Shia Islam

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Shia Islam encompasses various denominations and subgroups,^[3] all bound by the belief that the leader of the Muslim community (Ummah) should hail from Ahl al-Bayt, the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[14] It embodies a completely independent system of religious interpretation and political authority in the Muslim world.^[15][16]

Alī: Muhammad's Rightful Successor

Shia Muslims believe that just as a

The Shia version of the Shahada, the Islamic profession of faith, differs from that of the Sunnīs.^[21] The Sunnī version of the Shahada states "There is no god except God, Muhammad is the messenger of God", but to this declaration of faith Shia Muslims append the phrase Ali-un-Waliullah (علي ولي الله: "Ali is the Wali (custodian) of God"). The basis for the Shia belief in Ali as the Wali of God is derived from the Quranic verse 5:55.

This additional phrase to the declaration of faith embodies the Shia emphasis on the inheritance of authority through Muhammad's family and lineage. The three clauses of the Shia version of the Shahada thus address the fundamental Islamic beliefs of Tawḥīd (unity and oneness of God), Nubuwwah (the prophethood of Muhammad), and Imamah (the Imamate, leadership of the faith).^[22]

Infallibility (Ismah)

Ismah is the concept of

According to Shia Muslim theologians, infallibility is considered a rational, necessary precondition for spiritual and religious guidance. They argue that since God has commanded absolute obedience from these figures, they must only order that which is right. The state of infallibility is based on the Shia interpretation of the verse of purification.^[26][27] Thus, they are the most pure ones, the only immaculate ones preserved from, and immune to, all uncleanness.^[28] It does not mean that supernatural powers prevent them from committing a sin, but due to the fact that they have absolute belief in God, they refrain from doing anything that is a sin.^[23]

They also have a complete knowledge of God's will. They are in possession of all knowledge brought by the angels to the prophets (nabī) and the messengers (rāsūl). Their knowledge encompasses the totality of all times. Thus, they are believed to act without fault in religious matters.^[29] Shia Muslims regard Ali as the successor of Muhammad not only ruling over the entire Muslim community in justice, but also interpreting the Islamic faith, practices, and its esoteric meaning. Ali is regarded as a "perfect man" (al-insan al-kamil) similar to Muhammad, according to the Shia viewpoint.^[30]

Occultation (Ghaybah)

The Occultation is an eschatological belief held in various denominations of Shia Islam concerning a messianic figure, the hidden and last Imam known as "the Mahdi", that one day shall return on Earth and fill the world with justice. According to the doctrine of Twelver Shīʿīsm, the main goal of Imam Mahdi will be to establish an Islamic state and to apply Islamic laws that were revealed to Muhammad. The Quran does not contain verses on the Imamate, which is the basic doctrine of Shia Islam.^[31] Some Shia subsects, such as the Zaydī Shias and Nizārī Ismāʿīlīs, do not believe in the idea of the Occultation. The groups which do believe in it differ as to which lineage of the Imamate is valid, and therefore which individual has gone into Occultation. They believe there are many signs that will indicate the time of his return.

Twelver Shia Muslims believe that the prophesied Mahdi and

Further, he claims that with him is the sword of the Messenger of God, his coat of arms, his Lamam (pennon) and his helmet. In addition, he mentions that with him is the flag of the Messenger of God, the victorious. With him is the Staff of Moses, the ring of Solomon, son of David, and the tray on which Moses used to offer his offerings. With him is the name that whenever the Messenger of God would place it between the Muslims and pagans no arrow from the pagans would reach the Muslims. With him is the similar object that angels brought.^[35]

Al-Ṣādiq also narrated that the passing down of armaments is synonymous to receiving the Imamat (leadership), similar to how the

According to Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar, God gives humans the faculty of reason and argument. Also, God orders humans to spend time thinking carefully on creation while he refers to all creations as his signs of power and glory. These signs encompass all of the universe. Furthermore, there is a similarity between humans as the little world and the universe as the large world. God does not accept the faith of those who follow him without thinking and only with imitation, but also God blames them for such actions. In other words, humans have to think about the universe with reason and intellect, a faculty bestowed on us by God. Since there is more insistence on the faculty of intellect among Shia Muslims, even evaluating the claims of someone who claims prophecy is on the basis of intellect.^[36][37]

Practices

Shia religious practices, such as prayers, differ only slightly from the Sunnīs. While all

Shia Muslims celebrate the following annual holidays:

• Eid ul-Fitr, which marks the end of fasting during the month of Ramadan
• Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca
• Eid al-Ghadeer, which is the anniversary of the Ghadir Khum, the occasion when Muhammad announced Ali's Imamate before a multitude of Muslims.^[38]
  Eid al-Ghadeer is held on the 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah.
• The
  Day of Ashura for Shia Muslims commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, brother of Hasan and grandson of Muhammad, who was killed by Yazid ibn Muawiyah in Karbala (central Iraq). Ashura is a day of deep mourning which occurs on the 10th of Muharram
  .
• Arba'een commemorates the suffering of the women and children of Ḥusayn ibn Ali's household. After Ḥusayn was killed, they were marched over the desert, from Karbala (central Iraq) to Shaam (Damascus, Syria). Many children (some of whom were direct descendants of Muhammad) died of thirst and exposure along the route. Arbaein occurs on the 20th of Safar
  , 40 days after Ashura.
• 6th Shīʿīte Imam.^[39]
• Fāṭimah's birthday on 20th of Jumada al-Thani. This day is also considered as the "'women and mothers' day"^[40]
• Ali's birthday on 13th of Rajab.
• Sha'aban
  .
• Laylat al-Qadr
  , anniversary of the night of the revelation of the Quran.
• Eid al-Mubahila celebrates a meeting between the Ahl al-Bayt
  (household of Muhammad) and a Christian deputation from Najran. Al-Mubahila is held on the 24th of Dhu al-Hijjah.

Most of the Shīʿa sacred places and heritage sites in Saudi Arabia have been destroyed by the Al Saud-Wahhabi armies of the Ikhwan, the most notable being the tombs of the Imams located in the Al-Baqi' cemetery in 1925.^[43] In 2006, a bomb destroyed the shrine of Al-Askari Mosque.^[44] (See: Anti-Shi'ism).

Purity

Shia orthodoxy, particularly in Twelver Shi'ism, has considered non-Muslims as agents of impurity (Najāsat). This categorization sometimes extends to kitābῑ, individuals belonging to the People of the Book, with Jews explicitly labeled as impure by certain Shia religious scholars.^[45][46][47] Armenians in Iran, who have historically played a crucial role in the Iranian economy, received relatively more lenient treatment.^[46]

Shi'ite theologians and mujtahids (jurists), such as Muḥammad Bāqir al-Majlisῑ, held that Jews' impurity extended to the point where they were advised to stay at home on rainy or snowy days to prevent contaminating their Shia neighbors. Ayatollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of Iran from 1979 to 1989, asserted that every part of an unbeliever's body, including hair, nails, and bodily secretions, is impure. However, the current leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, stated in a fatwa that Jews and other Peoples of the Book are not inherently impure, and touching the moisture on their hands does not convey impurity.^[45][48][47]

History

The original Shia identity referred to the followers of Imam Ali,

The Shia, originally known as the "partisans" of Ali, Muhammad's cousin and Fatima's husband, first emerged as a distinct movement during the First Fitna from 656 to 661 CE. Shia doctrine holds that Ali was meant to lead the community after Muhammad's death in 632. Historians dispute over the origins of Shia Islam, with many Western scholars positing that Shīʿīsm began as a political faction rather than a truly religious movement.^[52][53] Other scholars disagree, considering this concept of religious-political separation to be an anachronistic application of a Western concept.^[54]

Shia Muslims believe that Muhammad designated Ali as his heir during a speech at Ghadir Khumm.^[14] The point of contention between different Muslim sects arises when Muhammad, whilst giving his speech, gave the proclamation "Anyone who has me as his mawla, has Ali as his mawla".^{[9][55][56][57]} Some versions add the additional sentence "O God, befriend the friend of Ali and be the enemy of his enemy".^[58] Sunnis maintain that Muhammad emphasized the deserving friendship and respect for Ali. In contrast, Shia Muslims assert that the statement unequivocally designates Ali as Muhammad's appointed successor.^{[9][59][60][61]} Shia sources also record further details of the event, such as stating that those present congratulated Ali and acclaimed him as Amir al-Mu'minin ("commander of the believers").^[58]

When Muhammad died in 632 CE,

Upon the death of Ali, his elder son

Yazid and saw Ḥasan as an obstacle.^[65]

Ḥusayn ibn Ali, Ali's younger son and brother to Hasan, initially resisted calls to lead the Muslims against Mu'awiya and reclaim the caliphate. In 680 CE, Mu'awiya died and passed the caliphate to his son Yazid, and breaking the treaty with Hasan ibn Ali. Yazid asked Husayn to swear allegiance (bay'ah) to him. Ali's faction, having expected the caliphate to return to Ali's line upon Mu'awiya's death, saw this as a betrayal of the peace treaty and so Ḥusayn rejected this request for allegiance. There was a groundswell of support in Kufa for Ḥusayn to return there and take his position as caliph and Imam, so Husayn collected his family and followers in Medina and set off for Kufa.^[14]

Arba'een

En route to Kufa, Husayn was blocked by an army of Yazid's men, which included people from Kufa, near Karbala (modern Iraq); rather than surrendering, Husayn and his followers chose to fight. In the Battle of Karbala, Ḥusayn and approximately 72 of his family members and followers were killed, and Husayn's head was delivered to Yazid in Damascus. The Shi'a community regard Husayn ibn Ali as a martyr (shahid), and count him as an Imam from the Ahl al-Bayt. The Battle of Karbala and martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali is often cited as the definitive separation between the Shia and Sunnī sects of Islam. Ḥusayn is the last Imam following Ali mutually recognized by all branches of Shia Islam.^[66] The martyrdom of Husayn and his followers is commemorated on the Day of Ashura, occurring on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar.^[14]

Imamate of the Ahl al-Bayt

Main article: Imamate in Shia doctrine

Manāt during the Raid of Sa'd ibn Zaid al-Ashhali. Muhammad gave them to Ali, saying that one of them was "Zulfiqar", which became famously known as the sword of Ali and a later symbol of Shīʿīsm.^[67]

Later, most denominations of Shia Islam, including Twelvers and Ismāʿīlīs, became Imamis.^[9][68][69] Imami Shīʿītes believe that Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad.^[70] Imams are human individuals who not only rule over the Muslim community with justice, but also are able to keep and interpret the divine law and its esoteric meaning. The words and deeds of Muhammad and the Imams are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin, and must be chosen by divine decree (nass) through Muhammad.^[71][72] According to this view peculiar to Shia Islam, there is always an Imam of the Age, who is the divinely appointed authority on all matters of faith and law in the Muslim community. Ali was the first Imam of this line, the rightful successor to Muhammad, followed by male descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah.^[70][73]

This difference between following either the

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb lashed him, rebuked him, and forbade him to narrate ḥadīth from Muhammad. ʿUmar is reported to have said: "Because you narrate hadith in large numbers from the Holy Prophet, you are fit only for attributing lies to him. (That is, one expects a wicked man like you to utter only lies about the Holy Prophet.) So you must stop narrating hadith from the Prophet; otherwise, I will send you to the land of Dus." (An Arab clan in Yemen, to which Abu Hurairah belonged). According to Sunnī Muslims, Ali was the fourth successor to Abū Bakr, while Shia Muslims maintain that Ali was the first divinely sanctioned "Imam", or successor of Muhammad. The seminal event in Shia history is the martyrdom at the Battle of Karbala of Ali's son, Husayn ibn Ali

, and 71 of his followers in 680 CE, who led a non-allegiance movement against the defiant caliph.

Imam in Twelver Shīʿīsm

.

It is believed in Twelver and Ismāʿīlī branches of Shia Islam that

divine revelation (waḥy), he had a close relationship with God, through which God guides him, and the Imam, in turn, guides the people. Imamate, or belief in the divine guide, is a fundamental belief in the Twelver and Ismāʿīlī branches of Shia Islam, and is based on the concept that God would not leave humanity without access to divine guidance.^[76]

Imam Mahdi, last Imam of the Shia

Main articles:

Reappearance of Hujjat Allah al-Mahdi

Further information: History of Shia Islam and Imamate in Shia doctrine

In Shia Islam, Imam

Masih ad-Dajjal (literally, the "false Messiah" or Antichrist). Jesus, who is considered the Masih ("Messiah") in Islam, will descend at the point of a white arcade east of Damascus

, dressed in yellow robes with his head anointed. He will then join the Mahdi in his war against the Dajjal, where it is believed the Mahdi will slay the Dajjal and unite humankind.

Dynasties

Main article: List of Shia dynasties

In the century following the Battle of Karbala (680 CE), as various Shia-affiliated groups diffused in the emerging Islamic world, several nations arose based on a Shia leadership or population.

• Zaydi dynasty in what is now Morocco
  .
• Ismaili Iranian dynasty. Their headquarters were in Eastern Arabia and Bahrain. It was founded by Abu Sa'id al-Jannabi
  .
• Twelver Iranian
  dynasty. at its peak consisted of large portions of modern-day Iran and Iraq.
• al-Jazira
  , northern Syria and Iraq.
• Hulagu, in territories in Western and Central Asia which today comprise most of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Pakistan. The Ilkhanate initially embraced many religions, but was particularly sympathetic to Buddhism and Christianity. Later Ilkhanate rulers, beginning with Ghazan in 1295, chose Islam as the state religion; his brother Öljaitü promoted Shia Islam.^[77]
• Southern India, and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms.^[78] Bahmanid Sultanate was the first independent Islamic kingdom in Southern India.^[79]

Fatimid Caliphate

• Fatimids (909–1171 CE): Controlled much of North Africa, the Levant, parts of Arabia, and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The group takes its name from Fāṭimah, Muhammad's daughter, from whom they claim descent.
  • In 909 CE, the Shia military leader Abu Abdallah al-Shiʻi overthrew the Sunni rulers in North Africa, an event which led to the foundation of the Fatimid Caliphate.^[80]
  • Egypt,^[81] founded the city of Cairo^[82] and the al-Azhar Mosque. A Greek slave by origin, he was freed by al-Muʻizz.^[83]

Safavid Empire

Main articles: Safavid dynasty and Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam

Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān, and the Ṣūfī Muslim ascetic ʿAbdul Qādir Gīlānī in 1508.^[84] In 1533 the Ottoman Turks, upon their conquest of Iraq, rebuilt various important Sunnī shrines.^[84][85]

A major turning point in the history of Shia Islam was the dominion of the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) in Persia. This caused a number of changes in the Muslim world:

• The ending of the relative mutual tolerance between Sunnīs and Shias that existed from the time of the
  Mongol conquests
  onwards and the resurgence of antagonism between the two groups.
• Initial dependence of Shīʿīte clerics on the state followed by the emergence of an independent body of ulama capable of taking a political stand different from official policies.^[86]
• The growth in importance of
  Arab phenomenon to become predominantly Persian.^[87]
• The growth of the
  Islamic prophet Muhammad
  during his lifetime) are to be bases for verdicts, rejecting the use of reasoning.

With the fall of the Safavids, the state in Persia—including the state system of courts with government-appointed

mujtahid an opportunity to fill the legal vacuum and enabled the ulama to assert their judicial authority. The Usuli school of thought also increased in strength at this time.^[88]

• 
  The declaration of

  Safavid Persia
• 
  Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 was a major sectarian crisis between Muslims in the Middle East.
• 
  Monument commemorating the Battle of Chaldiran, where more than 7,000 Muslims of the Shia and Sunnī sects killed each other

Demographics

Main article: Islam by country

Shia Islam is the second largest branch of Islam.^[90] It is estimated that either 10–20%^[91] or 10–13%^[92][93][94] of the global Muslim population are Shias. They may number up to 200 million as of 2009.^[93] As of 1985, Shia Muslims are estimated to be 21% of the Muslim population in South Asia, although the total number is difficult to estimate.^[95]

Shia Muslims form a distinct majority of the population in two countries of the Muslim world: Azerbaijan and Iran.^[96][97] Shia Muslims constitute 36.3% of the entire population (and 38.6% of the Muslim population) of the Middle East.^[98]

Estimates have placed the proportion of Shia Muslims in Lebanon between 27% and 45% of the population,

Afghanistan's population.^[104][105]

Baharna in the Eastern Province and Nakhawila of Medina, and the Ismāʿīlī Sulaymani and Zaydī Shias of Najran. Estimations put the number of Shīʿīte citizens at roughly 15% of the local population.^[106] Approximately 40% of the population of Yemen are Shia Muslims.^[107][108]

Significant Shia communities also exist in the coastal regions of

Shāfiʿī

Sunnīs.

A significant

Shia minority is present in Nigeria, made up of modern-era converts to a Shīʿīte movement centered around Kano and Sokoto states.^{[93][94][110]} Several African countries like Kenya,^[111] South Africa,^[112] Somalia,^[113] etc. hold small minority populations of various Shia subsects, primarily descendants of immigrants from South Asia during the colonial period, such as the Khoja.^[114]

Significant populations worldwide

Figures indicated in the first three columns below are based on the October 2009 demographic study by the Pew Research Center report, Mapping the Global Muslim Population.^[93][94]

Nations with over 100,000 Shia^[93][94]

Country	Article	Shia population in 2009 (Pew)[93][94]	Percent of population that is Shia in 2009 (Pew)[93][94]	Percent of global Shia population in 2009 (Pew)[93][94]	Population estimate ranges and notes
Iran	Islam in Iran	66,000,000–69,500,000	90–95	37–40
Pakistan	Shia Islam in the Indian subcontinent	25,272,000	15	15	A 2010 estimate was that Shia made up about 10–15% of Pakistan's population.[115]
Iraq	Shi'a Islam in Iraq	19,000,000–24,000,000	55–65	10–11
India	Shia Islam in the Indian subcontinent	12,300,000–18,500,000	1.3–2	9–14
Yemen	Shia Islam in Yemen	7,000,000–8,000,000	35–40	~5	Majority following Zaydi Shia sect.
Turkey	Shi'a Islam in Turkey	6,000,000–9,000,000	~10–15	~3–4	Majority following Alevi Shia sect.
Azerbaijan	Islam in Azerbaijan	4,575,000–5,590,000	45–55	2–3	Azerbaijan is majority Shia.[116][117][118] A 2012 work noted that in Azerbaijan, among believers of all faiths, 10% identified as Sunni, 30% identified as Shia, and the remainder of followers of Islam simply identified as Muslim.[118]
Afghanistan	Shi'a Islam in Afghanistan	3,000,000	15	~2	A reliable census has not been taken in Afghanistan in decades, but about 20% of Afghan population is Shia, mostly among ethnic Tajik and Hazara minorities.[119]
Syria	Islam in Syria	2,400,000	13	~2	Majority following Alawites Shia sect.
Lebanon	Shi'a Islam in Lebanon	2,100,000	31.2	<1	In 2020, the CIA World Factbook stated that Shia Muslims constitute 31.2% of Lebanon's population.[120]
Saudi Arabia	Shi'a Islam in Saudi Arabia	2,000,000	~6
Nigeria	Shi'a Islam in Nigeria	<2,000,000	<1	<1	Estimates range from as low as 2% of Nigeria's Muslim population to as high as 17% of Nigeria's Muslim population. Islamic Movement in Nigeria, an Iranian-inspired Shia organization led by Ibrahim Zakzaky.[121]
Tanzania	Islam in Tanzania	~1,500,000	~2.5	<1
Kuwait	Shi'a Islam in Kuwait	500,000–700,000	20–25	<1	Among Kuwait's estimated 1.4 million citizens, about 30% are Shia (including Ahmadi, whom the Kuwaiti government count as Shia). Among Kuwait's large expatriate community of 3.3 million noncitizens, about 64% are Muslim, and among expatriate Muslims, about 5% are Shia.[123]
Bahrain	Islam in Bahrain	400,000–500,000	65–70	<1
Tajikistan	Shi'a Islam in Tajikistan	~400,000	~4	<1	Shi'a Muslims in Tajikistan are predominantly Nizari Ismaili
Germany	Islam in Germany	~400,000	~0.5	<1
United Arab Emirates	Islam in the United Arab Emirates	~300,000	~3	<1
United States	Islam in the United States Shia Islam in the Americas	~225,000	~0.07	<1	Shi'a form a majority amongst Arab Muslims in many American cities, e.g. Lebanese Shi'a forming the majority in Detroit.[124]
United Kingdom	Islam in the United Kingdom	~125,000	~0.2	<1
Qatar	Islam in Qatar	~100,000	~3.5	<1
Oman	Islam in Oman	~100,000	~2	<1	As of 2015, about 5% of Omanis are Shia (compared to about 50% Ibadi and 45% Sunni).[125]

Major denominations or branches

Main article: Islamic schools and branches § Shīʿa Islam

Further information: List of extinct Shia sects and Schools of Islamic theology § Shia schools of theology

The Shia community throughout its history split over the issue of the Imamate. The largest branch are the

mujtahid

(i.e., someone authorized to issue legal opinions in Shia Islam).

Twelver

Main article:

Twelver

Twelver Shīʿīsm or Ithnāʿashariyyah is the largest branch of Shia Islam,

6th Shīʿīte Imam, who elaborated the Twelver jurisprudence.^[131] Twelver Shia constitute the majority of the population in Iran (90%),^[132] Azerbaijan (85%),^[3][133] Bahrain (70%), Iraq (65%), and Lebanon (65% of Muslims).^[134][135]

Doctrine

Twelver doctrine is based on

five principles.^[136] These five principles known as Usul ad-Din are as follow:^[137]

1. Monotheism: God is one and unique;
2. Justice: the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, fairness, and equity, along with the punishment of the breach of these ethics;
3. Prophethood
   : the institution by which God sends emissaries, or prophets, to guide humankind;
4. Leadership: a divine institution which succeeded the institution of Prophethood. Its appointees (Imams) are divinely appointed;
5. Resurrection and Last Judgment
   : God's final assessment of humanity.

Books

Besides the

collections of sayings and traditions (hadith

) attributed to Muhammad and the Twelve Imams. Below is a list of some of the most prominent of these books:

• Nahj al-Balagha by Ash-Sharif Ar-Radhi^[138]
  – the most famous collection of sermons, letters & narration attributed to Ali, the first Imam regarded by Shias
• Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni^[139]
• Wasa'il al-Shiʻah by al-Hurr al-Amili

The Twelve Imams

Main articles:

Hadith of the Twelve Successors

Further information:

Reappearance of Hujjat Allah al-Mahdi, and The Fourteen Infallibles

According to the theology of Twelvers, the successor of Muhammad is an infallible human individual who not only rules over the Muslim community with justice but also is able to keep and interpret the divine law (sharīʿa) and its esoteric meaning. The words and deeds of Muhammad and the Twelve Imams are a guide and model for the Muslim community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin, and Imams must be chosen by divine decree (nass) through Muhammad.^[71][72] The twelfth and final Imam is Hujjat Allah al-Mahdi, who is believed by Twelvers to be currently alive and hidden in Occultation.^[76]

Jurisprudence

Main article:

Ja'fari jurisprudence

Further information: Shia clergy

The Twelver jurisprudence is called

Jaʽfari jurisprudence. In this school of Islamic jurisprudence, the sunnah is considered to be comprehensive of the oral traditions of Muhammad and their implementation and interpretation by the Twelve Imams. There are three schools of Jaʿfari jurisprudence: Usuli, Akhbari, and Shaykhi; the Usuli school is by far the largest of the three. Twelver groups that do not follow the Jaʿfari jurisprudence include Alevis, Bektashi, and Qizilbash

.

The

five pillars of Islam

to the Jaʿfari jurisprudence are known as Usul ad-Din:

1. Tawḥīd: unity and oneness of God;
2. Nubuwwah: prophethood of Muhammad;
3. Muʿad: resurrection and final judgment;
4. ʿAdl: justice of God;
5. Imamah: the rightful place of the Shīʿīte Imams.

In Jaʿfari jurisprudence, there are eight secondary pillars, known as Furu ad-Din, which are as follows:^[137]

1. Salat
   (prayer);
2. Sawm
   (fasting);
3. Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca;
4. Zakāt (alms giving to the poor);
5. Jihād (struggle) for the righteous cause;
6. Directing others towards good;
7. Directing others away from evil
   ;
8. Khums (20% tax on savings yearly, after deduction of commercial expenses).

According to Twelvers, defining and interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) is the responsibility of Muhammad and the Twelve Imams. Since the 12th Imam is currently in Occultation, it is the duty of Shīʿīte clerics to refer to the Islamic literature, such as the Quran and hadith, and identify legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law to provide means to deal with current issues from an Islamic perspective. In other words, clergymen in Twelver Shīʿīsm are believed to be the guardians of fiqh, which is believed to have been defined by Muhammad and his twelve successors. This process is known as ijtihad and the clerics are known as marjaʿ, meaning "reference"; the labels Allamah and Ayatollah are in use for Twelver clerics.

Islamists

ikhwani (Islamist) Shia Muslim.^[142] Because of the concept of the hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, Shia Islam is inherently secular in the age of Occultation, therefore Islamist Shia Muslims had to borrow ideas from Sunnī Islamists and adjust them in accordance with the doctrine of Shīʿīsm.^[143] Its foundations were laid during the Persian Constitutional Revolution at the start of 20th century in Qajar Iran (1905–1911), when Fazlullah Nouri supported the Persian king Ahmad Shah Qajar against the will of Muhammad Kazim Khurasani, the Usuli marjaʿ of the time.^[144]

Isma'ili (Sevener)

Main article: Isma'ilism

Mūsā al-Kāẓim

, younger brother of Ismāʿīl, as the true Imam.

After the death or Occultation of

Muhammad ibn Imam Ismāʿīl in the 8th century CE, the teachings of Isma'ilism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning (bāṭin) of the Islamic faith. With the eventual development of Twelver Shīʿīsm into the more literalistic (zahīr) oriented Akhbari and later Usuli schools of thought, Shīʿīsm further developed in two separate directions: the metaphorical Isma'ili group focusing on the mystical path and nature of God and the divine manifestation in the personage of the "Imam of the Time" as the "Face of God", with the more literalistic Twelver group focusing on divine law (sharī'ah) and the deeds and sayings (sunnah) attributed to Muhammad and his successors (the Ahl al-Bayt), who as A'immah were guides and a light (nūr) to God.^[145]

Though there are several subsects amongst the Isma'ilis, the term in today's vernacular generally refers to the Shia Imami Isma'ili Nizārī community, often referred to as the Isma'ilis by default, who are followers of the Aga Khan and the largest group within Isma'ilism. Another Shia Imami Isma'ili community are the Dawudi Bohras, led by a Da'i al-Mutlaq ("Unrestricted Missionary") as representative of a hidden Imam. While there are many other branches with extremely differing exterior practices, much of the spiritual theology has remained the same since the days of the faith's early Imams. In recent centuries, Isma'ilis have largely been an Indo-Iranian community,^[146] but they can also be found in India, Pakistan, Syria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia,^[147] Yemen, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, East and South Africa, and in recent years several Isma'ilis have emigrated to China,^[148] Western Europe (primarily in the United Kingdom), Australia, New Zealand, and North America.^[149]

Isma'ili Imams

Main article:

List of Ismaili imams

In the Nizārī Ismāʿīlī interpretation of Shia Islam, the Imam is the guide and the intercessor between humans and God, and the individual through whom God is recognized. He is also responsible for the esoteric interpretation of the Quran (taʾwīl). He is the possessor of divine knowledge and therefore the "Prime Teacher". According to the "Epistle of the Right Path", a Persian Isma'ili prose text from the post-Mongol period of Isma'ili history, by an anonymous author, there has been a chain of Imams since the beginning of time, and there will continue to be an Imam present on the Earth until the end of time. The worlds would not exist in perfection without this uninterrupted chain of Imams. The proof (hujja) and gate (bāb) of the Imam are always aware of his presence and are witness to this uninterrupted chain.^[150]

After the death of

Muhammad ibn Imam Ismāʿīl, would return and establish an age of justice. One group included the violent Qarmatians, who had a stronghold in Bahrain. In contrast, some Isma'ilis believed the Imamate did continue, and that the Imams were in Occultation and still communicated and taught their followers through a network of Da'i

("Missionaries").

In 909 CE,

ethno-religious group with its own unique doctrines,^[151] and finally separated from both Isma'ilism and Islam altogether.^[151] Thus, the Druze do not identify themselves as Muslims,^[151] and are not considered as such by Muslims either.^{[151][154][155][156][157]}

The second split occurred between

Nizār (the older) and Al-Musta‘lī (the younger), fought for political and spiritual control of the dynasty. Nizār was defeated and jailed, but according to the Nizārī tradition his son escaped to Alamut, where the Iranian Ismāʿīlī had accepted his claim.^[158]

From here on, the Nizārī Ismāʿīlī community has continued with a present, living Imam.

The

Al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah, and the Imams following him went into a period of anonymity (Dawr-e-Satr) and appointed a Da'i al-Mutlaq

("Unrestricted Missionary") to guide the community, in a similar manner as the Ismāʿīlīs had lived after the death of Muhammad ibn Imam Ismāʿīl. The latter denomination claims that the ruling Fatimid caliph was the Imam, and they died out with the fall of the Fatimid Empire.

Pillars

Ismāʿīlīs have categorized their practices which are known as seven pillars:

Walayah (Guardianship) Taharah (Purity)

Salat (Prayer) Zakāt (Charity)

Sawm (Fasting) Hajj (Pilgrimage)

Jihad (Struggle)

Contemporary leadership

The Nizārīs place importance on a scholarly institution because of the existence of a present Imam. The Imam of the Age defines the jurisprudence, and his guidance may differ with Imams previous to him because of different times and circumstances. For Nizārī Ismāʿīlīs, the current Imam is Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV. The Nizārī line of Imams has continued to this day as an uninterrupted chain.

Divine leadership has continued in the Bohra branch through the institution of the "Missionary" (

Al-Hurra Al-Malika the Malika (Queen consort) in Yemen to appoint a vicegerent after the seclusion—the Da'i al-Mutlaq ("Unrestricted Missionary"), who as the Imam's vicegerent has full authority to govern the community in all matters both spiritual and temporal while the lineage of Musta‘lī-Ṭayyibi Imams remains in seclusion (Dawr-e-Satr). The three branches of Musta‘lī Ismāʿīlīs (Dawudi Bohras, Sulaymani Bohras, and Alavi Bohras

) differ on who the current "Unrestricted Missionary" is.

Zaydī (Fiver)

Main article: Zaydism

Zaydī State of Yemen under the rule of Imam Al-Mutawakkil Ismāʿīl bin al-Qāsim

(1644–1676)

Zaydism, otherwise known as Zaydiyya or as Zaydī Shīʿism, is a branch of Shia Islam named after Zayd ibn Ali. Followers of the Zaydī school of jurisprudence are called Zaydīs or occasionally Fivers. However, there is also a group called Zaydī Wāsiṭīs who are Twelvers (see below). Zaydīs constitute roughly 42–47% of the population of Yemen.^[159][160]

Doctrine

The Zaydīs, Twelvers, and Ismāʿīlīs all recognize the same first four Imams; however, the Zaydīs consider Zayd ibn Ali as the 5th Imam. After the time of Zayd ibn Ali, the Zaydīs believed that any descendant (Sayyid) of Hasan ibn Ali or Husayn ibn Ali could become the next Imam, after fulfilling certain conditions.^[161] Other well-known Zaydī Imams in history were Yahya ibn Zayd, Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, and Ibrahim ibn Abdullah.

The Zaydī doctrine of Imamah does not presuppose the infallibility of the Imam, nor the belief that the Imams are supposed to receive divine guidance. Moreover, Zaydīs do not believe that the Imamate must pass from father to son but believe it can be held by any Sayyid descended from either Hasan ibn Ali or Husayn ibn Ali (as was the case after the death of the former). Historically, Zaydīs held that Zayd ibn Ali was the rightful successor of the 4th Imam since he led a rebellion against the Umayyads in protest of their tyranny and corruption. Muhammad al-Baqir did not engage in political action, and the followers of Zayd ibn Ali maintained that a true Imam must fight against corrupt rulers.

Jurisprudence

In matters of

Arabic: مجموع الفِقه). Al-Ḥādī ila'l-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā, the first Zaydī Imam and founder of the Zaydī State in Yemen

, is regarded as the codifier of Zaydī jurisprudence, and as such most Zaydī Shias today are known as Hadawis.

Timeline

The

Samanids in 928 CE. Roughly forty years later, the Zaydī State was revived in Gilan and survived under Hasanid leaders until 1126 CE. Afterwards, from the 12th to 13th centuries, the Zaydī Shias of Deylaman, Gilan, and Tabaristan then acknowledged the Zaydī Imams of Yemen or rival Zaydī Imams within Iran.^[170]

The

Shāfiʿī schools of Sunnī jurisprudence, there was a shift from the Jarudiyya group to the Sulaimaniyya, Tabiriyya, Butriyya, and Salihiyya.^[173] Zaydī Shias form the second dominant religious group in Yemen. Currently, they constitute about 40–45% of the population in Yemen; Jaʿfaris and Ismāʿīlīs constitute the 2–5%.^[174] In Saudi Arabia

, it is estimated that there are over 1 million Zaydī Shias, primarily based in the western provinces.

Currently, the most prominent Zaydī political movement is the

ISIL/ISIS/IS/Daesh.^{[178][179][180][181][182][183]}

Persecution of Shia Muslims

Main articles:

Anti-Shiism and Shia–Sunni relations

Further information: Sectarian violence among Muslims

The history of Shia–Sunnī relations has often involved religious discrimination, persecution, and violence, dating back to the earliest development of the two competing sects. At various times throughout the history of Islam,

Shia groups and minorities have faced persecution perpetrated by Sunnī Muslims.^{[184][185][186][187]}

Militarily established and holding control over the Umayyad government, many Sunnī rulers perceived the Shias as a threat—both to their political and religious authority.

persecution of Shia Muslims throughout history by their Sunnī co-religionists has often been characterized by brutal and genocidal acts. Comprising only about 10–15% of the global Muslim population,^[90] Shia Muslims remain a marginalized community to this day in many Sunnī-dominant Arab countries, without the rights to practice their religion and freely organize.^[189]

In 1514, the

Bektashi (Anatolian Shia Muslims).^[190] According to Jalal Al-e-Ahmad, "Sultan Selim I carried things so far that he announced that the killing of one Shia had as much otherworldly reward as killing 70 Christians."^[191] In 1802, the Al Saud-Wahhabi armies of the Ikhwan from the First Saudi State (1727–1818) attacked and sacked the city of Karbala, the Shia shrine in Najaf (eastern region of Iraq) that commemorates the martyrdom and death of Husayn ibn Ali.^[192]

During the rule of Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist Iraq, Shia political activists were arrested, tortured, expelled or killed, as part of a crackdown launched after an assassination attempt against Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz in 1980.^[193][194] In March 2011, the Malaysian government declared Shia Islam a "deviant" sect and banned Shia Muslims from promoting their faith to other Muslims, but left them free to practice it themselves privately.^[195][196]

The most recent campaign of anti-Shia oppression was the

Second Iraq War.^{[180][181][182][183]}

See also

• Alawites
• Anti-Shi'ism
• Criticism of Twelver Shia Islam
• History of Shia Islam
• Imamate in Shia doctrine
  • Imamate and guardianship of Ali ibn Abi Talib
  • Imamate in Ismaili doctrine
  • Imamate in Nizari doctrine
  • Imamate in Twelver doctrine
• Intellectual proofs in Shia jurisprudence
• List of Shia books
• List of Shia Islamic dynasties
• List of Shia Muslim scholars of Islam
• List of Shia Muslims
• Shia clergy
• Shia crescent
• Shia genocide
• Shia Islam in the Indian subcontinent
• Shia nations
• Shia Rights Watch
• Shia view of Ali
• Shia view of the Quran

References

Notes

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Further reading

• Chelkowski, Peter J. (2010). Eternal Performance: Taziyah and Other Shiite Rituals. University of Chicago Press.
  ISBN 978-1-906497-51-4
  .

New International Encyclopedia article "Shiites

".

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Shi'ites".

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shia Islam.

• ISBN 978-0-674-06428-7
  .
• Halm, Heinz (2004). Shiʻism. Edinburgh University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-7486-1888-0
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  .
• Marcinkowski, Christoph (2010). Shiʻite Identities: Community and Culture in Changing Social Contexts. Lit Verlag.
  ISBN 978-3-643-80049-7
  .
• ISBN 978-0-300-03499-8
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• ISBN 978-964-438-320-5
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• ISBN 978-1-58567-896-9
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  .
• Moosa, Matti (1988). Extremist Shiites: The Ghulat Sects. Syracuse University Press.
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  .
• Shi'a Minorities in the Contemporary World: Migration, Transnationalism and Multilocality. United Kingdom, Edinburgh University Press, 2020.
• Khalaji, Mehdi (27 November 2009). "The Dilemmas of Pan-Islamic Unity". Current Trends in Islamist Ideology. 9: 64–79.
• Bohdan, Siarhei (Summer 2020). ""They Were Going Together with the Ikhwan": The Influence of Muslim Brotherhood Thinkers on Shi'i Islamists during the Cold War". The Middle East Journal. 74 (2): 243–262.
  S2CID 225510058
  .

External links

• "Shi'a History and Identity". shiism.wcfia.harvard.edu. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Project on Shi'ism and Global Affairs at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (Harvard University). 2022. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
• Daftary, Farhad; Nanji, Azim (2018) [2006]. "What is Shi'a Islam?". www.iis.ac.uk. London: Institute of Ismaili Studies at the Aga Khan Centre. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
• Muharrami, Ghulam-Husayn (2003). "History of Shi'ism: From the Advent of Islam up to the End of Minor Occultation". Al-Islam.org. Translated by Limba, Mansoor L. Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
• Ayatullāh Jaʿfar Subḥānī. "Shia Islam: History and Doctrines". United Kingdom: Shafaqna (International Shia News Agency). Retrieved 18 April 2023.