Preface
My attention has been drawn to a booklet “What is Shi’aism?” which has been printed in Nairobi and distributed throughout East Africa by the Wahhabis. The main purpose of such publications is to sow seeds of discord and disunity among the Muslims in East Africa and elsewhere. The Shi’a community is well-aware of this motive; and we had not wanted to glorify such rags by writing their reply.
The Wahhabis take their order from the Saudi family who in their turn are controlled by the White House in Washington; and as everybody knows, it is the declared policy of Washington and its satellites that Islam is their enemy No.1. Naturally they want to destroy Islam by all possible means; and unfortunately, Khalids, Fahds, Mubaraks and their ilk are dancing to their tunes.
We feel that replying to such trash would be playing in the hands of those enemies of Islam. And it was this feeling that had kept us silent for such a long time. But now we have reached a stage where silence is misinterpreted as weakness. Therefore, a few short comments on the said booklet will not be out of order.
Another thing which had prevented us from replying was the blindness of these writers. They never look in the Shi’a books; they just go on lapping what their ancestors have vomited; and then they transfer in on paper, thinking that they have conquered the Everest. Hundreds, if not thousands, of replies have been given to their books, but these writers never look into them. And the fallacy is further compounded when a writer is as ignorant as the author of the booklet under review, a writer of unknown identity and origin. No torture can be greater for a student of religion than to be forced to talk with such an ignorant man. However, with much reluctance I have decided to undergo this torture, and,
“I will only complain of my grief and sorrow to Allah.”
The booklet, “What is Shi’aism?” is written in a haphazard manner, and to follow its sequence would have resulted in annoying repetitions.
In this reply, I have tackled all its main points in as much an un-emotional way as possible, ignoring the abusive language which its writer has used for the Shi’as. Only those whose proofs are weak try to compensate for that weakness with abusing their opposite party.
In the beginning I have included one of my old articles, “Meaning and origin of Shi’aism”, and a few important chapters which describe in short the fundamental belief and faith of the Shi’a Ithna ‘Asharis. It will help the readers to compare the truth with the baseless accusations of the unknown author of the Wahhabi booklet.
Before touching the subjects of the said booklet, let me make it clear that I have written for those who are in search of Truth, with open minds, without any bias or preconceived ideas. I am not writing for those whose logic runs as follows:
1. To curse the Sahabah (companions of the Prophet, s.a.w) is Kufr and anyone indulging in it is Kafir.
2. Amir Mu’awiyah began cursing Amiru ‘l-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (the cousin and son-in-law and companion of the Prophet s.a.w, and the fourth among the Sunnis’ Khulafa al-Rashidin), in the Khutbas of Friday and ‘Idayn, and this cursing continued for more than 90 years throughout the Islamic empire from Sindh to Spain and from Africa to Turkistan.
3. Therefore, Mu’awiyah was a sincere believer and a most honoured companion and Khalifah of the Prophet, (S).
Such people should better not read this book.
I pray to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala to make this book a light for the guidance of the Muslim ummah in these dark days.
Bihaqqi Muhammadin wa ‘alihi ‘t-tahireen.
Dar es Salaam
24th September, 1993
Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi
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Author: Allamah Sayyid Sa'eed Akhtar Rizvi
