Muslim unity (Shia Sunni unity). The enemies of Islam to their benefit
have always fanned these differences. Unfortunately, some so-called
Muslim scholars on their payroll have also played a key role in
keeping these differences alive.
Although I was born into a Sayyid Sunni family, I did not know of many
differences while growing up as a child. Our families always respected
Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) and his parents and participated in
ceremonies marking the anniversary of his martyrdom ( the 10th day of
the month of Muharram which is called Ashura) by reciting the first
chapter of the Holy Qur'an (al-Fatihah) and other chapters and verses
of the Holy Quran and fasted on the ninth and tenth days of that
month.
Now when I give lectures on Islam to non-Muslims, one of the questions
they always ask me is if I am Shia or Sunni. I ask them if they know
the difference. They have no knowledge, other than what has been given
to them by the media. So they say Shias are the ones who are the bad
guys, the militant version of Islam, and cause all the trouble in the
Middle East these days.
These non-Muslim American audiences of mine are surprised to learn
that some of the known tyrants like Saddam Hussain and troublemakers
like the PLO and Hamas are all Sunni's, just as they are surprised to
learn that Tariq Aziz (Former Iraq's Foreign Minister) was Christian
and not a Muslim.
This is what I say to them about Shiite. "If Ali ibn Abu Talib (cousin
of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)) was a Shia, then I am a Shia. If he was a
Sunni, then I am a Sunni [i.e., a follower of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh)]." In Islam there are five recognized schools of Divine Law: 1)
Hanafi; 2) Shafi; 3) Maliki; 4) Hambali and 5) Jafari.
The first four are called Sunni, and the fifth one, who in addition to
following sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), also follows
those of Ali ibn Abu Talib and consider him as the rightful successor
of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), are called Shia. The first four have
many major theological differences among themselves and according to a
Christian friend of mine, "The only time Sunni's are united is when
they are fighting Shias." Shiism started as a political movement (Shia
means follower or partisan) to help Ali ibn Abu Talib become successor
of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Around every successful popular figure, there are some admirers whose
own future interests rest with the rise of their leader. Thus in
Indiana, we have "Friends of Lugar Club", who are hoping that some day
Senator Richard Lugar will become a US President. Nationally, we now
have a "Hillary Rodham Clinton Fan Club" with 4,000 members! Thus,
there were the Followers of Ali ibn Abu Talib Club, which later on
became a political movement. During the initial battles with
unbelievers, Ali ibn Abu Talib, the Sword of Islam, was in the
forefront and defeated and killed many of their leaders whose children
and grandchildren, even when they became Muslims, always remembered
who killed their father (animosity).
Ali ibn Abu Talib was raised by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a child so
he knew Islam very well. Thus, when Ali ibn Abu Talib became a
judge, his judgments were based on strict Islamic principles, much to
the disappointment of many who expected him to be lenient to the rich
and powerful. Ali ibn Abu Talib was so well respected and trusted by
both Caliph Abu Bakr and Umar, that in difficult cases they asked his
opinion.
Nevertheless, I tell my non-Muslim audience that both Shia and Sunni
have many things in common. They both believe in One God (Allah),
follow the same Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the last Prophet, offer
five daily prescribed prayers, perform the prescribed fast in the
month of Ramadan, go to Makkah for the Hajj pilgrimage, read the same
book of Allah, Holy Qur'an, and pay the poor-due (Zakat).
However, my answers can only satisfy my uninformed non-Muslim
audience. The Sunni brothers, misguided by western propaganda, who are
ready to embrace non-Muslims (especially the white ones), in the
pretext of invitation to Islam, will not do so for Shia. They are
ignorant Sunni's. Our job as a missionary should be to invite both
groups to the true Islam and not chase them out. There is a movement
in the Sunni world to have Shias labeled as disbelievers. I have been
told that Shaykh Bin Baz of Saudi Arabia has declared an edict that
the meat of the People of Book (Jews and Christians) is permissible
for Sunni Muslims to eat but not the meat slaughtered by Shias.
There are scholars on both sides, like Imam Khomeini and Shaykh
Shaltut of al-Azhar who have done their best to minimize these
differences and bring unity, but it is not working due to the
misinformation prevailing in the common masses of Sunnis about Shiism.
Thus I am listing their misconceptions of Shia belief and practices.
For answers, I have consulted two Shia scholars in America. Dr. A. S.
Hashim of Washington and Imam Muhammad Ali Elahi of Detroit.
Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr wrote to me "to ignore and not waste
time in responding to such wrong allegations." He also mentioned that
"a great deal of money and effort is being spent in the last few years
to fan the fire of hatred between Shia and Sunni in the Persian Gulf
region with obvious political and economical fruits for powers to-be."
However, in the interest of Islamic unity, I must deal with the
questions rather than shun them. Please note that Imam Jafar as Sadiq
(peace be upon him), founder of the Shia school of law, was the
teacher of Imam Abu-Hanifa (peace be upon him).
*.Misconception #1: Shias have a different Holy Qur'an. They add
another 10 chapters to the original Holy Qur'an.Response: Not true. I
have checked many times Holy Qur'an kept in Shia homes and mosques. I
still find it the same as the original Holy Qur'an. More recently, I
took care of an Iranian lady patient hospitalized here. I saw a copy
of the Holy Qur'an by her side. I borrowed it from her and browsed
through cover-to-cover. In Arabic it was the same as our Holy Qur'an.
Of course, since I did not know the Persian language, I can't say much
about the translation. It is a sin to even say that the Holy Qur'an
can be changed or added to by Shia when Almighty God protects it.
*.Misconception #2: Some Shia considers Ali ibn Abu Talib as
God.Response: Not true. It is disbelief to even think of such a thing.
During the time of Ali ibn Abu Talib, some pagan groups called Gholat
did consider Ali ibn Abu Talib as Lord. When he found out, they were
burned to death.
*.Misconception #3: Shias have different declarations of faith and
they add to the call to prescribed prayer.Response: The declaration to
become a Muslim, as administered to non-Muslims, is the same. Some
Shia add to themselves, "Ali ibn Abu Talib is a friend of God or Ali
ibn Abu Talib is a spiritual leader of God," after the call to
prescribed prayer, but not as part of the call to prescribed prayer.
*.Misconception #4: Shias do not perform Sunnah prayers. Sunnah
prayers are non-obligatory prayers performed by Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh).Response: Shias do perform non-obligatory prayers, 36 cycles
per day in total, but call it Nawafil and not Sunnah.
*.Misconception #5: Some Shia believes the Angel Gabriel made a
mistake and prophet hood was meant for Ali ibn Abu Talib and not
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).Response: Not true. No Shia thinks of such
false claims. "Only demented minds think of such questions."
*.Misconception #6: Shias slander and ridicule the first three caliphs
(Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman) and Prophet Muhammad's wife,
Ayesha.Response: Shia considers the first three caliphs as companions
and administrators, but not spiritual leaders (Imams). Imam Jafar as
Sadiq (peace be upon him), whose mother and grandmother came from the
line of Abu Bakr, said of Abu Bakr, "He gave me birth twice." Ayesha
is respected by Shias as the "Mother of Believers," as Ali ibn Abu
Talib respected her when he sent her back from Basra to Madinah after
the Battle of the Camel. If some Shia do slander the three caliphs and
Ayesha, they do it out of ignorance and should ask God's forgiveness.
(As we have witnessed how Imam Khomeini, The Shia bravely declared
death of Salman Rushdie - The author of Satanic Verses who abused the
wife of Prophet Ayesha and Shia Leader declared blasphemy, just for
his Fatwa the whole western countries became against Iran. See how
much price did Shia pay to defend Ayesha - while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
UAE etc. etc. as the Sunni government were silent they did not defend
Ayesha. Now who loves Ayesha?)
*.Misconception # 7: Shias combine all five prayers into one prayer in
the evening.Response: Not true. In Shia mosques, whether in Iran or
the USA, all five daily prayers are performed. Shia do combine noon
and afternoon and evening and night, but Shia scholars recommend
performing them separately. Such combinations may not be ideal, but
better than not praying at all. How can a Sunni who does not pray at
all be better than a Shia who combines prayers?
*.Misconception # 8: Shias do not pay zakat (poor-due).Response: Not
true. They not only pay 2.5% left over from savings as zakat, but also
an additional 20% as Khums or general charity. However, they prefer to
pay directly to the needy rather than corrupt Sunni government.
*.Misconception #9: Shias practice temporary marriages
(Mutah).Response: Temporary marriages (Mutah) was allowed during the
time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and he himself practiced it. Ibn
Zubayr was born out of the temporary marriage. Later on Caliph Umar
prohibited it due to social reasons as the Islamic world was rapidly
expanding. Shias discourage Mutah but do not consider it prohibited.
Some do abuse this. As a temporary privilege during travel, it is
better than adultery.
*.Misconception #10: They consider Imams infallible and above the
Prophets.Response: Not true. All prophets are born Prophet but as
mentioned in the Holy Qur'an about Abraham that after passing the
test, a prophet becomes a leader (Imam). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is
the Prophet (Nabi), Messenger (Rasul) and leader (Imam). Imams are
carriers of the message of Islam. Shias consider Ali ibn Abu Talib
only as an Imam and not prophet.
With the little knowledge I have, I tried to do my best as a Sunni in
defending my Shia brothers in Islam with the hope and prayer to God
Almighty that He will "instill love in the heart of the believers" and
bring us closer to each other so that we jointly can fight our common
enemy, Satan and his followers.
May God forgive my mistakes in this article and this book (Amin).
"Knowledge is better than wealth because it protects you while you
have to guard wealth. It decreases if you keep on spending it but the
more you make use of knowledge, the more it increases. What you get
through wealth disappears as soon as wealth disappears but what you
achieve through knowledge will remain even after you."
Dr. Shahid Athar M.D. is Clinical Associate Professor of Internal
Medicine and Endocrinology, Indiana University School of Medicine
Indianapolis, Indiana, and a writer on Islam.
