THE CONCEPT OF IMAMAT IN QURAN

A Knowledgeable Dialogue

SHIA ARTICLES OF BELIEF & PILLARS OF ISLAM

• The Shia’s five articles of belief which are the fundamentals of religion are:

Tawheed (Oneness of God)Nabuwwat (Prophet hood)Ma'ad (Day of Judgment)Adl (Justice of God) and Imamat.

• Their five pillars of Islam are:

PrayerZakatFastingHajj (the Pilgrimage) andImamat.

• And according to them, Imamat is the most important one.

THE CONCEPT OF IMAMAT

The Concept of Imamat says:

• Apart from Prophets, there are another group of God appointed people called Imams.

• These are the people who are infallible and have access to a knowledge that is not accessible by ordinary people.

• The world cannot be empty of an Imam otherwise it will be destroyed.

• In the Islamic context, these individuals are those among the descendants of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who are appointed by no one but God to lead Muslims. Any one who chooses any leader other than them is misguided and not a complete believer.

THE VIRTUE OF THE GLORIOUS QURAN

• Quran is the Book of Guidance as stated by Allah in Quranic Verses 7:52, 12:111, 10:57, 16:89, 6:88, 41:44 and others.

• Everything (that would be necessary for guidance) has been explained in detail in Quran as stated in 11:1, 41:3, 17:52, 20:113, 6:114, 10:37 and others.

• Quran is not only for a certain group of people to study and take guidance, but it is for An-Naas, the people/mankind, as stated in the verses 18:54, 17:89, 14:52 and others.

• It is called as Furqan i.e. the Criteria to judge between right and wrong or good and bad, in the verses 2:185, 3:4 and 25:1.

• There is no book, that is better than the Quran, in guidance, not even Toraat and Injeel, as stated in the verse 28:49 of Quran.

THE NEED FOR THIS DISCUSSION

• The topic under discussion is not a minor issue, it is very important. It's importance is to the extent that Shia brothers and sisters hold that because of not believing in this concept (i.e. the imamat), almost 89% of the Muslims are misguided and in fact not true believers.

• In the previous slides we have seen the importance of the Concept of Imamat in Shia belief and we have also seen the main virtue of the Holy Quran as a guide and that, it explains everything in detail, what is necessary for guidance.

• The question naturally arises, that;

Where is the Concept of Imamat in Quran?

• Keeping in mind the utmost importance of the Concept of Imamat in Shia belief and the main virtue of the Holy Quran, it would surely not be unfair to demand the verses with no additions to the translation, no Hadeeth to support a certain interpretation of the verse and no personal commentaries.

• The possible answers that we may get from our Shia brothers and sisters are;

POSSIBLE ANSWERS

1. There are also no verses in Quran to tell us how to pray. We learn some of our duties from Hadeeth also.

2. There are certain verses but we need to look at Hadeeth to understand their true meaning because we are advised to understand Quran from the Prophet and his teachings.

3. Long and complicated analysis of certain verses of Quran to prove that even without the help of Hadeeth, they are proving Imamat.

4. There is no mention of our Prophet in Bible but still Christians need to believe in the Prophet.

5. The verses of Quran are usually general and it is not the style of Quran to name people (i.e. Imams).

6. Quran says "follow the Prophet". There are Hadeeth from the Prophet that prove the concept of Imamat and this should be enough for a Muslim if he wants to follow the Prophet.

7. There are not explicit verses because if they were, Quran was in danger of fabrication.

8. Where in Quran it is said that Muslims should choose a khalifah by themselves?

9. Show us the names of the prophets between so-and-so in Quran if you think that every thing should be in Quran.

10. It is a test that's why it is not mentioned in Quran.

11. Sunnis believe in Imam Mahdi while he is not mentioned in Quran.

12. Imamat is not the fundamental belief of Shia, the appointment of Ali is the fundamental of belief.

13. Arguments that use few verses of Quran out of the context.

14. There were and still are, so many Shia scholars and aalims, highly educated and intelligent, and have written a number of books on this belief. How come all were wrong?

15. Quran is changed by Sahabah and certain verses were removed from it.

REPLY 1

1. There are also no verses in Quran to tell us how to pray. We learn some of our duties from Hadeeth also.

• Prayer has been referred to EXPLICITLY and STRONGLY more than eighty (80) times in Quran. In each of these verses one of the aspects of prayer is covered. Apart from telling about the importance of prayer, many of these verses also talk about the details of prayer, like the times of prayers (20:130, 30:17-18, 17:78-79, 11:114), prayer in travel (4:101, 73:20, 4:43), prayer in war/fear (4:101, 73:20, 4:43), prayer in sickness (73:20, 4:43), praying in mosques (9:18, 9:108, 72:18, 7:204), the Juma prayer (62:9), the importance of Asr prayer over others (2:238) etc.

• Moreover some talk even about the pre-requisites of the prayer like how to perform ablution (5:6), tayammum (4:43, 5:6), ghusl (5:6, 4:43), about performing azaan (5:58) etc.

• Certainly with such vast and strong references from Quran, Muslims will refer to the Prophet to know more details. In comparison, the total number of the verses that Shia refers to, for Imamat is no more than 5 or 6 and yet none of them can be interpreted by a non-biased mind in the way that Shia brothers and sisters interpret! In fact none of them are explicit and strong enough to prove Imamat concept!

• And this is while Prayer is not at all comparable with Imamat!

• Imamat is the fundamental of belief. Shia calls it one of the Asool-e-Deen (Fundamental of religion). Prayer however according to Shia is one of the Furu-e-Deen (Subsidiary)!

• Imamat is important enough to convince Shia to separate themselves from the mainstream Islam. If the only difference between Shia and the Mainstream Islam was the difference in performing the prayer, they would never had become a sect out of the mainstream Islam.

REPLY 2

2. There are certain verses but we need to look at Hadeeth to understand their true meaning because we are advised to learn Quran from the Prophet and is his teachings.

• Why only when it comes to Imamat, we need Hadeeth to help us? We don't need a Hadeeth to understand from Quran that offering prayer, performing Hajj, fasting, Jihad etc. are obligatory upon Muslims (even they are less important than imamat, as they say). We don't need Hadeeth to understand from Quran that a Muslim needs to believe in Oneness of God and his Prophets and the Hereafter. We don't need Hadeeth to understand from Quran that God has angels, there were Prophets in the history of mankind and some of them had books, and that the destiny of man is in the hands of God. All of a sudden when it comes to Imamat, Hadeeth becomes a vital tool to understand Quran.

• Quran how ever does not need a tool to be understandable. It is written in Quran that this book has been made easy to get guidance from (54:17’22’32’40, 18:54, 17:89, 20:113, 12:111).

• It is true that the Prophet explains certain verses of Quran but explaining is different from interpreting. Explaining means giving the details. Interpreting means giving the meaning. Quran needs no tool to be meaningful otherwise it wasn't the book of guidance!

• Also there are many contradictory Hadeeth in explaining verses of Quran and at the end of the day it is impossible to verify exactly which ones are authentic. How could God expect people of our time to use Hadeeth to understand the MEANING of Quran? If this would be the case, than God would not have said in Quran that Truth and False are separated and clear evidences have been shown.

REPLY 3

3. Long and complicated analysis of certain verses of Quran  to prove that even without the help of Hadeeth, they are proving Imamat.

• Same argument goes here. Quran is not a book of riddles and puzzles. Allah does not expect an ordinary Muslim to have a search in Quran and have a professional analysis of the verses of Quran to understand what should be his belief and what are his duties as a Muslim! Allah has laid down the beliefs and duties of a Muslim clearly, explicitly and in detail.

• Of course it is very beneficial to analyse the verses of Quran to understand more from it. Quran is like an ocean. However to say that our fundamental belief can only derived from Quran after such an analysis, is in contradiction with the virtue of Quran as a book of guidance!

• And after going through such long and complicated analysis of the verses to extract a new concept, simply shows that Quran is not clear about that concept. Otherwise such sophisticated analysis would not be required! And after giving a closer look at them, one can easily say that it is not be possible to know about the concept of imamat with the help of those verses, if someone does not already know that concept!

REPLY 4

4. There is no mention of the name of our Prophet in Bible but still Christians need to believe in the Prophet.

• First of all, this argument is not correct at the first place, because Prophet Muhummed (PBUH) is mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon 5:16. The Hebrew word used there is Muhammuddim. The end letters IM is plural of respect, majesty and grand. Minus "im" the name would be Muhammud translated as "altogether lovely" in the Authorised Version of the Bible or 'The Praised One' i.e. 'the one worthy of Praise' i.e. MUHAMMUD (PBUH).

• But even if Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, the most important thing is that Christians are not expected to accept Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) only based on their Bible. Christians along with other human beings are given a brand new guidance that is Quran. So they can read it and judge by themselves whether it can be a Word of someone other than God?

• Another misunderstanding here is that the name of a particular Imam is not asked at all. The Concept of Imamat is asked. The concept of prophet-hood is well established in Bible (both Old [Deutronomy 18:15-190] and New [John 14:16 & 16:13] testaments). It is only after the establishment of this concept in the Christian holy book, that they are expected to believe in ANOTHER prophet that is Muhammad (PBUH). The CONCEPT of Imam (in the way that Shias put it) however has not even referred to (in a convincing way) in Quran, like prophethood in Bible, so how come we are expected to believe in it. Therefore from this respect, the comparison made is totally illogical.

• Moreover, there are many beliefs that Christians have today, but they are not in their Bible. We however as Muslims have to disregard any belief that is not supported by Quran.

REPLY 5

5. The verses of Quran are usually general and it is not the style of Quran to name people (i.e. Imams).

• Same thing. The fact is that name is not asked at all. Only some general verses that may give us that concept. Or even a single verse, something as simple as: "Oh Muslims, be aware that there will be certain Imams for you after the Prophet, from his generation, who will be appointed by Allah and you need to follow them". It is as if (God Forbidden) God was worried about talking about Imamat explicitly.

• And moreover, we have the name of Hazrat Zaid (RA) in Quran (Verse 33:37) who was a Sahabi and his name is there to refer to a very minor issue (i.e. marrying the wives of adopted sons). Even it is not unfair to ask for a single verse with the name of Ali in it if (according to Shia) he had such an important role, as the head of the Imams.

REPLY 6

6. Quran says "follow the Prophet". There are Hadeeth from the Prophet that prove the concept of Imamat and this should be enough for a Muslim if he wants to follow the Prophet.

• Again why is that only for this article of faith we need to consult Hadeeth? Let's test something. If we take Quran and open it by chance. Anyone can guarantee that no matter where it is opened, few verses before or after are about one of the Oneness of God, Prophet hood, Day of Judgement, Destiny of Human Being, or Duties of Muslims. Now how far you need to go in order to find a verse that (also with the help of certain Hadeeth) could be interpreted as Imamat in the Shia belief?

• How come for our other fundamental believes Quran is quite direct, but when it comes to Imamat, we need to refer to Hadeeth? This is an inconsistency and Allah is far greater than having inconsistency in his perfect book.

• Hadeeth is not the second volume of Quran. Authentic Hadeeth is the explanation of Quran, not a second volume to see what is our religion?

• This is even more complicated when we realize that for every Hadeeth that Shia use to prove Imamat, there are other Hadeeth by other Muslims that are in contradiction with it. In fact even Hadeeth (as a whole) are not structured in a way that could prove Imamat, without any contradictions!

• And lastly, such a justification is in fact the main reason for having different sects in Islam. Zaidis too have their own Hadeeth, same for Ismailis and same for Bahayees. All have the same problem. They try to understand their religion from the sources other than Quran. Please note that we are not denying the importance of Hadeeth (we are not Quranist). However believing that certain parts of our fundamental belief has to be derived from Hadeeth rather than Quran is far different from using Hadeeth as a source to Prophet's Sunnah!

• There is no use of discussing the ahaadeeth of the prophet when it comes to prove the validity of the fundamental issues. To all Muslims except those who have made sects, the fundamentals of belief need to be derived from Quran. If the beliefs are not, then either they are wrong or they are not fundamental; And thus no acceptable reasons for forming a specific sect to be separated from the rest of the Muslims.

REPLY 7

7. There are not explicit verses because if there were, Quran was in danger of fabrication.

• This is actually guessing God's intentions. Which is not a suitable thing for us humans.

• And from where one could come to this conclusion? Is there any verse in Quran that says Allah has not revealed certain things because if He does, you will change Quran? In fact the verses of Quran are supportive to the opinion that nothing has been left out for us from Quran and that God keeps Quran safe and that the Prophet should not be worried about delivering the verses. This is in fact attributing Taqiyah to God himself (God forbid).

• Moreover, Shia’s own source is in opposition to this argument.

“…..He (Allah) has not concealed anything of His religion from you, nor has He left out anything which He likes or which He dislikes, but He made for it (the Quran) a clear emblem (of guidance)…. “(Nahj-ul-balagha SERMON 183)

REPLY 8

8. Where in Quran it is said that Muslims should choose a khalifah by themselves?

• This question only shows the misunderstanding of some brothers and sisters about the belief of the mainstream Muslims. Believing in Khulafaaye Raashedin is not a fundamental element of Islam. According to the main stream Muslims, there are only 6 Articles of Faith and 5 pillars of Islam and believing in khilaafath of Abubakr is not part of either of them!

• Any group of people tend to elect some one as their leader, the rational and most reasonable way to do so is by election. This is a routine social/political practice. Certainly no system of public election was established at that time and the election of Abubakr was done through negotiation of present people. It's just a routine social practice that was and is and will be done in any society and no logical mind would expect a divine evidence for that.

• Having said that, once the Sahaba of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) agree on a Sahabi like Abu Bakr to become the Khalifah, then it was the duty of all Muslims to obey him for the sake of Islam and unity. The proof is in the words of Hazrat Ali.

• Nahjolbalaqah, letter No. 6 of Hazrat Ali to Mo'aviah (note that in some versions of Nahjul balagha, this letter is few numbers before or after): 

"People who did Bayat to Abubakr and Omar, did bayat with me in the same way. So the one who is present cannot select any one else for Khalifah and the one who is absent cannot disobey people in their selection. Shurah belongs to Mohajer and Ansar, so if they gather around a person and appoint him as their Imam this is to the satisfaction of Allah. If any one disapprove them on this or innovate something about it he should be taken back to the people who he has left (by accepting the appointed Khalifah), and if he refused to do so people has to fight with him, as he is going to a path other than of Muslims."

(Note that in the Shia websites like al-islam.org, certain words have been inserted in the translation -like the word "suppose" - without putting them in the brackets, in an attempt to change the meaning of the text.)

• We also find in Najhul Balagha that Imam Ali did not wish to lift the responsibility of leading the Ummah:

" I praise God for what He has ordained ...By Allah, I had no liking for the caliphate nor any interest in government, but you yourselves invited me to it and prepared me for it.“[Najhul Balagha ,sermon 204]

• Why would Hazrat Ali dislike a position Allah appointed him to?

• Why is he ignoring the fact that Imamah was his duty, not a choice, but instead he is saying that the People forced him into this?

• Moreover, as Shia try to quote many indirect references from Quran to prove imamat (as there are no direct verses about it), similarly, a Quranic verse can also be quoted here, regarding no need of divine indulgance in the matter of choosing a khalifa;

Quran 42:38"They (believers) respond to their Lord by observing the Prayers (Salat). Their matters are decided after due CONSULTATION among themselves, and from our provisions to them they give (Zakat).“

• Surely the question of leadership is one of the affairs of Muslims.

• But still the question of Khilafat is incomparable with Imamat, as one has no part in either the articles of faith or in the pillars of Islam, while the other is held as a part of both and even the most important one.

• So let us not compare apple with orange. Imamat doctrine is a fundamental belief of Shia, while the election or selection of Khalifa is just a routine and common socio-political practice.

• On the other hand, let's look at the present situation is Iran. Is there any divine command about how to establish a leadership in the occultation of Mahdi?

• Let's remember that there were no religious system of governing after the occultation of Mahdi for about 1000 years. Those who know about Shia and Iran, appreciate that the Welayate Faqih of Khomeini was only a theory that he derived from some ahaadeeth. Not all Shia scholars agree with that (like Khoiee and his followers). Among the classic Shia scholars only few had referred to this theory and most like Sheikh Ansari had the opinion that it is difficult to derive such a theory from ahaadeeth (refer to Makaseb of Sheikh Ansari). Also among those recent scholars who accept the theory there are disagreements about the extend of the theory and that how it could be put in practice (Like Montazeri, late Shirazi, etc.).

• So again, Shia too ended up with the same situation as the mainstream Muslims, that is to elect a leader by themselves in the absence of any direct divine command! Then what is this argument all about?

REPLY 9

9. Show us the names of the prophets between so-and-so in Quran if you think that every thing should be in Quran.

• The Shia brothers and sisters who ask this question do not realize what is the main issue. The issue is not about NAMES. It is about the CONCEPT.

• The concept of prophethood has been addressed in Quran in many verses and there are also the verses that tell Muslims that they need to believe in all the prophets (2:136, 2:285, 4:136, 2:177). Allah has given us the story of the many prophets and have left the story of others. There is no need to know the NAME of the (as some say) 124,000 prophets in order to obey Allah!

• The question is about the concept of Imamat not about the names of Imams. Quran has established the concept of prophethood and its function for us through many verses (2:213 and others). There is however not a single verse in Quran that explicitly tells us that there is another position called Imamat which refers to infallible God appointed individuals who are not prophets and that their existence are necessary and there will be Imams after the prophet!

REPLY 10

10. It is a test that's why it is not mentioned in Quran.

• This claim puts the function of Quran as a guide under a serious doubt. By this claim there is no use to read Quran to get any guidance because who knows may be there is a fundamental part of our belief that is not mentioned in Quran because God wants to test us!

• And by the same token Bahayees claim that Quran talks about their prophet Baha'Ollah. When we ask them but where in Quran? They will show some verses that have nothing to do with their claim. And when we say, but these verses are not clear about your claim; They say, Oh because God is testing you. Nice!

• And This is again playing with divinity. Who are we to decide for God that what is a test and what is not?

• Moreover, the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH) was also a test but there are many verses in Quran that directly tells people that Muhammad (PBUH) is a prophet. Than why such argument about Imamat?

• A test is different from a puzzle. God says in Quran that he makes things clear for people. Even a teacher first makes it clear for his students that what is the material of exam and then designs a test based on that material. We need to read Quran to see what are the materials that God is going to ask us about on the Day of Judgement. Allah makes things clear for us and sends us enough evidences and then tests us to see if we can be humble enough to obey His guidance or not.

• Such a claim also indicates as if we expect Quran to be empty of any verses about the Day of Judgement and then say that God wants to test people to see if they can GUESS or DEDUCT that there is a Day of Judgment! No way! God makes it clear in Quran that we need to believe in it and in His prophet and to do good things and to pray etc. and the test is whether we obey these commands or not. It is not whether we can Guess what the test itself is!

• I wonder why Shia brothers and sisters cannot see this in another way around. Imamat is not explicitly referred to in Quran but still Shia insists to be separate from the mainstream Muslims because of this doctrine. Aren't they under a test by Allah?

Allah knows best.

REPLY 11

11.Sunnies believe in Mahdi while he is not mentioned in Quran.

• Firstly the concept of Mahdi for the mainstream Muslims is totally different from the concept that Shia holds for Mahdi. This is another issue discussing of which will extend the length of this discussion. The Shia brothers and sisters who bring this justification has confused their own understanding of the concept of Mahdi with the mainstream's understanding of the concept.

• However the more important thing is that we cannot compare the belief of the mainstream Muslims about Mahdi with the belief of Imamat in Shia. Imamat is one of the main articles of faith for Shia but belief in Mahdi is not one of the articles of belief of the mainstream Muslims.

• The articles of belief of the mainstream Muslims have been listed and Alhamdulillah all of them are based on explicit verses of Quran.

These are 6 articles of belief:

Belief in Allah and his OnenessBelief in His AngelsBelief in His Books Belief in His MessengersBelief in the Day of ResurrectionBelief in Qadr (i.e. every thing has been written).

The very reason that we cannot see THE BELIEF IN MAHDI being listed among the articles of belief of the mainstream Muslims is that this has not been commanded and explained and established in Quran, in the same way that other articles of belief are established in Quran.

REPLY 12

12.Imamat is not the fundamental belief of Shias, the appointment of Ali is the fundamental of belief.

• This is like running away from the fact now. But even if someone do not agree (which all the scholars of Shia do) that Hazrat Ali being appointed by the prophet is the direct consequence of the concept of Imamat and that Imamat is the core belief of Shia, that's fine. The question is the same about Hazrat Ali also. The question is a generic one that can be applied to any fundamental of belief:

Where are the explicit verses of Quran without any Tafsir or Hadeeth that clearly command us about what ever is the fundamental of Shia belief that distinguishes them from the mainstream Muslims, being Imamat or the Khilafat of Ali after the Holy Prophet (PBUH)?

There is no escape from this question as long as one believes that Quran is the ultimate guidance. And if a Muslim is not able to find this in Quran then by Allah he/she needs to answer Allah in the Day of Judgement that why he/she has separated him/herself from the mainstream Muslims.

REPLY 13

13. Arguments that use few verses of Quran out of the context.

• Shia brothers and sisters try to refer to a few verses in which the words Imam or Khalifa are used. Again, the word does not do much, the whole concept is required. And even these are the verses where these words are used in the meaning other than what they interpret. They simply think that any reference to Imam or khalifa means what they think, and hence pick out the words out-of-context. Allah gives us warning in Quran about taking the verses out of their context.

Quran 5:13".....Consequently, they (the Jews) took the words out of context, and dis-regarded some of the commandments given to them.......“

Quran 5:41"O Messenger! Let not those grieve you who strive together in hastening to unbelief; From among those who say with their mouths: We believe, and their hearts do not believe, and from among those who are Jews; They listen for the sake of a lie, and are listeners for another people who have not come to you; They alter the words from their places……”

REPLY 14

14. There are so many Shia scholars and aalims, highly educated and intelligent, and have written a number of books on this belief. How come all were wrong?

• This is a very childish excuse. And if this is the only reason for someone to think, what he/she thinks is right, than this is nothing but a blind belief.

• Moreover, there are so many intelligent and highly educated people in every faith. Like in Christian Missionaries there are people who are MBBS doctors plus having PhDs in the studies of Quran and Bible. But they are still christians and do not believe in the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). They consider him a lier and a cheater of the Bible (Nauzubillah). Moreover there were great atheist philosophers and thinkers in the history who denied even the existance of God by their philosophies. And hundreds of such examples exist.

• So can we believe on such people only because of their high caliber, intelligence, education and thinking? And what if we were born in one of them? Had we be able to come to the truth (Islam) if we would have thought like that?

• And even if we see that there are so many books which have been written on Shia beliefs, by big scholars, and the libraries are full of them, than why don’t we think, on similar basis, that this is only 11% of the Muslims. What about the mainstream Muslims that are about 89%? Wouldn’t they have great scholars? Wouldn’t they have books written on Muslim Faith, Quran, Hadeeth, Fiqh etc.?

• This, for sure, is not a right way to think. But even if the argument is accepted than the comparison must be made between the two, that who would be having more number of books written on the religion? Who would be having more number of scholars? Who would be having more number of libraries? It is for sure that 11% can not stand in front of 89% even if this argument is to be considered correct.

• Moreover, let’s see what Hazrat Ali says in Nahj-ul-Balagha;

• Nahj-ul-Balagha, Sermon 125Name: About Kharijiites (who assassinated him later)

"With regard to me, two categories of people will be ruined, namely

He who loves me too much and the love takes him away from rightfulness, and

He who hates me too much and the hatred takes him away from rightfulness.

The best man with regard to me is he who is on the middle course. So be with him and be with the great majority (of Muslims) because Allah's hand (of protection) is on keeping unity. You should beware of division because the one isolated from the group is (a prey) to Satan just as the one isolated from the flock of sheep is (a prey) to the wolf.“

• Nahj-ul-Balagha, Saying 461

"Two types of people would get into ruin about me. The lover who exaggerates, and the other who lays false and baseless blames."

In that time , people were in three groups :

• Kharijites: Who used to say that Hazrat Ali (RA) was a disbeliever (nauzubillah) and they sent Ibn Muljim to kill him and he did that.

• Shi'ias: Who say that he is infallible Imam and he must be the first caliph and imam and Allah had chosen him to lead the Muslims, and remembrance of Ali is worship, and he possesses the qualities (sifaat) of Allah etc.

• Sunnis: ( Majority of Muslims ) Who say that he was the beloved of the

prophet and the Muslims, very brave, very humble, very pious, and was a great leader of Muslims.

Now it is clear that who are the people of the middle course AND the great majority (of Muslims)! And what is meant here is not that be with the majority of Muslims BLINDLY, no matter what their beliefs are; but the stress is upon the fact to follow the middle course, and that the middle course will always be followed by the majority.

(NOTE: Muslims comprise of about 89% of Sunnis and 11% of Shias. And this 11% includes Twelver Imami Rafidi Shia, Isma'ili Shia, Alawi (Nusairi) Shia, Druze Shia and Zaidi Shia.)

REPLY 15

15. Quran is changed by Sahabah and certain verses were removed from it.

• If this was the case then how do we know that there were NOT some verses in Quran in support of (say) Baha'ollah or (say) Qadiyani? By this assumption no basis will remain to hold ANY opinion as a Muslim!

• And as this matter is a very sensitive and important one, a whole separate discussion is dedicated to it named as “The Holy Quran – Original or Corrupted?”. Please have a look at it also.

May Allah guide us all to His Straight Path (Siraat-e-Mustaqeem)Ameen