Issues and Questions

Sad and Painful News from Iraq
Relations between Sunnis and Shi‘is

By Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi

O ye who believe! Be conscious of Allah as you aught to be conscious of Him, and die not except in a state of Islam. And hold fast, all together, by the Rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favor on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the Pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you: that ye may be guided. Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: they are the ones to attain felicity. Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving Clear Signs: for them is a dreadful Penalty. (Al ‘Imran 3:102-105)
Very sad and shocking news came from Iraq Wednesday, Feb 22, 2006. More than 1200-year-old Askariya Masjid in Samarra was bombed and severely damaged. This Masjid is also known as the Golden Mosque for its prominent gilded dome. Sadly this dome was totally destroyed by explosives. This historic Masjid has the revered Mazars (burial sites) of two great grand children of Prophet Muhammad, Sayyidna Ali al-Hadi (d. 868) and Sayyidna Hassan al-Askari (d. 874) – may Allah be pleased with them. They were highly respected Muslim leaders. They are considered as the 10th and 11th Imams of the majority Ithna ‘Ashari Shi’ah.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack; but it unfortunately led to violent reactions and retaliations against the Sunni Masajid in Iraq. Many Sunni Masajid are burned and destroyed and a large number of people are killed. It is feared that this may lead to a civil war in Iraq and it may spill over to other countries and damage relations between the two major groups of Muslims: Sunnis and Shi’is.
Muslims all over the world are condemning these attacks. On behalf of the Shura Council of Southern California we have expressed our condemnation, sadness and grief. We are asking the Government of Iraq to have a thorough and impartial investigation of this crime and to bring the culprits to justice. We condemn this violence and urge all the parties to show restraint, peace and respect of all lives and properties, especially the Masajid of Allah. We pray for the victims and their families.
Since this event may be exploited by some to create further divisions and tensions among Muslims in different parts of the world, we urge every one to be calm and develop better understanding among ourselves.
Sunnis and Shi’is are both Muslims. They are part of the same Ummah. Our differences are not major but minor. We believe in the same God, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. We both believe in Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him - as the Last and Final Prophet and Messenger of Allah. We have the same Qur’an. One could go to any Sunni or Shi’i masjid in any part of the world and will not find a different Qur’an. We shall find the same number of Surahs and same order. Shi’ah do not accept the books of Hadith, such as al- Bukhari and Muslim etc. that are honored by the Sunnis; but the many authentic Ahadith of the Prophet – peace be upon him - that are recognized by Sunnis are also recognized by the Shi’is. They have their own collections of Hadith such as Al-Kafi by Muhammad al-Kulaini (d. 328/939) or Man la Yahduruhu al-Faqih by Muhmmad ibn Babuya (381/991) or Al-Istibsar by Muhammad al-Tusi (d. 460/1067). Sunnis and Shi’is accept the same five pillars of Islam. Both groups have the same Shahadah, accept same five daily prayers, fasting in the same month of Ramadan, accept the obligation of Zakat and go to Hajj at the same time and place. Our rules of Halal and Haram food are almost the same, our rules of marriage and divorce are basically the same, and our ethical and moral principles are the same.
The main differences between the Sunnis and Shi’is are historical. Who should have been the successor after the Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him - left this world? Sayyidna Abu Bakr or Sayyidna ‘Ali? Did the Prophet – peace be upon him - designate a successor or not? Was it permissible for the Sahabah to choose their leader or were they supposed to leave the leadership of the Ummah to the family of the Prophet – peace be upon him - for ever? These are important issues but they are not the issues that should make us fight one another today after fourteen hundred years. Shi’is take it as part of their faith and sometimes aggressively abuse and attack the integrity of some Companions (Sahabah) of the Prophet. Sunnis sometimes become angry and aggressive on these issues. Both sides can believe whatever they want to believe without becoming aggressive and emotional. No one can change what happened fourteen hundred years ago.
Other issues whether we should pray folding our hands or leaving them on the sides; whether we break our fast immediately after sunset or a little later; whether we mourn for forty days in every Muharram or not, are very minor issues. Such differences exist even among the Sunnis themselves between the Hanafis, Shafi’is, Malikis and Hanbalis; between the
Sufis and Salafis etc. Yes, we Sunnis do not consider Mut’ah (temporary marriage) as Halal; but many Shi’is also do not like it or practice it.
Sunnis and Shi’is have lived with each other for centuries side by side and worked with each other. They read each others books and benefited from each others scholarship. They developed friendship and had intermarriages and they worked together to make the great Islamic culture and civilization. Some extremists among us try to exploit certain economic and political situations to divide us and create divisions among us. Some enemies from outside try to take advantage of our weaknesses; but we must always remain on our guard and must defeat those who try to divide this Ummah.
And obey Allah and His Messenger; and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.
(Al-Anfal 8:46)
The Prophet – peace be upon him - said,
Abu Hurairah – may Allah be pleased with him- reported that the Prophet – peace be upon him - said, “You shall not enter Paradise, until you have faith and you shall not attain faith until you love each other. Should I tell you something that if you do, you shall love each other? Spread Salam among you. (Muslim 81)
As Muslims it is our duty to be together. We must learn to tolerate the differences of opinions. We should learn to dialogue among various groups of Muslims and with the people of other faiths and cultures. This is the way to make this world more peaceful. We must cooperate with all people to do good things and must not cooperate with any one from amongst us or from outside to commit sin and aggression against any one. May Allah keep us on the right path. Ameen.

(Khutbah at ISOC – Muharram 25, 1427/February 24, 2006)
- DrSiddiqi@aol.com

Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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