Concept
Twelver Shi'ism
Related concepts (60)
Arba'een
Arbaeen (al-Arba‘īn), Chehellom (چهلم, "the fortieth day") is a Shia religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Al-Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, who was martyred on the 10th day of the month of Muharram. Imam Hussain ibn Ali and 71 of his companions were martyred by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad's army under the governance of Yazid I in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE). Arbaeen or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after the death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions.
Khums
In Islam, khums (خُمْس xums, literally 'one fifth') refers to the required religious obligation of any Muslims to pay 20% of their acquired wealth from certain sources toward specified causes. It is treated differently in Shia and Sunni Islam. This tax is paid to the imam, caliph or sultan, representing the state of Islam, for distribution between the orphans, the needy, the [stranded] traveler, and the descendants of Islamic prophet Muhammad. In some jurisdictions, khums is paid on minerals extracted in regions under the control of the state.
Bahrain
'Bahrain (bɑːˈreɪn ; bæxˈreɪn; al-Baḥrayn, locally æl baħˈreːn), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain', is an island country in West Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 per cent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway.
Shia clergy
In Shi'a Islam the guidance of clergy (collectively called the ulema) and keeping such a structure holds a great importance. There are several branches of Shi'ism, of which Twelver Shi'ism is by far the largest, and each of the branches have different clergy structures. Individual clerics are referred to as mullā or ākhūnd, but since those terms have developed "a somewhat pejorative connotation" since at least the 1980s, the term rūḥānī has been "promoted" as an alternative, "especially by the clerical class itself".
Enjoining good and forbidding wrong
Enjoining (what is) right and forbidding (what is) evil (al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf wa-n-nahy ʿani-l-munkar) are two important duties imposed by God in Islam, as revealed in the Quran and hadith. This expression is the base of the Islamic institution of hisbah – the individual or collective duty (depending on the Islamic school of law) to intervene and enforce Islamic law. It forms a central part of the Islamic doctrine for all Muslims. The injunctions also constitute two of the ten Ancillaries or Obligatory Acts of Twelver Shia Islam.
Ismah
‘Iṣmah or ‘Isma (عِصْمَة; literally, "protection") is the concept of incorruptible innocence, immunity from sin, or moral infallibility in Islamic theology, and which is especially prominent in Shia Islam. In Shia theology, ismah is characteristic of prophets, imams, and angels. When attributed to human beings, ismah means "the ability of avoiding acts of disobedience, in spite of having the power to commit them". Along with a pure constitution, excellent qualities, firmness against opponents, and tranquility (as-Sakinah), ismah is a divine grace bestowed by God.
Ali al-Sistani
Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani (علي الحسيني السيستاني; Ali-ye Hoseyni-ye Sistāni; born 4 August 1930), is a Twelver Shia Iranian–Iraqi Grand Ayatollah and marja'. One of the most senior scholars in Shia Islam, he has been described as the spiritual leader of Shia Muslims worldwide (as of 2003), "the undisputed leader of Iraq's Shias", included in top positions of "The Muslim 500: The World's Most Influential Muslims", from 2009 to 2023, and named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2004 and 2005.
Ta'zieh
Ta'zieh (تعزية; تعزیه; ) means comfort, condolence, or expression of grief. It comes from roots aza (عزو and عزى) which means mourning. It commonly refers to passion plays about the battle of Karbala and its prior and subsequent events. Sir Lewis Pelly begins the preface of his book about Ta'ziyeh maintaining that "If the success of a drama is to be measured by the effects which it produces upon the people for whom it is composed, or upon the audiences before whom it is represented, no play has ever surpassed the tragedy known in the Mussulman world as that of Hasan and Husain.
Mahdi
The Mahdi (al-Mahdī) is a Final Leader in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad who will appear shortly before the Prophet ʿĪsā (Jesus Christ) and will lead the Muslims to rule the entire world. Though the Mahdi is not referenced in the Quran, and is absent from several canonical compilations of hadith – including the two most-revered Sunni hadith collections: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim – he is mentioned in other hadith literature.
Taqlid
Taqlid (Arabic تَقْليد taqlīd) is an Islamic term denoting the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. The person who performs taqlid is termed muqallid. The definite meaning of the term varies depending on context and age. Classical usage of the term differs between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. Sunni Islamic usage designates the unjustified conformity of one person to the teaching of another, rather than the justified conformity of a layperson to the teaching of mujtahid (a person who is qualified for independent reasoning).