The following is a personal testimonial from a person who has met a few members of the Alawi/Nusayris sect. (Note: Some comments have been edited for clarity).
I've only met two Alawi's in my life. The first time was three years ago at my university. One thing you should know about them is that their faith is top secret. It is really hard to extract information from them. They only reveal their teachings to those who join them. They have no mosques, but have weekly gatherings inside their houses.
The first Alawi was a man. He confused my friend (a Sunni) and I (a Shia). By this I mean they "morph" or "blend" into whichever group they join. When he was with me, he used to show me latmia and nasheed from Basim al-Karbalaei. But when he was with Sunnis, he discussed Uthman, Umar and other teachings with them. We eventually found out about his sect. Every time we called him for prayers, he said he would pray at home. Later, my friends told me that he was an Alawi. He denied all. I did not see him after that.
The second member of this group was a woman. She was from Syria. She was a little bit open about her faith. She revealed that She was an Alawi. This, only after we talk about religion. She made sure that I'm mature and will not be making fun of what she is about to say.
According to her, they believe that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) is the God and that the light is the very essence of God. As such, they worship the sun and the moon and see them as the residence of Imam 'Ali (a.s), Prophet Muhammad (may the peace on blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) and Salman al farisi (A Persian disciple and a close companion of Prophet Muhammad(May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family). They identify Imam 'Ali with the sun and Salman with the moon. They also believe in all the prophets of Islam (total number of prophets is about 124 000). They follow all the twelve Imams, eleven Imams from the progeny of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), the last being Imam Mahdi (May Allah hasten his return). They also believe in the trinity manifestation of God from Christianity.
Alawi/Nusayris celebrate the following Eids; Eid al-Fitr (but they don't fast), Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Ghadir when imam Ali (a.s) became the successor of prophet Mohammad (may the peace on blessings of Allah be upon him and his family). They also celebrate Eid al-Nawruz (Persian New Year) and Christmas and Epiphany Holiday (from Christianity).
It was really difficult to get things out from from her. And to find an Alawi that reveals he/she is an Alawi/Nusayris is even rare (except for maybe Syrian). My guess is that if they join a group, they blend in and making it hard to identify them. I don't know the exact reason why they are secretive. I guess it must be part of their faith.
Reference
[1] http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/234985799-questions-about-alawinusayris-sect/
Just a comment on the last thing..
ReplyDeleteNo, it is not part of their religion (don't understand the first guy. He should be agreeing with the things you say when talking about religiin (shia)), but you must understand how an Alawi feel whenever they are disrespected, hated, beaten, kept outside etc etc just because of their religious sect, so not telling others that you're Alawi is often so these things wont happen -and they happen a lot! Being an Alawi myself, I'll have to disagree on some things. May Allah swt forgive os all inshAllah.
Thank you for your comments. Would you like so share your story here. I can publish your story on my blog if you wish to share a few things with my readers.
ReplyDelete