A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Nur ad-Din  Abu ‘Ubadah   ‘Ali ibn Juma’ah wrote, examining the Imamate according to Shi‘ism, that lexically, the word, “Shi’ah” means, “ answar ”, “adherent”, such that the related word, “ tashayyu ”, “partisanship”, denotes “ al-intiswar ”, “the victory of one over another”.   Historically, the word, “Shi’ah” refers to the supporters of Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ).   In the sectarian sense, the term refers to the explicit conviction that the right to the caliphate fell only to Sayyidina ‘Ali ( k.w. ) and his children.   They differed thereafter as to which among his descendants had priority: the Zaydiyyah asserted the Imamate through the third-generation descendent, Imam Zayd ibn ‘Ali ash-Shahid ( q.s. ); the Isma’iliyyah asserted the Imamate through the seventh-generation descendent, Imam Abu Muhammad Isma’il al-A’araj ibn Ja’far asw-Swadiq ( q.s. ) and the Itsna’ Ash’ari , Twelver, Shi’ah asserted t...

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   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Why are the Mu’tazilah concerned whether the Qur’an was Created or Uncreated? ”   The Createdness of the Qur’an has implications on the Divine Attributes, and its relationship with free will.   This is a long and complicated story, but we can summarise it here for simplicity, and mention the salient points.   Firstly, if the Qur’an is Uncreated, what is Its relationship with Allah ( s.w.t. )?   It cannot be from the Dzat , Essence, so it has to be Swifat , an Attribute. Are these Attributes Co-Eternal, as Sunni Islam believes?   If that is so, does it imply a sort of shirk , as the Itsna’ ‘Ashari claim?   My belief is that of Sunni Islam’s that the Attributes, though Co-Eternal, does not imply a multiplicity of godheads, but an immensity of the Divine Absoluteness.   Secondly, the contention is that if Allah ( s.w.t. ) Exists beyond time and space, ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Nur ad-Din Abu ‘Ubadah ‘Ali ibn Juma’ah wrote that the Zaydis follow Imam Zayd ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ( r.a. ), and are the Shi’ah denomination most similar to the Sunnis.   They agree with the Sunnis, as opposed to the Twelver Shi’ah that the question of the imamiyyah is a branch of religion which does admit rational interpretation, and is likewise subject to independent judgement.   The Twelver Shi’ah hold their opinion to be established through express textual support, that is, authentically-narrated reports indisputably indicating the person of the imam .   Zaydis recognise texts indicating the person of the imam , but hold them to be less definitive both in their transmission and their signification, and to describe the attributes of the imam , but not specify him by name.   Further distinctions between the Twelver Shi’ah and Zaydis are logically entailed by these differences, in that the former hold that one w...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ When it comes to the different sects in Islam, we often forget that theological positions evolve.  So, saying such and such group believes a certain thing may be correct then, but incorrect now.   For example, what we know as the ‘Alawiyyah Shi’ah sect was outright heretical 700 or so years ago.  It was documented that they believed in reincarnation, which is absolutely unacceptable to Islam.  Now, due to rapprochement by the Itsna’ ‘Ashari , they are indistinguishable in their belief in Imamiyyah , and are a separate sect in name only.   A classic early example would be the splinter group of the Khwarij which went mainstream and eventually evolved into the Ibadhi sect.  This sect predates both Sunni and Shi ’ ah Islam.   When it comes to the Qadiyani sect, we reject their belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.  And then they split into two branches, with the Qadiyani Ahmadi adhering to the...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Zaydiyyah follow Imam Zayd ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ( r.a. ), and are the Shi’ite denomination most similar to the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah .  They agree with the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah , and contend with the Twelver Shi’ah that the question of imamiyyah is a branch of religion which does admit rational interpretation and is, likewise, subject to independent judgement.  The Twelver Shi’ah hold their opinion to be established through express textual support, that is, authentically-narrated reports indisputably indicating the person of the imam .  Zaydiyyah recognise texts indicating the person of the Imam but hold them to be less definitive, both in their transmission and their signification, and to describe the attributes of the Imam but not specify him by name.   Further distinctions between the Twelver Shi’ah and Zaydiyyah are logically entailed by these differences, in that the former hold that one who denie...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The word, “ Shi’ah ” lexically means, “adherent,” even “ answar ”, such that the related word, “ tashayyu’ ”, “partisanship,” denotes “ al-intiswar ”, “the victory of one over another”.  Historically, the word, “ Shi’ah ” refers to the supporters of Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ).  The term refers to the explicit conviction that the right to the caliphate fell only to Sayyidina ‘Ali ( k.w. ) and his children.  They differed amongst themselves, thereafter, as to which among his descendants had priority: the Zaydiyyah asserted the imamiyyah through the third-generation descendent, Imam Zayd ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ( q.s. ); the Isma’iliyyah asserted the imamiyyah through the seventh-generation descendent, Imam Isma’il ibn Ja’far asw-Swadiq ( q.s. ) and the Itsna ‘Ashari , Twelver Shi’ah, asserted the imamiyyah through Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-‘Askari ( q.s. ). The Twelver Shi’ah hold that the authority of the Imamat...