What are the two types of Muslims?

A disagreement over succession after Mohammed's death in 632 split Muslims into Islam's two main sects, Sunni and Shia.

What is the difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims?

Shi'ites believe that Islam should be led by descendants of Muhammad, while Sunnis believe that the leader of Islam should be appointed by election and consensus. Sunnis make up 84 to 90 percent of the world's Muslims. The word Sunni refers to the words and actions of Muhammad.

What do Shia Muslims believe in?

Specifically, Shia doctrine holds that not only Ali, but all of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad through the line of Ali and Fatima, were most qualified to hold supreme political and religious authority over the Islamic community. Each descendant named the person within the family lineage who should succeed him.

What do Sunni Muslims believe?

Sunni Muslim Practices

Sunni Islam shares a belief with other denominations of the faith, such as the Shia and the Sufis. They all follow the Quran and believe it to be holy scripture and they all adhere to the Five Pillars of Islam, which are: There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.

What are the two types of Islamic people?

Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims (also known as Shiites) comprise the two main branches of Islam. Sunni and Shia identities first formed soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 C.E., centering on a dispute over leadership succession.

The Differences Between The Major Branches Of Islam

What are the different types of Sunni Islam?

Sunni Islam is divided into four schools of law or fiqh (religious jurisprudence): Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki and Hanbali. There are minor differences among these schools of law.

What is the most common type of Islam?

Sunni Islam (/ˈsuːni, ˈsʊni/) is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the tradition of Muhammad.

Are there more Sunni or Shia?

An overwhelming majority of Muslims are Sunnis, while an estimated 10-13% are Shias. This report estimates that there are between 154 million and 200 million Shia Muslims in the world today.

Why is there conflict between Sunni and Shia?

Though the two main sects within Islam, Sunni and Shia, agree on most of the fundamental beliefs and practices of Islam, a bitter split between the two goes back some 14 centuries. The divide originated with a dispute over who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the Islamic faith he introduced.

Is Islam Sunni or Shia?

The present demographic breakdown between the two denominations is difficult to assess and varies by source, with most approximations stating that 90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and 10% are Shia, with most Shias belonging to the Twelver tradition and the rest divided between many other groups.

Can a Shia marry Sunni?

The society has shunned the idea of a Shia marrying a Sunni (and vice versa) not because of the religious difference, but because of “what will we tell the society?” The matter has become less of a religious debate, but more of a societal symbol, which then leads to two individuals being punished for choosing each ...

What are the 3 main sects of Islam?

However, not only do the interpretations between three sects within Islam – Sunni, Shia, and Alawite – differ in terms of observable practice (Alawites, for example, do not worship in mosques or wear traditional hijab), but even within these three sects there can vast differences.

Do Shia Muslims pray?

Sunni Muslims pray five times a day, whereas Shia Muslims can combine prayers to pray three times a day. Shia prayers can often be identified by a small tablet of clay, from a holy place (often Karbala), on which they place their forehead while bowing in prayer.

What God does Sunni believe in?

Allah is simply the Arabic word for God and is not the name of any other being. Muslims believe that nothing can be likened to Allah.

Is Afghanistan Sunni or Shia?

Today's Afghanistan can be considered 99% Muslim. There is a rough 3/4 to 1/4 split in favor of Sunni Muslims to Shia. Though recent history has been defined by growing religious intolerance and sectarian conflict, Afghanistan does have marginal adherents of other religions.

What is the difference between Shia and Shiite?

What is the difference between Shiite and Shia? Shia is another form of the word Shiite. Both refer to the branch of Islam that believes only blood relatives of the Prophet Muhammad are worthy to be religious leaders.

Which countries are Sunni?

Sunnis regard the first four caliphs as legitimate successors of Muhammad. The majority of the Muslims of Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Gaza and the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia are Sunnis. They regard themselves as the traditional (original) followers of the Islamic faith.

Is Iraq mostly Sunni or Shia?

Today, Shia Muslims make up the majority of the Iraqi population. Iraq is the location of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, pilgrimage sites for millions of Shia Muslims. Najaf is the site of Ali's tomb, and Karbala is the site of the tomb of Muhammad's grandson, third Shia imam Husayn ibn Ali.

What countries are majority Shiite?

Large numbers of Shia Arab Muslims live in some Arab countries including Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Qatar. Shia Muslims are a numerical majority in Iraq and Bahrain.

What religion is closest to Islam?

As opposed to Christianity, which originated from interaction between ancient Greek, Roman, and Hebrew cultures, Judaism is very similar to Islam in its fundamental religious outlook, structure, jurisprudence and practice.

Is Allah mentioned in the Bible?

Allah and the god of the Bible

Arabic-speaking Christians call God Allah, and Gideon bibles, quoting John 3:16 in different languages, assert that Allah sent his son into the world.

What is world's oldest religion?

The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit.

What are the beliefs of Wahhabism?

Wahhabism advocates a purification of Islam, rejects Islamic theology and philosophy developed after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and calls for strict adherence to the letter of the Koran and hadith [the recorded sayings and practices of the Prophet].

What does Shiite mean in Islam?

A Shiite is a person who belongs to one of the two main branches of Islam. A Shiite is a Muslim who follows specific religious traditions. Shiites are the second-largest branch of Islam, after Sunnis. A Shiite believes that Mohammed's son-in-law, Ali, was his legitimate successor as political and religious leader.

Who is the leader of Sunni Islam?

For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance.