Origion of Shia's and Shia islam

Shia Islam originated as a response[citation needed] to questions of Islamic religious leadership which became manifest as early as the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. The issues involved not only whom to appoint as the successor to Muhammad, but also what attributes a true successor should have. Sunnis regarded Caliphs as a secular leaders, (originally elected by general agreement, though later the hereditary principle became the norm). To the Shiite, however, the question of succession is a matter of designation of an individual (Ali) through divine command. In the same way, Shias believed that each Imam designated the next Imam by the leave of God. So within Shia Islam it makes no difference to the Imam's position whether he is chosen as a Caliph or not.

Historians dispute the origin of Shia Islam[citation needed], with many[who?] Western scholars positing that Shiism began[when?] as a political faction rather than as a religious movement.[dubious – discuss]][better source needed][need quotation to verify]However, Jafri disagrees, considering this concept or religious-political separation as an anachronistic application of a Western concept. Sunnis[who?], on the other hand, often claim that Shiite beliefs only first formed under the scheming of Abdullah ibn Saba'[citation needed]; Sunnis reject the idea that Ali followed any beliefs that were contrary to the rest of the Sahaba.[better source needed]

Shia View

Shia Islam began when Abu Bakr, Umar and Abu Ubaydah al Jarrah offered each other the helpers (ansar) despite the announcement of Ghadir Khumm where Ali was declared master of the believers. Ali and his supporters stayed in his house then Abu Bakr sent Umar to threaten those inside by attempting to burn the house. After a confrontation Ali eventually pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr. Ali would remind the companions of the tradition of Ghadir over 10 years later in the courtyard of the mosque in Kufa in a tradition known as Yawm al Ruhba. Shi'i sources are clear about the collusion of the above individuals as well Sunni ones, for example where Umar announces close to his passing that he would elect Abu Ubaydah or Salim (one of the first people to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr) if they were still alive. Therefore the Sunni leadership doctrine was really a reaction by some individuals to Ali being announced as their master.

These personalities are known by some as the people of the contract (ahl al-'Uqd):

It was narrated that Qais bin 'Ubad said:

"While I was in the Masjid in the first row, a man pulled me from behind and moved me aside, and took my place. By Allah, I could not focus on my prayer, then when he left I saw that it was Ubayy bin Ka'b. He said: '0 boy, may Allah protect you from harm. This is what the Prophet instructed us to do, to stand directly behind him.' Then he (Ubayy) turned to face the Qiblah and said: 'Doomed are Ah1 Al-'Uqd, by the Lord of the Ka'bah! - three times.'Then he said: 'By Allah, I am not sad for them, but I am sad for the people whom they have misled.' I said: '0 Abu Ya'qub, what do you mean by Ah1 Al-'Uqd?' He said: 'The rulers."'

From then on the different Shia groups developed different Imamate theories with the most popular current form alleging having 12 imams with the last one in occultation, which means he has been hidden from the view of the people until the end of time. Other Shia groups do not limit the number of imams and instead encourage that the imam be a just and knowledgeable leader.

IMMAMTE VS CALIPHATE

The very life of Ali and his actions show that he accepted the previous caliphs as understood in the Sunni sense of Caliphate (the ruler and the administrator of the Sharia), but confined the function of Walayah, after the Prophet, to himself. That is why he is respected as the fourth caliph in the Sunni sense and as an Imam in the Shi'ite sense.

Sunnites, on the other hand, reject Imamate on the basis of Quran which says Muhammad, as the last of the Prophets, was not to be succeeded by any of his family; and that is why God let Muhammad's sons to die in infancy. And that is why Muhammad did not nominate a successor, as he wanted to leave the succession to be resolved "by the Muslim Community on the basis of the Quranic principle of consultation (Shura)." The question Madelung propose here is that why the family members of Muhammad should not inherit other (other than prophethood) aspects of Muhammad's character such as rule (hukm) wisdom (Hikmah), and the Imamate. Since The Sunnite concept of the "true caliphate" itself defines it as a "succession of the Prophet in every respect except his prophethood". Madelung further asks "If God really wanted to indicate that he should not be succeeded by any of his family, why did He not let his grandsons and other kin die like his sons?"

It is said that one day the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid questioned the seventh Shiite Imam, Musa al-Kadhim, saying why he had permitted people to call him "Son of Allah's Apostle," while he and his forefathers were Muhammad's daughter's children. And that "the progeny belongs to the male (Ali) and not to the female (Fatimah)". In response al-Kadhim recited the verses Quran, 6:84 and Quran, 6:85 and then asked "Who is Jesus's father, O Commander of the faithful?". "Jesus had no father." Said Harun. Al-kadhim argued that God in these verses had ascribed Jesus to the descendants of the prophets through Mary; "similarly, we have been ascribed to the descendants of the Prophet through our mother Fatimah," Said al-Kadhim.It is related that Harun asked Musa to give him more evidence and proof. Al-Kadhim, thus, recited the verse of Mubahala arguing that "None claims that the Prophet made someone enter under the cloak when he challenged the Christians to a contest of prayer to God (mubahala) except Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn. So in the verse: "Our sons" refers to Hasan and Husayn. In one of his long letters to Muawiya I, summoning him to pledge allegiance to him, Hasan ibn Ali made use of the argument of his father, Ali, which the latter had advanced against Abu Bakr after the death of Muhammad. Ali had said: "If Quraysh could claim the leadership over the Ansar on the grounds that the Prophet belonged to Quraysh, then the members of his family, who were the nearest to him in every respect, were better qualified for the leadership of the community."

Mu'awiya's response, to this argument  is also interesting, for Muawiyah, while recognizing the excellence of the Muhammad's family, further asserted that he would willingly follow Hasan's request were it not for his own superior experience in governing:"…You are asking me to settle the matter peacefully and surrender, but the situation concerning you and me today is like the one between you [your family] and Abu Bakr after the death of the Prophet…I have a longer period of reign [probably referring to his governorship], and am more experienced, better in policies, and older in age than you. …if you enter into obedience to me now, you will accede to the caliphate after me." Wrote back Muawiyya.

In his book, The Origins and Early Development of Shi'a Islam, Jafri comes to the conclusion that the majority of the Muslims who became known as Sunnis afterwards "placed the religious leadership in the totality of the community (Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jamaah), represented by the Ulama, as the custodian of religion and the exponent of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, while accepting state authority as binding… A minority of the Muslims, on the other hand, could not find satisfaction for their religious aspirations except in the charismatic leadership from among the people of the house of the Prophet, the Ahl al-Bayt, as the sole exponents of the Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah, although this minority too had to accept the state's authority. This group was called the Shiite."