ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Strife-free Dialogue (A Step towards Understanding) Stage 2: Analytical Study of the Imamiyyah The second step we need to take in introducing the Shi‘ism to the Wahhabis is to make a detailed analysis of the beliefs in this school of thought, and explain it to the Wahhabis so that incorrect analyses and false beliefs do not engage their minds, nor cause them to accuse us of the Extremism and disbelief, attributing to us the false notions that have nothing to do with the Imamiyyah.

The facts that we plan to investigate are available in the Imamiyyah’s authentic books. We do not, of course, mean to make an extensive study of the texts, for this will be done in another book. We merely say that in all their publications, the Wahhabis commonly attribute the Shi‘ahs with all the extremist beliefs and opinions and then shower them with accusations that the Shi‘ahs strongly refute.

A number of contemporary Sunni writers have unfortunately followed the Wahhabis’ manner, whereas their researchers have realized it necessity to refer to the authentic books of a madhhab and make a scholarly analysis and investigation of their content before commenting on them.

The reason for the difference in the manners adopted by such persons as Ihsan Ilahi Zahir, who gives a verdict to excommunicate the Imamiyyah, and Shaykh Mahmūd Shaltūt, who calls the Imamiyyah one of the Islamic authentic schools of thought becomes clear to us: the former has taken the second-hand documents of the Ghulat as sufficient evidence, but the latter has studied and analyzed the first-hand sources. We will now go through four important questions.

The reality of divinity and prophecy as viewed by the Imamiyyah These two issues occupy a fundamental position in the Shi‘ah doctrine.

Anyone referring to the Imamiyyah books will clearly understand that the Shi‘ahs display great interest in the issue of the Oneness of God and His Lordship and take it as belonging to a guild different from that of worship that creatures must render to God, for Lordship [ rubūbiyyah ] is specifically Allah’s Divine Essence, and all others are placed on the plane of rendering worship and being creatures.