About
This site is primarily aimed towards a mainstream Muslim audience (i.e. Sunnis) to educate them on the issues, but perhaps it could also be that our Shia brothers will likewise benefit from this site by learning about parts of their faith hitherto unknown by them. Our Shia brothers love the Ahle Bayt of Ali (رضّى الله عنه) and so too do we. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, the Shia Ayatollahs have abandoned the Ahle Bayt of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم). It is only the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah which has maintained love and affection for the Ahle Bayt of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم).
We adamantly love the Ahle Bayt of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم), and we also vehemently reject sectarianism. This website is an open invitation to our Shia brothers to embrace mainstream Islam as followed and practised by the true lovers of the Ahlel Bayt. We will show how the Ayatollahs are corrupt, and how they are misleading our good-intentioned and well-meaning Shia brothers.
This website is the overdue response by the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah which has faced an intellectual onslaught by online forces that seek to spread misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies against the Ummahat al-Mumineen (Mothers of the Believers) and the Sahabah (Companions) of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم). Our Shia brothers do not focus on stories of disputes between Ali (رضّى الله عنه) and Fatima (رضّى الله عنها) out of a deep respect for them; likewise, the Ahlus Sunnah does not focus on stories of disputes between the wives and friends of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم), again out of deep respect.
Unfortunately, there are some who have taken advantage of this fact; many Muslim laymen do not know the details of certain things or events for this very reason that we do not focus on such matters of contention between the founders of the Islamic movement. Additionally, the mainstream Muslims do not live in the past nor do we encourage senseless Fitnah over issues and events that have long since passed and have no bearing on one’s faith. Because of this, it is easy for the Ayatollahs and their minions to confuse the believers by supplying completely biased accounts of history and grossly misinterpreting Hadith to “prove” their lofty claims.
After the success of the Iranian Revolution and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini, the Shia Ayatollahs have become both immensely powerful and wealthy. They have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to levy an intellectual propaganda war against the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah. They have feverishly translated classical Shia propaganda books into English, and they have propagated this material worldwide by making use of the internet. Meanwhile, the response by the Ahlus Sunnah has lagged far behind, with few of our Arabic books being translated into English.
In the words of Owais Muhammad:
Every belief usually has mainstream followers and then sectarian followers. It is a simple fact that the sectarian followers always need to defend themselves against the more dominating mainstream, while the mainstream feels less obligated to challenge the less influential sects. This results in the mainstreamers having less idea the beliefs of sects, whereas sects have a rather good idea about the belief of the mainstream. In turn, this results in the mainstream being less prepared to discuss with the sects, whereas the sects are always prepared to discuss with the mainstream.
For instance, among Christians, Mormons have strong discussion material ready when entering a debate with mainstream Christians whereas the mainstream Christians have less idea about what the Mormons are all about. In the same manner, the Shia are more prepared to discuss with mainstream Muslims. Interestingly enough, the same rule applies to the Shia themselves. The Shia that are usually debating with the mainstream Muslims are the Imami (12er) Shia. However, there are other Shia minorities, like Zaidis and Ismailis. These minorities usually are very much prepared to enter a debate with Imami Shia while an ordinary Imami Shia usually has very little idea about the beliefs of these minorities.
One of the reasons you find that many Shia are very much engaged in discussion with mainstream Muslims, particularly over the internet, is that there are lots of material available for them to the extent that they usually find a relevant answer to any question and then copy and paste it in their reply. Shia websites are loaded with these materials, including the Shia Encyclopedia, Tijani’s works, Al-Islam.org, Answering Ansar, and many others. The latter websites have even prepared propaganda toolkits for the Shia and have encouraged them to use it. They can simply print out a short article and nicely fold it like a catalogue and leave it in a mosque. On the other hand, mainstream Muslims do not invest time in worrying about the smaller sects like the Imami Shia, much like the Imami Shia ignore the smaller Shia sects.
Hence, there has become a dramatic imbalance of power online between the Ahlus Sunnah and the Shia. In an attempt to balance out the scales of power online, the Ahlus Sunnah is proud to announce that AhlelBayt.com is leading the charge in the defence against these attacks. It is our sincere hope that our efforts here will serve as an adequate response to the propaganda attacks levied against the Ahlus Sunnah by the various Shia propagandist sites. Indeed, as one brother worded it, the Ahlel Bayt project is fast becoming the intellectual Vanguard of the Ahlus Sunnah.
There were many amongst the Ahlus Sunnah who were against the creation of this site, for fear that it would support sectarianism and hatred. Indeed, many of the sites refuting Shi’ism have adopted this pattern of hate-speech and intolerance. However, AhlelBayt.com hopes to be unique in that it completely condemns hate-speech; we believe that it is possible to engage in healthy dialogue with our Shia brothers, to show them the truth about Islam without also hurting their feelings or resorting to personal insults. It should also be noted that we created this site only grudgingly, and in response to the Shia propaganda sites which had proliferated to such an extent that a response was necessary–in fact, a response by the Ahlus Sunnah became Wajib (obligatory).
Shaikh Ibn Baaz (رØمه الله) passed a fatwa saying:
“If someone writes something that contradicts the pure Shariah, and distributes that material, or if he propagates that view in the media, it becomes compulsory to refute him and expose the falsehood of what he says…warning people about him if he calls to innovation, shirk, or if he calls people to what Allah has prohibited or to disobedience. Until this day, there are knowledgeable and believing people from the callers to the truth and bearers of the Shariah fulfilling this obligation, sincerely for Allah and for the benefit of His servants, rebuking the wrong, inviting to the truth, warning others against those who propagate falsehood and destructive rhetoric.” (Fataawa Islaamiyyah - Volume 4, Page 279)
Shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen (رØمه الله) issued a fatwa about the innovators who spread lies:
“It is imperative we study their opinions/views so that we know their falseness and know the truth (that we are upon) and refute those (of them) who discourse with us.” (Kitaabul-’Ilm - Page 128, Question No.25)
It is our sincere hope that our Shia brothers can browse this site with an open mind and an even more open heart. The truth is that most people are Shia simply because they were born into Shia families. Let us remember that the Quraish during the time of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) followed idolatery simply because their forefathers were idol-worshippers. It is one of Shaytan’s tactics to make people want to cling on to their forefather’s beliefs without reason. Allah says in the Quran:
And when it is said to them: “Come to what Allah has revealed and unto the Messenger.” They say: “Enough for us is that which we found our fathers following,” even though their fathers had no knowledge whatsoever and no guidance. (Quran, 5:104)
And when it is said to them: “Follow that which Allah has sent down”, they say: “Nay, we shall follow that which we found our fathers following.” Would they do so even if Satan invites them to the torment of the Fire? (Quran, 31:20-21)
Nay! They say: “We found our fathers following a certain way and religion, and we guide ourselves by their footsteps.” And similarly, We sent not a warner before you (O Muhammad) to any town (people) but the luxurious ones among them said: “We found our fathers following a certain way and religion, and we will indeed follow their footsteps.” (Quran, 43:22)
There are many more Quranic verses that have the same basic premise: it is not sufficient to base our beliefs on our forefathers. Instead, we should do our own research and search for the truth ourselves. For those who fully utilize AhlelBayt.com, the information contained herein can be useful in taking the all-important first step in the journey towards truth.
Those of our brothers who were born Shia, they cannot continue to follow Shi’ism if they know nothing about it. This will not be a valid justification on the Day of Judgement for separating from the Muslim Ummah. Allah forbids separating into sects:
“As for those who divide their religion and break up into shias (sects), thou hast no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did.” (Quran, 6:159)
The transliteration of the Arabic reads: “Inna allatheena farraqoo deenahum wakanoo shia an lasta minhum fee shay-in innama amruhum ila Allahi thumma yunabbi-ohum bima kanoo yafAAaloona” (Quran, 6:159)
Our dear Shia brothers will have to answer to why they followed corrupt Ayatollahs instead of the Islamic orthodoxy and mainstream, the true lovers of the Ahlel Bayt. Ignorance will not be an excuse on the Day of Judgement. Every human being must gain knowledge about his faith, and then he must use his faculty of reasoning to see if it is the truth or not. Allah commands us in the Quran:
“And do not follow any information of which you have no knowledge of. (In the Court of your Lord) you will be held accountable for your hearing, sight, and the faculty of reasoning.” (Quran, 17:36)
We love our Shia brothers; they, like us, are the children of Adam (عليه السلام). We created this website as a Naseeha (sincere advice) to them to leave their corrupt Ayatollahs who have abandoned the Ahlel Bayt whilst collecting Khums (religious monies) in the name of the Ahlel Bayt. Our Shia brothers are good-intentioned, and they want to love the Ahlel Bayt; this website will show how being part of the Muslim mainstream, the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah, is the only way to properly channel this love for the family of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم).
As a side-note, we should like to clarify for our readers that Team Ahlel Bayt is not made up of scholars, but rather we are only students of the faith. We are currently in the process of gaining the tutelage of certain scholars, but until then, please forgive us for any errors.
May Allah guide us all to the Straight Path.
AhlelBayt.com Admin