Portal:Shia Islam
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Shia Islam
Shia Islam (/ˈʃiːə/) is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661 CE) as his successor (khalīfa) and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a result of the choice made by some of Muhammad's other companions (ṣaḥāba) at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunnī Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abū Bakr, who was appointed caliph by a group of Muhammad's other companions at Saqifah, to be the first rightful (rāshidūn) caliph after Muhammad (632–634 CE). Adherents of Shīʿa Islam are called Shia Muslims.
Shīʿa Islam is based on a ḥadīth report concerning Muhammad's pronouncement at Ghadir Khumm. Shīʿa Muslims believe that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, should have been the designated successor to Muhammad as Islam's spiritual and political leader. This belief later developed into the concept of Imamah, the idea that certain descendants of Muhammad, the Ahl al-Bayt, are rightful rulers or Imams through the bloodline of ʿAlī and his firstborn son Ḥasan, whom Shīʿa Muslims believe possess special spiritual and political authority over the Muslim community. Later events such as Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī's martyrdom in the Battle of Karbala (680 CE) further influenced the development of Shīʿa Islam, contributing to the formation of a distinct religious sect with its own rituals and shared collective memory.
Shīʿa Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam, followed by 10–15% of all Muslims. Although there are many Shīʿa subsects in the Muslim world, Twelver Shīʿīsm is by far the largest and most influential, comprising about 85% of all Shīʿa Muslims. Others include the Ismāʿīlī, Zaydī, and Alevi. Shīʿa Muslims form a majority of the population in four countries across the Muslim world: Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain. Significant Shīʿite communities are also found in Lebanon, Kuwait, Turkey, Yemen, and the Indian subcontinent. Iran, a theocratic Islamic republic governed by a framework established by Ayatollah Khomeini known as the "Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist", stands as the only country where Shīʿa Islam forms the foundation of both its laws and governance system. (Full article...)
Selected pictures
- Image 1Example of mirror writing in Islamic calligraphy. 18th-century Ottoman levha, or calligraphic panel, which depicts the Shi'i phrase 'Ali is the vicegerent of God' (Arabic: علي ولي الله) in obverse and reverse, creating an exact mirror image. The calligrapher has used the central vertical fold in the thick cream-colored paper to help trace the exact calligraphic duplication prior to mounting it onto a cardboard and pasting rectangular pink frames along its borders
Author: Mahmoud Ibrahim
- Image 2Two leaves of an early Quranic manuscript in the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts of the University of Birmingham's Cadbury Research Library were discovered in 2015 as being dated between 568 and 645, making it one of the oldest Quran manuscripts to have survived.
- Image 4Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque (Persian: مسجد شیخ لطف الله) is one of the architectural masterpieces of Safavid Iranian architecture, standing on the eastern side of Naghsh-i Jahan Square, Isfahan, Iran
Photograph: مانفی
- Image 5The rest place and mausoleum of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Imam of Shia, in the city of Karbala, Iraq. Imam Husayn, who was a grandson of Muhammad, was buried near the place where he was martyred during the Battle of Karbala in 680 C.E.
Photograph: Amir Hesaminejad
- Image 7The Nasir ol Molk Mosque, also known as the Pink Mosque, is a traditional mosque in Shiraz, Iran. It is located at the district of Gowad-e-Arabān, near Shāh Chérāgh Mosque
Photograph: Ayyoubsabawiki
- Image 8A calligraphy of prophet Muhammad's hadith regarding helping the poor
Author: Ali Ra'if Efendi
- Image 9A Tazieh scene which is a kind of Passion Play on the tragic fate of Husayn ibn Ali in Battle of Karbala
Photograph: Payam Moein
- Image 10Ali ibn Abi Talib, first Shia Imam, was assassinated by a Kharijite called Ibn Muljam on 26 January 661 at the Great Mosque of Kufa, in present-day Iraq
Photograph: Yousef Abdinejad
Chosen holy figures
- Image 1
Hasan ibn Ali (Arabic: الْحَسَنِ بْن عَلِيّ, romanized: al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; c. 625 – April 670) was an Alid political and religious leader. The eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Hasan briefly ruled as caliph from January 661 until August 661. He is considered as the second Imam in Shia Islam, succeeding Ali and preceding his brother Husayn. As a grandson of the prophet, he is part of the family of Ali ibn Abi Talib (Full article...) - Image 2
Husayn ibn Ali (Arabic: الحسين بن علي, romanized: al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680) was an Alid political and religious leader. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter Fatima, as well as a younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali, Husayn is regarded as the third Imam (leader) in Shia Islam after his brother, Hasan, and before his son, Ali al-Sajjad. Being the grandson of the prophet, he is the member of the Ahl al-Bayt. He is also considered to be a member of the Ahl al-Kisa, and a participant in the event of the mubahala. Muhammad described him and his brother, Hasan, as the leaders of the youth of Paradise.
During the caliphate of Ali, Husayn accompanied him in wars. After the assassination of Ali, he obeyed his brother in recognizing the Hasan–Mu'awiya treaty, despite it being suggested to do otherwise. In the nine-year period between Hasan's abdication in AH 41 (660 CE) and his death in AH 49 or 50 (669 or 670 CE), Hasan and Husayn retreated to Medina, trying to keep aloof from political involvement for or against Mu'awiya. After the death of Hasan, when Iraqis turned to Husayn, concerning an uprising, Husayn instructed them to wait as long as Mu'awiya was alive due to Hasan's peace treaty with him. Prior to his death, Mu'awiya appointed his son Yazid as his successor, contrary to the Hasan–Mu'awiya treaty. When Mu'awiya died in 680, Yazid demanded that Husayn pledge allegiance to him. Husayn refused to do so. As a consequence, he left Medina, his hometown, to take refuge in Mecca in AH 60 (679 CE). There, the people of Kufa sent letters to him, invited him to Kufa and asked him to be their Imam and pledged their allegiance to him. On Husayn's way to Kufa with a retinue of about 72 men, his caravan was intercepted by a 1,000-strong army of the caliph at some distance from Kufa. He was forced to head north and encamp in the plain of Karbala on 2 October, where a larger Umayyad army of some 4,000 or 30,000 arrived soon afterwards. Negotiations failed after the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad refused Husayn safe passage without submitting to his authority, a condition declined by Husayn. Battle ensued on 10 October during which Husayn was martyred along with most of his relatives and companions, while his surviving family members were taken prisoner. The battle was followed by the Second Fitna, during which the Iraqis organized two separate campaigns to avenge the martyrdom of Husayn; the first one by the Tawwabin and the other one by Mukhtar al-Thaqafi and his supporters. (Full article...) - Image 3
Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: عَلِيُّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب, romanized: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; c. 600–661) was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from 656 to 661, as well as the first Shia imam. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Fatima bint Asad, a young Ali was raised by his elder cousin Muhammad and was among the first to accept his teachings.
Ali played a pivotal role in the early years of Islam when Muslims were severely persecuted in Mecca. After immigration (hijra) to Medina in 622, Muhammad gave his daughter Fatima to Ali in marriage and swore a pact of brotherhood with him. Ali served as Muhammad's secretary and deputy in this period, and was the flag bearer of his army. Numerous sayings of Muhammad praise Ali, the most controversial of which was uttered in 632 at the Ghadir Khumm, "Whoever I am his mawla, this Ali is his mawla." The interpretation of the polysemous Arabic word mawla is disputed: For Shia Muslims, Muhammad thus invested Ali with his religious and political authority, while Sunni Muslims view this as a mere statement of friendship and rapport. When Muhammad died in the same year, a group of Muslims met in the absence of Ali and appointed Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) as their leader. Ali later relinquished his claims to leadership and resigned from public life during the reigns of Abu Bakr and his successor, Umar (r. 634–644). Even though his advice was occasionally sought, the conflicts between Ali and the first two caliphs are epitomized by his refusal to follow their practices. This refusal cost Ali the caliphate to the benefit of Uthman (r. 644–656), who was thus appointed to succeed Umar by the electoral council. Ali was also highly critical of Uthman, who was widely accused of nepotism and corruption. Yet Ali also repeatedly mediated between the caliph and the provincial dissidents angered by his policies. (Full article...) - Image 4
Fatima bint Muhammad (Arabic: فَاطِمَة بِنْت مُحَمَّد, romanized: Fāṭima bint Muḥammad; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (Arabic: فَاطِمَة ٱلزَّهْرَاء, romanized: Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun Caliphs and the first Shia Imam. Fatima's sons were Hasan and Husayn, the second and third Shia Imams, respectively. Fatima has been compared to Mary, mother of Jesus, especially in Shia Islam. Muhammad is said to have regarded her as the best of women and the dearest person to him. She is often viewed as an ultimate archetype for Muslim women and an example of compassion, generosity, and enduring suffering. It is through Fatima that Muhammad's family line has survived to this date. Her name and her epithets remain popular choices for Muslim girls.
When Muhammad died in 632, Fatima and her husband Ali refused to acknowledge the authority of the first caliph, Abu Bakr. The couple and their supporters held that Ali was the rightful successor of Muhammad, possibly referring to his announcement at the Ghadir Khumm. Controversy surrounds Fatima's death within six months of Muhammad's. Sunni Islam holds that Fatima died from grief. In Shia Islam, however, Fatima's (miscarriage and) death are said to have been the direct result of her injuries during a raid on her house to subdue Ali, ordered by Abu Bakr. It is believed that Fatima's dying wish was that the caliph should not attend her funeral. She was buried secretly at night and her exact burial place remains uncertain. (Full article...) - Image 5
Muhammad (/moʊˈhɑːməd/; Arabic: مُحَمَّد, romanized: Muḥammad [mʊˈħæm.mæd]; c. 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is believed to be the Seal of the Prophets within Islam, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis for Islamic religious belief.
Muhammad was born in approximately 570 CE in Mecca. He was the son of Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Amina bint Wahb. His father, Abdullah, the son of Quraysh tribal leader Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim, died around the time Muhammad was born. His mother Amina died when he was six, leaving Muhammad an orphan. He was raised under the care of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, and paternal uncle, Abu Talib. In later years, he would periodically seclude himself in a mountain cave named Hira for several nights of prayer. When he was 40, circa 610 CE, Muhammad reported being visited by Gabriel in the cave and receiving his first revelation from God. In 613, Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "submission" (islām) to God (Allah) is the right way of life (dīn), and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, similar to the other prophets in Islam. (Full article...)
Subcategories
Related portals
Selected articles
- Image 1Sahifah of al-Ridha (Arabic: صَّحِيفَة ٱلرِّضَا, Ṣaḥīfah ar-Riḍā, lit. "Pages of al-Ridha"), also known as Sahifat of al-Reza and Sahifat al-Imam al-Ridha ("Book of Imam al-Ridha"), is a collection of 240 hadiths attributed to Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, the eighth Shia Imam.
The Sahifah is one of the major sources of Shia belief and has attracted the attention of Shia scholars such as Ibn Babawayh and Sheikh Tabarsi. It contains hadiths on various topics including the invocation of Allah; the importance of praying five times a day and of saying the prayer for the dead; the excellence of the household of Muhammad, of the believer, of good manners, of the names Muhammad and Ahmad, of various foods, fruits, and ointments, of obeying parents, of strengthening the bonds of kinship, and of jihad; a warning against cheating, backbiting, or tattling; and other miscellaneous traditions. The section on Muhammad's household discusses each of its fourteen members separately. (Full article...) - Image 2Hezbollah (/ˌhɛzbəˈlɑː/, /ˌxɛz-/; Arabic: حزب الله, romanized: Ḥizbu 'llāh, lit. 'Party of Allah' or 'Party of God') is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led since 1992 by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. Its armed strength is assessed to be equivalent to that of a medium-sized army.
Hezbollah was established by Lebanese clerics primarily to fight the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. It adopted the model set out by Ayatollah Khomeini after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and the party's founders adopted the name "Hezbollah" as chosen by Khomeini. Since then, close ties have developed between Iran and Hezbollah. The organization was created with the support of 1,500 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructors, and aggregated a variety of Lebanese Shia groups into a unified organization to resist the former Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon. During the Lebanese Civil War, Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto listed its objectives as the expulsion of "the Americans, the French and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonialist entity on our land". From 1985 to 2000, Hezbollah also participated in the 1985–2000 South Lebanon conflict against the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and fought again with the IDF in the 2006 Lebanon War. During the 1990s, Hezbollah also organized volunteers to fight for the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War. (Full article...) - Image 3Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiah (Arabic: ٱلرِّسَالَة ٱلذَّهَبِيَّة, Arabic pronunciation: ['rɪsælætæ 'ðæhæ'biæ]; "The Golden Treatise") is a medical dissertation on health and remedies attributed to Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (765–818), the eighth Imam of Shia. He wrote this dissertation in accordance with the demand of Ma'mun, the caliph of the time. It is revered as the most precious Islamic literature in the science of medicine, and was entitled "the golden treatise" as Ma'mun had ordered it written in gold ink. The chain of narrators is said to reach Muhammad ibn Jumhoor or al-Hassan ibn Muhammad al-Nawfali who is described as "highly esteemed and trustworthy" by al-Najjashi.
The treatise of Ali al-Ridha includes scientific branches such as Anatomy, Physiology, Chemistry and Pathology when medical science was still primitive. According to the treatise, one's health is determined by four humors of blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm, the suitable proportion of which maintains the health. The liver plays an important role in producing and maintaining the required proportions in the body. Ali al-Ridha describes the body as a kingdom whose king is the heart while the (blood) vessels, the limbs, and the brain are the laborers. The issue of the authorship and the transmission of the text has been critically analysed in the studies by Speziale (2004) and Speziale - Giurini (2009). (Full article...) - Image 4The Twelve Imams (Arabic: ٱلْأَئِمَّة ٱلْٱثْنَا عَشَر, al-ʾAʾimmah al-ʾIthnā ʿAšar; Persian: دوازده امام, Davâzdah Emâm) are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver branch of Shia Islam, including that of the Alawite and Alevi.
According to Twelver theology, the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who not only rule over the community with justice, but also are able to keep and interpret sharia and the esoteric meaning of the Quran. The words and deeds of Muhammad and the imams are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin (known as ismah, or infallibility) and must be chosen by divine decree through Muhammad. (Full article...) - Image 5Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Rashidun caliph (r. 656–661) and the first Shia Imam, was assassinated during the morning prayer on 28 January 661 CE, equivalent to 19 Ramadan 40 AH. He died of his wounds about two days after the Kharijite dissident Ibn Muljim struck him over his head with a poison-coated sword at the Great Mosque of Kufa, located in Kufa, in present-day Iraq. He was about sixty-two years of age at the time of his death.
Ibn Muljim had entered Kufa with the intention of killing Ali, probably in revenge for the Kharijites' defeat in the Battle of Nahrawan in 658. He found two accomplices in Kufa, namely, Shabib ibn Bujra and Wardan ibn al-Mujalid. Unlike Ibn Muljim, the swords of these two missed Ali and they fled, but were later caught and killed. Before his death, Ali requested either a meticulous application of lex talionis to Ibn Muljim or his pardon, and he was later executed by Hasan, the eldest son of Ali. By most accounts, also involved in the assassination was al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, the influential Kufan tribal leader whose loyalty to Ali is often questioned in the early sources. The assassination of Ali paved the way for his rival Mu'awiya to found the Umayyad Caliphate. The shrine of Ali in Najaf, near Kufa, is a major destination for Shia pilgrims. (Full article...) - Image 6The Fourteen Infallibles (Arabic: ٱلْمَعْصُومُون ٱلْأَرْبَعَة عَشَر, al-Maʿṣūmūn al-ʾArbaʿah ʿAšar; Persian: چهارده معصومین, Čahârdah Ma'sūmīn) in Twelver Shia Islam are the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima Zahra, and the Twelve Imams. All are considered to be infallible under the theological concept of Ismah. Accordingly, they have the power to commit sin but by their nature are able to avoid doing so, which is regarded as a miraculous gift from God. The Infallibles are believed to follow only God's desire in their actions because of their supreme righteousness, consciousness, and love for God. They are also regarded as being immune to error in practical matters, in calling people to religion, and in the perception of divine knowledge. Some Twelver Shia believe the Fourteen Infallibles are superior to the rest of creation and to the other major prophets. (Full article...)
Selected biographies
- Image 1
Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani (Arabic: علي الحسيني السيستاني, romanized: ʿAlī al-Ḥusaynī al-Sīstānī; born 4 August 1930) is an Iraqi Islamic scholar. A Grand Ayatollah of the Twelver branch of Shia Islam, al-Sistani is considered the spiritual leader of Shia Muslims worldwide.
Al-Sistani is considered "the undisputed leader of Iraq's Shias", included in top positions of "The Muslim 500: The World's Most Influential Muslims", from 2009 to 2024, and named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2004 and 2005. (Full article...) - Image 2
Ayatullah Sheikh Muhammad Kazim Khurasani (Persian: محمدکاظم خراسانی; 1839 – 12 December 1911), commonly known as Akhund Khurasani (Persian: آخوند خراسانی) was a Shia jurist and political activist.
He is known for using his position as a Marja as legitimizing force behind the first democratic revolution of Asia that happened in Iran (1905–1911), where he was the main clerical supporter of the revolution. He believed that the democratic form of government would be the best possible choice in the absence of Imam and regarded the democratic constitutional revolution a Jihad (holy war) in which all Muslims had to participate. (Full article...) - Image 3
Musa Sadr al-Din al-Sadr (Arabic: موسى صدر الدين الصدر; 4 June 1928 – disappeared 31 August 1978) was an Iranian-Lebanese Shia Muslim cleric and politician. In Lebanon, he founded and revived many Lebanese Shia organizations, including schools, charities, and the Amal Movement.
Born in the Chaharmardan neighborhood in Qom, Iran, he underwent both seminary and secular studies in Iran. He belongs to the Sadr family from Jabal Amel in Lebanon, a branch of the Musawi family which traces its roots to Musa Ibn Jaafar, the seventh Shia Imam, and ultimately to the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima. Therefore, Musa al-Sadr is often styled with the honorific title Sayyid. He left Qom for Najaf to study theology and returned to Iran after the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état. (Full article...) - Image 4
Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei (Persian: سید علی حسینی خامنهای, romanized: Ali Hoseyni Xāmene’i, pronounced [ʔæˈliː hosejˈniː xɒːmeneˈʔiː] ⓘ; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian Twelver Shia marja' and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei is the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East, as well as the second-longest-serving Iranian leader of the last century, after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
According to his official website, Khamenei was arrested six times before being sent into exile for three years during Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's reign. After the Iranian revolution overthrowing the shah, he was the target of an attempted assassination in June 1981 that paralyzed his right arm. Khamenei was one of Iran's leaders during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, and developed close ties with the now powerful Revolutionary Guards which he controls, and whose commanders are elected and dismissed by him. The Revolutionary Guards have been deployed to suppress opposition to him. Khamenei served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989, while becoming a close ally of the first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini. Shortly before his death, Khomeini had a disagreement with the heir he had chosen – Hussein Ali Montazeri – so there was no agreed-on successor when Khomeini died. The Assembly of Experts elected Khamenei as the next supreme leader on 4 June 1989, at age 50. According to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Khamenei was the man Khomeini had chosen as his successor before dying. Khamenei has been head of the servants of Astan Quds Razavi since 14 April 1979. (Full article...) - Image 5Ayatollah Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr (21 June 1959 – 2 January 2016), commonly referred to as Sheikh Nimr, was a Shia sheikh from Al-Awamiyah in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province whose arrest and execution was widely condemned, including by governments and human rights organizations.
He was popular among youth and critical of the Saudi Arabian government, calling for free elections in Saudi Arabia. He was arrested by Saudi authorities in 2006, at which time al-Nimr said he was beaten by the Mabahith. In 2009, he criticised Saudi authorities and suggested that if Saudi Shia rights were not respected, the Eastern Province should secede. Saudi authorities responded by arresting al-Nimr and 35 others. During the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests, al-Nimr called for protestors to resist police bullets using "the roar of the word" rather than violence. The Guardian described al-Nimr as having "taken the lead in [the] uprising." (Full article...) - Image 6Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid (Arabic: الشیخ المفید) and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c. 948–1022 CE), was a prominent Twelver Shia theologian. His father was a teacher (mu'allim), hence the name Ibn al-Mu'allim. The title "al-Mufid" was given to him either by Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam, or by al-Rummani, a Sunni scholar, after a conversation with him. The leader of the Shia community, he was a mutakallim, theologian, and Shia jurist.
He was taught by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Ibn Qulawayh, Abu Abdallah al-Basri and al-Rummani, and Sharif al-Murtaza and Shaykh Tusi were among his students. Only 10 of his 200 works have survived, among which are Amali, Al-Irshad, Al-Muqni'ah, and Tashih al-Itiqadat. (Full article...) - Image 7
Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah (Arabic: محمد حسين فضل الله, romanized: Muḥammad Ḥusayn Fadl Allāh; 16 November 1935 – 4 July 2010) was a prominent Lebanese-Iraqi Twelver Shia cleric. Born in Najaf, Iraq, Fadlallah studied Islam in Najaf before moving to Lebanon in 1952. In the following decades, he gave many lectures, engaged in intense scholarship, wrote dozens of books, founded several Islamic religious schools, and established the Mabarrat Association. Through the aforementioned association, he established a public library, a women's cultural center, and a medical clinic.
Fadlallah was sometimes called the "spiritual mentor" of Hezbollah in the media, although this was disputed by other sources. He was also the target of several assassination attempts, including the 1985 Beirut car bombing. (Full article...)
Did you know...
- ... that the British wanted to destroy the Jama Masjid (pictured) after the Revolt of 1857?
- ... that Iran's Supreme Leader, Khamenei, is alleged to be the first senior Islamic cleric directly addressing western youth about his religion?
- ...that the Mourning of Muharram, observed by Shi'a Muslims, commemorates the anniversary of the death of Imam Husayn ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala in 680?
Selected quote
"The heart that is empty of doubt is the cleanest of hearts." |
Source
- Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 109.
In the news
- 21 February 2024 – Iraqi conflict
- Reports emerge that clashes between rival Shia militias, primarily Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq and Saraya al-Salam, have killed at least 200 fighters across Iraq in the past two months. (The Medialine)
- 6 January 2024 – Afghan conflict
- Five people are killed and 15 more injured during the explosion of a bomb planted by Islamic State members on a bus carrying Shiites in the neighbourhood of Dashte Barchi, Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP)
- 5 January 2024 – Iraqi conflict
- Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani announces that the Iraqi government is beginning the process to remove the U.S.-led international military coalition from the country after a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad yesterday killed a militia leader. (Reuters)
On this day: 24 Dhu al-Qi'dah
- 200 AH - Ali al-Ridha, the eighth Imam of Shia, began to go from Medinah to Greater Khorasan.
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