Tawalla and tabarru'

The Arabic pair and the closely related pair both refer to the following complementary concepts in Shia Islam: and denote the unconditional loyalty, alliance, devotion, love, and obedience of Shia Muslims toward their imams and the Islamic prophet Muhammad (Template:Died in), while ( in Persian) and signify their dissociation and detachment from enemies of Muhammad, imams, and imams' followers.Template:Sfnm Both pairs can be translated as affiliation-dissociation or avowal-disavowal.Template:Sfnm

Significance

In Shia Islam, characterizes the spiritual bond between followers and their imams, a bond that surpasses politics and self-interest.Template:Sfnm So central is this concept that the defining feature of Shia Islam is toward Ali ibn Abi Talib (Template:Died in), the first Shia imam, and later imams from his descent.Template:SfnmTemplate:Efn Twelvers, the largest branch of Shias, even consider a requirement for acceptance of one's good deeds.Template:Sfnm This love and devotion to imams, Shia scholars argue, is due not just because of imams' noble descent but also because of their virtues and merits.Template:Sfnm Shia scholars also contend that obedience to imams benefits the believers first and foremost, for imams are regarded therein as vehicles for salvation of their followers.Template:Sfnm The term (or ) also conveys the all-encompassing political and religious authority of Shia imams,Template:Sfnm for most Shias regard their imams as divinely-ordained successors of Muhammad.Template:Sfnm

is either subsumed by or viewed as a necessary complement to .Template:Sfnm Especially the former may be kept hidden under persecution but otherwise manifested in imprecations or social ostracism, such as withholding alms tax from enemies and not praying behind them.Template:Sfnm By practicing , it is said, one can take sides in the eternal fight between good and evil or, in Shia vocabulary, the fight between forces of knowledge and ignorance.Template:Sfnm Love and respect for Muhammad and his progeny is also exercised in Sunni Islam,Template:Sfnm and open enmity with them is rare among Muslims,Template:Sfn but the Shia practice of is nevertheless condemned by hardline Sunnis, such as Hanbalis.Template:Sfn

History

Early in the Islamic history, rather than sects, some Muslims belonged to communities, the boundaries of which were defined through affiliation with one's co-religionists and dissociation from everyone else.Template:Sfnm Ali ibn Abi Talib was reportedly not very fond of excommunicating other Muslims during his tumultuous caliphate (Template:Reign), which coincided with the first Muslim civil war.Template:Sfnm Nevertheless, some of his followers and their enemies did practice ,Template:Sfnm and the related terminology appears in the unconditional public pledge of allegiance () offered to Ali before the Battle of Nahrawan (658) against the Kharijites, who had earlier left Ali’s camp.Template:Sfnm Kharijites themselves practiced , as evidenced by their many instances of violence against civilians who supported Ali.Template:Sfnm

Probably in the second century of Islam, was extended beyond Ali's enemies during his caliphate to include the majority of Muhammad’s companions, especially Abu Bakr (Template:Reign) and Umar (Template:Reign), the first and second caliphs, respectively. Later imams augured that Abu Bakr and Umar had usurped the caliphate from Ali, Muhammad's designated successor at the Ghadir Khumm (632), and most companions either participated or acquiesced to this power grab.Template:Sfnm thus became an article of faith under Shia imams, particularly Muhammad al-Baqir (Template:Died in) and Ja'far al-Sadiq (Template:Died in), respectively, the fifth and sixth of the twelve imams in Twelver Shi'ism.Template:Sfnm Yet al-Baqir, for instance, is not known to have publicly reviled Abu Bakr and Umar,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn most likely because he exercised religious dissimulation (),Template:Sfn for imams and their followers were relentlessly persecuted in that period.Template:Sfnm

Those who were perceived to be altering imams' teachings were also excommunicated by imams, but they also warned their followers not to dissociate from those who differed in harmless ways, ascribing such differences to many levels of faith.Template:Sfnm Imams even discouraged dissociation from those non-Shias who were not hostile.Template:Sfnm Such non-Shias, it was argued, were not true believers (Template:Singular ) but they still counted as Muslims and were entitled to their legal rights.Template:Sfnm Excommunication is still occasionally exercised today by some Shia scholars.Template:Sfnm The term also appears in the Quran, the central text of Islam, late in Muhammad's career, probably around 630Template:Ndash632. This Quranic message of dissociation from disbelievers may have been delivered in Mecca by Ali on behalf of Muhammad.Template:Sfnm

References

• Template:No ISBN
• Template:No ISBN

See also

• Ancillaries of the Faith
• Walaya