How shi ism appeared according to Allama Tabatabaiees view 1
shi’ism began with a refernce made for the first time to the partisans of Ali ( shi’ah-i-Ali ), the fist leader of the House hold of the prophet, during The firsttime of prophet himself. The first designation to have appeared during the life time of the Holy prophet of God was sh’iah and salman, Abu Dharr, Miqdad and Ammar were Known by this time. See Hadir al Alam al-islam, Cairo.1352, Vol.p.188. The Course of the first manifestation and the later growth of Islam of during the twenty-three years of prophecy brought many conditions which necessitated the appearance of a group such as the Shiites among the compantions of the prophet.
1) The holy prophet recommendtions on Imam Ali's succession
The Holy prophet during the first days of his prophecy, when according to text of the Quran the was commanded to invite his closer relatives to come to his religion, Quran XXVI. 214, told them clearly that whoever would be the first to accept his invitation would become his successor and inheritor. Ali was the first to step forth and embrace Islam. The prophet accepted Ali’s submission to the faith and thus fulfilled his promise. Ali said, I who was the youngest of all have submitted I am your vizier. The prophet put his hand around my neck and said, This person is my brother inheritor and vicegerent you must obey him. People laughed and told Abu Talib, He has ordered you to obey your son. Tabari, al –Ta rich, caio, 1357, vol.II.p.63, AbuI Fida.al .Tarikh, cairo, 1325, vol, p.116.Ibn al –Athir, al-Bidayah weI –nihyah, cairo, 1358 vol. III, p.39, Bahrni, Ghayat al-maram, Tehran, 1272, p.320 .[ note .The reader will notice that this hadith and certain others which are quoted more than use of different transmitted versionsin each place.]
From the Shi’ite point of view it appears as unlikely that the leader of amovent, during the first days of his activity, should introduce to strangers one of his associates as his successor and deputy but not introduce him to his completely loyal and devout aides and friends.Nor does it appear likely that such a leader should accept some one as his deputy and successor and introduce him to others as such, but then throughout his life and religious call deprive his deputy of his duties as deputy, disregard the respect due to his position as successor, and refuse to make any distinctions between him and others.
The prophet, according to many unquestioned and completely authenticated hadihs, both sunni and Shi’ite clearly asserted that Ali was preserved from error and sin in his actions and sayings. Whatever he said and did was did was in perfect conformity with the teachings of religion (umm salamah has recounted that the prophet said Ali always with the Truth (haqq) and the Quran, and the Truth and the Quran are always with him, and until the Day of Judgment they will not be separted from each other This hadith has been transmitted through fifteen channels in sunni sources and eleven in shi ite sources. Umm salamah, IbhAbbas, Abu Bakr channels in sunni sources and eleven in shi ite sources. umm salamah, IbhAbbas, AbuBakr Aishah, Ali Abu sa id al- khudri, Abu Ayyub Ansari among its trans mitters Ghayat al- maram, pp, 539-540.The prophet has said. God bless Au for the Truth is a always with him al –Bidayah wal –nihayah. Vol.p.36. *) and he was the most Knowledgeable of men in matters pertaining to the IsIamic sciences and injunctions. on this issue the holy prophet said: Arbittration has been divided into ten parts. Nine are given to Ali and one part is divided among all people .al=Biddyah wai nihayah, vii, p.359. salman.farsi has transmitted this saying from the prophet: After me the most learned of men is Ali Ghayat al- maram.p.528. lbn, Abbas has said that prophet said .Ali is most competent among people in judgment.from the book fadail al- shabah mentioned in Ghayat at- maram p. 528. umar used to say. May God never afflict me with adiffcult task where Ali is no present al- Bidwyah wal – nihayah VII, p. 359.
During the period of prophecy Ali performed Valuable services and made remarkable sacrifices. When then infidels of Mecca decided to Kill the prophet and surrounded his house, the Holy prophet decided to immigrate to Medina. He said to Ali, Will you sleep in my bed at night so that will think that I am asleep and I will be secure from being pursued by them? Ali accepted this dangerous assignment with open arms. This has been recounted in different histories and collections of hadith.( The emigration from Mecca to Medina marks the date of origin of the Islamic calendar, Known as the hijrah). Ali also served by fighting in the battles of Badr, uhud, Khaybar, Khandaq, and Hunayn in which the victories achieved with his aid were such that if Ali had not been present the enemy would most likely have uprooted Islam and the Muslims as is recounted in the usual histories, lives of the prophet, and collections of hadith.
For Shi’ites, the central evidence of Ali’s legitimacy as successor to the prophet is the event of Ghadir Khumm When the prophet chose Ali to the ‘ general guardianship ( Wala yat-I amah) of the people and made Ali, like himself, their guardian ( wali). The hadith of Ghadir in its different versions is one of the definitely established hadiths among sunnis and shiah More that a hundred of the companions have recounted it with different chains alike. Concerning details refer to Ghayat al. maram, p79 Abaqat of Musawi India, 1317 (volume on Ghadir) and al- Ghaidir of Amini Najaf, 1372.
It is obvious that because of such distinctive services and recognition, because of Alis special virtues which were acclaimed by all, and because of the great love the prophet showed for him, som of the companions of the prophet who knew Ali well, and who were champions of virtue and truth, came to love him. They assembled aeound Ali and followed him to such an extent that many others began to consider their love for him excessive and few perhaps also became jealous of him. Besides all these elements, we see in many sayings of the prophet reference to the shiah of Ali and the shi’ah of the Household of the prophet jabir says: We were in the presence of the prophet when Ali appeared from far away. the prophet said: I swear by Him who holds my life in His hands, this person and His partisans( shi’ah) will have salvation on the Day of judgment Ibn Abbas says. When the verse. (And) Io! Those who believe and do good works are best of created beings (Quran) XCVII, 7) was revealed the prophet told Ali, This verse pertains to you to and your partisans who will possess felicity on the Day of judgment and god will also be satisfied with you these two hadiths and several othera are recorded in the book al- Durr al- manthur of suyuti cairo 1313, vol, vol, p. 379. and Ghayat al. maram .p, 326.
2-The cause of the separation of the Shiite Minority from the sunni Majority
The friends and followers of Ali believed that after death of the prophet the caliphate and religious authority ( marjaiyat –I ilmi) belonged to Ali. This belief came from their consideration of Ali s position and station in relation to the prophet, his relation to the chosen among the companions, as well as his relation to Muslims in general. It was only the events that occurred during the few deys of the prophets final illness that indicated that there was opposition to their view. While suffering from the illness that led to his death, Muhammad organized an army under the command of usamah ibn Zayd and insisted that every one should participatc in this war and go out of Medina. A number of people disobeyed the including Abu Bakr and umar and this disturbed the prophet greatly. ( sharh Ibn Abil. H adid, cairo, 1329, vol .1. p.53) At the moment of his death the Holy prophet said: prepare ink and paper so that I will have a letter written for you which will be a cause of guidance for you and prevent you from being misled umar who prevented this action .said His illness has run out of hand and he is delirious. (Thrikh-I Tabari, vol.II.p. 436. sahih of Bukhari vol.III and sahih of Muslim cairo 1349, vol. v, al- Bidayah wa I nihayah, vol.v. p.227. Ibn Abi- Hadid Ivol I.p.133) A somewhat similar situation occurred again during the illness which led to the death of the testament but umar said nothing and nor consider him to be delirious, although he had fainted while the testament was being written. The prophet had been inerrant and fully conscious when he asked them to write down a letter of guidance. ( Rawdat al- safa of Mir .Khwand, Lucknow, 1332, vol.u.p.260). Contary to their expectation, at the very moment when the prophet died and his body lay still unburied, while his house hold and afew companions were occupied with provding for his burial and funeral service, the friends and followers of Ali received news of activity of another group who had gone to the mosque where the communitywas gathered faced with this sudden loss of their leader This group, which was later to from the majority, set forth in great haste to select a caliph for the Muslims with the aim of ensuring the welfare of the community and solving its immediate problems. They did this without consulting the House hold of the prophet, his relatives or many of his friends, who were busy with the funeral, and without providing them with the least information. Thus Ali and his companions were presented with afait accompli. Ibn Abn i I-Hadid, voI.p.and pp. 123- 135, Tarikh-iyaqubi, voI .II. p. 102.. Tarikh-i Tabari- voI.II, pp, 445-460.
Ali and his friends – such as Abbas, Zubayr, salman, Abu Dharr, Miqdad and Ammar – after finishing with the burial of the body of the prophet became aware of the proceedings by which the caliph had been selected. They protested aginst the ast of choosing the caliph by consultation or election, and also against those who were responsible for carrying it out.They even presented their own proofs and arguments, but the answer they received was that welfare of the Mulims was at stake and the solution lay in what had been done. Tarlkh-i ya qaubi voI, pp, 103- 106, Tarikhi. Abi I Fida, voI. I.pp.156 and 166, Muruj al- dhahab, voI, II.pp.307 and 352 Ibn Abi I – Hadid voI, pp, 17 and 134 in answer to Ibn Abbas s protest umar said, Iswear to God Ali was the most deserving of all people to become caliph, but for there reasons we pushed him aside: (1) he was too young, (2)he was attached to the desendants of Abd al Muttalib (3) people did not like to have prophecy and the caliphate assembled in one house- hold ( Ibn Abi I –Hadid, voI, p, 134.) umar said to Ibn Abbas Iswear to God that Ali deserved the caliphate but the Qurysh would not have been able to bear his caliphate, for had he became caliph he would have foreed the people to accept the pure truth and follow the right path .under his caliphate they would not have been able to transgress the boundaries of justice and thus would sought to engage in war with him Tarikhi- yaqubi, voI, II, p. 137).
It was this protest and criticism which separated from the majority the minority that were following Ali and made his followers Known to society as the partisans or shiah of Ali. The caliphate of the time was anxious to guard against this appellation being given to the shii te minorityand thus to have Muslim society divided into sections comprised of a majority and a minority. The supporters of the caliph considered the caliphat to be matter of the consensus of the community( ijma) and called those who objected the opponents of allegiance. They claimed that the shiah stood, there fore, opposed to Muslim society. Sometimes the shiah was given other pejorative and degrading names. Amr ibn Horith said to sa id ibn Zayd, Did anyone oppose paying allegiance Abu Bakr? He answered, No one was opposed to him except those who had become apostates or were about to become so, Tarikh i- voI. II, p. 447.
Shi’ism was condemned from the first moment because of the political situation of the time and thus it could not accomplish anything through mere political protest .Ali, in order to safeguard the well being of Islam and of the Muslims, and also because of lack of suffhcient political and military power, did not endeavor to begin an uprising against the existing political order, which would have been of a bloody nature. Yet those who protested against the established caliphate refused to surrender to the majority in certain quenestion of faith and continued to hold that the succession to the prophet and religious authority belonged by right to Ali. in the famous hadith of thaqalayn the prophet says: I Ieave two thing of value amidst you in trust which if you hold on to you will never go astray, the Quran and members of my house hold, those will never be separated until the Day of judgment. This hadith has been transmitted through more that a hundred channels by over thirty – five of the companinons of the Holy prophet. ( Abaqat, volume on hadith-i thaqalayn, Ghiyat al- maram, p.211.) The prophet said. Iam the city of Knowledge and Ali is its gate. There fore whosever seeks Knowledge should enter through its door, ( al- Bidayah we i. nihayah, VII, p. 359). They believed that all spiritual and religious matters should be referred to him and invited people to become his followers.
Sources :
Shiah- pages: 59 to 66