Answering Shia Concerning Imamah

The center of the debate between the Ahlus Sunnah and Shia revolves around the issue of Imamah (i.e. Aimmatal Masoomeen). The importance of Imamah is so great that the Shia Ulema consider those whoreject Imamah to be Kaffir. Likewise, the Sunni Ulema consider those who accept (

in toto

) the Shiadoctrine of Imamah to be Kaffir.Most of the polemical debate between Sunni and Shia revolves around peripheral issues such as Mutah,Matam, Saqifah, Ghadeer Khumm, Fadak, and other such side issues. However, the fundamental issue of debate–namely Imamah–is oftentimes ignored. In the words of Sidi Abu Salih:Every other disagreement the Shia have with the Sunnis [other than Imamah] has its roots inthe Shia insistence on Imamah as a principle of Islam, both in belief and practise. Fromdiffering views and interpretations of history, entirely different systems of Hadith collectionand authentication, and divergent manners of performing Islamic practises, all thesedissimilarities can be traced back to Imamah as a doctrine in Shia faith.It is therefore only reasonable that the focus of any serious quest for truth would begin andend with the principle of Imamah in the mind of the truth-seeker. Trying to research aboutthe differences between Shia and Sunni without considering the dogma of Imamah as a mainsticking point will lead to dead ends and fruitless arguments. I have personally witnessed anumber of [Sunni-Shia] discussions that quickly descend into chaos because one side or theother wishes to discuss a subject of peripheral importance.Source: Sidi Abu Salih,

Imaamah and the Quran: An Objective Perspective

, p.5;

Ahlel Bayt » Articles » The Quran Challengefile:///C|/Users/NSA/Desktop/New%20folder%20(2)/quran-challenge.htm[8/3/2009 4:27:04 PM]

Download book hereIt is safe to say that if the Shia did not believe in the concept of Imamah, then they would not beconsidered a separate sect. The other issues of contention between Sunni and Shia are simply aconsequence of Imamah. Hence, Imamah and its validity in the Quran is the main issue of contention between the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah and their Shia brothers.

Imamah

Before we proceed, it is important to state what exactly is the Shia doctrine of Imamah.The Shia doctrine of Imamah: Apart from the Prophets, there are another group of God-appointed persons called Imams. These are people who possess Ismah (infallibility) andhave access to a knowledge that is not accessible by ordinary people. The world cannot beempty of an Imam otherwise it will be destroyed. In the Islamic context, these individuals aretwelve people among the descendants of the Holy Prophet (

) who are appointed by nobody except Allah (

) alone to lead the Muslims. Anyone who chooses a leader other thanthese twelve is misguided and not a complete believer. The twelvth (last) of the Imams is theMehdi and, although he has been in occultation for more than one thousand years, he willreturn when Allah (

) wishes and then justice will prevail.

Importance of Imamah

The above stated doctrine of Imamah is the core belief of the Shia. The Shia consider five articles of belief as fundamentals of religion. These are:1. Tawheed (Oneness of God)2. Nabuwwah (Prophethood)3. Ma’ad (Day of Judgement)4. Adl (Justice of God)5. Imamah (the above stated doctrine)Imamah is considered by the Shia to be one of the Usool-e-Deen [fundamentals of religion].In the words of Sidi Abu Salih:In Shi’ism, the matters of religion are divided into Usool-e-Deen and Furoo-e-Deen. TheUsool-e-Deen are the principles of belief in the religion, analogous to the Pillars of Faith inSunnism. The Furoo-e-Deen relates to the practises in the religion, such as prayer, fasting,pilgrimage, and so on.To introduce the reader to what constitutes the Usool-e-Deen in Shi’ism, I will quote thefollowing tract from Allamah Muhammad Husayn al-Kashiful Ghita’s book “The Origin of Shi’ite Islam and its Principles” (Asl ash-Shi’ah wa Usuluha):“Those matters which concern knowledge or wisdom, are called Usool-e-Deen(fundamentals of religion) and they are five: Tawheed, Nabuwwah, Imamah, Adl, andMa’ad.”[

“The Origin of Shiite Islam and its Principles, Part II: Fundamentals of the Religion”,Part II:

The Fundmentals of the Religion

, Section

The Fundamental Beliefs,

p.218]In similar fashion, the Shia scholar Muhammad Ridha Muzaffar states:

“We believe that theImamah is one of the fundamentals of Islam (Usool-e-Deen), and that man’s faith can never be complete without belief in it.”

…The [only] real issue of contention [between Sunni and Shia] is with respect to [the belief in]Imamah. As [the Shia scholar] Allamah Kashiful Ghita mentions:

“It is the question of theImamah which distinguishes the Shia sect from all other sects. Other differences are notfundamental; they are furoo’i (i.e. secondary)”[Asl-ul-Shia wa Usuluha, p.221]Source: Sidi Abu Salih,

Imaamah and the Quran: An Objective Perspective

, p.7;