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We believe that a true and comprehensive understanding of Islam would not be possible without careful recognition of the Prophetic Tradition and the Prophet's Household. And Allah is the Source of Strength.
 

Aliya's; Why Become a Shia

This is a personal experience posted to us by one of our visitors. This is her journey from being an Elizabeth to becoming an Aliya.

You can contact her through her email address [aliya_n6@hotmail.com]

Aliya Says,

"Christianity was not right for me. I was raised Christian, a Jehovah’s Witness to be more precise. When I was younger, I was quite religious, but as I got older, I started seeing problems with what I had been taught. Why, if GOD can say “be” and it “is”, why should Jesus (pbuh) be considered as GOD’S “begotten son”? I had never heard Adam (pbuh) referred to in that way, so why Jesus (pbuh)? My problems were also with the way the religion treated it’s members. People could be “disfellowshipped” for any number of things, which is basically shunning them, and they have to work to get “reinstated”. Now, I suppose that’s all fine as long as there is proof of what the person has done, but why is it up to men to say “you can’t be a part of this religion because you did such and such” and “you have to prove to us that you have reformed”. Judgment and forgiveness is the realm of GOD, not man. It is not as if this were a court, this is religion, and punishment should not be being effectively kicked out of the religion. Even if this were the case, I saw people considered elders doing things that were dishonest, and yet they were pretty much excused for their behavior. I became disenchanted with the religion, and began my quest to find the religion that was right for me. 

On the other hand, my doubts about Christianity increased when I read certain things from the bible. The following are some excerpts from the Christian book.

Lot (Lut A.S.) and his daughters committed incest;

Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth. Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father." That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. The next day the older daughter said to the younger, "Last night I lay with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father." So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.
Genesis [19:30-36]

Moses (Musa A.S.) Drunk and Naked;

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.
Genesis [9:20-23]

 Jesus' (Isa's A.S.) Prophecy Falters;

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew [12:38-40]

Jesus was crucified on Friday, this is certainly known among all Christians, and it’s the reason for calling that Friday by "Good Friday." Jesus was buried on Friday night. Now let us start counting: 

And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
Mark [16:1-6]

The number of days and nights Jesus spent in the heart of the earth is 1 day and 2 nights. This challenges what Jesus had prophesied. 

I came to Islam. When I met the man who was to become my husband he was literally the first Muslim I had ever met. Anyone that has attended public schools in the U.S. knows that all we learn about Islam is “It is one of the three major world religions, and Muslims follow the teachings of Muhammad (saw)”. Literally that is it. So when I met Rizwan, my husband, I was intrigued and curious about his religion. He provided me with books, put me in touch with knowledgeable people to whom I could ask my questions, and he left me to my own research. I researched for over a year, reading Qur’an from beginning to end, and slowly realizing that this was the religion I had been searching for my entire life. Everything I read made sense. I recited shahada in January of 1998. Islam made perfect sense. It reinforced many aspects of Christianity, respected the prophets in the Bible, but in a better way. It showed the prophets, the examples of their time, as infallible… something the Bible does not do.

There is great respect for Prophet Isa (a.s.) in particular, the only main difference is Islam does not deify him the way Christianity does. Allah (SWT) created him, but he is not the “son of GOD” nor is he the spirit of GOD in human form. He is a prophet, plain and simple. Islam’s treatment of women is better, too. I had always seen pictures of Saudi, heard stories about Islam over there, and had ideas that Islam was oppressive to women. But when I did research into the religion itself, it’s clear that the treatment of women in many Islamic cultures is based on culture, and not on Islam. Women in Islam are encouraged to be educated, and held in high regard and respected. The hijab is not an oppressive feature insisted on by her husband, but a guard for our modesty prescribed by Allah (SWT). Women are cherished and protected in Islam, we are not inferior as we are viewed in Christianity. On top of that, the Qur’an has not been changed, and was finished during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (saw). The same cannot be said for the Bible. It is well known, even among Christians, that the Bible has been changed, and that much of it was written many years after the “death” of Jesus (pbuh). So how could it be 100% correct? Yet we, as Muslims, have the original Qur’anic text available, that has been unchanged since its revelation. Truly our religion is protected from deviation of text, and therefore the core message, unlike any other religion in existence.

I chose the path of Shia, as opposed to Sunni, as everything I learned about shias made sense to me too. In the history of mankind, Allah (swt) never left His religion unprotected. Yes, some people went astray, but everyone was sent prophets, throughout history. These were not people elected to prophethood, but chosen by Allah (swt) Himself. Why are we then to believe, after the religion was perfected by our own Prophet Muhammad (saw), that Allah (swt) would then leave it in the hands of common men? It makes perfect sense that Allah (swt) in His Divine Wisdom and Mercy would appoint guides for us, free of sin, as were the Prophets, to keep us on the right path. Since there were no elected prophets or imams, why then should we accept the successor to the Prophet (saw) being elected? It is illogical, and gives the caliphate a definite sense of being illegitimate.

One of my biggest issues with sunnis is their reverence for the caliphs and companions of the Prophet (saw), seemingly preferring them over Prophet’s (saw) own family. This is seen in any number of ways, including being neutral on issues when the companions fought the ahlulbayt of Prophet Muhammad, and giving more preference to hadith narrated by the Sahaba. Also with the preference for Aisha, even though she sided against the Prophet’s (saw) own son in law, and the caliph of that time, over Prophet’s (saw) blood family. During her lifetime, she had plotted against the Prophet himself many times [Quran Surah 66].  In Islam, in relations to prophets particularly, the relationships with wives are not considered permanent (see the example of Lut (a.s.) for proof), but the blood relations that are given superiority and are permanent. Therefore how can we prefer companions and wives of the Prophet (saw) no matter how virtuous, over the pure progeny of the Prophet (saw)? Again, it is illogical on the part of the sunnis.

Sunni Islam also makes no sense to me in that there are 4 madhabs, or schools of thought, which were developed after the demise of the Prophet (saw), they differ, and yet to sunnis they are all correct. How is it logical, if there can be only one true sunnah of the Prophet, that so many contradicting rulings can be made from it, and they ALL are considered correct? They differ on things that are deemed to be halal and haram, they differ on matters concerning prayer, etc. and yet none of them are wrong? They’re all equal and acceptable to Sunnis. This is illogical, and Islam is a religion that makes perfect sense. 

The abundance of shia beliefs backed up by sunni hadith really cinched my decision. I have seen what Sunnis have in their “sahih” hadith, and some of it is absolutely contrary to everything Islam, and our Prophet (saw) taught us. Infact, the Sunni methodology of Sahihs is very similar to that of the Christian Bible (one of the reasons I left Christianity). The Sunni Sahihs emerged after atleast 400 years after the prophet's demise, yet they were claimed to be 100% authentic. Same case with the Bible.

Sunni sahihs also disrespected the Prophets of Islam such as,

  1.  Moses naked
  2. Prophet Muhammad naked
  3. Moses slapping the angel of Death
  4. Prophet Muhammad forgetting prayers
  5. Prophet Muhammad's sexual life!!!
  6. Prophet Muhammad contradicting the Quran and his own Shariah

This was the case with Bible also. And one thing I noticed in the Sunni Sahihs was that most of the narrations were from the companions of the prophet, and not his very own Family. As said before, his family has Quranically and Logically been given more preference, yet the narrations are from Sahabas.

Furthermore, Sunni Sahihs contained many hadiths contradicting each other, and supporting the Shia creed and beliefs. For example,

or

This proved nothing but fabrications. All of them cancelled out each other and when I looked at the Shia hadith, it had only one kind of hadith, Muta banned by Umer. Such belief were also backed up by Sunni hadith books. It all made perfect sense to me.

Therefore how can I be expected to turn my back on something that makes perfect sense, in preference to something so illogical? Shia Islam, or Islam original, makes perfect sense, unlike other sects within the ummah."

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