Misconceptions About Shias

1. "Shias worship Imam Ali (a)"

We do not worship Imam Ali (a), we simply believe he was the rightful successor of RasulAllah (s). We believe that God is One, All-powerful, All-knowing, and every other attribute that all Muslims believe He is. We only worship Allah (swt).

2. "Shias pray to Imam Ali (a)"

There is a concept in Islam known as intercession which means seeking closeness to Allah (swt) through someone or something. An example is when you ask others to make dua for you.

Shias do intercession through people whom Allah (swt) loves, like RasulAllah (s) and the Ahlulbayt (a).

Allah (swt) says, "Oh you who believe! Be mindful (of your duties) to Allah, and seek the means of approaching toward Him" (Quran, 5:35).

He also says, "Who can intercede with Him except the cases that He permits?" (Quran, 2:255).

And, "They (prophets and imams) do not say anything until He orders, and they act (in all things) by His command.

He knows what is before them and what is behind them and they offer no intercession except for anyone whom Allah accepts..." (Quran, 21:27-28).

We do not believe that the Prophet (s) and Imams (a) have any independent power from Allah (swt). He is the one who made them our intercessors. We ask Allah (swt) for help through His beloved servants because it is a way of drawing closer to Him.

Just like in the Quran when the sons of Prophet Jacob (a) said, "Oh our father! Pray for the forgiveness of our sins. We have certainly been sinful" and Jacob (a) replied, "I will pray to my Lord for your forgiveness."

Yes RasulAllah (s) and the first 11 Imams (a) are not alive but that doesn't mean they can't receive our dua. It is narrated in reliable traditions that when we send blessings on the Prophet (s), angels carry them up to heaven to him.

In the same way, the Prophet (s) and the imams hear our dua to them and ask Allah (swt) on our behalfs. Allah (swt) says, “Do not think of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead. No, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord.” (Qur'an, 3:169)

Therefore the Prophet (s) and the Imams (a) are alive in heaven and receive our blessings and our duas. So we ask them for help because they are closer to Allah (swt) than us, like we ask Sheikhs who are more pious than us to do dua for us.

3. "Shias only pray three times a day"

Shias pray all five prayers. We just pray them at three separate times during the day instead of five. So instead of praying Dhuhr then waiting a period of time before doing ‘Asr, we finish Dhuhr then do ‘Asr right after.

And we do the same with Maghrib; we finish Maghrib and then do ‘Isha right after it. In fact, the Prophet (s) used to do this.

Ibn Abbas reported: "The Messenger of Allah (s) observed the noon and afternoon prayers together in Medina without being in a state of fear or in a state of journey." One of the companions asked Sa'id (one of the narrators of the hadith) why the Prophet (s) did that.

Sa'id replied, "The Prophet wanted that no one among his ummah (nation) should be put to unnecessary hardship." (Sahih Muslim no. 1515). So Shias do as the Prophet (s) and Imams (a) did. At the end of the day, both methods of prayer are accepted and both are sunnah.

4. "Shias believe the Quran has been changed"

Shias believe that the Quran has been completely preserved and protected by Allah (swt). We believe that one of the reasons Allah (swt) sent the 12 Imams was to protect the Quran and maintain the true interpretation of its verses.

5. "Shias have a different shahada"

The shahada (testament of faith) is the same for all Muslims, Shia or Sunni: “I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”.

Shias believe it is good to add “and I testify that Ali is the Guardian of Allah”. This is not obligatory and Shias recognize that it is not a part of the shahada, just a recommendation that we like to say to recognize Imam Ali's (a) status which he was given by Allah (swt).

6. "Shias don't have hadiths"

We do have hadiths. Our four main books are:

1. Kitab al-Kafi (16,000 hadiths)
2. Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih (9000 hadiths)
3. Tahdhib al-Ahkam (13,500 hadiths)
4. Al-Istibsar (5,500 hadiths)

7. "Shias insult and curse the companions"

Firstly, Shias are not told to insult the figures whom Sunnis respect. If a Shia does insult them, they are going against our beliefs of respect and unity with our fellow Muslim brothers.

Secondly, not all the people around the Prophet (s) were good people and worthy of praise. Allah (swt) says, "And among those around you (Oh Muhammad) of the wandering Arabs are hypocrites and among the people of Medina there are some who persist in hypocrisy

whom you (O Muhammad) do not know of. We know them and We shall chastise them twice; then they will be relegated to a painful doom" (Quran, 9:101). Not everyone who followed the Prophet (s) or fought in his battles were good Muslims. There were many hypocrites among him.

Shias curse people whom we consider to be enemies of the Prophet (s) and the Ahlulbayt (a). We do this because we look at history objectively and see that many of these people did awful things, especially towards the Prophet (s) and his family.

Allah (swt) says, “Those who reject Faith, and die rejecting–on them is Allah's curse, and the curse of angels, and of all mankind” (Quran, 2:159).

Just like if you found out your friend was racist/sexist, you would distance yourself from them and no longer be their friend, we distance ourselves from people who oppressed the Prophet (s) and his family (a) by cursing them.

Sunnis can disagree on whether they actually oppressed them, but they should learn to respect our position on them just like we respect their right to praise those figures whom we dislike.

It is not allowed for Shias to curse figures Sunnis respect openly so as to not cause fitnah. We don't want to upset our brothers and sisters. We discuss history openly and objectively, but cursing hurts our brothers and sisters, so we refrain from doing that in front of them.

We do curse the enemies of the Prophet (s) and his family (a) in our own circles. If Sunnis take offense to this, that's understandable, but you have to understand we believe these people are enemies of Allah (swt), so of course we would curse them.

8. "Shias believe in a prophet after Muhammad (s)"

Shias believe that RasulAllah Muhammad (s) is the last and final messenger and prophet of Allah (swt), but we believe Allah (swt) chose Ali (a) and the following 11 Imams as successors to RasulAllah (s) to guide the ummah.

We believe Allah (swt) would not leave the ummah alone after the Prophet (s) died. Just like he made Sulayman (a) succeed his father Dawud (a) and he made Isma'il (a) and Ishaq (a) succeed their father Ibrahim (a), he made Ali (a) succeed the Prophet (s).

We believe that Allah (swt) is the sole authority for who leads His people, just like He says in the Quran, “Your Lord creates and chooses whatever He wills–the choice is not theirs. Glorified and Exalted is Allah above what they associate (with Him)!” (28:68)

And, “Indeed, Allah chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of ‘Imran above all people.” (3:33).

And, “Their prophet told them, ‘Allah has appointed Saul to be your king’ They protested, ‘How can he be our king when some of us are more deserving of kingship

than he, and he has not been blessed with vast riches?’ He replied, ‘Allah has chosen him over you and blessed him with knowledge and stature. Allah grants kingship to whomever He wills. And Allah is Al-Bountiful, All-Knowing.’” (2:247)

And after Ali (a) died, he was also succeeded by his sons Al-Hasan (a) and Al-Husayn (a), and the line of successors continued until they totaled 12.

RasulAllah (s) even said there would be 12 rulers after him:

Jabir ibn Samarah narrated: I heard the Holy Prophet (s) saying, "Islam will be fortified with a period of twelve successors…" Then he said a word that I could not hear.

I asked my father what it was. “All will be from Quraysh,” said my father. This is narrated in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the two most trusted books of the Sunnis.

Sunni scholars haven't given satisfactory answers as to who those 12 are. Shias have always known the answer. We know all their names. They are the 12 Imams. All from Quraysh, all chosen by Allah (swt) to guide the ummah.

Here is a thread I did on Ghadir Khumm, one of the many instances when the Prophet (s) declared Imam Ali (a) as his successor: https://twitter.com/ArabHercules/status/1291725511954247681?s=20

And here is a thread on the topic of the Ahlulbayt (a) being mentioned in the Quran: https://twitter.com/ArabHercules/status/1268354107590479872?s=20

I hope I was able to help you understand Shi'ism more and dispel any misconceptions you had. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me and I'll answer InshAllah.

Clarification 1 – I don't believe the enemies of Ahlulbayt (a) are companions. I put companions in quotes because that's the accusation that is leveled against us, that we curse the so-called "companions". I don't consider them companions in the first place.

Clarification 2 – When I say "insult", I mean saying things that are childish and untrue. Allah (swt) calls the enemies of His things like 'dogs' and he compares them to animals. That sabb is normal. But saying things like "he's ugly" and "he's gay" is just childish.