The roots of Shia Islam in Afghanistan

While Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain are countries, which consist of mainly twelver Shia Muslim populations, countries like Lebanon, Saudi-Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan have a high percentage of twelver Shia population who make-up a significant minority. About 15 to 20 percent of Afghanistan's population are Ja'fari Shia Muslims. 

 

Historically seen, Afghanistan gradually became a Muslim country between 7th and 10th centuries. As Shia Islam has its roots in the beginning of Islam, with cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet of Islam, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, being the first of the twelve Imams of Shia Muslims, Shia Islam came to Afghanistan right at the beginning into Afghanistan. Nonetheless Afghanistan didn't exist as an own country then and was part of Greater Khorasan. Unlike today's Iran and Afghanistan, Khorasan was more a cultural geographical entity than a centralized state. Local government had much power then. Nonetheless people with the borders of Khorasan shared the same language. Khorasan was also a centre of civilization and intellectual development during the Islamic Golden Age. The eight Imam, Imam ar-Ridha, is buried in Mashhad, in the eastern Iranian Razavi Khorasan Province, which is very close to Afghanistan's border. It is right at the heart of geographical Khorasan, which is separated through the border of Iran and Afghanistan today.

 

One example of the deep connection between Afghanistan's inhabitants and Shia Islam is the Hadith transmitter Abu Khalid al-Kabuli [1] who was born in Kabul, Afghanistan/Khorasan, and migrated to Medina, Saudi-Arabia/Hijaz. He was one of only a handful of closest companions of the fourth Imam, Imam Sajjad (659 – 713). Since he was also a companion of the fifth Imam, Imam al-Baqir, he transmitted many narrations from both Imams.

 

A second historic account are the narrations about Shia Muslims from medieval Balkh [2]. The famous Shia scholar Shaykh Saduq wrote about Shia Muslims from Balkh who sent their Khums (taxes) [3] via an envoy to Baghdad to the third special deputy of Imam Mahdi, Husayn bin Ruh, in about 920. This narration has been written down by Shia scholar Shaykh Saduq (917-991) [4].

 

Also the historic sights of Shia Islam in Afghanistan is numerous, the most famous of which are Band-e Amir National Park in Bamiyan Province [5] and Imam Ali Shrine in Mazar e Sharif.

 

 

Footnotes:

[1] Some of Kabuli's narrations can be read here.

[2] Balkh was part of Khorasan then and is a city in the province of Balkh in Afghanistan today. Ibn Sina's (or Avicenna's) father was from Balkh and Ibn Sina himself lived in Khorasan.

[3] Khums is an Islamic tax related to Shia Muslims only and consists of one fifth of one's yearly savings. It has its basis in the Quran in the verse: "Know that whatever of a thing you acquire, a fifth of it is for Allah, for the Messenger, for the near relative, and the orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer..."[8:41]

[4] This narration has been retold among others on the pulpit by a famous scholar:

See also: Sharleen Pursley. (2018, February 21). [Eng Subtitles] Imam al Mahdi [aj] Lecture 1 Ayatollah Wahid Khorasani. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/q9tcTrYeVcU

[5] Band-e Amir National Park is located in the Bamiyan Province, inhabited by Shia Muslims. It's name refers to Imam Ali, emphasized through the word Amir, and it consists of six lakes, one of them called Band-e Zulfiqar, called after the sword of Imam Ali.