Shia theological schools

Historical Factors and Shi’ism By: Ayatullah al-Uzma Lutfullah Safi al-Gulpaygani

QUESTION: Have historical factors influenced the development of Shiaism, or is this sect a set of beliefs derived from the Qur’an and the clear traditions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)?

ANSWER: We need to explain several points in order to shed light on the topic and show that: (a) historical factors and events had no role in the development of Shiaism and the belief in the existence of an

*A write-up on a session regarding pursuing Hawza studies, with Ayatullah Mahmood Madani, one of the representatives of the Supreme Leader.” There exists not progression, but that it requires knowledge and recognition. In our daily lives, we are in desperate need of knowledge, and without learning, man cannot progress. Ahadith of the AhlulBayt are abundant on the subject of seeking knowledge, and one such tradition states that he, who carries out acts of worship without knowledge, is a donkey

During the latter part of the first third of the 2nd/8th century, following a series of revolutions and bloody wars throughout the Islamic world which were due to the injustice, repressions and wrongdoings of the Umayyads, there began an anti-Umayyad movement in the name of the Household of the Prophet in Khurasan in Persia. The leader of this movement was the Persian general, Abu-Muslim Marwäzi, who rebelled against Umayyad rule and advanced his cause step by step until he was able to

The most difficult period for Shi'ism was the twenty-year rule of Mu'awiyah, during which the Shi'ites had no protection and most of them were considered as marked characters, under suspicion and hunted down by the state. Two of the leaders of Shi'ism who lived at this time, Imams Hasan and Husayn, did not possess any means whatsoever to change the negative and oppressive circumstances in which they lived.

Husayn, the third Imam of Shi'ism, had no possibility of freeing the Shi' ites from

At the beginning of the second century AH, Shi‘ism extended beyond the frontiers of the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq as it encompassed the entire Muslim domain. In view of the scattering of the Shi‘ah and ‘Alawis in the Muslim territories, this matter can be discerned. From the time of Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the migration of the Shi‘ah and ‘Alawis to the other regions had begun. These migrations were further expedited during the second century AH with the beginning of the propaganda and movements by

Schools of Islamic thought (madhahib) are the paths people follow to the Noble Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad. Obviously, these schools of thought were founded considerably after the death of the Prophet; in fact, they never took shape until the time of the Umayyid Caliphate. The common phrase ahl al-sunnah wal-jama΄ah, for example, became prevalent during the third century of the Hijrah. By the year 250H, the four Sunni schools of thought were being popularized and patronized during the Abbasid