Sunni fatwas on Shi'as

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Sunni fatwas on Shi'as show the how the Sunni view of Shi'a is documented in legal rulings.

The renowned al-Azhar Theological school in Egypt, one of the main centers of Sunni scholarship in the world had a ten year long exchange with a Shia scholar. After a long period of discussions, they announced the following on July 6, 1959:

"The Shi'a is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought."

Today, both Shi'a and Sunni students graduate and study at the Al-Azhar university. However, not all Muslims accept the Azhar fatwa to be correct.


  1. Ibn Hazm — "Shia are not even Muslims", when Christians debating him brought a Shia book as reference.[1]
  2. Ibn Taymiya[citation needed]
  3. Ibn Khaldoun — "astray people", "Shia are the source of all deviant groups in Islam history". [2]
  4. Nizam al-Mulk, where he fully attacks The Rafidhun.[3]

Interestingly, the latter author was assassinated when he converted to Shi'ism after a Sunni-Shi'a debate held by the orders of Malek-Shah, who also followed the same fate.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ See al-Millal wa al-Nahl الفصل في الملل والنحل 2/213
  2. ^ http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ik/Muqaddimah/Chapter3/Ch_3_25.htm Shi'ah tenets concerning the question of the imamate.
  3. ^ See his book Siyasatnama, chap 41.
  4. ^ see Mughatil ibn Bakri's book "راهي به سوي حقيقت" with ISBN 964-93287-8-5