Download Shi`ite Islam - World Religions

4/10/13
World Religions Print Article
print this record.
Shi'ite Islam
A variety of Islam practiced by about 15 percent of all Muslims. The name "Shi'ite" derives
from the Arabic phrase, Shi'at 'Ali, "the party of Ali." It refers to those who support the
claim that Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad, and his descendants
are the rightful rulers of the Islamic community. A large majority of Muslims reject Shi'ite
claims and practice Sunni Islam. Sunni and Shi'ite Islam differ somewhat with regard to
beliefs and practices, but the major difference concerns who is the rightful ruler of the
Islamic community. The dispute goes back to the time of the prophet's death.
HISTORY
During his lifetime, the prophet Muhammad led the community of Islam both religiously
and politically. He was the ultimate religious authority. He also supervised the life of the
community and led its armies against its enemies.
When the prophet died, the question of who should succeed him remained unsettled.
According to Sunni Islam, Muhammad died without appointing a successor. The
community entrusted its political affairs to a political leader, and it allowed scholars to
decide religious issues. By contrast, Shi'ite Islam maintains that a single person was to
exercise both religious and political leadership, as the prophet had done. Indeed, Shi'ites
claim that before the prophet died, he appointed such a leader, his cousin Ali.
Ali's connections to the prophet were particularly close. He was the son of Abu Talib, who
had raised Muhammad and protected him from his enemies within the Quraysh tribe. He
was also the prophet's son-in-law, the husband of Muhammad's daughter Fatima. He was
the father of the prophet's only grandsons, Hasan and Husayn. And he was the first male
who accepted God's revelations to Muhammad.
When the prophet died, Ali did not succeed him. The community selected three
successive leaders known as caliphs: Abu Bakr (caliph, 632–634), Umar (caliph, 634–
644), and Uthman (caliph, 644–656). These caliphs were social, political, and military
leaders, but not religious ones. Shi'ites do not acknowledge them as legitimate. Ali did
rule as fourth caliph from 656 to 661, but there was much unrest at the time. His grasp on
the government was never firm.
Upon Ali's death, his son Hasan abdicated in favor of the powerful, ambitious, and
militarily successful Muawiyah (caliph, 661–680). He lived the rest of his life in retirement
and died in 669. At that point Hasan's brother Husayn became the rightful imam, the
name Shi'ites give the leader of the community. Muawiyah died in 680, and Husayn saw
an opportunity to assert his claims. But while he was traveling to gather supporters, he
and his family were intercepted at a place in southern Iraq called Karbala. Negotiations
failed, and a massacre followed. Husayn's head was sent to the new caliph, Yazid, in
Damascus. Only one of his sons survived. Throughout the world Shi'ites remember this
event every year with mourning in an observance known as Ashura.
During the next several generations the Shi'ite community split over who was the rightful
imam. Three major groups emerged. They are commonly called "fivers," "seveners," and
1/3
4/10/13
World Religions Print Article
"twelvers."
Fivers favor the claims of a grandson of Husayn named Zayd to have been the fifth imam.
He and his followers insisted that it was their duty to overthrow illegitimate rulers with
force. They had limited success. In the late ninth century they established a state in
Yemen, where fivers continued in power until 1963.
Seveners and twelvers differ over the question of who was the seventh imam. Seveners
say it was Ismail, the older son of the sixth imam. His father had appointed him imam, but
he died before his father did: Seveners insist that Ismail's appointment stands anyway,
and they followed Ismail's son. In the 10th century a sevener established the Fatimid
dynasty, and seveners ruled Egypt for roughly 200 years. From the Fatimids came the
Nizari Ismailis, a group known in the Middle Ages as the assassins, and a small
community with its own religion known as the Druze. Today the Nizari Ismailis are a
peaceful and peace-loving community. They recognize the Aga Khan as their imam.
The twelvers are the largest Shi'ite group. They recognize the 12th imam as the last. In
873 C.E., they say, the 12th imam went into hiding. Eventually he will emerge from hiding
and restore true Islam. In the meantime he inspires religious scholars, known as
mujtahidin or ayatollahs, who lead the community. In the 16th century a twelver Shi'ite
dynasty, the Safavids, took control of Iran. The Shi'ite community was instrumental in
bringing about the Iranian revolution of 1979.
BELIEFS, PRACTICES, AND ORGANIZATION
Like all Muslims, Shi'ites practice the five pillars of the faith. They accept the Qur'an as
authentic. They also recognize the authority of the prophet's words and deeds as recorded
in the (Shi'ite) Hadith.
The major difference between Sunni and Shi'ite Islam is over who should govern the
community and how. As already noted, the Shi'ites say a single person known as the
imam should rule both politically and religiously. For them, the imam is God's own
witness on Earth. He possesses perfect religious knowledge.
As a result, Shi'ites also differ from Sunnis on how the Muslim community learns what is
right. According to Sunnis, the Qur'an and the Hadith of the prophet teach what is right.
The consensus of religious scholars determines what they mean. When one confronts
situations not found in the Qur'an and the Hadith, as happens today, religious scholars
determine what is right by reasoning from analogy.
Shi'ites reject both the consensus of scholars and reasoning from analogy. They add to
the Hadith of the prophet the pronouncements of imams. To determine what is required
today, some communities, such as the Nizari Ismailis, consult their imam; others, such
as the twelvers, consult a recognized religious scholar, who reasons independently. This
reasoning results in the issuing of a legal pronouncement known as a fatwa. One of the
most notorious fatwas of the 20th century was pronounced by the leader of Iran, the
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He called upon Muslims to kill a novelist, Salman Rushdie,
because, Khomeini claimed, Rushdie had blasphemed God and the Qur'an in one of his
books. One should emphasize that this particular fatwa is extreme, unusual, and
controversial, even in Shi'ite communities.
Shi'ites have often lived as a persecuted minority. They have seen "dissimulation" as an
appropriate response. That is, they may outwardly act like their neighbors and practice
Shi'ite Islam in secret. The most distinctive Shi'ite observance is Ashura. It commemorates
the assassination of Husayn on the 10th of Muharram, often through the performance of
"passion plays."
SIGNIFICANCE
2/3
4/10/13
World Religions Print Article
At the beginning of the 21st century, Shi'ite Islam was familiar to North Americans as the
official religion of Iran and the majority religion of Iraq. It was often associated with reports
of violence in the news media. But in all ages, including the present, the vast majority of
Shi'ites have practiced their religion in peace, sometimes despite severe persecution. They
have also made major contributions to global culture. Examples include the famous alAzhar University in Cairo, Egypt, founded by the Fatimids in 970 C.E., and the glorious
architectural monuments of Isfahan, Persia (now Iran).
Citation Information
MLA
Chicago Manual of Style
Alles, Gregory D., and Robert S. Ellwood. "Shi'ite Islam." World Religions Online.
Infobase Learning. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://wro.factsonfile.com/recordurl.aspx?
wid=17129&nid=65248>.
How to Cite
Record URL: http://wro.factsonfile.com/recordurl.aspx?wid=17129&nid=65248
↑ Return to the top
3/3