Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib (656–661 CE) as his successor as Imam, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but that after Muhammad's death, Ali was prevented from succeeding as 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 Rashidun ('rightful') caliph after Muhammad (632–634 CE).
A hawza or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah is the collective term for a madrasa where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated.
Akhbarism is a minority Sect of Twelver Shia Islam. The term is usually used in contrast to the majority branch of Twelver Shia – the Usuli. Like the Usulis, they follow the Quran and Hadith, but unlike them, Akhbari rejects the use of reasoning by trained Islamic jurisprudents (faqih) to derive verdicts in Islamic law, maintaining it is forbidden (haram) to follow the legal rulings of anyone but one of the "Fourteen Infallibles" of Twelver Islam.
The Four Companions, also called the Four Pillars of the Sahaba, is a Shia term for the four Companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who are supposed to have stayed most loyal to Ali ibn Abi Talib after Muhammad's death in 632:
- Salman al-Fārisī
- Abū Dharr al-Ghifāri
- Miqdad ibn Aswād al-Kindi
- Ammār ibn Yāsir
A turbah, or mohr, also known as khāk-e shefā and sejde gāh, is a small piece of soil or clay, often a clay tablet, used during salat to symbolize earth. The use of a turbah is recommended according to the Twelver Shia school of Islam, a unique practice of the sect, and many ahadith mention the benefits of prostration upon soil or an alternative natural material. The most recommended soil is that of Karbala, the site of the martyrdom of Husayn ibn 'Ali; however, soil from anywhere may be used. In the absence of soil, plants or items made from these may be substituted. This provision has been extended to include paper.
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi is an Iranian Shia marja' and religious leader.
The Ahlul Bayt Digital Library Project is a non-profit Shi'a organization that features work from a group of international volunteers. It operates the website Al-Islam.org – whose stated objective is to digitize resources related to the history, law, and society of the Islamic religion – with particular emphasis on the Twelver Shi'ah Islamic school of thought. Al-Islam.org also tries to serve as a site for introducing Islam to non-Muslims.
Grand Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat Foumani was an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja'.
Abdollah Javadi Amoli is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja. He is a conservative and political moderate politician, philosopher and one of the prominent Islamic scholars of the Iran. The official website for his scientific foundation, Isra, states that his ideas and views have been guidance to the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and that "his strategic and enlightening guidance" has been "extremely constructive" during the past three decades. He is known as one of the biggest critics of the banking system in Iran.
Shi‘a Islam, also known as Shi‘ite Islam or Shia, is the second largest branch of Islam after Sunni Islam. Shias adhere to the teachings of Muhammad and the religious guidance of his family or his descendants known as Shia Imams. Muhammad's bloodline continues only through his daughter Fatima Zahra and cousin Ali who alongside Muhammad's grandsons comprise the Ahl al-Bayt. Thus, Shias consider Muhammad's descendants as the true source of guidance along with the teaching of Muhammad. Shia Islam, like Sunni Islam, has at times been divided into many branches; however, only three of these currently have a significant number of followers, and each of them has a separate trajectory.
Ahl al-Kisa, also known as the Al al-Aba, are Muhammad the Islamic prophet, his daughter Fatima, his cousin and son-in-law Ali, and his two grandsons Hasan and Husayn.
Twelver Shīʿism, also known as Imāmiyya, is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85% of all Shīas. 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.
The Ahlul Bayt Assembly of Canada is a federation of Shi'a Muslim organizations in Canada and includes 80 Shi'a Islamic centres and mosques in the country. The organization was founded in 1993 by Shia Muslim leaders in Canada. It had been registered with the Government of Canada as a charitable organization until 2019 when the Canada Revenue Agency stripped of the organization of its charitable status after it was alleged that the group was “acting as a facilitator organization to support the operational goals” of the Ahl Al-Bayt World Assembly in Iran, which has links to the Lebanese Hezbollah and its goal is “to facilitate the spread of the Iranian revolutionary ideology in Canada.”
The Shafi'i school or Shafi'ism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionist al-Shafi'i, "the father of Muslim jurisprudence", in the early 9th century.
Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ardabili was a Shia Grand Ayatollah of jurisprudence. After the death of Zayn al-Din al-Juba'i al'Amili, he became the Marja' of the Twelver Shia in Najaf, Iraq. He is known by the titles of Mohaghegh and Muoghaddas.
Marja' is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and clerics below him in rank. The highest ranking marjiʿ is known as the marja al-mutlaq or marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq. A marji' is usually also a grand ayatollah.
The Najaf Seminary, also known as the al-Hawza Al-Ilmiyya, is the oldest and one of the most important Shia seminaries (hawza) in the world. It is located near the Imam Ali Shrine in the city of Najaf in Iraq, and also operates a campus in Karbala, Iraq. It was established by Shaykh al-Tusi, and continued as a center of study after the establishment of modern Iraq in 1921.
Mohsen Faqihi is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Ayatollah. He has studied in seminaries of Qum, Iran under Morteza Haeri Yazdi, Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani and Mohammad Ali Araki. Faqihi is known for his book Maʻrifat Abwāb al-Fiqh in which he summarized Tahrir al-Wasilah. He is a member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom.
Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Milani is an Iraqi-Iranian Shia scholar.
Seyed Mahdi Hosseini Rohani Persian: سید مهدی حسینی روحانی was an Iranian Ayatollah born in Qom. He served in the First, Second, and Third terms of the Assembly of Experts.
