کتاب اعتقاد ما( انگلیسی)

UPON HIM, TO WHOSE HANDS LAYS MYLIFE, ALI AND HIS SHIITE( SECTARIANS )WILL HAVE SALVATION IN DOOMSDAY' Then the prophet; added the narrator, recited theabove mentioned verse. After that, whenever Imam Alicame to a gathering of prophet, we used to say: Thebest of God's creatures is come."

The above tradition with a little difference is alsonarrated by: IBN ABBASS. ABUBARZEH. IBNE MARDOOYED and also ATTIYEH OOFI. Therefore the name SHIITE was given to the loversand followers of Imam Ali by the prophet himself andnot by the SAFAVIES DYNASTY as some with verylow knowledge have said'

We respect and esteem all the other Islamic sects, and stay in one line of prayer with them, and performthe rites of pilgrimage as they do, and cooperate withthem in all common Isalmic goals and fields. Yet as aSHIITE we do have some particularities which werenoted by our prophet; and this is why we have chosenthis school.

Some of our enemise insist to connect SHIITE,

some how to ABDULLAH IBN SABA, as the founderof the sect.

IBN SABA is said to have been a jew convert inthe life of Imam Ali. This claim or suggestion seemsvery strange to us! If you study all the SHIITE'SBOOKS you find in them no least interst to have beenshown to the said man; and rather in contrast, all havedeclared him a misled heretic, and in some traditionswe read that Imam Ali himself has condemned theman to death! After all IBN SABA'S very existence isunder question, and some of the scholars doubt if sucha man did ever exist! Even if we don't take him as afictitious and imaginary man, he is of sure misled andastray in religion and far out of the path of truth.

57THE SHIITE'S GEOGRAPHY

Important to say that IRAN has not always been acenteral group of the SHIITE SECT. In the first century of Islam. they had different centers in KUFEH, YEMAN and even in Medina.

Contrary to the poisonous propagandas of the

ommayids and BANI ABBASS dynasties; SHIITE hadseveral centers in Syria too, though not as extensive as that which was in IRAQ.

In Egypt too, there has always been a big group ofSHIITE, and for a relatively long period, theFATEME SHIITE ruled the country. At present biggroups of SHIITE live throughout the Islamic world. Agreat many of them livein eastern area of SoudeArabis with nice harmony and good relations with theother Islamic groups.

Islam's enemies have always agitated and tried tostir the good relations the groups have had, in order toturn their friendship and brotherhood into enmity andill will, thus weakening both parties.

Now that MAN is wearied of; and eludes thematerial civilization, and finds Islam to have come onthe carpet as a great international moral and spiritualpower, our enemies do their best to destroy our unityand brotherhood, They create controversies anddiversities of opinions in order to make the Muslimsbusy with each other.

Such a danger should have a sobering effect upon

us all so as to make us cautious enough to frustrate ourenemy's intentions and endeavours.

If is remarkable to note tht the SHIITE like theSONNIES are divided in differnt groups; but the mainand mojority consists of the sect of SHIITE whobelieve in 21 Imams.

Although not exact, the number of shiite throughout the world counts from two to three HUNDREDmillions, making a quarter of the the whole lot ofMuslims.

67THE LEGACY OF THE PROPHET'S HOUSEHOLD

The followers of this schooll( SHIITE )have somany traditions from the prophet which are conveyed through Imam Ali or other Imams. These have all been collected and classified, and make the main source of SHIITE'S religious juris- prudence. The most important books among the collections are four, and are known as KOTOBE ARBA EH) THE FOUR BOOKS (. These are as follows:

1 KFEE.

2 MAN LA YAHZARAOL FAGHIH, 3 TAHZIB. 4 ESTEBSAR.

Not that, all the traditions found in these fourbooks, or elsewhere are indisputably correct or acceptable.

Each tradition as we said it, has a series ofdocuments and narrators that are to be cheked outand confirmed. If all the documents and narratorsprove to be right and trustworthy, then the traditionmay be considered true and accepted. Suchinvesti gations about the traditions is the task ofreligious experts and scholars. Therefore the SHIITE' Scollected works in the field of tradition differs with thatof the Sonnies. The way Boxhari and other Sonnischolars such as Moslim took in their collected worksdiffer from that of our authors. Their criteron of rightand wrong is only the author's distinction. So tounderstand the belief of a Sonni, it is enough to getaccess to their important tradition books, calledSAHIH. Contrary to that, SHIITE has collected all thetraditions that they could; narrated by the Imams just

to be investigated, judged, approved, and then beaccepted for action. And that is to be done by learned and trusted authorities and religious specialists.

77THE TWO IMPORTANT BOOKS

Among the important sources of shiited, there aretwo very important books: The first one is known as NAHJUL BALAGHA, a collected work of SHARIFRAZI, a thousand years past, consisting of the speeches, the letters, and some quotations of Imam Ali.

The eloquency in the verses are so high, and themeanings so deep, that makes the work so strangel yattractive to all sort of minds! We wish not only theMuslims, but the non moslims too, could beacquainted with this amazing book, in order to knowwhat is to be known in the fields of Monotheism, Resurrection, Ethics, Social and Political affairs.

The second important book is called SAHIFEHS AJJADIEH A collection of the bests and the mostbeautiful vereses on prayers having the deepest

meaning. It may teach us how to pray to the Lord andto purify our soul by that prayer. The whole book is the collection of many fervent prayers in the form of hymns, and narrated by our fourth Imam, Ali IBN Hussain, who is famed as SAJJAD( ONE WHO OFTEN PROSTRATE )Most of the SHIITE traditons are narrted by thefifth and the sixth Imam, and these traditions we havereceived through Ali IBN MOOSA, ALREZA theeighth Imam of the SHIITHE.

Those three Imams were under less pressures ofthe dynasties of Ommayids and Abbassids, and had abetter opportunity of teaching the doctrine of theprophet as they had received it through their fathers. So they succeeded to convey to people a great deal ofthe knowledge they had obtained. This is why the sectof SHIITE is known also as the JAAFARI SECT ofIslam. Imam JAAFAR SADIQ the sixth Imam, lived ina periode of the history in which the Ommayids weregetting weaker and weaker, and the ABBASSIDS weregaining power. The Imam is said to have trained morethan four thousands of students in his school.

ABUHANIFEH the famous sonni religious leaderand scholar who was contemporary to Imam Sadiq has said," I haven't seen any one deeper in religious knowledge than Imam Sadiq.( JAAFAR IBN MOHAMMAD ).[1]

MALIK IBN ANAS, another leading man has said," I used to go to JAAFAR IBN MUHAMMAD forsome times. I always found him in one of the three conditions: He was either in prayer, fasting or reciting QURN. I am of opinoion, added ANAS, ' that no one can excel him in knowledge or worship of God. '.[2]

for brevity we leave aside the great manycomplements of the SONNI'S leading Men about Imam Sadiq.

87THE ROLE OF SHIITE IN ISLAMIC KNOWLEDGE

WE BELIEVE that SHIITE has played a vital rolein the Islamic knowledge, and some scholars are of opinion that Islamic knowledge is founded by SHIITE.

[1]-TAZKARATOLHEFA ZZAHABIvol .1 p .661

[2]-ALTAHZIBVOL .2 P .401