Essay
4 of 5
The Sh?‘? Political Vision
The time of the
R?shid?n
caliph-im?ms, from the death of Muhammad in 632 until the assassination of ‘Ali in 661, is a critical period in the history of Islamic civilization and central to the genesis and evolution of the two principal branches of Islam: Sunnism and Shi‘ism. The distinguishing feature of Sh?‘? Islam, that is, what most prominently sets it apart from the majority Sunn? tradition, is disagreement over the question of the rightful succession to the Prophet Muhammad. Sh?‘? Muslims believe that leadership of the
ummah
belongs in the hands of the family of the Prophet. They believe that Muhammad explicitly designated his close relative ‘Ali as his first successor and that ‘Ali and his descendants (through his wife Fatimah, Muhammad’s daughter) are the legitimate leaders of the
ummah
. While it is true that the other three R?shid?n caliph-im?ms all possessed familial connections to the Prophet, these bonds were established through marriage and were not based on blood-kinship.
The articulation and crystallization of Sh?‘? Islam occurred over several centuries in response to two important political events: 1) the usurpation of ‘Ali’s authority; and 2) the martyrdom of Husayn, ‘Ali’s son and the Prophet’s grandson, who in 680 CE attempted and failed to restore the leadership of the
ummah
to the family of the Prophet. Sh?‘? tradition does not recognize the legitimacy of Ab? Bakr’s acclamation, and thus, according to one scholar of Islam, “Legitimism, i.e. the doctrine that headship of the Muslim community rightfully belongs to ‘Ali and his descendants, was the hallmark of the original Arab Sh?‘ism which was purely political.”
The descriptive term Sh?‘? is derived from the Arabic term
Sh?‘at ‘Ali
, which means “the party of ‘Ali” or “the partisans of ‘Ali,” i.e., the members of the
ummah
who supported ‘Ali in the conflict with Mu‘?w?yah and the Umayyads which erupted in the aftermath of ‘Uthman’s assassination in 656. Evidence supporting the foundational Sh?‘? tradition that ‘Ali was the rightful successor to Muhammad is reflected in ‘Ali’s special relationship with the Prophet in the time of the utopian Medinan
ummah
. In addition to being Muhammad’s closest male relative, he also served as the Prophet’s secretary and most trusted deputy. According to the most reliable
Had?th
, the written reports that capture and preserve the words and deeds of the Prophet, ‘Ali was the most courageous of all Muslims in battle and distinguished within the
ummah
because of his unique personal virtues.
In addition to this body of evidence, Sh?‘? tradition maintains that Muhammad publicly confirmed ‘Ali as his first successor on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet’s final pilgrimage to Mecca. Muhammad and the members of the
ummah
who accompanied him were returning to Medina from Mecca when the Prophet ordered the large concourse of Muslims to stop at an oasis called
Ghad?r Khumm
, located approximately halfway between the two sacred cities. According to Sh?‘?s, it was here that Muhammad delivered an address in which he explicitly designated ‘Ali his first successor.
Of course, when Muhammad died, ‘Ali did not succeed him, and later Sh?‘?s came to recognize the acclamation of Ab? Bakr as a catastrophic moral and political failure. They regard Ab? Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthm?n as unjust usurpers who seized power in direct contravention of Divine Will. The internecine fighting that imperiled the
ummah
during the reigns of the last two
R?shid?n
caliph-im?ms is thought to be a direct consequence of undermining the Prophet’s authority, and thus God’s authority, on earth. In 680, ‘Ali’s younger son, Husayn, organized a coalition of supporters loyal to his father and the
Ban? H?shim
(the Prophet’s family) in an attempt to restore the Godly status of the
ummah
by dislodging the illegitimate Umayyad caliph-im?m from power. The Umayyads crushed the uprising at Karbala (in modern day Iraq) where, abandoned by most of his followers, Husayn died a martyr.
A detailed exploration of the subsequent development of Sh?‘? political traditions and attitudes, and their underlying theological doctrines, is beyond the scope of this module. We have included this short discussion of Sh?‘ism because the general course of Islamic civilization cannot be properly understood without first considering the origins of the Sh?‘? vision and the counter-narrative it poses, which challenges the more widely accepted political history validated by the majority Sunn? tradition.
Structure of the First Sunn?-Jam?‘? Imamate (632-661 CE)