Why are there Sunni and Shiite Muslims?

Answer 1

Answer 1

It is not Islam splitting. It is just different view points on non critical issues. Both Shiites and Sunnis believe in:

• one and only one God; with no partner, no companion, no son, no father, no associate, and no equivalence.
• all God prophets (from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ismael, Isac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, ..., Jesus, and the last Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon them all)
• all God angels
• Hell and Paradise (or Heaven)
• all God holy books including Torah, Bible, and Qur'an
• destiny, whether good or bad
• Resurrection Day and 2nd eternal life

Both Sunnis and Shiites follow the same Qur'an and prophet Muhammad teachings including the five basic pillars of Islam (including praying, fasting, alms giving, and hajj and both are practicing them per prophet Muhammad detailed teachings although Shiites added to them some other minor items based also on prophet Muhammad sayings.

The main difference is that: they considered that Ali Ibn AbouTaleb (Prophet Muhammad's Cousin) was legitimate to success Prophet Muhamad (after his death) in ruling the Muslims rather than that the election of the successor Abou Bakr who was followed by Omar and Osman Ibn Affan and then Ali Ibn AbouTaleb.

The other important point is that no one has the right to expel anyone out of Islam and to consider him/her unbeliever (or Kafir) so far:

• he/she witness that no god Except one God (Allah) with no partner and that Muhammad is God messenger and prophet, and that
• he/she doesn't deny intentionally the praying (Salah), paying Zakat (Alms giving), fasting Ramadan, and pilgrimage (Hajj).

Answer 2

The main split in Islam is over how the leaders of the faith should be chosen - in particular, who should have succeeded Muhammad and over doctrinal issues stemming from which successors they accept, in particular, over what writings to accept as authoritative outside the Qur'an - these additional writing are referred to as the "hadith" and are composed of writings and collections of oral traditions.

The Sunni branch accepts the first four "caliphs" as rightful successors of Muhammad and accepts hadiths narrated by the "companions" of Muhammad. The Sunnis believe that Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to lead the Muslim community before his death, and a group of his most prominent companions gathered and elected Abu Bakr Siddique a father-in-law and close friend of Muhammad as the first "caliph" of Islam. The Sunni canon of hadith took its final form more than 230 years after the death of Muhammad (632 AD). Later scholars may have debated the authenticity of particular hadith but the authority of the canon as a whole was not questioned. This canon is referred to as "the six major Hadith collections".

The Shia, by contrast, believe that the leadership of Islam should have passed to his surviving family or "Ahl al-Bayt" (the People of the House)because Allah decided selected them as leader, not only because they are relatives of prophet SAWW. They assert that his descendants, known as Imams, are the only ones with special spiritual and political authority rule over the community. They also assert that Ali ibn Abj Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and was the rightful successor to Muhammad, and consequently reject the legitimacy of the first three "caliphs". In the Shia hadith you will often find sermons attributed to his successor Ali. Shi'a Muslims do not use the six major Hadith collections followed by the Sunni, instead, their primary hadith collections are written by three authors who are known as the 'Three Muhammads'.

Despite what the first answerer said - there are differences in what each group believes including what each considers to be faithful practice of Islam, acceptability of terrorist actions in the name of Islam and whether it is mandatory to kill or imprison anyone who chooses to leave Islam. Most outsiders would consider many of these to be "critical issues".

Commentary on Answer 2

I agree on the information in Answer 2, however:

• Ali ibn Abu Talib himself (Allah be pleased with him), and all who were supporting his legitimacy to the first Caliph, supported the first three caliphs during their ruling and Ali was their arm in advice and support. (according to shia Islam more than 100 Sahaba; although of much less percentage of all Muslim Sahabis; opposed Caliphate of Abubakr and did not give Bayat to him)
• The claimed differences between Shiites and Sunnis are not crucial and not expelling any of them to be true Muslims and good believers.
• Terrorist actions against civilians are condemned by both Shiites and Sunnis
• Both Shiites and Sunnis accept, of course, the Qur'an saying that no compulsion in religion. Accordingly, they don't agree to kill or imprison anyone who chooses to leave Islam unless he attacks Islam and use his convert from Islam as a way for earning money through working with some media agencies to propagate lies against Islam.

Answer 3 (shia view)

The reason is for Imamat (leadership). shia Muslims believe Imamt is one of pillars of Islam and only God has the right to select the leader (Caliph) for leading humans and this leader is deputy of God on earth and has divine knowledge and never says "I do not know" and can answer any question of humans and can lead humans to meet God. Shia Muslims believe God selected Imam Ali as first leader after prophet Muhammad SAWW and prophet declared it at Ghadir in front of 120,000 Muslims and companions including Abubakr and Umar and Uthman congratulated this to Ali a.s. and given him Byat (pledge of alliance). this made Shia Muslims do not recognize Abubakr as leader and follow in Ali and 11 other Imams after him as their leaders even if not officially in power. please refer to below books for more details about Imamat.

Answer 4

Differences in the Five Pillars:

Five Pillars of Islam according to shia Muslims are:

1. Monotheism: The Oneness of Allah (tawhid)

2. Divine Justice ('adl)

3. Prophethood (nubuwwa)

4. Succession to Muhammad (imamat)

5. The Day of Judgement and the Resurrection (Qiyama)

Practices of Islam according to shia Muslims:

1- Prayers (salaat) - 5 times a day

2- Fasting (sawm) during Ramadan

3- Alms giving (zakaat and khums)

5- Pilgrimage to the city of Makkah (hajj)

6- Holy Defense (Jihad)

7-8. Enjoining good (amr bil-ma'rouf) and forbidding evil (nahiy an al-munkar)

9- Supporting those who walk in the path of Allah (tawalli li awliyaa' Allah)

10- Turning away from the enemies of Allah (tabarri min a'daa Allah)

Five Pillars of Islam according to Sunni Muslims are:

1. professing (Shahadah)

2. Prayer (Salat)

3. Alms-giving (Zakāt)

4. Fasting (Sawm of Ramadan)

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

also different sects of sunni have differs in five pillars. for example Mu'tazilate Sunni Scholars like shia consider Adl as one pillar. but Ash'arites does not believe Adl is one of Pillars although believing in Adl as an attribute of God but with an interpret of Adl that in view of shia and Mu'tazilate is equal to not having Adl.

a question about succession to the khalifahship, or deputy status, after Mohammed died. The Sunnis wanted it to be by a political process open to all the early and important followers, the Shia wanted it to be a family or dynastic line.

Somewhat ironically, the Shia candidate, Ali, did eventually become Khailfah under the political process and equally ironically, the khalifahship has become defunct. However, the hostilities stirred up by the conflict lived on and the two sects have grown apart in other ways.

Answer 5

They just got divided on the way the successor of the prophet (after his death) should be. Muslims elected Abou Bakr to be the first Caliph after prophet Muhammad (PBUH) death. However, some Muslims believed that the successor should be from the family of the prophet and hence should Ali Ibn Abou Taleb (the prophet cousin and husband of his daughter). However, after the election of AbouBakr, they joined the majority and even Ali Ibn Abou Taleb (God be pleased with him) supported the elected Caliph. The same scenario was repeated after election of Omar Ibn Alkhattab as the second Caliph and Othman Ibn Affan as the third Caliph. Ali Ibn Abou Taleb was then elected as the fourth Caliph.

However, Sunnis and Shiites are just two Islamic schools that differ in minor issues.The outsiders are trying to feed up assumed differences and conflicts between Muslim groups to gain control on Muslim countries and on their resources. The two main groups are Sunnis and Shiites. Both groups agree upon basic Islam pillars, believe in same and only version of Quran, believe and follow the sunnah of same prophet (PBUH), pray to same direction (facing Kaba in Makkah or Mecca in Saudi Arabia, go to same places on pilgrimage (or Hajj), and adhere to same Islam morals and ritual worships. They only differ on some side issues that are not critical.

Some other groups as Taliban and Al-Qaeda are in conflict with both Sunnis and Shiites true Muslims.

Answer 6

They just got divided on the way the successor of the prophet (after his death) should be. some of top Arab tribe bosses at Saqifeh elected Abou Bakr to be the first Caliph after prophet Muhammad (PBUH) death and other Muslims were forced and even killed (for example سعد ابن عباده Saad Ib Ebadeh) to accept this ruler. Some like Ali ., Salman, Abuzar, Miqdad, Bilal,... disagreed this election. they believed that the successor should be Ali a.s. because God selected him as leader and not because he is relative of prophet SAWW. However, after the election of AbouBakr, they did not fight for power and Ali a.s helped the elected Caliph for survive of real Islam and to big enemies like Roman and Persian empires can not destroy Islam using civil war of Muslims. and always declared his disagreement with this election bu did not made civil war for power. The same scenario was repeated after election of Umar as the second Caliph by will of Abubakr and Othman as the third Caliph by election in a 6 persons meeting. When Uthman was killed in civil war , Ali was then elected as the fourth Caliph by majority of Muslims while he was not interested in power.

However, Sunnis and Shiites are two Islamic schools that differ in major (pillars of Islam) and minor issues. The world Imperialists know Islam is truth and if people know this they will lost power. so they try to make wars between Muslim groups to gain control on Muslim countries and on their resources. for example they bomb a shia mosque and tell in media that sunni did it and so on. The two main groups are Sunnis and Shiites. Both groups agree upon basic Islam pillars(unless Imamat (Islamic rules for political leadership)) and believe in same and only version of Quran and follow the sunnah of same prophet (PBUH), pray to same direction (facing Kaba in Makkah or Mecca in Saudi Arabia, go to same places on pilgrimage (or Hajj), and adhere to same Islam morals and ritual worships. Thier main differ is in Imamat.shia beleives based on Quran and Islam the only one who has the right to elect the leader is God and Muslims do not have such a right in Islam.

Answer 7

No one has noticed the wording of question which says " Why did Islam split into ......." while all answers are related to splitting of Muslim in two groups . Islam is the religion as per Quran , its interpretations by its followers vary. Majority of the Muslim is Sunni while Shia are in minority .This split in Muslim is a ground reality and can't be denied , and such issues can't be settled .Final conclusion is Sunni and Shia muslim disagry on many basic principals including caliphate or imamat.

Answer 8

As explained above; It is no splitting. It is just different view points on non critical issues. Both Shiites and Sunnis believe in:

• one and only one God with no partner, no son, no father, no companion, no associate, and no equivalence,
• believe in all God prophets (from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ismael, Isac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, ..., Jesus, and last Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon them all),
• all God angels
• all God holy books including Torah, Bible, and Quran
• destiny, whether good or bad
• Resurrection Day, judgement, and 2nd eternal life

Both are bound to the five pillars of Islam and following them. These five pillars; despite the different interpretations of Sunnis and Shiites; are based on the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) hadith.

The main difference is that: they considered that Ali Ibn AbouTaleb Prophet Mohammed's Cousin) was legitimate to success Prophet Mohamed (after his death) in ruling the Muslims rather that the successor Abou Bakr who was followed by Omar and Osman Ibn Affan and then Ali Ibn AbouTaleb

No one has the right to expel anyone out of Islam and to consider him/her unbeliever (or Kafir) so far:

• he/she witness that no god Except one God (Allah) with no partner and that Muhammad is his messenger and prophet, and that
• he/she doesn't deny intentionally the praying (Salah), paying Zakat (Alms giving), fasting Ramadan, and pilgrimage (Hajj).

Refer to related question below.

Answer 9

The Shia-Sunni split is not a recent phenomenon. The root of this division can be traced to just a few days after the death of our Prophet (pbuh&hp). Shi'as believe that the Prophet within his lifetime unambiguously appointed Imam Ali bin Abi Talib as his successor, and the caliph of the Muslim ummah (nation) after his death.

However, Sunnis believe that the Prophet did not decicively fix the choice of the caliph after him, nor did he fix or proscribe any method of selection of this next caliph. As a result, Sunnis accept Imam Ali (a.s.) to be the fourth caliph, not the first (the first three recorded in their histories are Abu Bakr, Umar al-Farook and Uthman bin Affan).

The Shi'a call themselves so, because we describe ourselves as "Shi'an-e-Ali" (Party/Followers of Ali - "Shia" means party member or follower). Now this difference of belief did not immediately result in a division amongst Muslims at that time. The division occurred later when the self-appointed caliphs of the Islamic nation began persecution of Shi'as because of their refusal to acknowledge the caliphate of these rulers.

These Shi'a refused to acknowledge the caliphate of these rulers because of the Shi'a belief that only the Prophet (under instructions from Allah) could appoint a caliph for the Muslim ummah, as he had already done so during his lifetime.

The history of the Muslim ummah, after the demise of the Prophet, unfolded in the following manner. After a large portion of Muslims refrained from acknowledging Imam Ali as the first caliph, he (Imam Ali) chose to wait with patience over this affair, rather than fight for his right, since the Prophet had advised him in the last days of his life to deal with the clamities that followed his (the Prophet's) death with patience, so as to not cause divisions within the Muslim ummah. As a result, he withrew himself from active participation in political affairs and with matters regarding the handling of the government.

After the death of the third caliph, the state of the Muslim nation had severely deteriorated since the time of the Prophet, and much of the injustice and suffering that was prevalent during the pre-Islamic era had creeped back into society. Muslims, acknowledging the dire situation their nation was in, then earnestly appealed to Imam Ali to take up the caliphate as they realized that there was no one more worthy than him for that position. After a lot of persuasion, Imam Ali reluctantly agreed.

Now within the rule of Imam Ali, Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan rose up and waged a bloody war against him. He (Muawiyah) unjustly claimed that Imam Ali was either responsible or connected to the death of the previous caliph, and that this war of his was revenge for that death. Eventually, after a long war, a compromise was reached, and partial peace was restored.

However, after the death of Imam Ali, Muawiyah declared himself caliph of the Muslim ummah, and confronted Hasan bin Ali (a.s.), the son of Imam Ali, who was appointed by him as his successor. Again Muawiyah tried to wage a war against the true caliph, but this time Hasan bin Ali (a.s.) managed to work out a compromise with him that permitted him governance of the Muslim ummah till his death, after which it would return to Hasan bin Ali (a.s.) or his successor.

However, before Muawiyah died, he appointed his son Yazeed bin Muawiyah as the next caliph, blatantly contradicting the terms of the peace-treaty that he had given his oath of allegiance to earlier with Hasan bin Ali (a.s.). Meanwhile Hasan bin Ali (a.s.) had appointed his brother Husayn (a.s.) as his successor, and he was thus the rightful caliph. But Yazeed had taken that title for himself, and ordered Husayn (a.s.) to pay allegiance to him. Husayn (a.s.) refused. As a result, Yazeed's forces salughtered Husayn (a.s.), the grandson of the Prophet (pbuh&hp), and his family members in the land of Karbala, on the day of A'shurah.

In Yazeed's rule, and in the rule of the succeeding rulers appointed by him, the Shi'as suffered extreme levels of injustice and mistreatment from these rulers, who deliberately persecuted Shi'as without inhibition, and without any regard for Islam or morality. As a result the Shi'as withdrew themselves from the government (which was mainly Sunni), and remanied secluded from matters of caliphate for hundreds of years that followed, and this seclusion has resulted in the prominent Shi'a-Sunni split that you see today.

For a much more detailed analysis of the historical causes of this issue, read the online book in the Related Links below.

Answer 10

th cause or reason of the separation of the Shiite minority from the Sunni majority :the friends and followers of Ali believed that after the death of prophet, the caliphate and religious authority belonged to ALI. this belief came from consideration of Ali's position and station in relation to the prophet , his relation to the chosen among the companions , as well as his relation to muslim as general.

it was only the events that occurred during the few days of the prophet final illness that indicated that there was opposition to their view, contrary expectation, at the very moment when the prophet died and his body lay still unburied while his household and a few companion occupied with for his burial and funeral services , the friend and followers of Ali received news of the activity of another group who had gone to the mosque where community where gathered faced with this sudden loss of its leader.

this group ,Which was later ti form the majority , set forth in great haste to select a caliph for the muslim with the aims of the ensuring the welfare of the community and solving its immediate problems. they did this without consulting the household of the prophet , his relatives or many of his friends who were busy with funeral and without providing them with the least information. thus Ali and his companions were presented with a fait accompli .

Ali and his friends such as Abbas , Zubayr , Salman . Abu Dharr , Meghdad and Ammar, after finishing with the burial of the body of the prophet became aware of the proceedings by which the caliph had been selected . they proteted against the act of choosing the caliph by consultation or election , and also against those who were responsible for carrying it out.

they even presented their own proofs and arguments but the answer they received was that the welfare of the Muslims was at sake and the solution lay in what had been done.it was this protest and criticism which separated from the majority the minority that were following Ali and made his followers known to society as the partisans or shiah of Ali . the caliphate of the time was anxious to guard against this appellation being given to the Shiite minority and thus to have Muslim society divided into sections comprised of a majority and a minority .

THE supporters of the caliph considered the caliphate to be a matter of the consensus of the community , and called those who objected the opponents of allegiance . they claimed that the shiiah stood, therefore opposed to muslim society .sometimes the shiiah were given other pejorative and degrading names.

shiism was condemn from the first moment because of the political situation of the time and thus it could not accomplish anything through mere political protest.

Ali in order to safeguard the well-being of Islam and the Muslims and also because of lack of sufficient political and military power did not endeavor to begin an uprising against the existing political order which would have been of a bloody nature . yet those who protested against the established caliphate refused to surrender to the majority in certain questions of faith and continued to hold that the succession to the prophet and the religious authority belonged by right to Ali. they believed all spiritual and religious matters should be refered to him and invited people to becime his followersIslam is Sunni and it did not split.It passed down from the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of god be upon him).Shias are a sect which changed alot of the teachings of the Prophet.Most of the Muslims regard them as non Muslim.

Answer 11

Islam is Sunni and it did not split.It passed down from the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of god be upon him).Shias are a sect which changed alot of the teachings of the Prophet.Most of the Muslims regard them as non Muslim.

Answer 13 The question phrasing is wrong. There is no splitting in Islam. The westerners are trying to amplify some differences between Sunnis and Shiites to create unjustified conflicts to allow the West in getting control of the Islamic countries and putting hands on the resources of the Islamic countries.

As explained before, it is just different view points on non critical issues. Both Shiites and Sunnis believe in:

• one and only one God; with no partner, no companion, no son, no father, no associate, and no equivalence.
• all God prophets (from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ismael, Isac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, ..., Jesus, and the last Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon them all)
• all God angels
• Hell and Paradise (or Heaven)
• all God holy books including Torah, Bible, and Qur'an
• destiny, whether good or bad
• Resurrection Day and 2nd eternal life

Both Sunnis and Shiites follow the same Qur'an and prophet Muhammad teachings including the five basic pillars of Islam (including praying, fasting, alms giving, and hajj and both are practicing them per prophet Muhammad detailed teachings although Shiites added to them some other minor items based also on prophet Muhammad sayings.

The main difference is that: they considered that Ali Ibn AbouTaleb (Prophet Muhammad's Cousin) was legitimate to success Prophet Muhamad (after his death) in ruling the Muslims rather than that the election of the successor Abou Bakr who was followed by Omar and Osman Ibn Affan and then Ali Ibn AbouTaleb.

The other important point is that no one has the right to expel anyone out of Islam and to consider him/her unbeliever (or Kafir) so far:

• he/she witness that no god Except one God (Allah) with no partner and that Muhammad is God messenger and prophet, and that
• he/she doesn't deny intentionally the praying (Salah), paying Zakat (Alms giving), fasting Ramadan, and pilgrimage (Hajj).

It remains to mention that:

• Ali ibn Abu Talib himself (Allah be pleased with him), and all who were supporting his legitimacy to be the first Caliph, supported the first three caliphs during their ruling and Ali was their right arm in advice and support.
• The claimed differences between Shiites and Sunnis are not crucial and not expelling any of them to be true Muslims and good believers.
• Terrorist actions against civilians are condemned by both Shiites and Sunnis
• Both Shiites and Sunnis accept, of course, the Qur'an saying that no compulsion in religion. Accordingly, they don't agree to kill or imprison anyone who chooses to leave Islam unless he attacks Islam and use his convert from Islam as a way for earning money through working with some media agencies to propagate lies against Islam.

Answer 12

the friends and followers of Ali believed that after the death of prophet, the caliphate and religious authority belonged to ALI. this belief came from consideration of Ali's position and station in relation to the prophet , his relation to the chosen among the companions , as well as his relation to muslim as general.

it was only the events that occurred during the few days of the prophet final illness that indicated that there was opposition to their view, contrary expectation, at the very moment when the prophet died and his body lay still unburied while his household and a few companion occupied with for his burial and funeral services , the friend and followers of Ali received news of the activity of another group who had gone to the mosque where community where gathered faced with this sudden loss of its leader.

this group ,Which was later ti form the majority , set forth in great haste to select a caliph for the muslim with the aims of the ensuring the welfare of the community and solving its immediate problems. they did this without consulting the household of the prophet , his relatives or many of his friends who were busy with funeral and without providing them with the least information. thus Ali and his companions were presented with a fait accompli .

Ali and his friends such as Abbas , Zubayr , Salman . Abu Dharr , Meghdad and Ammar, after finishing with the burial of the body of the prophet became aware of the proceedings by which the caliph had been selected . they proteted against the act of choosing the caliph by consultation or election , and also against those who were responsible for carrying it out.

they even presented their own proofs and arguments but the answer they received was that the welare of the muslims was at sake and the solution lay in what had been done.it was this protest and criticism which separated from the majority the minority that were following Ali and made his followers known to society as the partisans or shiah of Ali . the caliphate of the time was anxious to guard against this appellation being given to the Shiite minority and thus to have muslim society divided into sections comprised of a majority and a minority .

THE supporters of the caliph considered the caliphate to be a matter of the consensus of the community , and called those who objected the opponents of allegiance . they claimed that the shiiah stood, therefore opposed to muslim society .sometimes the shiiah were given other pejorative and degrading names.

shiism was condemn from the first moment because of the political situation of the time and thus it couild not accomplish anything through mere political protest.

Ali in order to safeguard the well-being of islam and the muslims and also because of lack of sufficient political and military power did not endeavor to begin an uprising aganst the existing political order which would have been of a bloody nature . yet those who proteted against the established caliphate refused to surrender to the majority in certain questions of faith and continued to hold that the succession to the prophet and the religious authority belonged by right to Ali. they believed all spiritual and religious matters should be refered to him and invited people to becime his followers.

Answer 2

this question in fact come backs to the cause of separation of shiite from sunni. th cause or reason of the separation of the Shiite minority from the Sunni majority is as follow :the friends and followers of Ali believed that after the death of prophet, the caliphate and religious authority belonged to ALI. this belief came from consideration of Ali's position and station in relation to the prophet , his relation to the chosen among the companions , as well as his relation to muslim as general.

it was only the events that occurred during the few days of the prophet final illness that indicated that there was opposition to their view, contrary expectation, at the very moment when the prophet died and his body lay still unburied while his household and a few companion occupied with for his burial and funeral services , the friend and followers of Ali received news of the activity of another group who had gone to the mosque where community where gathered faced with this sudden loss of its leader.

this group ,Which was later ti form the majority , set forth in great haste to select a caliph for the muslim with the aims of the ensuring the welfare of the community and solving its immediate problems. they did this without consulting the household of the prophet , his relatives or many of his friends who were busy with funeral and without providing them with the least information. thus Ali and his companions were presented with a fait accompli .

Ali and his friends such as Abbas , Zubayr , Salman . Abu Dharr , Meghdad and Ammar, after finishing with the burial of the body of the prophet became aware of the proceedings by which the caliph had been selected . they proteted against the act of choosing the caliph by consultation or election , and also against those who were responsible for carrying it out.

they even presented their own proofs and arguments but the answer they received was that the welare of the muslims was at sake and the solution lay in what had been done.it was this protest and criticism which separated from the majority the minority that were following Ali and made his followers known to society as the partisans or shiah of Ali . the caliphate of the time was anxious to guard against this appellation being given to the Shiite minority and thus to have muslim society divided into sections comprised of a majority and a minority .

THE supporters of the caliph considered the caliphate to be a matter of the consensus of the community , and called those who objected the opponents of allegiance . they claimed that the shiiah stood, therefore opposed to muslim society .sometimes the shiiah were given other pejorative and degrading names.

shiism was condemn from the first moment because of the political situation of the time and thus it couild not accomplish anything through mere political protest.

Ali in order to safeguard the well-being of islam and the muslims and also because of lack of sufficient political and military power did not endeavor to begin an uprising aganst the existing political order which would have been of a bloody nature . yet those who proteted against the established caliphate refused to surrender to the majority in certain questions of faith and continued to hold that the succession to the prophet and the religious authority belonged by right to Ali. they believed all spiritual and religious matters should be refered to him and invited people to becime his followers

Answer 3

Shia and Sunni have mostly same beliefs and both believe in fundamental beliefs of Islam. Today there is up to 260 sects in Islam that are in two main categories of shia and sunni.

the conflict of shia and sunni has been always amplified by world Imperialism to prevent Islam from gaining power.

Shia believes in Allah, prophet and all fundamentals of Islam.

Shia pray 5 times a day but usually do the 2, 3 and 4, 5 pray together and so may seem they do only 3 pray a day. there is some differences in details of pray like genuflect (for shia should be on a stone or part of earth and for sunni on carpet or floor ).

shia believe after death of prophet God selected the successive for prophet who is the political leader of Muslim community and people can not and does not the right to selected it.

Shia believes the Caliph (Representative of God in earth) is selected only by God and can not be selected by people because God said in Koran: "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority" (Quran 2:30) or "O David! We did indeed make thee a vicegerent on earth" (Quran 38:26) also other verses.

Shia believes such verses means only God can select an Islamic political leader (Caliph).

In Shia Islam Caliphs after prophet are 12 Imams and all of them are the same and have no mistake and have the knowledge of everything (not absolute knowledge like knowledge of God) and they hear all sayings and even thinks of all humans after even after their death by permission of God and they are intermediates between God and human Shia Muslims always support them and forgive their lives for them.

Shia Muslims do not consider selection of Abubakr as Caliph by people valid because God did not select him. They believe God ordered prophet to declare people that Ali is selected as successor of prophet and prophet did this mission many times during his prophet-hood and mainly in Ghadir event after last Hajj of his life at a 3-4 hour speech in front of 120,000 Muslims at Ghadir in hot desert after 2 days stop of long caravan for gathering and 3 days after speech for congratulations and homage of Muslims to Ali. Islam at that time had high power in world and Some companions had high interest in leadership position after prophet. Muslims knew that it is the final Hajj of prophet (predicted by prophet) and were going along with prophet to hear what prophet says at end of his life. Shia believes Ghadir event is the most important event of Islam and is mentioned in Koran in many verses like "Today" (اليوم) in verse 5:3 of Quran is the day of Ghadir. Or Verse 5:67 (O Messenger! proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not those who reject Faith) is revealed at Ghadir day and is about declaring political leadership of Ali after prophet.

Both Sunni and Shia Muslims accept happening of Ghadir event But different interpret. Some Sunni writers tried to reject the event of Ghadir as declare of leadership of Ali and said at Ghadir prophet only wanted to say Ali is my friend and no one should bother him. Ali had 3 different missions to Yemen by prophet during 10 years and in 2 of them some companions of prophet had some conflicts with Ali and and prophet said some sayings about Ali to solve conflicts and some sunni writers have mixed stories of missions of Ali to Yemen with story of Ghadir to prove Ghadir event is not about Leadership of Ali and is not important.

Shia scholars believe some Sunni writers have changed and deviated historical evidences about political leadership of Ali in old historical books and republished them to destroy evidences of leadership of Ali from old Sunni books.

The famous Shia book Al-Ghadir (الغدير) by Allameh Amini is a collection of evidences and proofs for Ghadir Events written after referring to 100,000 Sunni books and full reading of 10,000 sunny books. Allameh Amini is a famous Shia scholar and spent 40 years of his life in travelling to access original old Sunni books in libraries in different countries to write this 20 volume book only from Sunni books and not using any Shia book. Some Sunni scholars tried to reply this book but then said if we want to reply this book we should first destroy all books of ourselves.

Shia doctrine have root in Karbala tragedy. When tragedy of Karbala happened most of Iranians understood there is two different kinds of Islam and after happening of Karbala tragedy most of Iranians became followers of "Ahl al-Bayt" and forgive their lives for them like what they did in Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War. Shia Muslims have at least 120,000 Hadith (saying) from The Fourteen Infallibles that is the base of Shia Islam along with Quran. Shia believes according to " Hadith of the two weighty things" The Fourteen Infallibles are the only valid interpreters of Quran and sayings of them are from God because they are Representative of God in earth and they do not say anything from themselves. Shia believes 12th of them (Mahdi) is alive and because people have killed all 11 Imams before him, he is in hide like Jesus and will come out of hide toghether with Jesus when people become ready and want to accept his leadership. All 11 Imams have been killed and during their life thy all have been in prison or under hard control of government to not have any political action. They never had enough serious followers to can get political power. Among them only the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq was relatively free in his life to have only scientific activities (but banned from any political action) and so only he is known in west because he established university and had students from all over the world. Westerns know him as a polymath: an astronomer, alchemist, Imam, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, writer, philosopher, physician, physicist and scientist. He was also the teacher of the famous chemist, Jābir ibn Hayyān (Geber), and of Abū Ḥanīfa, the founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He never wanted be a famous man and only shared his knowledge with who wanted to learn. Some researchers consider his teachings the root cause of renaissance.

Sunni Muslims also accept Mahdi and his worldwide leadership as Caliph of God in earth at end of world. There is a famous Hadith from prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that Mahdi at hide is like sun behind cloud, he is hidden from people but people receive his benefits. Shia Muslims say some faithful believers have connection with Mahdi and use his knowledge. Shia Muslims believe that it is proved at least 1000 persons have had connection and talk with Mahdi during his hide period but Any one having relation with Mahdi keep it and does not declare it in public until is alive.

Answer 4

Disagreements over Succession after Muhammad's death.

The Muslim community was united while Muhammad was the leader of this community. Most Muslims hold, however, that he never specifically chose a successor to his leadership. There was a minority in the community that supported the candidacy of 'Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law, this political faction became known as the "Supporters of 'Ali" which in Arabic is Shiat 'Ali (where the modern term "Shiite" comes from). They derived their support from specific hadiths and events that they claimed showed that God had revealed to Muhammad that 'Ali would succeed him. The majority of Muslims held that these hadiths and events showed nothing more than that 'Ali was very pious, something they did not deny. Therefore they gave power to the man who was Muhammad's second-in-command and father-in-law Abu Bakr. This majority were called the People of the Customs [of the Prophet] which in Arabic is Ahl Sunna (from where the modern term "Sunni" comes from.)

It is important to note that the split between the Sunnis and the Shiites was not the only split in Islam. To read about other splits, please see the Related Question below: Why did the Islam branches separate?

Answer 5

Because there was some disagreement as to who was the successor of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Shias believe it was Ali, while Sunnis believe it was Abu Bakr.