Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The Shi‘ah have many groups and schools of thought. Some of them believe that the Quran has been distorted and they regard most of the Sahabah as disbelievers, especially the two shaykhs Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, and they seek to draw close to the dead by worshipping them and calling upon them besides Allah, and some of them are less extreme than that.
Please see the answer to question no. 97448 .
Secondly:
Someone may claim to be Shi‘i without realising the truth about their beliefs and views, or paying any attention to that, or paying any attention to religion and knowledge. There may be among them those who practice taqiyyah (dissimulation), showing outwardly something other than what he really believes in. This is common among them, especially in places where Ahl as-Sunnah have the upper hand.
Please see the answer to question no. 178975 .
Thirdly:
With regard to dealing with someone who does not openly practice the innovations of the Shi‘ah, there are two issues to be noted:
The first issue has to do with the rights he has as a Muslim, and so on. We should deal with such a person on the basis of what he appears to be. Hence so long as he is Muslim and acts as a Muslim, and there are no actions or words on his part that are contrary to Islam, then he has the same rights as any other Muslim, so he should be greeted with salaam, visited when he is sick and his funeral should be attended.
The second issue to be noted is our duties towards him, which are: Calling him in the way that is best, and explaining to him the beliefs of Ahl as-Sunnah regarding issues such as tawhid (affirmation of Allah’s oneness), the divine attributes, the Quran, the divine decree, the Sahabah, and the difference between the Sunni way and the Shi‘i way. That should be done by someone who is qualified to discuss these issues.
And Allah knows best.
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