Therefore...

Therefore, they were then identified as Rafidhi because rafdh means “abandonment”.[^5] Regarding the label, ‘Alawi , Sayyid Muhsin Amin says: After the murder of ‘Uthman and the confrontation between Mu‘awiyah and ‘Ali ( ‘a ), the supporters and followers of Mu‘awiyah were called “‘Uthmanis” as they used to love ‘Uthman and be inimical to ‘Ali ( ‘a ). In addition to “Shi‘ah”, the followers of ‘Ali ( ‘a ) were also called “‘Alawis”, and this practice persisted till the end of the Umayyad rule.

During the ‘Abbasid period, the labels “Uthmani” and “‘Alawi” were abrogated and only “Shi‘ah” and “Sunni” were used.[^6] “Imamis” was another term applied to the Shi‘ah usually in contradistinction to the Zaydis. As Ibn al-Khaldun writes, Some Shi‘ah believe in explicit traditions substantiating the proposition that Imamate { imamah } is solely in the person of ‘Ali and after it will also be transferred to his descendants.

They are Imamiyyah with aversion toward the two sheikhs { shaykhayn } (Abubakr and ‘Umar) for not considering ‘Ali as superior and not paying allegiance to him. They do not accept the Imamate of Abubakr and ‘Umar. Other Shi‘ah believe that God did not appoint a specific person but described the characteristics of the Imam which conform to the personality of ‘Ali and the people were at fault in not recognizing this.

They do not abuse the two sheikhs and they are Zaydis.[^7] Keeping in view of the surviving poems from the supporters and companions of Imam al-Husayn ( ‘a ), it can be discerned that after his martyrdom, his Shi‘ah and supporters were also called “Husaynis”.

In many of their poems they introduced themselves as “Husaynis” or “of the religion of Husayn”.[^8] In this regard, Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih thus says: “Among the rafidhi s are the Husayniyyah and they are companions of Ibrahim al-Ashtar who used to roam around the alleys of Kufah shouting: “ Ya litharat al-Husayn! ” They were called Husayniyyah.”[^9] Meanwhile, the term “Qat‘iyyah” {lit.

“Decisiveness”} was applied to the Shi‘ah after the martyrdom of Imam Musa al-Kazim ( ‘a ) in contradistinction to the Waqifiyyah.