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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Discovering Shi'i Islam Chapter 2: Sources of shi’i thought Before studying Shi’a doctrines or practices, it is necessary to know the sources on which the Shi’a rely for understanding Islam. In what follows, we will study the four sources of Shi’i thought or in other words the four sources on which, from a Shi’i point of view any investigation about Islam has to be based: the Glorious Qur’an, the Sunnah, the reason and the consensus.

The Glorious Qur‘an Needless to say, the Qur’an is the most important source for all Muslims, including the Shi’a. The Qur’an also acts as an instrument of unity among all Muslims. Regardless of their different sectarian and cultural backgrounds, all Muslims refer to the same book as the Divine guide to govern their life. As in any other time, today throughout the Muslim world there exists only one Qur’an without any addition or alterations.

A typical Shi’a standpoint towards the Qur’an can be found in the following passage: We believe that the Qur’an was Divinely inspired, and revealed by Allah on the tongue of His honourable Prophet, making clear everything, an everlasting miracle. Man is unable to write anything like it because of its eloquence, clarity, truth and knowledge, and no alteration can be made to it.

The Qur’an we have now is exactly what was sent to the Prophet, and anyone who claims otherwise is either an evil-doer, a mere sophist or else a person in error, and all of them have gone astray, because it is the speech of Allah, and: “Falsehood cannot come at it from before it or from behind.” (41:42) We also believe that we must respect and give dignity to the Glorious Qur’an, and this both in word and in deed.

Therefore, it must not be defiled intentionally, not even one of its letters, and it must not be touched by one who is not tahir [i.e. ‘pure’]. It is said in the Qur’an: “None can touch it save the purified.” (56:79) [^1] Shi ‘a deny any alteration in the Qur‘an As mentioned above, the Shi’a deny any alteration in the Qur’an and believe that the Qur’an available today is the same one that was revealed to the . The Qur’an is complete.

No one has ever seen a copy of the Qur’an different from the standard one in any part of the Islamic world. There are manuscripts of the Qur’an available today that go back to the time of Shi’a Imams and they are exactly the same as the current ones.