The major difference between the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah and their Shia brothers is the doctrine of Imamah. The articles below will show that the concept of Imamah is the negation of the central tenet of Islam–namely that Prophet Muhammad is the seal of the Prophets.
For hundreds of years, the Shia scholars have not been able to answer the “Quran Challenge.” The Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah has repeatedly challenged the Shia to produce even one single verse in the Quran that outlines the Shia concept of Imamah.
In Part I, we challenged the Shia to produce even a single verse in the Quran that proved their doctrine of Imamah. After miserably failing at this task, there were many “cop-out” semi-responses to our challenge. We shall address them here, and it will become abundantly clear to the unbiased reader that the weakness of the Shia responses is indicative of the baseness of the belief in Imamah.
In this article, we examine every single time the word “imam” is used in the Quran. We find that the Quran does not mention the Infallible Imams of the Shia in any way, shape, or form. This article proves that the Shia can never answer The Quran Challenge.
This article continues from where we left off in our earlier articles entitled “The Quran Challenge.” We have already discussed how important Imamah is to the Shia, and how they view it as more important than Prophethood/Messengership. And we have also seen how the doctrine of Imamah is not referred to in the Quran at all. Now we compare this with the plethora of verses in the Quran which discuss Prophethood/Messengership. Whereas the Quran talks about many Prophets/Messengers, we fail to see any discussion of mysterious Imams. The obvious question is why would Allah mention Prophethood/Messengership so many times in the Quran, but fail to mention Imams, which–according to the Shia–are more important than the Prophets/Messengers?
In this article, we prove that the Shia believe their Imams to be superior to Prophets, and we do this from their own sources. We then explain the danger of this belief, and how it is clearly Kufr (disbelief). This article shatters the prevailing misconception that the differences between Sunni and Shia are minor.
The Christians ascribe Allah’s Attributes to Isa (عليه السلام). Likewise, the Shia ascribe Allah’s Attributes to the Imams. The Shia believe in the Infallibility (Ismah) of Imams. In this article, we will examine what exactly Infallibility (Ismah) means to the Shia and why the rightly guided Ahlus Sunnah considers this belief of the Shia to be Shirk.
The Shia have exalted their Imams to a level of Shirk, granting them powers, abilities, and qualities only befitting of Allah Almighty. This article is only the tip of the iceberg, but it is a good insight into the manner in which the Shia exalt their Imams and commit Shirk in the process. Included are Shia Hadith pertinent to the matter.
The Shia believe that the Imams know when they are going to die and die only by their own will. This contradicts the Islamic belief, for not even the Prophet Muhammad (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) knew when he was going to die, and he definitely did not do so out of his own control. It is a fundamental belief in Islam that nobody knows when they are going to die and nobody has any control over it save Allah Almighty.
The Shia believe that their Infallible Imams posses knowledge of Al-Ghaib (the Unseen). This belief is a complete contradiction of the numerous Quranic verses which categorically prohibit the knowledge of Al-Ghaib. This exaggeration and exaltation of their Imams is Kufr.
The most reliable Shia book of Hadith is Al-Kafi. In it, we find narration after narration about Imamah, and we shall herein examine some of the troubling Shia Hadith. The Shia have gone away from the Quran and instead they derive their faith from the sayings of their Imams (i.e. Hadith including Al-Kafi).
Ayatollah Khomeini and the rest of the Shia Ayatollahs exploit the teachings of Shi’ism in order to further their own power and status. The Ayatollahs elaborate on the concept of Infallible Imams, and by doing so, they indirectly boost their own position and status since they are the interim Imams. This article explores the concept of Wilayat ul-Faqih.
The idea that one lineage is superior to another runs contrary to the egalatarian spirit of Islam. The leadership of the Muslims cannot be confined to one family as the Shia claim it is, but rather it is open to any Muslim, namely the one who is most pious, regardless of his familial descent of which he had no control whatsoever.
In this article, we explore the history of Imamah, and we find that after the death of each of their Imams, the Shia split into more and more sects. Each sect took a different person to be the successor to the dead Imam. The Shia criticize the Ahlus Sunnah for not following the Imam, but they themselves cannot decide upon who is the Imam!
When the 12th Imam supposedly went into occultation, various Shia leaders self-proclaimed themselves as representatives of the Hidden Imam in his absence. They began collecting Khums (religious tax) in the name of the Hidden Imam. This article explores this fraud.
The occultation of the Imam is 100% in variance with the very basis of the reason the Shia claim we need an Imam. The Shia belief is in fact not self consistent. On the one hand, the very reason we need an Imam is to lead, but now the Imam has been in occultation, so what benefit does the Imam give now?
Imamah is the foundation of Shi’ism; the Ahlus Sunnah rejects Imamah because the doctrine makes little logical sense. Indeed, there are many perplexing questions for the Shia as well as several holes in the doctrine of Imamah. In this article, we put to the test the doctrine of Imamah and see how it measures up in the light of logic.
In this article, the author presents the hypothetical scenario that he becomes convinced that we need to follow Infallible Imams and that he wants to convert to Shi’ism. The question then presents itself: which of the dozens upon dozens of Shia sects should he follow? Which chain of Imams is the correct one? This dilemma underscores the invalidity of the Imamah doctrine.
The Shia are waiting for their Twelvth Imam to descend upon them. The evidence suggests that the person that the Shia will take as their Twelvth Imam will be none other than Dajjal, as prophecized in the Hadith of the Prophet. The Ahlus Sunnah should thus always keep in mind that the Shia are the future followers of Dajjal.
This was in response to an email query sent to us by a brother named John. We decided to make our reply public in case it should help any others as well. May Allah guide Brother John and us to Truth!
