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in the broad sense, refers to the movement upholding a privileged position of the Family of the Prophet (ahl al-bayt [q.v.]) in the political and religious leadership of the Muslim Community.

 

The name is derived from shi'at 'Ali, i.e. the party or partisans of 'Ali,which was first used in the inter-Muslim war during 'Ali's caliphate distinguishing them from the shi'at 'Uthman, the partisans of the murdered caliph 'Uthman opposed to 'Ali.

 

The present article will deal with the origins and early development of the Shi'a until the emergence of the major sectarian branches. For these, see the individual articles on Ithna

'ashariyya, Isma'iliyya, Zaydiyya, etc.

 

In the lifetime of Muhammad, his close kin enjoyed a raised religious status of purity recognised by

the Kur'an. As his kin (dhawul-kurba), there were counted the descendants of his great-grandfather Hashim and, to some extent, the descendants of Hashim's brother al-Muttalib.

 

They were, like the Prophet himself, not allowed to receive or to handle alms (zakat) as these were considered unclean.

 

In compensation for this exclusion they were entitled to receive a portion of the khums, the fifth of war booty reserved to the Prophet, and of the fay' [q.v], property which fell to the Muslims without war effort.

 

After Muhammad's death, the establishment of the caliphate by Abu Bakr on the basis of a privileged position for the tribe of Kuraysh as a whole, and the confiscation of Muhammad's property, deprived the Prophet's Family of the special status, as they were disinherited and lost their title to their Kur'anic share of the khums and fay'.

 

The Banu Hashim vainly protested against these developments by refusing to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr for six months.

 

The disestablishment of the Family of the Prophet after his death was the ultimate motive for the rise of the Shi'a.

 

As leader of the Banu Hashim was first generally recognised Muhammad's cousin 'Ali because of his close association with the Prophet, his marriage to Muhammad's daughter Fatima and his early merits in Islam.

 

Early Shi'i support, however, was not restricted to him and his descendants. Throughout the Umayyad age there was broad awareness that the Prophet's Family comprised all of the Banu Hashim, as is evident, for instance, in the poetry of al-Kumayt entitled Hashimiyyat.

 

There were, however, preferences, partly on a local basis, for some particular branch of the Family. In Basra, descendants of al-Harith b. 'Abd al-Muttalib b.

 

Hashim occasionally enjoyed support as kin of the Prophet since they were settled there. In Kufa, where 'Ali resided during his reign, his descendants were most often preferred to others.

 

Support of descendants of al-'Abbas and of 'Ali's brother Dja'far should not be seen as an illegitimate deviation from early Shi'i backing of the Alids.

 

A popular movement in favour of Ali first emerged in Kufa under the governorship of al-Walid b. 'Ukba during the first half of 'Uthman's caliphate. Its spokesmen, many of them Kur'an readers (kurra' [q.v.]), later appear as leaders of the shi'at 'Ali under the latter's caliphate and, if they survived, after his assassination.

 

They were calling for the removal of 'Uthman from the leadership and for allegiance to 'Ali. One of them, Malik b. al-Harith al-Ashtar [q.v], became the leader of the Kufan revolt which overthrew 'Uthman's governor Sa'id b. al-'As [q.v.] and installed Abu Musa al-Ash'ari [q.v.] in his place. He also led the Kufan rebel group which joined the groups from Egypt and Basra converging on Medina to press for the resignation of 'Uthman.

 

Although he and the Kufans did not join in the siege of the caliph's palace carried out by the Egyptians, he played a major part in securing the succession of 'Ali to power against the rival candidacy of Talha [q.v] and subsequently in rousing Kufan support for 'Ali against Aisha,Talha, and al-Zubayr in the Battle of the Camel, in spite of the neutralist stand of the governor Abu Musa al-Ash'ari. 'Ali's reign bore from the outset the character of a counter-caliphate.
He was heralded by his supporters and officials as the most excellent of Muslims after the Prophet, and was acclaimed in poetry and eulogies as the wasi, the legatee, of Muhammad. Such claims, which put the legitimacy of the caliphate of his predecessors in question, lent the conflict between him and his opponents a religious dimension apart from the political one. Already in the Battle of the Camel, 'Ali's opponents spoke of a "religion of 'Ali (din 'Ali)", a notion deeply resented by the

'Prophet's cousin

who insisted that he represented the religion of Muhammad. 'Ali's own attitude to the legitimacy of his predecessors' reign, as expressed in his speeches and letters, was complex. He praised Abu Bakr's and Umar's conduct in office highly and reprimanded any of his followers who depreciated them.

 

He severely criticized 'Uthman for misgovernment and arbitrary innovations. Holding that 'Uthman had provoked the rebellion against himself, he refused to condemn the rebels, while not expressly condoning the murder of the caliph and distancing himself from any personal involvement in the rebellion.

 

He asserted that he personally had a better right to the succession of Muhammad than any other Companion, on the basis of his close kinship and association with him as well as his outstanding merits in the cause of Islam.

 

The Community of the Faithful as a whole deserved blame for having turned away from him after the death of Muhammad. It was 'Ali who first gave the hadith of Ghadir Khumm [q.v.] publicity by inviting those Companions who had heard the Prophet's statements there to testify on the square in front of the mosque of Kufa.

 

These statements have traditionally been understood by the Shi'a as an implicit appointment of 'Ali to the succession in the leadership of the Community.

 

'Ali made plain that he considered the Family of the Prophet to be entitled to the leadership of the Community as long as there remained a single one of them who recited the Kur'an, knew the Sunna and adhered to the true faith.

 

The most basic distinguishing beliefs of the Shi'a thus go back to 'Ali, who must to this extent be considered its founder and first teacher. This fact has been largely unpalatable to Sunni historiography, which therefore created and propagated as the founder of the Shi'a the figure of 'Abd Allah b. Saba' [q.v.], the malicious Yemenite Jew who first stirred up the rebellion against 'Uthman and invented the doctrine of 'Ali being the legatee of Muhammad, ending up with extremist fiction denying the death of 'Ali and deifying him.

 

 

Only this latter aspect may well have had a historical foundation. Ibn Saba' appears to have been active in al-Mada'in after 'Ali's death and to have propagated belief in his return (raj'a) and ultimate victory over his enemies. When 'Ali was assassinated in 40/661, his partisans in Kufa were

evidently convinced that only a member of the Prophet's Family could legitimately succeed him.

 

Although 'Ali, probably following the Prophet's precedent, refused to appoint a successor after having been mortally struck, his eldest son al-Hasan [q.v], grandson of Muhammad, was immediately recognised without dissent.

 

A few months later, al-Hasan abdicated in favour of the Umayyad Mu'awiya [q.v] on the basis of a treaty which stipulated a full amnesty and safety of life and property for the shi'at 'Ali and which denied Mu'awiya the right to appoint a successor.

 

According to some accounts, it provided for al-Hasan to succeed him, according to others for election by a council (shura), evidently on the model of the electoral council appointed by 'Umar. Although the abdication aroused general disappointment and some protest among the Shi'a, it was not regarded as a renunciation by al-Hasan of his ultimate tide to the leadership, and he continued to be recognised as the legitimate Imam.

 

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