The status of the imams of the Ithna ‘Ashari Shi’ah
Q#101272:
What is the position on the 12
Imams of the Shia, especially the later ones?.
Published Date: 2007-10-22
Praise
be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The
Raafidis, Imamis or Ithna ‘Asharis (“Twelvers”) are one of the branches
of Shi’ism. They are called Raafidis because they
rejected (rafada) most of the Sahaabah and they rejected the leadership
of the two Shaykhs Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, or
because they rejected the imamate of Zayd ibn ‘Ali, and deserted him. They
called Imamis because they are primarily focused on the issue of imamate, and
they made it a basic principle of their religion, or because they claim that the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) stated that ‘Ali and his descendents would be imams.
They
are called Ithna ‘Asharis (“Twelvers”) because they believe in the imamate of twelve men
from the Prophet’s family (ahl al-bayt), the first of whom was ‘Ali (may
Allaah be pleased with him) and the last of whom was Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-‘Askari, the supposed
hidden imam, who they say entered the tunnel of Samarra’ in the middle of the
third century AH and he is still alive therein, and they are waiting for him to
come out!
They
hold beliefs and principles which are contrary to those of the people of Islam,
such as the following:
-1-
They exaggerate about their imams,
claiming
that they are infallible, and they devote many acts
of worship to them such as supplication,
seeking help, offering sacrifices and tawaaf (circumambulating their tombs).
This is major shirk which Allaah tells us will
not be forgiven. These acts of shirk are committed by their scholars and common
folk alike, without anyone among them objecting to that.
-2-
They say that the Holy Qur’aan has
been distorted,
and that things have been added and taken away. They have books concerning that
which are known to their scholars and many of their common folk, and they even
say that believing that the Qur’aan has been distorted is an essential tenet of
their beliefs. See the answer to question no. 21500.
-3-
They regard most of the Sahaabah
(may Allaah be pleased with them) as kaafirs, and disavow them,
and
they seek to draw closer to Allaah by cursing and reviling them. They claim
that they apostatized after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) except very few (only seven).
This
is a rejection of the Qur’aan which affirms their virtue, and says that Allaah
was pleased with them and chose them to accompany His Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).
It
also implies a slur against the Qur’aan itself, because it was transmitted via
them; if they were kuffaar then there is no guarantee that they did not distort
it or change it. This is what the Raafidis believe anyway, as stated above.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: As for the one who goes further and claims that
they apostatized after the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) died, apart from a small number, no more than ten or so, or that
they became evildoers, there is no doubt that he is a kaafir, because he is rejecting what it says in the Qur’aan in
more than one place, that Allaah was pleased with them and praised them.
Indeed,
the one who doubts that such a person is a kaafir is to be labelled as a kaafir
himself, because what this view implies is that those who transmitted the
Qur’aan and Sunnah were kuffaar or rebellious evildoers.
The
verse says “You (true believers in Islamic
Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم
and his Sunnah) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind” [Aal
‘Imraan 3:110], and the best of them were the first generation.
But according to this view, most of them were
kaafirs and rebellious evildoers, and this ummah is the worst of nations and
the earliest generations of this ummah were the most evil of them.
The fact that this is kufr is something that
no Muslim has any excuse for not knowing.
End quote from al-Saarim
al-Maslool ‘ala Shaatim al-Rasool (p. 590).
-4-
They attribute badaa’ to Allaah, i.e., forming a new
opinion that was not held before. This implies attribution of ignorance to
Allaah, may He be exalted.
-5-
They believe in taqiyah
(dissimulation) which means showing
outwardly something other than what one feels inside. In fact this is lying and
hypocrisy and skill in deceiving people. This is not something that they do at
times of fear; rather they regard use of taqiyah as a religious duty for minor
and major matters, at times of fear and times of safety.
Whatever
of truth was narrated from one of their imams, such as praise for the
companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or
agreeing with Ahl al-Sunnah, even in matters of purification or food and drink,
is rejected by the Shi’ah who say that the Imam
only said that by way of taqiyah.
-6-
Belief in raja’ah, which is the
belief that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the
members of his household (ahl al-bayt), ‘Ali, al-Hasan, al-Husayn and the other
imams will return.
At the same time, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan, Mu’aawiyah, Yazeed, Ibn
Dhi’l-Jooshan and everyone who harmed Ahl al-bayt – according to their claims –
will also return.
All
of these people will return – according to their beliefs – to this world once
more before the Day of Resurrection, when the Mahdi reappears, as the enemy of
Allaah Ibn Saba’ told them; they will
return in order to be punished because
they harmed Ahl al-Bayt and transgressed against them and denied them their
rights,
so they will be severely punished, then they will all die, then they will be
resurrected on the Day of Resurrection for the final recompense. This is what
they believe.
And
there are other corrupt beliefs which one can find more details about in the
following books, which explain how false they are:
Al-Khutoot al-‘Areedah by
Muhibb al-Deen al-Khateeb (available in
English, translated by Abu Bilal Mustafa al-Kanadi)
Usool Madhhab al-Shi’ah al-Imamiyyah by
Dr. Naasir al-Qafaari
Firaq Mu’aasirah tantasib ila al-Islam by
Dr. Ghaalib ibn ‘Ali ‘Awaaji (1/127-269)
Al-Mawsoo’ah al-Muyassarah fi’l-Adyaan wa’l-Madhaahib
wa’l-Ahzaab al-Mu’aasirah (1/51-57).
See also the answer to question no. 1148 and10272.
The scholars of the Standing
Committee for Issuing Fatwas were asked: Is the Imam Shi’ah way part of Islam? Who
made it up? Because they, i.e., the Shi’ah, attribute their madhhab to
Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allaah ennoble his face).
Answer: The Imami Shi’ah madhhab
is a fabricated madhhab that has been introduced into Islam. We advise you to
read the book al-Khutoot al-‘Areedah and
Mukhtasar al-Tuhfah al-Ithna ‘Ashariyyah and Minhaaj al-Sunnah by Shaykh
al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah], which will explain a lot of their innovations.
‘Abd
al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz, ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Ghadyaan. End quote.
Fataawa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (2/377).
Secondly:
From
the above it is clear that this madhahb is false and that it goes against the
beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, and that its beliefs will not be
acceptable from anyone, either from their scholars or their common folk.
As
for the imams to whom they claim to belong, they are innocent of this lie and
falsehood.
There follow the names of these imams:
1- ‘Ali ibn
Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased
with him) who was martyred in 40 AH.
2- Al-Hasan
ibn ‘Ali
(may Allaah be pleased with him) (3-50 AH)
3- Al-Husayn
ibn ‘Ali
(may Allaah be pleased with him) (4-61 AH)
4- ‘Ali Zayn
al-‘Aabideen ibn al-Husayn (38-95 AH), whom they call Al-Sajjaad
5- Muhammad
ibn ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Aabideen (57-114 AH)
whom they call Al-Baaqir
6- Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Baaqir (83-148 AH) whom they call Al-Saadiq
7- Moosa ibn
Ja’far al-Saadiq
(128-148 AH) whom they call Al-Kaadim
8- ‘Ali ibn Moosa al-Kaadim (148-203 AH) whom they call Al-Rida (Reza)
9- Muhammad al-Jawaad ibn ‘Ali al-Rida’ (195-220
AH) whom they call Al-Taqiy
10- ‘Ali al-Haadi ibn
Muhammad al-Jawaad (212-254 AH) whom they call Al-Naqiy
11- Al-Hasan
al-‘Askari ibn ‘Ali al-Haadi (232-260) whom
they call Al-Zakiy
12- Muhammad
al-Mahdi ibn al-Hasan al-‘Askari, whom they call al-Hujjah al-Qaa’im al-Muntazar. They claim that
he entered a tunnel in Samarra’, but most researchers are of the view that he
did not exist at all, and that he is a Shi’i myth.
See: al-Mawsoo’ah al-Muyassarah (1/51).
Ibn Katheer said in al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah(1/177): As for what they believe
about the tunnel of Samarra’, that is a myth which
has no basis in reality and no proof or sound reports. End quote.
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) divided the Imams of
the Ithna
‘Ashari Shi’ah into four categories:
1 – ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib,
al-Hasan and al-Husayn (may Allaah be pleased with them). They are noble
Sahaabah and no one doubts their virtue and leadership, but many others shared
with them the virtue of being companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and among the Sahaabah there are others who were more
virtuous than them, based on saheeh evidence from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).
2 –
‘Ali ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad
ibn ‘Ali al-Baaqir, Ja’far ibn Muhammad
al-Saadiq and Moosa ibn Ja’far. They
are among the trustworthy and reliable scholars. Manhaaj al-Sunnah (2/243,
244).
3 – ‘Ali ibn Moosa al-Rida, Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Moosa al-Jawaad,
‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-‘Askari, and al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali ibn Muhammad
al-‘Askari.
Concerning them, Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah)
said: They did not show a great deal of knowledge such that the ummah might
benefit from them, nor did they have any authority by means of which
they could help the ummah.
Rather
they were like any other Haashimis, they
occupy a respected position, and they have sufficient knowledge of what which
is needed by them and expected of people like them; it is a type is knowledge
that is widely available to ordinary Muslims.
But
the type of knowledge that is exclusive to the scholars was not present in
their case. Therefore seeks of knowledge did not receive from them what they
received from the other three. Had they had that which was useful to seekers of
knowledge, they would have sought it from them, as seekers of knowledge are
well aware of where to go for knowledge.
Minhaaj al-Sunnah (6/387).
4 – Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-‘Askari al-Muntazar (the awaited one). He did not exist at all, as stated above.
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
Information about the
Shi’ah
Q#97448:
We
are in urgent need of information about the differences between the Sunnis and Shi’is.
We hope that you can explain something about their beliefs?.
Published Date: 2007-07-30
Praise
be to Allaah.
The Shi’ah have many sects. Some of them are kaafirs who worship ‘Ali and call upon him, and they worship Faatimah,
Al-Husayn and others.
Some of them say that Jibreel (peace be upon him) betrayed the trust and the Prophethood belonged to ‘Ali, not to Muhammad. There are also others
among them, such as the Imamiyyah – the Raafidi Ithna ‘Ashari – who worship ‘Ali and say
that their imams are better than the angels and Prophets.
There are many groups among them;
some are kaafirs and some are not kaafirs. The mildest among them are
those who say that ‘Ali was better than the three (Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and
‘Uthmaan). The one who says this is not a kaafir but he is mistaken, because ‘Ali was the fourth,
and Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan were better than him.
If a person prefers him over them then he is
erring and is going against the consensus of the Sahaabah, but he is not a kaafir. The Shi’ah are of
different levels and types.
The one who wants to know more about that may
refer to the books of the scholars, such as al-Khutoot
al-‘Areedah by Muhibb al-Deen al-Khateeb
[available in English under the same title,
translated by Abu Ameenah Bilaal Philips], Manhaaj
al-Sunnah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, and other books that have
been written on this topic, such as al-Shi’ah
wa’l-Sunnah by Ihsaan Ilaahi Zaheer [also
available in English translation] and many other books which explain
their errors and evils – we ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
Among the most evil of them are the Imamis, Ithna ‘Asharis and Nusayris, who are called al-Raafidah because they rejected
(rafadu) Zayd ibn ‘Ali when he refused to disavow the
two Shaykhs Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, so they went against him and rejected
him. Not everyone who claims to be a Muslim can be accepted as such.
If
a person claims to be a Muslim, his claim should be examined. The one who
worships Allaah alone and believes in His Messenger, and follows that which he
brought, is a real Muslim. If a
person claims to be a Muslim but he worships Faatimah or al-Badawi or
al-‘Aydaroos or anyone else, then he is
not a Muslim. We
ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
Similarly, the same applies to anyone who mocks the faith or
mocks the prayer or zakaah or fasting or Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), or who disbelieves in him, or says that he was ignorant or
that he did not convey the message in full or convey the message clearly. All
such people are kaafirs. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz (28/257
