{"id":3999,"date":"2019-12-30T11:02:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T11:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/3999\/the-geographical-expansion-of-shiism\/"},"modified":"2019-11-11T11:32:41","modified_gmt":"2019-11-11T11:32:41","slug":"the-geographical-expansion-of-shiism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/3999\/the-geographical-expansion-of-shiism\/","title":{"rendered":"The Geographical Expansion of Shi\u2018ism"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is certain that the first center of Shi\u2018ism had been the city of Medina and the pioneering Shi\u2018ah among the companions {sahabah} of the Prophet (S) lived in that city. During the reign of the first three caliphs, the Shi\u2018ah sahabah were scattered in the different cities and regions, with some of them holding political and military positions.
\nIn this regard, \u2018Allamah Muhammad Jawad Mughniyyah writes: The Shi\u2018ah sahabah played a pivotal role in the propagation and spread of Shi\u2018ism. Wherever they went, they were calling on the people toward Shi\u2018ism within the framework of the Qur\u2019an and the Sunnah and through patience and fortitude, and on account of their companionship with the Prophet (S), they were held in high esteem and regard by the people, and their speech had tremendous impact.[27][428]
\nEven the place like Jabal \u2018Amil (in present day Lebanon) which was part of Sham, Mu\u2018awiyah\u2019s sphere of influence, would become one of the most important centers of Shi\u2018ism by the grace of the presence of the great companion of the Prophet (S), Abu Dharr (al-Ghiffari).[28][429]
\nDuring the latter part of the caliphate of \u2018Uthman ibn \u2018Affan, many Shi\u2018ah were living in the Muslim territories such that the name of \u2018Ali (\u2018a) was always mentioned for caliphate. For this reason, \u2018Uthman used to send requests to \u2018Ali (\u2018a) during rebel gatherings in Madina, asking him to stay out of Medina for sometime and to go to his farm in Yanbu\u2018 with the hope that the rebels would be motivated less.[29][430]
\nThere were many Shi\u2018ah in Iraq especially during the time of \u2018Uthman. For example, when the Shi\u2018ah of Basrah\u2014in spite of the fact that the city was under the occupation and influenced by the Jamal {camel} Army propaganda\u2014heard the news that the Commander of the Faithful \u2018Ali (\u2018a) along with Muhajirun and Ansar was heading toward them, three thousand men only from the tribe of Rabi\u2018ah joined the Imam in Dhiqar.[30][431] Their decision to join \u2018Ali (\u2018a) was ideologically motivated, regarding the Imam as the caliph appointed by the Prophet (S) just as Baladhuri has this to say: \u201cAmong the Shi\u2018ah of \u2018Ali were those from the tribe of Rabi\u2018ah.\u201d[31][432]
\nAfter \u2018Ali (\u2018a) himself took control of the helm of government and went to Iraq, there was an extraordinary impact upon the spread of Shi\u2018ism in the region. Similarly, the rulers and governors of the Imam, most of whom were appointed from among the Shi\u2018ah, had remarkable contribution in the spread of Shi\u2018ism in other places. As Sayyid Muhsin Amin says, \u201cWherever the trustees of \u2018Ali (\u2018a) went, the people there would become Shi\u2018ah.\u201d[32][433]
\nOf course, during that period, in addition to Sham which was totally under the influence of the Umayyads, other regions, such as Basrah and north of Iraq, also had inclinations toward \u2018Uthman. The people in those places were inclined toward \u2018Uthman[33][434] on account of the settlement of \u2018Uthman\u2019s relatives there, and this inclination in the north of Iraq continued till the end of the second century AH.
\nMecca also had anti-Hashimi and anti-\u2018Alawi tendencies since the Age of Ignorance {yamw al-jahiliyyah}. Similarly, both during the Age of Ignorance and the Islamic period, Ta\u2019if was the same as Mecca. The other tribes of Quraysh were always competing with Banu Hashim and not willing to accept the leadership of Banu Hashim, and this is one of the reasons for Quraysh\u2019s opposition to the Holy Prophet (S). The people of Ta\u2019if, too, like that of Mecca, rejected the Prophet\u2019s (S) invitation although they submitted after Islam\u2019s acquisition of power.
\nFrom the time of Hajjaj, Shi\u2018ism was extended beyond the realm of Iraq and Hijaz. During that period, as a result of the extreme pressure and harshness of Hajjaj, Shi\u2018ah went out of Iraq and settled in other Muslim territories. Especially in the eastern part of the Muslim lands at the end of the first century AH, the Shi\u2018ah centers in Iran were gradually formed. In Khurasan, the \u2018Abbasids took advantage of the people\u2019s love for the descendants of the Prophet (S) and through the slogan, \u201cthe appointed one from among the progeny of Prophet Muhammad (S),\u201d they gathered the people around themselves and utilized them in the struggle against the Umayyads.
\nThe scattering of the Shi\u2018ah during the \u2018Abbasid period was very obvious. In the east, in addition to Iran, the Shi\u2018ah went to Central Asia, India and the Caucasus, among others, and with the collapse of the Umayyad dynasty, the Shi\u2018ah were also able to exert influence in the west, especially in Africa where a Shi\u2018ah government of the Idrisis was established during the second century AH. Although their government was a Zaydi one, it can be regarded as a ground for the efforts of the Shi\u2018ah. Of course, their contact with the capital (Baghdad) and Medina had been less due to the existence of the Aghlabi government in Egypt which was formed to counter them.[34][435]
\nIn this manner, Shi\u2018ism during the second century AH was spread in both the eastern and western parts of the Muslim world, and in addition to Khuzestan, the mountainous region {jabal} (the regions around the Zagros mountain ranges) and central Iran, Shi\u2018ism was also spread in far-flung regions such as Central Asia, present day Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Maghrib (Morocco), India, and Tabaristan.[35][436]<\/h4>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe first center of Shi\u2018ism is Medina and the pioneering Shi\u2018ah used to live in this city. During the period of the first three caliphs, the Shi\u2018ah sahabah (companions of the Prophet (S)) was scattered in the different cities and regions and calling people toward Shi\u2018ism on the basis of the Qur\u2019an. The transfer of \u2018Ali (\u2018a) to Iraq had a tremendous impact on Shi\u2018ism in Iraq.
\nFrom the time of Hajjaj, Shi\u2018ism was extended beyond the realm of Iraq and Hijaz. During the \u2018Abbasid period, the Shi\u2018ah in the east, in addition to Iran, also found their way into Central Asia, India, and the Caucasus, and in the west also, with the establishment of the Idrisi government in Maghrib, a fertile ground was paved for the influence of Shi\u2018ism.
\nThe Shi\u2018ah-populated regions during the first century AH were confined to Hijaz and Iraq. Owing to the residence of the pure Imams (\u2018a) and Banu Hashim there, Medina was the first city where the Shi\u2018ah gathered together.
\nThe second Shi\u2018ah-concentrated region next to Medina was Yemen because the people embraced Islam through \u2018Ali\u2019s (\u2018a) hand.<\/h4>\n

shiastudies.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first center of Shi‘ism is Medina and the pioneering Shi‘ah used to live in this city. During the period of the first three caliphs, the Shi‘ah sahabah (companions of the Prophet (S)) was scattered in the different cities and regions and calling people toward Shi‘ism on the basis of the Qur’an. The transfer of ‘Ali (‘a) to Iraq had a tremendous impact on Shi‘ism in Iraq.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7453,7765],"tags":[15186,7556],"class_list":["post-3999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bank-of-subjects-of-articles","category-shia-studies","tag-geographical","tag-shiastudies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3999","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=3999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}