The Shahaadah
Shiism even differs with true Islam in the first and most important pillar of Islam and faith, called the Shahaadah, the testimony one gives upon affirming their faith in Islam, that none deserves worship but God, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger (laa ilaaha ill-Allah). This testimony is the most important aspect of Islam, and the whole religion is built upon it, and embodies this unique and total monotheism and belief in God. So important is it that the Prophet pleaded to his uncle who was on his deathbed to testify:
“O uncle! Say ‘laa ilaaha ill-Allah,’ a phrase for which I will plead on your behalf in front of God.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
His uncle did not say this testimony due to his fear of what people would say about changing the religion of his forefathers upon death. He died, and the Prophet was informed by revelation that he was among the people of Hell.
Point being, this phrase and what it entails is so important that the Prophet made it a means of everlasting life in Paradise. He said:
“No one says ‘La ilaaha ill-Allah’ and dies firmly upon it, but he/she will enter Heaven (Paradise).” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
Thus is this phrase considered the first pillar of Islam, the very statement that rendered one a believer, gives him an opportunity to enter Paradise!
The Shiites, however, have a different ‘testimony of faith’. They not only negate it meanings, as shown in the previous articles by associating others with God, but they have also added certain principles nowhere to be found in authentic texts. Their shahaadah comprises of the statement: “none deserves worship but God, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger, and Ali is His beloved and chosen one, and successor to the Prophet.”[1]
This is due to the extremism they have in regards to the cousin of Prophet Muhammad, Ali, to whom they claim their origin. The Shiites even claim that the succession of Ali was mentioned in all of the scriptures revealed to the previous prophets[2]. They claim that all will be asked about the succession of Ali on the Day of Judgment[3], and that if anyone believes differently, they are considered polytheists[4]. Although Ali was known to be one of the most pious of the companions of the Prophet, in no narration can we find that Prophet Muhammad ever mentioned his succession in rule. Actually even when we look at early Shiite works, they themselves attribute this belief to Abdullah ibn Saba’, a renegade who claimed Islam and plotted against the Caliph Uthman, and also claimed that Ali was God Himself[5]. Thus it is clear that these beliefs are all innovations never preached by Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him.
Belief in the Scriptures
God mentions in the Quran that He revealed Scriptures to the Prophets which they taught and recited to their people. Some of these Prophets and Scriptures are mentioned in the Quran:
Say, “We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and to the tribes, and that which has been given to Moses and Jesus, and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islam).” (Quran 2:136)
“It is He (God) Who has sent down the Book to you with truth, confirming what came before it. And He sent down the Torah and the Gospel.” (Quran 3:3)
It was the Prophets who received revelation, and due to the fact that Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, was the last prophet, there will be no other Scriptures revealed after the revelation of the Quran. The Shiites however, believe that there was a scripture revealed after the Quran before the death of the Prophet, which they call the ‘Tablet of Fatimah’. They claim, that in it were the names of all those who were to be their Imams in the future[6].
They invented these ideas due to the fact that they could not find any verses in the Quran which they could use to defend their views. They did not cease at this, but also went on to directly challenge the authenticity of the Quran by stating that its has not been preserved[7], and that the Quran today is incomplete, and that the complete version is with their 12th Imam who has been in hiding for the past 900 years in ‘the cave’. They believe that when he emerges he will bring forth the complete version[8]. This, as should be clear to all, is in direct opposition to the teachings of Islam, as God clearly states that the Quran is under the direct protection of God:
“Verily it is We Who have sent down the Reminder and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)” (Quran 15:9)
The Shiites assert that the existing Quran must have been altered, since there is no reference to any of their strayed beliefs in it. One of the first to explicitly state this view was Mirza Hussein Muhammad Taqiy An-Noori At-Tabrasi (d. 1320 AH) in his book The Final Verdict on the Distortion of the Book of the Lord of Lords[9].
The Shiites became so extreme in their beliefs, that they even attempted to insert chapters about Ali, may God be pleased with him, in the Quran, since they could not find any clear texts. One of them is what they called “The Chapter of Succession”.
Belief in the Prophets
As mentioned earlier, Islam teaches that the Prophets were the best of humanity, specifically chosen by God due to their excellent qualities specifically to preach the message of God to humanity. God says in the Quran:
“Allah specially chooses Messengers from angels and from humans. Verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Seer.” (Quran 22:75)
The Prophets were the best of humans, living examples to be emulated:
“We sent no messenger except to be obeyed, by Allah’s leave…”(Quran 4:64)
The Shiites, however believe that their Imams are better than the prophets[10], and that some prophets were highly praised only due to their love of the Imams[11].
If one was to mention all the beliefs of the Shiites in which they have opposed the teachings of Islam, it would definitely need many volumes to do so. It should be clear, however, from this short discourse that the beliefs purported by Shiism has no basis in any of the teachings of Islam, but rather that it is a conglomeration of foreign beliefs evolved over a period of time, all of which revolve around extremist views concerning the leadership of certain favored candidates, known as their Imams. A religion which teaches the worship of God alone and living a life taught by God’s prophets, a message preached by all prophets, has for them become a life and existence solely based upon love of Ali and affirming his and their Imam’s claim to leadership, struggling to find ways to fit into Islamic texts by addition, interpolation, or misrepresentation. Creation comes into being, Prophets are sent and Scriptures are revealed, all for the purpose of succession of Ali and the latter Imams[12], and even on the Day of Judgment, it will be their Imams, not God, who will judge people[13]. It is no matter to wonder, then, what the basis of entering Heaven or Hell will be according to Shiism.
A religion based upon a claimed love of the family of Prophet Muhammad has lead them to beliefs contradicting the very essence of the message brought by him, the message of Islam.
