Twelver Shia (Ithna Ashari)

Deviant

الشيعة الاثنا عشرية

Overview

The largest Shia group, following twelve Imams from Ali ibn Abi Talib to Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Imam who is believed to have entered occultation in 874 CE (260 AH) and will return at the End of Times. Predominant in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and parts of Pakistan. The mainstream Twelver doctrine — as found in the primary religious texts (al-Kafi) — includes beliefs that Ahl us-Sunnah scholars consider shirk, particularly invoking the Imams in du'a after their deaths.

Key Beliefs

  • Twelve Infallible Imams from the lineage of Ali and Fatimah
  • The twelfth Imam (al-Mahdi) is in occultation and will return
  • The Imams have knowledge of the unseen (a divine-like attribute)
  • Wilayah (devotion) to the Imams is a pillar of faith
  • Intercession (tawassul) through the Imams after their deaths

Scholarly Evaluation

The mainstream Twelver doctrinal positions — particularly invoking dead Imams in du'a and attributing knowledge of the unseen to them — are considered shirk by Athari and majority Ahl us-Sunnah scholars. This places the doctrinal Twelver position in serious territory. However, a distinction is drawn between (1) ordinary Shia laymen who follow family tradition, love Ahl al-Bayt, and do not knowingly invoke dead Imams in the shirk sense, and (2) those who knowingly hold the full doctrinal positions. Individual takfir of ordinary Shia laymen is not the Ahl us-Sunnah position — the doctrinal group positions are evaluated, not individual hearts. The Rafidah — those who explicitly curse companions and claim Quranic corruption — are a separate, more extreme category (see Rafidah entry).

Key Figures

  • Ali ibn Abi Talib (1st Imam)
  • Ja'far al-Sadiq (6th Imam, d. 765 CE) — major source of Shia jurisprudence
  • Muhammad al-Mahdi (12th Imam, entered occultation 874 CE)

Sources

  • Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah (Ibn Taymiyyah)
  • Al-Kafi (al-Kulayni) — primary Twelver hadith collection
  • Al-Farq bayn al-Firaq (al-Baghdadi)

Parent Group

Shia Islam

Founded

260h (874 CE)

Sub-Groups

Rafidah (Extreme Rejectors) Outside the Fold