ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Shi'a and Their Beliefs The Shi!a in Brief The Shi!a (or Shi’ites) are those Muslims who follow [after the Prophet Mu9ammad] !Al: ibn AbY ھ"lib Commander of the Believers, and his pure progeny, peace be upon them.5 They constitute more than 500 million people and are spread throughout all the Muslim lands and make up minorities of differing number in most other countries of the world.

Their numbers have increased day by day particularly since the crystallisation of Islamic thoughts and the opening of the door to dialogue and the rejection of blind partisanship.

They believe in All"h as their Lord, Cherisher and Sustainer, in Mu9ammad, blessings and peace be upon him6, as their prophet, in Islam as their religion, in the Qur’"n as their holy book, in the Ka!bah in Mecca as their direction of prayer (qiblah), in the questioning in the grave by the angels Munkar and Nak:r, in the accounting on the day of resurrection, in heaven and hell, and in all that Allah’s messenger – Mu9ammad (N) – brought from his Lord.

They also establish the daily prayer (Nal"h), and pay the tithe (khums) and obligatory alms (zak"h), and they fast the month of Rama+"n, and make pilgrimage to the Holy House in Mecca, and they make it incumbent to struggle with might and main (jih"d) in the way of elevating the word of Islam, and they enjoin what is good and they forbid what is bad, and they ally themselves with the friends of Alla>h, and are against the enemies of Alla>h.

They are foremost in good and charitable deeds, and are steadfast in fulfilling extra and recommended acts of worship, and adopting virtues and avoiding unlawful things and vices. They believe that Islam is a complete religion which was revealed by Alla>h for the happiness of mankind. Hence, everything in Islam should be implemented in the various areas of life since there is no happiness without implementing the laws of Islam and having no need for the laws of the east or the west.

Almighty Alla>h has said: eAnd whoever desires other than Islam as a religion, it will never be accepted from him and in the afterlife he will be amongst the losersf7 Also, in the traditions it is said: ‘That which Mu9ammad has declared lawful will remain lawful until the day of resurrection and that which he has declared unlawful will remain unlawful until the day of resurrection’8.