ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Shi'ism and Its Types During the Early Centuries Iraqi Shiism With attention to what has been stated it may be said that in the early Islamic centuries the term Shi'ism (tashayyu') had a wider meaning than is current today. That which is called tashayyu' today would be referred to in the old jargon of the Uthmanis as Rafd.' In that period the term Shi ah in its general use was applied to those who preferred Imam Ali ('a) to Uthman.

In addition those who preferred him to the other two caliphs or basically believed in his Imamate and that of his descendants were also called Shiah. ' In the sense of a general tendency a Shi'ah' was someone who preferred Imam 'Ali to the other caliphs, while a Rafidi' was someone who rejected the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar and believed in the Imamate of Imam 'Ali ('a) as something ordained by God.

Shiism' in the above sense of a general tendency may be called Iraqi Shi'ism.' From the Sunni viewpoint, giving preference to Imam Ali ('a) over Uthman has been considered a heretical belief (bid'ah). [^6] Some extreme Sunnis are even of the view that such a preference of the Imam over Uthman is rafd. Hence they have said, Someone who says, "Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali and then Uthman" (in a descending order or merit) is a rafidi or a heretic (mubtadi).

[^7] The people of Kufah were Shi'ah as they accepted this descending order of merit for the caliphs (Ahl al-Kufah yaqulun: Abu Bakr wa 'Umar wa 'Ali).[^8] It was said about the people of Wasit that they were Shi'ah (kana 'ammatu ahl a-Wasit yatashayyi'un).

[^9] It is stated in Masail al-Imamah that the Ahl al-Hadith from among the Kufans, such as Waki' ibn Jarrah and Fadl ibn Dukayn, were Shi'is' because they believed in Ali's merit over Uthman and considered Ali's caliphate to be legitimate (Yaz'amuna anna afdal al-nas bad al-Nabi [s] Abu Bakr thummah 'Umar thumma 'Ali, thumma 'Uthman, yuqaddimuna Aliyan 'ala 'Uthman wa hadha tashayyu' ashab al-hadith min al-Kufiyyin wa yuthbituna imamata 'Ali).

As against this viewpoint was that of the Ahl al-Hadith of Basrah who preferred Uthman to Imam Ali, followed by the rest of the participants of the council (shura) constituted by 'Umar (afdal al-ummah bad al-Nabi [s] Abu Bakr, thumma 'Umar thumma 'Uthman, thumma 'Ali, thumma yasuwwuna bayna baqiyyat al-shura).