A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ How are the ‘Alawiyyah different from the Shi’ah? ”   The ‘Alawiyyah sect is an offshoot of Twelver Shi’ah Islam. They were once considered ghuluw , an extreme group beyond the fold of Islam; some still consider them out of the fold for various doctrinal reasons.   The ‘Alawiyyah are named after Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ).   There is some confusion amongst many since there is a separate ‘Alawi sect in Anatolia and the Balkans, known in Turkish as the Alevi , and there is a Sunni Sufi Order known as the ‘Alawiyyah or the Ba ‘Alawiyyah .   They are not related to each other.   In the early days of the sect, they were known as the Nuswayriyyah , named after Abu Shu’ayb Muhammad ibn Nuswayr, a disciple of Imam Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Askari ( r.a. ).   However, due to the fact the ‘Alawi have traditionally practiced an extreme form of taqiyyah suc...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Askari ( q.s. ) said, “What a bad slave of Allah ( s.w.t. ) is the one having two faces and two tongues; he praises the person in his presence, backbites the person when receive a bestowment, and abandons when afflicted.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Askari ( q.s. ) said, “Do not dispute lest you lose splendour, and do not joke lest you will be disrespected.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Askari ( q.s. ) said, “The worst servants of Allah ( s.w.t. ) are those who are two-faced and two-tongued; they praise their present friends and backbite the absent; they envy them for obtaining graces and disappoint them when they suffer a misfortune.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Askari ( q.s. ) said, “To educate an ignorant man and to prevent a habit are two impossible actions.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Askari ( q.s. ) said, “Laughter without reason is a sign of ignorance.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Askari ( q.s. ) said, “How ugly is it for a believer to have attachment to something which is the cause of his humiliation.”