Shafaqna – The Arabic word, shīʿa, literally denotes ‘a group of people who join together for a particular purpose’ or ‘a follower’, as when the Qur’an says: ‘Verily among those who followed his way was Abraham.’ (Q37: 83).
Who are the Shia?
In Islamic parlance, however, the word shīʿa has come to denote three rather different meanings. In one sense, it refers to those who love and support ʿAlī and the descendants of him and Fāṭima who make the Prophet’s Household (Ahl al-Bayt).
Loving the Prophet’s Family is an Islamic duty ordained in the Qur’an: ‘Say: “No reward do I ask of you for this except the love of those near of kin”’ (Q42:23). In this sense, ‘shīʿa’ refers to all Muslims, because all of them (except those called nawāṣib, or ‘insulters’) love the Prophet’s Household, even though they may not acknowledge their position leadership. the Imam Shafiʿī – the founder of one of the four Sunnī schools of law – wrote the following famous lines of poetry in praise of the Prophet’s Household:
‘O Household of the Prophet!
Love of you was enjoined upon us by God.
For your dignity it suffices
That prayer will not be accepted without saluting you.’
Another sense of the word ‘shīʿa’
Another sense of the word ‘shīʿa’ refers to those who believe Imam ʿAlī was greater in knowledge and virtue than the other three caliphs (namely, Abū Bakr, ʿUmar and ʿUthmān) but still consider their reigns to be legitimate. This is especially true of the Baghdad school of Muʿtazila. This meaning of ‘shīʿa’ can be found in Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl and Sayr Aʿlam al-Nubalāʾ of Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Dhahabī, who accuses some traditionists (muḥadiththīn) of holding shīʿi sympathies, including al-Hākim al-Nīsābūrī, who enjoys a high reputation for his role in the preservation of aḥādīth.
The third meaning of the word ‘shīʿa’ refers to those who follow Imam ʿAlī and his descendants after the Prophet’s death because they believe that the leadership of Muslims has been granted to ʿAlī and his progeny. These people consider ʿAlī to be the successor (waṣī) of the Prophet, pointing to the fact that ʿAlī was known to possess that capacity and was referred to as the ‘successor’ in poems and speeches even during the Prophet’s own life.
As Hākim reports, when Imam ʿAlī was martyred, his son, Imam Ḥasan, gave a speech, declaring: ‘I am son of the Prophet and son of the Prophet’s successor’ (1/172). Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd has also recorded a few pages of poetry in which the Prophet’s Companions (ṣaḥāba) and successors (tābiʿūn) have referred to ʿAlī as ‘the successor’ (1/143–150). This is the meaning of Shia.
Commentary on Imam Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right (Part 21)