What are the similarities between sunni and shiite mosques?

Answer 1

In the opinion of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad is the last prophet to mankind, to both Sunnis and Shiites.

AnswerThe Islamic religion was started by God's revelation ofthe Quran to the prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel (Jibril) in the seventh century. In 622, Prophet Muhammad founded the first Islamic state, a theocracy in Medina, a city in western Saudi Arabia located north of Mecca.

The two Islamic groups are Sunnis and Shiites. The two groups are the same in the basic Islamic beliefs and faith. They only differ in some detailed side issues including the way of selection of the successors (Caliphs) who rule the Islamic State after the death of the prophet Muhammad.

The largest group, called the Sunnis, believe that the first four caliphs--Muhammad's successors--rightfully took his place (through election) as the leaders of Islam.

The smaller of the major groups are the Shiites. There are a number of subdivisions under the 'umbrella' of 'Shi'a' and although they differ in details all of them believe that only the heirs of the fourth caliph, Ali, are the legitimate successors of Muhammad. They believe that the Caliphs should be of the descendants of the prophet. Accordingly, Aly should have been the first caliph after the prophet Muhammad's death.

The Shi'ites call these successors Imams. Shi'ites do not accept that the Imam is to be only a political leader but they believe that they are literally 'manifestations of God', they are sinless, infallible and the bringers of true understanding to all humanity. They are referred to within the Shi'ite tradition as being masum, that is, free from error or sin. The last Imam, the Mahdi, is believed not to have died but to be in hiding and Shi'ites believe that he will appear at the end of time in order to bring about the victory of the Shi'a faith (see third paragraph below).

The main groups under the Shi'ite umbrella are the Zaydiyyah or Fivers, the Isma'iliyyah or Seveners and the Imamiyyah or Twelvers. The numbers five, seven and twelve refer to the last authorised interpreter of the law or Imam that each group accepts. Of the three the Twelvers are the biggest & it was in 931 that the Twelfth Imam disappeared.

This was a seminal event in the history of these Shi'ite Muslims. According to R. Scott Appleby, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, "Shi'ite Muslims, who are concentrated in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, [believe they] had suffered the loss of divinely guided political leadership" at the time of the Imam's disappearance. Not "until the ascendancy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1978" did they believe that they had once again begun to live under the authority of a legitimate religious figure.

The following Answer is Disputed

Islam has more than two major branches, the major branches that can be more easily found are the Tablighs, the Sunnis and the Shia. There are key differences between these "branches" which would take a lot of details to describe, however, to put it in as short an answer as possible, here si a view of their beliefs for lack of a better word.

• Tabligh: This "branch" founds itself on the belief that there is one God, and focuses primarily on this fact and that prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was a prophet, and a MAN doing the work of God as he was chosen to do. They believe that they are here as Muslims, not merely to spread a religion blindly, but to remind every Muslim of what his duties are as a Muslim and to put every effort into ensuring that all Muslims follow what God has sent down by living their lives in the footsteps of the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and to guide Muslims according to what the prophet (S.A.W) did and said, and to live as closely to his example as possible. Not to add anything to Islam, not to take anything away, but to maintain the way of life that was taught to us over 1400 years ago.

[Hint: Tabligh is not a branch of Muslims. it is an Arabic word that means "informing". Every Muslim, Sunni or Shiite, is required to understand his religion and to perform "Tabligh" to the relevant people. However, this task is no longer relevant. Nowadays, there are a wide variety of means of "Tabligh" or informing such as education institutions, mosques, media, etc. The other point is that Prophet Muhammad never believed in, by any Muslim, as doing the work of God. The prophet is believed in as conveying the commands of God and God Quran revelations to him.]

• Sunni: This "branch" has the same belief system as the tablighs, but they differ in one aspect, that being that they believe the prophet (S.A.W.) was more than a man, to the extent that some of them believe he actually has the power to be in different places at the same time. The argument of this belief is for a different time and place.

[Hint: No Muslim, of Sunni or Shiite, believes that Prophet Muhammad was more than human but they all believe that he was supported by God & selected as a prophet to receive the revelation of the Qur'an. The Sunnis are the Muslims who agree on the way the Caliphs were elected and are followers of Qur'an teachings and Prophet Muhammad sayings and practices. ]

• Shia: This "branch" believes that the prophet (S.A.W.) was the last prophet, and also that Ali (R.A) is the successor of the prophet and the first imam. Their belief also states that Imam Mahdi is alive and is the 12th imam hiding in the earth in between people and will disclose himself on Allah's command and will come and again show us the right path.... As before, this is not a forum for argument and this is left up to you.

[Hint: Apart from what they believe in Imam Mahdi, the Shiites differ from the Sunnis only in the way of the Caliph were elected. Although they supported the first Caliphs as elected, after Muhammad's death, they believed that they should be from the prophet's family & descendants. ]

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They are more alike than different. They worship same God. Believe in same prophet and same Quran. Perform the same five Islam pillars. They go to same place for pilgrimage. They can do the ritual worship of praying together behind the same Imam irrelevant he is Sunni or Shia. They differ in minor issues that are not violating basic Islam fundamentals and principles. Refer to question below.
Shiats say that Imam must be appointed by God; that appointment may be known through the declaration of the Prophet or the preceding Imam. The Sunni scholars say that Imam (or Caliph, as they prefer to say) can be either elected, or nominated by the preceding Caliph, or selected by a committee, or may gain the power through a military coup (as was in the case of Muawiyah).

Shi'a scholars say that Imam must be sinless. The Sunni scholars (including Mutazilites) say that sinlessness is not a condition for leadership. Even if he is tyrant and sunk in sins (like in the case of Yazid, or Today's King Fahd), the majority of the scholars from the shools of Hanbali, Shafi'i, and Maliki discourage people to rise against that Caliph. They think that they should be presevered.

Shiats say that Imam must possess above all such qualities as knowledge, bravery, justice, wisdom, piety, love of God etc. The Sunni scholars say it is not necessary. A person inferior in these qualities may be elected in preference to a person having all these qualities of superior degree.

Shiats say that 'Ali was appointed by Allah to be the successor of the Prophet, and that the Prophet declared it on several occasions. More than one hundred of those occasions are recorded in the history. The Sunni scholars believe that the Prophet did not appoint anybody to be his successor. This is despite the fact that there are many traditions in the six authentic Sunni collections which support this assignment.

Answer 2

• Belief in one God who is all-powerful.
• Belief in all the Biblical prophets.
• Emphasis on doing good (together with belief) as the means to salvation.
• Belief in Jesus, his miraculous birth, and the miracles he performed.

Answer

Concerning belief in Jesus, I do not find this to be a similarity, in Catholicism, Jesus is God come to earth to save us, In Islam, Jesus is just a prophet, a world apart.

Answer 3

most of the mosques in shiites and sunni are like and same.some differences between them refer to architect subject.for example it is seen that some shiite mosques have two tower(manarah) but sunni mosques has one manarah.but this is not difference because in most cases sunnis also had two manarah mosques and shiite also had one manarah mosques.therfore it can be said that mosques both of shiite and sunni are the same in terms of architect and something like this.

Answer 4

The Puritans were Christians. For general similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam, see the Related Questions below.

The many of core tenets found in Christianity oppose the teachings of Islam.

Examples of Christian tenets that Islam doesn't accept:

• Salvation: The Christian concept of salvation and grace
• Sin: The concept of original sin: Muslims are born with a clean slate
• Messiah: The Christian concept of of Messiah: While Muslims agree that Jesus was the Messiah, they consider him to be a man of similar prophetic capacity to Moses
• Trinity: The concept of the trinity: Muslims believe in One God without partition or difference, to believe otherwise is one of the biggest sins in Islam: Shirk
• Intermediaries: Praying through intermediaries: Muslims pray directly to God without priests
• Son of God: The concept of a literal child of God: Muslims do not hold this.
• Expiation: The idea that one man can atone for the sins of another: Muslims hold that every man atones for his own sins.

These are just some examples, there are far more differences between Islam and Christianity.

As specifically concerns Puritanism, there are additional specific differences between Islam and Puritanism that Islam does not necessarily have with all strains of Christianity.

• Solo Scriptorum: The idea that Bible alone shows God's will without scriptural interpretive works. Puritanism held this, while Islam holds that additional sources to the Qur'an are necessary for proper interpretation of the Qur'an.
• Predestination: The idea that some people are automatically saved and others are automatically doomed regardless of what they do in life. Puritanism held this, while Islamic groups have differing views. Some Muslims accept predetermination, but others believe that each person chooses his entry to paradise or to hell by the actions he takes.
• Covenant of Grace/Covenant of Works: The idea that some people would do good deeds as evidence that they were the Predestined and others would do good deeds in spite of their future hell. As no amount of good deeds could save you, if you were believed to be condemned and you did good deeds, people would proclaim you a "Covenant of Works" as opposed to a "Covenant of Grace". In Islam each person is accountable for the sins and receives credit for their good deeds before God.
• Religious Debate: Puritanism was rigid and denied the possibility of religious discussions to change or reinterpret old laws. Islam has religious legal discussions to determine the applicability of old laws to newer or unique situations called Ijtihad.
• Purpose of Prayer: Puritans used prayer to request God to stay his wrath and avoid hellfire. Muslims use prayer to glorify God and sanctify His revelations in addition to requesting to avoid the hellfire.
• Punishments and Torture: Puritans used cruel and unusual torturous techniques to get "confessions" from those accused of crimes and enacted punishments (such as burning at the stake) which fall outside of Muslim permissions.

Answer 5

shia and sunni have mostly same beliefs and both believe in fundamental beliefs of Islam. today there is up to 260 sect in Islam that are in two category of shia and sunni.

Kurds are an ethnicity similar to other ethnicities like Bulgarian and Swedish. Just as neither Bulgarian nor Swedish connote a specific religion, neither does Kurd. However, Sunnis and Shiites are different Islamic schools or groups. Kurds are mostly Sunnis and some are Shiites.

Refer to question below for more information on the similarities between Sunnis and Shiites?

Answer 6

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 7

Answer 1

Both of the Judaism and Islam are Abrahamic religions known by their monotheistic faiths and recognise a spiritual tradition identified with Abraham. There are prophets that both believe in (Abraham/Ibrahim(as), Moses/Musa(as).

Both are patriarchal and male dominated (at least in theory for Judaism). Followers of these two religions don't eat pork and both await a coming messiah/prophet.

Answer 2

The main similarities are:

• Both religions believe in prophet Abraham (Ibrahim); Peace be upon him
• Both religions believe in one God, the one and only one God with no partner and no associate.
• Both religions believe in prophet Moses (Musa).
• Both religions forbids eating pork.
• Both religions requires circumcision of males.

Answer 3

The main similarity between Judaism and Islam is monotheism, meaning the belief that God is One. Furthermore, the Qur'an mentions the Jews as "The people of the Book", referring to the Torah. Islam accepts many (maybe even most) of the Jewish prophets. (For example, Abraham and Moses). Islam also considers many of the Torah's events to be not only true but a proof of the existence of God. The Exodus, for example, is one such case.

Answer 4

The Qur'an says that : "Say (o Muhammad), O people of the scripture (Christians and Jews), let's come together to our common point, that is "There is no God but Allah (God Almighty)". Here is the similarity. We believe in one God. (Same God)

The similarity is that we all (Muslims, Christians and Jews) believe in the same God.

Answer 5

The father of both religions is Abraham, or Avram.

Answer 6

one is that us Muslims believe that i the beginning, Musa was sent to bani israel (Jews) with the same message we Muslims have today. (not in the same format but basically the same).

Answer 7

they share only a monotheistic belief and 1 forefather in common

Answer 8

Jewish sources actually maintain that the Islamic conception of God is compatible with Jewish belief, so essentially Judaism maintains that a Moslem who keeps his/her religion faithfully is going straight to heaven. Obviously, though, Judaism does not accept the extremist trend within Islam.

Answer 9

The main similarities are:

• Both religions believe in prophet Abraham (Ibrahim); Peace be upon him
• Both religions believe in one God, the one and only one God with no partner and no associate.
• Both religions believe in prophet Moses (Musa).
• Both religions forbid eating pork.
• Both religions require circumcision of males.
• Muslims believe in Jesus Christ as one of the greatest prophets and that he was raised bodily to the Heavens. Jews do not believe that Jesus was the messiah, the savior of the human race.

More similarities:

• Both celebrate a new year that is in the fall, just before the rains come in the Middle East, and their ways of celebrating the New Year are similar.
• Fundamentalists of both separate the men and women in places of prayer, and have strict rules for modesty of dress, especially for women.
• They share part of the Bible and respect it as holy. The Jews call it the Tanakh (Christians call it the Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures).

Some of the similarities between Islam and the Jewish faiths are:

• Both Muslims and Jews worship the same god, and both religions are descendants of Abraham.

• A belief in one God, who is not a trinity.

• Both believe that Jesus was not divine person. Though, Muslims believe he was a prophet, the Jews do not.

• Neither Muslims or Jews believe in the concept of original sin.

• Both Jews and Muslims believe in salvation through good works.

• Muslims and Jews both believe in a Hell, that a person might suffer temporary punishment, but may not necessarily spend eternity there.

• The two faiths also share the central practices of fasting and charity, as well as dietary laws and other aspects of ritual purity.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are heavenly religions. They spring up from the same source. Basically, they believe in the ONENESS of Almighty God. The followers of these religions worship Almighty God and NONE else. They believe in the day of judgment, angels, Prophet-hood, hell and heaven. They keep fast, offer sacrifice.

Both religions believe in a single God. They both believe that their God is the God of Abraham making him one in the same. Both believe in the existence of Adam and Eve, David, Moses, etc. They both pray but they pray differently .

No eating pork.

In that they are both strictly monotheistic.

The number of God is one and the prophet Mohammed (pbuh) is the messenger of God in both cases.

Answer 8

the five principles of religion ( Usul Al-Din) as stated by Shiism include: Tawhid or belief in divine unity , Nubuwwah or prophecy, Maaad or resurrection , Imamah or the Imamate, belief in the Imams as successors of the prophet and Adl or Divine Justice. in the Three Basic principles -Unity, prophecy and resurrection- Sunism and Shiism agree.

the Barakah present in both sunnism And shiism has the same origin and Quality especially if we take into considerations Sufism which exists in both segments of the Islamic community , the barakah is everywhere that which had issued from the Quran and the Prophet and it is often referred to as the Muhammad Barakah( Al Barakah Al -muhammadiyyah).

shiism and the general esoteric teaching of Islam which are usually indentified with the essential teachings of Sufism have a very complex and intricate relationship. Shiism must not be equated simply with Islamic esotericism as such. in the sunni world Islamic esotericism manifests iteself almost exclusively as Sufism where as in Shiite world, in addition to a Sufism similar to that found in the Sunni world , there is an esoteric element based upon love (Muhabbah) which colors the whole structure of religion.