What Do Muslims Believe? by Ziauddin Sardar

Author:Ziauddin Sardar
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Religion, Islam, General
ISBN: 9781847084972
Publisher: Granta Books
Published: 2011-08-04T17:03:10+00:00

5

Varieties of Muslim Belief

There are distinct differences between the belief systems of the two major groups in Islam - the Sunnis and Shia. As the majority community, most beliefs we associate with Islam are Sunni beliefs. The Sufis also have a few beliefs that are particular to them. And beyond that different groups of Muslims, such as puritans and moderates, emphasize different aspects of Islam.

Shia

The Shia Muslims, unlike the Sunnis, believe in hereditary spiritual leadership. They insist that only members of the Prophet's family have the right to be leaders. Consequently, they believe that the Prophet should have been succeeded by Ali, his cousin and son-in-law. Thus, in Shiaism Ali has a special place and function.

The Shia argue that the Prophet himself choose Ali as his successor. In one particular event at Ghadir Khumm, the Prophet is said to have chosen Ali for the 'general guardianship' of the Muslim community. This claim is based on a number of hadith which the Sunni Muslims do not accept as authentic.

The hereditary leadership is known as the Imamate. The Imams possess extraordinary grace, miraculous power and special (secret) knowledge. Ali was the first Imam and is even mentioned in the Shia call to prayer (azan) - much to the dismay of the Sunnis. The central event of Shia theology is the battle of Karbala.

We have seen that Caliph Ali's accession was contested by Muawiya, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty. Ma'awiya was succeeded by his son, Yazid. The Muslim community split between those who supported Ali and those who supported Yazid. After Ali, his supporters gathered around his son, Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet. Hussain launched an alternative bid for the leadership of the Muslim community.

On 10 October 680, Hussain and his followers faced the army of Yazid. Hereditary monarchy was challenged by spiritual heredity. The battle took place at Karbala, on the west bank of the Euphrates. Hussain and his six hundred followers had no chance. But they refused to surrender. A massacre followed; and Islam was split in two for ever.

The events of Karbala are re-enacted every year on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram. It is a day of mourning and remembering the plight of Hussain. Ta'iziyyah, or Shia martyrdom plays, are performed. Processions are led through the streets. Men and women beat their chests, and men flagellate themselves with knives and chains; it is an expression of guilt for having abandoned Hussain in his hour of need. The Shia also go to Karbala on pilgrimage. As a constant reminder of the events of Karbala, they prostrate their heads, when they pray, on a round tablet of Karbala clay.

The Shias have developed their own schools of law, elaborate philosophies and mystical traditions. There are numerous subdivisions within Shiaism. All believe in the infallibility of the Imams, but different sects believe in a different number of Imams. The dominant sect is the 'Twelver' Shias, who believe in a dozen Imams, starting with Ali and Hussain. The twelfth Imam, Imam Mahdi, was born in Samarra, the only child of Hasan al-Askari, the eleventh Imam.

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