What are the division of Islam?

Answer 1

Answer 1

The two largest divisions of Islam are the Sunnis and Shi'ites.

Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam. The word Sunni comes from the word Sunnah, which means the teachings and actions or examples of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Therefore, the term Sunni refers to those who follow or maintain the Sunnah of Muhammad.

Unlike the Shi'ites, the sunnis believe that Muhammad died without appointing any successor to lead the Muslim community. After an initial period of confusion, a group gathered and elected Abu Bakr,, who was Muhammad's close friend as well as his father-in-law, as the first Caliph. Sunnis regard the first four caliphs,

Abu Bakr,

Umar ibn al-Khattab,

Uthman ibn Affan and

Ali ibn Abi Talib as the "al-Khulafā'ur-Rāshidūn" or "The Rightly Guided Caliphs".

Sunnis believe that the position of Caliph may be democratically chosen, but after the first four Rightly Guided Caliphs the position turned into a hereditary dynastic rule. Since the fall of the Ottoman Empire (1923) there has never been another widely recognized Caliph within the Sunni Muslim community.

Shi`ite Islam is the second largest division of Islam. Shi'ite Muslims believe that those leaders who followed after Muhammad (called Imams) were chosen by God to lead the Islamic community and thus the believe the Sunnis erred in having elected Caliphs. According to the Shi'ites it was Ali who was chosen by Allah and appointed by Muhammad to be the direct successor and leader of the Muslim community rather than Abu Bakr.

It is Ali that they regard as the first Imam. The largest group of Shi'ite Muslims believe there were a total of twelve Imams with the twelfth Imam believed to be in hiding because of the sins of the Islamic Community but they also believe that he will appear again just before the end times. The Shi'ite Hadiths (that is, stories and teachings written ABOUT Muhammad & Islam) include sayings of the Imams. Many Sunni Muslims criticise the Shi'ites for certain of their beliefs and practices.

As well each of these major Islamic denominations can be further sub-divided, there are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of these groups both large and small all disagreeing over some point or other of Islamic practice / Law.

Answer 2

There are three main sects within Islam: Ahl Sunna (commonly called Sunni), Shi'a (commonly called Shiite) and Ibadi. The main distinction between them is who has the right to power over the community. However, as simple as that may seem at first blush, it lead to numerous smaller but significant differences.

Sunni Islam is the dominant sect of Islam worldwide and established the Rule of Intikhabat and Ashura (Elections) for Mohammed's successors. Sunni Islam has many different forms. The most common movement of Islam is Hanafi, which is dominant in South Asia, the Levant, north Mesopotamia, Turkey, and southeast Europe. Sunni also has a mystical movement called Sufism of which many submovements exist like the Turkish Dervishes. In recent times, Saudi Arabia has stimulated a submovement within the Hanbali movement called Wahhabism which is a fundamentalist strain of Islam.

Shiite Islam is the dominant sect of Islam in Iran and the surrounding area. It was originally the political faction supporting Ali as Mohammed's successor instead of the elections. This has led to the ascription of martyrdom to Ali's sons: Hassan and Hussein who wished to promulgate a Caliphate from what the Shiites see as the rightful line. The most prominent movement in Shiite Islam is the Ja'afari Movement. Shiite submovements have historically been quite varied leading to groups as different as the Ismailis and the Alawites, both groups existing outside of the majority Shiite area today. Former Shiite submovements have now exited the religion of Islam such as the Druze and the Baha'i. Shiite movements are unique in that the process of Ijtihad (Open Religious Jurisprudence) continues solely in Shiite Islam.

Ibadi Islam is the dominant sect of Islam in Oman. It is an offshoot of the third party in the Islamic Civil War (Fitna al-Kubra), the Kharijites (the other two parties were the Sunnis and the Shiites). Ibadi Islam is so small that it has no internal movements. Ibadi holds to a moderated version of the Kharijite purification requirements by limiting contact with unbelievers and increasing contact with proper believers. They also hold with the tradition Kharijite view of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, namely that Abu Bakr and Omar were proper rulers, Othman was not and Ali lost favor when he agreed to the Arbitration with Mu'awiya.

In addition to the three main sects of Islam, there are also minor sects like the Ahmadiyya which are considered blasphemous (takfir) by the remaining Muslim sects. Ahmadiyya was founded by a prophet (Mirza Ghulam) and, according to most Muslims, this violates the Islamic concept that Mohammed was the capstone of the Prophets: the last and final prophet. The difference between Ahmadiyya versus Baha'i and Druze is that the Ahmadiyya still see themselves as Muslims whereas Druze and Baha'i do not.

Answer 2

1-suuni 2-shii'a 3-abadhi