Roots of Religion
Encyclopedia
The theology of Twelver Shias contains five Principles of the Religion known as Usūl al-Dīn.
.
In Shi'a theology, these five articles of faith
form the basis for Islam, and it is from these articles that the Branches of Religion
are derived.
start with an explicit disclaimer stating that no proof shall be given for any of the points in the Roots of Religion.
The Marja argue that it is permissible to imitate in matters of practical Islam, for example, how one is supposed to do Salat
, without being familiar with evidence and arguments for the conclusions.
However, they argue that the matters in the Roots of Religion are much too important to be merely imitated, and it is the responsibility of each individual to make themselves personally familiar with the arguments and evidence for each article of faith.
(also Tawhid or Tauhid or Tawheed; Arabic
توحيد) is the Islam
ic concept of monotheism
. In Arabic, Tawhīd means "unification, i.e. to unify or to keep something unified as one." In Islam, Tawhīd means to assert the unity of God. The opposite of Tawhīd is shirk, which means "Association" in Arabic. Muslims view polytheism
and idolatry
as shirk.
Adl
The Shias believe that there is intrinsic good or evil in things, and that God
Commands them to do the good things and forbade the evil. They believe that God acts according to a purpose or design, and human reason cannot comprehend this design or purpose in its entirety (though man must always strive to understand as much as he can).
" means "Prophethood" and denotes that God has appointed Prophets and Messengers to teach mankind God's message.
God has appointed perfect and infallible prophets and messengers to teach mankind the religion (that is, a perfect system of how to live in "peace" or "submission to God"). Prophets are Messengers which are appointed by Allah to bring the message of God to people and spread that message while the Imam (leader) is appointed by Allah to protect that message since ordinary people will fail to do so. Also, as Muhammad
was the last messenger of God which means the message he brought was the last and final message to the people from Allah, none is supposed to bring a message from Allah after Muhammad, therefore, if people were left with the message alone, the true message could not survive long and would have undergone changes. Imams were therefore appointed to take care of the message and prevent people from going astray after the last prophet.
Imāmah
Imamah (Leadership): God has appointed specific leaders to lead and guide mankind—a prophet appoints a custodian of the religion before his demise. Refer to Sahih Al-Bukari, Sahih Muslim (Books of Hadith
s (or sayings of the prophet of Islam) of the Sunnis) etc. The prophet is reported to have said that the Islamic leadership is in Quraysh (i.e. his tribe) and that 12 "Imams" (also called "Princes" or "Caliphs") shall succeed him.
Shi'a Muslims believe in Twelve Imams, eleven of whom were killed, but they believe their twelfth Imam is still alive. Their history says that he disappeared after performing rituals of the eleventh Imam's (his father's) death. He is still under "ghaybat" or "occultation" and will appear on the face of the earth to raise the truth and bring an end to tyranny and oppression.
(يوم القيامة; literally: "Day of the Resurrection
" (Qur'an
71.18), also known as "the Hour (Qur'an 31.34, 74.47)", "Day of the Account", (Qur'an 72.130 "Day of the Gathering", "Day of the Reckoning", "Day of Distress", (Qur'an 74.9) and the "Great Announcement") is the Arabic
name for the Last Judgement. Belief in Qiyâmah is part of Aqidah and is a fundamental tenet of faith in Islam
. After the annihilation of this world, God will raise mankind for Judgement. The trials and tribulation
s of Qiyâmah are detailed in both the Qur'an and the Hadith
, as well as in the commentaries of the Islamic expositors and scholarly authorities
. Every human, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, is held accountable for his or her deeds and are judged by God
accordingly (Qur'an 74.38).
Kutub—Belief in the Books sent by God (including the Qur'an).
Definition
The Shi'a Roots of Religion are a set of theological beliefs, in contrast to the ten practices prescribed in the Shi'a Branches of ReligionBranches of Religion
In Twelver Shia Islam, the ten Ancillaries of the Faith are the ten practices that Shia Muslims must perform.According to Twelver doctrine, what is referred to as pillars by Sunni Islam are called the practices or secondary principles. There are three additional practices. The first is jihad,...
.
In Shi'a theology, these five articles of faith
Articles of Faith
Articles of faith are sets of beliefs usually found in creeds, sometimes numbered, and often beginning with "We believe...", which attempt to more or less define the fundamental theology of a given religion, and especially in the Christian Church....
form the basis for Islam, and it is from these articles that the Branches of Religion
Branches of Religion
In Twelver Shia Islam, the ten Ancillaries of the Faith are the ten practices that Shia Muslims must perform.According to Twelver doctrine, what is referred to as pillars by Sunni Islam are called the practices or secondary principles. There are three additional practices. The first is jihad,...
are derived.
Resalah
All books of ResalahResalah
A Resalah , also resalah amaliyah is a book written by a Shia Marja that contains his practical rulings arranged according to topics dealing with ritual purity, worship, social issues, business, and political affairs, and outlining the principles used to derive specific rulings.All resalahs begin...
start with an explicit disclaimer stating that no proof shall be given for any of the points in the Roots of Religion.
The Marja argue that it is permissible to imitate in matters of practical Islam, for example, how one is supposed to do Salat
Salat
Salah is the practice of formal prayer in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam, of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Twelver Islam and of the 7 pillars of Musta'lī Ismailis...
, without being familiar with evidence and arguments for the conclusions.
However, they argue that the matters in the Roots of Religion are much too important to be merely imitated, and it is the responsibility of each individual to make themselves personally familiar with the arguments and evidence for each article of faith.
Tawhīd (Oneness)
TawhīdTawhid
Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God is one and unique ....
(also Tawhid or Tauhid or Tawheed; Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
توحيد) is the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic concept of monotheism
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
. In Arabic, Tawhīd means "unification, i.e. to unify or to keep something unified as one." In Islam, Tawhīd means to assert the unity of God. The opposite of Tawhīd is shirk, which means "Association" in Arabic. Muslims view polytheism
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
and idolatry
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
as shirk.
AdlAdalahAdalah means justice and denotes The Justice of God. It is among the five Shia Principles of the Religion.The Shias believe that there is intrinsic good or evil in things, and that God commands them to do the good things and shun the evil...
(Justice)
The Shias believe that there is intrinsic good or evil in things, and that GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
Commands them to do the good things and forbade the evil. They believe that God acts according to a purpose or design, and human reason cannot comprehend this design or purpose in its entirety (though man must always strive to understand as much as he can).
Nubuwwah (Prophethood)
"NubuwwahNubuwwah
In Islam, Nubuwwah means "Prophethood" and denotes that God has appointed perfect Prophets and Messengers to teach mankind Gods religion. Nubuwwah is among the five Shi'a Roots of Religion....
" means "Prophethood" and denotes that God has appointed Prophets and Messengers to teach mankind God's message.
God has appointed perfect and infallible prophets and messengers to teach mankind the religion (that is, a perfect system of how to live in "peace" or "submission to God"). Prophets are Messengers which are appointed by Allah to bring the message of God to people and spread that message while the Imam (leader) is appointed by Allah to protect that message since ordinary people will fail to do so. Also, as Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
was the last messenger of God which means the message he brought was the last and final message to the people from Allah, none is supposed to bring a message from Allah after Muhammad, therefore, if people were left with the message alone, the true message could not survive long and would have undergone changes. Imams were therefore appointed to take care of the message and prevent people from going astray after the last prophet.
ImāmahImamah (Shi'a twelver doctrine)Imāmah means "leadership" and it is a part of the Shi'a theology. The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, in the Twelver or Ithna Ashariya branch of Shia Islam....
(Leadership)
Imamah (Leadership): God has appointed specific leaders to lead and guide mankind—a prophet appoints a custodian of the religion before his demise. Refer to Sahih Al-Bukari, Sahih Muslim (Books of HadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s (or sayings of the prophet of Islam) of the Sunnis) etc. The prophet is reported to have said that the Islamic leadership is in Quraysh (i.e. his tribe) and that 12 "Imams" (also called "Princes" or "Caliphs") shall succeed him.
Shi'a Muslims believe in Twelve Imams, eleven of whom were killed, but they believe their twelfth Imam is still alive. Their history says that he disappeared after performing rituals of the eleventh Imam's (his father's) death. He is still under "ghaybat" or "occultation" and will appear on the face of the earth to raise the truth and bring an end to tyranny and oppression.
Yawm al Qiyyamah (The Day of Resurrection)
Yaum al-QiyâmahAl-Qiyama
Sūrat al-Qiyāma is the 75th sura of the Qur'an with 40 ayat. Its subject is the Day of Judgement.- External links :* * at Sacred Texts...
(يوم القيامة; literally: "Day of the Resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
" (Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
71.18), also known as "the Hour (Qur'an 31.34, 74.47)", "Day of the Account", (Qur'an 72.130 "Day of the Gathering", "Day of the Reckoning", "Day of Distress", (Qur'an 74.9) and the "Great Announcement") is the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
name for the Last Judgement. Belief in Qiyâmah is part of Aqidah and is a fundamental tenet of faith in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. After the annihilation of this world, God will raise mankind for Judgement. The trials and tribulation
Tribulation
The Great Tribulation refers to tumultuous events that are described during the "signs of the times", first mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet discourse...
s of Qiyâmah are detailed in both the Qur'an and the Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, as well as in the commentaries of the Islamic expositors and scholarly authorities
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
. Every human, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, is held accountable for his or her deeds and are judged by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
accordingly (Qur'an 74.38).
Other articles
Mala'ika—Belief in the Angels.Kutub—Belief in the Books sent by God (including the Qur'an).
External links
- http://www.answering-ansar.org/fiqh/usool_al_deen/en/index.php