LEAFLET: Understanding the Differences Between Ahlus-Sunnah and The Shi’ah

Decades after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him), a sect appeared claiming that the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) had appointed his cousin and son-in-law, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (Allah be pleased with him) as his successor and that this right was snatched away from him by the other disciples of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him).

Image: Every year on the 20th of Safar, large numbers of Shi’ah, perform a pilgrimage to Karbala in Iraq to the shrine of Husayn, the son of the fourth Caliph, ‘Ali (radiyallahu’anhuma). This event concludes 40 days of mourning that begins on the 10th of Muharram and commemorates the unjust killing of Husayn. The Shi’ah take it as a day of public mourning and practice self-flagellation. However, there is no proof for these innovated rituals from the Noble Qur’an, the Prophet’s life, or the lives of his Companions and family. The Shiah further believe that “God chose the land of Karbala as a safe and blessed sanctuary 24,000 years before He created the land of the Ka’bah and chose it as a sanctuary.” (See Kamil al-Ziyarat of the Shi’i cleric, Ja’far al-Qummi)