12 REASONS TO LEAVE SHIASM
Adapted and Edited from twelvershia.net
The dangers of Shiasm are innumerable because of the problems in the foundations of it. It boils down to the simple fact that Shiasm is not from Allāh Ta’ala. Hereunder is a list of some of the most significant problems with Shiasm. We hope that every sincere Muslim and Shia will ponder deeply over these reasons. May Allāh guide all those that read it to the truth of Islām. Amīn
- A pure focus on Allāh Ta’ala
- Access to the Hadīth of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam
- Acceptance of the Sahābah Radiallahu Anhum
- Access to the real teachings of Ahl ul Bayt
- Uniformity in the teachings of Ahl ul Bayt
- A taqiyyah-free Ahl ul Bayt
- Access to the context of Qur’ānic verses
- Reliable books of Tafsīr
- Access to the Sīrah
- Trust in the Hadīth compilers
- A Karbala narrative that makes sense
- Disbelief in a twelfth Imām that has been hidden for over a thousand years
1- A Pure Focus on Allāh Ta’ala
One of the main reasons for the conversion of ex-Shias to Sunnism is the focus on Allāh Ta’ala. As many are aware, the main focus in Shiasm is not the Creator, but rather, the creation. Even though Sunnīs venerate Ahl ul Bayt deeply, they do not make them the focus of their religion. This can be observed in their practices, lectures, and in their daily spoken language.
Shias, sadly, do not enjoy the same focus on Allah Ta’ala. This is most commonly observed in how they encourage putting Ahl ul Bayt, as an intermediary, between them and Allāh Ta’ala. This is not encouraged in the Qur’ān, for we know that Allāh Ta’ala said [2:186]: “And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me.”
2- Access to the Hadīth of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam
Most people are aware that Sunnīs build their faith on the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam . However, what most Shias are not aware of is the fact that there are not enough prophetic narrations in the Shia Hadīth corpus for them to build their sect upon, so the same cannot be said for them.
For Ahādīth, the Sunnīs have a variety of sources that they can refer to. Off the top of my head, Sunnīs can easily find prophetic narrations in the Sahīhayn, the four Sunan, Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mālik, Al-Tabarani’s three Ma’ajim, Sunan Al-Daraqutnī, Sunan Al-Dārimī, Sahīh Ibn Hibbān, Sahīh Ibn Khuzaymah, Musnad Al-Bazzār, Musnad Abū Ya’la, as well as the Masaneed that have been preserved through Ibn Hajar’s Al-Matalib Al-Aliya.
Shias, on the other hand, do not have a book that collects Ahādīth. When the odd narration from Rasūlullāh himself is found in a book like Al-Kāfī, or another one of the four books, it is weak or fabricated due to the anonymity of a narrator most of the time.
It should not be a surprise that the Shias do not have a large number of reliable Ahaadith from Rasūlullāh Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam , since they reject the majority of the companions of Rasūlullāh Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam as reliable narrators. This leads us to our next point.
3- Acceptance of the Sahābah Radiallahu Anhum
Even though this may seem trivial to average Shias, it is clearly a matter of great significance as we can see from the previous point. The rejecting of the Sahābah Radiallahu Anhum ultimately leads to rejecting the vast majority of the Ahādīth.
Shias may attempt to cling at straws by suggesting that the Sunnī prophetic tradition is actually the result of Umayyad Hadīth factories. This theory is based upon a lack of an objective reading of the Sunnī texts, since the majority of the Sunnī Hadīth collections do not contain anything pro-Umayyad. On the other hand, the narrations about the merits of Sayyidunā ‘Alī Radiallahu Anhu and the rest of Ahl ul Bayt are plenty in number in the Sunnī books. More importantly, the vast majority of the Sunnī traditions revolve around neutral practices and wisdoms from Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam. By neutral, we mean non-controversial.
Acceptance of the Sahābah Radiallahu Anhum also leads to access to a plethora of their personal opinions in rulings and practices, as well as Qur’ānic interpretation. Access to the opinions of first generation of Muslims provides Sunnīs with a better understanding of religious matters that have some vagueness due to language and historical context.
4- Access to the Real Teachings of Ahl ul Bayt
The very suggestion may come as a shocker to most Shias. However, Sunnīs do claim that they are the preservers of the teachings of Ahl ul Bayt as well. In brief, there is no doubt that both Sunnī and Shias are selective with what they narrate. The most obvious example of this is that Ahl ul Bayt are on good terms with the companions in Sunnī narrations. In Shia narrations, we find that they are foes. At times, the Shia Imāms are found cursing the three Khulafā’ and other companions as bitter enemies.
One may ask: How do you know that it was the Sunnīs that were successful in recording the teachings of Ahl ul Bayt?
First of all, we would like to make Shias aware that matters are not as simple as a Sunnī and Shia version of Ahl ul Bayt. Rather, we are dealing with the narrators that represent each sect. The Shia narrators from Ahl ul Bayt are from the city of Kufa like Zurarah, Abū Al-Basīr, and Muhammad Ibn Muslim. These are three of the top narrators who have attributed thousands of narrations to the Ahl ul Bayt. Sunnīs do not consider them to be reliable. Ironically, by looking into the earliest book of biographies (both Sunnī and Shia), one can find some of the Imāms cursing some of these men.
Another critical issue with the Shia version of Ahl ul Bayt is the sheer number of contradictions that have been attributed to the Imāms, which leads us to our next point.
5- Uniformity in the Teachings of Ahl ul Bayt
It will come as no surprise to Shias that are well-read that the early Shia books of Hadīth are riddled with contradictions. Not only do the Twelve Imāms contradict each other in almost every chapter of fiqh, but these contradictions can be found attributed to the Imām himself. Al-Tūsī alone has collected four volumes of contradictions in his book Al-Istibsār. Sunnis, on the other hand, have uniformity in their narrations from Ahl ul Bayt.
The main reason that Shias give for the massive amount of contradictions that can be found in their works is due to the taqiyyah of the Imams, which leads us to our next point.
6- A Taqiyyah-free Ahl ul Bayt
Not only is the true version of Ahl ul Bayt taqiyyah-free in Sunnī books when it comes to their political actions and motives, but they are taqiyyah-free in their religious rulings as well.
Due to this, you will not find them providing false religious rulings in order to preserve their own lives or well-being. No, the Sunnī Ahl ul Bayt do not compromise, nor do they let politics get in their way of teaching the religion.
7- Access to the Context of Qur’ānic Verses
Shias are mostly unaware that specific issues in Qur’ānic sciences (i.e. Chapters being Makkī/Madanī, abrogate in rulings, recitations, etc) are unique to the Sunnīs. These opinions can mostly be traced to the first century of Sunnī scholarship. Ibn Abbās and his students played a major role in providing us with this wealth of information regarding context.
If Shias have any doubts in regards to this, then we suggest picking up a copy of Al-Tūsī or Al-Tabrasī’s exegesis of the Qur’ān in order for them to see the reliance of these top Shia scholars on early Sunnī works. The same is applied to Ibn Mutawwaj’s Al-Nāsikh wal Mansūkh.
The same can be said about the actual reasons for revelation (Asbāb Al-Nuzūl) since no Shia classical works on the topic exist today.
8- Reliable Books of Tafsīr
Tafsīr Al-Ayyāshī and Tafsīr Al-Qummī are two books of tafsīr that moderate Shias are not proud of. This is because these books are filled with opinions from the authors, supported by narrations from the Imāms, that the Qur’ān has been tampered with. We are very aware that moderate Shias do not accept such beliefs, which explains why they are not fond of these works in the first place.
Sunnīs, on the other hand, are proud of their early books of tafsīr. Tafsīr Abdur Razzāq and Tafsīr Ibn Abī Hātim are works in which the authors’ primary focus was to provide readers with the earliest explanations given by Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam and the early generations.
9- Access to the Sīrah
The average Shia is not aware that Shias do not have classical sīrah books. Modern Shia sīrah books are based upon the works of classical Sunnī sīrah works. This should not come as a surprise since specialization in sīrah came from the middle of the second century. Examples include the works of Ibn Ishāq, which has been preserved through Ibn Hishām, and Musa bin Uqbah, which has been preserved by Al-Bayhaqī and others.
It is due to the lack of content about Rasūlullāh that contemporary Shia scholars don’t attempt to piece together a complete sīrah from Shia sources.
To summarize this point, by becoming a Sunni, you can actually have a complete idea of the life of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam for it definitely included more than events like Al-Ghadīr, Al-Mubahala, and other events that revolved around Ahl ul Bayt.
10- Trust in the Hadīth Compilers
Perhaps one of the most overlooked differences between the sects is that Sunnīs have the luxury of having complete trust in their own Hadīth compilers. It is important to be aware the trust is not blind. Rather, the trust exists for two reasons: 1) The abundance of sources and the 2) sufficient amount of biographical data about compilers.
The abundance of sources ensures the reliability of the compilers. For example, there is not a single narration that can be found in Sahīh Al-Bukhārī or Sahīh Muslim that cannot be found in another book of Hadīth. This is thanks to the abundance of the sources.
The same cannot be said about Shia books, for Al-Kulaynī and Al-Sadūq, for instance, are the sole narrators of hundreds, if not thousands of narrations.
The amount of biographical data is self-explanatory. One does not need to look far in order to find a wealth of information about the lives of Al-Bukhārī and Muslim, while one would struggle to find more than a paragraph about the lives of the top Shia Hadīth scholars like Al-Kulaynī and Al-Sadūq.
11- A Karbala Narrative that Makes Sense
An ex-Shia brother said to me after reading some of our articles on Karbala that the exaggerated fabrications about the events of Karbala were the first things that gave him doubts about Shiasm.
If you never quite bought the idea that Abū Al-Fadl Al-Abbās defeated over a hundred men after losing an arm in battle, then the Sunnī narrative is for you. If you simply cannot accept that Muslim Ibn Aqīl defeated 1,500 men single-handedly, then the Sunnī narrative is for you. If you cannot stomach the idea that Al-Husayn Radiallahu Anhu willingly took his relatives, his infant son, and the children of ‘Abdullāh bin Ja’far, to be knowingly slaughtered, then the Sunnī version is for you.
12- Disbelief in a Twelfth Imām that has been hidden for over a Thousand Years
If most Shias in the fourth century, according to Al-Sadūq in the introduction of his Ikmāl Al-Dīn, were having doubts about the Twelfth Hidden Imām, due to his ‘lengthy’ absence, then how is it possible that this is not an issue today after over a thousand years without this alleged hidden Imām?
It is suggested by Shias that Allāh Ta’ala would never leave the world without a hujjah. However, this hujjah has been out of action for so long that his existence in occultation simply does not have an effect on the world.
Deep down, all religious Shias have these doubts and this is their chance to accept what they have always felt.
Our final request to you, our friends, is to refer to the top of the article.
Look at this list closely.
Can you really say that you are truly content knowing that you are missing out on all of this? Are you really satisfied being upon something that is not the Islm that was revealed by Allāh Ta’ala upon His final Messenger?
If you are, then we sincerely wish you guidance.
If not, then we extend our hand to you.
- Access to the real teachings of Ahl ul Bayt
- Uniformity in the teachings of Ahl ul Bayt
- A taqiyyah-free Ahl ul Bayt
- Access to the context of Qur’ānic verses
- Reliable books of Tafsīr
- Access to the Sīrah
- Trust in the Hadīth compilers
- A Karbala narrative that makes sense
- Disbelief in a twelfth Imām that has been hidden for over a thousand years
1- A Pure Focus on Allāh Ta’ala
One of the main reasons for the conversion of ex-Shias to Sunnism is the focus on Allāh Ta’ala. As many are aware, the main focus in Shiasm is not the Creator, but rather, the creation. Even though Sunnīs venerate Ahl ul Bayt deeply, they do not make them the focus of their religion. This can be observed in their practices, lectures, and in their daily spoken language.
Shias, sadly, do not enjoy the same focus on Allah Ta’ala. This is most commonly observed in how they encourage putting Ahl ul Bayt, as an intermediary, between them and Allāh Ta’ala. This is not encouraged in the Qur’ān, for we know that Allāh Ta’ala said [2:186]: “And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me.”
2- Access to the Hadīth of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam
Most people are aware that Sunnīs build their faith on the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam . However, what most Shias are not aware of is the fact that there are not enough prophetic narrations in the Shia Hadīth corpus for them to build their sect upon, so the same cannot be said for them.
For Ahādīth, the Sunnīs have a variety of sources that they can refer to. Off the top of my head, Sunnīs can easily find prophetic narrations in the Sahīhayn, the four Sunan, Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mālik, Al-Tabarani’s three Ma’ajim, Sunan Al-Daraqutnī, Sunan Al-Dārimī, Sahīh Ibn Hibbān, Sahīh Ibn Khuzaymah, Musnad Al-Bazzār, Musnad Abū Ya’la, as well as the Masaneed that have been preserved through Ibn Hajar’s Al-Matalib Al-Aliya.
Shias, on the other hand, do not have a book that collects Ahādīth. When the odd narration from Rasūlullāh himself is found in a book like Al-Kāfī, or another one of the four books, it is weak or fabricated due to the anonymity of a narrator most of the time.
It should not be a surprise that the Shias do not have a large number of reliable Ahaadith from Rasūlullāh Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam , since they reject the majority of the companions of Rasūlullāh Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam as reliable narrators. This leads us to our next point.
3- Acceptance of the Sahābah Radiallahu Anhum
Even though this may seem trivial to average Shias, it is clearly a matter of great significance as we can see from the previous point. The rejecting of the Sahābah Radiallahu Anhum ultimately leads to rejecting the vast majority of the Ahādīth.
Shias may attempt to cling at straws by suggesting that the Sunnī prophetic tradition is actually the result of Umayyad Hadīth factories. This theory is based upon a lack of an objective reading of the Sunnī texts, since the majority of the Sunnī Hadīth collections do not contain anything pro-Umayyad. On the other hand, the narrations about the merits of Sayyidunā ‘Alī Radiallahu Anhu and the rest of Ahl ul Bayt are plenty in number in the Sunnī books. More importantly, the vast majority of the Sunnī traditions revolve around neutral practices and wisdoms from Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam. By neutral, we mean non-controversial.
Acceptance of the Sahābah Radiallahu Anhum also leads to access to a plethora of their personal opinions in rulings and practices, as well as Qur’ānic interpretation. Access to the opinions of first generation of Muslims provides Sunnīs with a better understanding of religious matters that have some vagueness due to language and historical context.
4- Access to the Real Teachings of Ahl ul Bayt
The very suggestion may come as a shocker to most Shias. However, Sunnīs do claim that they are the preservers of the teachings of Ahl ul Bayt as well. In brief, there is no doubt that both Sunnī and Shias are selective with what they narrate. The most obvious example of this is that Ahl ul Bayt are on good terms with the companions in Sunnī narrations. In Shia narrations, we find that they are foes. At times, the Shia Imāms are found cursing the three Khulafā’ and other companions as bitter enemies.
One may ask: How do you know that it was the Sunnīs that were successful in recording the teachings of Ahl ul Bayt?
First of all, we would like to make Shias aware that matters are not as simple as a Sunnī and Shia version of Ahl ul Bayt. Rather, we are dealing with the narrators that represent each sect. The Shia narrators from Ahl ul Bayt are from the city of Kufa like Zurarah, Abū Al-Basīr, and Muhammad Ibn Muslim. These are three of the top narrators who have attributed thousands of narrations to the Ahl ul Bayt. Sunnīs do not consider them to be reliable. Ironically, by looking into the earliest book of biographies (both Sunnī and Shia), one can find some of the Imāms cursing some of these men.
Another critical issue with the Shia version of Ahl ul Bayt is the sheer number of contradictions that have been attributed to the Imāms, which leads us to our next point.
5- Uniformity in the Teachings of Ahl ul Bayt
It will come as no surprise to Shias that are well-read that the early Shia books of Hadīth are riddled with contradictions. Not only do the Twelve Imāms contradict each other in almost every chapter of fiqh, but these contradictions can be found attributed to the Imām himself. Al-Tūsī alone has collected four volumes of contradictions in his book Al-Istibsār. Sunnis, on the other hand, have uniformity in their narrations from Ahl ul Bayt.
The main reason that Shias give for the massive amount of contradictions that can be found in their works is due to the taqiyyah of the Imams, which leads us to our next point.
6- A Taqiyyah-free Ahl ul Bayt
Not only is the true version of Ahl ul Bayt taqiyyah-free in Sunnī books when it comes to their political actions and motives, but they are taqiyyah-free in their religious rulings as well.
Due to this, you will not find them providing false religious rulings in order to preserve their own lives or well-being. No, the Sunnī Ahl ul Bayt do not compromise, nor do they let politics get in their way of teaching the religion.
7- Access to the Context of Qur’ānic Verses
Shias are mostly unaware that specific issues in Qur’ānic sciences (i.e. Chapters being Makkī/Madanī, abrogate in rulings, recitations, etc) are unique to the Sunnīs. These opinions can mostly be traced to the first century of Sunnī scholarship. Ibn Abbās and his students played a major role in providing us with this wealth of information regarding context.
If Shias have any doubts in regards to this, then we suggest picking up a copy of Al-Tūsī or Al-Tabrasī’s exegesis of the Qur’ān in order for them to see the reliance of these top Shia scholars on early Sunnī works. The same is applied to Ibn Mutawwaj’s Al-Nāsikh wal Mansūkh.
The same can be said about the actual reasons for revelation (Asbāb Al-Nuzūl) since no Shia classical works on the topic exist today.
8- Reliable Books of Tafsīr
Tafsīr Al-Ayyāshī and Tafsīr Al-Qummī are two books of tafsīr that moderate Shias are not proud of. This is because these books are filled with opinions from the authors, supported by narrations from the Imāms, that the Qur’ān has been tampered with. We are very aware that moderate Shias do not accept such beliefs, which explains why they are not fond of these works in the first place.
Sunnīs, on the other hand, are proud of their early books of tafsīr. Tafsīr Abdur Razzāq and Tafsīr Ibn Abī Hātim are works in which the authors’ primary focus was to provide readers with the earliest explanations given by Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam and the early generations.
9- Access to the Sīrah
The average Shia is not aware that Shias do not have classical sīrah books. Modern Shia sīrah books are based upon the works of classical Sunnī sīrah works. This should not come as a surprise since specialization in sīrah came from the middle of the second century. Examples include the works of Ibn Ishāq, which has been preserved through Ibn Hishām, and Musa bin Uqbah, which has been preserved by Al-Bayhaqī and others.
It is due to the lack of content about Rasūlullāh that contemporary Shia scholars don’t attempt to piece together a complete sīrah from Shia sources.
To summarize this point, by becoming a Sunni, you can actually have a complete idea of the life of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam for it definitely included more than events like Al-Ghadīr, Al-Mubahala, and other events that revolved around Ahl ul Bayt.
10- Trust in the Hadīth Compilers
Perhaps one of the most overlooked differences between the sects is that Sunnīs have the luxury of having complete trust in their own Hadīth compilers. It is important to be aware the trust is not blind. Rather, the trust exists for two reasons: 1) The abundance of sources and the 2) sufficient amount of biographical data about compilers.
The abundance of sources ensures the reliability of the compilers. For example, there is not a single narration that can be found in Sahīh Al-Bukhārī or Sahīh Muslim that cannot be found in another book of Hadīth. This is thanks to the abundance of the sources.
The same cannot be said about Shia books, for Al-Kulaynī and Al-Sadūq, for instance, are the sole narrators of hundreds, if not thousands of narrations.
The amount of biographical data is self-explanatory. One does not need to look far in order to find a wealth of information about the lives of Al-Bukhārī and Muslim, while one would struggle to find more than a paragraph about the lives of the top Shia Hadīth scholars like Al-Kulaynī and Al-Sadūq.
11- A Karbala Narrative that Makes Sense
An ex-Shia brother said to me after reading some of our articles on Karbala that the exaggerated fabrications about the events of Karbala were the first things that gave him doubts about Shiasm.
If you never quite bought the idea that Abū Al-Fadl Al-Abbās defeated over a hundred men after losing an arm in battle, then the Sunnī narrative is for you. If you simply cannot accept that Muslim Ibn Aqīl defeated 1,500 men single-handedly, then the Sunnī narrative is for you. If you cannot stomach the idea that Al-Husayn Radiallahu Anhu willingly took his relatives, his infant son, and the children of ‘Abdullāh bin Ja’far, to be knowingly slaughtered, then the Sunnī version is for you.
12- Disbelief in a Twelfth Imām that has been hidden for over a Thousand Years
If most Shias in the fourth century, according to Al-Sadūq in the introduction of his Ikmāl Al-Dīn, were having doubts about the Twelfth Hidden Imām, due to his ‘lengthy’ absence, then how is it possible that this is not an issue today after over a thousand years without this alleged hidden Imām?
It is suggested by Shias that Allāh Ta’ala would never leave the world without a hujjah. However, this hujjah has been out of action for so long that his existence in occultation simply does not have an effect on the world.
Deep down, all religious Shias have these doubts and this is their chance to accept what they have always felt.
Our final request to you, our friends, is to refer to the top of the article.
Look at this list closely.
Can you really say that you are truly content knowing that you are missing out on all of this? Are you really satisfied being upon something that is not the Islm that was revealed by Allāh Ta’ala upon His final Messenger?
If you are, then we sincerely wish you guidance.
If not, then we extend our hand to you.
