I am a Sunni Muslim by birth and have a limited view of Islam. I would like to increase this including gaining a better understanding of Shia Islam.

I would like genuine help and welcome any help you could offer.

Thank you

Shia Islam and Sunni Islam are not that different.

We both believe in the oneness of Allah who has no begining or end and is not captured by any of the five senses.

We both believe in the concept of prophethood starting with Hazrat Adam(as) and ending with Prophet Muhammad .

We both believe in the day of judgement where all of our actions will be accounted.

The root cause of the difference is that the shia believe that the prophet Muhammad on the order of Allah appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor to guide the ummah after his death whereas the sunnis believe that for whatever reason, the prophet left it open to the ummah to select their own.

The second difference is that shias believe that the prophets were all infallible and did not commit any sins whereas some schools within sunni islam believe that they did.

The third difference is that some people within sunni islam believe that whatever God does IS just and fair rather than God himself IS just.
To explain this point properly - shias believe Allah cannot put shaytan in heaven because Allah is just and this would go against God's justice but some sunnis believe that He can because he can do everything. Shias believe Allah cannot do UNGODLY things such as injustice and also for example turning himself into a human being (like the christians believe in the case of Jesus .

There is a lot of information in the shia corner on these topics - and in the interfaith - but if you wish to discuss anything in private - feel free to message me and inshallah i will try my best to help.

The key to a healthy discussion is the attitude of discussing to learn about and from each other rather than try to convert each other.

Salaams

Welcome

Any questions you have will be answered if you post them here. We have many knowledgeable Shia's here who would be more than happy to give you as much guidance

Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to respond. I do appreciate it.

What evidence is there that Ali was chosen and what evidence is there that Abu Bakr was?

Also if these are the main differences what is the importance of knots? And if everything else is the same why do Shias read salat with a stone?

I apologise if my questions identify lack of knowledge - I would appreciate responses.

alaikum,

If you want to listen to the shia perspective on the appointment of ali ibn abi talib as the calipha of rasoolullah , then I recommend you listen to the lecture which is in 7 parts on youtube on the link below.
It adds up to around 45 minutes and i would recommend that you sit with a pen and paper and take notes while you listen and can check up the references for yourself.

With regard to shias praying on a stone, this is a matter of jurisprudence. once you establish which theological belief system you fall into, then jurisprudence comes....

here is the link:

http://muslimonline.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=5658

please feel free to continue to ask any questions you have

it is a pleasure meeting someone who asks with manners and the willingness to learn without attacking.

Oh I didnt realise there was different types of Shias - sorry that shows my ignorance in Shia-ism.

What types are there? I know of someone who is a Syed Shia - is that a type of Shia too?

I have asked him to explain Shia-ism to me but he is relunctant and prefers me to research it myself.

In Sunni islam, theres four different schools of thought but is that the same for Shias?

Also, without sounding cheeky, can anyone identify areas of where I should begin researching to learn about shia-ism? I dont know where to start?

Thank you once again, to everyone taking the time to respond.

Any books or sites that anyone could recommend to research on shia-ism = please do recommend.

Thank you

start with this:

Salaam alaykom,

Alhamdulillah its great to see a person interested in learning more. I have many books which can be of use to you and also I would advise you look into where the nearest mosque is to you. Where abouts in the UK are you from? Its always nice to meet people at the mosque who can also help to answer your questions and give you further information about shia islam and the Ahlul Bayt (people of the prophets household).

If you have any specific questions I am also very happy to help you out to the best of my ability & if I can't then I will be able to look it up for you.

The lectures in the post above mine are very useful and you will be able to learn alot from there.

I would also like to introduce you to www.sayedammar.com where you can listen to many lectures which are all topical discussions and very useful.

Also if I may, I would like to reccomend some specific lectures for you - infact for everybody as I feel they are very interesting.

Go over to http://www.behloolsociety.co.uk and scroll down to the On Demand player, on there you will see an option for Ashra Muharram majlis 2009/10, which are delivered by Syed Mohammed Naqvi, you can listen to the whole series from 1-10 on there, which are in English. If you have limited time I would reccomend you to listen to lecture 4 in particular, as he goes into much depth about relevant topics in relation to your questions.

Furthermore if I can help any more, my contact details are on the website (behloolsociety.co.uk) - you can email me at any time, my name is Mazaher Karim.

Insha'Allah these will help, but as always if theres anything else at all, feel free to ask

Also in relation to your question about the successor to the prophet, just one of the events which spring to mind is the event of 'Ghadeer' which was after the Prophet S.A.W.W final Hajj.

The event takes place in Ghadeer e Khum where most of the pilgrims would carry on their own seperate ways, and the Prophet ordered everyone to gather around, where he made the statement "I am leaving behind with you 2 weighty things, the Quran and my Ahlul Bayt"

Further on its been quoted من كنتو مولا ف هاظا على مولا (man kunto mawla, fa hadha aliyun mawla) "Whomsoever believes me to be their master, Ali is their master"

I can get you further references on this but its quite late and I am not around for much longer right now, but a quick search will bring up more information about this. For any clarification again feel free to ask.

Also let us look at the following, as found in the Sunnis own books. I must say in advance forgive me for the long post, I have copied this information from a very useful website and its highly advisable if you read through these following references also.

This is one of the traditions we read in Sahih al-Bukhari (the others which provide more detail will be shown shortly) as narrated by Ibn 'Abbas:

When the time of the death of the Prophet approached while there were some men in the house, and among them was 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, the Prophet said: "Come near let me write for you a writing after which you will never go astray." 'Umar said: "The Prophet is seriously ill, and you have the Qur'an, so Allah's Book is sufficient for us." The people in the house differed and disputed. Some of them said, "Come near so that Allah's Apostle may write for you a writing after which you will not go astray," while the others said what 'Umar said. When they made much noise and quarreled greatly in front of the Prophet, he said to them, "Go away and leave me." Ibn 'Abbas used to say, "It was a great disaster that their quarrel and noise prevented Allah's Apostle from writing a statement for them.
Sahih al Bukhari Arabic-English Volume 9 hadith number 468 and Volume 7 hadith 573


Further on:

Clearly, the Prophet's explicit words "you will never go astray", illustrate the critical nature of the Prophet's command and prove that what the Prophet intended to write related to the matter of delivering the message and religious guidance of the people. It is only logical to accept that at this critical stage when the Prophet (s) was near the time when he would depart from this world, he should take the opportunity to write his will as per the command of Allah in the Qur'an in which he could issue final instructions to the Muslim Ummah. However, one group led by Umar felt that this momentous order of the Prophet should be disregarded, while the other group stated that the Prophet's (s) order should be obeyed. We read a further account in Sahih al Bukhari as narrated by Sa'id Ibn Jubair, who heard Ibn 'Abbas say:

"Thursday! And you know not what Thursday is?" After that Ibn 'Abbas wept till the stones on the ground were soaked with his tears. On that I asked Ibn 'Abbas, "What is (about) Thursday?" He said, "When the condition (i.e. health) of Allah's Apostle deteriorated, he said, 'Bring me a bone of scapula, so that I may write something for you after which you will never go astray.' The people differed in their opinions although it was improper to differ in front of a prophet. They said, 'What is wrong with him? Do you think he is talking no sense (delirious)? Ask him (to see if he is talking no sense). The Prophet replied, 'Leave me, for I am in a better state than what you are asking me.' Then the Prophet ordered them to do three things saying: 'Turn out all the pagans from the Arabian Peninsula, show respect to all foreign delegates by giving them gifts as I used to do.' The third order was something beneficial which either Ibn 'Abbas did not mention or he mentioned but I forgot!.

Sahih al Bukhari Arabic-English Volume 9 hadith number 468 and Volume 4 hadith 393


This continues on, please see
http://www.answering-ansar.org/answers/pen...er/en/index.php


Also hadith al Kisaa - you can view this on youtube with english translation - a beautiful recitation and you can listen and read along:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TMWVqWCbKw