در ادامه مطالب همين مطلب را به فارسي ببينيد

The Imam Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, Iraq is a holy site for Shia Muslims

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Shia Islam (Arabic: شيعة‎, Shīʿah) is the second largest denomination of Islam. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī (شيعة علي), meaning "followers", "faction", or "party" of Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin Imam Ali, whom the Shia believe to be Prophet Muhammad's successor in the Caliphate. Like other branches of Islam, Shia Islam is based on the teachings of the Quran and the message of the Islamic prophet Prophet Muhammad.^[1][2] In contrast to other types, the Shia believe that only God has the right to choose a representative to safeguard Islam, the Quran and sharia. Thus the Shias look to Imam Imam Ali, Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, whom they consider divinely appointed, as the rightful successor to Prophet Muhammad, and the first imam. The Shia extend this belief to Prophet Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt ("the People of the House"), and certain individuals among his descendants, known as imams, who have special spiritual and political authority over the community.

Although there were many Shia branches throughout history, modern Shia Islam is divided into three main branches.^[3] The largest Shia sect in the early 21st century is the Ithna ashariyya,^[4] commonly referred to in English as the Twelvers, while smaller branches include the Ismaili and Zaidi ("Fivers").^[5] Alevis, Alawis and Druze are also considered sects of Shia Islam.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Etymology

The word Shia (Classical Arabic: شيعة shīʻah /ˈʃiːʕa/) means follower^[6] and is the short form of the historic phrase shīʻatu ʻAlī (شيعة علي /ˈʃiːʕatu ˈʕaliː/), meaning "followers of Imam Ali", "faction of Imam Ali", or "party of Imam Ali".^[7] Shi'a and Shiism are forms used in English, while Shi'ite or Shiite, as well as Shia, refer to its adherents.

[edit] Beliefs

[edit] Imamate

[edit] Succession of Ali

The Investiture of Imam Ali at Ghadir Khumm (MS Arab 161, fol. 162r, AD 1309/8 Ilkhanid manuscript illustration)

Shia Muslims believe that just as a prophet is appointed by God alone, only God has the prerogative to appoint the successor to his prophet. They believe God chose Imam Ali to be Prophet Muhammad's successor, infallible, the first caliph (khalifa, head of state) of Islam. Prophet Muhammad, before his death, designated Imam Ali as his successor.

Imam Ali was Prophet Muhammad's first cousin and closest living male relative as well as his son-in-law, having married Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatimah.^[8][9] Imam Ali would eventually become the fourth Muslim caliph.^[10]

After the last pilgrimage, Prophet Muhammad ordered the gathering of Muslims at the pond of Khumm and it was there Prophet Muhammad nominated Imam Ali to be his successor. The hadith of the pond of Khumm was narrated on 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah of 10 AH in the Islamic calendar (March 10, 632 AD) at a place called Ghadir Khumm, located near the city of al-Juhfah, Saudi Arabia.^[11] Prophet Muhammad there stated:

Oh people! Reflect on the Quran and comprehend its verses. Look into its clear verses and do not follow its ambiguous parts, for by Allah, none shall be able to explain to you its warnings and its mysteries, nor shall anyone clarify its interpretation, other than the one that I have grasped his hand, brought up beside myself, [and lifted his arm,] the one about whom I inform you that whomever I am his master (Mawla), this Imam Ali is his master (Mawla); and he is Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib, my brother, the executor of my will (Wasiyyi), whose appointment as your guardian and leader has been sent down to me from Allah, the mighty and the majestic.

— Prophet Muhammad, 'The Farewell Sermon^[12]

Shia Muslims believe this to be Prophet Muhammad's appointment of Imam Ali as his successor.

[edit] Imam Ali's caliphate

When Prophet Muhammad died in 632 CE, Imam Ali and Prophet Muhammad's closest relatives made the funeral arrangements. While they were preparing his body, Abu Bakr, Umar, and Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah met with the leaders of Medina and elected Abu Bakr as caliph. Imam Ali and his family were dismayed, but accepted the appointment for the sake of unity in the early Muslim community.^[8] It was not until the murder of the third caliph, Uthman, in 657 CE that the Muslims in Medina invited Imam Ali to become the fourth caliph,^[8] and he established his capital in Kufah, in present-day Iraq.^[7]

Imam Ali's rule over the early Muslim community was often contested, and wars were waged against him. As a result, he had to struggle to maintain his power against the groups who betrayed him after giving allegiance to his succession, or those who wished to take his position. This dispute eventually led to the First Fitna, which was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate. The Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against the first Imam, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, caused by the assassination of his political predecessor, Uthman ibn Affan. While the rebels who accused Uthman of nepotism^{[clarification needed]} affirmed Imam Ali's khilafa (caliph-hood), they later turned against him and fought him.^[8] Imam Ali ruled from 656 CE to 661 CE,^[8] when he was assassinated^[9] while prostrating in prayer (sujud). Imam Ali's main rival Muawiyah then claimed the caliphate.^[13]

[edit] Imam Hasan

Upon the death of Imam Ali, his elder son Imam Hasan became leader of the Muslims of Kufa, and after a series of skirmishes between the Kufa Muslims and the army of Muawiyah, Imam Hasan agreed to cede the caliphate to Muawiyah and maintain peace among Muslims. Imam Hasan then retired to Medina, where in 50 AH he died by poisoning.

[edit] Imam Hussein

Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq, where Imam Ali is buried.

Imam Hussein, Imam Ali's younger son and brother to Imam Hasan, initially resisted calls to lead the Muslims against Muawiyah and reclaim the caliphate. In 680 CE Muawiyah died and passed the caliphate to his son Yazid; Yazid asked Imam Hussein for allegiance ( baya ) to him, which Imam Hussein rejected. Imam Ali's faction saw this as a betrayal of the peace treaty, having expected the caliphate to return to Imam Ali's line upon Muawiyah's death. There was a groundswell of support in Kufa for Imam Hussein to return there and take his position as caliph and imam, so Imam Hussein collected his family and followers in Medina and set off for Kufa. En route to Kufa, he was blocked by an army of Yazid's men near Karbala (modern Iraq), and Imam Hussein and approximately 72 of his family and followers were killed in the Battle of Karbala.

The Shia regard Imam Hussein as martyr (shahid), and count him as an imam from the Ahl al-Bayt. They view Imam Hussein as the defender of Islam from annihilation at the hands of Yazid I. Imam Hussein is the last imam following Imam Ali whom all Shia sub-branches mutually recognise.^[14] The Battle of Karbala is often cited as the definitive break between the Shia and Sunni sects of Islam, is commemorated each year by Shia Muslims on the Day of Ashura.

[edit] Imamate of the Ahl al-Bayt

A fictional representation of the Sword of Imam Ali, the Zulfiqar, two swords were captured from the temple of the pagan polytheist god Manāt during the Raid of Sa'd ibn Zaid al-Ashhali. Prophet Muhammad gave them to Imam Ali, saying that one of them was Al-Dhulfiqar, which became the famous sword of Imam Ali and a symbol of the Shia Islam^[15]

Most of the early Shia as well as Zaydis differed only marginally from mainstream Sunnis in their views on political leadership, but it is possible in this sect to see a refinement of Shia doctrine. Early Sunnis traditionally held that the political leader must come from the tribe of Prophet Muhammad—namely, the Quraysh. The Zaydis narrowed the political claims of the Imam Ali's supporters, claiming that not just any descendant of Imam Ali would be eligible to lead the Muslim community (ummah) but only those males directly descended from Prophet Muhammad through the union of Imam Ali and Fatimah. But during the Abbasid revolts, other Shia, who came to be known as Imamiyyah (followers of the imams), followed the theological school of Ja'far al-Sadiq. They asserted a more exalted religious role for imams and insisted that, at any given time, whether in power or not, a single male descendant of Imam Ali and Fatimah was the divinely appointed imam and the sole authority, in his time, on all matters of faith and law. To those Shia, love of the imams and of their persecuted cause became as important as belief in God's oneness and the mission of Prophet Muhammad.^[4]

Later most of Shia, including Twelver and Ismaili, became Imamis. Imami Shia believe that Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Prophet Muhammad.^[4] Imams are human individuals who not only rule over the community with justice, but also are able to keep and interpret the divine law and its esoteric meaning. The words and deeds of Prophet 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, or nass, through Prophet Muhammad.^[16][17]

According to this view, 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. Imam Ali was the first imam of this line, the rightful successor to Prophet Muhammad, followed by male descendants of Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah.^[4]

This difference between following either the Ahl al-Bayt (Prophet Muhammad's family and descendants) or Caliph Abu Bakr has shaped Shia and non-Shia views on some of the Quranic verses, the hadith (narrations from Prophet Muhammad) and other areas of Islam. For instance, the collection of hadith venerated by Shia Muslims is centered on narrations by members of the Ahl al-Bayt and their supporters, while some hadith by narrators not belonging to or supporting the Ahl al-Bayt are not included (those of Abu Hurairah, for example who is a lier, Ibn Asakir in his Ta'rikh Kabir and Muttaqi in his Kanzu'l-Umma report that Caliph Umar lashed him, rebuked him, and forbade him to narrate hadith from the Holy Prophet. Umar 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." (A clan in Yemen, to which Abu Huraira belonged.)). According to Sunnis, Imam Ali was the fourth successor to Abu Bakr, while the Shia maintain that Imam Ali was the first divinely sanctioned "Imam," or successor of Prophet Muhammad. The seminal event in Shia history is the martyrdom in 680 CE at the Battle of Karbala of Imam Ali's son Imam Hussein ibn Ali, who led a non-allegiance movement against the defiant caliph (71 of Imam Hussein's followers were killed as well). Imam Hussein came to symbolize resistance to tyranny.

It is believed in Twelver and Ismaili Shia Islam that 'aql, divine wisdom, was the source of the souls of the prophets and imams and gave them esoteric knowledge called ḥikmah and that their sufferings were a means of divine grace to their devotees.^[4][18][19] Although the Imam was not the recipient of a divine revelation, 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 Ismaili Shia branches and is based on the concept that God would not leave humanity without access to divine guidance.^[20]

[edit] Theology

The Shia Islamic faith is vast and inclusive of many different groups.^[7] Shia theological beliefs, and religious practises such as prayers slightly differ from the Sunnis. While all Muslims pray five times daily, Shias have the option of always combining Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha', as there are three distinct times mentioned in the Quran. The Sunnis tend to combine only under certain circumstances.^[21][22] Shia Islam embodies a completely independent system of religious interpretation and political authority in the Muslim world.^[23][24] The Shia identity emerged after the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad,^[25] and Shia theology was formulated in the 2nd century AH, or after Hijra (8th century CE).^[26] The first Shia governments and societies were established by the end of the 3rd century AH/9th century CE. The 4th century AH /10th century CE has been referred to by Louis Massignon as 'the Shiite Ismaili century in the history of Islam'.^[27]

[edit] Hadith

The Shia believe that the status of Imam Ali is supported by numerous hadith, including the Hadith of the pond of Khumm, Hadith of the two weighty things, Hadith of the pen and paper, Hadith of the invitation of the close families, and Hadith of the Twelve Successors. In particular, the Hadith of the Cloak is often quoted to illustrate Prophet Muhammad's feeling towards Imam Ali and his family by both Sunni and Shia scholars. Shias prefer hadith attributed to the Ahl al-Bayt and close associates, and have their own separate collection of hadiths.^[28][29]

[edit] Profession of faith

Kalema at Qibla of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt with phrase "Imam Ali-un-Waliullah"

The Shia version of the Shahada, the Islamic profession of faith, differs from that of the Sunni. The Sunni Shahada states There is no god except Allah, Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of the God, but to this the Shia append Imam Ali is his (Prophet Muhammad's) wasi (caretaker) and ALLAH's wali. This phrase embodies the Shia emphasis on the inheritance of authority though Prophet Muhammad's lineage. The three clauses of the Shia Shahada thus address tawhid (the unity of God), nubuwwah (the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad), and imamah (imamate, the leadership of the faith).

[edit] Prophet Muhammad with Imam Ali in Fatimid Shia heritage

Inscription over main entrance gate, Aqmar Mosque, Cairo

The Aqmar Mosque in Cairo, built during the Fatimid period, has an inscription just over the main entrance gate with the quran verse 33:33 encircling the names of Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali. This verse translates as “O people of the house (Ahle-bayt), god only desires to put away from you abomination and with cleansing to cleanse you.” Shia regards this as evidence of Imam Ali's and his descendants' claim to the Imamate. ^[30]

5 linked 'Prophet Muhammad's around 'Imam Ali', Aqmar Mosque, Cairo

The mosque has another inscription on the left half of the façade, with Imam Ali's name in the center encircled by five linked 'Prophet Muhammad's.

Corner with inscription, Aqmar Mosque, Cairo

One corner of the mosque is decorated with an inscription of verse 16:128: “Verily god is with (top), those who are god fearing (bottom right), and with those who are good doers (bottom left)”. Prophet Muhammad's and Imam Ali's names are written to either side of this inscription. Hence the corner as a whole can be interpreted as “Verily God is with Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali”.^[31]