Understanding and Classification of Various Shia SectS

قَالَأَبَانٌقَالَسُلَيْمٌوَسَمِعْتُعَلِيَّبْنَأَبِيطَالِبٍعيَقُولُ‏ إِنَّ الْأُمَّةَ سَتَفْتَرِقُ عَلَى ثَلَاثٍ وَ سَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً اثْنَتَانِ وَ سَبْعُونَ فِرْقَةً فِي النَّارِ وَ فِرْقَةٌ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَ ثَلَاثَ عَشْرَةَ فِرْقَةً مِنَ الثَّلَاثِ وَ السَّبْعِينَ تَنْتَحِلُ مَحَبَّتَنَا أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَاحِدَةٌ [مِنْهَا] فِي‏الْجَنَّةِ وَ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ فِي النَّار

(Kitab Al Sulaym, Tradition No. 7)

Aban said : Sulaym said :I heard Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.)say that : The community will be divided into seventy three sects, seventy two sects will be in the Fire and one sect will be in the Paradise. Thirteen of the seventy-three sects will arrogate (claim without justification) to love us (a.s.), the People (a.s.) of the Household, one of these will be in the Paradise and twelve will be in the Fire.

The aforementioned tradition taken from the book Sulaym bin Qays  al-Hilaali under the heading ‘Differences in the community and its sects’.

In Arabic the Shi‘a means followers and supporters. This meaning includes all those who follow Imam Ali (a.s.), the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, and his household. Al-Fayruz Abadi said:

“Man’s Shi‘ites are his followers and supporters. This name includes all those who follow ‘Ali and his household, peace be on them, to the extent that it concerns them only.”

Al-Qamus , Vol. 3 , Pg . 47 (Taken From Book The Life of Imam Musa Ibn Jafar )

From the saying of Ameerul Momineen Imam Ali (a.s.) it is evident that there will be differences amongst those who love the Holy Family Of Prophet (s.a.w.a) and only one sect will go to paradise. Hence it becomes important for us to know the correct sect and safeguard our beliefs from the deviated sects. In this article, Inshallah,we will enlist the sects which were formed within the Shias during the course of time after the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a).

A chart depicting the various sects which have come up is given below. This is not an exhaustive list. Interested researchers can add in the chart.

Kaysani Sect

They are the followers of Muhammad Ibn al-Hanafiyya whom they considered as the Mahdi. They denied his death and said that he is in occultation in Mount Razwa who would rise and eliminate injustice.

The Occultation of Twelfth Imam

After a few generations of Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyah, during the era of Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s.), many adherents of the Kaysanniyah sect pledged their allegiance to Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s.). This sect is now extinct.

Zaydi Sect

The followers of this sect consider Zayd bin Ali (Son of Imam Zainul Aabedeen (a.s.)) as the fifth Imam. The present day Houthis in Yemen belong to this sect.

The Zaydiya have built their ideological frame on the revolt to remove oppressive governments and to establish justice. They have maintained that any ‘Alawid person comes out in revolt with the sword is an Imam to whom obedience is obligatory. All those who claim the Imamate and are sitting in their own houses are not Imams and it is not permissible to follow them.

The Life of Imam Musa Ibn Jafar – Pg. 474

Sevener

This sect believe that Ismail bin Jafar was the Imam after Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s.) while Janabe Ismael passed away during the time of Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s.). They however deny this fact and consider that Janabe Ismail has gone into occultation and will return as the Promised Mahdi.

Fatthiyya

They are partisans of Abdullah Al Aftah as they considered the eldest living son of Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s) as the Imam. However since he died without any child, many adherents gave their allegiance to Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.) after his death.

Bohras

They are followers of Mustali son of Mustansir who was from the progeny of Ismail ibne Jafar. This sect is further divided into various sub-sects.

Nizari (AgaKhan)

They are followers of Nizar who was another son of Muntasir.

Waqifi

They are those who accepted the Imamate of Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.) but did not accept the Imamate of Imam Ali Reza (a.s.). They believed that Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.) is the Promised Mahdi and has gone into occultation. One of the reasons cited for the creation of the waqifi sect was the lure of money. 

This can be inferred from the following tradition :

“Uthman ibn Isa Ar-Ravasay was one of the representatives(of Imam Al-Kazim (s)) who lived in Egypt. A lot of (ImamAl-Kazim's (s)) property and six slave maids were in his possession.Abul Hassan Al-Reza (s) sent someone to him and asked him to returnthe slave maids and the property. Uthman ibn Isa Ar-Rawasi wrote a letterin response and said, ‘Your father has not died yet.’ Imam Al-Reza (s)wrote a letter to him and said, ‘My father (s) has passed away and wehave divided up his possessions. There is correct news to confirm hisdeath.’ Imam Al-Reza (s) presented some proofs. Uthman wrote to him(s) in reply, ‘If your father is alive, you have no rights over his property.If he (s) has died as you say, he (s) has not given me any orders to disposeof these possessions to you. I freed the slave maids and marriedthem.’”

(Uyun Akhbar-Ar-Raza, Ch 17, Tradition 10-3 )

Since Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.) was imprisoned most of the time, he had appointed representatives to collect money on his behalf. However after the martyrdom of Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.), they did not want to part with the money and hence refused to give the money to Imam Ali Reza (a.s) when he demanded from them. They excused themselves by saying that Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.) has gone into occultation.

The above are just a few sects of Shias. Details of the above sects are available in books which interested readers can refer to. The following conclusion can be derived from the formation of these sects:

·         People did not possess the recognition of a true Imam. This was due to leaving the door of Ahle Bait (a.s.)

·         People followed any person who talked about the golden era of reappearance without verifying whether that person was the really the one about whom the traditions have talked about.

·         People followed whoever raised the banner against the unjust rulers of the time.

·         Some sects were formed just for material gains.

·         Some pseudo took advantage of the gloomy environment of Ghaibat and soothed the people with promises and people without any inkling became their followers.

The above points make us sit and think that how important it is to be attached with the Saqalain (the Holy Quran and the Ahle Bait (a.s.). Also, how true recognition can help us from the deviation of imposters and pseudos’. 

We pray to Almighty through the medium of Ahle Bait (a.s.) to hasten the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) and keep us steadfast on the path of guidance and serve Hazrat (a.s.) till our last breadth in this world. Aameen.