Another important point is that it was not until the...

Another important point is that it was not until the fifteenth century AD that Persia became a Shi’a nation. It is known that all of the Twelve Imams of the Shi’a are full-blooded Arabs from Quraysh (as the hadith from the Prophet said they would be), and the Shi’a, like the rest of the Muslims, are a mixture of Arab and non-Arab people.

Muslims who come from non-Arab cultures enrich Islam as a whole in their own unique ways; thus, that influence is not limited to Shiaism, and many of the great scholars and narrators of the Sunni tradition, such as al-Bukhari come from non-Arab countries. Hence, the argument that Shiaism developed because of the influence of non-Islamic ideas, is in essence nothing more than a faulty attempt to marginalize the role of Shiaism in the Islamic history.

Some Sunni sources speculate Shi’a Islam emerged in the time between the death of the Prophet and the martyrdom of Imam Husayn in Karbala.

Sunni historian Ibn Hazm suggested that Shiaism could have come about during the time of ‘Uthman, while another Sunni historian, al-Nawbakhti and others say that Shiaism took form during the caliphate of ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, specifically during the Battle of the Camel in Basra.[^8] Still, a few others maintain that while the spiritual side of Shiaism developed after the death of the Prophet, the political dimension of Shiaism was born after the martyrdom of Imam Husayn.

In contrast, the majority of the Shi’a scholars hold that Shiaism first appeared in Mecca during the early stage of the prophethood of the last Messenger when Allah revealed the verse, “And warn your relatives of nearest kin.”[^9] After this verse was revealed, the Holy Prophet invited forty members of his tribe (Bani Hashim) for a meal with him in the house of his uncle Abu Talib and then he informed them about his prophethood and asked who would support him.

None responded except for ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib. The Holy Prophet repeated the question three times, but still none responded except ‘Ali.