Religion and Theology

Introduction
Often, discussions of Shia in Islam begin with the original difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims before proceeding on the basis of comparison. Inevitably, some reference to what distinguishes these two traditions is needed when describing what Shia Muslims do believe. However, this paper begins with the worldview and experience of Shia Muslims, rather than with a comparative exercise contrasting Shia and Sunni Islam. This takes seriously Shia self-description. Shia Muslims regard their Islam as normative, not as a sub-tradition or as a branch of Islam, although this is how Sunni Muslims often see Shia. There are fewer Shia in Islam (approximately 15) but for Shia it does not follow that the larger group has the correct version of Islam. Inevitably, though, in reconstructing the story some comparison is needed. Nonetheless, this paper resists, as much as possible, constructing Shia Isalm in opposition to Sunni Islam. What characterizes and shapes Shia belief is conviction that God does not only send prophets but that they always have successors. Muhammad, after whose name Muslims add, Upon Whom Be Peace, was the last prophet, succeeded by the Imams. This is in fact the point of departure between Shia and Sunni Sunni do not recognize Imams. For Shia, God entrusted Imams with leadership, so loyalty is due to them, despite suffering and sacrifice. True belief is represented by faithfulness to the Imam (leader). The majority of Shia revere 12 Imams, the last of whom is now Hidden but will return, establishing peace and justice.

Origin of Shia Islam
According to all Muslims, God created the world and everything it contains. God sent thousands of prophets to earth, to inform humanity about Gods existence and what God requires from people. Muslim tradition refers to 124,000 prophets, one for every people (Q16 36 See Ali (2002) for Quranic references). Shia Muslims believe that every prophet also had a successor to continue their message. They revere the prophets of three religions, all of whom were sent by God with essentially the same message, how to live according to Gods will. This means that people refrain from what is forbidden and engage in what is permitted. The first religion was Judaism, the second Christianity, the last one was Islam. Properly understood, Islam was actually the first because the path that God wants people to follow is always the same. All Jewish prophets came from God. Jesus, revered by Christians, was also a Prophet from God. All told people about God, preaching that only God  the One God - is to be worshipped and obeyed.

Islam as an historical religion dates from the Prophet Muhammad (570-632), the last in a long line of divine messengers. The word means submission (to Gods will) and is derived from the Arabic for peace. Muhammad lived in Arabia, so the scripture that God revealed to him, the Quran, was written in Arabic. Later, Islam spread across the globe. Seyyed Hossein Nasr writes that Islam considers itself the last world religion on the earth (25-27), after which there will be no new religions. Yet Islam is also the first religion because Adam, the first man was also the first in the sequence or cycle of prophets. Islam is often described as the first and last religion. Gods message does not change. After Muhammad, prophecy ends. This is because God revealed Gods complete message to Muhammad, correcting errors that had crept into the messages of earlier prophets. Muslims are defined as those who believe that there is only One God (Allah in Arabic) and affirm that Muhammad was Gods messenger. They accept all that God spoke to Muhammad, contained in the Quran. The 114 chapters of the Quran were revealed by God from 610 until shortly before Muhammads death.

Before Prophet Muhammad (Peace Upon him) died, he told his followers that after him, his successor would be Imam Ali and his sons. Ali was Muhammads cousin and son-in-law, so his children were Muhammads grandchildren. Ali had married the Prophets daughter, Fatimah. Not everyone wanted Ali as leader, though. A meeting took place in Medina, the city of the Prophet, to choose another candidate. Some claimed that Muhammad had not appointed a successor, that it was the communitys responsibility to decide how to exercise leadership. These Muslims appointed Abu Bakr, a respected Muslim who was also Muhammads father-in-law. They called him Caliph (deputy) and said that he possessed no special authority but was to govern based on the Quran and Muhammads example (sunnah), from which the word Sunni is derived.  Those who supported Ali became known as the party of Ali, that is, the Shia (Rippin 103-106). Shia take it as axiomatic that God always appoints a successor, that it is not the prerogative of the community to do this. Abu Bakr usurped leadership from Ali. Ali himself did not want to create division, so quietly withdrew from public affairs. He wrote that he watched the plunder of his inheritance but put up a curtain against the caliphate, keeping detached from it (Ali 6). He refrained from speaking out so that people would not call him greedy (9). He also spoke of possessing hidden knowledge which he did not divulge at the time. Abu Bakr was succeeded by Umar, then by Uthman. When Uthman was assassinated in 656, Ali was finally asked to become Caliph. Only Ali, people said, could maintain unity. Ali therefore became the fourth Sunni caliph but for Shia he was the first and only legitimate successor to Muhammad, who would himself be succeeded by sons. Only male heirs of Muhammad can lead the community because their leadership does not rest on human choice but has been ordained by God. God does not leave the community without a leader.
Each Prophet has a successor. Prophet Muhammads successor was Imam Ali. Imam means the primary link between Allah and humanity, or he who stands first. In fact, Imam Ali was the first male to believe in Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him), to pray with him and to believe in his message. He was ten years old at the time. Ali is universally honored by Muslims for his piety and goodness. Sunni honor him as their fourth Caliph, Shia as the only legitimate leader of the post-Muhammad community. Unfortunately, Alis rule as leader was turbulent and chaotic, not due to any shortcomings of his but to opposition from others. Aisha, Muhammads widow and Abu Bakrs daughter, accused Ali of failing to bring Uthmans killers to justice, rebelling against him. This was followed by a revolt led by a relative of Uthman, Muawiyya, governor of Syria. Ali had dismissed him from that powerful post but Muawiyya refused to leave. Instead, he led troops in a rebellion. Alis army and Muawiyya met at the Battle of Siffin in 657. Muawiyya was also related to Muhammads former arch foe, Abu Sufyan, who resisted Islam until the fall of Mecca in 630. Muawiyya was claiming the caliphate, based on his relationship to Uthman and Alis alleged failure to unite the community. During the battle, both sides agreed to appoint a negotiator so that the dispute might be resolved without more bloodshed. Ali was confident that the negotiators would confirm the legality of his leadership, denying Muawiyyas claim. However, probably due to a bribe, Alis own representative agreed with Muawiyyas that Alis caliphate was null and void. From that time on, Muawiyya claimed the leadership although Ali continued to enjoy support from those who were loyal. He subsequently won a battle against dissidents called Kharijites, who had supported him before Siffin but who then abandoned him claiming that he should have let God, not human mediators, decide the outcome. Their motto was Decision is Gods alone. Ali said, We did not name people the arbitrators but we named the Quran  The Quran is a book  and it does not speak  it should therefore necessarily have an interpreter (Ali 90). He also wrote that Muawiyya had deceived him, he is not more cunning than I but he deceives and commits evil deeds (174). Tragically, a surviving Kharijite killed Ali in 661.

The Split with Sunni Islam
The sons of Imam Ali, Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain still hoped that the caliphate would be returned to them after Muawiyyas death. Hassan, Alis eldest son, urged Muawiyya to abdicate, pointing out that his own claim on the leadership was superior, telling him you do not possess any known merit in religion (deen), nor have you any trace (athar) of Islam in you (Zakaria 61) but Muawiyya responded, I have better understanding of politics and also I am much older than you (62). Even before his own death, Muawiyya named his own son, Yazid, as caliph, demanding that officials and leading members of the community take an oath of loyalty.  Hassan died but Imam Hussain refused to accept Yazids leadership. Anticipating that many Muslims would support him, he led a small army into battle against Yazids troops. Tragically, expected reinforcements did not arrive, so as few as 80 of Hussains supporters fought an army of about 4,000. Imam Hussain and his family in the company of seventy followers were captured and killed at Karbala. Only one male descendant of Muhammad survived. This event took place at Karbala in present day Iraq during the month of Muharram, which is commemorated by the festival of Ashura. Shiites gather at the site annually to commemorate this incidence. This is what marked the real emergence of Shii as a religious movement and the start of hostility with Sunni. The Sunni continued to recognize Yazid and his heirs as Caliphs, although the Umayyad dynasty (founded by Muawiyya) was toppled by a coup and succeeded in 750 by the Abbasids.

Hassan and Hussain are counted as the second and third Imams, succeeding Ali. They may have had little chance to exercise leadership but for Shia they were still the true leaders, not Muawiyya and his son. After the massacre at Karbala, the Imams identity was kept hidden and his loyal supporters often also maintained their practice of Shia in secret, due to persecution. The Imams feared capture or execution, if their identity was made known to the Sunni caliph. Due to the murders of Ali, Hassan (said to have been poisoned), of Hussain and of other members of the prophets family, their deaths are understood as suffering on behalf of others. A succession of Imams followed. A dispute after the death of the 5th Imam led to one of several sub-branches. The 6th Imam, al-Jafar (d. 765) was highly respected by Sunni as well as Shia as a scholar and teacher, actually teacher two of the most honored Sunni jurists. He was able to enter public life. Many Sunni began to describe Shia as another legal school, the Jafari school, alongside Sunni schools. Al-Jafar codified Shia law and theology, developing thinking about the Imamate.

Shii Islam bases itself, belief and teachings on the holy book of Quran. Therefore, it is not all that different from the other schools of thought within Islam. In fact, Shia Islam has often functioned as another school within Islam and frequent attempts have been made to reconcile Shia and Sunni. Shia  have a strong belief in the messages passed by the prophet Muhammad but maintain that after his death, Muslims owe loyalty to the Imam. Loyalty to the Imam is signified by the Shahada, Islams first pillar, which for Shia combines belief in the Imamate with belief in One God and Muhammads apostleship. Unlike the caliphs, who possessed no special authority, Imams are inspired and infallible. They are charged with political and spiritual leadership of the community, while the Caliphs were temporal or political leaders and had no religious role. The Ahl al-Bayt (people of the Prophets house) plays an important role in Shia Islam and their suffering is remembered and commemorated. Bennett comments that in later Shia thought, not only the Imams but their entire families, together with the Holy Family of the Prophet, pre-existed. This means that the succession of Imams was ordained by God, following a predetermined patter. Bennett continues, Karbala, the site of the massacre of Husayn and his companions, had also pre-existed the creation of the world and at the Day of Reckoning will be restored to paradise as the dwelling place of the prophets and saints (108). In theory, the Imam is not only head of the community but the visible proof (hujja) of the truth of the divine revelation without his presence the world would not exist for a single moment (Halm 45). The same light (nur) that illuminated Muhammad (Q5 15) continues to inspire his heirs. Shii recognize the authority of the Hadith (accounts of Muhammads words and acts), as do Sunni. Shia have four collections of hadith. There is a lot of overlap between these four books and the six collections recognized by Sunni except that the four contain more traditions honoring the Holy Family and the succession of Imams.  Shia tradition demonizes Yazid and sees the conflict between him and Hussain as one of light versus darkness.  The Shia and Sunni revere exactly the same Quran. Shia Muslims interpret Q 33 33 as demanding especial respect for the Prophets Family. Prophet Mohammed said in Imam Ali I am the city of knowledge and Imam Ali is its gate, if you want to get the knowledge come from the gate. What Prophet Mohammed (Peace Upon him) means in this Hadith is, come to Imam Ali he has enough knowledge, so ask him whatever you want. One hadith has Muhammad saying, I am the locality of knowledge and Ali is the gateway (Peters 125), underlining the necessity of belief in Ali as well as Muhammad. There is very little difference between Shia and Sunni ritual, either.

Shia After the 12th Imam the Hidden Imamate
As well as a dispute after the 5th Imams death (producing the Fivers, or Zaydis), a dispute led to a split following al-Jafar. A minority followed Imam Ismail, becoming Ismailis. They ruled Egypt from 909 to 1171 and a smaller territory for some time after that. These Shia also experienced several splits but the largest group continues to revere a living, or present Imam, now know as the Aga Khan. The larger community recognized Musa after al-Jafars death. They continued to recognize five more Imams, until Muhamamd ibn Hasan, born in 868, succeeded his father in 873. Persecution was now rampant and because he was a minor, guardians led the community on his behalf. For his protection, God hid the 12th Imam in paradise. Until 940, he led the community through deputies. The last deputy did not appoint a successor. Ali predicted that the Imam would one day hide yet still lead his people. Known as al-Mahdi, he wears the armor of wisdom and is the last of Allahs proofs (Ali 141). Shia, those known as twelvers, Ithna ashariyya, believe that al-Mahdi will return, inaugurating an age of peace and justice. His return is associated with that of Jesus. Together, they will defeat the agents of Satan.

Following what the tradition refers to as al-Mahdis occultation, religious scholars began to exercise authority in Shia Islam. The belief developed that, in addition to recognizing the Imam, Shia should imitate (taqlid) a living scholar. Highly trained, these scholars can interpret the Imams will but only when they act as a college. From time to time, though, a highly respected scholar might earn higher titles, including Ayatollah-al-Uzma (the greatest sign of God) or even as the absolute point of reference and such an individual becomes the Imams eyes and ears on earth. It was not until the beginning of the Safavid dynasty in Iran (1501) that Shia gained political power and emerged as the majority in a single territory. In theory, the Imam rules even though hidden, so all human government falls short of the ideal. However, a partnership emerged between the Shahs and the religious scholars (Ulama). The Shah exercised political power while legal and spiritual authority was vested in the jurists. In fact, the early Safavid rulers did claim to be naib al-Imam (deputy of the Imam) (Bennett 167) but later appointed a Sadr who held this title. The Sadr was a senior alim (scholar). There was some rivalry between the Safavid Shahs and the Ulama but for much of the time the division of function worked well. The Shahs maintained law and order the Ulama interpreted the law and ran the courts. Shia law and thought is flexible because it is always possible to deduce new understandings of this. As Imam Ali said, the Quran is a book and cannot speak except through an interpreter. Scholars have the ability to exercise ijtihad, to extend the law by mental effort. Loyalty is always given to a living scholar, since one should not imitate a dead man (taqlid al-mayyet) (Richard 69).

This system began to break down under the Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979). The two Shahs of this dynasty wanted to Westernize Iran. They introduced many changes without consulting the Ulama. Some of the changes were unpopular. Some were regarded as contrary to Islamic tradition. Disregarding democratic procedures and alienating the Ulama, the Shah faced increasing opposition, led by a senior cleric, a sign of God or Ayatollah, Khomeini, whom many recognized as the absolute point of reference (Bennett 168). Exiled in France, he depicted the Shah as the new Yazid. Rebellion against him was of the just against the unjust and represented a religious duty (Bennett 168). Faith and the state should be unified, not separated as it had been under the dual system. Ayotollah Khomeini taught that qualified jurists should govern, until Al-Mahdi returns. In 1979, when he was allowed to return to Iran, the Islamic Revolution swept the Shah from power, establishing the Islamic Republic of Iran with Ayotollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader.

Conclusion
Akbar Ahmed writes about what he calls the Karbala paradigm, which he describes as, a sense of sectarian uniqueness, of group loyalty, faith in the leadership, readiness for sacrifice. For Shia, he says, history went awry at the source a sense of injustice is thus rooted in the way the community perceives the world (56-7). The Karbala paradigm refers to the martyrdom of the Imams, who suffered for the sake of the true faith. Throughout their history, Shia have experienced persecution. They have rarely persecuted others and historically in Iran minorities such as Christians and Jews enjoyed many freedoms and were fairly treated by the government. Shia today form the majority in Iran and in Iraq, although they are a small majority in the latter. They are also the majority in the Lebanon, where Muslims slightly outnumber Christians and in Azerbaijan. Zaydi Shia (Fivers) from a majority in the Yemen, where they continued to choose an Imam until the last one was deposed in a coup in 1962.

At times, Shia and Sunni have clashed. More often, Shia living in Sunni majority states kept their identity secret, avoiding clashes. Some Sunni regard Shia as non-Muslim. In a few Sunni states, such as Saudi Arabia, there are restrictions on Shia such as exclusion from certain jobs and on commemorating Ashura. Some Shia books are banned. There is an increasing tendency to see all Muslims as members of recognized schools, a practice that dates back to an early period. Various declarations by famous Sunni scholars proclaim Shia as a valid school in 2004, representatives of Shia and Sunni Islam issued the Amman Message, declaring that all Muslims who belong to a recognized legal school (Shia and Sunni) are true Muslims and cannot be declared otherwise.  Shia Islam is dynamic, since living scholars can re-interpret the law. This is contrary to the way that Shia is often depicted in the Western media, which represents Shia Islam as a form of fanaticism resisting change and reform. Shia Muslims want to honor God as never leaving people without a guide the Prophet Muhammad was the last prophet because his message was complete. However, God appointed Imams as signs of His mercy to succeed him. Sunnis are Muslims too. However, their faith would be more complete if they recognized and honored the Imams, from the Shia perspective.