What are the beliefs of Shia Muslims?
SHAFAQNA- Usul ad-Din (the Principles of Religion) from the point of view of Shia Muslims have five principles: Belief in Oneness and Unity of God (Al-Tawhid), Belief in Prophethood (Al-Nubuwah) and Belief in Day of Resurrection (Al-Maad), which are common to other Islamic schools, and the two principles of Belief in Divine Justice (Al-Adl) and Belief in Imams (Al-Imamah), which are specific to Shia Muslims. The branches of religion (Furu ad-Din) or practical rules of Islam from the point of view of Shia Muslims are: 1) Salaat/Prayer, 2) Fasting, 3) Khums, 4) Zakat, 5) Hajj, 6) Jihad, 7) Amr bil Maroof (bidding what is right), 8) Nahi Anil Munkar (forbidding what is wrong), 9) Tawalla (associating with believers), 10. Tabarra (disassociating with evil people). The most important foundation of Islam is Usul al-Din (the Principles of Religion), which shows the nature of Islam in terms of belief. Usul ad-Din from the point of view of Sunni Muslims have three principles and from the point of view of Shia Muslims have five principles, the first three of which are common principles and the other two are the specific principles of Shias. 1- Common principles of Muslims  The principles of Belief in Oneness and Unity of God (Al-Tawhid), Belief in Prophethood (Al-Nubuwah) and Belief in Day of Resurrection (Al-Maad) are the three common principles of all Muslims, although there are differences in their nature between Shias and Sunnis. A) The Principle of Al-Tawhid (Monotheism)  In Islam, Al-Tawhid (Monotheism) means the belief in the oneness of God in the creation of the whole universe and is opposed to polytheism. The word Al-Tawhid is not used in the Holy Quran, but several verses directly or indirectly indicate the principle of Al-Tawhid. For example, the following verses can be mentioned:  1. Surah Al-Ikhlas (The Sincerity), verse 1:  Say, (O Prophet,) God is Allah (SWT)One (and Indivisible).  2. Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 163:  And your Allah (SWT) is One Allah: There is no god but Allah (SWT), Most Gracious, Most Merciful.  3. Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 255:  Allah (SWT)! There is no god but Allah (SWT),-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal.  Therefore, one cannot believe in Islam without believing in Al-Tawhid (Monotheism), so we consider this to be the most fundamental Islamic principle. According to verse 116 of Surah An-Nisa, God may forgive those who do not do their deeds perfectly, but God will not forgive those who associate partners with God and do not accept Gods oneness:  Allah Forgiveth not (The sin of) joining other gods with Allah (SWT); but God Forgiveth whom God pleaseth other sins than this: the one who joins other gods with Allah (SWT), Hath strayed far, far away (from the right).  Of course, the principle of Al-Tawhid (Monotheism) has four levels, the brief explanation of which is as follows:  1. Oneness of Allahs (SWT) Lordship (Tawhid-ul-Rububiyyah): This means that God is inherently unique and no one can be like God, because otherwise the division of the world into two creators is impossible and its current order will be questioned:  Had there been within them [i.e., the heavens and earth] gods besides Allah (SWT), they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah (SWT), Lord of the Throne, above what they describe. (Quran 21:22)  The third and fourth verses of Surah Al-Ikhlas (The Sincerity), which say:  God neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to God any equivalent. have been described as the verses of Tawhid-ul-Rububiyyah. 2. Oneness of Allahs Names and Attributes (Tawhid-ul-Asma wal-Sifat): It means Oneness of Allahs (SWT) Names and Attributes, in the sense that God cannot be considered a hearer, a seer, a gracious one, etc., but God is All-Hearing, Sight, Dignity, etc. The attributes mentioned for God in the Holy Quran are in fact to make the existence of God tangible for human beings, and in addition, it teaches man that in order to be close to God, one should start by appealing to these attributes. For example, to be subject to Gods bounty, we must also be gracious. 3. Unity of act (Tawhid Al-Afal): Just as God is unique in Divine Essence, God is also unique in Gods actions, Gods Creation, Lordship, Ownership and Sovereignty are absolute and specific to Divine Essence. Since man is also formed with the divine spirit, he can, by the permission of God, be the cause of a small number of these actions, for example, man reproduces and creates something like himself with the permission of God, but it is God who is the Creator of man and the relation of his reproduction. For this reason, God introduces himself as The Best of Creators:  So Blessed is Allah (SWT), the Best of Creators, (Quran 23:14)  4. Maintaining The Unity of Worship (Tawhid al-Ebaadah): The only one who is worthy of worship is God Almighty, who has created everything that man needs for worldly and otherworldly happiness. God has said that God has sent Divine Messengers to man for the worship of God and to abandon the worship of other than God:  And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], Worship Allah (SWT) and avoid Taghut (false gods). (Quran 16:36)  B) The Principle of Prophethood (Al-Nubuwah)  Like any other monotheistic religion sent by God to guide human beings, Islam needs an intermediary between God and man to receive it. God has introduced prophecy as a human right to God so that man does not protest against God in the absence of the prophets:  [We sent] messengers as bringers of good tidings and warners so that mankind will have no argument against Allah after the messengers. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise. (Quran 4:165)  Prophets, as the mediators of receiving and communicating Wahi (Revelation), must first be human beings, because if Gods messenger is an angel, human beings can prove that he is an angel and has been endowed with high powers that have not been bestowed on human beings, while the Prophet Mankind can prove that man will have the power to reach the limit of perfection. On the other hand, if the Prophet is a human being, he can prove that a human being will have the power to reach the limit of perfection, just as the Prophet was able to reach such a position:  One of soundness. And he rose to [his] true form. While he was in the higher [part of the] horizon. Then he approached and descended. And was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer. (Quran 53:6-9)  Secondly, the prophets need a miracle to prove their claim, so that not everyone claims to be a prophet:  We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice. (Quran 57:25)  In this way, God usually introduces the generalities of His religion and His prophet in his heavenly book and provides him with miracles to prove his legitimacy. At the beginning of Verse 29 of Surah Al-Fath (The Victory) said:  Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,  and in verse 184 of Surah Ali Imran (Family of Imran) said:  So if they disbelieve you, messengers before you were disbelieved. They came with clear proofs and Books and the illuminating Scripture.  Thirdly, the prophets must be perfect and infallible human beings and innocent (masum) of any evil and ugliness in order to be able to convey the message of God without shortcomings or excesses, otherwise the slightest mistake can damage their principle of honesty and correctness, and if the behavior and speech of the prophets are not the same, it will be difficult to accept their words. The verse proves the infallibility (Ismah) of prophets and especially Prophet and his successor Imams, is Verse 33 of Surah al-Ahzab which says:  Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophets] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification.    The infallibility (Ismah) of the Prophets can be considered in four stages: Infallibility from polytheism and infidelity, infallibility in reception and conveyance of revelation, infallibility from major and minor sins, and infallibility from error in ordinary matters. In addition to infallibility (Ismah), the other fundamental characteristic of the Prophet (PBUH) is his God-given knowledge so that he can use it to answer all the questions of the people and bring them out of the darkness of ignorance. In fact, the Prophet, without having complete knowledge and if he could not answer the scientific questions of the people in a good way, was considered weak in the eyes of the people and would not be able to do his duty in a good way. In verse 151 of Surah Baqarah one of the prophets tasks is to teach people by what they have received fron God:  Just as We have sent among you a messenger from yourselves reciting to you Our verses and purifying you and teaching you the Book and wisdom and teaching you that which you did not know.  But the duties of the divine Prophets according to the Verses of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Infallibles (A.S) are:  1. Invitation to Tawhid (Monotheism) and Day of Resurrection (Al-Maad),  2. Establishing justice,  3. Education,  4. Invitation to purity and piety,  5. Human freedom from material and spiritual bonds. These duties are definitely performed by those who have performed these five duties themselves and have passed the path of piety to the highest level before others. C) The principle of Al-Maad (Belief in Day of Resurrection)  Accepting the purposefulness of creation and the necessity of sending a messenger to educate human beings to distinguish good people from bad people and people guided from the misguided ones, also justifies the principle of Al-Maad, because only if there is a world after death and absolute divine justice in it, one can give meaning and accept Al-Tawhid and Al-Nubuwah along with the necessity of the principle of human freedom in choosing the path of ones life. Al-Maad is the world after death where all human beings will be in the presence of divine justice to answer for their deeds and if they choose the path of God they will go to Heaven and otherwise, they will go to hell. According to Verse 9 of Surah Ali Imran, there will be no doubt on the Day of Resurrection (Al-Maad), because it was the promise of God, which He will surely fulfill:  Our Lord, surely You will gather the people for a Day about which there is no doubt. Indeed, Allah does not fail in His promise.  Also, the benefit of the existence of the Day of Resurrection (Al-Maad) as the day of Accounting of Deeds of man is the existence of heaven and hell, so that the rewards and punishments of human beings will be given to them for their deeds:  So as for he who transgressed. And preferred the life of the world, Then indeed, Hellfire will be [his] refuge. But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination, Then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge. (Quran 79:37-41)  Elsewhere, God says that human beings will be rewarded for what they have done, and that God will not oppress anyone:  For each (of these two groups) there are (different) ranks because of what they did, and so that He may repay them in full for their deeds; and they will not be wronged.(Quran 46:19)  Therefore, the Day of Resurrection (Al-Maad) is the day of Accounting of Deeds for human beings, and after that, everyones position will be determined based on his deeds, and no one will be wronged in that land. 2. Principles specific to Shia Muslims  A) The principle of Al-Imamah (Belief in Imams)  Considering the principle of limitation of human life and also the principle of inexhaustibility of human need to be invited to the right path and the necessity of repetition and continuous education, the principle of Al-Imamah as a substitute for the principle of Al-Nubuwah is considered logical and necessary by Shia Muslims. Since the duties of the Imams are to lead the society and continue the path of the Prophet (PBUH), the Imams must have the same characteristics that the Prophet (PBUH) had, with the difference that the Prophet is the origin of knowledge and the knowledge of the Imams originates from the knowledge of the Prophet, or all of them are infallible (masum) but the infallibility (Ismah) of the prophet is genuine and the infallibility of the Imams derive from it. Historically, the Prophet (PBUH) was commissioned to introduce his successor to the people during his last pilgrimage in the tenth year of AH, according to verse 67 of Surah Maidah, so that there would be no disagreement among Muslims after his death, and therefore he performed this duty in a place called Ghadir:  O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people.  According to the interpretation of Islamic scholars, this verse is mentioned as a Guardianship Verse (Ayatul Wilaya) in the Holy Quran so that some people do not deny the occurrence of Ghadir. However, despite the fact that all the pilgrims pledged allegiance to Imam Ali (A.S) as the successor of the Prophet, but after his death, there was a dispute over the succession and unfortunately it led to a rift between the Muslims. What is certain is that the Imamate is the only possible way to continue Risalat (the Mission), and in this regard, several hadiths from the Prophet (PBUH) confirm this, which not only mentioned the names of the 12 Infallibles, but also spoke about the absence of the Twelfth Imam and predicted his reappearance for the end times to fill the world with justice as it has been filled with oppression and tyranny. According to the famous Hadith of Jabir, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in response to Jabirs question about the confirmation of The Verse of Obedience said:  They are my successors and the Imams of Muslims after me. The first is Ali b. Abi Talib, and then Hasan, Hussain, Ali b. al-Hussain, and Muhammad b. Ali known in the Torah as Baqir, whom you will see at an old age, and whenever you see him, send my regards to him. After Muhammad b. Ali, Jafar b. Muhammad, Musa b. Jafar, Ali b. Musa, Muhammad b. Ali, Ali b. Muhammad, Hasan b. Ali, and then his son who is my namesake and has the same kunya as mine. He is the one who will hide from peoples view, and his occultation will be so long that only people with firm beliefs will continue to believe in him. It is also stated in another hadith:  Whoever dies without acknowledging him [as the Imam] has died a death of ignorance.  According to these hadiths, the principle of Imamate, its examples of being infallible Imams, and the effect of denying Imamate become clear. B) The principle of Divine Justice (Al-Adl)  Shia Muslims see justice as a monotheistic necessity and believe that divine justice in this world is based on the principle of human freedom and the rule of human testing on the hardships and conveniences of material life, and in the hereafter is absolutely to judge human beings based on their behavior and deeds. Many verses of the Holy Quran emphasize the justice of God and the impossibility of His oppression. In Verse 40 of Surah An-Nisa, it is stated that:  Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atoms weight; while if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.  Gods mercy is to the extent that verse 84 of Surah Al-Qasas says:  Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have better than it; and whoever comes with an evil deed  then those who did evil deeds will not be recompensed except [as much as] what they used to do.    Therefore, man will be judged on the basis of divine justice, although God will punish only according to the rule of His kindness as much as human cruelty to himself and others, and God may forgive many of mans evils in His favor:  Or He could destroy them for what they earned; but He pardons much. (Quran 42:34). In addition, God warns man that he may see the punishment of some of his deeds in this world, and in this case, man has seen only the result of his deeds and should not blame God and others for this reason. Verse 79 of Surah An-Nisa says:  Whatever good befalls you is from Allah and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself. We have sent you (O Prophet) as a messenger to (all) people. And Allah is sufficient as a Witness.  Therefore, divine justice is one of the fundamental principles of Islam, which Shias consider as one of their five doctrinal principles, and Sunnis have a slightly different view of divine justice, and in addition, they do not consider it as one of the Usul al-Din (the Principles of Religion). Among the Sunnis, the group known as the al-mutazilah think of divine justice like the Shias, believing in human freedom in choosing his path. Regarding justice, Shias and Al-mutazilah are called Ahl al-Adl, that is, those who believe in the principle of divine justice as Usul al-Din (the Principles of Religion). 3- Furu al-Din (The Branches of religion)  Furu al-Din (The Branches of religion) or the practical rules of Islam are the deeds that are obligatory according to the religion, and without it, belief in Usul al-Din (the Principles of Religion) alone will not be sufficient. Furu al-Din from the point of view of Shia Muslims are: 1) Prayer, 2) Fasting, 3) Khums, 4) Zakat, 5) Hajj, 6) Jihad, 7) Amr bil Maroof (bidding what is right), 8) Nahi Anil Munkar (forbidding what is wrong), 9) Tawalla (associating with good people), 10. Tabarra (disassociating with evil people). According to the Sunnis, Khums and Tawalla and Tabarra do not make sense, because the Sunni rulings on Khums are different and on the issue of Wilayah, they believe in the caliphate. There are some slight differences and some fundamental differences between the Sunni and Shia religions regarding the practical rulings of Furu al-Din (The Branches of religion), which are due to the attitude of each of them to these branches and the extraction of its rules from the sources of Islamic law and jurisprudence.