When the term Shi‘ism is applied in this sense...

When the term Shi‘ism is applied in this sense, many Sunnis will also be considered as Shi‘ahs because a lot of people, even among the Sunnis themselves, possess strong love and affection for the (as). There are numerable accounts about the virtues and spiritual accomplishments of the (as) in the Prophet’s sayings which are recorded in Sunni Books of hadith . For examples, we can mention Ibn ‘Abd Rabbah Andulusi, the author of the book entiltled, Al-‘Aqd al-Farid , and Muhammad ibn Idris Shafi‘i.

Muhammad ibn Idris Shafi‘i has recited a wonderful poem in which he says, إن کان حبّ الولي رفضاً فانّني أرفض العباد “If love of the wali (the temporal and spiritual guardian Imam ‘Ali) makes a person a heretic, then, I am surely the most heretical of all of Allah’s servants.” [^3] 4. Religious Shi‘ism The fourth aspect of Shi‘ism is interpreted as religious and cultural Shi‘ism [ tashayyu‘-e dini ]. These people believe that the (as) are the only legitimate religious authorities on earth.

That is, the (as) are the source of religious edicts and the only people who have been entrusted with interpreting the Holy Qur’an. They believe that, within this religious and cultural aspect, it is the duty of every person in the community to seek guidance and refuge in the (as) when the need arises. They hold this belief, but at the same time follow the Sunnis (the caliphs) in political and governmental affairs.

They do not believe in divine appointment of the (as) as explicitly expressed in religious texts, the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet’s (S) sayings. Instead, they consider the (as) to be superior over the rest of the people in knowledge and general religious affairs. An example of such people is Shahrestani, the author of the book entitled, “ Al-Milal wa al-Nihal ”. Who is a real Shi‘ah?

We find many people in the world who claim to hold certain beliefs but do not act upon their professed convictions at all. These people are not steadfast in their beliefs. They claim to belong to a certain religious group, but are not faithful to the basic teachings of the religious sect they profess. They may not even know much about the fundamental beliefs of their own religious order.

They sometimes even go so far as to trample the basic beliefs of their professed religious denomination underfoot due to lack of real faith and piety. We cannot seriously consider such people as really belonging to a particular sect, even though they may apparently appear to belong to that sect.