Compare And Contrast Sunni And Shia Muslims

the main distinction between them is who has power over the community. sunni islam is the most dominant sect of islam worldwide and established the rule of elections for mohammed’s successors

about 10% Shia. Muslims prayer five a day. The most important day for them to worship Allah

A religion that will employ great influence in a civilization of more than one and a half billion people. The Prophets death also had the opportunity to split the religion into two main branches the Sunni and Shi’a. The Sunni who are 80 percent of Muslims, and they believed that, Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law, to the successor. As for the Shi’a who only make up 15 percent of the Muslims in the world, believed an imam, in their case Ali, cousin, and son-in-law, should be the successor; due to their blood relations. However, with their differences aside, they shared the common belief that Prophet Muhammad was a messenger of Allah. Both the Sunni and Shi’a also share the belief that there are five pillars of Islam: (1) the harmony of Allah and the prophethood of Muhammad, (2) the five obligatory prayers, (3) fasting, (4) charity, and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca. Both branches oppose several kinds social change that is done by western ideas, and instead have the primary objective of the establishment of Islamic law as the sole basis of their government. The question still is who should have been the rightful successor of the Prophet Muhammad. Someone who is in blood relations or someone who was a close

Christianity has numerous sects; in comparison, Islam has only two major branches. The main sects of Islam are Sunni and Shi'a. The partition between these two sects is the disagreement over authority. For example Sunni believes authority is political. On the other hand, Shi'a believes authority is political and religion.

There are some similarities between Christianity and Islam. Christianity and Islam are both religion. Both religion are founded in the Middle East; and they are founded by Prophets of God. They have both impact the course of history. The Christians and Islam each believed that there is only one true God.

What I mean when I say totally different is that the Sunni branch is more optimistic while the Shia branch leans more towards pessimism. The Sunni branch is the largest and it takes up about eighty five percent of Muslims leaving the Shia branch with only fifteen percent. The main issue of the branches is that they didn't both agree on who should lead the community after Muhammad passed. The Sunni branch believed it should have been a group decision on who takes charge next, while the Shia did not agree with that and they thought that it should have went to Muhammad's cousin, Ali. The Shia is also all about free will and symbolism rather than determinism and literal attributes like Sunni. Its hard to believe groups like Al Qaeda that committed the nine eleven terrorism attacks are apart of the Sunni branch and not the Shia since we consider these attacks harshly negative and definitely not positive. Not all Muslims are terrorists though, that was just one example of the two different branches of Islam that I discussed. Above are the most important factors that influence the religion of Islam and the way of life of the Muslim

Each one has its own beliefs based around one central God. The largest group are the Sunnites. They are a very traditional group, focusing on the sayings of Muhammad and reinforcing the community. The Shiah are their “rival” group, being much more strict and believing that no one can understand the word of the Quran, are much smaller than the Sunnites. Community leaders known as Imams are the only to understand the Quran according to them.

From this initial split other divisions and changes occurred within the religious practices and laws of Islam. While both share a belief in the Qur’an and the sunna (sayings or actions) of the Prophet Muhammad there are religious and legal differences. Imams are by the Shia definition the divinely guided ones but the Sunni defines Imaans as saints (Diffen n.d.). The Shia declared Ali and his descendants Imams with a special connection to the will of God with religious and legal authorities. The number of Imams and who were truly the divinely guided Imams would split Shias. There arose many branches but it came down to three main ones the Twelvers, the Seveners, and Zayids (Goldschmidt Jr. 2013). The Imams were mystical beings and the Twelvers believe that the 12th Imam disappeared and will one day return to set thing right for Muslims. Within the Sunni sect there are four branches of Islamic Law:

Both Islamic schools or groups (called Sunnis and Shiites)agree upon basic Islam pillars and fundamentals. they differ on minor Islam and historical issues. These differences appeared only after prophet Muhammad death (not murder). Some people (who are called later Shiites) called for Muslim ruling to be within Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) family and descendants and accordingly Ali Ibn Abou Taleb should by the first Muslim ruler after prophet Muhammad (PBUH) death. While the majority (who are called later the Sunnis) elected Abou Bakr (Prophet Muhammad closer companion and the first man entered into Islam faith) as the first

Just as the course notes mention, Sunni and Shi’ite are two sects of Islam, that contrary to popular belief can and do live in harmony with one another. For example, the Muslim Student Association on UNC”s campus is an organization for Muslim Students and includes members from both the Sunni and Shi'ite groups. As a member of this organization, it is not obvious to me who are the Sunni’s and who are the Shi’ite’s because, to be honest, it is not that obvious by just glancing over a person. A Sunni Muslim does not look physically different than a Shi’a Muslim; we are all Muslim, however, there is a difference between the two sects and those differences lay in the technicalities of religious practice. A technicality difference that I am aware

One of the most famous religious splits in human history is the well known Sunni-Shia split. The Sunni-Shia split is highly divisive throughout the world, and predominantly in the Middle East. These sects share similarities, such as they all believe that Allah is the one true god, and Muhammad is his messenger. They also believe in the same five religious pillars that Muslims follow. Although these sects are very similar, there is one big schismatic difference that separates the two. This difference lies with the question of: “Who is the rightful successor of the Prophet Muhammad?” Through this 1,400 year conflict Most sunnis believe that Abu Bakr the Prophet 's closest companion is the true successor. In contrast most Shias believe that Ali, who was the prophet 's cousin and son in law is the true successor. Abu bakr was the rightful heir to lead Muslims after the Prophet’s death. Abu Bakr was arguably his closest confidant throughout their lives, and Abu Bakr understood the Messenger teachings the best. It can also be argued that that Ali would be the fourth caliph instead of the first because choosing a successor to the Prophet based on bloodline could be seen as committing idolatry according to Islamic teaching.

The division between the Shia and Sunni is rooted in disputes over the proper succession of leadership after the death of the Prophet Muhammad .The Shia maintain that the rightful successor of the Prophet was his cousin and son-in-law,

Islam dates back to the 7th Century, when Muhammad, the prophet, had a visitation by an angel named Gabriel. After this event, Muhammad began to expand the religion as an empire. However, the unity of Islam began to dwindle after the death of Muhammad. As a result, Islam split into two branches: Sunni and Shia. Sunni and Shia Muslims have had to overcome many political, religious, and economic differences when practicing Islam. A cause of the schism of Islam was a controversy over the succession of Muhammad. Hence, the prophet’s death flared many political shortcomings between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

The Islam faith grew stronger and united during the lifetime of the Prophet Mohammed. Soon after his death, differences regarding leadership of the Muslim community instigated conflict. By the year 650 AD, the Islamic community had divided into two main branches, the Shia and the Sunnis. Similar beliefs and practices among both sects have allowed for their members to co-exist for centuries. However, differences in theology, law, and religious organizations have caused drastic conflict and competition among the two, dividing and tearing communities apart.

Islam, ISIS, ISIL, Sunni Muslim, Shi’ite Muslim, 911, various terrorist attacks around the world. What do the aforementioned people have in common? Their belief in the Qur’an and Allah. How does this belief in Allah differ with Christianity’s belief in Father God? Who knew that taking down Al Qaeda, and murdering Saddam Hussein would lead to the formation of the violent Islamic State called Isil or Isis? We often hear news about Shiite and Sunni Muslims – what is the difference? Is there really a difference: both are considered monotheistic in nature, however, the “path” to the Almighty, tends to differ depending on the group or sect. What are the fundamental beliefs of Islam? What world view if any do Muslims ascribe? Islam, like Christianity, and Judaism are thought to have originated with Abraham. However, Islam insists its founder is the Honorable Elisha Muhammad, likewise, Judaism insist that Moses is its father, but if there was no Abraham, there would be no Moses. A Babylonian man who was from a paganistic polytheistic family is chosen by God and ordered to leave his country and go to a city which has foundations whose maker and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10). Abraham’s lineage stems from Ur, of the Chaldeans – the Persian Empire. He was Babylonian, and later declared Hebrew by the Almighty God – from this man comes three major religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.