What is Shiaism?

This humble article is for the sincere people that are seeking the truth. Its not intended to be an attack on a person's identity, or on the culture that a person happens to be born into without full knowledge or what one thought was islaam without access to the full facts. Rather, it hopes to outline some of the beliefs of the Shee'ah and show how they are not in line with islaam as presented in the Qur'aan, Sunnah (way) of Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wassallam) or the understandings of the early generations of righteous Muslims.
Please look at the evidence presented fairly as I do feel the need to resort to bringing about conflicts with the ignorant, facts have merely been presented and it is for the sincere reader to decide.
Unfortunately, due to the secretive manner of the 'knowledge' amongst the Shee'ah, many people are not aware of their actual beliefs. Muslims are not conscious of the differences between islaam and the Shee'ah belief. Most Shee'ah writings revolve around emotional issues of love for the Prophet's family and people believe that the Shee'ah belief is just this. However, they can still be Muslims and love the family of the Prophet in the way that they deserve without being shee'ah.
In our call to Tawheed, we are faced with the many Shee'ah people who are not familiar with what the majority of their own scholars have invented which have thus rendered the Shee'ah belief system as heretical, contrary to the understandings of the family and companions of the Prophet and thus outside the fold of islaam. I repeat that i am not trying to offend the average Shee'ah who may not even practice islaam but the truth of what will be presented in this short work should be assessed fairly and unemotionally.

The religious beliefs and practices of extremist Shee'ah segregate them from islaam, the Shee'ah have specified beliefs about Allah and HIS attributes, the Prophets, the mission and call of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wassallam) and even the Quran. A short history of the Shee'ah will be detailed with all the sources quoted and references for those who wish to pursue further research and study, followed by a point analysis of the main Shee'ah concepts.
The evidence concealed in the books of Shee'ah scholars themselves will be analyzed so as to be unbiased and to demonstrate that the family of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wassallam) followed the truth of the Quran and sunnah and never cursed the Sahaabah (Companions of Muhammad) and further dismissed the extreme claims of those Shee'ah who came much later.

For example, these quotes from the family of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wassallam) will reveal the contradictory practice of cursing the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wassallam) and hating most of the Companions which is done by the extreme Shee'ah.

The term Sheeah (plural shiya) comes from the Arabic verb 'Shaa'a' which means to spread, hence Shee'ah means a faction or sect and is used with that meaning in the Quran in both singular and plural forms many times. For example

"Then we will certainly drag out from ever sect (Shee'ah) those who were most obstinate in their rebellion against Allah, Most Gracious" (Maryam: 69)

"As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects (Shiya) you have no part in them in the least. Their affairs are with Allah, He will tell them the truth of what they did in the end" (Al-an'aam: 159)

The term 'Shee'ah' was first used to describe the followers of the fourth rightly guided Caliph, "ali ibn Abee Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and the term came to be applied to whose who simply loved and greatly respected the family of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wassallam. However, after 'Ali's death, some of his followers retained the name exclusively and they began to rapidly deteriorate in morals, creed and belief.

This was marked by their rejection of Zayd Ibn 'Ali'("those shee'ah in this context meaning those who had great respect for the family of the Prophet and followed Zayd were/are known as the Zaydiyyah. They have survived in Yemen and it remains the major school of thought in Yemen. The sect is based on some Mu'tazilah ideas and they rejected mysticism. In their worship they have certain features in common with other Shee'ah such as: the additions of "Hayya ilaa Khayr al-Aa'maal" (Come to the best of Actions) in their call to prayer and the prohibition of meat killed by non-Muslims. In their family law they prohibited marriage with Christian and Jews, however they dont allow Mu'tah (temporary marriage) alike other Shee'ah. They also recognize the three righteous Caliphs before 'Ali ' and do not consider the majority of the Sahaabah as apsotates .(See: Taareekh ul-Madhaahib; Vol 2 p 479-516 and Encyclophedia of Islam, p 631-632") because he did not accept their innovated concepts of not recognizing the three Caliphs, Abu Bakr, 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab and 'Usman ibn Afaan and anyone who did not uphold the belief that 'Ali should have been the first Caliph. Even according a Shee'ee historian, Mirza Taqee Khan, Zayd was asked about Abu Bakr and 'Umar, to which the replied:

"I always speak well of them and I have never heard any members of the family of the Prophet speak badly of them. They have never persecuted us nor did they maltreat any other citizen. Both of them strictly followed the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wassallam):
(Mirza Taqee Khaan, Nasikh ut-Tawaarikh (Vol2) p 590. This book is popular and regarded as an authentic Shee'ah document, see: Muhsin al-ameen, 'ayyan ush-Shee'ah Vol 2 p 132)

However those people who were led by their desires did not accept what Zayd said thus he stated:
"These people have left us and formed a separate group of their own... they got rid of old affiliations and scrambled up a new group. Thus from today they will be called the Raafidah." (ibid)

These new Shee'ah over praised 'Ali ibn Abee Taalib, some even saying that he was /is Allah incarnate and claimed that Abu Bakr and Umar became apostates along with all the companions except three to seven of them! The Raafidah (plural: Rawaafid) also mixed in other aspects which bolstered their claims and thus they began to integrate symbols of hatred for the Sahaabah into their relgion.
("Abdullah ibn Saba, a yemeni jew, was the first in history to begin calling to the worship of 'Ali Ibn Abee Taalib. Abdullah ibn Saba became a Muslim during the Khilaafah of 'Usman Ibn affan. Ibn Saba surrounded himself with the followers of 'Ali Ibn Abee Taalib and played a significant role in the uprising which started in Koofah amongst 'Ali's supporters and flared up in Egypt. From this rebellion, rebels were sent to Madeenah in 656 CE. They surrounded the house of 'Usman, stormed the house and killed him, may Allah be pleased with him. Ibn Saba and his cohorts clashed with the forces of the Sahaabah leading to the Battle of Camel outside Basra in which Talhah and az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with them, were killed along with many other Muslims. Ibn Saba was banished to 'Iraaq where 'Ali and his followers were based. The rest of Ibn Saba's band of followers that claimed that Ali was Allah were ordered by Ali to be executed by burning [Abu'l-Hasan al-'Ash' aree, Maqaalaat ul-Islaamiyyeen (Maktabh an-Nahdah al-Misriyyah; 2nd edition , 1961 , vol 1) pp 50-51, 58-59]
Some modern-day Shee'ah have denied the existence of Ibn Saba yet all of the early Muslim scholars make reference to him and even Shee'ah scholars admit to his presence. For example the Shee'ah scholars such as Immam Kaashee in book ar-Rijaal;
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Yahyaa an-Nawbakhtee, a major Shaee'ah theologian in his book Firaaq ush-Shee'ah and ar-Rawdat us-Safa by a Shee'ee historian, all mention Ibn Saba. These three books are exclusively Shee'ah scholarly books. The Muslim scholars and historians who mention Ibn Saba were Ibn Jareer at-Tabaree in his famous Taareekh ut-Tabaree which contains all the sources regarding 'Abdullah Ibn saba and the great Muslim historians Ibn ul-Atheer and Ibn Katheer mention Ibn Saba. Even the 'rationalist' historian Ibn Khaldoon mentions Ibn Saba.

Henceforh, Persia, present day 'Iraan, became important for the Shee'ah due to al-Husayn Ibn 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, marrying shahrabaanoo the daughter of the Persian ruler Yazdegird the third. This has been used by the Raafidah up to this day to denote a kind of special status about Persia/'Iraan, and that the Prophet's bloodline runs through 'Iraan'. Furthermore, Persian companions of the Prophet were raised and extolled such as Salmaan al-Faarisee and Abu Zar al-Ghifaaree, may Allah be pleased with them both. Persian characters from islamic history known for their treachery were also respected, such as Abu Lu'Lu, the Persian slave who killed second Caliph 'Umer Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. Even to this day in 'Iraan there is supposedly a tomb and shrine dedicated to Abu Lu'Lu.

Furthermore, the Rawaafid mingled in parts of the established Persian religion of Zorastrianism into their religion. This is arrested to the fact that in the religion of Zoroaster the rulership must be passed down through a lineage in order for the rulership to be sanctioned as suitable, identical to the religion of the Rawaafid whereby the Imaams follow each other consecutively. This also explains why Musavi al-Khomaynee (Khomeini) considered the Persian day of Celebration known as 'Nauraz' (Persian News Years Day) a day on which fasting is recommended.
(Al-Khomeini, Tahreer al-Waseelah (Najaf Matba'ah al-adab, 1390 AH; vol 1) pp 302-303. This is a voluminous works on Shee'ah jurisprudence by the Shee'ah Imaam and leader of the pseudo revolution that took place in 'Iraan from the late 1970s and the early eighties. This work is in two volumes, consisting of 658 pages and 650 pages respectively.")

Furthermore this accounts for why it was stipulated in the constitution of the 'Iraaanian 'Islamic' Republic endorsed by Khomaynee that the head of state must be of pure Persian ancestry and origin.
("Saraab fee 'Iraan/The Mirage in 'Iraan, p.39")

In persia, these Rawaafid beliefs, which also emphasized 'twelve Imaams' were established in 1502 CE by the Safawid empire who claimed descent from the seventh Imaam, Moosaa al-Kaathim.
("History of Arabs. p 441")

On this ascension, the founder of the Safawid state, Shaah Ismaa'eel declared Shee'ahism the state religion of Persia. Other areas where the Raafidah/Twelver Shee'ah can be found in 'Iraaq, Lebanon, India , Kuwait and East Africa. Thus from now on in his work when i mention the term Shee'ah, it is referring to these extreme Raafidah scholars.
("Shee'ah also claim to follow what has been known as the 'Jaa'fari school,' named after Jaa'far as-Saadiq, may Allah have mercy on him. However, Jaa'far left behind no evidence of having compiled a school in Islamic jurisprudence. This 'school of thought' has been used by modernist Muslim such as Ikhwaan ul-Muslimeen (The Muslim Brotherhood) and other modernist to vainly attempt to unite and bring the extremist Shee'ah into the fold of Muslim acceptance.")