Various groups of Shi'is have appeared in the course of time, yet their main groups are twenty. Before beginning our principal subject, we shall mention a few of their notorious groups and explain their beliefs and aims. Thus everybody will learn about the inner essence of the matter, and right and wrong will be distinguished clearly from each other:

Ahmad Faruqi states:

"The first person to curse the Ashab al-kiram was Abdullah bin Seba' (may Allah give him what he deserves)."

[It is stated in the dictionary named Munjid and in Qamus ul-alam that, "This convert, who is said to have been a Jew, instigated an insurrection in Egypt, whereupon the marauders roaming around (came and) martyred hadrat 'Uthman 'radi-allahu anh'."]

Hazrat Ali 'radi-allahu anh' exiled him (Abdullah bin Seba') to Medayn city. He (Abdullah bin Seba') used to say, "Ibni Muljam did not kill hadrat Ali. The Satan had disguised himself into Ali. So he (Ibni Muljam) killed the Satan. Ali is among clouds. Thunder is his voice. And thunderbolt is his whip." The Seb'iyya, people who have been misled by this Jew named Abdullah Seba', say, "O thou Amir al-Muminin! May salutations be on you," when they hear thunder.

The Kamiliyya group, vituperate the Ashab al-kiram. They call the Ashab al-kiram disbelievers because they did not make hadrat Ali 'radi-allahu anh' the (first) imam. They say that Ali 'radi-allahu anh' was a disbeliever because he did not insist on his due. They believe in metempsychosis. [There is detailed information about Metempsychosis in the (Turkish) book Se'adet-i- Ebediyye (The book Se'adet-i-Ebediyye has been partly translated into English and published in fascicles titled Se'âdet-i-Ebediyye.)].

The Benaniyya group, are the followers of Benan bin Jem'an. They say, "Our God is in human form. In the course of time he has perished. Only his face has remained. His soul was in Ali. Then it transmigrated into his (Ali's) son, Muhammad bin Hanafiyya, and from him into his son Abu Hashim. Now it is in Benan."

The Jenahiyya group. Their leader is Abdullah bin Muawiya. They believe in metempsychosis, that is, transmigration of souls from one body to another. They say, "God's soul went into Adam 'alaihis-salam' first, and then into Sheest 'alaihis-salam.' Thus, transmigrating from one Prophet to another, it finally entered Ali and his children. It is in Abdullah now." They do not believe in rising after death. They say halal about many things that are haram, such as drinking wine, eating lesh (meat from an animal that has died by itself or which has been killed in a manner not prescribed by Islam), committing fornication.

The Mansuriyya group are the followers of Abu Mansur Ajlim. He was one of the disciples of Imam-i-Muhammad Baqir 'radi-allahu anh'. When this Imam dismissed him, he declared his religious leadership. These people (the Mansuriyya group) say, "Abu Mansur ascended to heaven. Allahu ta'ala rubbed His hand gently on his head and said: O my son! Go and announce my commandments to my born servants!" According to these people, "The word 'kisfan' in the forty-fourth ayat of the Tur sura in Qur'an al-karim implies Abu Mansur. (The chain of) prophethood has not come to an end yet. There are Prophets to come. Jannat (Paradise) means the imam (religious leader) we are to love. And Jahannam (Hell) signifies people we must hate, e.g. Abu Bakr and 'Umar 'radi-allahu ta'ala anhum'. Fard (overt commandments of Islam) are people we should love. And harams (Islam's overt prohibitions) are people we are to hate."

The Hattabiyya group are the followers of Hattab-i-Esedee. He was one of the disciples of Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq 'rahmat- ullahi alaih'. Offended by this person's insolent behaviors, Imam (Jafar Sadiq) dismissed him. Yet, after this Imam's death, he claimed to be the new imam. According to his followers, "Imams are Prophets. In fact, they are Allah's sons. Jafar Sadiq is a god. Yet Abul-hattab (Esedee) is superior to him and also to Ali." They say, "It is halal (permissible) to bear false witness in order to protect the friends against the enemies. Jannat (Paradise) signifies leading a good and comfortable life in this world. And Jahannam (Hell) means worldly troubles and cares. There is neither a beginning nor an end of this world. There is no Doomsday. Has anyone seen Paradise or Hell? Is there anyone to say he has been to either one of these places?" They therefore commit harams and disignore the fard.

The Ghurabiyya group. They say, "Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' resembled Ali very much. The similarity between them was much more exact than that which is between two crows or two flies. Allahu ta'ala had ordered Jabrail (Gabriel) to take the Qur'an al-karim to Ali. Confused by this exact similitude, Gabriel revealed the Qur'an al-karim to Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'." For this reason they curse Jabrail 'alaihis- salam'.

The Dhammiyya group, vituperate Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'. They say, "Ali is the God. He appointed Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' the Prophet. Yet Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' attached people to himself instead of (to) Ali." Another group of them say that Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' is the God. That is, some of them hold Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' higher, whereas others consider Ali 'radi-allahu anh' higher. There is yet another group who maintain the belief that "Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain, who are in one ahl-i- aba [overcoat], make up a unity. The same one spirit has entered all these five people at the same time. They have no superiority over one another. Fatima, too, is male."

The Yunusiyya group, are the followers of Yunus bin Abd-ur-rahman. They say, "Allah is sitting on the Arsh. Angels mounted Him on to the Arsh, yet He is more powerful than angels. This is like the case with an ibis, who is bigger and stronger than its legs though it walks on its legs."

The Mufavvida group. They say that "Allahu ta'ala created the world and then committed all the worldly matters to the charge of Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'." According to others, "He (Allahu ta'ala) committed the worldly matters to Ali. And Ali 'karram-allahu wajhah' is creating whatever he wishes."

The Ismailiyya group, says that Qur'an al-karim has a batin [invisible inner essence] as well as a zahir [outward appearance]. The zahir, when compared to the batin, is like the shell of a hazel-nut in comparison to its kernel. Whatever a person would obtain by enduring the difficulty and trouble of obeying the commandments and prohibitions, which make up the zahir, is easily attainable by adapting oneself to the batin. So, one does not have to go into trouble by worshipping." For making people believe these statements of theirs, they quote the thirteenth ayat of Hadid sura, which points out the wall between the people who are in Paradise and those who are in Hell. They say, "There is no haram (prohibition). Everything is halal (permitted). There are seven Prophets in possession of a religion. They are Adam, Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim, Isa, Musa, Muhammad 'alaihimus-salam', and Muhammad Mahdi, who is to emerge in the future." Their purpose is to demolish the religion. By asking deceptive questions on religious matters, they try to instil doubts into Muslims. Examples of these questions, which are intended to shock the iman in young people, are: "Why is it that a menstruating woman has to perform her duties of fasting later which she has not been able to do (because of her menstruation), and does not have to perform the daily prayers of namaz which she has missed (for the same reason)? Emission of semen necessitates ghusl (ritual washing of the whole body) but urination does not (necessitate ghusl), though urine is dirtier than semen; why? Why do some prayers of namaz that are fard have four rakats, while others have three to two rakats?" [Indeed, the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat have already given the answers of such questions, and explained the reasons, in their books]. They fabricate meanings for the commandments of Allahu ta'ala. For instance, they say, "Making ablution means loving the Imam. And performing the namaz means the Prophet. For the forty-fifth ayat of the Ankebut sura of Qur'an al-karim purports, 'Namaz will prevent man from evil, wicked things.' This ayat al-karima signifies the Prophet. Becoming junub (canonical uncleanness) means letting others know about things one has to keep to oneself. And ghusl (washing in order to become canonically clean) means to promise again. Zakat (Certain amount of property which people who are rich according to Islam have to give yearly to people whom Islam accepts as poor. Zakat is one of the five commandments of Islam. There is detailed information about zakat in the (Turkish) book Se'adet-i-Ebediyye.) means cleaning one's nafs by learning religious knowledge. Kaba means the Prophet; the door of Kaba means Ali; the hill of Safa means Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'; the hill of Merva means Ali, the seven tawafs (circumambulations) means loving the seven imams. Jannat (Paradise) means escaping the trouble of worships, and Jahannam (Hell) means the torture and agony of avoiding the haram." A few of their other illogical and irreligious absurdities are their statements, such as, "Allah is neither existent nor nonexistent, neither learned nor ignorant, neither powerful nor incapable."

Hasan bin Muhammad Sabbah, a schoolfellow of Nizam-ul-mulk and the (well-known) poet 'Umar Hayyam, founded the Ismailiyya State in Rey city in 473 [A.D. 1081], declared himself the time's imam (religious leader), and coerced the Sunnite Muslims into his sect. He and, after his death in 518, his successors until the termination of his State in 654 [A.D. 1255], perpetrated a great deal of persecution and cruelty in order to establish their beliefs and revolutions. The earnest and truthful scholars of Ahl as-sunnat rotted in dungeons and were martyred. According to these eccentric people, there has to be an imam in every age. They prohibit ignorant people from reading books and learned people from reading old books. This is intended to cover their wickedness, to conceal the fact that they are in the wrong way. They are fond of the ancient Greek philosophy. They mock religious teachings. [Another name of this group is Qaramita. For a man named Hamdan Qurmut, from a village called Vasit in the neighborhood of Baghdad, founded the Qaramita State in 278 [A.D. 891], subjected the Sunnite Muslims to very harsh torments and forced them to join the Ismailiyya group. This group settled in Nejd. Abu Tahir, who became their leader in 317 [A.D. 929], invaded Mecca and slaughtered thousands of hajjis. He ransacked the treasury department and (most) homes. His men hoisted off the (sacred stone called) Hajar-i-eswed from its original place and carried it to Hejr city, their capital in the vicinity of Basra. This blessed stone was retained by the Qaramitis for twenty-two years. Their State collapsed in 328, an event that succored Muslims from a grave nuisance].

The Zaydiyya group are attached to Zayd bin Ali Zaynalabidin. [Zaynalabidin Ali bin Husain is the fourth one of the twelve imams. He was twelve years old when he survived the catastrophe of Karbala. He passed away in Medina (46-94 [A.D. 713)]. His grave is beside that of his (paternal) uncle, Imam-i-Hasan 'radi-allahu anhum']. The Zaydiyya group have been divided into three groups: The group called Jarudiyya claim that "Caliphate was Ali's right. The Ashab became disbelievers by not giving him his due." The second group, Sulaimaniyya, believe that Abu Bakr and 'Umar 'radi-allahu anhum' are rightful Khalifas. They say that, "the Ashab al-kiram made a mistake by making them Khalifas instead of Ali. This mistake of theirs, however, is not a sin or wrongdoing. 'Uthman, Talha, Zubair, and Aisha 'radi-allahu anhum' became disbelievers." The third group is Tabiriyya. They are identical with the Sulaimaniyya. The only difference is that this group do not revile 'Uthman 'radi-allahu anh'. Most Zaydis of our time are in one of these three groups; their belief system conforms with that of the Mu'tezila group, and their ways of worship are identical with those of the Muslims of Hanafi Madhhab.

The Imamiyya group, say that "It had been commanded plainly that Ali 'radi-allahu anh' was to be the (first) Khalifa. The Ashab became disbelievers by not carrying out this commandment. It is an absolute fact that caliphate reached Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq through a paternal chain. It is not certain who succeeded him in caliphate." According to most of them, after Jafar Sadiq the seventh imam was his son, Musa Kazim [129-186 (C.E. 799), buried in the district called Kazimiyya in Baghdad]; then his son, Ali Rida [148-203, buried in the city of Mesh-hed, alias Tus, in eastern Iran]; then his son Muhammad Takee [194-220, in Kazimiyya]; then Abulhasen Ali bin Muhammad Hadi Nakee [213-254 in the district called Asker in Sermen Rey city]; then, the eleventh imam, Hasan bin Ali Askari [232-261 (C.E. 875), buried beside his father, in Baghdad]; and then, the twelfth and last imam, Muhammad bin Hasan Mahdi; [he was born in 255, and when he was ten, or seventeen, years old, he went into a cave in his home and did not come back out again]. They believe that he is at the same time the person who is named Mahdi and who will emerge towards the end of the world.

There are other groups, who are more or less similar to these groups. All of them have deviated from the right way; changing with time, some of them have come nearer the right course, while others have gone altogether beyond measure.

[In today's Iran, all these aberrant groups exist among the illiterate people. Nevertheless, it is observed with gratitude that the educated ones have been reading true books and day by day getting closer to the right word of the Ahl as-sunnat. For instance, it is stated as follows in the dictionary of Doctor Muhammad Muqremi, which was printed in Tehran in the solar Hijri year 1333 [C.E. 1954]: "The Khulafa-i-rashidin: Abu Bakr and 'Umar and 'Uthman 'radi- allahu anhum', and Ali 'karram-allahu wajhah'."]

Upon reading the lines above, a person who is reasonable enough to tell good from bad, will realize at once without seeking another evidence how false and how wrong these groups, who have merged among the Shiis, are. It is obvious that their beliefs are thoroughly unfounded, irreligious, and illusory. It is a subject vulnerable to derision, for people who hold these beliefs, to claim that they love the Ahl al-bayt of our master the Prophet 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' or the twelve imams. No, they could not be sincere. For those great people, (the Ahl al-bayt and the twelve imams), do not want inordinate, excessive love, and they hate being followed in words only. The Hurufis' saying that they love the Ahl al-bayt is like Christians' claiming that they love Isa (Jesus) 'alaihis-salam'. Loving him excessively, they make a god of him and worship him. However, Isa 'alaihis- salam' does not want this kind of love. As a matter of fact, Ali 'radi-allahu anh' stated that Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' had said to him: "O Ali! The case with you is like the case with Isa 'alaihis-salam'. Jewry became hostile to him. They spread a very offensive slander about his mother. Christians, on the other hand, loved him too much. They exalted him to a rank that would have been impossible for him to occupy."

[May Allah protect Muslims from the Shaytanic tactics of shi'ism. Aameen!]