Asalamualaykum.
No where in my story was i ever Shia, though i feel like this is still worth mentioning and insha'Allah a brother or sister who finds themselves in the same situation as i was can benefit from what i have to say.
Brothers and sisters, i have been born into Islam and raised to follow the sunnah of Rasulallah SAW and love and respect both his family and companions, thanks to Allah. For the majority of my life, all i knew was my own religion and i had no idea that Shiism was ever even a thing. In middle school i learned that there were other "Muslims" who prayed differently from me (that's all i knew about them at this point) and i thought all was fine.
In high school, a close friend of mine who used to speak with me every single day asked me if i was Sunni or Shia and i told him i'm Sunni and he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, looked at me with widened eyes and told me that "you guys murdered our imams." I honestly had no idea how to respond, because i was not knowledgeable on the matter. He continued to say that we celebrate the death of Husayn RA and i told him he was wrong because i personally was never told about any of this. However he insisted on what he was saying and things were never really the same between us after that.
I fast forward to Ashura (this was in 2015) and the same Shia who had spoken to me previously, lectured me on Facebook about what day it was on. I looked it up and it was on the 10th of Muharram, so i told him we should fast that day. He tried persuading me that Ashura is not a day, but a series of days (the first 10 days of Muhurram) and this should be spent mourning the death of Husayn RA. (This is completely false by the way) That's all he told me, not mentioning the specifics of their doings on Ashura so i was left feeling guilty.
I thought i owed Husayn RA for something i never did at this point so i asked a group of brothers (one of whom was a sheikh) at the Masjid that following Friday about the Shia. They all told me that Shia are not Muslim, without much explanation as to why so i was left confused at this point and i started to feel sympathy for Shias and i started to feel like i was the problem.
I now fast forward a few months later. I now have graduated high school, i have my first job and i'm attending college. I'm starting to feel more independent now and i met a girl who was Shia and had interest in me. Shaytaan had convinced me that it's okay to direct message her on twitter and from here this is where all the problems really began for me. My problem was i thought Sunni - Shia unity was possible, i really wanted that more than anything and i thought through this girl i could help such a cause (or atleast that was my excuse).
After our first semester of college ends, we sign up for classes together and this was the first time we met. At this point we had told each other's mothers about us speaking and they allowed it. My mother (may Allah guide her) said nothing on the matter, she actually encouraged it. This girl's mother however kept warning her against me because i was still Sunni. This girl started to ask me questions about my religion and i answered them all honestly. Tension began to rise between us when she brought up a story which i never heard before, and this was their fabricated story of Umar RA killing Fatima Zarhaa RA. I was shocked at hearing this and said that Umar RA would have never done such a thing, he was a loyal friend to Rasulallah SAW. She on the other hand found offense in this and told her mother what i said in defense of Umar RA.
Eventually arguments broke out between her family as i was told and when her father found out i was Sunni they forbid her from even speaking to me alhamdulilah. I say alhamdulilah because i learned a major lesson from this all, but i will mention that after the i finish the story. She blatantly told me that we cant be together because our beliefs are just not compatible, she believed i hated Ahlul Bayt because i love their "murderers" and we cannot speak anymore. Upon hearing this my heart sunk and i fell into depression. I began locking myself in my room for long periods of time crying and thinking to myself how i can convince her that Sunnis are okay and im not out to hate them.
Now shaytaan had me in the perfect position to do whatever he wanted to me. After being told that i was the problem for so long i began having doubts about my deen and began saying to myself "well what if they're right?" i thought that if i did enough research, i could convince myself that becoming Shia is not only okay but the right thing to do. I thought maybe Allah sent this girl to me so i could wake up and learn the truth. So i snuck behind my parents backs and i walked to a twelver Shia masjid alone. I prayed 2 rakat inside and one of their priests, rabbis, whatever you wanna call them noticed me and sat me down to talk.
We began speaking and i wanted to know so badly what was wrong with me. What made me evil in their eyes and what makes them so right? The first thing he mentioned was the subject of shirk (lol) and how we commit shirk by believing we will see Allah in paradise. This confused me because i already knew that the Quran said we would, so who is he to say otherwise? I disregarded that and asked him about the sahaba and he told me the story of Umar RA at Fatima RA's house again and wallahi the words he used against this great sahabi made me realize why those brothers from way back said Shias are not Muslim. This so called "sheikh" was accusing the sahaba of being rapists, liars, murderers and the reason behind terrorism today. He then moved on to Aisha RA and accused her of what the Quran already cleared her from and he gave me books to believe in the 12 imams which they consider infallible. I was so shocked by this, i thought this man was crazy. I thought maybe if i google lectures and speeches by other Shia scholars i would hear more sensible things from their mouths (i was in for quite a surprise).
Long story short, after looking up multiple speeches made by various twelver Shia scholars who are well respected in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, UK, America and hearing how they literally treat the imams like 12 gods, they have doubts on the Quran and think the one we have today is fake... i had enough. I didnt want anything to do with Shias anymore, i stopped thinking about that girl so much. I started to focus on myself again and slowly but surely i built my deen back up and i learned so much in the process.
Even though my encounter with the Shia was a hard one, i learned a lot about their religion and my religion because of it. I cant list everything i learned into one article because it would be so long. However if anyone (especially young ones like myself) are reading this, i HIGHLY recommend you learn your deen. Read the Quran over and over and study the lives of the prophets and their companions (especially the companions of Rasulallah SAW). There's so much to learn and even now i cant say i have learned even a fraction of what is out there. Knowledge is a powerful weapon for those who fear Allah.
Also brothers and sisters, dont fall into the same mistake i did and message the opposite sex online thinking you are "just friends". If they do it first then kindly remind them that you may not do so and remember that Allah is all knowing.
As for Shia - Sunni unity, it will never happen. These people are raised from birth to hate us and they are constantly told that they are the ones who are oppressed and will accuse the sahaba and even us... people who live in a completely different era... of killing ahlul bayt even though we are raised to love them and follow their way. The Shia have allied with kuffar on countless occasions throughout history just so they can kill Sunnis. Even today in Syria we see that the Shia have allied with a nusayri dictator who believes Ali RA is god and Putin to kill off Sunnis. The Quran has surely said that those who ally themselves with kuffar are one of them and wallahi the Quran is true.
I have made terrible mistakes in the past and i thank Allah for not sealing my heart and leaving me. I ask that Allah forgives me and whoever may be reading this and i ask Allah to guide who ever he wills away from false religions and to Islam. I hope this benefited anyone who may be reading, and again i know i made serious mistakes before so please dont judge me for it. I regret my mistakes and i only put this out so people may learn insha'Allah.
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May 07, 2015, 10:06:20 AM