Can i still be a Shia?

[Lion of Shia]

I've been having issues lately with my deen. I've been confused, sometimes going to Sunni Mosques'(only twice since I converted to Shia) and followed some prayers of Sunni.  I want to be Shia, but my community hasn't been reasonable. Some Cop told my center i was not Shia and it was my brother, even though my brother goes to church. The man of the center believed him, now he says I'm Sunni and not Shia. Some Shias there don't take me seriously, I try to be Shia but get confused because of my condition. My Question is Can I still be Shia and Am I still Shia? i asked Reddit and they Said I'm not Shia.

[Abu Hassanain]

Salam

Yaanii you keep having these problems. 
 

Nobody else can say that you are  or aren’t Shia. Shia is one who believes in the unity and justice of Allah the prophet hood of all the prophets and final prophethood of Muhammad sawa the successorship and authority of the 12 imams as and the resurrection at the return and  the day of judgment. 
 

I would avoid going to the centers of the other school of thought and praying with them because unless there is fear for your life and need to hide your faith, it’s not obligatory. Sayyid Sistani says that praying with them is not necessary, except under duress. Sayyid Khamenei allows congregational prayer with them to show unity in common cause as long as it doesn’t cause a danger to one’s faith.

So really in your particular case have no real reason to pray with them and I would avoid going to the two centers in your hometown as they seem to be problematic for

There is a center for American born Shia with a white convert clergyman leading it less than two hours on the greyhound from you maybe go there for Friday. Prayers once a month.

Focus on getting most of your religious knowledge online through lessons and classes and online interactions. If the community doesn’t accept you, it doesn’t matter this idea. A lot of so-called converts have that the building in the community is everything is ludicrous.

If the community is beneficial to, that’s good if not, then be like the profit lot peace be upon him

I spend a number of years in a seminary and I don’t even bother with a lot of the communities in this country. It’s a select couple that I’ll actually deal with if I get invited somewhere I go willingly going somewhere on my own. It has to be an actual decent community with good ethics and practice, which is few and far between

Please think about what I’m saying what others are probably gonna say to you in six months you don’t have to make another thread like this

Wallahu Alam 

Edited October 18 by Hameedeh
typo

[Azadeh307]

You have to internally validate yourself that you are Shia. Internal validation gives you confidence to sustainable action and inner peace. If you seek external validation through other people's option then it will only feel good briefly if/when someone validates you then you will return to shame based thinking that you are not enough and you will seek to overcompensate for for other people's opinion. 

[ServantOfMahdi]

Believe in, act upon, and be what you have your name here. Don't care about what others say or believe about you. All this might be a test of your ikhlās. Though virtual, but still we too are a Shia community here, we believe you to be shia, know you as @Lion of Shia, may Allah make you a Lion of the Shia, āmīn.

[AbdusSibtayn]

6 hours ago, Lion of Shia said:

I've been having issues lately with my deen. I've been confused, sometimes going to Sunni Mosques'(only twice since I converted to Shia) and followed some prayers of Sunni.  I want to be Shia, but my community hasn't been reasonable. Some Cop told my center i was not Shia and it was my brother, even though my brother goes to church. The man of the center believed him, now he says I'm Sunni and not Shia. Some Shias there don't take me seriously, I try to be Shia but get confused because of my condition. My Question is Can I still be Shia and Am I still Shia? i asked Reddit and they Said I'm not Shia.

Do you still believe in the Imamate of Amir al-Mu'mineem and his eleven sons, peace be upon them all? 

Do you believe in the absolute immaculateness of the 14 infallibles? 

Do you believe in the occultation and return of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance? 

Do you act on the fiqh of the Ahl al-Bayt (ie pray and fast as they taught, and desist from what they say is haram and do what they say is halal) and the beliefs taught by them? 

Do you dissociate from their enemies and curse them? 

If yes, then you are a Shi'i, and whatever your community says doesn't matter. 

[Hamdi999]

11 hours ago, Lion of Shia said:

I've been having issues lately with my deen. I've been confused, sometimes going to Sunni Mosques'(only twice since I converted to Shia) and followed some prayers of Sunni.  I want to be Shia, but my community hasn't been reasonable. Some Cop told my center i was not Shia and it was my brother, even though my brother goes to church. The man of the center believed him, now he says I'm Sunni and not Shia. Some Shias there don't take me seriously, I try to be Shia but get confused because of my condition. My Question is Can I still be Shia and Am I still Shia? i asked Reddit and they Said I'm not Shia.

Do you beleive in Allah(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى)?

Do you beleive its allowed to pray duhur and asr in the same period of time and maghrib and isha in the same period of time? Do you beleive that you have to prostrate on natural material like mud for example? 

Do you beleive in the 12 immams(عليه السلام) as being the infallibale holy guides after muhammad(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his successors and not just some revered people? In other words, do you beleive the 12 immams(عليه السلام) are divinley appointed by Allah(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) to lead humanity after muhammad(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)? 

Do you beleive the 12 immams(عليه السلام) are higher in ranking than all of the prophets(عليه السلام) except for muhammad(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)? 

Do you beleive prophets(عليه السلام) and immams(عليه السلام) are infallible, as in they don't commit sins, not even minor ones? Unlike some sunnis who beleive the prophets(عليه السلام) can do minor sins and christians beleive the prophets(عليه السلام) can do all sins. 

Do you see the sahih hadith of sunni muslims like bukhari as not necessarly reliable? 

Do you beleive in cursing the ennemies of the prophet muhammad(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) familly? 

Then there is a good chance you're a shia. 

 

 

 

 

Side note: I put "some sunnis" as I don't know if all of them beleive the prophets(عليه السلام) are not infallible. They seem to argue over it. 

Edited October 18 by Hamdi999

[Hamdi999]

5 hours ago, AbdusSibtayn said:

Do you still believe in the Imamate of Amir al-Mu'mineem and his eleven sons, peace be upon them all? 

Do you believe in the absolute immaculateness of the 14 infallibles? 

Do you believe in the occultation and return of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance? 

Do you act on the fiqh of the Ahl al-Bayt (ie pray and fast as they taught, and desist from what they say is haram and do what they say is halal) and the beliefs taught by them? 

Do you dissociate from their enemies and curse them? 

If yes, then you are a Shi'i, and whatever your community says doesn't matter. 

Oh i just noiticed you did it before me. 

[Gaius I. Caesar]

20 hours ago, Lion of Shia said:

I've been having issues lately with my deen. I've been confused, sometimes going to Sunni Mosques'(only twice since I converted to Shia) and followed some prayers of Sunni.  I want to be Shia, but my community hasn't been reasonable. Some Cop told my center i was not Shia and it was my brother, even though my brother goes to church. The man of the center believed him, now he says I'm Sunni and not Shia. Some Shias there don't take me seriously, I try to be Shia but get confused because of my condition. My Question is Can I still be Shia and Am I still Shia? i asked Reddit and they Said I'm not Shia.

Didn't I tell you to avoid going to Sunni masjids years ago? You need to stop caring about what other people think, they don't know your niyyah and heart like Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) does.

9 hours ago, Hamdi999 said:

o you beleive in Allah(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى)?

Do you beleive its allowed to pray duhur and asr in the same period of time and maghrib and isha in the same period of time? Do you beleive that you have to prostrate on natural material like mud for example? 

Do you beleive in the 12 immams(عليه السلام) as being the infallibale holy guides after muhammad(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his successors and not just some revered people? In other words, do you beleive the 12 immams(عليه السلام) are divinley appointed by Allah(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) to lead humanity after muhammad(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)? 

Do you beleive the 12 immams(عليه السلام) are higher in ranking than all of the prophets(عليه السلام) except for muhammad(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)? 

Do you beleive prophets(عليه السلام) and immams(عليه السلام) are infallible, as in they don't commit sins, not even minor ones? Unlike some sunnis who beleive the prophets(عليه السلام) can do minor sins and christians beleive the prophets(عليه السلام) can do all sins. 

Do you see the sahih hadith of sunni muslims like bukhari as not necessarly reliable? 

Do you beleive in cursing the ennemies of the prophet muhammad(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) familly? 

Then there is a good chance you're a shia. 

If you accept these beliefs as truth and with sincerity, you are a Shia. I understand you have a condition and guess what? Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) does too, He is ar-Rahman, He understand your problems more than any of us can, all you have to do is understand and trust in yourself to the best of your abilities. @Lion of Shia

[Revert1963]

On 10/18/2025 at 2:05 AM, Lion of Shia said:

Some Shias there don't take me seriously,

In the mosque I go to nobody ask if people is Shia or Suni. Everybody knows that both Shia and Suni go the mosque to pray. Nobody cares if you pray with your hands folded or down the side. Ofcause it is a Shia mosque and everything that goes on there is Shia oriented, but if Sunis want to participate nobody is stopping them. (Unless ofcause they are behaving strangely in some way that would cause attention in any place.)