there is No Association between the Shī‘ism and the Ghulāt-4

Muhammad al-Ghazzālī, the Sunnī imām, who has extensively tried to correct the Wahhābīs’ method of studying the Shī‘ism, has authoritatively defied those Sunnīs who have followed the Wahhābīs and has taken pains to offer a solution to those who are caught up in the trouble of mingling the Shī‘ism with the Extremism. He says, “Some liars who have mingled the Shī‘ism and the Ghulāt, have spread the rumor that the Shī‘ahs are ‘Alī’s (‘a) followers, whereas the Sunnīs are Muhammad’s (s), and that the Shī‘ahs consider ‘Alī (‘a) more meritorious for the rank of Prophethood, and that Prophethood was erroneously conferred on someone else. These are very hideous accusations and very mean lies that correspond with the Ghulāt (belief) only.”[1]

Al-Ghazzālī has also said, “Some of these (people) have falsely accused the Shī‘ahs of maintaining that certain verses of the Qur’an have been deleted.”[2]

Some Sunnī thinkers maintain that the Wahhābīs go to extremes when they investigate the Shī‘ah school of thought. They mingle Shī‘ism and the Ghulāt, and thus deviate from the right path. This is a fact testified to by Muhammad Bihī, an Egyptian scholar, who says, “The Wahhābīs have widened the gap between the Sunnīsm and Shī‘ism. This has intensified the ideological breach between the Sunnīsm and Shī‘ism from the 18^th century onwards, yielding an ever-increasing discord, all because of the negative effect of the Wahhābī conception.”[3]

‘Abd al-Halīm Jundī, another Sunnī scholar, says, “The Shī‘ahs were attributed with what is the Ghulāt’s design; this has left an unfavorable impression on how other people perceive the Shī‘ism. They have also attributed the Shī‘ahs with things that they themselves hate, such as the deification of the Imām. This is the Extremism, ending in blasphemy.”[4]

Dr. Tāhā Husayn says, “The Shī‘ah’s enemies ascribe to them anything, never restricting it to what they (themselves) have heard or seen of the Shī‘ah, but multiplying it still further. They do not stop even at this point, but put the blame for the strange beliefs on the helpers of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) of the Prophet (s). These accusers are similar to bandits in ambush; they make an excessively critical study of the Shī‘ahs every single word and deed, attributing to Shī‘ah much more than what the Shī‘ahs have (actually) said or done, blaming the Shī‘ahs for strange beliefs and actions.”[5]

Mention was previously made of Dr. ‘Alī ‘Abd al-Wāhid Wāfī, a Sunnī thinker, who in his Bayn al-Shī‘ah wa Ahl al-Sunnah has dealt with the discord caused by the Wahhābīs. Refuting the Wahhābīs for a baseless commotion they have caused between the Sunnīs and Shī‘ahs, he says in his book, “However extensive the mutual disagreement might seem, it will not exceed the religiously permitted ijtihād.”[6]

The Sunnī research worker, Fahmī Huwaydī, another one of those who have realized that the Wahhābī’s insistence on excommunicating the Shī‘ahs stems from the concept of identifying the Shī‘ism with the Extremism, saying, “Excommunicating the Shī‘ahs is one of the Wahhābīs’ chief projects.”[7]

All these scholars maintain that the Wahhābīs have ended up erroneously confusing the Shī‘ism and Extremism. Some Sunnī thinkers even believe that the image the Wahhābīs present of Shī‘ism seriously contrasts with the realities of this school of thought, and is in complete harmony with the extremists’ belief, a point Sālim Bihansāwī has raised in his works. In his book,[8] he has done a thorough survey on the necessity to correct the Wahhābīs’ method of research into the Shī‘ism, and has clearly shown that they have parted with the Sunnī’s method of investigation. In answer to an accusation laid against the Shī‘ahs that Shī‘ahs have a different Qu’ran, he reacts vehemently saying, “The Shī‘ahs have, in their mosques and homes, the Qur’an that is exactly the same as the Sunnīs’.”

Some other Sunnī thinkers, such as Anwar Jundī, the Egyptian scholar whom we have cited, hold that the Wahhābīs’ conception of the Shī‘ahs comes from the writings of the extremists, even of the Jews, Christians, the Magi and Orientalists; and this naturally yields nothing but identifying the Shī‘ism with the Ghulāt.

Hasan al-Bannā, the leader of the Egypt’s Islamic movement, is one of the most ardent scholars who have tried to amend the Wahhābī’s method of studying the Shī‘ism. He has severely opposed the theoreticians who combine the Shī‘ism with the Ghulāt, and is shocked at the Wahhābī blunders in spite of the abundant Shī‘ah treasure that has filled libraries the world over.[9] (This is a statement Professor ‘Umar Talmisānī, the al-Bannā’s pupil, quotes from his master in his book.)

‘Abbās Mahmūd ‘Aqqād, a distinguished Sunnī author, had also perceived the deviation. Anīs Mansūr, the famous Egyptian writer, quotes him as having said, “Were I permitted to live longer, I would do a logical research on the Shī‘ism, because the nonsense wrongly attributed to the Shī‘ism has shown most people a crooked visage of the Shī‘ism.” However, his life did not last.[10]