The relationship of the Twelver conception of the Divine Self with Islamic religions and sects

Abstract

Relationship of the Twelver Shiites Conception of the Divine Essence to Islamic Religions and Sects The aim of the research is to identify the influence of the Twelver Shiites on religions and sects opposing Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah. The research method is the comparative critical analytical method.One of the most important findings of the research is that the Twelver Shiites were affected by religions other than Islam, and the clearest forms of their influence were: the Jewish and Christian influence. The Jewish conception had a clear impact on many issues on the Twelver conception of the Divine Essence, including the similarity of the Twelvers to the Jews in claiming to appear before God Almighty, and the similarity of their earlier scholars to the Jews in the belief in embodying. Among the forms of being influenced by the Christians are their agreement with the doctrine of salvation, their claim that belief in the imams is one of the foundations of the belief, and their description of the imams with the names and attributes of Allah, and their declaration that Allah Almighty has mixed them with himself.