Those who split up their Religion are Shi'ites (Surah 6:159)

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا رسول الله

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

اِنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ فَرَّقُوۡا دِیۡنَہُمۡ وَکَانُوۡا شِیَعًا لَّسۡتَ مِنۡہُمۡ فِیۡ شَیۡءٍ ؕ اِنَّمَاۤ اَمۡرُہُمۡ اِلَی اللّٰہِ ثُمَّ یُنَبِّئُہُمۡ بِمَا کَانُوۡا یَفۡعَلُوۡنَ

Those who split up their Religion and are Shiya’a, you [O My Apostle] have nothing to do with them. Surely, there case goes to Allah, then He will inform them of what they used to do

(Surah 6, Ayah 159)

مُنِیۡبِیۡنَ اِلَیۡہِ وَاتَّقُوۡہُ وَاَقِیۡمُوا الصَّلٰوۃَ وَلَا تَکُوۡنُوۡا مِنَ الۡمُشۡرِکِیۡنَ

مِنَ الَّذِیۡنَ فَرَّقُوۡا دِیۡنَہُمۡ وَکَانُوۡا شِیَعًا ؕ کُلُّ حِزۡبٍۭ بِمَا لَدَیۡہِمۡ فَرِحُوۡنَ

Turning to Him [Allah], fear Him, establish the Salah, and be not of the polytheists

Of those who split up their Religion and are Shiya’a. Every party rejoicing in what is with them

(Surah 30, Ayah 31 & 32)

Why have I chosen to leave the word شيعا untranslated as it occurs in these Verses of the Quran? I believe that Allah, Holy and Exalted is He, deliberately used this word to clearly identify the well-known denomination of Shi’ism; a manifest warning against and condemnation of the Shi’ah sects. The linguistic meaning of شيعة which is the singular of شيعا is: “people of like persuasion, conviction or opinion, sect, party” (Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p.505). So while in a purely linguistic sense the word shi’ah doesn’t necessarily refer to the well-known sect of Shi’ism but may describe any sect or party in general, because this word has become so strongly associated with Shi’ism, a particular religious persuasion among the Muslims, there is a divine wisdom in Allah Most High using this word to condemn those who “split up their Religion”. For that is the description of the Shi’ah who primarily go by this name and term; they are a schismatic bunch who divided and separated themselves from the main body of the Muslims. And I believe Allah, Most High, referred to them with the plural of Shi’ah, which is Shiya’a, to denote their endless factionalism and constant dividing into more and more sects among themselves. The main branches of Shi’ism were the Kaysaniyyah, the Zaydiyyah, the Isma’iliyyah, the Ithna Ashariyyah and the Ghullat, and each of these split up into numerous sub-sects, many of which still persist till this day.