Shia Islam or Shi'ism is the second largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a result of the choice made by some of Muhammad's other companions at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunni Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abu Bakr, who was appointed caliph by a group of senior Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful caliph after Muhammad. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shia Muslims, Shi'ites, or simply Shia.
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was a cousin, son-in-law and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled as the fourth rightly guided caliph from 656 until his assassination in 661. He is a main religious person in Shia Islam as the first Shia Imam and also one of the central figures in Sunni Islam as the fourth of the "rightly guided" (rāshidūn) caliphs. He was the son of Abu Talib and Fatimah bint Asad, the husband of Fatima, and the father of Hasan, Husayn and Zaynab.
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq, commonly known as Ja'far al-Ṣādiq, was an 8th-century Muslim scholar. He was the 6th Imam and founder of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence according to Twelver and Isma'ili Shi'ites. He is also important to Sunnis as a teacher to the Sunni scholars Abu Hanifah and Malik ibn Anas and as a transmitter of Sunni hadith. Ja'far al-Sadiq also figures prominently in the initiatic chains of many Sufi orders.
In Shia Islam, the Imamah is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further says that Imams possess divine knowledge and authority (Ismah) as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt, the family of Muhammad. These Imams have the role of providing commentary and interpretation of the Quran as well as guidance.
Alī ibn Muḥammad al-Hādī was a Muslim scholar and the tenth of the Twelve Imams after his father Muhammad al-Jawad and before his son Hasan al-Askari. He remained in Medina teaching until the age of 30 when he was summoned to Samarra by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil. There he was treated roughly by the caliph and his successors until, according to Shiite accounts, he was poisoned through intrigue of Al-Mu'tazz the Abbasid caliph, in 254/868, and was buried in Samarra. He is commonly referred to by the title al-Hadi and Alī an-Naqī.
Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Mahdi is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the Mahdi, an eschatological redeemer of Islam and the final Imam of the Twelve Imams who will emerge with Isa (Jesus) in order to fulfil their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world. Twelver Shias believe that al-Mahdi was born on the 15th Sha'ban 870 CE/ 256 AH and assumed Imamate at nearly four years of age following the killing of his father Hasan al-Askari. In the early years of his Imamah, he is believed to have had contact with his followers only through The Four Deputies. This period was known as the Minor Occultation and lasted from 873 to 941 CE. A few days before the death of his fourth deputy Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri in 941, he is believed to have sent his followers a letter. In that letter, which was transmitted by al-Samarri, he declared the beginning of Major Occultation, during which Mahdi was not to be in contact with his followers directly, but had instructed them to follow the pious high clerics for whom he has mentioned some distinguishing merits.
Laylat al-Qadr, variously rendered in English as the Night of Decree, Night of Power, Night of Value, Night of Destiny, or Night of Measures, is, in Islamic belief, the night when the Quran was first sent down from Heaven to the world and also the night when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the prophet Muhammad. According to many Muslim sources, its exact date is uncertain but it was one of the odd-numbered nights of the last ten days of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Since that time, Muslims have regarded the last ten nights of Ramadan as being especially blessed. Muslims believe that the Night of Qadr comes with blessings and mercy of God in abundance, sins are forgiven, supplications are accepted, and that the annual decree is revealed to the angels who carry it out according to God's Grace.
The succession to Muhammad is the central issue that split the Muslim community into several divisions in the first century of Islamic history, with the most prominent among these sects being the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam. Shia Islam holds that Ali ibn Abi Talib was the appointed successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad as head of the community. Sunni Islam maintains Abu Bakr to be the first leader after Muhammad on the basis of election.
The Samarkand Kufic Quran is an 8th or 9th century manuscript Quran written in the territory of modern Iraq in the Kufic script. Today it is kept in the Hast Imam library, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
History of the Quran is the timeline and origin of the written compilations or manuscripts of the holy book of Islam, based on historical findings. It spans several centuries, and forms an important major part of the early history of Islam.
Sulaym ibn Qays al-Hilali al-Amiri was one of the Tabi‘un and a companion of Ali towards the end of the latter's life. Sulaym was also a loyal companion of Ali's sons Hasan and Husayn, the latter's son Ali Zayn al-'Abidin, and Muhammad al-Baqir. He authored the well-known book, Kitab Sulaym ibn Qays.
The Shia view of the Qur'an differs from the Sunni view, but the majority of both groups believe that the text is identical. While some Shia disputed the canonical validity of the Uthmanic codex, the Shia Imams always rejected the idea of alteration of Qur'an's text. Only seven Shia scholars have believed in omissions in the Uthmanic codex.
TwelverShi’ism, also known as Imamiyyah, is the largest branch of Shia Islam, comprising about 85% of all Shia Muslims. The term Twelver refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, and their belief that the last Imam, Imam al-Mahdi, lives in occultation and will reappear as The promised Mahdi. According to Shia tradition, the Mahdi's tenure will coincide with the Second Coming of Isa, who, along with Mahdi, would kill the Dajjal.
The Shi'a view of Aisha is generally unfavourable. This is primarily due to what they see as her contempt for the Ahl al-Bayt and her actions in the First Fitna of the time. Her participation in the Battle of the Camel is widely considered her most significant sign of such contempt. They also do not believe that she conducted herself in an appropriate manner in her role as Muhammad's wife. Several prominent Shia accounts even report that she, along with Hafsa, brought about Muhammad's death by giving him poison. Shi'a also consider Aisha to be a controversial figure because of her political involvement during her lifetime. Aisha came from a political family lineage, as she was the daughter of Abu Bakr the caliph. Aisha also played an active role in Muhammad's political life; she was known to accompany him to wars, where she learned military skills, such as initiating pre-war negotiations between combatants, conducting battles, and ending wars.
Criticism of Twelver Shia Islam dates from the initial ideological rift among early Muslims that led to the two primary denominations of Islam, the Sunnis and the Shias. The question of succession to Muhammad in Islam, the nature of the Imamate, the status of the twelfth Shia Imam, and other areas in which Shia Islam differs from Sunni Islam have been criticized by Sunni scholars, even though there is no disagreement between the two sects regarding the centrality of the Quran, Muhammad, and many other doctrinal, theological and ritual matters. Shia commentators such as Musa al-Musawi and Ali Shariati have themselves, in their attempts to reform the faith, criticized practices and beliefs which have become prevalent in the Twelver Shia community.
Shia Islam originated as a response to questions of Islamic religious leadership which became manifest as early as the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. The issues involved not only whom to appoint as the successor to Muhammad, but also what attributes a true successor should have. Sunnis regarded Caliphs as a secular leaders,. To the Shiite, however, the question of succession is a matter of designation of an individual (Ali) through divine command. In the same way, Shias believed that each Imam designated the next Imam by the leave of God. So within Shia Islam it makes no difference to the Imam's position whether he is chosen as a Caliph or not.
The Birmingham Quran manuscript is a parchment on which two leaves of an early Quranic manuscript are written. In 2015 the manuscript, which is held by the University of Birmingham, was radiocarbon dated to between 568 and 645 CE. It is part of the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held by the university's Cadbury Research Library.
According to Islamic tradition, the Quran was revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel in sevenahruf, translated variously as "editions", "styles", "ways", "forms" and "modes". Although Muslim scholars differ on their exact nature, it is thought they constituted a degree of acceptable variation in the Quranic text. The standardisation of the Quranic rasmc. 650 CE and destruction of the mushafs by Rashidun caliph Uthman /> the extent to which the Uthmanic codex contains the seven ahruf has been a subject of debate. The ahruf are distinct from the ten qira'at, which are other variant readings of the Quran that were canonized later on and are still in use.
Canonized Islamic scripture are texts which Muslims believe were revealed by God through various prophets throughout humanity's history—specifically the Quran and Hadith. Muslims believe the Quran to be the final revelation of God to mankind, and a completion and confirmation of previous scriptures. It was believed to have been revealed to the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad from 620 CE to 632 CE, and canonized in an official, unified text during the caliphate of Rashidun Uthman, around 650 CE.
