ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Leading The Ummah Chapter 1: The Philosophy Of Recognizing The Imams (as) Unity of Muslims is a recognized fact and no wise scholar would ever doubt its significance since Muslims, who follow one divine book and share a common understanding of Islamic laws, do not have to be enemies of one another.

In the past, this unity was not considered crucial, whereas now, that the satanic troops of universal oppression and colonialism have entered the Islamic territories to expand their domination over Muslims, no wise man ever would undermine the need for this unity. Which brave Muslim could ever look at the Muslims’ calamity in Palestine, Bosnia Herzegovina, Kashmir, Chechnya or other parts of the world and remain silent and indifferent?

The Muslims of the world make up one fourth of the world’s population. They are among the richest populations of the world in the areas of manpower, mineral deposits and rich Islamic culture. Such a population, rich in material and spiritual resources, could play a significant role in the world politically and can help other nations financially disregarding geographical boundaries which have been set up by the opponents of the Islamic unit.

They could better their conditions through cultural and economic exchanges and could, in this way, resume their previous supremacy. However, the issue of recognition of the Imams must not hinder this unity.

At times, deceived or gullible youth severely criticize attempts by devoted scholars in the study of Islamic unity by saying: “The discussion over whether caliphate belonged to Abu Bakr or Ali (as) is a useless issue, for neither we can turn back time, nor will the Prophet’s true, genuine successor be brought back to life to receive what he deserved and rise to the throne of Caliphate.

So it would be better to bring this debate to an end and concentrate on other issues!” The holders of such a view have ignored the brilliant consequences of such discussions, contending that they are absurd and act as obstacles which complicate Islamic unity. We think that such a view is deeply rooted in the lack of recognition of the Imams and stems from a tendency towards Sunnism or Wahabism.

If we aimed at identifying the Prophet's successor vis-à-vis a false substitute, then such discussions could rightly be considered as unproductive and obstacles in the way of Islamic unity.