Shia Islam
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Islam |
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Shia Islam (Arabic: شيعة, Persian: شیعه) is the second largest branch of Islam. Shia Muslim believe that Prophet Muhammad under the command of God chose Ali as Caliph (or Successor) and publicly declared it during his last sermon after Hajj at Ghadir Khumm. Shi'a Muslims believe in the teachings of the Qu'ran and the Prophet Muhammad's family, whom they call the Ahl al-Bayt. The Shias think that the first three ruling Sunni Caliphs had no importance to the development of the faith. The singular/adjective form is Shī'ī (شيعي) and means a follower.
Founder | |
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Ali ibn Abi Talib |
Shi'a Islam, like Sunni Islam, has at times been divided into many branches, however only three of these have a significant number of followers nowadays. The best known and the one with most adherents is Twelvers (Ithnā 'ashariyya), followed by the Ismaili and Zaidiyyah.
Shia Islam Media
Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, Iran, is a popular pilgrimage site for Shīʿa Muslims. Local belief holds that the 12th Shīʿīte Imam—the promised Mahdi according to Twelvers—once appeared and offered prayers at Jamkaran.
Shīʿa Muslims gathered in prayer at the Shrine of Imam Ḥusayn in Karbala, Iraq
Shāh Karim al-Husayni, known as the Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizārī Ismāʿīlīs.
Gold dinar of al-Ḥādī ila'l-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā, the first Zaydī Imam of Yemen, minted in 910–911 CE
The Zaydī State of Yemen under the rule of Imam Al-Mutawakkil Ismāʿīl bin al-Qāsim (1644–1676)
Great Mosque of Kufa, site of ʿAlī's assassination (661 CE)
Other websites
- Shia Code, the Shia Islamic Guide Archived 2019-08-25 at the Wayback Machine
- List of Shi'a websites Archived 2009-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project
- Al-Shia Website