Introduction

Islam is the divine faith, provided by Allah (swt) it is a means via which we submit to the will of our Creator (swt). This Deen was conveyed through 124,000 Prophets, some who were sent to a location, town or people. Each Prophet brought certain aspects of the Deen, starting with Adam (as) and it was completed with the Prophethood of Muhammad (s). 

With Islam now complete was mankind in a position to guide itself on matters? Or was a structure in place to ensure that the true teachings of Islam were correctly conveyed to the masses? Some system of guidance was required and it has been referred to as Imamate – guiding the Ummah after the Prophet (s). What was the methodology for appointing the Imam? From a theological perspective it has been shaped by two schools of thought: 

One school believed that Rasulullah (s) neither left a successor, nor system of succession, Imamate was a man made concept and hence the Ummah developed it over time. Imamate therefore is a social experiment developed as history has developed which established four methods of appointment: 

1.       via a gathering of a few influential individuals (Abu Bakr’s Khilafath) 

2.     Via the appointment of an outgoing khalifa (Abu Bakr’s appointment of Umar and all Banu Ummayya / Abbaside appointments) 

3.     Via a Shura (a committee used to appoint Uthman) 

4.     Via force (seizing power)

This concept developed through time, but essentially suggested that man was best placed to shape his destiny and had the the mandate to appoint an Imam. 

The second school deemed Imamate as a matter so important that Allah (swt) and his Rasul (s) would never have remained silent on this matter, rather He (swt) would ensure that a process of guidance remained to ensure that man would not get lead astray through an incorrect understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Accordingly Rasulullah (s) made sure that a system of guidance was in place when during the farewell pilgrimage at mount Arafat he said: 

يا أيها الناس ! إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا ؛ كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي

“O people! I am leaving among you what if you follow them, you will never go astray; the book of Allah and my Etra my Ahlulbayt’
Declared ‘Sahih’ by Imam Albaani in Silsila Sahiha, volume 4 page 355.

When Rasulullah (s) ordered the Ummah to follow the Qur’an and Ahl’ul bayt (as) then these two complimented one another and adherence to both was a source of guidance. When the instruction was to follow the Ahl’ul bayt (as) then it is common sense that Rasulullah (s) would appoint Imams from the Ahl’ul bayt (as). He (s) did just that when he (s) proceeded to Ghadir Khumm wherein he made his final sermon before the pilgrims, raising aloft the hand of ‘Ali (as), he addressed the Sahaba with these words: 

"Do I have more authority over you than you have over yourselves? To which the people said 'Yes'. He then said Of whomsoever I am Mawla Ali is his Mawla" 
Musnad, by Ahmad bin Hanbal Vol 3 p116 Sader Printing 1969

This was the transference of power, Rasulullah (s) making clear that with the door of Prophethood closed, the provision of Divine Imamate would continue through the lineage of the Ahl’ul bayt (as) thus ensuring that the Ummah would never go astray. 

These two positions are what essentially divide the Ummah along the Sectarian divide, man made imamate (Sunni school) against divine Imamate (Shi’a school). 

Whist historically the two schools have been at variance with one another, the physical power and influence of the man made system (by virtue of their being in power) resulted in the Imams of the Ahl’ul bayt (as) and their supporters being deemed the political enemy. The result was oppression of this school and false propaganda about their beliefs propagated, and cascaded through successive generations via inflammatory speeches and writings. Alhamdolillah the lovers of the Ahl’ul bayt Imams (as) have always been able to counter such false comments. With the assault on Islam coinciding with the increased usage of the World Wide Web, one would have hoped that this was the opportunity to counter the misconceptions of Islam and provide constructive Dawah to a non Muslim audience. Essentially this was the perfect opportunity for both Sects to put their differences aside and confront the enemies of Islam through effective dialogue. Unfortunately, rather than utilise this opportunity certain groups have preferred to dedicate their time and efforts against the Shi’a with the objective of creating an atmosphere of sectarian hate and violence. These mercenary writers deem producing material based on misrepresenting and mocking the Shi’a faith to be far more important than countering the attacks on Islam as a whole. Those writers whose efforts in this cause are most notable are as follows: 

The Qur’an and Imamah by Abu Muhammad al-Afriqi
 http://www.ansar.org/english/imamah.htm - (Cached)

Isna-e-Ashariyya and the Doctrine of Imamate by Maulana Manzoor Ahmed Numani 
 http://www.kr-hcy.com/statichtml/files/10415627986355.shtml - (Cached)
A website by an anti-Shia terrorist outfit of Pakistan; Sipah-e-Sahabah, who have translated a booklet by one of the pioneer Deobandi scholars Maulana Manzoor Ahmed Numani. 

Shi’ism Exposed by Majlisul Ulama (PE) 
 http://www.alinaam.org.za/library/shia.htm - (Cached)
Madrasah In'aamiyyah, Camperdown. South Africa.

What the Shi'ites say about their 12 Imams? 
 http://islamicweb.com/beliefs/cults/shia_imams.htm - (Cached)

‘Khutbaat e Jail’ (Sermons from Jail) a book written by one of the filthiest Nasibies the earth have ever endured, the diseased leader of Sipah-e-Sahabah, Maulana Azam Tariq (la). He wrote this book whilst in prison.

There is another very popular website on the internet operated by bunch of filthy idiots (who also happen to be the followers of Deoband school) which we just want to point out here, whilst we shall not be quoting their comments during the course of our article as they have more or less advanced similar lame objections against the Shi’a that can be found in the above booklets
 http://www.jamiat.org.za/isinfo/thisshia.html - (Cached)

(An Important Note for Deobandies: Wherever we write ‘Deobandies’ they do not include learned Deobandies rather only those anti-shia fanatics who have abandoned all asptects of morality and decency in their extremism and are ignorant about their own Deobandi beliefs being injected with noxious virus called Wahabism/Salafism) 

The casual observer with little / no knowledge of the Shi’a faith will readily accept the material that we are addressing as fact and quickly arrive at a conclusion that the Shi’a are non Muslim. These type of articles act as an insurance policy, they present alleged facts to the confused Sunni to create resentment, and portray Shi’a Islam in such a negative manner that a potential inquirer will stay aloof from anything connected with the term Shi’a.

Since these articles are deemed models of best practice with which to mock the Shi’a and are regularly pasted on chat pages, we felt that it was essential that we address all of them. Alhamdolillah we have sought to redress the balance by clarifying all of the comments, quotes and misquotes [of texts] cited in these articles. Inshallah the article shall provide those with an open mind the opportunity to understand and recognise that the Shi’a view on Imamate is valid and conforms to the dictates of the Qur’an and Sunnah. 

May Allah (swt) accept our intention, and bless Prophet Muhammad and his purified family.