The Ahulbayt in Quran [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Outline of Differences Between

Shi'ite and Sunnit Schools of Thought

INTRODUCTION

""""""""""""

There is no difference of opinion amongst Muslim schools that
the religion of Allah is Islam; that the only way to know Islam
is through the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet;
and that the Book of Allah is what is known as the Quran,
without any "addition" or "deletion".

The
difference is in the interpretation of some of the verses of the
Quran; and in believing or not beliving some of the sunnah as
genuine; or in its interpretation.

This difference of
approach has led towards the difference in some basic principles
and some laws of religion.

As the basic principles of Islam
are well known, I do not think it is necessary to enumerate all
the beliefs. It will be sufficient if some of the important

differences are described here to give the readers a fairly
comprehensive idea of the main characteristics which distinguish
the Shiats from the Sunnis.

All the Muslims argee that Allah is one, Muhammad (PBUH&HF)
is His last prophet, and that one day Allah will resurrect all
the human beings, and all will be questioned about their beliefs
and actions. All of them agree

that anyone who does not believe in any of the above three basic
principles is not a Muslim.

Also, they agree that anybody
denying the famous tenets of Islam, like salat (prayers), sawm
(fasting), hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca),

zakat (religious tax), etc.

, or believing that the famous
sins, like drinkig wine, adultery, stealing, gambling, lie,
murder, etc.

, are not

sins, is not a Muslim, though he might have been believing in
Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF).

That is
because to deny such things is like to deny the prophethood of
Muhammad and his shariah (Divine Laws).

When we go further, we come across those subjects which are not
agreed

amongst Muslims, and the differences between different schools
of Islam

begin there.

Many people think that the difference
between Shia and Sunni is the issue of leadership after the
death of prophet.

This is true, but as a matter of
fact, different leaders instruct different ways of approach to
each issue.

This may result to more differences as the
the time goes. I try

to briefly explain these basic differences here.

PERSON OF GOD

"""""""""""""

Some Sunni scholars hold beliefs which would imply that Allah
has body, but not like the bodies that we know, of course.
There are quite a number of

traditions in Sahih al-Bukhari describing that God has a sign in
his leg,

and he put his leg over the hell and so on.

For
instance see Sahih al-

Bukhari, Arabic-Englich version, 9.

532s in which alleges
Allah has a sign

in His Shin (leg) and when He uncovers His Shin (leg) people
will recognize

Him.

Or in the same volume see Tradition 9.

604 and
9.

510 where it is said

that Allah has fingers! Please also see the consequetive
articles given by

Kaamran refrenced to Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

Wahhabis who follow Ibn Taymiyyah (d.

728/1328)
confirm that the organs of

God is physical entity and Allah is firmly seated in the trone.

However

Ash'arites (followers of Abul-Hasan al-Ash'ari) which include a
vast amount

of Sunnis, do NOT interpret face, hand, and leg as physical
organs.

They

believe that Allah has face, hand, and leg, but they say:
"We do not know

how.

"

The Shia firmly believe that Allah has NOT got a body, nor face,
nor hands,

nor fingers, nor legs.

Shaykh Saduq, one of the most
distinguished of Shia

scholars says:

"Verily, Allah is One, Unique,
nothing is like Him, He is Eternal;

Hearing, Seeing, Omniscient, Living,
Omnipotent, above every need.

He

cannot be described in terms of
substance, nor body, nor form, nor

accident, nor line, nor surface, nor
heaviness, nor lightness, nor

color, nor movement, nor rest, nor
time, nor space.

He is above all

the descriptions which can be applied
to His creatures.

He is away

from both extremes: Neither He is just
a non-entity (as atheists and

in a lesser degree Mutazilites
implied), nor He is just like other

things.

He is Existent, not
like other existing things.

"

Shi'i reference: Shi'ite Creed (al-Itqadat al-Imamiyyah), by
Shaykh Saduq

Of course, there are some verses in Quran which ascribe the
words used for

limbs to the person of God.

But according to the
interpretation of Shi'ite

Imams, they are used in metaphorical and symbolic sense, not
literal sense.

for example, the verse (28:88) of Quran which says: "Every
thing is mortal

except His face" means 'except His person'.

Surely,
even Sunni scholars can

not say that only the face of God will remain, while His other
so-called

limbs (either physical or not) will die! Similarly, Allah has
used

the word 'Hand' (Yad) in several places in the Quran.

But
it means His

power and His Mercy, as in the verse (5:64): "But His hands
are outspread".

In fact in the Quran and the Prophetic such mytaphorical
meanings were

greatly used.

For example, Allah describes his
Prophets as :

"men of Hands and vision.

"
(38:45)

Even all Sunni scholars agreed that here 'hands' means power and
strength.

I should mention that the view of Shia is also different than
Mu'tazalites

who take God to the boundary of non-existence.

CAN ALLAH BE SEEN?

""""""""""""""""""

As a direct result of the above-mentioned difference, Sunni
scholars

believe that Allah can be seen.

Some of them, like
Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal,

say that He can be seen in this world, as well as in the word
after.

Others

say that He can only be seen in the hereafter.

(Reference:
Sahih al-

Bukhari, Arabic-English version, Traditions 9.

530-532 which
clearly

state that God can be seen, and God changes His look to be
recognized by

people).

On the other hand, Shiats say that He cannot be seen physically
anywhere,

because He has no body, and because Allah says in the Quran:

"Sight cannot reach Him"
(6:103).

Sunni scholars use the following verse as their proof:

"Some faces on that day (day of
judgement) will be fresh (blooming),

looking towards their Lord"
(75:22-23).

But in Arabic language the word "nazar" (looking
toward) does NOT imply

"seeing".

Often it is said: "nazartu
ilal-hilal falam arahu" which means

"I looked towards the new moon (crescent) but I did not see
it.

" Therefore,

the verse does not imply that they will see God.

According to the Shi'ite

interpretstion, the verse means that they will be looking
forward to the

blessing of Allah.

ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH

"""""""""""""""""""

According to the Shia belief, attributes of Allah can be put in
two

distinct groups: first those attributes which denote His person,
and

second, those attributes which denote His actions.

Shaykh
Saduq says:

"For example, we say that Allah
was from ever Hearing, Seeing,

Omniscient, Wise, Omnipotent, Having
power, Living, Self-existent, One

and Eternal.

And these are
His personal attributes.

and we do not say

that He was from ever Creating, Doing,
Intending, pleased, displeased,

Giving sustenance, Speaking; because
these virtues describe His

actions; and they are not eternal; it
is not allowed to say that Allah

was doing all these actions from
eternity.

The reason for this

distinction is obvious.

Actions
need an object.

For example, if we say

that Allah was giving sustenance from
ever, then we will have to admit

the existence of sustained thing from
ever.

In other words, we will

have to admit that the world was from
ever.

but it is against our

belief that nothing except God is
Eternal.

"

Shi'i reference: Shi'ite Creed (al-Itqadat al-Imamiyyah), by
Shaykh Saduq

It appears that the Sunni scholars have no clear view of this
distinction,

and they say that all His attributes are Eternal.

This
is the actual cause

of their belief that Quran, being the Kalam (speech) of God, is
Eternal,

and not created.

Because they say that He was
mutakallim (speaking) from

ever.

"Hanbalites" so far said that 'Not only were the words
and sounds of the

Quran eternal, so that even its recital was uncreated, but its
parchment

and binding shared the same qualities.

In the
Testament of Abu Hanifa

a more moderate view is expressed: We confess that the Quran is
the speech

of Allah, uncreated, His inspiration, and revelation, not He,
yet not other

than He, but His real quality, written in the copies, recited by
the

tongues.

The ink, the paper, the writing are created,
for they are the work

of man" (Revelation and Reason in Islam by A.

J.

Arberry,
pp 26-27).

But since Shia distinguish between His personal virtues and His
actions,

they say:

"Our belief about the Quran is
that it is the speech of God, and His

revelation sent by Him, and His word
and His book.

.

.

And that Allah is

its Creator and its Sender and its
Guardian.

.

.

"

Shi'i reference: Shi'ite Creed (al-Itqadat al-Imamiyyah), by
Shaykh Saduq

Among the Sunnis, the bitter quarrel between the Mutazilites and
the

Asharites on this subject is well-known, and there is no need to
release

it here.

Some claim that every created things has flaws in it and thus
Quran should

be ethernal since it is without flaw.

This argument is
baseless since we

Muslims believe that angels, though created, are flawless,
otherwise how

can we trust Gabriel when he brought Quran to the Prophet? How
can you

trust Prophet himself? Is Allah unable to create a flawless
creature? As

such, we believe that Quran as well as all other things in the
universe are

all created.

Nothing is eternal except Allah.

There
is a tradition from the

Prophet (PBUH&HF) which states that:

"(There was a time when) Allah
existed, and there was nothing beside

Him".

PLACE OF REASON IN RELIGION

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""

This is one of the most important distinction between the Sunnis
on one

side, and Shi'ites on another.

To be more exact, I
should have used the

word Asharites, in place of Sunnis since a vast number of Sunnis
nowadays

are Asharites; Mutazilites have become extinct a long time
ago, though

some of the great scholars of the recent time like Justice Amir
Ali were

Mutazilites.

Anyhow, the Shiats say that irrespective of religious
commandments, there

is real merit or demerit in different courses of actions, and it
is because

a certain thing is good that God orders it, and because the
other is bad

that He forbids it.

Sunni scholars deny this
conception.

They say that

nothing is good or evil in itself.

Only what God has
commanded us is good

and what He has forbidden us is evil.

If something is
forbidden by God it

is bad; then if God cancels the first order, and allows it, it
will become

good, after being bad.

In other words, the Shiats
say that God has

forbidden us to tell lie because it is bad; the Sunnis say that
lie has

become bad because God has forbidden it.

Shiats
recognize the relation of

cause and effect.

Sunni sholars deny it.

They say that there is no cause

except Allah.

And it is just a habit of Allah that
whenever, for example,

we drink water He quenches our thirst.

Based upon the above difference of attitude about the position
of reason in

religion are the following differences: Shiats say that God
never acts

without purpose or aimlessly.

All His actions are
based on wisdom and

intelligent purpose (e.

g.

, Because it is not
commendable, rationally, to

act without purpose).

The Sunni scholars on the other
hand, because of

their denouncement of rational merit or demerit, say that it is
quite

possible for God to act aimlessly.

It follows that,
according to the

Shiats, God does nothing which has inherent demerit in it.

The Sunnis deny

it.

Shiats say that all actions of Allah are
intended for the benefit of

His creatures.

Because He Himself has no need; and if
His actions become

devoid of benefits for His creation also, they will become
aimless, which

is rationally not commendable.

The Sunnis deny it,
because of their stand

about rational merit or demerit.

GRACE (Lutf or Tafaddul)

""""""""""""""""""""""""

Based on the above differences, there is a difference about
their attitude

towards the Grace of Allah.

Shiats say that the Grace
is morally, incumbent

upon Allah.

They say Grace is the actions of God which
would help to bring

His creatures closer to His devotion and obedience and
facilitate their

moral correction (which is) morally incumbent on Him.

Allah
has commanded

us to be just, while He Himself treats us with something better,
namely

Grace (tafaddul).

The Sunni scholars, on the other
hand, say:

"God leades astray whom He wills
and guides to right path whom He

wills, and it is not incumbent upon
God, the Most High, to do

something that may be best for the
creature.

"

Sunni reference: Creed of an-Nasafi

GOD'S PROMISES

""""""""""""""

Based upon Shia position on Justice and Grace, they say that:

"Whatever God has promised as
reward for a good work, He will fulfill

it; but whatever He has threatened as
punishment for a bad work, it is

upon His decision.

If He
enforces the punishment, it will be according

to His Justice; but if He forgives it,
it will be according to His

Grace.

"

Shi'i reference: Shi'ite Creed (al-Itqadat al-Imamiyyah), by
Shaykh Saduq

Shia is confronted both by the Kharijites and Mutazilites on one
side and

the Asharites on other side.

The Mutazilites and
Kharijites say that it is

incumbent upon God to fulfill His threats also.

He has
no power to forgive.

The Asharites, on the other hand say that it is not incumbent
upon Him even

to fulfill His promises of rewards.

They go so far as
to say, "Even if

Allah wants to send the prophets in Hell, and Satan to Paradise,
it is not

against virtue, because there is no inherent demerit in any
action.

"

WHY BELIEVE IN GOD

""""""""""""""""""

The Shiats say: Man is obliged by his reason to know God, and to
obey His

commands.

In other words, necessity of religion is
proved, first of all, by

reason.

Sunni scholars say it is necessary to
believe in Allah, but not on

the account of reason.

It is necessary because Allah
has ordered us to know

Him.

According to the Shi'ite point of view, this
type of proof creates

vicious circle.

Believe in God.

why? Because
God has ordered it.

But we do

not know who God is.

Why should we obey Him?

LIMIT OF LAW

""""""""""""

The Shiats say: God cannot give us a command beyond our
strength, because

it is wrong rationally (La Yokalleffollaho nafsan illa vosaaha).

Some
Sunni

scholars do not agree with it.

OUR ACTIONS: TAQDIR

"""""""""""""""""""

Are our actions really ours? Or we are just a tool in the hands
of Allah!

Shia scholars say:

"Taqdir means that, Allah
possesses foreknowledge of human action, but

He does not compel anybody to act in
any particular way"

Shi'i reference: Shi'ite Creed (al-Itqadat al-Imamiyyah), by
Shaykh Saduq

The above quote gives evidence to the fact that according to
Shia, human

has option either to obey God's rules, or disobey.

To
make it clear, it

should be explained here, that man's conditions or actions are
of two kinds

(i) Those actions about which he can be advised, ordered,
praised or

blamed.

Such actions are
within his power and are dependent upon his

will.

(ii) Such conditions about which he cannot be praised or blamed,
like life,

death, etc.

Such conditions
are outside of his sphere of will or

power.

For example, we can advise a patient to consult this or that
doctor and

remain under his treatment; but we can not advise him to become
cured.

Why

this difference? Because getting treatment is under his power,
but getting

cured is not in his power.

It is something which comes
from Allah.

Freedom of action is a gift of Allah.

He has given us
power, freedom,

strength, limbs, wisdom and everything with which we do any
work.

Therefore, we are not independent of Allah, because our freedom
is not only

given but even sustained by Him.

However our actions
are not compelled by

God, because He, after His showing us the right and wrong ways,
and after

His encouraging us to do right, has left us to our own free
will.

If we go

wrong, it is our own choice.

Shaykh Saduq stated:

"Our belief in this respect is
what has been taught by Imam Jafar al-

Sadiq (the sixth successor/grandson of
Prophet): There is no

compulsion (by God) and no
relinquishing the authority (of God); but a

condition between these two conditions.

Then
Imam was asked: How is

it? He said: Suppose you see a man
intending to commit a sin; and you

forbade him; but he did not listen to
you; and you left him; and he

did commit that sin.

Now when
he did not pay attention to you and you

left him, nobody can say that you
ordered him or allowed him to sin.

"

Shi'i reference: Shi'ite Creed (al-Itqadat al-Imamiyyah), by
Shaykh Saduq

In other words, we believe that God has given us power and will
and then

has left us free to do what we like.

At the same time,
He has taught us

through prophets, what is right and what is wrong.

Now,
as He is

Omniscient, He knows what will be our actions in different times
of our

life.

But this knowledge does not make Him responsible
for our actions more

than a meteorologist can be responsible for cyclones and storms,
if his

forecasts comes true.

True forecasts are the result,
not the cause of the

impending event.

The Sunni scholars on the other hand
say that Allah is the

Creator of all of our acts:

"No act of any individual, even
though it is done purely for his

benefit is independent of the will of
Allah for its existence; and

there does not occur in either in
physical or extra terrestrial world

the wink of an eye, the hint of a
thought, or the most sudden glance,

except by the decree of Allah.

.

.

of
His power, desire and will.

This

includes evil and good, benefit and
hurt, success and failure, sin and

righteousness, obedience and
disobedience, and polytheism or belief.

"

Sunni reference: al-Ghazali (as quoted in Shia of India, p43)

PROPHETHOOD

""""""""""""

Based upon their belief of LUTF (Grace), the Shiats believe that
it is

incumbent upon Allah to send prophets and their successors in
this world to

put people on right path.

The Sunni scholars say that
it is not incumbent

upon Allah, because they do not accept necessity of Grace.

SINLESSNESS:

""""""""""""

The Shiats and Sunnis in first instance, and then the Sunnis
among

themselves, disagree about the theory of ISMAH (sinlessness;
protection) of

the prophets.

What is our conception of sinlessness?
It is the Grace of

Allah which helps a person to refrain from sins, without
effecting in any

way his will and power.

A MASUM (sinless person) has
power to commit sins;

but he does not even think about sins because his spiritual
standard is so

high that such inferior things do not enter his mind.

The Sunni scholars do not speak with one voice in this subject:

1.

They first differ about the point when sinlessness
of prophets begins.

Some Sunnis say it is after the declaration of
prophet-hood; others say

that it is since childhood.

2.

The scope of sinlessness before declaration of
prophet-hood: Some Sunni

scholars say that it covers all sins; the majority say
that they are

protected from KUFR (infidelity) only.

3.

The scope of sinlessness after declaration of
prophet-hood: It is agreed

that the prophets do not tell lie after prophet-hood.

But
what about

other sins? Some Sunni scholars say that they commit
other sins either

intentionally or unintentionally; but the majority say
that they could

commit it unintentionally, but not intentionally.

4.

The minor sins: Some Sunni scholars say it was
possible for prophets to

commit minor sins, even intentionally.

But that
they were protected from

such minor sins which might have degraded them in the
eyes of people.

The Shia point of view about sinlessness is that all the
prophets were

sinless and infallible; they did not commit any sin, whether
capital or

minor, and whether intentionally or unintentionally; and that
they were

sinless from the beginning of their life till their last breath.

About
the

prophets, Shaykh Saduq wrote:

"Their word is the word of God,
their order is the order of God, their

forbidding is the forbidding by God .

.

.

And
that the Chiefs of the

prophets are five, and they are
(called) 'Ulul-Azm' and they are Noah,

Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (be
blessings of Allah upon them

all) and that Muhammad is their Chief
and best of all.

"

IMAM (LEADER):

""""""""""""""

Shiats say that Imam must be appointed by God; that appointment
may be

known through the declaration of the Prophet or the preceding
Imam.

The

Sunni scholars say that Imam (or Caliph, as they prefer to say)
can be

either elected, or nominated by the preceding Caliph, or
selected by a

committee, or may gain the power through a military coup (as was
in the

case of Muawiyah).

Shia scholars say that Imam must be sinless.

The Sunni
scholars (including

Mutazilites) say that sinlessness is not a condition for
leadership.

Even

if he is tyrant and sunk in sins (like in the case of Yazid, or
Today's

King Fahd), the majority of the scholars from the shools of
Hanbali,

Shafi'i, and Maliki discourage people to rise against that
Caliph.

They

think that they should be presevered.

Shiats say that Imam must possess above all such qualities as
knowledge,

bravery, justice, wisdom, piety, love of God etc.

The
Sunni scholars say it

is not necessary.

A person inferior in these qualities
may be elected in

preference to a person having all these qualities of superior
degree.

Shiats say that Ali was appointed by Allah to be the successor
of the

Prophet, and that the Prophet declared it on several occasions.

More
than

one hundred of those occasions are recorded in the history.

The
Sunni

scholars believe that the Prophet did not appoint anybody to be
his

successor.

This is despite the fact that there are
many traditions in the

six authentic Sunni collections which support this assignment.

Wassalam.