This is the point where “the proper method of doing research...

This is the point where “the proper method of doing research on the Imamiyyah school of thought” acquires value. Our method of framing the peculiarities of the Imamiyyah Shi‘ism will move through three stages, the immediate pacing of which ought to be observed if we desire to keep away from the pitfalls into which Wahhabis have fallen while displaying the Shi‘ah peculiarities.

The three stages that ought to be followed are: Stage one: an understanding of the Imamiyyah’s link In this stage we examine the reasons why the Wahhabis stick to their study of the Imamiyyah’s origin, and the mistake they make in identifying the Imamiyyah with the extremists, the Ghulat . The two major factors contributing to the above mistakes are: The Wahhabis’ lack of knowledge; The Wahhabi’s method of study.

The first factor itself stems from three other causes: a) Not understanding what Ghulat means; b) Not understanding what the Twelver Shi‘ism means; c) Being unaware of the Immayyiah’s position towards the Ghulat. The second factor, too, stems from two causes: a) The Wahhabis’ mode of thinking; b) The Wahhabi’s with the Sunnis’ approach of treating the Twelver Shi‘ism.

Stage two: a meticulous understanding of the Imamiyyah faith The four significant facts to be analyzed here are: Divinity and Prophethood as the Imamiyyah views them; The reality of the shari‘ah and religious injunctions from the Imamiyyah’s viewpoint; The reality of the goals of the Imamiyyah faith; The purport of some common expressions used by the Imamiyyah.

Stage three: the Imamiyyah’s roots The points to be studied here are: 1 The Shi‘ah’s source of Jurisprudence; hip to the Prophet (S); Imamate; The Imamiyyah’s identity; Advent of the Imamiyyah: source and causes. Having finished these three stages, the reader shall enter the final stage and begin investigating the particularities of the Imamiyyah.

Particularities of the Imamiyyah These particularities, though a part of stage two, are knowingly raised at this stage since they are the last points the Wahhabis can understand in regard to Shi‘ism. There are three particularities which consist of the following: A positive Twelver Shi‘ah believes in the members of the Household of the Prophet [ Ahl-al-Bayt (‘a) ]; The Imamiyyah’s realistic view on the of the Prophet (S); The Imamiyyah’s views concerning the Twelfth Imam’s ( ‘a ) occultation.

These are the procedures to conduct research on the Imamiyyah.