What is Shia Islam? - Twelverism

In this episode, I attempt to give you an overview of the vast and complex Twelver school of Shi'ism across history.

Sources/Suggested Reading:

Abdulsater, Hussein Ali (2017). "Shi'i Doctrine, Mu'tazili Theology: Al-Sharif al-Murtada and Imami Discourse". Edinburgh University Press.

Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (1994). "The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam". Translated by David Streight. State University of New York Press.

Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2011). "The Spirituality of Shi'i Islam: Beliefs and Practices". I.B. Tauris.

Bayhoum-Daou, Tamima (2005). "Shaykh Mufid". Makers of the Muslim World Series. Oneworld Academic.

Daftary, Farhad (2007). "The Isma'ilis: Their history and doctrines". Cambridge University Press.

Knysh, Alexander (2017). "Sufism: A New History of Islamic Mysticism". Princeton University Press.

Meisami, Sayeh (2013). "Mulla Sadra". Makers of the Muslim World Series. Oneworld Academic.

Tabataba'i, Hossein Modarressi (1984). "An Introduction to Shi'i Law: a bibliographical study". Ithaca Press London.

#Shia #Islam #Religion

[azayn]

As a Shia, it was refreshing to see an account of our religion that doesn't merely summarize it as 7th century historical division in Islam but actually goes deeper into the beliefs, practices, and intellectual tradition. I really appreciated your unique perspective and hope you will do a video on Mulla Sadra someday.

[aprendoespanol]

I am a twelver shia and I have to say that you have handled this topic with so much grace and respect with factual and academic based information. There are couple of things even I didn't know and would like to research further.
i learned of existence of Irfan in Shia doctrine very recently, myself by Sheikh Shomali's lectures which are available on youtube. He was resident Alim in Islamic centre of England. Learned about mysticism in Shia Islam only in 2012 during Hajj where we were accompanied by sheikh arif abdulhussain an expert in shia mysticism and metaphysics. It was all very revealing and new to me. I believe that overwhelming majority of Shias don't know of these concepts of their own religion (at least I can say so of shias in subcontinent where I come from, currently live in London).

[garrettdanielsii]

Convert here. Had a hard time picking between Shia and Sunni for a long time and just considered myself "Muslim" but as I get more deeply entrenched in Islam theology the more Fiqh I realize I need to stay centered and grounded. This was an excellent case for Shia thought and I'm considering studying it in depth going forward. Itjihad in particular fascinates and draws me. Thank you. Edit: since I made this comment almost a year I've dived into Shia and Sunni Fiqh and Sunni feels more natural. Even if I agree the Prophet (SAW) picked Imam Ali (RA) to lead after him things like the Imamate have no Quranic or jurisprudential basis. To me Sunni is the truth but I still respect and love our Shia brothers and sisters. May Allah bless and guide all of us.

[coc]

Hello.. as a sunni from indonesia. this is a great video.. shia is our broter.. Salam from Indonesia

[morteza]

As a Shia cleric, I'm surprised how you did excellent in introducing shia theology, bases of jurisprudence and history.
Well done! 👌🏻

[RUNESCAPER]

I'm a twelver shia from australia, thanks for the video :)

[canaaknight]

This made me reevaluate where I get my Hadith from. I grew up with Sunni teachings and my family wasn’t very religious at all, they just hated shia because in Lebanon it is quite a hot topic. Recently I read about Ali ibn abi talibs sayings and for the past 3 years I’ve been studying Islam without missing a day. I attribute my strong faith to the prophet Muhammad and the lifestyle teachings of his family. Alhamdulilah

[jeffm]

I like studying religion and Ali is probably the coolest figure to learn about. He is called the warrior monk for a reason I guess

[wowieowie]

I think a video about Ali ibn Hussein is really necessary. I think with how much importance he is given in the shia, it'd be pretty cool.

[aql]

Shia here! I’ve been watching your videos and a fan for so so long and I’m so excited to see you do one on us. It couldn’t have been more throughly researched and well explained, thank you for the amount of care and effort you put in. Your channel has been instrumental in the way I view all religion: rejecting the “I’m right and you’re wrong” mentality plaguing religious discussion and towards a deep dive into the beautiful tapestry of the human connection with the divine. That’s the journey you and all of your fans have been on together through this channel and your videos. The mystical aspect of Shia islam was uncovered by you and through that I’ve really developed in my faith- I had been learning from traditional sources but never heard of Mulla Sadra before this. Your videos on sufism, the occult, even some concepts of the Dao & Hindu thought.. all of it changes the way I interpret different concepts in Shia islam, the Quran, and Shia Irfan.. I pray that Allah inspires you to continue with your work, and guides us all closer to him through it.

[ErHajiHussain]

I m grateful to b a Shia twelver.I believe that the Shias will lead the world in the comming days.The learning centres in Qom Iran and Najaf of Iraq r so amazing and scientific that no religion can parallel them.

[ahmedbaloch]

As being a sunni Muslim I really didn't find such good content about my brothers shia sect.
When ever I searched the content I found biased from shia and sunni ulma.

I'm waiting for your next video on Ismaili sect.
Thanks you sir ❤️ peace 🙏

[tengkualiff]

As a Sunni, I appreciate the fact that you try your best to explain Shia Islam to the general public. Thank you for sharing this.

[shadbakht]

One of the best works on this subject is written by a English scholar Wilferd Madelung called "The Succession to Muhammad". Cambridge University Press.
I hope you had a chance to reference it! Love your videos btw

[JaiKumar-ezqz]

Selam to all my Iranian shia brothers 🙏🙏☺️❤️.. A hindu from India this side.. 🇮🇳❤️🇮🇷

[zaynab]

Thank you so much for this informative respectful video. In all honesty, it's rare these days to find a video where shias and sunnis are not at each others' necks because of misinformation by extremists on both sides. That being said, I am a shia muslim because I love a lot of the ideas this Islamic sect is built upon, yet it just struck me watching your video how much I don't know about it, and that I do need to do some more studying. Peace 💙

[Zarathustra-trcz]

Wonderful video. I grew up in a Salafist household but I've always been interested in Shia Islam and Sufi Tarikhas but I could only find biased information from my family. Outside my family it seems like Shias, Sunni and Sufi scholars are always at each other's throats in some way gatekeeping knowledge from the 'layman' any dialogue between any of the parties always being an abrasive shouting match. I appreciate your unbiased historical arbitration on the matter. It's always good to learn something new from you. Salam to you and all my Muslim brothers and sisters.

[noahdanielg]

Thank you Filip, glad you tackled this topic, I could never fully grasp Shī’ism, believe it or not we never had a lecture on it in any of our Islam courses

[faizanalikhan]

Being sunni....this is the first video which I really enjoyed...i always wanted to go knw the difference is jurisprudence of shiya islam..nad u gave idea about everything. !!

Well shiya muslim are brother in faith...may Allah guide us all !

[Aloooy]

8:16 All Imams have the same knowledge, but Imam Ja'afr As-Sadiq had more freedom from government oppression which allowed him to teach more freely and with less secrecy.