The Sunni and The Shi'A: History, Doctrines and Discrepancies

by Abdul Ganiy Oloruntele

Overview

"The Muslim people must become acquainted with the fundamental ordinances of Islam. Ignorance exists on both sides, among the Sunnis and Shi'is alike, and it is as a result of this ignorance that clashes and enmity have arisen" (Imām Khomeini).

It is amazing to note that the majority of Muslims are ignorant of why they are either Sunnis or Shī'a. The issues between these two factions are definitely affecting the world peace today; so much that Muslims and nonMuslims know both factions as staunch antagonists, seriously waging unnecessary wars against each other.

Who are the Sunnis? Who are the Shī'a? Why are the followers of the same Prophet turning to staunch antagonists? What is the origin of both factions and their enmity? What have they got in common, and what are their discrepancies? Find out these and many more as you read through the whole book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532009709
Publisher:	iUniverse, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/29/2016
Pages:	172
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.37(d)

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The Sunni and The Shi'A: History, Doctrines and Discrepancies

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By Abdul Ganiy Oloruntele

iUniverse

Copyright © 2016 Abdul Ganiy Oloruntele
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5320-0970-9

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CHAPTER 1

The Sunni

Preamble: Historical Context and Reasons for Division

In the presence of thousands of followers, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) delivered his last sermon, in which he warned Muslims of all generations against division and its consequences. He said that Muslims should not stray from the path of righteousness; should hurt no one (so as not to be hurt by others); should regard their lives and property as sacred, and not destroy either; should regard themselves as the brother (or sister) of every other Muslim; should acknowledge that no one is superior to the another except in piety; should remain united; and should not be divided. Unfortunately, this advice and these warnings were pushed aside after the Prophet died. This was done as a result of the following factors:

a) The natural differences among human beings

As intelligent as human beings are, more intelligent than any other creature, they are naturally created to view a single issue in various ways on account of the variation in their intelligence, wisdom, knowledge, and life experiences. Muslims are no exception to this rule.

b) The allegorical nature of some Quranic verses

The Holy Qur'an confirms that some of its verses are allegorical (having different interpretations) and indicates that some others are ambiguous or obscure in their meaning (Al-Imran 3:7). It is mentioned above that a single issue which is not ambiguous is viewed or perceived differently by different people, never mind an issue which is ambiguous.

The Holy Qur'an urges Muslims to have strong faith in some phenomena which are invisible (e.g. God, His attributes, the angels, jinn, Paradise, Hell, free will, predestination). The apparent phenomena in our physical world are interpreted and understood differently by different people, so it is not surprising that invisible phenomena are understood differently by different people. It is obvious that invisible phenomena will inspire varying views, opinions, beliefs, explanations, interpretations, and understandings. This is one of the things that accounts for the past and present divisions among Muslims.

c) Tribal or racial sentiment

Naturally, human beings tend to be loving towards and loyal to their own people (people of the same blood, tribe, or race), sometimes to the detriment of others. This explains why the Madmans clamoured for their own indigene as a leader, and why the clan of the Prophet and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, Banu Hashim, delayed their recognition of Abu Bakr as the first caliph despite his popularity among the early Muslims. Instead, the clan of the Prophet backed their own son Ali as the most suitable candidate. And the Umayyad clan were so in favour of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan that they dominated the political aspect of the caliphate. This type of racial sentiment has today extended to manifest as state or national patriotism. It was reflected in the past and is manifest today, as seen in Muslim nations that forgo the concept of Islamic brotherhood when it comes to defending or protecting their racial or national interests.

d) Political interest

The above three reasons were enough for the looming divisions between Muslims, but the most crucial factor which accounted for Muslim division, especially concerning Sunni and Shi'a, was power struggle. The issue transformed from political rifts to personality clashes, and later to theological conflicts. The Sunni are mostly concerned with theological concepts, whereas the Shi'a concentrate on personalities.

In fact, when the Prophet's leadership was centred in Madinah, a few companions led by Abdullah ibn Ubayy envied the Prophet and even schemed to force the Prophet and his Makkan followers (the Muhajirun) out of Madinah (al-Munafiqun 63:7–8). The impact of this small group was not felt thanks to the leadership style of the Prophet, his charisma, and other superlative qualities naturally endowed to him.

Immediately after Prophet Muhammad's death, the political struggle regarding who should be the next leader resurfaced. This temporarily divided Muslims into three main groups. The majority favoured the childhood friend of the Prophet, Abu Bakr Siddiq, because there were indications from the Prophet which pointed to his election.

But other indications from the Prophet pointed to one of his cousins, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, who had married the Prophet's only surviving daughter. Therefore, 'Ali had his own faction and supporters, consisting especially his tribespeople (Banu Hashim) and his close associates.

The third group consisted of some Madinans who wanted a leader from among their tribespeople. This division had little effect thanks to the personality and leadership style of Abu Bakr. Two other eminent personalities, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, were elected before the caliphate finally went to 'Ali.

Of course, other motives might have been present, but the most glaring factor which caused the first and second civil wars among Muslims was political interest. Unfortunately, the two civil wars broke out during the caliphate of Ali b. Abi Talib. In addition, the first ever sect of Muslims separated from Ali's original supporters and formed an independent group called the Khawarij (Kharijites). This was the group responsible for Ali's death.

Since those times, various political and/or theological groups, sects, and factions continued to develop. The proliferation was so great at one time that some Muslim scholars and a few political leaders decided to shoulder the responsibility for reuniting all the factions. The effort lasted for centuries. Ultimately, through tolerance, they were able to secure their unity and internal security in order to fight against external aggression under one umbrella of Islamic brotherhood.

If these various Muslims factions had at a point in time reunited as one, then who are the Sunni and who are the Shia? Was there any sect or faction originally known as Sunni? How did this faction come about and then go on to dominate all other sects and groups? What is the meaning of the name Sunni? And what are the general beliefs which separate the Sunni from the Shia? These are some of the questions that will be discussed in this chapter.

In any event, regarding all of the above fitnah (troubles including civil wars and breaking into numerous factions) that occurred during this early period, it is very difficult for any researcher or writer to discover the exact truth of any of the matters in question. This is because each faction wrote the history in its own favour and cast the blame onto its opponents. An objective writer, therefore, needs to consult source documents of various factions to move closer to the truth.

Articulation of Sunnism

It should be stated here, as alluded to above, that Muslim sects were once so numerous that compiling a list of them would result in a moderate-sized pamphlet. In fact, each larger sect subdivided into so many smaller sects that mentioning each of them here would render this section of The Sunni and the Shia boring and monotonous. It is fair to say, however, that on account of rivalry between, and the battle for survival of, these numerous sects, the Islamic Empire was marked by not only hatred and chaos but also many revolts, forgeries, lies, unnecessary condemnations, and even wars. All of these things eventually led to internal insecurity and external threat.

It should be recalled that as early as 38 ah/658 ce, the first Muslim sect, Khawarij (the Kharijites), was already in existence, calling every Muslim kafir (unbeliever) for not believing in their new doctrines, especially the Azraqite faction among them. Thus, if such excommunication of one another from the fold of Islam had started at this early period, if Muslims had waged wars against one another, taking several thousands of lives fewer than thirty years after the Prophet's death, then one can imagine the situation of Muslims one hundred years later.

The situation was a complicated one, with various sects struggling for power, recognition, and survival, including the then existing madhhabs (schools of jurisprudence), as one school was, at times, favoured above the others by some Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs. This led to frequent acts of hatred, riots, bloodshed, and the burning of mosques and madaris (schools). Each time a group of Muslims divided into a new sects, new names, beliefs, and/or doctrines surfaced as a result, with each sect believing itself to be the best group with the most authentic practice of Islam.

In order to solve these compounded problems and attain unity and security throughout the Muslim lands, Islamic scholars decided to take practical steps. The efforts were successive ones that lasted for centuries, between 750 CE and 950 CE They included laying down basic rules for some of the important affected branches of Islamic knowledge, tolerating the opinions and doctrines of all sects that were believed to be rightly guided, and gradually eliminating those sects considered to be on an errant path. Of course, a few caliphs provided considerable political assistance for these efforts, but Islamic scholars were the parties responsible for putting forth the greatest effort to reunite Muslims. Writing of this period, William Montgomery Watt asserted, 'The main background of Sunnism was the insecurity from fighting of all factions and revolts in many areas. In so far as men felt that establishment of Sunnism will give them security, they wanted to see further consolidations [of the various Muslim sects].'

Section 1

Codification of Islamic Sciences

Based on the background provided in the foregoing preamble, we will now summarise the problematic situation of each affected branch of Islamic knowledge, as well as discuss other doctrines, before explaining the scholars' resolutions and their efforts to codify Sunnism as a whole.

Hadith (Prophet's Traditions)

The Holy Qur'an has, all along, remained as a single book and a binding force for all Muslims regardless of their sectarian affiliation. Next to it is the Hadith, which Sunni and Shia perceive differently. It is necessary to discuss the codification of the Hadith first, as the efforts made on other branches of knowledge and Sunni theology rely on the Hadith.

Right from the start of the revelation, the Prophet's explanations, responses to questions, clarifications of issues, warnings, and practical demonstrations, and his companions' descriptions of his personality, here known as Hadith, had always been considered as being second to the Holy Qur'an. There was no disagreement among Muslims regarding this status of the Hadith. Scholars and political leaders always felt confident quoting from the Hadith to provide support for any of their actions.

However, along with the problematic situations brought about by the numerous divisions among Muslims, Hadith fabrications became rampant, which greatly disturbed Islamic scholars. As early as the period of the conflict between 'Ali and Mu'awiyah, spurious traditions started to surface for the purpose of settling political scores. 'It seems as if the first fabrication began in the political sphere, crediting and discrediting the party concern.' Ibn Abi al-Hadid, as quoted by Ahmad Amin, traced a forgery of the Hadith to the time of the death of the Prophet. This forgery was the work of the supporters of Ali, who were against Abu Bakr.

In one report, Muhammad Muhsin Khan explains that Imam Bukhari collected over three hundred thousand Hadiths, of which he 'memorized 200,000, of which some were unreliable. He was born at a time when Hadith was being forged either to please rulers or kings or to corrupt the religion of Islam'.

In another report about Imam Bukhari, this one made by Ibn Hajar, it is reported that Bukhari collected 600,000 Hadiths. He selected only 7,397 traditions that were repeated under various headings, and only 2,602 traditions without repetitions. This means, according to Alfred Guillaume, that fewer than one out of every two hundred traditions during Bukhari's time could pass his test of authenticity. 'There is no dispute over the occurrence of extensive forgery in Hadith literature. The 'Ulama' of Hadith are unanimous on this, and some have gone so far as to affirm that in no other branch of Islamic science has there been so much forgery as in Hadith.' According to Muhammad Siddiqi, former professor of Islamic culture, 'All the Islamic authorities agree that enormous amount of forgery was committed in the Hadith literature. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal has said that Hadith and tafsir have been more affected by forgery than any branch of literature.' Guillaume continues along these lines, asserting, 'So many traditions are demonstrably false, so many can be proved to be later origin ... many are obviously of foreign origin, particularly Jewish, and in a lesser degree Christian.'

In short, for the purpose of providing themselves with political or doctrinal support, or for other reasons, different people embarked on fabricating Hadiths. 'Some of them were heretics', says Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, 'even Muslims, especially the illiterate ones engaged in forgery for genuine intention, especially to defend their various doctrines or dogmas. In fact, for a fabricator to be trusted he will have to relay some true Hadeeths along with his fabrications.'

Despite the fact that Ibn al-Salah al-Shahrazuri, Muhammad 'Ajjaj alKhatlb, Muhammad Mustafa A'zami, Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, Scott C. Lucas, and Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi (among others) have all produced outstanding works explaining and defending the Hadith, all of these writers nevertheless accept that some Hadiths were forgeries. Still, they all discuss the rigorous and brilliant efforts of the early scholars to compile the authentic Hadiths.

Given the fact that some Hadiths were forged, it is obvious that scholars have enormous tasks ahead of them. In order to detect the forgeries among the true Sunnah, they divided all of the compiled Hadiths into numerous categories.

In the early days of Islam, leading scholars of different regions, especially the jurists (fuqahah), collected various Hadiths to use in coming to Islamic legal verdicts. The Muwatta' collection of Hadiths was already in use by Imam Malik, and other scholars in other regions had their own collections. Some traditions known to people in Makkah were unfamiliar to the people in Madinah, even though these two cities are near to each other in the Hijazi region. Imam al-Shafi'i said that out of the many Hadiths available for usvl al-ahkam (basis for legal rulings), his teacher Imam Malik in Madinah had only thirty with him, whereas his other teacher, Sufyan ibn Uyayna in Makkah, had sixty.

The same was the case in other areas, such as Kufa, Basra, Baghdad, and Damascus. This means that 'the collection of Hadith was carried on from the beginning and so for a long time as a private concern'. And this practice had a temporary negative impact on other fields of Islamic science, like fiqh (Jurisprudence), tafsir (Qur'an exegesis), and tajwid (Qur'an recitation), because specialists in these sciences relied on Hadiths yet to be tested and trusted, as will be discussed shortly. This was one of the reasons why a few scholars used to change their verdicts when they came across more authentic Hadiths.

Many Hadith specialists took upon themselves the responsibility of putting all of the Hadiths of these various centres together. Many Hadith collections came into existence as a result.

Without forgetting the fabrication problem, these scholars laid down strict general rules and regulations for determining the authenticity of the Hadith. According to Ibn al-Qayyim, as quoted by A'zami, any Hadith would be rejected if it:

• contained an exaggerated statement;

• contradicted a well-established Sunnah;

• consisted of a saying which was supposed to have been made in the presence of hundreds of companions, but (it is claimed) all of them concealed it;

• consisted of a saying or Hadith that had no resemblance to all other statements of the Prophet;

• contradicted any obvious meaning of the Qur'an;

• was inadequate in style;

• was against reason, the law of nature, or common experience;

• contained the dates and details of future events; or

• stated the superiority of virtue of a person, tribe, or place.

The above rules applied to the content or report of any saying, deed, or action of the Prophet. Alongside this effort, scholars also compiled the biographies of the transmitters, and then emphasised the strict use of isnad, which was already in existence but not previously applied. That is, the scholars compiled the names and biographies of each Hadith transmitter from the companions up to their own generation. Thus, with this effort they were able to distinguish between transmitters of each generation who were either honest or liars, or those known for their retentive memories versus those who had weak memories.

(Continues...)

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Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction, xv,
Chapter 1: The Sunni, 1,
Preamble: Historical Context and Reasons for Division, 1,
Articulation of Sunnism, 5,
Section 1: Codification of Islamic Sciences, 7,
Hadith (Prophet's Traditions), 7,
Tafsir (Qur'an Exegesis), 12,
Tajwid (Qur'an Recitation), 15,
Fiqh (Jurisprudence), 20,
Section 2: Codification of Doctrines, 29,
Rejection of Createdness of the Holy Qur'an, 29,
Status of the Caliphs and the Sahàbah, 31,
Other Theological Issues, 34,
Toleration, Conciliation, and Elimination, 36,
Whence Comes the Name Sunni?, 38,
Chapter 2: The Shia, 41,
Historical Background, 41,
The Kaysàniyyah, 51,
The Zaydiyyah, 53,
The Ismâ'ïliyyah and Imâmiyyah: The Roles of the Fifth and Sixth Imams, 54,
The Early Ismà'ïli Doctrines, 57,
Esoteric Meaning of All Revealed Books, 57,
Spiritual History of Humankind, 58,
Cosmological Belief, 59,
The Imâmiyyah Doctrines, 61,
Belief in the Holy Qur'an, 61,
Belief in Hadith or Sunnah, 64,
Imamate (Succession), 67,
'Isma - Infallibility of the Imams, 71,
Visitation as Compensation for Imams' Martyrdoms, 75,
Imams' Martyrdoms, 75,
Imams' Visitations, 76,
'Àshürâ', 78,
Disappearance, or Occultation, of the Twelfth Imam, 79,
The Return of the Twelfth Imam as Mahdi, 84,
Bara' (Condemnation), 87,
Taqiyah (Dissimulation), 91,
Nikah Mutah (Temporary Marriage), 93,
Ritual Practices, 96,
Times of Salat (Daily Prayer), 96,
Wudu (Ablution), 97,
Adhan (Call to Prayer), 98,
Unfolding Hands in Salat, 98,
Prostration in Salat, 98,
Salat al-Jumah (Friday Prayer), 99,
Taràwïh during Ramadân, 99,
Hajj (Pilgrimage), 99,
Human Perfection: An Absolute Impossibility, 100,
On Wilayah, Imamah, and Khilafah (Succession), 101,
On the Holy Qur'an and Other Shi'ite Holy Books, 108,
On Infallibility, 111,
On Following the Ahl al-Bayt Alone, 117,
Conclusion: Sunni-Shi'ite Relationship – Conciliation or Complication?, 120,
Notes, 129,
References, 145,