Editing Shia Islam (section)

== Practices ==
[[File:Karbala in 2019.jpg|thumb|Shia Muslims gathered in [[Salah|prayer]] at the [[Imam Husayn Shrine|Shrine of Imam Ḥusayn]] in [[Karbala]], [[Iraq]]]]

Shia religious practices, such as prayers, differ only slightly from the Sunnīs. While all [[Salat|Muslims pray]] five times daily, Shia Muslims have the option of combining ''[[Dhuhr]]'' with ''[[Asr]]'' and ''[[Maghrib]]'' with ''[[Isha']]'', as there are three distinct times mentioned in the [[Quran]]. The Sunnīs tend to combine only under certain circumstances.

=== Holidays ===
{{main|Shia days of remembrance}}

Shia Muslims celebrate the following annual holidays:
* [[Eid ul-Fitr]], which marks the end of fasting during the month of [[Ramadan (calendar month)|Ramadan]]
* [[Eid al-Adha]], which marks the end of the ''[[Hajj]]'' or pilgrimage to Mecca
* [[Eid al-Ghadeer]], which is the anniversary of the Ghadir Khum, the occasion when Muhammad announced Ali's Imamate before a multitude of Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |first=Paula |last=Sanders |date=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fnBFANHMn4C&pg=PA121 |title=Ritual, politics, and the city in Fatimid Cairo |page=121|publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0791417812 }}</ref> Eid al-Ghadeer is held on the 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah.
* The [[Mourning of Muharram]] and the [[Day of Ashura]] for Shia Muslims commemorate the martyrdom of [[Husayn ibn Ali|Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī]], brother of [[Hasan ibn Ali|Ḥasan]] and grandson of Muhammad, who was killed by the army of Yazid ibn Muawiyah in [[Karbala]] (central Iraq). Ashura is a day of deep mourning which occurs on the 10th of [[Muharram]].
* [[Arba'een]] commemorates the suffering of the women and children of Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī's household. After Ḥusayn was killed, they were marched over the desert, from Karbala (central Iraq) to Shaam ([[Damascus]], Syria). Many children (some of whom were direct descendants of Muhammad) died of thirst and exposure along the route. Arbaein occurs on the 20th of [[Safar]], 40 days after Ashura.
* [[Mawlid]], Muhammad's birth date. Unlike Sunnī Muslims, who celebrate the 12th of [[Rabi' al-awwal]] as Muhammad's day of birth or death (because they assert that his birth and death both occur in this week), Shia Muslims celebrate Muhammad's birthday on the 17th of the month, which coincides with the birth date of [[Ja'far al-Sadiq|Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq]], the [[The Twelve Imams|6th Shīʿīte Imam]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Bernard |last1=Trawicky |first2=Ruth |last2=Wilhelme Gregory |date=2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDbKexa1jfcC&pg=PA233 |title=Anniversaries and holidays |page=233|publisher=American Library Association |isbn=978-0838910047 }}</ref>
* [[Fatimah|Fāṭimah]]'s birthday on 20th of [[Jumada al-Thani]]. This day is also considered as the "'women and mothers' day"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.khamenei.ir/news/4724/Lady-Fatima-inspired-women-of-Iran-to-emerge-as-an-extraordinary|title=Lady Fatima inspired women of Iran to emerge as an extraordinary force|date=18 March 2017|access-date=26 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825203650/http://english.khamenei.ir/news/4724/Lady-Fatima-inspired-women-of-Iran-to-emerge-as-an-extraordinary|archive-date=25 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Ali|ʿAlī]]'s birthday on 13th of [[Rajab]].
* [[Mid-Sha'ban]] is the birth date of the 12th and final Twelver imam, [[Muhammad al-Mahdi]]. It is celebrated by Shia Muslims on the 15th of [[Sha'aban]].
* [[Laylat al-Qadr]], anniversary of the night of the revelation of the Quran.
* [[Eid al-Mubahila]] celebrates a meeting between the ''[[Ahl al-Bayt]]'' (household of Muhammad) and a Christian deputation from Najran. Al-Mubahila is held on the 24th of Dhu al-Hijjah.

=== Holy sites ===
{{main|Holiest sites in Shia Islam}}
[[File:ImamReza(A).jpg|thumb|230x230px|[[Imam Reza Shrine|Sanctuary of Imam Reza]] in [[Mashhad]], [[Iran]], is a complex which contains the mausoleum of [[Ali al-Rida]], the 8th [[Imamah (Shia doctrine)|Imam]] in Shia Islam. 25 Million Shias visiting the shrine each year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Andrew |date=2007-06-02 |title=Inside Iran's Holy Money Machine |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118072271215621679 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424032806/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118072271215621679 |archive-date=2016-04-24 |access-date=2017-10-24 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>]]After [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]], the [[Holiest sites in Islam|two holiest cities of Islam]], the cities of [[Najaf]], [[Karbala]], [[Mashhad]] and [[Qom]] are the most revered by Shīʿa Muslims.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2881835.stm |title=Karbala and Najaf: Shia holy cities |date=20 April 2003}}</ref><ref name="Sardeg">{{cite web|last=Escobar|first=Pepe|date=May 24, 2002|title=Knocking on heaven's door|url=http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/DE24Ag04.html|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020603155002/http://atimes.com/c-asia/DE24Ag04.html|archive-date=June 3, 2002|access-date=2006-11-12|work=Central Asia/Russia|publisher=[[Asia Times Online]]|quote=according to a famous hadith... 'our sixth imam, Imam Sadeg, says that we have five definitive holy places that we respect very much. The first is Mecca... second is Medina... third... is in Najaf. The fourth... in Kerbala. The last one belongs to... Qom.'}}</ref> The [[Imam Ali Shrine|Sanctuary of Imām ʿAlī]] in Najaf, the [[Imam Husayn Shrine|Shrine of Imam Ḥusayn]] in Karbala, The [[Imam Reza Shrine|Sanctuary of Imam Reza]] in Mashhad and the [[Fatima Masumeh Shrine|Shrine of Fāṭimah al-Maʿṣūmah]] in Qom are very essential for Shīʿa Muslims. Other venerated pilgrimage sites include the [[Al-Kadhimiya Mosque|Kadhimiya Mosque]] in [[Kadhimiya]], [[Al-Askari Mosque]] in [[Samarra]], the [[Sahla Mosque]], the [[Great Mosque of Kufa]], the [[Jamkaran Mosque]] in Qom, and the [[Tomb of Daniel]] in [[Susa]].

Most of the [[Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia|Shīʿa sacred places and heritage sites in Saudi Arabia have been destroyed]] by the [[House of Saud|Al Saud]]-[[Wahhabism|Wahhabi]] armies of the [[Ikhwan]], the most notable being the tombs of the Imams located in the Al-Baqi' cemetery in 1925.<ref>{{cite book |first=Laurence |last=Louėr |date=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1vcfDuatockC&pg=PA22 |title=Transnational Shia politics: religious and political networks in the Gulf |page=22|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0231700405 }}</ref> In 2006, a bomb destroyed the shrine of Al-Askari Mosque.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Karen |last1=Dabrowska |first2=Geoff |last2=Hann |date=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhJ3lRnXyXcC&dq=askari+mosque+bomb+2006&pg=PA239 |title=Iraq Then and Now: A Guide to the Country and Its People |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170102072559/https://books.google.com/books?id=DhJ3lRnXyXcC&pg=PA239&dq=askari+mosque+bomb+2006&hl=en&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2 |archive-date=2 January 2017 |page=239|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1841622439 }}</ref> (''See'': [[Anti-Shi'ism]]).

=== Purity ===
Shia orthodoxy, particularly in [[Twelver Shi'ism]], has considered non-Muslims as agents of [[Ritual purity in Islam|impurity]] (''Najāsat)''. This categorization sometimes extends to ''kitābῑ'', individuals belonging to the [[People of the Book]], with [[Jews]] explicitly labeled as impure by certain Shia religious scholars.<ref name=":3">{{Citation |last=Tsadik |first=Daniel |title=Najāsat |date=2010-10-01 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/najasat-SIM_0016420 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World |access-date=2024-01-08 |publisher=Brill |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Litvak |first=Meir |title=Constructing nationalism in Iran: from the Qajars to the Islamic Republic |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-138-21322-7 |series=Routledge studies in modern history |location=London |pages=174}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Citation |last=Moreen |first=Vera B. |title=Shiʽa and the Jews |date=2010-10-01 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/shia-and-the-jews-COM_0020130 |url-access=subscription |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World |access-date=2024-01-08 |publisher=Brill |language=en}}</ref> [[Iranian Armenians|Armenians in Iran]], who have historically played a crucial role in the [[Economy of Iran|Iranian economy]], received relatively more lenient treatment.<ref name=":4" />

Shi'ite theologians and ''[[Ijtihad|mujtahids]]'' (jurists), such as [[Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi|Muḥammad Bāqir Majlisῑ]], held that Jews' impurity extended to the point where they were advised to stay at home on rainy or snowy days to prevent contaminating their Shia neighbors. [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ayatollah Khomeini]], [[Supreme Leader of Iran]] from 1979 to 1989, asserted that every part of an unbeliever's body, including hair, nails, and bodily secretions, is impure. However, the current leader of Iran, [[Ali Khamenei|ʿAlī Khameneʾī]], stated in a ''[[fatwa]]'' that Jews and other Peoples of the Book are not inherently impure, and touching the moisture on their hands does not convey impurity.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jews and Wine in Shiite Iran – Some Observations on the Concept of Religious Impurity |url=https://associationforiranianstudies.org/content/jews-and-wine-shiite-iran-%E2%80%93-some-observations-concept-religious-impurity |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=Association for Iranian Studies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108090844/https://associationforiranianstudies.org/content/jews-and-wine-shiite-iran-%E2%80%93-some-observations-concept-religious-impurity |archive-date= Jan 8, 2024 }}</ref><ref name=":5" />