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HUSAYN TABATABAI TRANSLATED BY
SAYYID HUSAYN NASR
(In the name of God, the most Compassionate, the Merciful)
AL-HAMDU L'ILLAH (All praise be to God) Call unto the way of your Lord with wisdom and good exhortation,
and reason with them in the best way. Lo! your Lord best knows those who
go astray from His path, and He knows best those who are rightly guided.
(Qur'an, 16:125)
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH MOST MERCIFUL AND COMPASSIONATE
INTRODUCTION This book, which we have called Shi'ite Islam, seeks to clarify
the true identity of Shi'ism which is one of the two major branches of
Islam - the other being Sunnism. It deals in particular with the way Shi'ism
originated and later developed, with the type of religious thought present
in Shi'ism, and with Islamic sciences and culture as seen from the Shi'ite
point of view.
The Meaning of Religion (din), Islam, and Shi'ism Religion. There is no doubt that each member of the human race
is naturally drawn to his fellow-men and that in his life in society he
acts in ways which are interrelated and interconnected. His eating, drinking,
sleeping, keeping awake, talking, listening, sitting, walking, his social
intercourse and meetings, at the same time that they are formally and externally
distinct, are invariably connected with each other. One cannot perform
just any act in any place or after any other act. There is an order which
must be observed. There is, therefore, an order which governs the actions man performs
in the journey of this life, an order against which his actions cannot
rebel. In reality, these acts all originate from a distinct source. That
source is man's desire to possess a felicitous life , a life in which he
can react to the greatest extent possible the objects of his desire, and
be gratified. Or, one could say that man wishes to provide in a more complete
way for his needs in order to continue his existence.
This is why man continually conforms his actions to rules and laws either
devised by himself or accepted from others, and why he selects a particular
way of life for himself among all the other existing possibilities. He
works in order to provide for his means of livelihood and expects his activities
to be guided by laws and regulations that must be followed. In order to
satisfy his sense of taste and overcome hunger and thirst, he eats and
drinks, for he considers eating and drinking necessary for the continuation
of his own happy existence. This rule could be multiplied by many other
instances. The rules and laws that govern human existence depend for their acceptance
on the basic beliefs that man has concerning the nature of universal existence,
of which he himself is a part, and also upon his judgment and evaluation
of that existence. That the principles governing man's actions depend on
his conception of being as a whole becomes clear if one meditates a moment
on the different conceptions that people hold as to the nature of the world
and of man. Those who consider the Universe to be confined only to this material,
sensible world, and man himself to be completely material and therefore
subject to annihilation when the breath of life leaves him at the moment
of death, follow a way of life designed to provide for their material desires
and transient mundane pleasures. They strive solely on this path, seeking
to bring under their control the natural conditions and factors of life.
Similarly, there are those who, like the common people among idol-worshipers,
consider the world of nature to be created by a god above nature who has
created the world specially for man and his goodness. Such men organize
their lives so as to attract the pleasure of the god and not invite his
anger. They believe that if they please the god he will multiply his bounty
and make it lasting and if they anger him he will take his bounty away
from them. On the other hand, such men as Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, and Muslims
follow the "high path" in this life for they believe in God and
in man's eternal life, and consider man to be responsible for his good
and evil acts. As a result they accept as proven the existence of a day
of judgment (qiyamat) and follow a path that leads to felicity in
both this world and the next.
The totality of these fundamental beliefs concerning the nature of man
and the Universe, and regulations in conformity with them which are applied
to human life, is called religion (din). If there are divergences
in these fundamental beliefs and regulations, they are called schools such
as the Sunni and the Shi'ite schools in Islam and the Nestorian in Christianity.
We can therefore say that man, even if he does not believe in the Deity,
can never be without religion if we recognize religion as a program for
life based on firm belief. Religion can never be separated from life and
is not simply a matter of ceremonial acts. The Holy Quran asserts that man has no choice but to follow religion,
which is a path that God has placed before man so that by treading it man
can reach Him. However, those who have accepted that religion of the truth
(Islam) march in all sincerity upon the path of God, while those who have
not accepted the religion of the truth have been diverted from the divine
path and have followed the wrong road. Islam etymologically means surrender and obedience. The Holy
Quran calls the religion which invites men toward this end "Islam"
since its general purpose is the surrender of man to the laws governing
the Universe and man, with the result that through this surrender he worships
only the One God and obeys only His commands. As the Holy Quran informs
us, the first person who called this religion "Islam" and its
followers "Muslims" was the Prophet Abraham, upon whom be peace.
Shi'ah, which means literally partisan or follower, refers to
those who consider the succession to the Prophet - may God's peace and
benediction be upon him - to be the special right of the family of the
Prophet and who in the field of the Islamic sciences and culture follow
the school of the Household of the Prophet.
PART I: THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SHI'ISM
Shi'ism began with a reference made for the first time to the partisans
of Ali (shi'ah-i ' Ali), the first leader of the Household of the
Prophet, during the lifetime of the Prophet himself. The course of the
first manifestation and the later growth of Islam during the twenty-three
years of prophecy brought about many conditions which necessitated the
appearance of a group such as the Shi'ites among the companions of the
Prophet. The Holy Prophet during the first days of his prophecy, when according
to the text of the Quran he was commanded to invite his closer relatives
to come to his religion, told them clearly that whoever would be the first
to accept his invitation would become his successor and inheritor. Ali
was the first to step forth and embrace Islam. The Prophet accepted Ali's
submission to the faith and thus fulfilled his promise. From the Shi'ite point of view it appears as unlikely that the leader
of a movement, during the first days of his activity, should introduce
to strangers one of his associates as his successor and deputy but not
introduce him to his completely loyal and devout aides and friends. Nor
does it appear likely that such a leader should accept someone as his deputy
and successor and introduce him to others as such, but then throughout
his life and religious call deprive his deputy of his duties as deputy,
disregard the respect due to his position as successor, and refuse to make
any distinctions between him and others.
The Prophet, according to many unquestioned and completely authenticated
hadiths, both Sunni and Shi'ite, clearly asserted that Ali was preserved
from error and sin in his actions and sayings. Whatever he said and did
was in perfect conformity with the teachings of religion and he was the
most knowledgeable of men in matters pertaining to the Islamic sciences
and injunctions. During the period of prophecy Ali performed valuable services and made
remarkable sacrifices. When the infidels of Mecca decided to kill the Prophet
and surrounded his house, the Holy Prophet decided to emigrate to Medina.
He said to Ali, "Will you sleep in my bed at night so that they will
think that I am asleep and I will be secure from being pursued by them?"
Ali accepted this dangerous assignment with open arms. This has been recounted
in different histories and collections of hadith. (The emigration from
Mecca to Medina marks the date of origin of the Islamic calendar, known
as the hijrah.) Ali also served by fighting in the battles of Badr,
Uhud, Khaybar, Khandaq, and Hunayn in which the victories achieved with
his aid were such that if Ali had not been present the enemy would most
likely have uprooted Islam and the Muslims, as is recounted in the usual
histories, lives of the Prophet, and collections of hadith. For Shi'ites, the central evidence of Ali's legitimacy as successor
to the Prophet is the event of Ghadir Khumm when the Prophet chose Ali
to the "general guardianship" (walayat-i 'ammah) of the
people and made Ali, like himself, their "guardian" (wali).
It is obvious that because of such distinctive services and recognition,
because of Ali's special virtues which were acclaimed by all, and because
of the great love the Prophet showed for him, some of the companions of
the Prophet who knew Ali well, and who were champions of virtue and truth,
came to love him. They assembled around Ali and followed him to such an
extent that many others began to consider their love for him excessive
and a few perhaps also became jealous of him. Besides all these elements,
we see in many sayings of the Prophet reference to the "shi'ah of
Ali" and the "shi'ah of the Household of the Prophet."
The Cause of the Separation of the Shi'ite Minority from the Sunni Majority
The friends and followers of Ali believed that after death of the Prophet
the caliphate and religious authority (marja'iyat-i 'ilmi) belonged
to Ali. This belief came from their consideration of Ali's position and
station in relation to the Prophet, his relation to the chosen among the
companions, as well as his relation to Muslims in general. It was only
the events that occurred during the few days of the Prophet's final illness
that indicated that there was opposition to their view. Contrary to their
expectation, at the very moment when the Prophet died and his body lay
still unburied, while his household and a few companions were occupied
with providing for his burial and funeral service, the friends and followers
of Ali received news of the activity of another group who had gone to the
mosque where the community was gathered faced with this sudden loss of
their leader. This group, which was later to form the majority, set forth
in great haste to select a caliph for the Muslims with the aim of ensuring
the welfare of the community and solving its immediate problems. They did
this without consulting the Household of the Prophet, his relatives or
many of his friends, who were busy with the funeral, and without providing
them with the least information. Thus Ali and his companions were presented
with a fait accompli. Ali and his friends - such as 'Abbas, Zubayr, Salman, Abu Dharr, Miqdad
and 'Ammar - after finishing with the burial of the body of the Prophet
became aware of the proceedings by which the caliph had been selected.
They protested against the act of choosing the caliph by consultation or
election, and also against those who were responsible for carrying it out.
They even presented their own proofs and arguments, but the answer they
received was that the welfare of the Muslims was at stake and the solution
lay in what had been done. It was this protest and criticism which separated from the majority
the minority that were following Ali and made his followers known to society
as the "partisans" or "shi'ah" of Ali. The caliphate
of the time was anxious to guard against this appellation being given to
the Shi'ite minority and thus to have Muslim society divided into sections
comprised of a majority and a minority. The supporters of the caliph considered
the caliphate to be a matter of the consensus of the community (ijma')
and called those who objected the "opponents of allegiance."
They claimed that the Shi'ah stood, therefore, opposed to Muslim society.
Sometimes the Shi'ah were given other pejorative and degrading names. Shi'ism was condemned from the first moment because of the political
situation of the time and thus it could not accomplish anything through
mere political protest. Ali, in order to safeguard the well-being of Islam
and of the Muslims, and also because of lack of sufficient political and
military power, did not endeavor to begin an uprising against the existing
political order, which would have been of a bloody nature. Yet those who
protested against the established caliphate refused to surrender to the
majority in certain questions of faith and continued to hold that the succession
to the Prophet and religious authority belonged by right to Ali. They believed
that all spiritual and religious matters should be referred to him and
invited people to become his followers.
The Two Problems of Succession and Authority in Religious Sciences
In accordance with the Islamic teachings which form its basis, Shi'ism
believed that the most important question facing Islamic society was the
elucidation and clarification of Islamic teachings and the tenets of the
religious sciences. Only after such clarifications were made could the
application of these teachings to the social order be considered. In other
words, Shi'ism believed that, before all else, members of society should
be able to gain a true vision of the world and of men based on the real
nature of things. Only then could they know and perform their duties as
human beings - in which lay their real welfare - even if the performance
of these religious duties were to be against their desires. After carrying
out this first step a religious government should preserve and execute
