“And what can be beyond truth except error? So how are you averted?” (Qur’an 10:32)
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In a recent article titled: How the Muslim Ummah approach the Shi’a in the wrong way, one brother, Ilyas, shared his thoughts on the article.
Agakhanism/Nizarism is an absolute joke. A womanizing playboy, “Imam Kardashian” who marries models and drinks alcohol on his megayacht? Such a good Muslim leader he is! A few online Nizari apologists probably know more about their religion than their actual “imam” (and since he has the right to change laws to keep up with modernity, a couple of imams down the line, and we’ll probably see their jamaat legalizing same-sex marriages, smoking cannabis, etc.).
The Mustaalite branches are even smaller in numbers, more isolated than Agakhanis and live in their bubbles, suffering from a number of schisms. These branches are just dying off. And before they vanish, they may suffer a few more schisms on their way. Irrelevant. إن شاء الله, some of them join the jamaat of أهل الحق والاستقامة!
Zaydis are like Ibadis in sheer numbers, but geographically limited to Yemen and a few thousand in Saudi Najran geographically (unlike Ibadis who’re more distributed). Their monarchist imamate has been absent since the establishment of the unified Yemeni Republic. If this dormant imamate is ever revived, it will be purely spiritual (no political governance). Unless Yemen breaks up again. The Houthis are more about politics than religion, they want to control the entire country, and so they don’t claim to revive their imamate. Their Zaydi imamate is as pointless as that of the Twelvers. Twelvers at least have the excuse that their imam is wandering the Earth and waiting for some right conditions to leave the state of occultation. Zaydis just outright don’t care about their imamate anymore, no explanation whatsoever, no efforts to revive it.
As for Twelvers, brother, you have a slight misconception. I have a Twelver Shia Azeri friend, quite knowledgeable and religious.
I was surprised to learn from him that the Iranian regime departed quite a lot from “orthodox” Twelverism (in general fiqh and in aqeeda too, e.g. Sufi pantheism/وحدة الوجود, false unity between the Creator and His creation, أعوذ بالله, but I digress, here I’ll be talking about fiqh of governance specifically).
He told me that when Khomeini succeeded in overthrowing Pahlavi and declared his Islamic Republic, the vast majority of then-ayatollahs actually refused to recognize the regime of wali al-faqih (one ayatollah who did later did tawba and rejected it, was placed under house arrest and died).
Since the constitution required the most knowledgeable cleric to take over after Khomeini’s death, the regime got stuck because other ayatollahs rejected it. So they just changed the constitution to allow a mid-ranking cleric like Khamenei to take over. They put loyalty above proper religious credentials.
Some Twelver clerics opposed to Wilayat al-faqih still support the idea of some collective clerical rule (shura al-fuqaha). Because however knowledgeable a single cleric is, he is not infallible (unlike their alleged Mahdi), so to mitigate the potential impact (mistakes in ijtihad, etc.) of political/religious decisions, you should have a BENCH with SEVERAL governing clerics (and even then the political extent of their authority is debatable), not one-man dictatorship we see in Iran. Because having one-man rule is usurping the rights of their awaited Mahdi. So no single wali faqih/imam/caliph (he told me referring to Khomeini and Khamenei as imams is blasphemous, the title of imam is reserved for their 12 infallible imams). If Sunnis are supposed to have a caliph elected by their shura (أهل الحل والعقد), Twelvers may be ruled by their shura itself.
Some more radical Twelvers even go as far as claiming ANY Islamic governance (even by several clerics) is fake. Any such “Islamic” regime should be rejected as a taghoot. Because there are several narrations in their hadith collections which promote passivity (and the Khomeinist revolution of 1979 is thus contrary to their view, for they don’t believe in any Islamic political activity and any Islamic state except the state of Mahdi. Only he is infallible and can properly apply sharia, so until he comes, just enjoy your secular rule). Some narrations he cited:
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/8/1/483/1
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/11/2/28/70
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/32/1/190/8
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/32/1/97/6
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/8/1/383/1
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/22/2/11/2
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/22/2/11/5
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/22/2/11/7
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/22/2/11/17
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/27/1/51/57
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/8/1/452/1
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/22/2/14/67
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/22/2/11/6
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/22/2/14/24
https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/27/1/27/12
Sort of “Shia Madkhalism”, you know. It’s a possible option for Usulis (depending on whether they perceive these narrations as reliable by isnad or not). And it’s a MUST for Akhbaris (who accept these alleged narrations from their imams without questioning isnad).
It was a very eye-opening experience. Wilayat al-faqih is a “makeshift” heteredox doctrine, a بدعة. If the Iranian regime falls, it will be utterly discredited. And since Twelvers have no other shot at Islamic governance (Iraq has a significant Sunni minority, almost a third of its population, Twelver Islamic state is unviable there, lest we see a new Da’esh from reactionary Sunnis. Azerbaijan is the same, huge Sunni minority + ruled by a secular post-Soviet pro-Israeli dictator. Bahrain is the same + ruled by an apartheid Sunni monarchy propped up by the Saudis), Islamic governance will be completely dead for them (whether it is Wilayat al-faqih or Shura al-fuqaha). They will end up in the same situation as Zaydis.
I hope it helps you understand the Twelverist perspective better. It’s not just Iran.
You know, the whole situation serves as an additional confirmation of Ibadism to me as the most valid Islam. The Qur’an clearly instructs not to divide:
وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِحَبْلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًۭا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا۟ ۚ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَآءًۭ فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِۦٓ إِخْوَٰنًۭا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
And yet Shias are divided: many sects have died off, but Twelvers, Zaydis, several Ismaili branches still remain there, and Twelvers are further subdivided into 3 aqeedas: Usuli, Akhbari, Ihqaqi (and Usulis are subdivided into allies of “Iranian” Shiism with Wilayat al-faqih, wahdat al-wujood, irfan and everything related and its enemies from more orthodox Twelvers).
So did Sunnis, with a bunch of fiqh schools (some died off, but 4 survive, Hanafi, Shafi’i, Hanbali, Maliki + there are some small ultra-rare pockets for the 5th madhab, Zahiri + there are some Salafi/athari who don’t follow any particular madhab) and 3 aqeedas (Salafi/athari, Maturidi, Ashari. Maybe 4 if you count neo-Mutazilites). And don’t forget a truckload of Sufi orders.
Ibadis are the only Muslims who take this ayat seriously. One fiqh school, one aqeeda, no Sufism, no schisms, no nonsense. It’s just beautiful.
Added by us:
May Allah Guide the Ummah.
May Allah Forgive the Ummah.
Prima Quran 