TaqiyaIn Islam, Taqiya or Taqiyya (تقیة , literally "prudence, fear") is a precautionary dissimulation or denial of religious belief and practice. Generally, taqiya is the action of committing a sinful act (such as feigning unbelief) for a pious goal. Hiding one’s beliefs under compulsion is common in many societies and religions. It has been a feature of Islam since its earliest days, and is acknowledged by Muslims of virtually all persuasions. However, the use of Taqiyyah varies, especially between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
Succession to MuhammadThe succession to Muhammad is the central issue that split the Muslim community into several divisions in the first century of Islamic history, with the most prominent among these sects being the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam. Sunni Islam maintains that Abu Bakr was the legitimate successor to Muhammad on the basis of election. Shia Islam holds that Ali ibn Abi Talib was the designated successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
ImamImam (ɪˈmɑːm; إمام ALA; plural: أئمة ALA) is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. Thus for Sunnis, anyone can study the basic Islamic sciences and become an Imam. For most Shia Muslims, the Imams are absolute infallible leaders of the Islamic community after the Prophet.
WaliA wali (وَلِيّ, walīy; plural أَوْلِيَاء, ʾawliyāʾ), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the more literal "friend of God". When the Arabic definite article al (ال) is added, it refers to one of the names of God in Islam, Allah – al-Walī (الْوليّ), meaning "the Helper, Friend". In the traditional Islamic understanding of saints, the saint is portrayed as someone "marked by [special] divine favor .
SulaymaniThe Sulaymani branch of Tayyibi Isma'ilism is an Islamic community, of which around 70,000 members reside in Yemen, while a few thousand Sulaymani Bohras can be found in India. The Sulaymanis are sometimes headed by a Da'i al-Mutlaq from the Makrami family. It is not correct that this branch is headed by one from the Makrami family always as the D'ai al Mutlaq could be from other families and communities. Examples: the first Da'i was Dhuayb Bin Mousa (Hamdan), Dawud Bin Ajab Shah(Indian), Sulayman Bin Al Hassan (Indian) and some of his brothers and sons were Indians.
Husayn ibn AliAbū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter Fatima, as well as a younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali. He is the third Imam of Shia Islam after his brother, Hasan, and before his son, Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin. Being a grandson of the prophet, he is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt. He is also considered to be a member of the Ahl al-Kisa, and a participant in the event of Mubahala.
NajafAl-Najaf (ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf (ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), Baniqia ( ܒܐܢܩܝܐ), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2013 was 1,000,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam and one of its spiritual capitals, whilst also remaining the center of Shia political power in Iraq. It is reputedly the burial place of Muhammad's son in law and cousin, Imam ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib.
QiyasIn Islamic jurisprudence, qiyas (قياس qɪˈjæːs, "analogy") is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Quran, in order to apply a known injunction (nass) to a new circumstance and create a new injunction. Here the ruling of the Sunnah and the Quran may be used as a means to solve or provide a response to a new problem that may arise. This, however, is only the case providing that the set precedent or paradigm and the new problem that has come about will share operative causes (عِلّة, ʿillah).
Gilan provinceGilan province (استان گیلان, Ostān-e Gīlan) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It lies along the Caspian Sea, in Iran's Region 3, west of the province of Mazandaran, east of the province of Ardabil, and north of the provinces of Zanjan and Qazvin. It borders Azerbaijan (Astara District) in the north. The northern section of the province is part of the territory of South (Iranian) Talysh. At the center of the province is the city of Rasht, the capital of Gilan.
Isma'ilismIsma'ilism (al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili (ˌɪsmeɪˈɪli) get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept Musa al-Kadhim, the younger brother of Isma'il, as the true Imām. After the death of Muhammad ibn Isma'il in the 8th century CE, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning (batin) of the Islamic religion.
