al-Shia wa al-Sunna

al-Shia wa al-Sunna (al-Shī‘ah wa-al-Sunnah, "The Shia and the Sunnah") is an Arabic treatise by the Pakistani scholar Ihsan Ilahi Zaheer (d. 1407 AH / 1987 CE) examining the theological doctrines of Twelver Shia Islam and contrasting them with Sunni Islam al-Shia wa al-Sunna+1.

Background and Purpose

Zaheer authored the work as a critical polemic against calls for theological reconciliation and ecumenism (al-taqrīb) between Sunnis and Shiites, which he argued obscured fundamental doctrinal divides under the slogan of Muslim unity al-Shia wa Ahl al-Bayt+1. A primary impetus for writing the book was a polemical response published from Iran by Lutfallah al-Safi, titled Ma‘a al-Khatīb fī Khuṭūṭihi al-‘Arīḍah, which sought to refute the treatise al-Khutut al-Arida by Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib al-Shia wal-Quran+1. Zaheer wrote the book to defend Khatib's arguments and to demonstrate what he asserted were the true, documented positions of Shiite creed al-Shia wal-Quran.

Content and Method

The book's analytical method relies extensively on direct citations from canonical and classical Imami Shiite source texts—such as al-Kafi by al-Kulayni and al-I‘tiqādāt by Ibn Babawayh al-Qummi—citing specific volumes and editions al-Shia wa al-Sunna+1.

Among the primary themes treated in the work are:

• The Doctrine of Taqiyya (Dissimulation): Zaheer dedicates a section to taqiyya, arguing that Twelver Shiism elevates dissimulation to a foundational tenet of faith that permits concealing true beliefs and misleading non-Shiites, thereby rendering genuine rapprochement impossible al-Shia wa al-Sunna+1.
• The Status of the Quran: Zaheer contrasts the Sunni belief in the absolute preservation of the Quran with narratives found in early Shiite collections alleging textual alteration or omission (taḥrīf), asserting that denials of taḥrīf by certain Shiite scholars were expressions of taqiyya al-Shia wa al-Sunna+1.
• The Companions of the Prophet: The work contrasts the Sunni veneration of the Prophet's Companions (Sahaba)—particularly the early caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Uthman ibn Affan—with Shiite texts that disparage them al-Shia wa al-Sunna+1.

Publication and Impact

The book was published in Lahore by Idārat Turjumān al-Sunnah, going through multiple printings, and was subsequently reissued by several publishing houses across the Muslim world, including Dār al-Anṣār in Egypt, Dār Ṭaybah in Saudi Arabia, and al-Maktab al-Islāmī in Beirut al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1. It saw wide dissemination, with over thirty editions printed, and was translated into multiple languages, including English, Persian, Thai, Indonesian, and Hausa Tatimmat al-Aalam - Muham…+1.

al-Shia wa al-Sunna became a frequently cited reference in modern Sunni discussions on Shiism, recommended alongside classical works such as Ibn Taymiyya's Minhāj al-Sunnah by scholars like Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz Majmu Fatawa wa Maqalat M…. The book also provoked responses from Shiite authors, including the rebuttal volume al-Shī‘ah wa-al-Sunnah fī al-Mīzān al-Shia wal-Quran, as well as engagement from Sunni writers who critiqued its uncompromising stance on sectarian rapprochement al-Sunna al-Muftara Alayh….