righteous before u bring in ur usual cocktail of issues
plz answer my question in post 38 and 40
regarding merits of Ali vs merits of shaykhain thats not the ithna ashariyya argumentation of why Ali should have succeded Prophet. Thats the reasoning of earlier shias and the Mutazilla
so either dissociate urself from the ithna ashariyya then we can debate in a different way] or stick to their official version
Meray Bhai I answered 38 in post #39 and 40 in #43.
I don't know what you mean my Mutazilla and early shia and what is the official version is.
My own understanding is simple and listed below, feel free to lump me in any category you want.
*Imamat is a divine instituition set by God in Quran
*God made a covenant regarding Imamat with Abraham
*Ali was divinely appointed by Allah as an Imam and announced by the Prophet (SAAW) on numerous occasions and most prominently at Ghadeer Khum after the last Hajj of the Prophet.
What you call the true Sahabas, they were shias. It is a word from Quran.
However, Ahl-e-Sunnah wal Jamah, Sunni, Ahl-e-sunnat, Ahl-e-Hadees are not from Quran or the time of the prophet so when did the word Ahl-e-sunnah wal Jamah and Ahl-e-sunnat came about and how? Some food for thought for you.
P.S. what are the early shia and what are isna ashari and what is the official view....please enlighten me