It is of course true that the Shi’ah first appeared on the...

It is of course true that the Shi’ah first appeared on the scene as a distinct group after the death of the Most Noble Prophet, (PBUH&HP), when the close companions of Imam Ali, (PBUH) refused in the wake of the meeting at the Saqifah to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr and proclaimed themselves as a party among the Muslims dedicated to defending the clear and unambiguous texts providing for the entrusting of rule over the Muslims to Imam Ali (PBUH).

(2) Rejecting the attempt made at the Saqifah to neutralize his claim and the recourse that has had to the thesis of “the welfare of the Muslims,” they separated themselves from the majority and formed a group devoted to him.

In this group were to be found such outstanding as Ammar, Abu Dharr, al-Miqdad, Salman and Ibn ‘Abbas, whose sincerity, devotion and commitment had been praised by the Prophet Thus he said of Ammar and his parents: “Be patient and steadfast, O family of Yasir, for Paradise is your destiny.”(3) “O Ammar, glad tidings be unto you, for the oppressors will kill you.” (4) He also proclaimed the kindness and favour God had shown to four great personages: “Allah has enjoined on me the love of four people, and informed me that He himself loves them.” When asked who they were, he replied: “Imam Ali (repeating the name three times), Abu Dharr, Salman, and al-Miqdad.” (5) He spoke as follows of the sincerity and piety of Abu Dharr: “The blue sky has not sheltered, nor has the earth borne, one more honest than Abu Dharr; he lives upon the earth with the same ascetic detachment as ‘Isa the son of Maryam.”(6) Referring to the station in the hereafter of three persons, he said:” Paradise longs for three persons: Imam Ali, Yasir, and Salman.”(7) The Prophet supplicated for Ibn Abbas as follows: “O Allah, teach him the science of interpreting the Qur’an, make him erudite in all things religious, and establish him as a believer.” (8) These then were the devoted followers of Imam Ali, (PBUH), men convinced that he should have been the immediate successor of the Messenger of God, (PBUH&HP) and that the caliphate was his indubitable right.

That which was a matter of dispute and disagreement after the death of the Prophet was the question of succession to the political leadership, not the Imamate, which included the spiritual dimension of the Prophet’s legacy. No one at the Saqifah had anything to say about choosing an Imam, and the question was not even raised.