Apart from all the Shi‘ah ‘ulama’ ...

Apart from all the Shi‘ah ‘ulama’ ,[^7] some of the Sunni scholars also hold such a belief, just as Muhammad Kird-‘Ali—one of the distinguished Sunni ‘ulama’ —says: “A number of the during the time of the Holy Prophet (S) were known as Shi‘ah of ‘Ali.”[^8] Keeping in view of the opinions presented so far, it can be said that the event of Saqifah, the latter part of the caliphate of ‘Uthman, the Battle of Jamal (Camel), the rule of ‘Ali ( ‘a ), and the events at Karbala’ are phases of the events that have influenced the history of Shi‘ism.

Although the existence of a person named ‘Abd Allah ibn Saba’ is doubtful, the formation of Shi‘ism at these stages seems incorrect because studying the Prophetic traditions, we find that the term “Shi‘ah”, has been applied by the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad al-Mustafa (S), to the sympathizers of ‘Ali ( ‘a ) before all these events, as recorded in many hadith s, some of which we shall cite below.

All these hadith s are accepted by the Ahl as-Sunnah as authentic and have been recorded in their hadith references.

Take, for example, the hadith s which have been recorded by Suyuti—one of the Sunni exegetes { mufassirun } of the Qur’an—from the Holy Prophet (S) on the commentary of the verse: ﴿ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ ﴾ “Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds—it is they who are the best of creatures.” [^9] Among them is this hadith of the Prophet (S) when he said: والّذي نفسي بيده إنّ هذا و شيعته لهم الفائزون يوم القيامة.

“By He in Whose hand my life is! Verily, this man (‘Ali) and his Shi‘ah shall secure deliverance on the Day of Resurrection.”[^10] The Holy Prophet (S) said to ‘Ali ( ‘a ): “God has forgiven the sins of your Shi‘ah and the followers of your Shi‘ah.”[^11] The Prophet (S) also said to ‘Ali ( ‘a ): “You and your Shi‘ah will meet (on the Day of Resurrection) at the Pool { hawdh } of Kawthar while having drank from it and having bright faces, whereas your enemies will meet me while they are thirsty and enchained.”[^12] In a long hadith regarding the virtues of ‘Ali ( ‘a ), the Holy Prophet (S) thus says to his daughter Fatimah ( ‘a ): “O Fatimah!

‘Ali and his Shi‘ah are the saved ones of tomorrow.”[^13] Similarly, the Messenger of Allah (S) said: “O ‘Ali! Your sins as well as that of your progeny, your Shi‘ah and the followers of your Shi‘ah have been forgiven…”[^14] Again, the Messenger of Allah (S) said: “O ‘Ali!

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