Principal beliefs of Shia Islam

SHAFAQNA- A brief study of the history of religions and sects would reveal that all the sects of Islam were produced as the result of theological debates that took place in the first three centuries of Islam, and that there was no trace of these sects at the time of the Prophet (PBUH).

1. The Khawarij appeared as a political movement in the year 37/657, in the course of the Battle of Siffin when a group of people rejected the arbitration between Muawiyah and Ali. However, they were among those people who pressed for negotiations in the first place. This political group, over the course of time developed into a religious sect and began to establish for itself a set of primary and secondary principles.
2. The Murjiʾa were a group who believed that the profession of faith alone was sufficient to make one a Muslim, regardless of a person’s actions. This sect developed during first/seventh century, after Uthman’s murder and Ali’s (AS) accession to the Caliphate. (See Farhang-i ʿAqaʾid-i Islami, vol. 3).
3. The Jahmiyya followed the ideas of Jahm ibn Safwan, who was put to death in 128/746.
4. The Muʿtazila were founded by Wasil ibn ʿAta, a pupil of Hasan Al-Basri. Wasil was born in 80/700, established Muʿtazila in 105/723 and died in 131/748.
5. The Ashaʿira were founded by Abul-Hasan Al-Ashʿari (260–324/874–936). For many years, he was an adherent of the Muʿtazila, but in 305/917, he abandoned them and became a follower of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. However, he made alterations into Ibn Hanbal’s school which resulted in a new set of doctrines and therefore a new school. His doctrines were later championed by Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani, Ibn Furak and others and became popular amongst Sunnis.

As well as the aforementioned sects, other schools were also produced through social and political upheavals in Islamic history. None of these schools originated at the time of the Prophet (PBUH). It is only the Imamiyya that has not developed out of later political or social movements; its basic principles are taken from the Quran, the Prophet’s (PBUH) Sunna, the teachings of the infallible Imams (AS), and rational deductions. Moreover, Shia theologians only derive their doctrines from the Quran and widely-transmitted (Mutawatir) traditions; they never obtain these from solitary reports (Akhbar Ahad).

There are two prominent tenets that distinguish the Shia School:

1. Loyalty (Wilaya) to Ali (AS) and his descendants.
2. The supremacy of Divine Justice in both creation (Takwin) and legislation (Tashriʿ).

Source: Shia Islam: History and Doctrines, Ayatullah Jaʿfar Subhani, Chapter 11

Shia Under Umayyad & Abbasid Rulers: Muawiyah’s Directives