Portal:Shia Islam
Shia Islam
Shīʿa Islam (/ˈʃiːə/), otherwise known as Shīʿism (/ˈʃiːɪz(ə)m/) or as Shīʿite or Shīʿī Islam (/ˈʃiːaɪt/, /ˈʃiːi/), is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (khalīfa) and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a result of the choice made by some of Muhammad's other companions (ṣaḥāba) at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunnī Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abū Bakr, who was appointed caliph by a group of senior Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful (rāshidūn) caliph after Muhammad. Adherents of Shīʿa Islam are called Shīʿa Muslims, Shīʿites, or simply Shīʿa, Shia, or Shīʿīs.
Shīʿa Islam is based on a ḥadīth report concerning Muhammad's pronouncement at Ghadir Khumm. Shīʿa Muslims believe that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, should have been the designated successor to Muhammad as Islam's spiritual and political leader. This belief later developed into the concept of Imamah, the idea that certain descendants of Muhammad, the Ahl al-Bayt, are rightful rulers or Imams, whom Shīʿa Muslims believe possess special spiritual and political authority over the Muslim community.
Shīʿa Islam is the second largest branch of Islam, followed by 10–15% of all Muslims. Although there are many Shīʿa subsects, Twelver Shīʿīsm is by far the largest and most influential, comprising about 85% of all Shīʿa Muslims. Others include the Ismāʿīlīs and Zaydis. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
- ... that the popular Shia Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr called for Saudi protesters to use "the roar of the word" in response to police bullets?
- ... that during the Iran–Iraq War, an Iraqi major told his prisoner Aboutorabi, "if Khomeini is like you, I will follow him"?
- ...that the Iranian missile architect Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam was known as the father of Iran's missile program?
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In the news
- 14 October 2023 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Shia Islamist militant group Hezbollah fires on five Israeli outposts in the Shebaa Farms with guided missiles and mortar shells. A Hezbollah member is killed during a subsequent gunbattle with Israeli troops. (Reuters) (AFP via Barron's)
- 1 September 2023 –
- Eighteen people are killed and 13 are injured after two minibuses carrying mostly Iranian Shia pilgrims collide between Dujail and Samarra in Saladin Governorate, Iraq. (AFP via Barron's)
- 20 July 2023 – Iraq–Sweden relations
- Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr set fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, in response to a planned Quran desecration demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden. The Swedish foreign ministry confirms the safety of its embassy staff while the Iraqi foreign ministry condemns the incident, initiating an investigation to identify those responsible. (AFP via Today)
- Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani directs the foreign ministry to expel the Swedish ambassador to Iraq. (DW)
- 19 May 2023 – Mahsa Amini protests, Capital punishment in Iran
- Three men are executed in Iran for killing three security officials during protests in Isfahan in November and for links to the MEK Shia terrorist organization. Western human rights organizations say that the convictions were based on forced confessions. (Al Jazeera)
On this day: 10 Rabi' al-thani
- 201 AH - Fatimah bint Musa died in Qom. She was poisoned to death according to some sources and hence her departure is often described as 'martyrment'.
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