Shia is typically a person who believe\nin the leadership (Imamah) of the true twelve Imams after the Great Prophet\n(PBUH&HP) and loves and follows Amir al-Mu\u2019minin Ali (PBUH) and his\nchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first Shia Imam, Amir al-Mu\u2019minin\n(PBUH) was the front runner in battlefields, symbol of piety, owner of true\nwisdom and practice. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) had not only declared Amir\nal-Mu\u2019minin (PBUH) as the greatest and wisest1, but he held so many virtues\nwithin him where the Great Prophet had praised them so many times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nonetheless, such position had\ntriggered the jealousy of some people with less capacity from one side, and the\nfire of hatred of those who could not take Ali\u2019s (PBUH) justice and truth\nseeking principles from the other side. He was just and never hesitated with\nanyone at all on the path of Allah (SWT). Therefore, after the demise of\nProphet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) where Amir al-Mu\u2019minin (PBUH), by the command of\nAllah (SWT), was expected to become the leader and successor, everyone from\n(certain) Muslims to Infidels grouped to drag him into isolation and weak\nposition and eventually put him out of any power. His followers were also\ncontinuously bothered by the oppressive choices of the tyrant rules of the\nIslamic nation made to keep their positions; choices such as enforced poverty,\ntorture, looting and murder!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The enemy had many methods to take the\nShias out of the normal social life and prevent them from having any power to\nresist them; amongst these methods, economical means was one. One of the\nmethods initiated by Muawiyah and then continued by other rules for the ones\nwho did not accept them as caliph particularly the Shia, was to remove their\nnames from the recipient listing of the (public) Treasury2. Muawiyah had\ncommanded his subordinates in a memorandum to remove the people who are a\nfollower of Ali (PBUH) from the recipient of the treasury of Muslims. So many\nfollowers of Ali (PBUH) lost everything they had. It was only enough for one to\nbe involved in a court case with a Shia; as soon as the first person had proof\nof the other to be Shia, the court would favor the victory for that person and\nthe Shia would be accused of being Rafedhi (non-believer); the judge then had\nthe right to confiscate the Shia from his belongings and sentence him to jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Murder and assassination of the Shia\nwas another method used at the time of Muawiyah and then continued to become\neven more common practice during the reign of Marwan and his successors; during\nthe rule of Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf, countless Shias were executed and simply lost\ntheir lives and everything. Hajjaj had not even skipped those who had children\nname as Ali or Fatimah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These people went to great deals to\nreduce in value the virtues of Amir al-Mu\u2019minin (PBUH), even to the extent of\nchanging interpretations of the verses of the Holy Quran. For example verse 207 of Surah Baqarah3,\nwhich was revealed about Amir al-Mu\u2019minin (PBUH) regarding his sleeping in\nplace of the Prophet (PBUH&HP) \nduring the night of the Hijrah, was changed in interpretation to be\nabout Ibn Muljam, adding that it was Ibn Muljam who put his life in danger for\nkilling Amir al-Mu\u2019minin!4<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grave of Amir al Muminin (PBUH)\nwas hidden to most except for the Ahlul Bayt (PBUT) and their close companions\nuntil the era of Harun al-Rashid, some 100 years after the martyrdom of Imam\nAli (PBUH). And even when the location\nof the grave was identified, the Bani Abbas Dynasty would prevent pilgrims from\nvisiting the grave, while also destroying its surrounding cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The true followers of the school of\nAmir al-Mu\u2019minin (PBUH) from the day in which the Prophet (PBUH&HP) introduced the \u201cShiites of Ali\u201d as the true\nvictors of the day of Judgment5, stood strong with the forces of Allah\u2019s\nreligion, and tolerated all difficulties so that the word of the One God stays\nsafe and secure from the unbelievers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The history of the followers of Amir\nal-Mu\u2019minin (PBUH) has proven to those living in the future that traveling the\npath of religion is always intertwined with difficulties and hardships;\nhardships in which the traveler of this path takes on with belief in the\ntruthfulness of the path, so that he\/she can become victorious in the constant\nexams of Allah and so they can complete their path by bringing this expensive\nbelief and to the end. This matter can be\nsummed up in the words of Amir al Mu\u2019minin (PBUH) whom after the incident of\nSaqifah declared, \u201cWhosoever is our friend, should put on a cloth of tragedy.\u201d6<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from \u201cWhy Shia?\u201d by Dr. Ali Qaemi (with minor additions))<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website offers condolences\nto all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon 21st of the Month of Ramadan,\nthe anniversary of the martyrdom of the symbol of justice and courage, the\nfather of the nation and the commander of the believers, Amir al-Mu\u2019minin, Ali\nibn Abi Talib (PBUH), and commemorates the Nights of Qadr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Bihar\nal-Anwar, vol. 46, p. 136 \u2013 al-Mustadrak al-Sahihain Hakim, vol. 3, pg. 32 \u2013\nFadha\u2019il Ibn Shazan Qummi, p. 138; Kashful al-Qummah, vol. 1, pg. 150<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Comments on\nthe Peak of Eloquence ibn Abi al-Hadid, vol. 11, pg. 45<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. \u201cAnd of men\nthere is he who would sell himself to seek the pleasure of ALLAH; and ALLAH is\nCompassionate to HIS servants.\u201d The Holy Quran, 2:207 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Both Sunni\nand Shia resources have addressed the verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunni resources: Tarikh al-Tabari,\nvol. 2, pg. 99 to 101. Al-Kamil Fi al-Tarikh Ibn \u2018Atheer, vol. 1, pg. 516<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shia resources: Amali Sheikh Saduq,\npg. 446; Tafsir Nour al-Thaqalain, vol. 1, pg. 204<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ibn Abi al-Hadid narrates that:\n\u201cMuaweiah asked one named to create a false narration about this verse being\nabout Ibn Muljam in exchange of one thousand gold coins. Samrah Ibn Jundab did not accept in the\nbeginning and Muaweiah raised the price to four hundred thousand gold coins and\nthen he accepted to create such fake narration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comments on the Peak of Eloquence ibn\nAbi al-Hadid, vol. 4, pg. 73<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Kashful\nQummah, vol. 1, pg. 56; al-Durr al-manthur, vol. 8, pg. 589<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Qurar\nal-Hikam, pg. 657<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shia is typically a person who believe in the leadership (Imamah) of the true twelve Imams after the Great Prophet (PBUH&HP) and loves and follows Amir al-Mu\u2019minin Ali (PBUH) and his children. The first Shia Imam, Amir al-Mu\u2019minin (PBUH) was the front runner in battlefields, symbol of piety, owner of true wisdom and practice. Prophet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[63248],"class_list":["post-4047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-shiism"],"yoast_head":"\n