Probing of The Grand Schism-1

AAH

Preface
This is a universal issue, not restricted to Muslims or Arabs only . The aftermath of
the Grand Schism that Islam had undergone seems to be affecting all human people
around the globe. Whether flying your way across the ocean and fearing a terrorist act
on board , or touring across Pakistan or Chechnya, fearing a potential kidnapping or
blasting ,in all cases, you are prone to be affected by the consequences of that issue .
Religion having turned to politics, or may be it is the other way round, and living in a
world of chain reactions, we all are touched by it, one way or another .

Early Beginnings
The Grand Schism is currently under revision and more probing through revision and
analysis outside its habitat. The fact the it is affecting Islam, and the whole world in a
way or another seems to be justifying this act. Almost all ideologies and religions
experience this inevitable fate, it an inevitable thing since people vary in how they
respond to any suppressing rules or regulations .The act of disintegration usually
continues to further generate more and more factions and sub-categories of ideologies,
stances and positions towards important issues like Imamah (The Right To Rule
Over), and the rest of Sharee'a (Divine Constitution) matters .It could be marking a
healthy mode of intellectuality, to practice this act of "Choosing Sides", who knows?

This is an issue that needs to be dealt with by an insider, a Muslim fellow .It should be
tackled by someone who has an access to Arab Muslim history, language, sociology
and many specialties that are relevant to this intricate issue .It also demands a high
amount of logic and lateral thinking, with an added talent of correlating things to their
sources of attribution, and the ability to locate the proper texts of Quran &
Hadeeth(Prophet's Tradition, sayings and conducts suggesting his approval of any
issue ), in order to verify its integrity.

What are the main branches of this Schism?

You may be surprised to find too many forms of it, yet, it is taking the shape of one
distinctive duo, Sunna & Shii'a mainly . The various shapes may include the
followings:
Muhajireen & Ansar ( Those who migrated from Mecca to Madina, and those
supporters who received them and the Prophet himself, in Madina itself, while
experiencing Hijra=migration )
Arabs & Mawali (Non Arab Muslims)
Arabs & 'Ajam(Non-Arabs, Persians mainly)
Alawites & Umayyads
Alawites & Abbasids.
Ja'faris & Sunni fellows( All four schools of the latter).

First thing to say is that this is a Schism relating to politics in the first place. It might
be very logical to have such an issue next to the death of the Prophet Mohammad who
had been the main character around which all Muslims in the Arab peninsula had been
gathering for 2 decades. The death incidence itself was not expected by many,
although it had been said that Abu Bakr himself had interpreted the meaning of Surat
Al Nasr to be predicting the due departure of the prophet himself, but the sudden news
of it had Omar totally shocked, to the extent of threatening to kill any one repeating
that news. In my opinion, the series of events that followed had nothing to do with the
Schism. It was a new episode in a series of events where one Sahabi had been
opposing another, in matters like Quran reciting and else. Of course there is no way
that Allah Almighty Had included any recommendation in Holy Quran as to should be
succeeding the prophet ,it would have meant a new apostle rather than a caliph. The
only expected hint would be through the prophet himself, but once again , it would
have meant a monarchy regime rather than a new revolutionary ideology that is
supposed to replace all other religions ahead of it. It also contradict the Shura term,
and the principles of both equality and equity, that a dynasty is to rule for what is left
of time, till Judgment Day.
While going through this delicate and almost impossible case, I need put a strong
emphasis on a few points:
1. The reign of the prophet was a mixture of religious and political
command .
His departure dropped the first theme, and led his followers to seek a totally
new icon , that is to establish a civil state for the first time, lending itself to
Islamic theology ,without the presence of a prophet that had been aided by
Heaven, both Archangel Gabriel and Quran, to suggest solutions for any
pending matter. Quran had been known to be revealed (Munajjaman), i.e.
according to a series of local events. It was a massive and very serious
challenge, for a bunch of men who had been to anything except a civil state to
cater for Madinah , Mecca, and all remote spots having converted to Islam. I
am talking about establishing for ministries, authority, and new rules to
control people and coordinate their activities.
2. The main conflict in Saqeefat Bani Sa'ida( The location were Muslims
gathered to elect a successor to rule, after the death of the Prophet ), as to
whom to elect , was between Ansar & Muhajireen, and once made to exclude
Al Ansar, it shifted to individuals. The shape of that community, with
embedded traces of their tribal ex-belonging , made it a tribal confrontation
.Each side was pulling the rope to their own side, using all justifications
available to them. The relevancy to the deceased Prophet had something to do
with it, may be, since the four main figures of Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman &
Ali, had all been tied to the Prophet ,as fathers-in-law, except for the case of
the latter two, being sons-in-law in stead. The relation and blood ties might
have something to do with the justifications, but it appears very absurd to use
this criterion to support any case, we are talking about a religion that is meant
for all humanity, not just Quraish , or Arabs alone.
3. All contenders had a strong wish to prove themselves as the most
eligible to succeed the Prophet. The competition was made to be terminated
abruptly, it was a hard time for the bereaved community. It was a very urgent
issue, as was proved when most tribes newly admitted to Islam declared a
retreat back to idolatry state, regarding the death of the prophet as an end to
the issue of Islam.
4. It was a community of seniors. Age was one of the few things to matter
while electing a ruler or a caliph. This is quite evident from the term (Al
Shaikhain = The Two Elderly Caliphs ,i.e. Abu Bakr & Omar ), used to
describe both Abu Bakr & Omar. Imam Ali was well known as a warrior, he
insisted on naming his son(s) as Harb (War),for three consecutive times, while
the Prophet had it amended to be Hasan, Husain & Muhassan, in accordance
with those of Aaron, Moses' brother. His title that he used to boast for was
Haidar(Lion), and he had be known to be the super hero in almost all fights of
Islam against the pagans and the Jews of Madinah, but the question to ask here
is, is a super hero of war and battlefields eligible to rule over a nation, and
excel in it, same as he is to do while fighting in a battlefield?

(To Be Continued)