Share on Twitter Who are the Shias? The fifth imam of the school of the Ahlul Bayt, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir once told his student by the name of Jabir, “Is it enough for a person to embellish himself as our Shi‘a (follower) by professing love for us, the Ahlul Bayt? Nay! By Allah, a person is not our follower unless he fears Allah and obeys Him. Our followers are only recognized, O Jabir, by their humility, submission, honesty, abundant praise of Allah, fasting, prayers, goodness to their parents, attention
“Shi‘a” means a group of followers and it occurs in the Qur’an many times in reference to the followers of the previous prophets, such as Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and Prophet Musa (Moses). [2] Shi‘a today refers to the followers of a particular school of Islamic thought, which is based on the teachings of the Prophet and his family, and sometimes it is referred to as the “school of Ahlul Bayt” (the family of the Prophet). While no schools of thought existed at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, he still use
Some narrations in which the Prophet Muhammad used the term “Shi‘a of ‘Ali” are as follows: