People across the globe believe that shia and sunni are the two different sects. Both of the sects have different religious beliefs, therefore it has been understood by people that they cannot come under the same umbrella ‘Islam’. Many people have this faith that due to the entirely different conduct of life, shia and sunni cannot marry with each other. However, before making such bold claims, complete research is very important to know the reality. So, before marrying with a shia man or woman, one must know that there are two types of shias:
One of the types of shia holds disbeliefs (kufr), that the Quran has been altered, Hazrat Ali (R.A) is worthy to worship and here Shirk (to worship someone other than Allah) occurs, the angel Jibril made an error in descending the revelation on the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H) in place of Hazrat Ali (R.A), accusations on Hazrat Aisha (R.A) of committing adultery or denying the Companionship Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A).
However, the another type of shias are those who do not hold beliefs that constitute Kufr, such as believing that Hazrat Ali (R.A) was the rightful first Caliph after the demise of the Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H), belief in the twelve Imams, and all those beliefs which the first type of shias put faith in. 
A true Muslim has asked by Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) that before marrying, Muslim must need to check the religious beliefs, and religious practices in his/her partner. There is a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari that Messenger of Allah has said:
"A woman is married for four reasons, her wealth, lineage, status and Deen. Choose the one who is religious." (Sahih Bukhari)
Even then we being humans do not know that what faiths are hidden in the chest of people and what they are pretending, indeed! Allah knows the truth only. And so, we should avoid those things where we find doubts or dissatisfaction. If we go for things which are doubtful then we are tangling ourselves deliberately in the chaos.

It is indeed that Mosul is bleeding and surrounded by Shia militias from Iraq, Iran and  Afghanistan.
Everyone blamed the killing on Islamic State only as they think Shia militias are god sent angels to protect the people of Mosul who are Sunnis.  
 

 
 

More than 70 Shia died today after Islamic state bombing inside the heart of Sadr City
 
 

What is the difference Sunnis and Shia?
Why do Shia hate Sunni so much?

 

The Quran Challenge

 
Crux of the Sunni/Shia Divide


The center of the debate between
the Ahlus Sunnah and Shia revolves around the issue of Imamah (i.e. Aimmatal
Masoomeen). The importance of Imamah is so great that the Shia Ulema consider
those who reject Imamah to be Kaffir. Likewise, the Sunni Ulema consider those
who accept (in toto)
the Shia doctrine of Imamah to be Kaffir.


Most of the polemical debate between Sunni and
Shia revolves around peripheral issues such as Mutah, Matam, Saqifah, Ghadeer
Khumm, Fadak, and other such side issues. However, the fundamental issue of
debate–namely Imamah–is oftentimes ignored. In the words of Sidi Abu Salih:


Every other disagreement the Shia have with the
Sunnis [other than Imamah] has its roots in the Shia insistence on Imamah as a
principle of Islam, both in belief and practise. From differing views and
interpretations of history, entirely different systems of Hadith collection and
authentication, and divergent manners of performing Islamic practises, all
these dissimilarities can be traced back to Imamah as a doctrine in Shia faith.


It is therefore only reasonable that the focus of
any serious quest for truth would begin and end with the principle of Imamah in
the mind of the truth-seeker. Trying to research about the differences between
Shia and Sunni without considering the dogma of Imamah as a main sticking point
will lead to dead ends and fruitless arguments. I have personally witnessed a
number of [sunni-Shia] discussions that quickly descend into chaos because one
side or the other wishes to discuss a subject of peripheral importance.


Source: Sidi Abu Salih, Imaamah and the
Quran: An Objective Perspective, p.5; Download
book here


It is safe to say that if the Shia did not
believe in the concept of Imamah, then they would not be considered a separate
sect. The other issues of contention between Sunni and Shia are simply a
consequence of Imamah. Hence, Imamah and its validity in the Quran is the main
issue of contention between the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah and their Shia brothers.


Imamah


Before we proceed, it is important to state what
exactly is the Shia doctrine of Imamah.


The Shia doctrine of Imamah: Apart from the
Prophets, there are another group of God-appointed persons called Imams. These
are people who possess Ismah (infallibility) and have access to a knowledge
that is not accessible by ordinary people. The world cannot be empty of an Imam
otherwise it will be destroyed. In the Islamic context, these individuals are
twelve people among the descendants of the Holy Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) who are appointed by nobody except Allah (عز و جل)
alone to lead the Muslims. Anyone who chooses a leader other than these twelve
is misguided and not a complete believer. The twelvth (last) of the Imams is
the Mehdi and, although he has been in occultation for more than one thousand
years, he will return when Allah (عز و جل) wishes and then justice will prevail.


Importance of Imamah


The above stated doctrine of Imamah is the core
belief of the Shia. The Shia consider five articles of belief as fundamentals
of religion. These are:


1. Tawheed (Oneness of God)


2. Nabuwwah (Prophethood)


3. Ma’ad (Day of Judgement)


4. Adl (Justice of God)


5. Imamah (the above stated doctrine)


Imamah is considered by the Shia to be one of the
Usool-e-Deen [fundamentals of religion].


In the words of Sidi Abu Salih:


In Shi’ism, the matters of religion are divided
into Usool-e-Deen and Furoo-e-Deen. The Usool-e-Deen are the principles of
belief in the religion, analogous to the Pillars of Faith in Sunnism. The
Furoo-e-Deen relates to the practises in the religion, such as prayer, fasting,
pilgrimage, and so on.


To introduce the reader to what constitutes the
Usool-e-Deen in Shi’ism, I will quote the following tract from Allamah Muhammad
Husayn al-Kashiful Ghita’s book “The Origin of Shi’ite Islam and its
Principles” (Asl ash-Shi’ah wa Usuluha):


“Those matters which
concern knowledge or wisdom, are called Usool-e-Deen (fundamentals of religion)
and they are five: Tawheed, Nabuwwah, Imamah, Adl, and Ma’ad.” [“The Origin of Shiite Islam and its Principles, Part
II: Fundamentals of the Religion”, Part II: The Fundmentals of the Religion,
Section The Fundamental Beliefs, p.218]


In similar
fashion, the Shia scholar Muhammad Ridha Muzaffar states: “We believe that the Imamah is one of the fundamentals of
Islam (Usool-e-Deen), and that man’s faith can never be complete without belief
in it.”


…The [only] real
issue of contention [between Sunni and Shia] is with respect to [the belief in]
Imamah. As [the Shia scholar] Allamah Kashiful Ghita mentions: “It is the question of the Imamah which distinguishes the
Shia sect from all other sects. Other differences are not fundamental; they are
furoo’i (i.e. secondary)” [Asl-ul-Shia wa Usuluha, p.221]


Source: Sidi Abu Salih, Imaamah and the
Quran: An Objective Perspective, p.7; Download
book here


Thus, the importance of Imamah in Shi’ism is more
than the importance of Salat (prayer); Imamah is considered Usool-e-Deen [i.e.
fundamental] whereas Salat is Furoo-e-Deen [i.e. secondary]. It would be
accurate to say that the Furoo-e-Deen are a direct consequence of the
Usool-e-Deen. Imamah is considered the most important pillar of Islam. And by
Imamah, we do not mean “leadership” since even the Sunni–as well as any group
of people–consider leadership to be an important issue. When we refer to
“Imamah” we are referring to the specific Shia doctrine of God-appointed
infallible leaders who must be followed.


Denying Imamah


The sheer importance that the Shia scholars give
to Imamah can be seen by their views on those who reject Imamah. Let us see
what the popular Shia website, Al-Shia.com, has to say about this:


Al-Shia.com says


“:“فيمن جحد إمامة أمير المؤمنين والائمة من بعده عليهم السلام بمنزلة ( 6 ) من جحد نبوة الانبياء عليهم السلام . واعتقادنا ”

“فيمن أقر بأمير المؤمنين وأنكر واحدا من بعده من الائمة عليهم السلام أنه بمنزلة من آمن بجميع الانبياء ثم أنكر بنبوة محمد صلى الله عليه وآله “


Translation:
Imam Al-Saduk says, “Our belief is that the one who rejects the Imamah of Ameer
al Mumineen [Ali] and the Aimmah (Imams) after him, has the same position like
the one who rejects the Prophethood of the Prophets.”


Further,
he states: “And our belief is that the one who accepts Ameer al Mumineen [Ali]
but rejects a single Imam after him, has the same position like the one who
believes in all of the Prophets and then rejects the Prophethood of Muhammad
(saws).”


source: http://www.al-shia.com/html/ara/books/behar/behar27/a7.html ”


Al-Shia.com says


“Shaikh Mufid declared:


“اتفقت الامامية على أن من أنكر
إمامة أحد من الائمة وجحد ما أوجبه الله تعالى له من فرض الطاعة فهو كافر ضال
مستحق للخلود في النار”


Translation:
“The Imamiyyah [shia] are in agreement (’Ijma) that the one who rejects the
Imamah of one Imam and rejects the obedience to them which Allah ordered is a
misguided Kaffir deserving to remain in Hell-Fire forever.”


source: http://www.al-shia.com/html/ara/books/behar23/a39.html”


Therefore, we see that this issue of Imamah is
not one to be taken lightly. On the one side, the Shia scholars say that those
who reject Imamah are misguided and deserving of Hell-Fire. On the other hand,
the Sunni scholars say that those who accept the Shia doctrine of Imamah in
toto [i.e. in totality] are guilty of believing in false prophethood (i.e.
Dajjals).


Where is the Doctrine of Imamah in the
Quran?


We ask the reader: where is the doctrine of
Imamah in the Quran? This is a very sound question. The Quran is the book of
guidance and we have been told by the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) that whenever we feel lost, we can consult the Quran and it
will never betray us. The Shia doctrine of Imamah is not a minor issue, but
rather it is very important and it is the core belief of the Shia. Its
importance is to the extent that the Shia Ulema hold that because of disbelief
in this doctrine, 80% of Muslims are misguided and in fact not true believers.
If this is the case, then we ask the reader: which verses of the Quran have
given us this “all-important” doctrine of Imamah?


If Imamah is central to Islam, and the Quran is the
central book of Islam, then surely the Quran should have the belief of Imamah
in it. And yet, for hundreds of years, the Shia scholars have not been able to
answer the “Quran Challenge.” The Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah has repeatedly
challenged the Shia to produce even one single verse in the Quran that outlines
the Shia concept of Imamah. Time and time again, anyone who tries to seek proof
for Imamah from the Quran fails to do so.


The Quran Challenge


This is an open challenge for the Shia to give
Quranic verses which outline and justify the Shia concept of Imamah. Can the
Shia produce even a single verse outlining Imamah, without any
additions to the translation, without parenthetical insertions
to the translation, without Hadith to “support” their
interpretation, without Tafseer, and without
their own personal commentaries leading us from verse to verse?


When the Shia is forced to produce the Quranic
verses without any additions, he will find it impossible to even come close to
fulfilling the “Quran Challenge.” Not a single verse in the Quran says anything
even remotely close to “O believers, after the Prophet,
there will be twelve Imams chosen by Allah and you should follow them.” The
Shia can never produce a single verse in the Quran that shows
anything even similar to this. In fact, the Shia will be forced to
produce long Tafseer and circuitious arguments involving certain verses with
added meanings to them; but if we ask the Shia to simply read the verse without
any insertions, then suddenly they cannot produce even a single verse in the
Quran to justify Imamah. Suffice to say that the Shia becomes polemically
incapacitated if he is forced to use the Quran and Quran alone.


The Shia have stated that Imamah is the
fundamental of faith, and so there should thus be many verses in the Quran on
this topic. Yet, the “Quran Challenge” only asks for the Shia to produce even a
couple of verses from the Quran, yet even this is not possible. Not a single
verse in the Quran mentions the names of their Infallible Imams; not even Ali’s
name (رضّى الله عنه) is ever mentioned in the Quran. But more
importantly than this, there is not a single mention of the very concept of
Imamah. This is peculiar, to say the least; how can Imamah be part of
Usool-e-Deen (a fundamental pillar of faith) and yet not be mentioned even a
single time in the Quran? The truth is that the Quran mentions all the
fundamentals of belief, and if something is not in the Quran, then that “thing”
cannot possibly be a fundamental of belief.


Imamah Not Mentioned in Quran


Every single fundamental of Islam is mentioned in
the Quran numerous times. Tawheed and the concept of Allah (عز و جل)
are mentioned over two thousand times. The concept of Messengers and Prophets
[Risalah and Nabuwwah] is mentioned repeatedly; in fact, the words “Rasool” and
“Nabi” is used over four hundred times. All of the other Usool-e-Deen
(fundamental of religion), other than Imamah, are mentioned hundreds of times
in the Quran. Yet, the Quran remains completely silent on the issue of Imamah.


The Shia say that Imamah is one of the
Usool-e-Deen, but we see that even the Furoo-e-Deen (the subsidiary and
secondary parts of religion) are mentioned much more than Imamah is (which is
actually never mentioned). Salat (prayer), the second pillar of Islam, is
mentioned 700 times in the Quran. Zakat (charity), the third pillar of Islam,
has been mentioned over 150 times. And yet, where is Imamah? The Quran is the
complete guide for humanity, and yet the Shia are saying that the fundamental
core belief (i.e. Imamah) is not in it.


The Quran clearly says that Muhammad (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) is divinely appointed as the the Messenger of Allah (عز و جل)
and that we should follow him. If there was another divinely appointed person
we were supposed to follow after him, shouldn’t his name also be mentioned in
the Quran? Why is it too much to ask that the twelve Imams be named in the
Quran? Or how about even one of them? Not even Ali (رضّى الله عنه)
is named in the Quran. For argument sake, we will not even demand names; what
about even the very concept of divinely appointed Imams that will come after
the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) and that we must follow them? We would
argue that Allah (عز و جل) should have included the names of such
people for the book to really be complete, yet we are unable to find even a
single verse in the Quran which describes even the concept of Imamah. Not a
single verse can the Shia produce in this regard.


The Quran is the ultimate guide for humanity. It
contains all the fundamental beliefs of our faith. If Imamah was really a part
of our faith, then it would be in the Quran. But Imamah is not in the Quran and
we reject whatever belief is not justified in the Quran. There are many verses
in the Quran that say that the believers are those who pray, give alms to the
poor, do good deeds, and other such things; but why is it that not a single
verse says the believers are those who follow and obey the Infallible Imam?


Conclusion


Both Sunni and Shia, as well as all other
Islamic-oriented sects, have their own set of Hadith, Tafseer, historical
accounts, and rituals. However, the Quran should be mutually agreed upon by
both sides as being an authentic guide to the truth. In the words of Sidi Abu
Salih, in order for a dialogue between Sunni and Shia to be fruitful,


…the Lowest Common Denominator should be found, a
work that will be accepted as fully authentic in terms of its message and its
integriy by both the Sunni and Shia sides. This book is, of course, the Noble
Quran. Therefore, the first and most important place to look for resolving big
differences of doctrine such as those between the Sunni and Shia sects should
be the Quran.


Source: Sidi Abu Salih, Imaamah and the
Quran: An Objective Perspective, p.14; Download
book here


Thus, whichever group has basis for its beliefs
in the Quran, it is this group that we should adhere to. A group whose beliefs
are not in the Quran cannot be followed as this would be refuting the Word of
Allah (عز و جل). The Quran is complete in its guidance; Allah Almighty (عز و جل)
says: “We have left nothing out of the
Book.” (Quran, 6:38)


In Nahjul Balagha, which the Shia believe are
Ali’s sermons and letters, Ali (رضّى الله عنه) says: “The Quran
is the Hujjat (Proof) of Allah for his servants…it is the basis of Islam…and
the guidance for anyone who follows it and justification for anyone who takes
it as his approach and the evidence for anyone who takes it as his supporter in
his discussions and winner for anyone who uses it for making his arguments.” [Nahjul
Balagha, Sermon 198]


Imam Sadiq is reported to have said in Shia
Hadith: “Anyone who comes to recognize the truth from
any sources other than the Quran will not be saved from Fitnah.”


The importance of the Quran is stated clearly by
the Infallible Imams of the Shia: “If you come across
two Hadiths narrated from us [imams] then compare them with the Book of Allah;
what is in accordance then take it and what is in disagreement then reject it.”
(Al-Istibsar, Volume 1, p.190) And again: “Whatever
comes to you related from us [imams] then compare it with the Book of Allah;
whatever is in accordance with it then accept it and whatever contradicts it
then reject it.” (Al-Istibsar, Volume 3, p.158)


The realization that Imamah does not appear in
the Quran may come as a shock to our Shia brothers. We encourage them to look
in the Quran for verses about the twelve Infallible Imams, and surely they will
not find any. As stated by one brother: “I did not find Shi’ism in the Quran.”


Article Written By: Owais Muhammad

Edited By: Ibn al-Hashimi, www.ahlelbayt.com


Special thanks to the author of the following book


“Imaamah and the Quran: An
Objective Perspective”

By: Abu Salih


Synopsis:
Imamah is one of the fundamental beliefs of the Shia, and it is the major
difference between the Shia and mainstream Muslims. The Quran is the central
book of Islam, and hence, it contains all of the major beliefs of the Muslims.
In the book “Imaamah and the Quran”, the author analyzes how Imamah, the major
belief of the Shia, is absent from the Quran. This book was instrumental in the
creation of this website, and it can be purchased here.