Short answer
He would recognise much of it: one God (﷾), the Qur'an, prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, and love for Ali and the Prophet's (ﷺ) family. For every difference Allah (﷾) gives one rule: refer it to Allah (﷾) and His Messenger. By that rule, some things held or done today are not in his Sunnah: a third testimony in the adhan, calling on the imams at shrines, and holding temporary marriage lawful. Some also cut themselves in mourning or curse companions, and Ayatollah Khamenei has ruled against both. There is also the belief in infallible and hidden imams. Ali's own reports point the same way. In Iran, a sixteenth-century state made the public cursing of the first caliphs official and enforced it. This page invites a return, not blame.
Full explanation
What he would recognise at once
Start with what is shared. The one God (﷾), the Qur'an, the prayer, the fast and the pilgrimage are the Prophet's (ﷺ) own. So is love for Ali. The Prophet (ﷺ) called Ali a man who loves Allah (﷾) and His Messenger, and Ali swore that only a believer would love him. The Prophet (ﷺ) also told us to remember our duty to his household. Some differences are not faults at all. He (ﷺ) once prayed noon and afternoon together, and sunset and night together, without fear or a journey. So joining prayers is not a difference we raise.
“Say: "Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds: No partner hath He: this am I commanded, and I am the first of those who bow to His will.”
Salama reports that Ali had stayed behind at the time of Khaybar because of eye trouble, then set out after the Prophet (ﷺ). On the eve of the conquest of Khaybar the Prophet said that the next day he would give the flag to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and that Allah would grant victory under his leadership. Ali arrived unexpectedly, the Prophet gave him the flag, and Allah granted victory under his leadership.
Ali swore by the One who splits the seed and creates life that the Prophet (ﷺ) had promised him that only a believer would love him, and only a hypocrite would hate him.
Zayd ibn Arqam reports that at a watering place called Khumm, between Mecca and Medina, the Prophet (ﷺ) praised Allah and said he was leaving two weighty things among the people: the Book of Allah, which holds right guidance and light, so hold fast to it; and the people of his household, reminding the people of their duties to the members of his family. Zayd said the Prophet's (ﷺ) wives are of his household, but the household meant here are those to whom charity is forbidden: the family of Ali, of Aqil, of Ja'far and of al-Abbas.
Ibn Abbas reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed noon and afternoon together, and sunset and night together, without fear and without being on a journey.
The one rule for every difference
Allah (﷾) gives believers a rule for any difference. They should obey Allah (﷾) and the Messenger, and those in authority among them. If they differ in anything, they should refer it to Allah (﷾) and His Messenger. The decision on any difference, Allah (﷾) says, is with Him. Muslims also hold fast together to the rope of Allah (﷾). Every point below is measured by this rule, which is the Qur'an's own (4:59). It does not ask anyone to give up love for the family. It asks us to measure practice by the Book and the Sunnah.
“O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.”
“Whatever it be wherein ye differ, the decision thereof is with Allah: such is Allah my Lord: In Him I trust, and to Him I turn.”
“And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided.”
1. The call to prayer
Abu Mahdhura learned the adhan from the Prophet (ﷺ) himself. In Sahih Muslim it opens with two takbirs. It has the testimony that there is no god but Allah (﷾), the testimony that Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Messenger of Allah (﷾), and the calls to prayer and success. There is no third testimony in it. The same words came to Abdullah ibn Zayd in a dream, which the Prophet (ﷺ) confirmed and gave to Bilal. Ayatollah Sistani's office says the third testimony about Ali is not part of the adhan. It adds that it is good to say it with the intention of nearness to Allah (﷾). But when the Prophet (ﷺ) listed what Islam is built on, he named two testimonies, to Allah (﷾) and to His Messenger. He also said that whoever introduces into the religion what is not of it, it is rejected. We love Ali, and we honour him by holding to the adhan as the Prophet (ﷺ) taught it.
Abu Mahdhura reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) himself taught him the adhan: Allah is the Greatest (twice); I testify that there is no god but Allah (twice); I testify that Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Messenger of Allah (twice); both testimonies are then repeated; come to prayer (twice); come to success (twice). A narrator adds: Allah is the Greatest (twice); there is no god but Allah. There is no third testimony in it.
Abdullah ibn Zayd reports that, when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was planning how to call the people to prayer, a man in a dream taught him the words of the adhan. He told the Prophet (ﷺ), who said it was a true vision and told him to teach it to Bilal, who has the louder voice. Umar then said he had seen the same. The adhan taught has the two testimonies, to Allah and to Muhammad (ﷺ), and no other.
Asked whether the third testimony, "I testify that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali, is the vicegerent of Allah", is part of the adhan and iqama, the answer is that it is not part of them. The answer adds that it is good to say it after the testimony to Muhammad (ﷺ), with the intention of seeking nearness to Allah.
Ibn Umar reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said Islam is built on five: to bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish the prayer, to pay zakah, to perform the pilgrimage, and to fast the month of Ramadan.
Umar ibn al-Khattab reports that a stranger in very white clothes, with no sign of travel on him, sat before the Prophet (ﷺ) and asked him about Islam, faith and excellence in worship. Asked about faith, the Prophet said it is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers and the Last Day, and to believe in the divine decree, its good and its evil. Afterwards the Prophet told Umar the stranger was Gabriel, who had come to teach them their religion.
Aisha reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: whoever introduces into this matter of ours something that is not of it, it is rejected.
2. Calling on the imams at their shrines
Visiting graves is allowed, and the Prophet (ﷺ) did it. At al-Baqi he greeted the people of the graves, said he would join them, and asked Allah (﷾) to forgive them. He prayed for them. He did not ask them for help. Visiting the resting places of the family, with greeting and prayer for them, follows that example. Calling on them to answer needs does not. Allah (﷾) says: call on Me and I will answer, and invoke no one with Allah (﷾). The full evidence is on the page "Can a Muslim call on anyone but Allah for help?".
Aisha reports that when it was her night with the Prophet (ﷺ), he would go out near the end of the night to al-Baqi, the graveyard of Medina. He greeted its people as a house of believers, said that he would join them if Allah willed, and asked Allah to forgive the people of al-Baqi.
Buraida reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: I used to forbid you to visit graves, but you may now visit them.
“And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!"”
“Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.”
“"And the places of worship are for Allah (alone): So invoke not any one along with Allah;”
3. Temporary marriage
Early on, the Prophet (ﷺ) allowed temporary marriage on some journeys. Later he forbade it. Ali himself reported the ban: on the day of Khaybar the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade it. Ali told Ibn Abbas of this. Another companion, Sabra, reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said Allah (﷾) had forbidden it until the Day of Resurrection. So Ali's own report is that the Prophet (ﷺ) ended it.
Ali ibn Abi Talib reports that on the day of Khaybar the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade temporary marriage and the eating of the meat of domestic donkeys.
Ali tells Ibn Abbas that at the time of Khaybar the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade temporary marriage (mut'a) and the eating of donkey meat.
Ali ibn Abi Talib reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade, on the day of Khaybar, temporary marriage with women and the eating of the flesh of domestic donkeys.
Sabra al-Juhani reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: people, I had permitted you temporary marriage with women, but Allah has now forbidden it until the Day of Resurrection. Whoever has such a wife should let her go, and take back nothing he gave her.
4. Mourning that harms
Grief is not weakness. When the Prophet's (ﷺ) son Ibrahim died, he wept and said it was mercy. He said the eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, but we say only what pleases our Lord. He also set limits. He said: one who slaps his cheeks, tears his clothes and follows the ways of the Days of Ignorance is not one of us. Allah (﷾) forbids us to destroy ourselves. In 2005 Ayatollah Khamenei, a leading Shia jurist, said that qama-zani, cutting the head with a blade, is definitely against the Sharia. He said senior scholars had supported him. To mourn al-Husayn with tears, remembrance and charity needs none of this.
Anas reports that the Prophet's (ﷺ) infant son Ibrahim was in his last breaths, and the Prophet's eyes filled with tears. Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf asked in surprise whether even he wept. He answered that this was mercy. Then he wept more and said that the eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, but we say only what pleases our Lord, and that they were saddened by Ibrahim's parting.
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that whoever slaps his cheeks, tears his clothes and calls out with the cries of the time before Islam is not one of us.
“And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction; but do good; for Allah loveth those who do good.”
“O ye who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities: But let there be amongst you Traffic and trade by mutual good-will: Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for verily Allah hath been to you Most Merciful!”
In an address to the Assembly of Experts (Majlis-e Khobregan) on 27 Esfand 1383 (17 March 2005), Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a leading Shia jurist, said that in his view qama-zani, cutting the head with a blade in mourning, was and is definitely against the Sharia. He said he had announced this and that senior scholars had supported him. He added that, even if it were not forbidden, it is not obligatory.
5. Cursing the companions
Allah (﷾) is well pleased with the first believers, and He was pleased with those who swore loyalty under the tree. He taught us to pray for those who came before us and to keep rancour out of our hearts. When the Prophet (ﷺ) was asked to curse the polytheists, he said he was sent as a mercy, not as one who curses. He told us not to abuse his companions. In 2010 Ayatollah Khamenei ruled that insulting the figures that most Muslims revere, including the Prophet's (ﷺ) wife Aisha, is forbidden. Ali named Abu Bakr and Umar the best after the Prophet (ﷺ), gave his pledge to Abu Bakr, and asked Allah's (﷾) mercy for Umar when his body was laid out. Following Ali means doing the same.
“The vanguard (of Islam)- the first of those who forsook (their homes) and of those who gave them aid, and (also) those who follow them in (all) good deeds,- well-pleased is Allah with them, as are they with Him: for them hath He prepared gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever: that is the supreme felicity.”
“Allah's Good Pleasure was on the Believers when they swore Fealty to thee under the Tree: He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down Tranquillity to them; and He rewarded them with a speedy Victory;”
“(Some part is due) to the indigent Muhajirs, those who were expelled from their homes and their property, while seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure, and aiding Allah and His Messenger: such are indeed the sincere ones:- But those who before them, had homes (in Medina) and had adopted the Faith,- show their affection to such as came to them for refuge, and entertain no desire in their hearts for things given to the (latter), but give them preference over themselves, even though poverty was their (own lot). And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls,- they are the ones that achieve prosperity. And those who came after them say: "Our Lord! Forgive us, and our brethren who came before us into the Faith, and leave not, in our hearts, rancour (or sense of injury) against those who have believed. Our Lord! Thou art indeed Full of Kindness, Most Merciful."”
Abu Hurayra reports that someone asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to curse the polytheists. He answered that he had not been sent as one who curses, but as a mercy.
Abu Said al-Khudri reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: do not abuse my companions. If any of you spent gold as great as Mount Uhud, it would not reach a mudd, or even half of one, of what one of them spent.
Ali's son Ibn al-Hanafiyya asked his father who the best of people were after the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Ali answered Abu Bakr, then Umar. Afraid that Ali would name Uthman next, he asked: then you? Ali replied that he was only a man among the Muslims.
In a long report from Aisha, Ali, who had not given his pledge during the six months of Fatima's life after the Prophet's (ﷺ) death, seeks reconciliation with Abu Bakr once she has died. He sends for Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr comes to him. Ali says the family know Abu Bakr's excellence and what Allah has given him, and do not envy it, but that Abu Bakr had not consulted them, and they had thought they had a right in the matter because of their kinship to the Messenger (ﷺ). Abu Bakr weeps and says that kindness to the relatives of the Messenger (ﷺ) is dearer to him than kindness to his own. Ali gives him his pledge of allegiance that afternoon and praises Abu Bakr's right in public. The Muslims are glad and draw close to Ali again. The same report begins with Fatima's request about her inheritance; that part is discussed on the page "Was Fatima angry with Abu Bakr?".
Ibn Abbas reports that when Umar's body was laid out and the people prayed for him, Ali came, asked Allah's mercy for Umar and said that no one's deeds were dearer to him to meet Allah with than Umar's. Ali said he had always thought Allah would place Umar with his two companions, because he often heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say: I, Abu Bakr and Umar went; I, Abu Bakr and Umar entered.
Asked about the matter in 2010, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled that insulting the figures and symbols revered by most Muslims, including the Prophet's (ﷺ) wife Aisha, is forbidden, and he extended the ruling to the wives of all the prophets.
6. Infallible imams and a hidden imam
The Qur'an says that obedience is due to Allah (﷾), to the Messenger, and then to those in authority "among you". When people differ, it says to refer the matter to Allah (﷾) and His Messenger. It does not name those in authority as the place to refer differences. It says Allah (﷾) has completed the religion, and that Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Seal of the Prophets. Ali was asked whether the family had any book besides the Qur'an. He said no, except the understanding Allah (﷾) gives a Muslim and one sheet of rulings. Muslims believe in the Mahdi of the sound hadith. The sound hadith do not describe a hidden imam. The page "Is there a hidden imam?" gives the evidence.
“O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.”
“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
Abu Juhayfa asked Ali whether the family had any book besides the Qur'an. Ali said no: only the Book of Allah, the understanding Allah gives a Muslim, and what is on this sheet. The sheet held rules on blood-money, on ransoming captives, and a ruling on retaliation (qisas).
Ali ibn Abi Talib reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: if only one day of this world remained, Allah would raise up a man from my family who would fill the earth with justice as it has been filled with oppression.
How did Iran become mostly Shia?
Love of Ali and of the Prophet's (ﷺ) family is far older than any state. The Safavids did not create it, and nothing here says otherwise. This is only about how one country's official practice changed. Iran had been Muslim for some eight centuries. Before 1501 most of it followed the schools of Islamic law that most Muslims of the time followed. What follows is a change imposed within Islam, not a conversion to Islam. Twelver belief had old centres, such as Qom and Kashan, though few Twelver scholars of note lived even there. In 1501 Shah Ismail I took Tabriz and made Twelver belief the religion of his new state. Historians describe how it was enforced. In Tabriz, those who might resist the new prayer ritual were threatened with death. The state's professional curse-callers, the tabarra'iyan, made people curse the first three caliphs in public. A chronicler of the time records that Ismail ordered the names of the twelve imams read in the Friday sermon, and the first three caliphs cursed in the markets, on pain of death for anyone who refused. Prominent followers of the older schools were killed in many places, there were massacres in Shiraz and Yazd, and many of their scholars fled. Scholars from Jabal Amil, in what is now Lebanon, were brought in to teach the new state faith. The state also had a political reason to set its people apart: its rivalry with the Ottomans, which led to its defeat by them at Chaldiran in 1514. The change took generations. By the end of the 1500s the older schools had largely vanished from central Iran. Later Iranian rulers banned the cursing that followed the call to prayer, and Iran's official voice today avoids insulting the caliphs. All this describes what rulers did, not what ordinary believers do today, who inherited these customs in good faith. And forcing belief goes against the Qur'an, whoever does it: "Let there be no compulsion in religion" (2:256). So when a practice came by a ruler's order and not from the Prophet (ﷺ), the rule of 4:59 still stands: refer it to Allah (﷾) and His Messenger.
Algar writes that coercion played a large part in the first stages of the Safavid state's venture, but that far more went into the lasting change in Persia. On taking Tabriz in 1501, a city about two-thirds of whose people followed the schools of law that most Muslims of the time followed, Shah Ismail threatened with death anyone who might resist the Twelver prayer ritual in the main mosque, and had his soldiers see that no one spoke against the cursing of the first three caliphs. Gangs of professional curse-callers, the tabarra'iyan, made people curse them on pain of death. Prominent followers of the older schools were killed in many places, there were massacres in Shiraz and Yazd, and many of their scholars left. Few Twelver scholars of note existed in Persia at the time, even in Qom and Kashan, and Arab scholars from Jabal Amil, among them Ali al-Karaki, were brought in to teach the new faith. Algar adds that the process was gradual and uneven, and that by the end of the 1500s the older schools had effectively vanished from most of the central domains.
Matthee writes that in 1501 Ismail, barely fifteen years old, began Safavid rule by proclaiming himself shah in Tabriz, and decreed Twelver belief to be the official faith of the realm. His fighters terrorised the largely non-Twelver population of the borderlands, forcing people to condemn the first three caliphs in public, and those who followed the older schools were persecuted, driven out or killed. Under his son Tahmasp the state employed religious propagandists, the tabarra'iyan, to vilify them. Ismail invited scholars from Jabal Amil, among them Ali al-Karaki (d. 1533), to Persia for land, cash and high positions. Matthee also describes the Ottoman defeat of the Safavid army at Chaldiran in 1514.
Savory writes that one of Ismail's first acts, making the Twelver rite the official religion of the new state, had no precedent in the history of Islamic states. It also had a political advantage: it set the new state apart from its powerful neighbours, the Ottoman empire to the west and the Uzbek confederation to the east. He names as a second great problem how to convert a population that was only nominally of the schools most Muslims followed, and describes the Ottoman victory over Ismail at Chaldiran in 1514.
Studies the part played by the scholars of Jabal Amil, in what is now southern Lebanon, in making Twelver belief the state religion of Persia under the Safavids. As Algar reports it (citing Abisaab, pp. 16-17), those scholars disapproved of the violent methods of the Safavid fighters and thought their own learning and debate more effective, though they did not repudiate the work of the tabarra'iyan.
On taking Tabriz, Ismail commanded that the names of the twelve Imams be read in the khutba, and that Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman be cursed in the bazaars, on pain of death to whoever refused. Rumlu adds that people then knew little of the Ja'fari school, and books on it were lacking.
Describes the cursing of the first three caliphs on the first Friday after Ismail took Tabriz in 1501, with an axe-carrying officer, the tabarra'i, in the mosque, and a tabarra'i in every major provincial city. Algar adds that cursing after the call to prayer was banned under Naser al-Din Shah (1848-96), and that derogatory references to the caliphs are now scrupulously avoided in the official discourse of the Islamic Republic.
“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.”
“O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.”
Back to what Ali practised
Ali loved the Prophet (ﷺ) and followed him. He held to the Qur'an and honoured Abu Bakr and Umar. He asked the people to hold together, because he disliked disagreement. The invitation is to return to what Ali and the Prophet's (ﷺ) family themselves practised: the Qur'an and the Sunnah. In that return there is no loss of love for Ali and the family, only a clearer path.
“O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.”
Ubayda reports that Ali told the people of Iraq to judge as they used to judge, because he disliked disagreement, until the people united as one group or he died as his companions had died.
Zayd ibn Arqam reports that at a watering place called Khumm, between Mecca and Medina, the Prophet (ﷺ) praised Allah and said he was leaving two weighty things among the people: the Book of Allah, which holds right guidance and light, so hold fast to it; and the people of his household, reminding the people of their duties to the members of his family. Zayd said the Prophet's (ﷺ) wives are of his household, but the household meant here are those to whom charity is forbidden: the family of Ali, of Aqil, of Ja'far and of al-Abbas.
Perspectives
Those who keep these practices hold that they express love for the Prophet's (ﷺ) family
Those who keep practices such as these hold that they honour Ali and the Prophet's (ﷺ) family and keep their memory alive. These are the main arguments they give.
Saying that Ali is the wali of Allah is a recommended addition to the adhan. It is said with the intention of nearness to Allah.
Rebuttal
If it is not part of the adhan, as Ayatollah Sistani's office says, the adhan the Prophet (ﷺ) taught is complete without it. He also said that whatever is introduced into the religion that is not of it is rejected. We honour Ali by following what he followed.
Asking the imams for help is seeking a means (wasila) to Allah, which the Qur'an commands.
Rebuttal
Ibn Kathir reports that the commentators explain the means as obedience and deeds that please Allah (﷾). The Prophet (ﷺ) greeted the dead and prayed for them, and Umar asked a living man to pray.
Qur'an 4:24 permits temporary marriage, and Ibn Abbas allowed it.
Rebuttal
Whatever the earlier allowance, Ali reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade it, and told Ibn Abbas so. Sabra reports that Allah (﷾) forbade it until the Day of Resurrection.
The Prophet (ﷺ) allowed temporary marriage, and it was Umar who forbade it.
Rebuttal
Jabir does say it went on until Umar forbade it. But Ali, of the Prophet's (ﷺ) own family, reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade it at Khaybar, and he told Ibn Abbas so. Sabra reports the Prophet's (ﷺ) own words that Allah (﷾) has forbidden it until the Day of Resurrection. Umar enforced a ban the Prophet (ﷺ) had already given.
Striking oneself in Muharram shows devotion to al-Husayn.
Rebuttal
Grief is allowed, as the Prophet (ﷺ) showed for his son. But Allah (﷾) forbids destroying yourself, and Ayatollah Khamenei calls blade-striking definitely against the Sharia.
Cursing those who wronged the family is part of loyalty to them.
Rebuttal
The Prophet (ﷺ) said he was sent as a mercy, not as one who curses. Allah (﷾) is pleased with the first believers, and Ali himself honoured Abu Bakr and Umar. In 2010 Ayatollah Khamenei ruled that insulting the figures most Muslims revere is forbidden.
The imams are free from error, and the last is alive and hidden.
Rebuttal
The Qur'an sends every difference back to Allah (﷾) and His Messenger, and says the religion is complete. It does not name those in authority as the place to refer differences.
The Islamic perspective
The Prophet (ﷺ) would recognise the love of Allah (﷾), of the Qur'an, and of Ali and his family. He would look for the rest in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Where practice differs, believers return the matter to Allah (﷾) and His Messenger.
The adhan the Prophet (ﷺ) taught has two testimonies and no third.
Calling for help belongs to Allah (﷾) alone, while visiting graves is for greeting and prayer.
Ali reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade temporary marriage.
Weeping is mercy, and harming oneself is forbidden.
Ali honoured Abu Bakr and Umar, and the Qur'an says Allah (﷾) is pleased with the first believers.
Every difference goes back to Allah (﷾) and His Messenger, and the religion is complete.
Muslims believe in the Mahdi of the sound hadith, not in a hidden imam.
Some practices were made official by a state in the 1500s, by force. The Qur'an forbids compulsion in religion, and the Qur'an and the Sunnah are the measure of every practice.