{"id":3982,"date":"2020-03-12T04:23:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-12T04:23:39","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-03-12T04:23:39","modified_gmt":"2020-03-12T04:23:39","slug":"history-of-shiism-as-the-history-of-a-living-school-and-combatant-followers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/3982\/history-of-shiism-as-the-history-of-a-living-school-and-combatant-followers\/","title":{"rendered":"History of Shi\u2018ism as the History of a Living School and Combatant Followers"},"content":{"rendered":"

History of Shi\u2018ism as the History of a Living School and Combatant Followers<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The history of Shi\u2018ism {tashayyu\u2018} is inseparable from the history of Islam as it is the continuation of Islam of the Prophetic period under the stewardship of the successors of the Prophet of Islam (S)[1][2]\u2014the members of his Household {Ahl al-Bayt} (\u2018a).[2][3] Furthermore, the origin of the term Shi\u2018ah[3][4] is traceable back to the Holy Prophet (S) himself.
\nThe initial nucleus of the Shi\u2018ah was composed of the great and distinguished Companions {sahabah}[4][5] of the Prophet of Islam (S) who, as per instruction of the Prophet (S), believed in the expediency of the leadership of \u2018Ali ibn Abi Talib (\u2018a) after the Prophet (S).
\nAfter the demise of the Prophet of Islam (S), the formation of {the selection in} Saqifah and the climate that emerged in the selection of the caliph, the path of Shi\u2018ism took a different turn in history. It is because the Shi\u2018ah insisted on the leadership of \u2018Ali (\u2018a) and remained around the members of the Prophet\u2019s Household {Ahl al-Bayt} (\u2018a). By enduring the difficulties and adversities, they did not abandon their ideals and beliefs. Thus, they kept their distance from government affairs, causing them to face much enmity and disfavor from the governments of the time.
\nAlthough the Shi\u2018ah difference of view with the supporters of the de facto caliphate was first on the question of caliphate and succession to the Prophet (S), they also called on the Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt (\u2018a)\u2014the genuine fountainhead of Islamic knowledge and learning\u2014after the demise of the Prophet (S) for matters relating to the principles of beliefs {\u2018aqa\u2019id}, jurisprudence {fiqh}, hadith,[5][6] tafsir {exegesis of the Qur\u2019an}, and other Islamic sciences. Over time, the Imams became renowned in these fields compared to the followers of the de facto caliphate, and the trend of their intellectual and cultural path took a different course.
\nThis affair itself had an eminent effect on the historical and cultural trend in Shi\u2018ism, continuously protecting it from distortion {tahrif} and other forms of setbacks.
\nIn the light of adherence to the Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt (\u2018a), the Shi\u2018ah actually became the repository of Ahl al-Bayt\u2019s knowledge and their spiritual inheritors throughout history. The culture of Shi\u2018ism has always been an effulgent, dynamic, prolific, and authentic culture such that even some of their opponents have acknowledged this fact.
\nFor example, Shams ad-Din Muhammad adh-Dhahabi (born 748 AH), one of Ahl as-Sunnah\u2019s distinguished eighth century (hijri) scholars (known for his anti-Shi\u2018ah sentiment) in describing the status of Aban ibn Taghlib, one of the towering pupils of Imam Ja\u2018far as-Sadiq (\u2018a), bitterly acknowledges this fact and after accusing him of \u201cinnovation in religion\u201d (Shi\u2018ism), approves of and introduces him as truthful, and thus writes: Inclination to Shi\u2018ism among the religious, pious and honest followers, and their followers, are plenty. In case the hadiths they are narrating are rejected, a great portion of the Prophetic works and hadiths will be lost and this evil is serious enough.[6][7]
\nOn the other hand, like any other madhhab {sect} and maktab {school}, the Shi\u2018ah, throughout these historical straitened circumstances and the ups and downs that transpired, was not immune from internal splits, which brought about immense predicaments. The infiltration of the ghulat[7][8] into Shi\u2018ah ranks had also exacerbated these predicaments notwithstanding the rejection of the former by the Imams (\u2018a) of the Shi\u2018ah.
\nKeeping this background in mind, one can guess what stages and pathways the Shi\u2018ah have treaded during the past fourteen centuries in different realms and spheres.
\nThis book, a relatively comprehensive, elegant and worthy glance at the historical trend of Shi\u2018ism, is a product of relentless efforts and studies of the diligent researcher, Hujjat al-Islam Shaykh Ghulam-Husayn Muharrami, and has many distinguishing merits compared to other similar works\u2014whose number is unfortunately few. Fortunately, it has now earned the kind attention of the authorities and is about to be published, after passing (with an excellent grade) as a master\u2019s thesis. We are currently awaiting other significant works from this author.
\nshiastudies.com\/en<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The history of Shi‘ism {tashayyu‘} is inseparable from the history of Islam as it is the continuation of Islam of the Prophetic period under the stewardship of the successors of the Prophet of Islam (S)[1][2]—the members of his Household {Ahl al-Bayt} (‘a).[2][3] Furthermore, the origin of the term Shi‘ah[3][4] is traceable back to the Holy Prophet (S) himself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7453,7765],"tags":[18842,10822],"class_list":["post-3982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bank-of-subjects-of-articles","category-shia-studies","tag-history-of-shiism-as-the-history-of-a-living-school-and-combatant-followers","tag-shaistudies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}