What Are the Present-Day Effects of Mu'awiya and His Followers' Scholarly Crimes?

The greatest enemy of every divine faith and school is innovation in religion. Innovation is so dangerous that it can destroy religion. Innovations have one main function: they create deviation. An innovation may not seem important in its own time, but with the passage of time it produces great deviations in the future. For this reason, examining beliefs and teachings and documenting religious knowledge in every age is a very important task, so that religion may always remain protected from innovation.

Innovation is the root of all deviations and disputes within Islam and within every religious tradition. The usurping rulers after the Prophet, and after them Banu Umayya, had the greatest share, indeed the full share, in creating various innovations. The more time passes, the more the ominous and vile effects of innovation reveal themselves in society. It is for this reason that Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: 'Whoever goes toward the people of innovation and honors the innovator has indeed striven to destroy religion.' (1)

Although this narration contains many valuable points for those who reflect upon it, two very important points should be mentioned here: 1- To preserve religion, the innovator must be exposed in society, and this is among the greatest duties of the elites of every society. Throughout history, the Shi'a have carried out this responsibility well. 2- The enemy always feeds disbelief to the people of faith under the cover of Islam. Therefore innovation always has an appearance of faith, yet Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: 'Every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance leads toward the Fire.' (2)

Whatever form it takes, innovation pushes society toward the road of misguidance, and the end of that road is the Fire. Since the usurping rulers after the Prophet, who unjustly called themselves caliphs, and after them Banu Umayya, created the greatest, indeed nearly all, innovations in Islam, examining the effects of these innovations on the spirit and thought of today's Muslim society is highly important. Truly, after more than a thousand years have passed since the innovations of Mu'awiya and those before him, what are the effects of those innovations today and now? Did innovations matter only in their own time, so that examining them after centuries is now useless?

The effects of innovation can be divided into two categories:

1- A clear example of the effects of such innovations, an effect that is very tangible in today's Muslim world and has caused many problems in society, can be found in the innovation established by the second caliph: he forbade temporary marriage as an innovation. Although his innovation was not accepted by the people in his own time and the Companions of the Messenger of God, blessings and peace be upon him and his family, continued for many years to act upon this practice of the Messenger of God (3), in later centuries those fanatically attached to the second usurper acted upon this innovation, and temporary marriage was effectively treated as categorically forbidden.

This deadly poison, unfortunately, spread even into Shi'i society, and in practice this divine command was suspended. In the present time, when the need for this matter is felt in society more than before, and when the age of marriage for girls and boys has risen greatly while obscene and immoral films and websites aimed at sexually provoking young people in order to destroy society have increased ever more, the need for temporary marriage is a very important necessity in today's society. Yet the innovation of forbidding this sacred act still casts its dark shadow like a great idol over our society.

Although no one in Shi'i society rules that it is forbidden, in practice this lawful act, which today has become obligatory for many young people, is treated as though it were equal to fornication, or even more shameful than fornication. Even when books have discussed and examined this subject, they have usually remained at the level of theological discussion and have not addressed the more necessary and practical issue, namely its jurisprudential questions. When an issue such as temporary marriage is actually practiced in society, it faces many problems, and jurists must inform society about these problems: for example, temporary marriage of a virgin girl without her father's permission; the meaning of a girl's being mature and discerning; the lawful ways available to a girl who wants to enter temporary marriage; and many other questions that arise in the minds of those who want to escape the satanic fire of fornication. This is only one effect among a thousand effects of a single innovation, and it is one of the effects that is tangible for us in today's society.

2- There are also innovations that do not clearly show themselves in our daily lives, but whose effects in the Muslim world have afflicted all Muslims. Many doctrinal deviations that exist today are not very tangible and require closer scrutiny. On the basis of these innovations, takfiri sects have emerged in non-Shi'i societies; they easily declare another Muslim to be an unbeliever, and they do not stop there, but regard his life, property, and honor as lawful for themselves. This means that our Shi'i society too is affected by these doctrinal harms.

Today, the result of such beliefs can be seen in the massacre of the Shi'a of Parachinar in Pakistan, terrorist attacks on mourners of Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, in different parts of the world, the destruction of the blessed shrines of the infallible Imams, peace be upon them, and the emergence of many different sects that, despite all their division and disagreement, claim Islam and claim to follow the Qur'an.

Innovation is a deadly poison that has fallen upon the body of Islam today. Many narrations state that the Imam of the Age, peace be upon him, will come with a new religion and a new book. How can the Imam of the Age, who intends to rule on the basis of the Qur'an and the Prophetic Sunnah, have a new religion and a new book? These narrations are a warning about the spread of innovations on the eve of the Appearance. In reality, the religion and book of the Imam of the Age are not new in relation to the religion of the Prophet and the book that the Prophet left for the guidance of Muslims. Rather, these noble narrations describe the religion and book of the Imam of the Age as 'new' in relation to the Muslim society on the eve of the Appearance. With this explanation, two points become clear:

1- The society on the eve of the Appearance is a society filled with innovations. The religiosity of the society of the end times will revolve around innovations. This is a warning to us: living in the society of the end times without knowing innovations, Sunnahs, and the distinguishing line between the two is a life based on ignorance. Religiosity in such a society without knowing 'insight' and the criteria of 'insight' will bring misguidance with it.

2- This explanation is also a response to the doubts of some blind-hearted people who, by clinging to such narrations, deny the principle of Mahdism. They say and write that according to the Shi'a, the Mahdi, may God hasten his relief, is imaginary, because he is someone who destroys religion and brings a new religion, destroys the Qur'an revealed to the Prophet and brings a new Qur'an, and rises in opposition to the Sunnah of the Prophet. Such a Mahdi, they claim, is false; therefore the Shi'a are deluded in their claim about Mahdism.

These narrations refer to the innovation-filled atmosphere on the eve of the Appearance. Yes, the Imam of the Age will not tolerate a religion that has become a tool in the hands of despots. He will confront a Qur'an interpreted through the exegetical foundations of Banu Umayya, and he will present an interpretation that conveys the divine intent of the noble verses, not what the Umayyads intended. He will revive a Sunnah that is truly the Sunnah of the Prophet, not a Sunnah fabricated according to the expediency of a few worldly rulers. For this reason, the promised Mahdi is a sweet truth for seekers of truth and a bitter truth for seekers of innovation.

This article examines the effects of innovations that were placed into religion by Banu Umayya, especially Mu'awiya. Although some of these innovations no longer exist in Muslim society, their ominous effects still remain. The filthy innovation of cursing the Commander of the Faithful and reviling that best of mankind may no longer be present now, but its evil effects still exist.

What will be the effects of the scholarly crimes of Mu'awiya and his followers today? What calamities has the alliance of Banu Umayya with the Jews throughout history brought upon Muslims today? Is the sinister Wahhabi sect today not the result of this inauspicious alliance between Banu Umayya and the Jews? Therefore, examining these effects after examining the innovations of Banu Umayya and their followers is important.

Of course, one must not overlook the truth that most of these innovations were made with awareness and knowledge of the reality of the matter. Creating an innovation was not merely a blind act of desire or lust at a particular moment. A person such as Mu'awiya, who was a champion of devils in creating innovations, possessed remarkable sharpness and foresight in producing innovation. In truth, his innovation-making was a war on the cultural front.

By examining his innovations and the effects of these innovations, it becomes clear why Imam al-Sadiq and Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon them both, although they apparently had the power and conditions for an armed uprising, preferred to train students in the religious sciences. Perhaps one reason was to confront the destructive effects of the innovations of Banu Umayya, an opportunity they would not have had if they had formed a government.

When Mu'awiya was told, 'You have reached what you wanted of rule and power, so stop cursing Ali, peace be upon him,' he replied: 'No, by God, I will continue this practice until small children grow up upon this culture and habit, and until those who are advanced in age bend their backs upon this false Sunnah - meaning until they grow old - so that no one remembers Ali, peace be upon him.' (4)

In reality, Mu'awiya deliberately burned future generations in the fire of envy, rancor, and hatred toward the Commander of the Faithful. His goal was to create a burned generation. With the aim of teaching people from childhood to be hostile to the truth, he established this innovation, and how quickly he achieved results.

He was able at least to fill Syria with devils who rejoiced and celebrated over the captivity of the Prophet's children at Karbala, because they were a generation raised upon hatred of the Commander of the Faithful. For this reason, Imam al-Sajjad, peace be upon him, described the city of Syria as the most calamity-ridden and torment-filled city for the caravan of captives, because the children of Syria had grown up upon hatred of Ali, peace be upon him, and their elders had grown old upon it.

Doctrinal innovations are in reality negative culture-building for future generations. For this reason, examining the effects of innovation in society is extremely necessary.

1- Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 54, chapter on innovations, opinion, and analogies
2- Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 56, chapter on innovations, opinion, and analogies
3- Sunnah does not mean every act the Prophet performed; rather, what is intended is every act about which the Prophet issued a ruling, legislated, commanded, or forbade.
4- Al-Arba'in fi Hubb Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), Ali Abu Ma'ash, vol. 4, pp. 304-306