All Solutions are with the Prophet’s Progeny

The Shia are the followers of the Sunna, but…

We have known from the previous discussions that the Twelver Shia are the true followers of the Prophet’s Sunna. This is a clear fact free from any doubt for whoever studies the teachings of Islam in all its beliefs, rulings and historical stages.

However, their enemies from “the Sunni”, whose origin and goals we have known in the previous studies, defame the Shia. They criticize their beliefs and deeds, evoke suspicions against them, doubt their religion and sometimes fabricate false stories to defame and cause troubles and make others detest and despise them.

One of these fabrications is the claim that (a Shia believes that) Gabriel has betrayed the Trust and delivered the Mission to Muhammad instead of Ali. The second one is the unreal story of Abdullah ibn Saba’ - the Jewish as the founder of Shiism. A third one is that the Shia have a special Qur'an called “Mushaf Fatima” other than the Qur'an available among all Muslims, or that the Shia prepare a horse every night at the door of the vault in Samarra’ (in Iraq) waiting for al-Mahdi to ride that horse. They also claim that the Shia worship the graves and consider the Imams as gods, and they prostrate for stones. The worse of it is their claim that the Shia permit adultery and that they (more than one) sleep with the same woman in the same night. They fabricate many other lies against the Shia with not any bit of reality or evidence.

Anyhow, there are some objections that the Sunni put forth in our present time and make them as obstacles in the way of scientific research and then block the way to arrive at the sought truth. Such people when presenting such spurious arguments, which we shall discuss later on, have never read them in books or heard them from traditions. Yet, they swear that they have seen them with their own eyes and have attended themselves. Therefore, this matter is too dangerous and serious and it may have a negative effect on the scholars and researchers who seek pure truth.

As we have accustomed readers to seek the truth and be neutral without any fanaticism towards any creed or sect, following the Prophet’s tradition which says, “Say the truth even if it is against you”. Also Allah the Almighty does not feel shy away from the truth. So, we must have a clear situation in this concern to be able say to the doers of good among the Shia that they have done well and to the wrong doers among them that they have done wrong and sinned. We do not fear in the blaming of any blamers, for we just seek the contentment of Allah the Almighty.

We must distinguish the fundamentals of Islam and that which is really in the sharia from traditions, habits and personal conclusions. And as we have been frank and daring in criticizing some companions of the Prophet (S) for the violations they had committed, we also have to criticize some Shia and not keep silent before their violations.

However, there is an important difference here. What the companions changed and invented became parts of the religion, which changed the rulings of Allah and His messenger, but what some of the Shia changed or invented did not change any divine rulings, nor did any one of them say it was obligatory; nevertheless, we must criticize it.

I shall discuss the most important points raised about these new invented things (heresies) through which some others criticize and try to falsify Shiism and ascribe to it different kinds of defects. Dear reader, you yourself may suffer from them and not find a satisfying answer that will assist you to face an opponent or convince yourself.

These new things in fact, are heresies fabricated against Shiism and Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) who always refused and refuted every heresy whatever it was and whatever it adorned and called “a good heresy”. They, peace be upon them, have often and always declared that they did not say or do anything except according to the sayings and doings of their grandfather the Messenger of Allah (S). Thus, everything that came out after the infallible Imams (a.s.) are heresies - that harm and not benefit, alienate and not attract, complicate and not make it easy. The learned youth find in them a flaw in Shiism and may find it very difficult to justify or refute them.

We mention here, for example, some of those heresies, which the Sunni criticize the Shia for: the exaggeration in the rituals of consolation in Ashura where some people beat themselves with chains, daggers, and knives until they bleed, the disorder in offering the prayer and the indifference to other praying people, smoking in mosques and places of prayer, neglecting the Friday Prayer, and some other things that we shall mention later on which prevent many people from getting to the truth.