Shia Islam or Shi'a Islam 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 Muhammad's other companions at Saqifah, to be the first rightful (rashidun) caliph after Muhammad. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shia Muslims.
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.
Nahj al-balāgha is the best-known collection of sermons, letters, and sayings attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Rashidun caliph, the first Shia imam, and the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The compilation of the book is often credited to Sharif al-Radi, a prominent Shia scholar. Known for its moral aphorisms and eloquent content, Nahj al-balagha is widely studied in the Islamic world and has considerably influenced the Arabic literature and rhetoric. In view of its sometimes sensitive content, the authenticity of the book has long been a subject of polemic debates, though recent academic research suggests that most of its contents can indeed be attributed to Ali by tracking the texts in sources that predate al-Radi.
Grand Ayatollah Syed Ali Naqi Naqvi Nasirabadi, also known as Naqqan Sahib, was a Twelver Shia Marja, poet, writer, jurist and Quranic interpreter. His writings in Urdu include Shaheed-e-Insaniyat and Tareekh-e-Islam. He also wrote Tarjuma wa Tafseer of Quran, majeed and dozens of books in Arabic.
Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Ḥasan bin Yūsuf bin ʿAli ibn al-Muṭahhar al-Ḥillī, known by the honorific title al-Allāmah al-Ḥillī was an Iraqi Arab scholar and one of the most influential Twelver Shi'i Muslim authors of all time. He was an expert in Twelver theology, a pioneering mujtahid, as well as the first scholar to be referred to with the title “Ayatullah”. Al-Hurr al-Amili enumerated no less than 67 works by him. He is considered the first scholar to successfully disseminate Shia Islam widely in Persia.
Imāmah means "leadership" and is a concept in Twelver theology. The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, in the Twelver branch of Shia Islam. According to Twelver theology, the successors to Muhammad are infallible human beings, who rule justly over the community and maintain and interpret sharia and undertake the esoteric interpretation of the Quran. The words and deeds of Muhammad and the Imams guide the community. For this, the Imams must be free from error and sin and chosen by divine decree—nass—through the Prophet.
Bihar al-Anwar is a comprehensive collection of hadith compiled by Shia scholar Muhammad Baqir Majlisi. It is a hadith collection as the secondary source used beside the Four Books.
In Shi'a Islam the guidance of clergy and keeping such a structure holds great importance. There are several branches of Shi'ism, of which Twelver Shi'ism is by far the largest, and each of the branches has different clergy structures. Individual clerics are referred to as mullā or ākhūnd, but since those terms have developed "a somewhat pejorative connotation" since at least the 1980s, the term rūḥānī has been "promoted" as an alternative, "especially by the clerical class itself".
Imambara Ghufran Ma'ab in Lucknow, India is an imambara constructed by Shia cleric Ayatollah Syed Dildar Ali Naseerabadi Al Jayasi in the early 1790s.
The Shaqshaqiya sermon is a controversial text in Nahj al-balagha, the best-known collection of sermons, letters, and sayings attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was the fourth Rashidun caliph, the first Shia imam, and the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The sermon is highly critical of the predecessors of Ali, namely, Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, accusing them of usurping the right of Ali to the caliphate.
The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver branch of Shia Islam, including that of the Alawite and Alevi.
Madrasatul Waizeen or Madrasatul Waezeen or Madrasat al-Wa'izin, founded in 1919, is an old centre of Twelver Shia education in the city of Lucknow, India. Many of the clerics attend this school after they finish their graduate educations in other Shia seminaries to strengthen their oratory and preaching skills. It is well-known for the valuable manuscripts in its library.
Shaykh Tusi, full name Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi, known as Shaykh al-Ta'ifah was a prominent Persian scholar of the Twelver school of Shia Islam. He was known as the "sheikh of the sect ", author of two of the four main Shi'i books of hadith, Tahdhib al-Ahkam and al-Istibsar, and is believed to have founded the hawza. He is also the founder of Shia jurisprudence.
Mufti Jafar Hussain was an Indian, then Pakistani, Shia Islamic scholar.
Grand Ayatollah Syed Mohsin Nawab Rizvi popularly known as Mohsin-ul-millat, was an Indian poet, writer, speaker and a Marja of the Twelver branch of Shia Islam. He served as vice principal of Sultanul Madaris, Lucknow, and as a principal of Govt Oriental College Madarsa Alia, Rampur and Madarsa Imaniya Nasiriya, Jaunpur.
Syed Sibte Hasan Naqvi was a Shia cleric from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was known by the title of Khatib-E-Azam.
Ḥasan Ḥasan-zādih Ãmulī was an Iranian Shi'ite theologian known for his mystical tendencies and Islamic philosophy. He was among clerics who overcame the traditional opposition to teaching philosophy courses at Shi'ite seminaries. He wrote many books in philosophy, mysticism, mathematics, astronomy, Persian and Arabic literature. He interpreted the Islamic philosophical tradition in a similar way to Mulla Sadra, which is a reconciliation of religion, reason and mysticism. His books include Sharh fusus al-hikam, Tashih nahj al-balagha, Insan dar 'urf-i 'irfan, Tashih kalila wa dimna.
Abū al-Ḥasan Muḥammad bin al-Ḥusayn bin Mūsā al-Abrash al-Mūsawī, also known as al-Sharīf al-Raḍī was a Shia scholar and poet.
Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, played a pivotal role in the formative early years of Islam. Later, after the death of Muhammad in 632 CE, through his numerous sayings and writings, Ali helped establish a range of Islamic sciences, including Quranic exegesis, theology, jurisprudence, rhetoric, and Arabic grammar. He also trained disciples who later excelled in gnostics, exegesis, theology, and jurisprudence. Numerous traditions, attributed to Ali, elucidate the esoteric teachings of the Quran, the central religious text in Islam. As the first Shia imam, he is also regarded in Shia Islam as the interpreter, par excellence, of the Quran after the death of Muhammad. Ali is considered a reliable and prolific narrator of prophetic traditions, while his own statements and practices are further studied in Shia Islam as the continuation of prophetic teachings. Ali is also viewed as the founder of Islamic theology. Some contributions of Ali to Islamic sciences are highlighted below.
