Who is the real follower of the Prophet P.B.U.H

We have known from the previous discussions that the Twelver Shia are the true followers of the Prophetic Sunna. This is a clear fact free from any doubt for whoever studies the teachings of Islam in all its beliefs, rulings, and historical stages.

However, their enemies from “the Sunni”, whose origin and goals we have known in the previous studies, defame the Shia, criticize their beliefs and deeds, evoke suspicions against them, doubt their religion, and sometimes fabricate false stories to defame and cause them troubles, and make others detest and despise them.

One of these fabrications is the claim that (the Shia believe that) Gabriel has betrayed the Trust and delivered the Mission to Muhammad instead of Ali. The second one is the unreal story of Abdullah ibn Saba’ the Jewish as the founder of Shiism. A third one is that the Shia have a special Qur'an called “Musshaf Fatima” other than the Qur'an available among all Muslims, or that the Shia prepare a horse every night at the door of the vault in Samarra’ (in Iraq) waiting for al-Mahdi to ride that horse. They also claim that the Shia worship the graves and consider the imams as gods, and they prostrate for stones. The worse of it is their claim that the Shia permit adultery and that they (more than one) sleep with the same woman in the same night. They fabricate many other lies against the Shia with no any bit of reality or evidence.

Anyhow, there are some objections that the Sunni put forth in our present time and make them as obstacles in the way of scientific researching, and then block the way to arrive at the

sought truth. Such people, when showing such spurious arguments, which we shall discuss later on, have never read them in books or heard them from traditionists, but they swear that they have seen them with their own eyes and attended them themselves. Therefore, this matter is too dangerous and serious and it may have a negative effect on the scholars and researchers who seek the pure truth.

As we have accustomed readers to the seeking of the truth and being neutral with no any fanaticism to any creed or sect, following the Prophetic tradition that says, “Say the truth even if it is against yourself”, and because that Allah the Almighty does not feel shy of the truth, so we must have a clear situation in this concern to say to the good doers of the Shia that they have done well and to the wrong doers of them that they have done wrong and sinned. We do not fear, in that, the blaming of any blamers, for we just seek the contentment of Allah the Almighty.

We must distinguish the fundamentals of Islam and that which is really in the Sharia from traditionals, habits, and personal conclusions. And as we have been frank and daring in criticizing some companions of the Prophet (a.s.) for the violations they had committed, we also have to criticize some Shia and not to keep silent before their violations. However, there is an important difference here. What the companions changed and invented became parts of the religion, which changed the rulings of Allah and His messenger, but what some of the Shia changed or invented did not change any divine rulings, nor did any one of them say it was obligatory; nevertheless, we must criticize it.

I shall discuss the most important points raised about these new invented things (heresies) through which some others criticize and try to falsify Shiism and ascribe to it different kinds of defects. Dear reader, you yourself may suffer them and not find a satisfying answer by which you face an opponent or convince yourself.

These new things, in fact, are heresies fabricated against Shiism and Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) who always refused and refuted every heresy whatever it was and whatever adorned and called “a good heresy”. They, peace be on them, often and always declared that they did not say or do except according to the sayings and doings of their grandfather the messenger of Allah (a.s.). Thus, every thing that came out after the infallible imams (a.s.) are heresies that harm and not benefit, alienate and not attract, complicate and not make it easy, where the learned youth find in them a defect in Shiism and may find it very difficult to justify or refute them.

We mention here, for example, some of those heresies, which the Sunni criticize the Shia for: the exaggeration in the rituals of consolation in Asura where some people beat themselves with chains, daggers, and knives until they bleed, the disorder in offering the prayer and the indifference to other praying people, smoking in mosques and places of prayer, neglecting the Friday Prayer, and some other things that we shall mention later on which prevent many people from getting to the truth.