How do the beliefs of Sunni and Shiite differ?

Answer 1

Answer 1

it is related to this question:

who was the right political leader of islam world after death of prophet?

shia says it was Ali (PBUH)

and sunni says it was Abubakr

The Sunni believe that Muhamed's companions should be the new leader after his death, and the Shiite's believe it should be his cousin or son-in-law.

Answer 2

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 3

The dividing issue was whether the Prophet's successor should be his father-in-law or his son-in-law. The father-in-law's party was in the majority and they became the Sunnis, those who follow the Path, of tradition. The son-in-law's party became the Shias, a word meaning "partisans."

It's about a 9:1 ratio worldwide, with the Shia concentrated in Iran and environs.

In practice, both are Muslims to outside eyes, but many Sunni adopt an intolerant attitude toward Shia, treating them as non-Muslims.

The people rioting over pictures of Mohammed are usually Sunnis, as Shia are not so freaky about depiction.

As the generally persecuted, the Shia are less tradition-bound and generate more breakaway sects. They birthed both the Bahai and the Assassins.

Answer 3

General Discussion

The major difference is historical. The Shiites did not agree on the elected Caliphs (who followed Prophet Muhammad after his death). They believed that the Caliphs should only be within Prophet Muhammad descendants and family. Accordingly, they were supporting Ali Ibn Abu Taleb (Prophet cousin and the husband of his daughter Fatima) to be the first Caliph. However, they didn't protest against the elected Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Omar, and Othman) and even Ali, himself, was good supporter and adviser to the three Caliphs until he was elected as the fourth Caliph.

Both Sunnis and Shiites are Muslims. No one has the right to expel anyone out of Islam and to consider him/her a Kafir (unbeliever) 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 any of the Islam five pillars.

As for Sunnis and Shiites:

• They, both, believe that No God except one and only one God, the Creator, with no partner, no father, no son, no companion, no associate, and no resemblance and that prophet is His messenger and prophet.
• They both believe in God Angels, all God prophets, all God holy book, the Day of Judgment, and destiny.
• They both believe in the five Pillars of Islam. They both face the direction of Kaaba when praying and both require the Hajj pilgrimage.
• They pray in any mosque regardless the praying leader is Sunni or Shiite.
• They may differ in some minor details of rituals but these details are not critical to neither the Shiites nor the Sunnis.

Today there is up to 260 sects in Islam that are in two main categories of Shia and Sunni. The conflict between Shia and Sunnis has been always amplified by world Imperialism to prevent Islam from spreading in world. Some of this negativity has corrupted some Shia and Sunnis to believe that their beliefs are diametrically opposed, when in fact the differences are small and not worthy of Takfir (calling someone a blasphemer).

Specific Differences

Imamat or Leadership: Shia and Sunni mainly have a conflict on Imamat (leadership).

The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 C.E., and the question of who was to take over the Imamat (leadership) of the Muslim nation. Sunnis, the majority, believe that the first four caliphs, Mohammed's successors, rightfully took his place as the leaders of Islam. They recognize the heirs of the four caliphs as legitimate religious leaders. These heirs ruled continuously in the Arab world until the break-up of the Ottoman Empire following the end of the First World War.

The Shia say the Imamat is one of the 5 pillars of Islam and only God can select leader for people whereas the Sunnis say Imamat is not part of Islam and the leader can be selected by people by any method like Shura (for example for Abu Bakr) or by will of previous leader (for example for Omar) or by people (for example for Ali) provided he is capable of performing the job. Shia believe after death of the Prophet (Mohammed), God selected the prophet's successor who should be the political leader of Muslim community and people cannot and do not the right to select such an individual.

Self-Identification: Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet's companions, that the new leader of the Umma (Islamic Community) should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word "Sunni" in Arabic comes from a word meaning "one who follows the traditions [of the Prophet]."

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" (of the Prophet).

Prayer Styles: Shia pray 5 times a day just like Sunnis but usually do the second and third prayers and fourth and fifth prayers together. Thus, it may seem they do only 3 prayers a day. There are some differences in details of prayer like genuflecting (for Shia should be on a stone or part of earth and for the Sunnis it should be on carpet or floor ).

Doctrines of Karbala: Shia doctrines have their roots in Battle Karbala.

When tragedy of Karbala happened most of Iranians understood that there were two different interpretations of Islam that could not both be true. So, most of Iranians became shia and followers of "Ahl al-Bayt" and forgive their lives for them like what they did in Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War.

Hadith Collections: Shia Muslims have at least 120,000 Hadith (sayings) from The Fourteen Infallibles that is the base of Shia Islam along with Qur'an. Sunni Hadith collections are much smaller as they do not contain volumes from people who lived after the Prophet. Sunni collections also differ based on the School of Sunni Islam. Abu-Hanifa, Ibn Hanbal, Ash-Shafi'i, and Ibn Annas of the Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i, and Maliki Schools each have their own collections.

The Imams and Infallibles: Sunnis do not believe in any of this. However, Shia believe 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 Representatives of God in earth and they have inherited divine knowledge of prophet. Theses individuals are the 12 Imams, the Prophet and his daughter Fatimah Zahra (sa). All of them are without impurity and have no mistake and have the knowledge of everything. (This knowledge is from God according to His will and is not absolute knowledge. Absolute knowledge is only for God and they still do not know many things, but they know anything human may need to know.) They never die and they hear all sayings and even thoughts of all humans after their death by permission of God. They are intermediates between God and human.

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.

Shia believe that the 12th Imam (Imam Mahdi S.A.) is alive and because people have killed all 11 Imams before him. He is in hiding like Jesus S.A. and will rise with Jesus S.A. when people become ready and want to accept his leadership. All 11 Imams have been killed and during their life they all have been in prison or under hard control of government to avoid them having any political activity.

They never had enough serious followers to allow them to attain political power. Among them only the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq was relatively free on account of the freedom afforded during the transition of power between the Umayyads and Abbassids. He is primarily known in the West to have taken part in scientific activities, established a university, and had students from all over the world. Westerners 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 those who sought knowledge. Some researchers consider his teachings the root cause of the Renaissance.

Positions on the Mahdi: The Mahdi, according to Shia, will bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth after an apocalyptic battle between the forces of Islam (those who believe in God) and the rest of the world. Sunni Muslims also accept Mahdi and his worldwide leadership as Caliph of God on Earth at end of world, but do not accept the Shia teaching that this person is the twelfth Imam. There is a famous Hadith from prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that Mahdi in hiding 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 and at least 1000 persons have had a connection and conversation with Mahdi during his period of hiding but anyone who may have a relation with Mahdi S.A. should keep it secret and not declare it in public until death.

Answer 2

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.
sunnis belive that mohmaad was a prophet and shia dont belive.....

Answer 3

two main differences are here. in principles both shiite and Sunni has common ideas such as tawhid or the oneness and nabuwwah or prophecy and ressurrection or Maad , but shiite despite these beiefs ,hs two other namely immamat or belief in the imams as successors of the prophet AND Adl or Divine justice.in the three basic first principles -unity,prophecy and resurrection .

the two problem of succession and Authority in religious Sciences:there are two problems of succession and authority between shia and sunni . in accordance with the islamic teaching which form its basis , shiism believed that the most important question facing islamic society was the elucidation and clarification of islamic teaching and the tenets of the religious sciences . only after such clarifications were made could be application of these teachings to the social order be considered . in other words , shiism believed that , before all else , members of siciety should be able to gain a true vision of the world and of men based of the real nature of things . only then could they know and perform their duties as human beings-in which lay their real welfare-even if the performance of these religious duties were to be against their desires . after carrying out this first step , a religious government should preserve and excute real islamic order in society in such a way that man would worship none other than God , would possess personal and social freedom to the extent possible and would benefit srom true personal and social justice .

these two ends could be accomplished only by a person who was inerrant and protected by god from having faults . otherwise people could become rulers or religious authorities who would not be free from the possibility of distoration of thought or the commoting of treachery in the duties placed upon their shoulders. were this to happen , the just and freedom-giving rule of islam could gradually be converted to dictatorial rule and completely autocratic government.

moreover , the pure religious teachings could become, as can be seen in the case of certan other religious , the victims of change and distoration in the hands of selfish scholrs given to satisfication of their carnal desires . as confirmed by holy prophet , Ali followed perfectely and completely the book of god and the tradition of the prophet in both words and deeds. As shiism sees it, if, as the majority say , only the Quraysh opposed the rightful caliphate of Ali, then that majority should have answered the Quraysh by asserting what was right. they should have quelled all opposition to the right cause in the same way that they fought against the group who refused to pay religious tax . the majority should not have remained indifferent to what was right for few of the opposition of Qurayesh .

what prevented te shiaah from accepting the elective method of choosing the caliphate by the people was the the fear of the unwholsome consequences that might result from it: fear of possible corruption in islamic government and of the destruction of the solid basis for the sublime religious sciences.As it happened,later event in islamic history confirmed this fear or predication , with the result that the shiites became even firmer in their belief . during the earliest years , however, because of the small number of the followers , shiism appeared outwardly to have been absorbed into the majority , although privately it continued to insist on acquiring the islamic sciences from the household of the prophet and invite people to its cause. At the same time , in order to preserve the power of islam nd sfeguard its progress, shiism did not display any opposition the men of islamic society.members of the shiite community even fought hand in hand with the sunni majority in holy wars and participated in public of affairs . Ali himself guided the sunnu majority in the interest of the whole islam , whenever such actions was neccessary.

Answer 4

Answer 1

it is related to this question:

who was the right political leader of islam world after death of prophet?

shia says it was Ali (PBUH)

and sunni says it was Abubakr

The Sunni believe that Muhamed's companions should be the new leader after his death, and the Shiite's believe it should be his cousin or son-in-law.

Answer 2

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 3

The dividing issue was whether the Prophet's successor should be his father-in-law or his son-in-law. The father-in-law's party was in the majority and they became the Sunnis, those who follow the Path, of tradition. The son-in-law's party became the Shias, a word meaning "partisans."

It's about a 9:1 ratio worldwide, with the Shia concentrated in Iran and environs.

In practice, both are Muslims to outside eyes, but many Sunni adopt an intolerant attitude toward Shia, treating them as non-Muslims.

The people rioting over pictures of Mohammed are usually Sunnis, as Shia are not so freaky about depiction.

As the generally persecuted, the Shia are less tradition-bound and generate more breakaway sects. They birthed both the Bahai and the Assassins.

Answer 3

General Discussion

The major difference is historical. The Shiites did not agree on the elected Caliphs (who followed Prophet Muhammad after his death). They believed that the Caliphs should only be within Prophet Muhammad descendants and family. Accordingly, they were supporting Ali Ibn Abu Taleb (Prophet cousin and the husband of his daughter Fatima) to be the first Caliph. However, they didn't protest against the elected Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Omar, and Othman) and even Ali, himself, was good supporter and adviser to the three Caliphs until he was elected as the fourth Caliph.

Both Sunnis and Shiites are Muslims. No one has the right to expel anyone out of Islam and to consider him/her a Kafir (unbeliever) 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 any of the Islam five pillars.

As for Sunnis and Shiites:

• They, both, believe that No God except one and only one God, the Creator, with no partner, no father, no son, no companion, no associate, and no resemblance and that prophet is His messenger and prophet.
• They both believe in God Angels, all God prophets, all God holy book, the Day of Judgment, and destiny.
• They both believe in the five Pillars of Islam. They both face the direction of Kaaba when praying and both require the Hajj pilgrimage.
• They pray in any mosque regardless the praying leader is Sunni or Shiite.
• They may differ in some minor details of rituals but these details are not critical to neither the Shiites nor the Sunnis.

Today there is up to 260 sects in Islam that are in two main categories of Shia and Sunni. The conflict between Shia and Sunnis has been always amplified by world Imperialism to prevent Islam from spreading in world. Some of this negativity has corrupted some Shia and Sunnis to believe that their beliefs are diametrically opposed, when in fact the differences are small and not worthy of Takfir (calling someone a blasphemer).

Specific Differences

Imamat or Leadership: Shia and Sunni mainly have a conflict on Imamat (leadership).

The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 C.E., and the question of who was to take over the Imamat (leadership) of the Muslim nation. Sunnis, the majority, believe that the first four caliphs, Mohammed's successors, rightfully took his place as the leaders of Islam. They recognize the heirs of the four caliphs as legitimate religious leaders. These heirs ruled continuously in the Arab world until the break-up of the Ottoman Empire following the end of the First World War.

The Shia say the Imamat is one of the 5 pillars of Islam and only God can select leader for people whereas the Sunnis say Imamat is not part of Islam and the leader can be selected by people by any method like Shura (for example for Abu Bakr) or by will of previous leader (for example for Omar) or by people (for example for Ali) provided he is capable of performing the job. Shia believe after death of the Prophet (Mohammed), God selected the prophet's successor who should be the political leader of Muslim community and people cannot and do not the right to select such an individual.

Self-Identification: Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet's companions, that the new leader of the Umma (Islamic Community) should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word "Sunni" in Arabic comes from a word meaning "one who follows the traditions [of the Prophet]."

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" (of the Prophet).

Prayer Styles: Shia pray 5 times a day just like Sunnis but usually do the second and third prayers and fourth and fifth prayers together. Thus, it may seem they do only 3 prayers a day. There are some differences in details of prayer like genuflecting (for Shia should be on a stone or part of earth and for the Sunnis it should be on carpet or floor ).

Doctrines of Karbala: Shia doctrines have their roots in Battle Karbala.

When tragedy of Karbala happened most of Iranians understood that there were two different interpretations of Islam that could not both be true. So, most of Iranians became shia and followers of "Ahl al-Bayt" and forgive their lives for them like what they did in Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War.

Hadith Collections: Shia Muslims have at least 120,000 Hadith (sayings) from The Fourteen Infallibles that is the base of Shia Islam along with Qur'an. Sunni Hadith collections are much smaller as they do not contain volumes from people who lived after the Prophet. Sunni collections also differ based on the School of Sunni Islam. Abu-Hanifa, Ibn Hanbal, Ash-Shafi'i, and Ibn Annas of the Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i, and Maliki Schools each have their own collections.

The Imams and Infallibles: Sunnis do not believe in any of this. However, Shia believe 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 Representatives of God in earth and they have inherited divine knowledge of prophet. Theses individuals are the 12 Imams, the Prophet and his daughter Fatimah Zahra (sa). All of them are without impurity and have no mistake and have the knowledge of everything. (This knowledge is from God according to His will and is not absolute knowledge. Absolute knowledge is only for God and they still do not know many things, but they know anything human may need to know.) They never die and they hear all sayings and even thoughts of all humans after their death by permission of God. They are intermediates between God and human.

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.

Shia believe that the 12th Imam (Imam Mahdi S.A.) is alive and because people have killed all 11 Imams before him. He is in hiding like Jesus S.A. and will rise with Jesus S.A. when people become ready and want to accept his leadership. All 11 Imams have been killed and during their life they all have been in prison or under hard control of government to avoid them having any political activity.

They never had enough serious followers to allow them to attain political power. Among them only the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq was relatively free on account of the freedom afforded during the transition of power between the Umayyads and Abbassids. He is primarily known in the West to have taken part in scientific activities, established a university, and had students from all over the world. Westerners 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 those who sought knowledge. Some researchers consider his teachings the root cause of the Renaissance.

Positions on the Mahdi: The Mahdi, according to Shia, will bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth after an apocalyptic battle between the forces of Islam (those who believe in God) and the rest of the world. Sunni Muslims also accept Mahdi and his worldwide leadership as Caliph of God on Earth at end of world, but do not accept the Shia teaching that this person is the twelfth Imam. There is a famous Hadith from prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that Mahdi in hiding 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 and at least 1000 persons have had a connection and conversation with Mahdi during his period of hiding but anyone who may have a relation with Mahdi S.A. should keep it secret and not declare it in public until death.

Answer 5

all in all we can categorize these difference into two levels:one level lies in principles and other in interpreting of Quran .

first level:the five principles of religion as stated by shiism include:tawhid or belief in divine unity,nubuwwah or prophecy,maad or ressurrection,imamah or the immamate:belief in the imams as successors of the prophet and Adl or Divine justice.in the Three bsic principles -unity, prophecy and resurrection-Suunnism and shiism agree.it ts only in the other two that they differ. in the question of the imamate it is the insistence on the esoteric function of of the imam that distingushes the shiites perspective from the Sunni.in the question of Justice it is the emphasis placed upon this attribute as an intrinsic quality of the divine nature that is particular to shiism.we might say that in the esotericformulation of Sunni theology,especially as contained in Asharism there is an emphasis upon the will of god .whatever god will is just precisely because it is willed by God.and intelligence is in a sense subordinate to this will and to the voluntarism which characterizes this form of theology.in shiism however , the quality of justice is considered as innate to the Divine Nature..God can not act in n unjust manner because it is His nature to be just.Fa,him to be unjust would violate His own nature,which is impossible.intelligence can judge the justness and injustness of an act and this judgment is not completely suspended in favor of a pure voluntarism on the part of God.

second level:shiism also different in its consideration of the means whereby the original message of Quranic revelation reached the islamic community and thereby in certain aspects of the sacred history of islam.there is no disagreement on the Quran and the prophet.that is,on what constitutes the origin of the islamic religion.the difference in view begins with the period immediately following the death of the prophet.one might say that the personality of the prophet contained two dimensions which were later to become crystallized into Suunism and Shiism.each of this two schools was later to reflect bck upon the life and personality of the prophet solely from its own point of view,thus leaving aside and forgetting or miscinstruing the other ddimension excluded from its own perspective.for shiism the dry (in the alchemical sense) and austere aspect of the pesonality as reflected in his successors in the Sunni world was equated with worliness.while his warm and compassionate dimevsion was emphasized as his whole personality and as the essence of the nature of the imams,who were considered to be a continuation.

Answer 6

After Mohammed died, there was dispute as to who should be the leader of Islam. Among the Arabs, leadership of matters generally passed from father to son, but Mohammed had no sons. He did, however, have a son-in-law, Ali. Obviously, said Ali and his supporters (who in Arabic were called Shiia, partisans), "I'm next in line." "Not so" retorted the friends of Abu Bakr, who had financed Islam through its early days and whose daughter was Mohammed's favorite wife, "the office should go to the most deserving, regardless of - rather tenuous - kinship." These became the traditionalists, or Sunnis.

The Sunnis were in a majority, so Abu Bakr became the caliph, then when he died, Omar (or Umar) took over, then Othman (or Uthman) and then, finally, Ali. This might have settled the rift, but Ali was shortly murdered (so had been Omar and Othman) and his immediate descendents were slaughtered, so the blood feud was on.

Today, various custom differences have been added to the basic question of Mohammed's bloodline so the two types of Muslim observe different holy days, revere different figures and are "hard" or "soft" on different issues. For example, the Shiia, who are mostly based in Iran, have never been as freaky about the "no pictures" prohibitions of the Sunni. Also, there are some racial differences: Iranians are always eager for everybody to understand that they are NOT Arabs.

As the minority (about 10%) Shiia are usually willing to concede that Sunni are Muslims, but many Sunni refuse to recognize the Shiia as fellow believers.