A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ What is the primary and real difference between Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah and the Shi’ah ?   What beliefs and actions are kufr ? ”   The definition of what constitutes the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah is not as straightforward, but that is a distinct discussion.   Sunni Islam has four main schools of ‘aqidah , creed.   They are the Ash’ari, Maturidi, Thahawi and the Hanbali Atsari.   The Atsari creed here is not the same as the Neo-Atsari creed of the Wahhabi sect, which is considered an outright heresy, and their beliefs are kufr due to their anthropomorphism.   The Shi’ah themselves are not a monolithic group, with dozens of sects.   The two largest are the Twelver Shi’ah, named because they follow the 12 a’immah of the Ahl al-Bayt in succession; and the Zaydis, named after the fifth imam they followed, Imam Zayd ibn ‘Ali ash-Shahid ( q.s. ).   Eve...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is safe to say that, in Sunni Islam, the madzhab of the Ahl al-Bayt , or most directly linked to them, is the Hanafi madzhab .   Imam al-A’azham , Imam Abu Hanifah Nu’man ibn Tsabit ( r.a. ) gained much knowledge from Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Baqir ( q.s. ) as well as his son, Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad asw-Swadiq ( q.s. ).   In Swirath an-Nu’man , it is written that “Abu Hanifah sat for a long time at Imam Muhammad al-Baqir’s feet and acquired from him much valuable knowledge of fiqh and ahadits , not available anywhere else.”     Even Shi’ah books fully attest to this fact and much more.   Imam Jamal ad-Din al-Hasan ibn Yusuf Muthahhar al-Hilli ( r.a. ), a famous Shi’ah scholar, wrote in his books, Nahj al-Haqq , and Minhaj al-Karamah fi Thariqa’ al-Imamat , that Imam Abu Hanifah ( r.a. ) learned from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir ( q.s. ) as well as from his son, Imam Ja’far asw-Swadiq ( q.s. ), attaining high grades in...