The Origin And Philosophy Of Shiites

The split between the Sunni and Shia sect is almost as old as Islam itself. Soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), in the year 632, there was a dispute in the community of Muslims in present-day Saudi Arabia over the question of succession. Shiites Most of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions wanted the community of Muslims to determine who would succeed him. A smaller group thought differently and felt that someone from his family should take up the mantle of leadership. The small group favored Ali, who was married to Muhammad’s daughter, Fatimah. The Sunnis prevailed and chose a successor Abu Bakr to be the first caliph.  Abu Bakr became the Caliph that most people agreed on. He was then succeeded by Umar upon his death, with Uthman after him. According to the Muslims who believed these men were the legitimate caliphs, Ali, then became the fourth Caliph to lead the Muslims. The Sunnis believed that leadership should fall on the person who was deemed by the elite of the community to be best able to lead the community. The second and third caliph eras were greeted with violence because of the dissenting voice on the leadership particularly from the Shia group. Two of the earliest caliphs before Ali were murdered. War erupted when Ali became caliph, and he too was killed in fighting in the year 661 near the town of Kufa, now in present-day Iraq. The development split the Muslim community into two branches that had remained disunited till today. The war continued with Ali’s son, Hussein, leading the Shiites. Hussein rejected the rule of the caliph and the Sunni. He and 72 members of his family and companions fought against a very large Arab army of the caliph. They were all massacred. Hussein was killed on the battlefield at Karbala and buried there. Hussein symbolises the spiritual power to members of the Shiites; and members commemorate his death yearly usually in a public ritual. The Shiites are concentrated in Iran, southern Iraq and southern Lebanon. But there are significant Shiite communities in Saudi Arabia and Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India as well. The government of Iran set an agenda to spread Shia to other countries including Nigeria. In Nigeria, this task of spreading the Shia philosophy was carried out by Ibrahim Yakub Elzakzaky. The man Elzakzaky devised several strategies to achieve his mission. Many believed he took advantage of the gullibility of some Muslim youth who were not informed to buy into the idea of ‘Islamic revolution’, ‘establishment of Islamic state’, ‘total change’, etc. They initially tagged themselves Muslim brothers. They organized lectures and several demonstrations in their first phase. Shia  philosophy Those who followed Ali were having none of this fourth Caliph. To the Shia, Ali was the only legitimate caliph from the beginning. Members believed they were the followers of Muhammad’s ordained successor. In fact, they believe that Ali was divinely appointed to succeed Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and they consider other earlier Caliphs as usurpers. Therefore, to them, all the hadiths, or Islamic religious rulings and teachings, from these intervening caliphs, do not apply. Shia Muslims believe that the only real leaders would have to come from Ali, and from those who were to follow after him. The Sunni sect vehemently disagrees. This divide was political and deeply contentious and has remained so to this day.