Similarities And Differences Between The Sunni And Sunnis

A change that occurred in the political life of Islamic civilization was the shift from the election of a Caliphate to a more dynastical system. Previously, the caliphates were elected by the Islamic community. Capable leaders were preferred over heirs who were not as qualified. Sunni Muslims were firm believers of this concept, while Shia muslims believed that Ali should’ve

The Sunni Creed of Adud al-Din-Iji and the Zaydi creed of Imam al-Mutawakkil have some major fundamental differences, as you may expect since both come from opposite spectrums of Islam; but, after careful analysis, one may be surprised to find that both creeds hold a fair amount of similarities. In this essay, I plan to compare and contrast the Sunni creed and Zayid creed by showing you evidence of the significant similarities and differences in these two short texts. Even though one branch may have something that the other may not have, one can still see that both creeds of Islam provide the instructions and general beliefs of how a Muslim must act, how God is the most powerful. The biggest

    Did you know two groups of the same religion have been fighting for over 1,400 years? The two groups are known as Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims. They are fighting over a dispute over succession to Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community which spread across various parts of the world. The groups have different the succession of power after Muhammad died, and disagreements about marriage briefs on leadership, but are they so different? The groups are very different, because of

Ali shared the same blood as Muhammad. In their opinion, this made Ali holy. Shi’ites saw caliphs more as spiritual and temporal leaders rather than rulers. Each side had its rational notions, but since more people followed Bakr, he was appointed the next caliph. Shi’ite remained under his guidance, but felt it was an abomination.

After Muhammad’s death in 632, the question was who’d be the caliph? Muhammad’s successors,the four caliphs, were chosen by a group in the Muslim community, the elders, to carry out the leadership of Islam. This only lasted for the four caliphates though; after that, it was the Abbasid dynasty where the next ruler is related to the current.When Abu Bakr was chosen and made the first caliph, from 632 to 634 CE, some people didn’t agree. The choice was disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who believed that Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, had been designated Muhammad’s successor, because Ali was Muhammad’s first follower. The first 4 caliphs were chosen by the elders, but after that were dynasties because the caliphate system brought disagreements about who was to inherit the position and brought about political battle for power. Some people disagreed with the caliph, others thought they were better and they should be the caliph, or it should be their son. With people

The Sunni and Shia conflict is currently the longest running feud in the world. Both groups possess an extreme hatred for one another. Over the years, these two groups have openly expressed their hatred with one another through violent killings. This split between the Shia and Sunni originates all the way back in the 7th century. Their difference was based on political differences. As a part of my essay I will explain the difference and origins of the split between the Shi’a and Sunni and also cover the current issues between them.

The Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam have been feuding for hundreds of years dating back to the beginning of the Islamic religion. The deity or god of the Sunnis is Allah. The Sunni branch of Islam is the larger of the two branches with over 80% of the Muslim population. The Sunni are the majority in most of the countries that have Islamic followers. There are a few different translations of what Sunna stands for, one of which is “Habitual Practice.” The differences between the two branches can be traced all the back to the 7th century CE when the disagreements as to who should succeed Muhammad. Sunnis believe that the Muslim community should maintain the right to select who the successor to Muhammad is going to be. The Shiite branch

The history of the split of Shiites and Sunnis Muslims dates back thousands of years. It is not a new event, however the conflicts between Shi'ites and Sunnis still exist to this day and they have been increasing. Muslims were one interconnected group without divisions or conflicts. However, in 632, after the death of prophet Muhammad Muslims needed to caliph or successor to mastermind their affairs. Therefore, they divided into two groups; Sunni and Shia. Sunni claimed that prophet Muhammad did not choose caliph to him before his death, so they chose Abu-Bakr, who prophet Muhammad’s friend and the father of his wife. Then Umar, Othman and finally, Ali. The second group was Shia who believed that prophet Muhammad before

Both Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims fall under the religion of Islam. It includes the declaration of a monotheistic God, acknowledging that the Prophet Muhammad was Allah’s messenger, and practicing the Five Pillars of Islam: testimony of the faith (Witness), prayer (Salat), almsgiving (Zakat), Fasting (Ramadan), and participating in the pilgrimage (The Hajj). Though they both are under Islam, one must understand how the divide began.

While numerous countries remain established under the ideology of Islamic fundamentalism currently, the religious conflicts between differentiating Islamic sects has initiated massive political and religious warfare. The conflicts between Shia and Sunni Muslims have dates back to the 7th century, after the death of Prophet Muhammad. This great divide still exists today, according to a 2009 study by Pew Research Center, between 10-13% of the Muslims are Shia, while 87-90% are Sunni Muslims, comprising of over 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. While Islamic extremist may be viewed as separate from the mainstream Islamic groups, Muslim extremist groups have evolved alongside the Shia and Sunni sects. “Kharijites” were extreme doctrines which adopted

The on-going Sunni and Shiite split has influenced not only the Middle East where it originated but also impacted the rest of the world. The divide between the the Sunni and Shiite which has existed for centuries is one of the most prevalent aspects of Islam. Members of the two sects have co-existed for centuries and share many fundamental beliefs and practices. However, they differ in doctrine, ritual, law, and religious organization. Their leaders also often seem to be at odds; from Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Pakistan, many recent conflicts have emphasized the sectarian divide which began with the death of Muhammad.

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:

How are Sunni Muslims different from other Muslims? The word Sunni means “one who follows the traditions of the Prophet." Sunni Muslims are one of the sects of Islam religion. The majority of Sunni Muslims are in Central Asia including South Asia. After the death of Prophet Mohammed, the Sunnis and the Shi’as, another sect of Islam, split. The reason for splitting was that the Sunnis believed that the next ruler should have been someone who was most knowledgeable and closest to the prophet. It was different for Shi’as’ because they believed that the next ruler should have been blood related to the Prophet Mohammed. Sunni Muslims get their knowledge from the Quran, a holly book from Allah, meaning God. There are

Muhammad died, leaving behind an empire that had grown rapidly in the years since his conquest at Mecca, for there was no protocol for choosing a successor. Indeed, no one knew what being Muhammad’s successor actually meant! Was the successor simply the elected successor of Muhammad, or was he someone related to Muhammad, which suggested that Muhammad himself was somehow more than a man. The former view won out at first, but the latter view remained alive, eventually resulting in the split between Sunni and Shia Muslims. The latter believed that Ali (who was related to Muhammad and would be the fourth Caliph, eventually) was the divinely appointed successor to the Prophet and had been badly snubbed by the elections that eventually put Abu Bakr in power as the First Caliph. Unfortunately for Islam, this early glimmering of democracy faded and flickered out of

Disagreement between Shias and Sunni have been the most important splits in Islamic religion, which are ongoing problems since the 7th century to present-day, conflict in Islamic history has initiated blood spills from generations to generations and is still taking life’s while differences in social and equal opportunities that have taken deep roots in the minds of future leaders.