A brief personal note before I begin: I am not a Muslim- I want to be clear about that. However, I have studied religious history and religious studies at university level.
But if I ever were to convert to Islam, I would follow the Maliki school. No hesitation.
Why? Because Maliki jurisprudence roots itself in something rare: the living, continuous traditions of Medina - the city where the Prophet actually lived, governed, taught, and died alongside his companions. Malik ibn Anas made a powerful argument: that this unbroken, generation-to-generation practice carried a weight that written texts alone simply couldn't replicate. The people of Medina were the living Sunnah. I find that deeply compelling.
The school also developed something I think is underappreciated - Sadd al-Dharai, or blocking the means. The idea is simple but sharp: if an otherwise neutral act almost certainly leads to harm, you prohibit it at the source. As a tool against religious radicalization, it's remarkably well-suited. More schools could learn from it.
Now for the harder part.
I don't believe Shia Islam represents authentic Islam as understood from its original sources. That's a personal view, and I hold it carefully. It doesn't mean I want Shia Islam suppressed, and it certainly doesn't mean I look down on Shia Muslims. I don't. But I think the tradition departs from some core Islamic principles in ways that deserve honest discussion rather than polite avoidance.
So here's my thinking.
The Imamate. The doctrine that divine, infallible leadership passed through a specific bloodline after the Prophet's death simply isn't in the Quran. Islam's whole foundation is Tawhid - the absolute, uncompromising oneness of God. When you start attributing infallibility and divine appointment to human beings, however noble their lineage, you're introducing something that Islamic theology was never designed to accommodate! That's not a footnote. That's a foundational problem.
The seal of prophethood. The Quran is clear: Muhammad was Khatam an-Nabiyyin - the final prophet. Revelation ended with his death. But the Shia concept of Ilham - that the Imams received divine inspiration and held exclusive authority over hidden Quranic meanings - effectively extends prophethood under a different label. The theological issue doesn't disappear just because the word changes.
The Sahaba. The entire chain of Islamic transmission rests on the companions who memorized, recorded, and passed down the Quran and Hadith. If you argue that most of them became corrupt or went astray after the Prophet died, you've created a serious logical problem: you can't discredit the transmitters while trusting what they transmitted. The chain of custody matters. It always does.
Infallibility. God alone is perfect. God alone knows the unseen. That's not a minor theological preference in Islam - it's the whole point. Claiming the Twelve Imams were entirely free from error and possessed knowledge of the unseen assigns divine attributes to human beings. I think that crosses a clear line!
Taqiyyah. I understand the historical context - practicing concealment under threat of persecution.
But from an evidentiary standpoint, it creates a problem that's hard to get around: if any historical statement that contradicts current doctrine can simply be dismissed as an instance of concealment, how do you verify anything? It becomes an unfalsifiable system!
The Occultation. The belief that the Twelfth Imam went into supernatural hiding in the ninth century and is still alive today, waiting to return - there's no Quranic foundation for this! It arose during a moment of acute political crisis, when the Eleventh Imam died without an obvious successor. The imagery - a hidden savior, a messianic return - maps closely onto pre-Islamic mystical traditions of the region. That's not coincidence. That's historical borrowing!
So for me shia islam is not real Islam.
@SMElI0o0lI الصراع القبلي انتقل إلى الساحة الجينية كذلك وتبعه الطعن بالأنساب وتجريد كثير من العرب من عروبتهم، بل حتى الصراع الأزلي بين العرب اليمانية والنزارية تم استحضاره في هذه الأوقات وكلٌ يزعم أنه العربي ويجرّد الآخر من عروبته.
اتقوا الله اتقوا الله اتقوا الله
@Omar_Alsulami1@qaisailan محكم قضاء سابق وهذه أخلاقك في الحديث عن قبيلة ضاربة ولها سمعتها بين العرب
ولا عتب فالألف والدال قبل اسمك لا تمت للأخلاق الكريمة بأية صلة
@Thechosenone904 hey just try this and that banging and knocking will stop, put the second chapter of Quran on a speaker and let it play for a whole night on repeat. You will see wonders.
@Thechosenone904@steven_sawers@BillSobel@wildfreakouts In Islam there no ghosts, as in a soul from a diseased person that wanders around haunting or hurting people.
What we believe in is other creatures called Jin which are made from fire. Satan himself is one of those Jin, he’s like what Adam is to human beings.
@Thechosenone904@steven_sawers@BillSobel@wildfreakouts They live in rural areas most of the time but can intrude on humans house holds and urban areas.
They aren’t visible to the human eye but can be seen sometimes rarely as shadows, they fear humans just as much as humans fear them. But they can bring harm to people in various ways
@Thechosenone904@steven_sawers@BillSobel@wildfreakouts In Islam there no ghosts, as in a soul from a diseased person that wanders around haunting or hurting people.
What we believe in is other creatures called Jin which are made from fire. Satan himself is one of those Jin, he’s like what Adam is to human beings.
@wonder_u0@aljbwry61075@AbdallahBashan طواف إبراهيم بالبيت العتيق من الماضي وركض هاجر بين الصفا والمروة من الماضي والذي يجعلها شعيرة هو فعل النبي ﷺ لها فهذا هو الفرق بين أهل السنة والمبتدعة
طقوس لم يفعلها النبي ﷺ ولا الأنبياء من قبله، اللطم والنواح والعويل، حتى عند موت ابنه إبراهيم ذرفت عيناه واسترجع وحمد الله وصبر
@aljbwry61075@AbdallahBashan المسلم الطبيعي والعاقل يتجاوز أحداث الماضي ويترحّم على أموات المسلمين ويمضي في حياته وعبادته لرب العالمين على نهج الرسول ﷺ وأصحابه أما المضطرب يعيش المآسي والأحزان ويبتدع ويلطم على أمور انتهت قبل مئات السنين ويحمّل المسلمين جميعهم مسؤولية شيء عفا عليه الزمن
@alduferi1969 تبيّن لي أن عبدالكريم عمران هذا صاحب هوى ولا يعني من ذلك أنني ضد محتواه عن الرافضة
ولكن الدفاع عن السنة ومنهج أهل السنة لا يكون قائم على ردود أفعال تصل للإجحاف بأهل بيت النبي ﷺ جميعهم
لا للروافض ولا للنواصب، أهل السنة والجماعة وسط بين الفريقين ولا يميلون إلى الجهتين
@zgrtfr@li_1_2 أتفهمك، بالنسبة للقرار في البيت فهو مرتبط قطعًا بعمل المرأة وهذه صراحة نازلة معاصرة لأن المادة والمال مطلب أساسي للعيش في وقتنا ويرجع للعلماء المعاصرين المعتبرين لتبيين الحكم الشرعي بالضوابط الشرعية في وقتنا المعاصر مع مراعاة الواقع الذي نعيشه ومع مراعاة الحالات الفردية.