This point of view has been extended to books written by...

This point of view has been extended to books written by scholars of Sunni hadith . It can be seen in history that some people in the first, second and third centuries of the Islamic era [ hijrah ] were endowed with the Shi‘ism, and a large number of them became popularly known as ‘ fihi tashayyu‘ yasir ’. They regarded Imam ‘Ali (as) to be superior over all the other caliphs, especially ‘Uthman. Again, the people with these beliefs are called Political Shi‘ahs. 2.

Ideological Shi‘ism based on religious conviction The Shi‘ism of Faith [ tashayu‘-e ‘aqidati ] is belief in the Imamate, caliphate, administratorship and religious authority of the (as) as ordained by Allah, the Exalted, and that the forerunner and first of them is ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as). This point of view was a prevalent opinion among the people beginning during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (S). These were people who followed the instructions of the Qur’an strictly.

They obeyed the Prophet’s commands to the letter. They were some of the most pious and sincere companions of the Holy Prophet (S) who followed the explicit wording of holy texts and the Prophet’s directives and did not practice religious jurisprudence or inference. It is these people who accepted Imam ‘Ali (as) as the heir and successor of Allah’s Prophet (S). They believed that following Imam ‘Ali (as) was in accordance with Allah’s orders and the Holy Prophet’s (S) directives.

This line of thought continued to exist among the Holy Prophet’s (S) companions, the tabi‘in and the generations which followed them. These pious Shi‘ahs knew that even though the (as) had been sidelined and unjustly pushed aside from political authority, their identity as religious and scholarly jurisprudents and authorities had become manifest right from the beginning.

Aban ibn Taghlab, who was one of Imam al-Sadiq’s and Muhammad al-Baqir’s (as) companions, describes the Shi‘ahs in this way: “The Shi‘ahs are people who, whenever people differ about a matter which has reached us from the Holy Prophet (as), refer to Imam ‘Ali (as) and adopt his verdict, and whenever a disagreement appears about a matter which has reached us from Imam ‘Ali (as), the Shi‘ahs refer to the words of Ja‘far ibn Muhammad (as).”[^2] 3.

The Shi‘ism of love and affection for the (as) The third aspect of the Shi‘ism seen among Muslims is what has been called the Shi‘ism of Love [ tashayyu‘-e hubbi ].