The Shi’ah are those who ally themselves to the family of the Prophet ﷺ (Ahl al-Bayt), and their beliefs depart from the way of the Companions in the caliphate, in their stance toward the Companions themselves, and in what they ascribe to their imams.
This page is drawn from Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan’s A Glimpse at the Deviated Sects, which gives the chapter’s account of their name, their claim, and their branches, and from The Beliefs of the Rafidah & the Shia, extracts from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah’s Minhaj as-Sunnah, which answers their beliefs one by one.
The Name and Its Root
The word Shi’ah comes from following and aiding. Allah said of Ibrahim (peace be upon him):
“And verily, among those who followed his (Nuh’s) way was Ibraaheem.”
(Surah as-Saaffaat 37:83)
Shaykh al-Fawzan explains the verse, and how the word came to be applied to this sect:
“Meaning Ibraaheem (alaihis-salaam) and all those who aided his deen followed Nuh (alaihis-salaam).
So the root of tashayyu’ is following and aiding but it became applicable to this sect since they claim to follow Ahl-ul-Bait who are ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (radiyallaahu anhu) and his offspring.”
The name came to be applied to this sect because they claim to follow the family of the Prophet ﷺ (Ahl al-Bayt), meaning Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and his offspring.
The Claim to the Caliphate
They claim that Ali was the rightful heir to the caliphate, and that Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) oppressed him and took the caliphate from him. But they have lied in this matter: Ali and the Companions were united upon giving the pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them).
Shaykh al-Fawzan states what their claim means:
“The meaning of their claim is that treachery was committed with Ali (radiyallaahu anhu).”
Yet their claim turns against the very Household they profess to follow. Ibn Taymiyyah says:
“The Rafidah oppose Ali (radiyallaahu anhu) and the Imams of the Ahl-ul-Bayt in all the principles of the Ahl-ul-Bayt which the Rafidah separated in from the Ahl ul Sunnah wal Jammah.”
And he says of their attaching themselves to al-Husayn’s offspring:
“From the tribulations which the offspring of al-Hussain have been trialed with is the Rafidah ascribing themselves to his offspring.”
Their Stance Toward the Companions
From this claim, the Shi’ah went on to declare all of the Companions disbelievers except a few. They curse Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) and nicknamed them ‘the idols of Quraish.’ Cursing and declaring the best generation of this community to be disbelievers is one of the clearest marks of their deviation.
Ibn Taymiyyah gives the number of those they exempt:
“They freed themselves from all of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) except for a small number of them, just over ten of them.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen describes how this stance works, in his Commentary on Al-‘Aqidah Al-Wasitiyyah:
“The Rawafid attack the Companions both with their hearts and their tongues. With their hearts, they hate and abhore the Companions, except those whom they chose as a means to achieve their ideas, and about whom they exaggerate, and those are the members of the Household.”
The Imams and the Extremes
Ibn Taymiyyah sums up where their extremism regarding the imams reached:
“They took their Imams as lords besides Allah.”
They also go to extremes regarding the imams of the Prophet’s family, giving them the right to legislate and to abrogate rulings, which belongs to Allah and His Messenger alone. They claim that parts of the Qur’an have been deleted, so that the Qur’an in the hands of the Muslims is deficient.
Ibn Taymiyyah says of what they have done to the Qur’an:
“They have distorted and misconstrued the Qur’aan in a manner which no one has distorted and misconstrued the like of them.”
Their extremism reached the point where their imams were treated as lords besides Allah: tombs were built over their graves, circumambulation (tawaf) was made around them, animals were sacrificed for them, and vows were made to them. These are acts of worship, and directing any of them to other than Allah is shirk.
Ibn Taymiyyah names a book written for this grave worship:
“Their Shaykh Ibn Nu’man authored a book called ‘Rituals of visiting Shrines’. He said that the graves of the created beings are to be made pilgrimage of, just as Hajj is made of the Ka’ba.”
The Household themselves are innocent of this exaggeration: Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen explains that they declare their innocence from whoever exaggerates about them so as to raise them to the status of divinity, as ‘Abdullah bin Saba’ did in the case of Ali ibn Abi Talib, when he said to him: “You are Allah.”
Taqiyyah
Among their beliefs is at-Tuqqeeya [dissimulation: saying with the tongue what opposes what is in the heart]. Ibn Taymiyyah reports their own words:
“They say: ‘our religion is at-Tuqqeeya!!’ Which is for one of them to say with his tongue that which opposes it in his heart, this is lying and hypocrisy.”
The Branches and the Splitting
The Shi’ah split into many sects and parties, some extreme and some milder in their deviation. Among them are the Zaydiyyah, the Ithna ‘Ashariyah Raafidah [the Twelver Rafidah], the Isma’iliyyah, the Fatimiyyah, and the Qaramitah, and many others. This splitting is the constant state of those who leave the truth: they never stop differing and dividing, while the people of the truth are united upon the Book and the Sunnah. Allah said:
“So if they believe as you believe, then they are rightly guided, but if they turn away, then they are only in opposition. So Allah will suffice you against them. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.”
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:137)
Whoever abandons the truth is tried with falsehood, deviation, and splitting, and its end is loss. Refuge is sought with Allah.
Key Lessons
The name Shi’ah means following and aiding, but the sect that took the name opposed the Companions and the very Household they claim to follow. Their marks are the caliphate claim, the cursing of the Companions, the extremes toward their imams and their graves, and taqiyyah; and their end is splitting, which always follows leaving the truth.
Shaykh al-Fawzan closes the chapter with the lesson:
“So whoever abandons the truth is put to test with falsehood, deviation and splitting which results only in loss, and refuge is sought from Allah.”
References
- A Glimpse at the Deviated Sects, Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, Salafi Publications, translated by Abu Naasir Abid bin Basheer, chapter “The Shi’ah” (printed folios 15-16).
- The Beliefs of the Rafidah & the Shia, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: extracts from Minhaj as-Sunnah in question-and-answer format, translated by Abbas Abu Yahya, Miraah Publications. The copy used carries no edition statement.
- Commentary on Al-‘Aqidah Al-Wasitiyyah, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, Dar-us-Salam, Vol. 2, for the Companions passage (printed p. 409) and the Household passage (printed p. 401).
The books cited print “Allaah”; inside quotations on this page the name is spelled Allah, by the site’s rule.
Further Reading
- What Is the Difference Between Sunni and Shia?: the Rafidah’s stance set beside the way of Ahlus Sunnah, point by point
- Some of the Deviated Sects in Islam: the Shi’ah set among the other deviated sects, surveyed in brief
- Khawarij: the sect that split off over the caliphate and declared the Companions disbelievers from the other side
- The Saved Sect (Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jama’ah): who the saved sect is, and the marks by which it is known
- Aisha: Her Excellence and the Refutation of Slander: the slander against the Prophet’s wife answered in full
Verified on 2026-10-26 against: A Glimpse at the Deviated Sects (Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan), The Beliefs of the Rafidah & the Shia, from Minhaj as-Sunnah (Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah), and Commentary on Al-‘Aqidah Al-Wasitiyyah, Vol. 2 (Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen).