Since the case is as such...

Since the case is as such, since there are differences between the Shī’ahs and the Sunnis, and before we issue a verdict labeling a particular sect as “invalid” or preferring one method over another, we ought to take the time to look into the proofs and arguments of each party. We have dedicated our research for this purpose.

We will be summarizing the texts which the Shī’ahs regard as proofs for upholding their Imāmite sect as well as the rebuttal of the Sunnis of the same: Proofs Confirming the Imāmate of Ahlul Bayt (‘a) Proofs Confirming the Number of Imāms from among Ahlul Bayt (‘a) Proofs Regarding the Appointment by the Prophet (ṣ) of Ali ibn Abū Tālib (‘a) [as his successor] Texts Relevant To Imāmate 1.

Proofs Confirming the Imāmate of Ahlul Bayt (‘a) Texts quoted from the Messenger of Allāh (ṣ) referring to the Imāmate, after his demise, of the nation’s Ahlul Bayt (‘a) are numerous; here are the most famous among them: According to Muslim’s Sahīh , relying on isnād which goes back to Zaid ibn Arqam, the Messenger of Allāh (ṣ), so Zaid narrated, said, “O people! I am a human upon whom the messenger of my Lord is about to call.

I will surrender to the call, and I am leaving among you two weighty things: the first of them is the Book of Allāh wherein there is guidance and noor . So, take the Book of Allāh, for in it there is guidance and there is noor . Uphold the Book of Allāh and adhere to it. And (the other are) my Ahlul Bayt (‘a).

I commend to you, in the Name of Allāh, my Ahlul Bayt (‘a);I commend to you, in the Name of Allāh, my Ahlul Bayt (‘a); I commend to you, in the Name of Allāh, my Ahlul Bayt (‘a).[^1] In al-Tirmidhi’s Sahīh , through isnād traced to Jābir ibn Abdullāh [al-Ansāri], the latter said, “I saw the Messenger of Allāh (ṣ) on the Day of ‘Arafa when he performed his [last] pilgrimage. He was riding his she-camel Quswa. He delivered a sermon, and I heard him saying, ‘O people!

I have left among you that, so long as you uphold to it, you shall never stray: The Book of Allāh and my ‘itrat , my Ahlul Bayt’.[^2] Had there been only this hadīth , it would have sufficed to prove the authenticity of the Shī’ah sect which obligates clinging to Ahlul Bayt (‘a) in addition to clinging to the Glorious Book of Allāh.