Search for the Meaning of Rijat and Resolving the Outside-Sect Conflict

This article is written to investigate and analyze the essence of Sunni's conflict with Shiite on the subject of "Rijat". The terminological meaning of Rijat includes the following points: 1- possibility of the dead's rebirth, 2- return of a group with pure faith and a group of mere pagans to the world at the eve of the Resurrection and outbreak of a war between them, 3- terminating of the world is together with victory of the righteous believers. Most of Shiite scholars have accepted the three parts of Rijat's meaning but one group has rejected the second part and instead of that, they believe the emergence of the right government. The ones who believe in Rijat have different reasons; some of the great Shiite scholars have documented Rijat by the consensus of Shiite's scholars, some have considered a Quranic origin for it, and some believe it because of the variety and multiplicity of its related narrations. Nevertheless Sunni scholars consider believing in Rijat a heresy in religion and regard this belief of Shiites as an effect of Judaism, without considering the three points included in the meaning of Rijat and determining the exact point of debate. It is obvious that Shiites and Sunnis have the same opinion regarding the first and third parts, because they are documented by Quran's literal meaning without any ta’vil. As a result the conflict is only in the second part of the mentioned meanings and this meaning should not be considered a heresy, since such an issue is not impossible because of reason, occurrence of some of its samples during the past nations, and especially considering some of Quran's verses which can bear such a meaning. Nevertheless Shiites believe that Rijat is a necessary part of religion not one of the principles of religion; Therefore this conflict is not so much profound and extensive that one sect could regard the other as innovator and Jewish.