Are the Shias – in general terms – Disbelievers? Dispelling a Misconception
Question: Nowadays, a question is raised with great fervour, that Shias are infidels, but is it correct to call all the Shias infidels? And this question is raised because some of our great scholars had put restrictions and clauses in their fatwas... that if a Shia holds this belief or this belief... etc. Answer: Remember, fatwas are given because of belief and ideology, so the focus of the fatwa is not on the word Shia, but on belief and ideology. Therefore, a person whose belief is kufr (blasphemous) is an infidel, whether he is called a Shia or something else. For example, a person who believes in the distortion of the Qur’an or denies the chastity of Sayyidah A’isha Siddiqa radiyallahu ‘anha or believes in the belief in Imamate (which is the denial of the finality of the Prophethood), is unanimously a disbeliever, no matter who he is. Since the above-mentioned blasphemous beliefs are present in the foundational books of the Shia and the Shias acknowledge them, all the scholar...