The Dispute Reconciliation between Shia, Sunni, and Salafi. Aamir Ibrahim al-Ash’ari 1 Table of Contents Author’s Note ............................................................................ 5 The Dispute ............................................................................... 7 Jurisprudential (fiqhi) differences between Sunni, Salafi, and Shia ideologies. ....................................................................... 12 Book of Prayer ......................................................................... 21 Chapter No. 1 (Reciting first chapter of Qur’an behind the Imam or not?).................................................................................... 21 Chapter No 2. (Raising hands in start of prayer or every time one says Takbir?) ..................................................................... 39 Chapter No. 3 (Where to tie the hands in prayer or leaving them free?) ............................................................................. 68 Chapter No. 4 (Regarding Ablution) ........................................ 81 Chapter No. 5. (Saying Qunoot in every obligatory prayer?) ... 85 Chapter No. 6 (Combining two prayers together?) ................. 87 Chapter No. 7 (Reciting Bismillah aloud before al-Fatiha?) ..... 90 Chapter No. 8 (Can we pray Witr like Maghrib, and also how many Rakahs i.e. cycles it contains?) ....................................... 92 Chapter No.9 (Prostrating on earth or Turba?) ....................... 96 Chapter No. 10 (The Tarawih prayer) ...................................... 98 Chapter No. 11 (Call to prayer) .............................................. 107 Chapter No. 12 (Saying Ameen silently or loudly?) ............... 111 Book of Fasting ..................................................................... 117 Chapter 13: When to break fast? .......................................... 117 2 Book of Zakat (Obligatory charity)...................................... 121 Chapter 14: Khums as part of Zakaat? .................................. 121 Book of Marriage ............................................................... 123 Chapter 15: Divorce issue. ..................................................... 123 Chapter 16: Temporary marriage .......................................... 133 Differences in Aqeeda (beliefs) of Sunni, Shia, and Salafi. ... 138 Chapter No. 1 (Sifaat i.e. Attributes of Allah) ........................ 139 Chapter No. 2 (What is Istawa alal Arsh, and is Allah in upward direction?) ............................................................................. 141 Chapter 3. (Descent of Allah) ................................................ 173 Chapter No. 4 (Shin mentioned in Qur’an) ............................ 180 Chapter No. 5 (Face, hands, foot, and eyes of Allah) ............. 183 Chapter No. 6 (Istighatha i.e. seeking help from Prophets and Saints) .................................................................................... 193 Chapter No. 7 (Sama al-Mawta and Hayat al Anbiya i.e. hearing of the dead, and life of Prophets) .......................................... 234 Chapter No. 8 (Concept of Intercession i.e. Tawassul in Islam) .............................................................................................. 273 Mursal is hujah (Proof) .......................................................... 318 Chapter No. 9 (Building Shrines on graves of Prophets and Saints) .................................................................................... 335 Chapter No. 10 (Knowledge of Unseen given to Prophets) ... 377 Chapter No. 11 (Concept of Imamat) .................................... 419 Chapter No. 12 (Infallibility of Imams) ................................... 429 3 Chapter No. 13 (On infallibility of Qur’an) ............................. 441 Chapter No. 14 (Concept of Bada’) ........................................ 456 Chapter No. 15 (Can Allah be seen?) ..................................... 458 Differences in Political aspects of Islam. ............................. 475 Chapter No. 1 (Caliphate issue) ............................................. 477 Chapter No. 2 (Issue of Fadak) .............................................. 491 Chapter No. 3 (Did Umar burn down house of Sayyidah Fatima, also break the door which fell on her and it later caused her death along with a child in her womb?) ................................ 503 Chapter No. 4 (Hadith of Qirtas and did Sayyiduna Umar refuse to write Wasiya of Prophet in regards to Sayyiduna Ali?) ..... 509 Chapter No. 5 (Who was the first person to accept Islam?) .. 515 Chapter No.6 (On Merits of mother of all believers Sayyidah Aisha) .................................................................................... 518 Chapter No. 7 (Battles fought against Sayyiduna Ali and he being always on Haqq i.e. truth) ............................................ 528 Hadiths which depict Mu’awiya in bad light .......................... 532 Hadiths in praise of Ameer Mu’awiya ................................... 552 Battle of Jamal (Camel) ......................................................... 582 Chapter No. 8 (Merits of Imam al-Hasan and Hussain and latter’s martyrdom by tyrant/fasiq/drunkard/cursed Yazid and his partners) .......................................................................... 584 Chapter No. 9 (Refutation of Khawarij) ................................. 625 Chapter No. 10 (Merits of Ali and conclusion) ....................... 674 Conclusion ............................................................................. 694 4 Author’s Note The Dispute is written for general public, which includes people who specialize in Islamic studies and those who do not. It is also for western readers and those with English as a Second language. As a result, the book is written in simple English so that the audience can easily understand the content. Difficult Islamic terminologies like for example “al-Jarh wa’t Ta’deel” shall be defined in brackets. Arabic quotations shall be made where needed so that people who want to verify references from original sources can easily do so. At times the narrators in hadith references shall be removed where necessary, in order to make the book less lengthy. This is a Muslim’s (Sunni) perspective on 3 major sects in Islam present today (i.e. Sunni, Shia, and Salafi). From the perspective of the author, orientalist or non-Muslim writers have not done justice in this regard as they do not hold any specializations in Islamic sciences such as Ilm ur Rijaal (knowledge of men in chain of narrations). Moreover, many have not studied Islam closely and they rely mostly on history books such as at-Tabri; which are plots of fabrications and storytelling rather than authentic Islamic narratives. Lesley Hazleton in her book “After the Prophet – The epic story of the Shia-Sunni split” has made a good attempt to explain Shia-Sunni division but she has also relied mostly on 5 historical accounts rather than authentic reports. One example of fabricated historical narration she used is Umar (ra) the 2nd caliph of Islam breaking the door of Fatima (a.s)’s house and injuring her which led to a miscarriage and also her death later on. Some would stand for the case by saying that is it not important to take into consideration the historical account of events to understand the narrations? The limitation in this case is that Islamic scholars of al-Jarh wa’t Ta’deel (science of criticism and authentication of narrators) have been lenient on historical accounts but have scrutinized extensively on hadith narration. In her book, Lesley does mention hadiths but without verifiable references which compromises the authenticity of the references. It is also to be noted that ultimate authoritative text for Muslims is Qur’an only, even the proclaimed authentic hadiths could be fabrications or weak let alone historical narrations. To help Muslim and Non-Muslim readers understand Islam and the dispute in its true nature, references will be mentioned so that the reader can verify the sources. The author has studied Islam for over 15 years and firmly believes that all major sects have sound proofs to justify their viewpoints and ideologies except those who lead towards extremism. The author respects the differences of opinion and does not mean to undermine any sect of Islam. 6 The Dispute In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Salutations and Peace be upon the leader of Prophets i.e. Muhammad, his family, and companions. We start with the Islamic greeting that is a message of peace for whole humanity. Salamun alaykum: (Peace be unto you) says Qur’an in 6:54, and that Allah is Himself Peace, see: 59:23 (Pickthall translation). The intention behind writing this book is to present the true picture of Islam and to eliminate sectarianism. Sectarianism is the major cause of confusion, dissent, and conflicts within Muslims. Someone who has an interest in Islam has to navigate his or her way through issues that are disputative, contradictory, and often quarrelsome. The Holy Qur’an clearly forbids sectarianism. It states: And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided. [The Glorious Qur’an, Sahih International translation: 3:103] 7 Qur’an