Research Addressing Misconceptions
Our Beliefs
Fundamentals of Religion (Basics of Faith)
Unification: -
We believe that He, exalted be He, is One and has no equal; He has no peer in knowledge and power, no partner in creation and provision, and no rival in any perfection. It is not permissible to worship anyone other than Him in any way, nor is it permissible to associate anyone with Him in worship; and whoever associates anyone else with Him in worship is a polytheist.
Justice: -
We believe that He, exalted be He, is just and not unjust; He does not act unjustly in His judgment and decree. He rewards the obedient, and it is His right to punish the disobedient. He does not burden His servants with more than they can bear, nor does He punish them beyond what they deserve. We believe that He, exalted be He, does not neglect what is good, nor does He do what is evil, for He, exalted be He, is capable of doing what is good and refraining from what is evil.
The Prophecy: -
We believe that it is a divine mission and a heavenly calling, which God, the Exalted, bestows upon those of His righteous servants whom He chooses and selects, sending them to all people for the purpose of guiding them toward what is beneficial and in their best interest in this world and the Hereafter, to purify and refine them from the scourge of moral vices and corrupt customs, to teach them wisdom and knowledge, and to explain the paths to happiness and goodness; so that humanity may attain the perfection befitting it, and thus rise to its highest ranks in this world and the Hereafter. We believe that the bearer of the Islamic message is Muhammad ibn Abdullah, who is the Seal of the Prophets and the Master of the Messengers, and the best of them all. He is also the Master of all mankind; no virtuous person equals him in virtue, no one approaches him in nobility, and no rational person comes close to him in intellect, and indeed, he is of noble character.
Imamate: -
We believe that faith is not complete without belief in the Imamate, just as we believe that it is, like Prophethood, a grace from God Almighty. Therefore, there must be in every age a guiding Imam who succeeds the Prophet in his duties of guiding humanity and directing them toward what brings them well-being and happiness in both worlds, and he possesses the same general authority over people as the Prophet did to manage their affairs and interests, establish justice among them, and remove oppression and aggression from among them. Thus, the Imamate is a continuation of Prophethood. Therefore, we say: The Imamate can only be established by a text from God Almighty through the words of the Prophet or the words of the Imam who preceded him; it is not a matter of choice or election by the people. They do not have the right to appoint whomever they wish, nor to designate an Imam for themselves whenever they please. nor can they, whenever they wish, abandon the appointment of an Imam and leave the matter, such that it would be permissible for them to remain without an Imam. Rather, “Whoever dies without knowing the Imam of his time dies the death of ignorance,” as has been authentically established from the Great Messenger through extensive hadith. We believe that the Imams who possess the true qualities of imamate are our authorities in matters of Islamic jurisprudence. Those designated as Imams are twelve in number; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) designated them by name, and each of the earlier ones designated his successor.
The following: -
We believe that Allah, the Exalted, will resurrect people after death into a new creation on the Day He has promised His servants, rewarding the obedient with Paradise and its bliss, and punishing the disobedient with the Fire and its torment, This is a matter upon which the divine scriptures and philosophers have agreed, and there is no escape for a Muslim from acknowledging it as a Qur’anic doctrine brought by our noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Branches of Religion
These are the provisions of Islamic law pertaining to the actions of the accountable individual, namely:
1. Prayer:
Every adult Muslim of sound mind must perform the daily prayers, the prayers prescribed for specific occasions, the obligatory Tawaf prayer, the funeral prayer, the Eid prayers when their conditions are met, and any prayers a person has committed to performing through a vow, a pledge, an oath, or by acting on behalf of another, as well as the prayers that must be performed on behalf of the deceased for those that the deceased missed during his lifetime.
2. Fasting:
Every adult Muslim who is of sound mind, present (not traveling), and able to fast without harm—since the fast of a sick person is not valid—must fast during the blessed month of Ramadan. If the fasting person is a woman, she must be free from menstruation and postpartum bleeding throughout the entire day.
3. Zakat:
Every adult Muslim who is of sound mind, free, and not enslaved must pay zakat on the four types of crops, the three types of livestock, and cash assets if they reach the legal threshold.
4. One-fifth:
Every adult Muslim of sound mind must pay the khums on seven categories of property, allocating half of it as the Imam’s share and the other half as the scholars’ share.
5. Hajj:
Every adult Muslim who is of sound mind, free, not enslaved, and legally capable must perform the Hajj to the Sacred House of God once in a lifetime.
6. Jihad:
Every adult, sane Muslim man is obligated to wage jihad against the disbelievers and defend Islam as a collective obligation—meaning that if some fulfill it, the obligation is lifted from others—subject to the conditions outlined by the scholars in their practical treatises.
7. Enjoining what is right:
Every adult Muslim of sound mind is obligated to enjoin what is right as a collective duty, subject to the conditions outlined by scholars in their practical treatises.
8. Forbidding evil:
Every adult Muslim of sound mind is obligated to forbid evil as a collective duty, subject to the conditions outlined by scholars in their practical treatises.
9. Loyalty to the Prophet and his Household (peace be upon them):
Every adult Muslim of sound mind must love the Prophet and his family (peace be upon them) and show them loyalty.
10. Disavowing the enemies of the Prophet and his Household (peace be upon them):
Every adult Muslim of sound mind must disavow the enemies of the Prophet and his Household (peace be upon them) and harbor hatred toward them.
The Characteristics of a Believer and the Pillars of Faith
| Al-Kafi – Sheikh al-Kulayni – Vol. 2 – p. 47 |
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(Chapter) * ([Characteristics of the Believer])
1 – Muhammad ibn Yahya,fromAhmad ibn Isa,fromal-Hasan ibn Mahbub, from Jamil ibn Salih, fromAbd al-Malik ibn Ghalib,from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), who said: “A believer should possess eight qualities: Dignity in the face of mockery (1), patience in the face of adversity, gratitude in times of prosperity, contentment with what Allah has provided, not wronging enemies nor being harsh toward friends; his body is weary yet people find comfort in him. Knowledge is the believer’s companion, forbearance his minister, reason the commander of his troops, gentleness his brother, and righteousness his father.
2 –Ali ibn Ibrahim,from his father, from al-Nufali, from al-Sukuni, from Abu Abdullah, from his father (peace be upon them both), said:The Commander of the Faithful (may Allah’s prayers be upon him) said: “Faith has four pillars: placing one’s trust in Allah, entrusting matters to Allah, being content with Allah’s decree, and submitting to the command of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.”
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