10وَلَقَد أَرسَلنا مِن قَبلِكَ في شِيَعِ الأَوَّلينَMuhammad AsadAND, INDEED, [O Prophet,] even before thy time did We send [Our apostles] unto communities1 of old -The term shi'ah denotes a distinct group of people having in common the same persuasion or adhering to the same principles of behaviour, and is sometimes (though not here) used in the sense of "sect".