فَضلُ الشِيعَةِ The Virtue of the Shi`aa

The word shi`aa lexically means ‘follower’, and originally referred to those who followed Imam `Ali b. Abi Talib and who recognised him as the Prophet (SAWA)’s divinely appointed rightful successor. Today it generally refers to the body of Muslims who recognise the twelve Imams from Imam `Ali (AS) to the rest of the Imams (AS) from his and Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter’s lineage

 

1ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): شَكَوتُ إلى رسولِ اللّه‏ِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ) حَسَدَ الناسِ إيَّايَ ، فقالَ: يا عليُّ ، إنّ أوَّلَ أربَعةٍ يَدخُلُونَ الجَنَّةَ أنا وأنتَ والحَسنُ والحُسينُ ، وذُرِّيَّتُنا خَلفَ ظُهُورِنا ، وأحِبّاؤنا خَلفَ ذُرِّيَّتِنا ، وأشياعُنا عَن أيمانِنا وشَمائلِنا.

1– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘I complained to the Prophet (SAWA) about people’s jealousy towards me, so he replied, ‘O Ali, the first four people to enter Paradise will be myself, you, Hasan and Husayn. The rest of our progeny will be behind us, those who love us will be behind them, and our Shi`aa will be on either side of us.’[al-Irshad, v. 1, p. 43]
 

2ـ الإمامُ الباقرُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): سُئلَت اُمُّ سَلَمَةَ زَوجُ النبيِّ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ) عن علِيّ بنِ أبي طالبٍ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) ، فقالَت: سَمِعتُ رسولَ اللّه‏ِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ) يقولُ: إنّ عليّا وشِيعَتَهُ هُمُ الفائزونَ.

2– Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet (SAWA), was once asked about [the status of] Ali b. Abi Talib (AS), to which she replied, ‘I have heard the Prophet (SAWA) say, ‘Verily Ali and his Shi`aa are the victorious ones.’[Ibid. p. 41]