Similarities Between Sunni And Shiites

These disagreements led to the development of three rival sects in the Muslim community. The Shi’ites supported Ali’s claim to the caliphate and believed that the position of caliph rightly belonged to the descendants of Ali. Those known as the Sunnis believed that the first three caliphs had been correctly chosen and supported the Umayyad Caliphate. The most militant followers of Ali formed the Kharijite (rebel) sects. Most of the 800 million Muslims of today are either Sunnis or Shi’ites.

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 Shia Muslims believe that following the Prophet Muhammad's death, leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law, Ali. Throughout history, Shia Muslims have not recognized the authority of elected Muslim leaders, choosing instead to follow a line of Imams which they believe have been appointed by the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself. The word "Shia" in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people. The commonly-known term is shortened from the historical "Shia-t-Ali," or "the Party of Ali." They are also known as followers of "Ahl-al-Bayt" or "People of the Household". The historical background of the differences of the two different Muslim faiths is important to recognize due to the significance of its effect on Afghan culture and lifestyle.

To start off, even though Sunni and Shia Muslims share the same religion, they disagree who should lead after Muhammad death. Sunni Muslims take up 85 to 90 percent of Muslims. Sunni Muslims believe Muhammad did not clearly

division between Shia (followers of Ali) and Sunni (followers of the custom of the caliphate)

The differences between the Sunnis and Shi'ites are founded on their disagreement over who was to be their Prophet Mohammad’s successor. On one side, there were those who believed that the next leader should come from Mohammed’s bloodline; on the other side, there were those who subscribed to their next leader being a highly qualified leader who would follow the teachings of Mohammed (Blanchard, 1). At first, the leaders of the community agreed to elect Abu Bakr to be the first successor or caliph of Mohammed. Most Muslims at that time seemed to be supportive of such decision. However, others supported another successor – Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed (Blanchard, 1). Ali was not considered in the election by the Muslim leaders because he did not have seniority in the Muslim community. The Muslims who adhered to Ali’s right (and those who followed his line)

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:

Before the discussion of the difference of the Shiites and Sunnis and why they split into these groups, it’s important to understand who exactly is Muhammad and why he is so important to Islam. To begin with, Islam was started by Muhammad when he was visited by the archangel Gabriel, where the archangel sent a message to Muhammad from Allah. Muhammad had the remarkable

There are so many people in the world that don't know about the Sunni and Shia split. Even worse, they don't know who or what the Sunnis and Shiites are. The Sunnis and Shiites are the two main branches of the Islamic religion with eighty-three percent being Sunnis and sixteen percent being Shiites (Hanif). Both groups, which consist of Muslims, believe that Allah chose Muhammad as a prophet of the Islamic religion (Hanif). But both groups started having their differences and eventually split when Muhammad died in 632 A.D.(Hanif). The Sunnis believed that Abu Bakr should be their first Caliph because he was a close companion of Muhammad as well as Muhammad's father-in-law (Hanif). Meanwhile, the Shiites believed that Ali should be their first

The differences between Shia and Sunni’s took place after the death of Prophet Muhammad. “There are 1.6 billion Muslims across the world. Roughly 85%-90% of them are Sunnis”. (Ward) Sunni’s decided that the person/leader to guide the Islamic

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

The Shia had an entirely different view on Abu Bakr, and on whom the next successor should be. The Shia’s emerged as a political division over who should lead the community. They believed that Ali, the Prophet’s son in law and cousin, should be the First Caliph. The word Shia quite literally means party of Ali. They wanted to keep the succession well in the family line, and had a tarnished view of Abu Bakr. The believed that Ali was a part of the Ahlul-Bayth -- people of the family or home. The Ahlul-Byath is mentioned very ambiguously in the Quran, and is unclear wether it means family ro larger community. The Shias believe that the Ahlul-Byath was of key importance and meant small, immediate family, which is why Ali in their minds was

Another source of conflict as reported by Sørli et. al stems from the religious differences. As a whole, the Middle East is comprised of followers of Islam. But within the Islamic religion are the Sunni (which account for the majority), and the Shia. Tension lies between the two sects, especially given the fact that the Shia often hold the positions of power (Sørli, 147). Another major

There are many differences and similarities between the beliefs of Muslims who follow Sunni, Shi’ite and Sufi Islam. Both the Sunni & Shi’ite sects of Islam were formed in 632 CE and the Sufi Sect was formed in 675 CE. All three sects originated in the Middle East, worship Allah and use the Qur’an as their sacred text. Immediately after the death of the Prophet Muhammed the Sunni sect was formed and comprised of believers who did not support the belief that Muhammad’s cousin & son-in-law Ali should be leader. They instead believe that Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to take his place as leader of the Muslim community. They believe that a group of his most prominent companions elected Abu Bakr Siddique, Mohammad’s father-in-law,

All Muslims believe that there is one god, Allah, and the messenger of Allah is the prophet Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims come from who they each believe succeeded Muhammad; the Sunnis believe Abu Bakr was the successor, where Shia believe Ali, who was related to Muhammad, was the successor. Although the religion is the same, today both sides still disagree on teachings and practices. The Economist explains why there are tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and why religion plays a part in the