Since the Iranian
revolution in the late seventies, many people in Muslim countries have been
made to believe that the only way to the establishment of an Islamic state like
Iran is for the Muslims to unite, a unity that will deemphasize divisions and
bring together Sunnis and Shiites with everyone not seeing anything wrong with
what the other person is doing. This so-called taqarub which was hatched
and propagated by Iran under the leadership of Ayatullahi Khomaini has been
accepted by many gullible Sunnis around the world. In the process, many of them
have embraced Shia and abandoned the true teachings of Islam.
The fundamental factor
that helped the spread of Shia in Nigeria and other Muslim countries is
ignorance. Most of those who embraced Shia are either western-educated with no first-hand
knowledge of Islam or people who have not been to school at all. The very few
exceptions are those hired to spread Shia and derive financial benefits from
the deal.
But are Shiites truly
Muslims and what should we expect in the event Shiites have their way and
establish the ‘Islamic’ state they have been clamouring for in Nigeria and
other Muslim countries? Are there examples in the past where Shiites
established a state and what was it like? By the way, are the Shiites
themselves united or they are like Allah describes their ilks, “you think that they
are united, while their hearts are divided” (Q59:14)?
The religion of Shia is fundamentally based on
the belief in the infallible Imams from the family of the Holy prophet (pbuh)
and this is the basis of their confusion. Who are those Imams and what is
supposed to be their number? There is no answer to these questions either from
the Qur’an or the authentic traditions of the Holy prophet. The whole thing is
based on hearsay and what different groups of people decided to believe at
different points in Shiite history. For example, they all agreed that the first
Imam is Aliy, the Prophet’s cousin. After Ali some decided to promote the
Imamship of his child Muhammad, others
Hassan and several others Hussain. As time went on there was further division
in the ranks of those who accepted Hassan and then Hussain and the Zaidis came
to be.
After the death of
Ja’far Assadiq considered the sixth Imam by mainstream Shia, Shiites were
divided on who was to be their next Imam. Many of them adopted his first son,
Ismael as the next Imam and are known as Ismailiyya while others
considered his younger son Musa Alkazim as the next Imam and were known as Kazimiyya
or the twelvers. As time went on, Ismailiyya were further divided into several
sects, the most notable being Qaramita and Ubaidiyya. The Qaramita established
a Government in Bahrain in the middle of
third century hijri which lasted for over two centuries while the Ubaidiyya established a state in
North Africa which lasted for some three centuries before it was finally
destroyed by Sunni forces under the command of Salahuddeen Al-ayyubi.
History books are full
of atrocities committed by the Shiite governments against Islam in both Bahrain
and North Africa. However, our discussion in this piece is restricted to the
attack on Ka’ba and pilgrims by the forces of Qaramita in the fourth hijri
century.
Ka’aba is considered by
all muslims as the most sacred place on earth and it is towards its direction
that we have been divinely instructed to face in our prayer. Ka’aba and indeed
the city of Makka is one of the two harams in which fighting, hunting,
cutting grass, etc have been prohibited. This prohibition was expressly emphasized
by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) himself after the conquest of Makkah, “Allah
made this town sacred on the day He created the earth and the heavens; so it is
sacred by the sacredness conferred on it by Allah until the Day of Resurrection
and fighting in it was not lawful to anyone before me, and it was made lawful
for me only during an hour on one day, for it is sacred by the sacredness
conferred on it by Allah until the Day of Resurrection. Its thorns are not to
be cut, its game is not to be molested, and the things dropped are to be picked
up only by one who makes a public announcement of it, and its fresh herbage is
not to be cut.” (Muslim)
The attack by Shiites
was not only on Ka’ba but also on pilgrims. It took place on the 8th
of Dhul Hijjah 317 AH, when the annual Hajj was at its peak. The pilgrims who
came in their thousands from all parts of the Islamic world were busy with
worship and were not expecting any military attack as that had never happened
even during the Jahiliyya period. Suddenly the army of qaramita under the
leadership of Abu Tahir Al-jannabi invaded the haram and launched their attack
from all directions. Pilgrims were killed on the streets of Makkah, in the Holy
mosque and inside Ka’aba. Those who initially fled and held Ka’aba clothing were
murdered and the covering torn into pieces.
The Shiites troops
destroyed the well of Zamzam and removed the door of Ka’aba. They did not stop
there. They removed the black stone (al hajarul aswad) and went away
with it. The total number of pilgrims killed on that day was estimated to be
about thirty thousand. Most of them were buried into the well of zamzam on the
instruction of Abu Tahir (may Allah curse him).
While Abu Tahir was
carrying out his unique most heinous atrocity ever committed against the house
of Allah and its visitors, the heretic was at one point shouting, “I m god, I m
the creator and destroyer”. And at another point he was saying in a direct
mockery of the Qur’an, “Where are the flying flocks of birds? Where are the
stones of baked clay?”
The Amir of Makkah
later followed Abu Tahir and pleaded with him to return the black stone but the
Shiite killed him along with his family and most of those who followed him to
make the plea. The black stone remained with them for twenty two years until
the year 339 AH when they agreed to return it peacefully after collecting fifty
thousand dinars given to them by the then Caliph.
The decision remains
yours. Are you going to choose Islam or Shiism?
