Shīʿa Islam, otherwise known as Shīʿism or as Shīʿite or Shīʿī Islam, is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (khalīfa) 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 (ṣaḥāba) at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunnī Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abū Bakr, who was appointed caliph by a group of senior Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful (rāshidūn) caliph after Muhammad. Adherents of Shīʿa Islam are called Shīʿa Muslims, Shīʿites, or simply Shīʿa, Shia, or Shīʿīs.
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 (born 26 December 1905 – 18 May 1988), also known as Naqqan Sahib, was a Twelver Shia Marja, thinker, poet, writer, jurist and Qur'anic interpreter. He is famous for his writings in Urdu, including the most famous Shaheed-e-Insaniyat and Tareekh-e-Islam. He has also written Tarjuma wa Tafseer of Quran e majeed and dozens of books in Arabic.
Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Ḥasan bin Yūsuf bin ʿAli bin al-Muṭahhar al-Ḥillī, commonly known as Allāma Ḥelli, was a Twelver Shia theologian and mujtahid. He was one of the well known Shia scholars of his time. His full name is Jamāl ad-Dīn Abu Manṣūr al-Ḥasan bin Yūsuf ibn al-Muṭahhar al-Ḥillī. We know of at least one hundred books written by him, some of which are still in the form of manuscripts. Muhammad bin Al-Hassan al Hurr Al- Amili in his work Amal al Amil, p. 40, enumerated no less than 67 works of this learned author.
Sayyid Dildar 'Ali, also known as Ghufran-Ma'ab Naseerabadi, was a Shia scholar of India, from the village of Nasirabad, Raibareli in Uttar Pradesh, India. His best-known work is "Imad-ul-Islâm", in Arabic, a refutation of the anti-Shia arguments used by the famous Fakhr al-Din al-Razi.
Syed Hamid Hussain Musavi Kintoori Lakhnavi Hindi Neshapuri, was a Shia scholar in India. He was a son of Syed Muhammad Quli Kinturi and author of the book, Abaqat ul Anwar fi Imamat al Ai'imma al-Athar.
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.
A Shi'ite Anthology was written by Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai and translated by William Chittick, State University of New York Press. 1981. ISBN 0-87395-511-0 Created by the Prophet Muhammad and his twelve Imams, the Hadith is an ancient and profoundly influential body of religious texts in Shia Muslim literature, second in importance only to the Koran itself.
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 Hussan was an Indian, then Pakistani, Shia Islamic scholar.
Grand Ayatollah Syed Mohsin Nawab Rizvi popularly known as Mohsin-ul-millat, was a poet, writer, speaker and a Twelver Shia Marja from India. 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.
Abū al-Ḥasan Muḥammad bin al-Ḥusayn bin Mūsā, also known as al-Sharīf al-Raḍī was a Shia scholar and poet.
Syed Saif Abbas Naqvi is a Twelver Shia Muslim cleric from India. He is president of the office of Shia Markazi Chand Committee in Lucknow He is one of the prominent Shia clerics of Lucknow.
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.
