Ask a Shia

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom Karbala,


Two stupid questions this time not one:


1. If u differentiate yourself as one who is to be called shia with other shia's to be following Ahul bayt: The Messenger salla Allahu a`lyhee wa sallam and his household, taking in consideration your interpretation, whom are we following?????


2. You believe in Imama in the sense that an Imam would come from the descendants of the Messenger salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam, right, whose name would be the same as his, who is going to rule and spread justice, am I not correct????


Alright, you believe in this as part of Ghayab or what exactly??? is it the same way you believe in Dajjal's advent at a certain time??

[Karbala]

:wasalam:


Good Questions


I normally do not like commenting on the Sunni position since others can do that better. But since I have to I am using a book called "The Creed of At-Tahawiyy Abu ja'far al-Warraq at-Tahawiyy A Brief Explanation of the Sunniy Creed" or Aqidatul Tahawi


He lists 100 statements of belief that constitute the Sunni creed according to the methadology of the Imams Abu Hanifah an-Nu'man Ibn Thabit al-Kufiyy, Abu Yusuf Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim al-Ansariyy and Abu Abdillah Muhamad Ibnul Hasan Ash-Shabaniyy.


Under number 89. He states:


<i>"Whoever believes well of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah his wives, who are pure from all squalor, and his descendants, who are clear of all defilement is free of hypocrisy."</i>


The editor explains <i>"It is an obligation to love the members of the family of the Prophet(saw). These are the descendants of his daughter Fatimah and her husband Ali, his uncle al-Abbas and the like. Both the wives and the descendants of the prophet(saW) were mentioned in the Quran to be clear of any defilement in their belief (al-Ahzab,33)"</i>


Under number 87.


<i>"We confirm that the Khilafah after the Messenger of Allah went firstly to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq distinguishing him above others and giving him precedence over the whole Nation. Afterwards it went to Umar ibnul-Khattab, then to Uthman then to ALi ibn Abi Talib. These are the rightful Caliphs and the rightly-guided religious leaders.</i>


Editors explanation:It is an obligation to consider our Master AbuBakr the best Companion, because the Companions themselves had consensus about his superiority. They all paid allegiance to him as their Khalifah after the death of the Messenger of Allah. Their consensus is like the verse of Quran in giving an evidence for a certain ruling. So whoever speaks ill of his Caliphate, is is as if he speaks ill of the Quran."


You can clearly see the difference between the Shi'a and Sunni positions on AhlulBayt.


Sunni- It is obligatory to only love AhlulBayt and believe well in them


Shi'a- It is obligatory to follow AhlulBayt in all aspects of Wilayah.


Sunni- AhlulBayt are the Prophets wives and the descendants of Ali and Fatima and the descendants of al-Abbas and the like.


Shi'a- AhlulBayt of the Prophet(Saw) are the Prophet, Fatima, Ali, Hasan, Hussain and the 9 imams proceeding from the progeny of Hussain. Wives are not included.


Sunni- Rightful Khilafah belonged to Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman then Ali.


Shi'a- Rightful Khilafah bolonged to AhlulBayt only.

[Karbala]

You are correct in your second point.


Imam Mahdi's Ghayba is like the existence of Prophet Khidr(as) existence. No one sees them but they are alive and see us.

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom


Jazakum Allah khairan karbala for your reply:


However, I m surprised as that u think we differ on following the head of the household (the messenger) I mean we are not all of us mulims follow Ahul bayt, but rather one who established the sunnah, whom Ahul bayt follow; the Messenger salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam.


"Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much." (Quran 33:21)


I mean we learnt how to pray thru him, how to fast thru him, how to perform haj thru him, ...etc, how to marry, divorce, what to do in case u forgot a Rakaa or was not focused during salat, not thru his household members. His household memebrs learnt from him. Do u know that for example once he went to Ali and Fatima's house and asked them why arent they are performing Qiyamul layal and Ali said the One Who Holds your soul held ours, and the Messenger went back reciting the Ayah of Surat kahf saying But, man is ever more quarrelsome than anything. 18: 54. Thus who is the teacher? also we learnt to do dhikr before sleep when Ali asked fatima to go and ask her father for a servant to help her with household chores for she (o my beloved) was tired doing everything Sobhan Allah when I think of this woman who is the daughter of the best among mankind and how she suffered and compare with our luxurious life.. :blush: well, let me stay on topic, as he had received war captives. She went and asked him and how much he loved her, he told her I will tell u what is better than a servant, to say Sobhan Allah 33, Alhamdulelah 33 and Allah u Akbar 34 before sleep. Thus again we learnt from him not her or Ali. He was the teacher. We follow him, not his household members, can u see the difference Karbala. We follow him because Allah Told us so.


It is obligatory to follow AhlulBayt in all aspects of Wilayah


Now how did you get info about Khidr, I mean his name was never mentioned in Quran????


Care to elaborate on this:

[Karbala]

Salamun Alaikum,


Yes Muslimah you are right on everyone following Sunnah of the Prophet(saw). Of course AhlulBayt all learnt from Mohammad(saw) But the Sunnah of the Prophet can only be perfectly accessed through AhlulBayt. Following AhlulBayt = Following Sunnah. They are the rightful inheritors of the Prophet(saw).


I dont know where I learnt about Khidr. I probably just heard about him. I always thought he was referred to in the story of Musa(as) in Surat Kahf.

[Karbala]

Salamun Alaykum,


I was thinking maybe someone should start a "Ask a Sunni" thread. I think we have discussed many aspects of Shi'i thought. Perhaps we are reaching a point where further discussion doesn't really help. I hope any misconceptions have been cleared and maybe even a greater respect can be gained.


There are many capable Sunnis on this board who are competent enough to deal with enquiries into their Aqeedah. Anyone want to take on the responsibility?

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


Karbala, sorry if I continued asking, and I still have more questions if u dont mind. However, just to continue, yes the story of Khidr was mentioned in Surat Kahf, however, the reference was only that Mussa met a servant of Allah, without any reference to the name, rank, position, whom he really is. Just a servant that he followed to learn a few things, but we learnt the name and other details from hadeeth. Would u like to look for them or shall I??? Aslo how about the details of mahdi, I mean the agreement of the name, who he really is, what will he do, when will he appear?? all those details, how did u come accross them??


Regarding the ask a sunni, well, will hold on for a volunteer. May be i can send a bulk email bringing the idea on.


Let me just continue asking, can i or u dont prefer to..

[Karbala]

Salamun Alaikum


No problem You can ask as many questions as you want.


I dont really know much about Khidr. Some say he is a Prophet some say he is a righteous servant or "Abd-al-Saleh". I havent looked at hadith. Muslimah I think you know more than I do so teach me.


Details of the Mahdi I have learnt from Hadith such as his name, occultation and details of appearance.

[Hadji]

Hey folks, long time no see.


Karbala, I've noticed a few questions that I haven't answered in the past. I guess I might have just overlooked them.

Hakim Nishapuri claims to use the same methodology as Bukhari and Muslim in his Mustadrak Ala Sahihain yet his work is not included in the 6 Sihah Sittah books.

Well, first of all, Bukhari and Muslim didn't have the same methodology in collecting hadeeths. Mohammed ibn Ismael was stricter with his pre-requisites when it came to judging which hadeeth is saheeh. That is why Al Bukhari's book is often called "the most authentic book after the Qur'an". So, it is not seen as a tie between his book and Imam Muslim's. Secondly, there is no such thing as Sihah Sittah. Sunan Al-Tarmithi, Ibn Majah, Abi Dawood, Al-Nisai have a lot of weak hadeeths. Therefore, we don't refer to their books as the "sihah", but rather, the "sunan". While Saheeh Muslim and Bukhari are called Al Saheehain (the two Saheehs).


Anyways, I'm not too familiar with Al-Hakim Al-Nisapuri's work, but even if one attempts to use the methodology of Al Bukhari, that doesn't make his work completely authentic. I am aware of a lot of hadeeths in Al-Hakim's book that are weak. That itself makes his book "not completely authentic".


Karbala, I've known of these verses for quite a while, and I was wondering if you've ever really looked into the word choice of Allah (swt).


الروم (آية:32): من الذين فرقوا دينهم وكانوا شيعا كل حزب بما لديهم فرحون The Romans


"Of those who split up their religion and became schismatics, each sect exulting in its tenets."


الانعام (آية:159): ان الذين فرقوا دينهم وكانوا شيعا لست منهم في شيء انما امرهم الى الله ثم ينبئهم بما كانوا يفعلون Cattle


"Lo! As for those who sunder their religion and become schismatics, no concern at all hast thou with them. Their case will go to Allah, Who then will tell them what they used to do."


Of course, one could always argue that I'm taking the verse out of context, but just why the word "Shiya'a"? Why not "firqa", etc...?!


Aren't the Shi'ites today fasting a day after the Sunnis? Aren't they praying in different mosques? Aren't they praying after the Sunnis by five to ten minutes? I think the verses fit pretty well.


Your thoughts?

[Karbala]

Salam,


Yes you are right Bukhari and Muslim dont have the same methadology, what I was saying was that Hakim Nishapuri claims to use the methadology of both in his reporting.


And you are right about the Sihah Sittah, I stand corrected.


Just because something contains inauthentic hadiths doesnt mean you disregard it. The same argument can be made about Buhkaris work.


Regarding the Quranic verses you have quoted. I think it is stretching it a bit if you are trying to relate the word "Shi'a" used in the verse to specifically the people commonly known as "Shi'a" today. Shi'a of course means a partisan or follower of a particular path. This word can easily be applied to any of the muslim sects that exist today.


Shi'as and Sunnis even within themselves cannot agree on a single date for Ramadan or Eid al-Fitr. This isnt an issue of Shia vs Sunni. Pray in different mosques? Wahabbis pray in different mosques to Sufis who pray in different mosques than Salafis who pray in different mosques than barelvis who pray ...............etc etc. Iraqis pray in different mosques than Pakistanis who pray in different mosques than Malaysians.....................etc etc. People will go to the mosque they are most comfortable in. This may be due to many things language, nationality, race not just Shi'a or Sunni.