" in Quran

and Hadith
 
The word "Shia" means "followers; members of party". As
such, the term "Shia" alone has no negative or positive
meaning unless we specify the leader of the party. If one is a
Shia (follower) of the most righteous servants, then there is
nothing wrong with being Shia, especially if Allah has
assigned the leader of such party. On the other hand, if one
becomes the Shia a tyrant or a wrongdoer, he shall meet
with the fate of his leader. In fact, Quran indicates that on
the Day of Judgment people will come in groups, and each
group has its leader in front of it. Allah, to whom belong
Might and Majesty, said:

One day We shall call every group of people by their

respective (IMAM)

Imams. (Quran 17:71)

In the Day of Judgment, the destiny of the "followers" of

each group highly depends on the destiny of his Imam
(provided that they really followed that Imam). Allah
mentioned in Quran that there are two types of Imams.
Some Imams are those who invite people to Hell fire. They
are tyrannical leaders of each era (like Pharaoh, etc.):

And We made them (but) Imams inviting to

the Fire; and on the Day of Judgment no help
shall they find. In this world We continued to
curse them; and on the Day of Judgment they
will be among the hateful. (Quran 28:41-42).

Certainly, being the members of the parties of such Satanic

Imams has been severely denounced in Quran, and the
followers of such parties will meet the fate of their leaders.
However, Quran also reminds that there are Imams who
are appointed by Allah as Guides for the mankind:

"And We ASSIGNED from among them some

Imams who GUIDE by Our authority since
they were patient and believed firmly in Our
Signs." (Quran 32:24)

Certainly, the true followers (Shia) of these Imams will be

the real prosperous on the day of resurrection. Thus being a
Shia does not mean anything, unless we know the Shia of
whom. Allah mentioned in Quran that Some of His
righteous servants were Shia of His other righteous
servants. An example was Prophet Abraham who was
mentioned in Quran specifically as the Shia of Noah:

"And most surely Abraham was among the

Shia of him (i.e., Noah)" (Quran 37:83)

(Notice that the word "Shia" is explicitly used, word-by-

word, in the above verse as well as the following verse.) In
another verse, Quran talks about the Shia of Moses versus
the enemies of Moses:

"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)

In the above verse of Quran, one is named the Shia

of Moses (AS) and the other one is named the
enemy of Moses, and the people at that time were
either the Shia or the enemy of Moses (AS). Thus
Shia is an official word used by Allah in His Quran
for His high rank prophets as well as their
followers. Do you want to say Prophet Abraham
was sectarian? How about Prophet Noah and
Prophet Moses?

If somebody calls himself a Shia, it is not due to any

sectarianism, nor any innovation. It is because Quran has
used the phrase for some of His best servants. The above
verses that I mentioned in support of Shia, has used this
term singular form (i.e., one group of followers). This
means that it has special meaning, such as: THE Shia of
Noah (AS), THE Shia of Moses (AS). Also in the History of
Islam, Shia has been specially used for the "followers of
Ali". The first individual who used this term was the
Messenger of Allah himself:

The Messenger of Allah said to Ali: "Glad

tiding O Ali! Verily you
and your companions and your Shia
(followers) will be in Paradise."

Sunni references:
(1) Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p655

(2) Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v4, p329

(3) Tarikh, by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, v12, p289

(4) al-Awsat, by al-Tabarani

(5) Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v10, pp 21-22

(6) Al-Darqunti, who said this tradition has been

transmitted via numerous authorities.

(7) Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami , Ch.

11, section 1, p247

Thus the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) used to say the

phrase of "Shia of Ali". This phrase is not something
invented later! Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF) said that
the TRUE followers of imam Ali will go to Paradise, and
this is a great felicity. Also Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari
narrated that:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said:

"The Shia of Ali
are the real victorious in the day of
resurrection/rising"

Sunni references:

- Al-Manaqib Ahmad, as mentioned in:

- Yanabi al-Mawaddah, by al-Qundoozi al-Hanafi, p62

- Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Hafidh

Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, who quotes the tradition as
follows: "We were with the Holy Prophet when Ali
came towards us. The Holy Prophet said: He and his
Shia will aquire salvation on the day of judgment."
The "day of rising" may also refer to the day of rising of al-
Mahdi (AS). But in more general term, it means the day of
judgment. Also it is narrated that:

The Messenger of Allah said: "O Ali! On the

Day of Judgment I shall resort to Allah and
you will resort to me and your children will
resort to you and the Shia will resort to
them. Then you will see where they carry us.
(i.e. to Paradise)"

Sunni reference: Rabi al-Abrar, by al-Zamakhshari

Furthermore, it is narrated that:

The Messenger of Allah said: "O Ali! (On the

day of Judgment) you and your Shia will
come toward Allah well pleased and well-
pleasing, and there will come to Him your
enemies angry and stiff-necked (i.e., their
head forced up).

Sunni references:

- Al-Tabarani, on the authority of Imam Ali

- Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.

11, section 1, p236

A more complete version of the tradition which has also

been reported by the Sunnis, is as follows:

Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated: When the verse

"Those who believe and do righteous deeds
are the best of the creation (Quran 98:7)"
was revealed, the Messenger of Allah
(PBUH&HF) said to Ali: "They are you and
your Shia." He continued: "O Ali! (On the
day of Judgment) you and your Shia will
come toward Allah well pleased and well
pleasing, and your enemies will come angry
with their head forced up. Ali said: "Who are
my enemies?" The Prophet (PBUH&HF)
replied: "He who disassociates himself from
you and curses you. And glad tiding to those
 who reach first under the shadow of al-'Arsh
on the day of resurrection." Ali asked: "Who
are they, O the Messenger of Allah?" He
replied: "Your Shia, O Ali, and those who
love you."

Sunni references:

- Al-Hafidh Jamaluddin al-Dharandi, on the authority of

Ibn Abbas

- Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch. 11, section 1, pp

246-247

Then Ibn Hajar provides a bizarre commentary for the first

tradition, saying:

The Shia of Ali are the Ahlussunnah since

they are those who love Ahlul-Bayt as Allah
and His Prophet ordered. But others (i.e.,
other than Sunnis) are the enemies of Ahlul-
Bayt in reality for the love outside the
boundary of law is the great enmity, and that
was the reason for their fate. Also, the
enemies of Ahlul-Bayt were al-Khawarij and
their alike from Syria, not Muawiyah and
other companions because they were
Muteawweloon, and for them is a good
reward, and for Ali and his Shia is a good
reward!

Sunni reference: al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch.

11, section 1, and p236

And this is how Sunni scholars cope with the prophetic

traditions in favor of "Shia of Ali"! They say that they are
the real Shia!

Let us look at one more tradition in this regard:

The Messenger of Allah said to Ali: "The first

four individuals who will enter the Paradise
are me, you, al-Hasan, and al-Hussein, and
our progeny will be behind us, and our wives
 will be behind our progeny, and our Shia
will be on our right side and in our company."

Sunni references:

- Al-Manaqib, by Ahmad

- Al-Tabarani, as quoted in:

- Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch. 11,

section 1, p246

From the above pieces of evidence, Allah in Quran uses the

word “Shia” for His prophets as well as their followers.
Further, His blessed Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH&HF) has
repeatedly used this word for the followers of Imam Ali
(AS). The word Shia is used here in its special meaning, and
moreover, it is not in plural form (Parties), rather the above
verses and traditions are referring to a special party, i.e.,
one single party. If Shia meant sectarian, neither Allah
would use it for His high rank prophets nor Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH&HF) would have praised them.

However there are some verses in Quran, which uses the

plural form of Shia that is "Shi-ya'a" which means
"Parties/groups". This is a general meaning of this term,
and not the special meaning in singular form, which has
been given, in previous examples. Of course, Allah accepts
only one single party and the rest are severely denounced
because they have separated from that unique party. So it is
clear why Allah denounced "Groups/Parties/sects" (plural
form) who separated from that unique group in some
verses of Quran. There can't be two righteous groups (with
conflicting ideas) at the same time, because between the
two leaders one is surely better and more qualified, and
thus the claims and the motives of the other leader goes
under question.

However I did not locate the exact term

of "Ahlussunnah wal-Jama'ah", nor did
I find "al-Wahhabiyyah", "al-
Salafiyyah" anywhere in the Holy
Quran or the traditions of the Prophet. I
agree that we should follow the Sunnah of Prophet, but I
would like to discover the origin of the exact term here. We
Shia are proud to follow the Sunnah of Prophet. However,
the question is that which Sunnah is genuine and which one
is not. The word "Sunnah" by itself does not serve the
purpose of knowledge. All Muslims irrespective to their
persuasions claim that they follow the Sunnah of Prophet
(PBUH&HF). Please refer to the article titled "Quran and
Ahlul-Bayt" for a detailed discussion in this regard.

It should be emphasized that the Messenger of Allah never

wished to divide Muslims into groups. Prophet ORDERED
all people to follow Imam Ali (AS) as his agent during his
lifetime, and as his Caliph after him. Prophet wished
everybody does that. But unfortunately those who heeded
him were few and were known as "Shia of Ali" who were
subject to all sort of discrimination and prosecution, and
suffered from day one of the demise of the Mercy to
Mankind, Muhammad (PBUH&HF). If every one (or say
the majority Muslims) had obeyed what prophet wished,
then there wouldn't exist any group or school within Islam.
Allah said in Quran:

"Hold fast to the Rope of Allah, all of you

together and do not separate" (Quran 3:103)"

The Rope of Allah, which we should not separate from, are

the Ahlul-Bayt. In fact, some Sunni scholars narrated from
Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS) saying:

"We are the Rope of Allah about whom

Allah has said: 'Hold fast to
the Rope of Allah, all of you together and do
not diverge (3:103)'"

Sunni references:

- Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch. 11,

section 1, p233

- Tafsir al-Kabir, by al-Tha'labi, under commentary of verse

3:103

Thus, if Allah denounces the sectarianism, He denounces

those who separated from His Rope, and not those who
hold fast to it! Also some said the Rope of Allah is Quran.
This is also true. But by looking at the following tradition
narrated by Umm Salama who said:

The Messenger of Allah said: "Ali is with

Quran, and Quran is with Ali. They shall not
separate from each other till they both return
to me by the Pool (of Paradise)."

Sunni references:

- Al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p124 on the authority of

Umm Salama

- Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch. 9, section 2, pp

191,194

- Al-Awsat, by al-Tabarani; also in al-Saghir

- Tarikh al-Khulafa, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p173

Then we can conclude that Imam Ali is * the Quran

verbatim *. That is, Imam Ali is the Strong Rope of Allah
also, because they (Quran and Ali) are non-separable. In
fact, there are a huge number of traditions in authentic
Sunni sources where Prophet said Quran and Ahlul-Bayt
are inseparable and if Muslims want to remain in the right
path, they should stick to BOTH of them. (Please refer to
the article titled: Quran and Ahlul-Bayt). Therefore, one
can conclude that those who separated from Ahlul-Bayt are
the sectarian who divided into sects and were denounced by
Allah and His prophet due to their divergence.

In fact, the opinion of majority is not a good criteria to

distinguish the false from the truth. If you look at the
Quran, you will see that Quran severely denounces the
majority of by frequently saying, "the majority do not
understand", "the majority do not use their logic", "the
majority follow their whims"...

In another verse, Allah said:

"You are the best nation (Ummah) that has

been raised up for the (benefit of) people. You
enjoin the good and forbid the evil..." (Quran
3:110).
The best nation is also the Ahlul-Bayt. Let us remember
that according to Quran, "nation" does not mean the whole
people. This is even clear from the above verse that such
Ummah (nation) are raised FOR benefiting the people.
Thus Ummah can be only a subset of people and not the
whole people. In fact one person can be a nation.
Sometimes the act of a single person is worthier than the
deeds of the whole nation. This was the case for Prophet
Muhammad, Imam Ali, as well as the case for Prophet
Abraham, peace be upon them all. Quran states that
Abraham (AS) was a nation (Ummah), meaning that his
deeds were more valuable than all other people. Allah
stated:

"Lo! Abraham was a nation (Ummah) who

was obedient to Allah, by
nature upright, and he was not of the
idolaters" (Quran 16:120)

Thus, one single individual can be a nation in the language

of Quran. As for the Verse 3:100, it is interesting to note
that some Sunni scholars have narrated from Abu Ja'far
(Imam Baqir (AS)) that:

Abu Ja'far (AS) said about the verse 'You are

the best nation raised up for the (benefit of)
people...(3:110)': "The Members of the
House of the Prophet."

Sunni references:

- Ibn Abi Hatam, as mentioned in:

- Al-Durr al-Manthoor, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti under

commentary of verse

3:110 of holy Quran.

Also Allah mentioned in Quran:

"O' you who believe! Fear Allah and be with

the truthful"
(Quran 9:119)

According to some Sunni Commentaries, "the truthful"

means Imam Ali (AS):
Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Hafidh Jalaluddin
al-Suyuti, two reports: one from Ibn Mardawayh by Ibn Abbas and the
second from Ibn Asakir by Abi Ja'far (AS).

This means that people should have feared Allah and

should not have separated from Imam Ali (AS) after the
demise of Prophet (PBUH&HF). This unfortunately did not
happen at large, and therefore, unfortunate divisions
followed it.

With respect to the world al-Siddeeq -- "The Truthful",

there are many Sunni narrations in which the Messenger of
Allah said:

The Truthful are three: Hazqeel (who was) the

believer of the family of Pharaoh (see Quran
40:28), and Habeeb al-Najjar (who was) the
believer of the family of Yaasin (see Quran
36:20), and Ali Ibn Abi Talib who is the most
virtuous one among them (see Quran 9:119)."

Sunni references:

- Abu Nu'aym and Ibn Asakir, on the authority of Abu Layla

- Ibn al-Najjar, on the authority of Ibn Abbas

- Al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch. 9,

section 2, pp 192-193

In conclusion, we have shown in this article that the term

Shia has been used in Quran for the followers of the great
servants of Allah, and in the traditions of the Prophet for
the followers of Imam Ali (AS). One who follows such
divinely appointed Guide is safe from the disputes in the
religion and has grasped the Strong Rope of Allah, and has
been given the glad tiding of Paradise.

=============

Side Comments
=============

A Sunni brother wrote: Sunni means the one who follows

the traditions (Sunnah) of the Prophet, and this is
supported by the following verse of Quran:

Certainly you have in the Apostle of Allah an

excellent exemplar (beautiful pattern of
conduct) for him who hopes in Allah and the
latter day and remembers Allah much. (Quran
33:21)

My comment was as follows:

1) In the above verse neither the word "Sunnah" nor

any of its derivatives has been used. As I mentioned
earlier, Allah has used the terminology of "Muslim"
in its exact form, letter by letter, in the verse 22:78.
Also Allah used the word "Shia" again in exact form
in verse 37:83 for the Prophet Abraham. However,
Allah never used the words such as "Sunni" or as
"Ahlussunnah" for the followers of the Prophet
(PBUH&HF).

2) If you say we do not find such exact terminology,

but we understand that the Prophet is our pattern,
then one may say that Quran testifies that Prophet
Abraham (AS) was a pattern for us as well:

"Indeed, there is for you an

excellent exemplar (beautiful
pattern of conduct) in
Abraham..." (Quran 60:4)

Notice that in the above verse, the phrase, which has

been used for Prophet Abraham (AS), is exactly the
same as that of the previous quoted verse used for
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF). That is true for
the following verse as well:

Certainly there is for you in

them (Abraham and his
followers) an excellent exemplar
(beautiful pattern of conduct)
for him who fears Allah and the
last day; and whoever turns
 back, then surely Allah is the
Self-sufficient, the Praised.
(Quran 60:6)

Now please tell us if we can be called a Sunni

because we follow Abraham's traditions? Certainly
Prophet Muhammad followed the tradition of
Prophet Abraham, yet Muhammad (PBUH&HF) was
never called Sunni, as that result. Similarly, Prophet
Abraham followed the traditions of Prophet Noah,
but he was never called a Sunni. Quran mentioned
that he was a Shia of Noah.

3) The word "Sunnah" has used in Quran to refer to

the custom of God and the way Allah conducts the
affairs and the rules governing the universe
(Sunnatullah). But here we are discussing the word
Sunnah referred to the Prophet (PBUH&HF), and
not the rules governing the universe. As such we are
looking for the term such as "Sunnatu Rasoolillah".

4) A word XXXX can be used in two ways:

XXXXX by definition

Or

XXXXX by label

All Muslims are Sunni by definition, but only groups

of people, who are famous to this name, are Sunni by
label. How they got such label needs to be
investigated though.

Also, all Muslims are "obedient" by definition, but

there is no special group among Muslims who are
called "obedient". This shows that having a certain
characteristic by definition does not force us to
specify such characteristic in our label. In fact, in
most cases (not all cases) the label is just a
stereotype and does not reflect the real attributes of
the holder of such label. Sometime the label is used
to allure people to specific version of something,
which is found in various versions, each of which is
claimed to be genuine one, by different groups. As
 such, it wouldn't be an intelligent practice, in
general, to identify the genuineness of something
with its label.

Surely, the followers of the Prophet are supposed to

follow his Sunnah by definition. But were they called
Sunni when Prophet Muhammad was alive? Or even
few years after his demise? In other words, the
question to be answered is: When did the title
"Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah" come into existence in
the history of Islam for a specific group of Muslims?

َ‫حي‬
ِ ‫ل شَهِيدٌ ِبيْنِي َوبَ ْينَكُمْ وَأُو‬ ّ ‫ي شَيْءٍ َأكْ َب ُر شَهَاد ًة قُلِ ا‬ ّ ‫قُلْ َأ‬
َ‫إَِليّ هَذَا الْ ُقرْآنُ لُن ِذرَكُم بِهِ وَمَن َبلَغَ أَ ِئنّكُمْ َل َتشْهَدُونَ أَنّ مَع‬
‫خرَى قُل لّ َأشْهَ ُد ُقلْ إِنّمَا هُوَ ِإلَـهٌ وَاحِدٌ وَإِنّنِي‬ ْ ُ‫الّ آِلهَةً أ‬
}19{ َ‫شرِكُون‬ ْ ‫َبرِيءٌ مّمّا ُت‬
[Shakir 6:19] Say: What thing is the weightiest in testimony? Say:
Allah is witness between you and me; and this Quran has been
revealed to me that with it I may warn you and whomsoever it
reaches. Do you really bear witness that there are other gods with
Allah? Say: I do not bear witness. Say: He is only one Allah, and
surely I am clear of that which you set up (with Him).

[Yusufali 6:19] Say: "What thing is most weighty in evidence?" Say:

"Allah is witness between me and you; This Qur'an hath been revealed
to me by inspiration, that I may warn you and all whom it reaches.
Can ye possibly bear witness that besides Allah there is another
Allah?" Say: "Nay! I cannot bear witness!" Say: "But in truth He is the
one Allah, and I truly am innocent of (your blasphemy of) joining
others with Him."

[Pickthal 6:19] Say (O Muhammad): What thing is of most weight in

testimony? Say: Allah is Witness between you and me. And this Qur'an
hath been inspired in me, that I may warn therewith you and
whomsoever it may reach. Do ye in sooth bear witness that there are
gods beside Allah? Say: I bear no such witness. Say: He is only One
Allah. Lo! I am innocent of that which ye associate (with Him).
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 6:19]
The mission of the Holy Prophet was universal. The Holy Prophet was
sent to the whole mankind as a messenger for all times. Matthew 10:
5, 6; and 15: 22 to 26 confirm that Isa was sent to the lost sheep of
the house of Israil. Also refer to Araf: 158; Anbiya: 107 and Saba: 28.
The Quran, revealed to him, is a divine evidence of his prophethood.