The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Shi’ite Islam S 419

derives from the Arabic phrase, Shi’at ’Ali, “the party of Ali.” It refers to those who support the claim that Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of the prophet M UHAMMAD , and his descendants are the rightful rulers of the Islamic community. A large majority of Muslims reject Shi’ite claims and prac tice S UNNI I SLAM . Sunni and Shi’ite Islam differ somewhat with regard to beliefs and practices, but the major difference concerns who is the rightful ruler of the Islamic community. The dispute goes back to the time of the prophet’s death. HISTORY During his lifetime, the prophet Muhammad led the community of Islam both religiously and politi cally. He was the ultimate religious authority. He also supervised the life of the community and led its armies against its enemies. When the prophet died, the question of who should succeed him remained unsettled. According to Sunni Islam, Muhammad died without appoint ing a successor. The community entrusted its political affairs to a political leader, and it allowed scholars to decide religious issues. By contrast, Shi’ite Islam maintains that a single person was to exercise both religious and political leadership, as the prophet had done. Indeed, Shi’ites claim that before the prophet died, he appointed such a leader, his cousin Ali. Ali’s connections to the prophet were partic ularly close. He was the son of Abu Talib, who had raised Muhammad and protected him from his enemies within the Quraysh tribe. He was also the prophet’s son-in-law, the husband of Muham mad’s daughter Fatima. He was the father of the prophet’s only grandsons, Hasan and Husayn. And he was the first male who accepted God’s revela tions to Muhammad. When the prophet died, Ali did not succeed him. The community selected three successive leaders known as caliphs: Abu Bakr (caliph, 632– 634), Umar (caliph, 634–644), and Uthman (caliph, 644–656). These caliphs were social, political, and military leaders, but not religious ones. Shi’ites do not acknowledge them as legitimate. Ali did rule as fourth caliph from 656 to 661, but there was much

known as Shariah. It is distinct from f iqh, human attempts to formulate God’s law. God has revealed Shariah through two sources, the Q UR ’ AN , God’s revelations to the Prophet M UHAMMAD , and the H ADITH , reports about what the Prophet said and did that have been carefully scrutinized to ensure their accuracy. According to these sources there are some actions that God requires human beings to perform and some that God absolutely forbids. Other actions fall some where in between, as being either preferable to do, preferable to avoid, or neutral. Although the Qur’an and Hadith contain Sha riah, human beings must interpret them. In S HI ’ ITE I SLAM the proper interpretation is associated espe cially with the descendants of the Prophet, the Shi’ite I MAM s, and in practice today with religious authorities known as A YATOLLAH s. In S UNNI I SLAM interpretation is the job of legal scholars or jurists. These jurists endeavor to determine precisely what the texts mean. They also reason from analogy, in part because situations arise today that could not have been anticipated in Arabia at the time of God’s final revelation. An individual jurist may issue a fatwa, a statement of what the law requires. Such a legal opinion is instructive, but it is not binding. More binding is the unanimous consensus of jurists. A verse in the Qur’an says that the com munity of the faithful will never agree on error. Ideally, Shariah constitutes the law of a Muslim state. In practice, most Muslim states have used Sha riah in some areas, such as personal law, and made their own laws in other areas, such as criminal law. In recent decades Muslim feminists have argued that many traditional rules that disadvantaged women are not Shariah but improper interpretations on the part of past legal scholars ( see FEMINISM ). Fundamen talist Muslims take a different position. They con demn the secularism that they see around them as an abandonment of God’s revelation and advocate the application of Shariah in most or all spheres of life ( see FUNDAMENTALISM , I SLAMIC ).

Shi’ite Islam A variety of I SLAM practiced by about 15 percent of all Muslims. The name “Shi’ite”