Islam

Answer 1

all in all the differences between shiite and sunni come back to two main point . one is concerned with Authority and other with interpretation of Quran and Teaching of Islam religion.as far as these basic divergences are remaied then the divison also as before exist.albeit both shiite and Sunni paved the way for more corpration in the figure of international organizations .

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 2

The Divisions between Sunnis and Shiites have persisted for the same reason that the divisions between Catholics and Orthodox Christians have persisted. Once a religious sectarian division comes into existence it is impossible to theologically heal it unless at least one side concedes that its position on the theological issues that the two sects disagree on is wrong. There are several reasons for the animosity that has developed between the sects.

1) Historical Grievances: The primary reason this division persists is that there has never been an atonement by either side for the pain and persecution that it has suffered when the other was in power over a given territory. Although, Shiites endured more persecution at the hands of Sunnis than the reverse, this is not to say that Sunnis have not endured persecution at Shiite hands. Both groups remain defiant that since they have the moral high-ground as granted from their faith, their actions in repressing the other sect, torturing its adherents, and murdering its leaders was progress towards removing the heresy. Compare this to the Catholics, who have apologized for the Rape of Byzantium, which was huge historical grievance between them and the Orthodox.

2) Ethnic Identities: In many countries, especially Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, people identify "ethnically" by their sect of religion. Therefore saying somebody is Shiite in Iraq is similar to how people view being Irish-American or Japanese-American in the United States. It marks you socially and it determines who your friends are, who you marry, what jobs you take, who you love, who you despise, etc. As a result, whenever conflict has broken out, each religious group comes together to defend its people's interests. This results in political and social hatred of the other religion in addition to any theological issues.

3) Rumors of the Other's Theology: Some Sunnis think that Shiites are deluded into believing that 'Ali was a second prophet, which would violate Mohammed being the final capstone of the Prophets, a huge theological issue. Some Shiites believe that Sunnis were paid off to accept the three Rightly-Guided Caliphs before 'Ali and that Sunni Islam was therefore corrupt and ineligible to continue the Islamic tradition. Both have alleged the other was deceived by Jews, which says more about how Muslims view Jews than each other. Of course, both of these are mis-characterizations of the actual theologies of these two sects, but the point remains that as long as these problematic rumors exist, the two sides cannot reconcile.

4) Approaches to Government: Ever since the abolition of the Caliphate in 1936, Sunni Islam has been leaderless and there has come to be an understanding that religion does not participate in actual governance. (This is not a separation of church and state since the two can cooperate closely, but this prevents direct theocracy.) Shiites, on the other hand, have religious leaders called Ayatollahs who do attempt to have terrestrial authority and in Iran have actually achieved it.

The pagan, pre-Islamic Arabs had a confused notion of a class of shadowy beings, everywhere present yet nowhere distinctly perceived, the jinn or djinn. They were the personification of what is uncanny in nature, or perhaps the hostile and unsubdued aspects of it, and were mainly objects of fear.

With its obviously pagan origins, one would expect that the belief in jinn would be abandoned with the advent of Islam, but it was absorbed and jinn began to be seen, on occasions, as benevolent as well just evil. According to the Quran, angels are made of light and have no choice but to follow their prescribed patterning. Jinn, who are made of fire and air, reflect the elemental volatility in virtuous or evil behaviour.

Whether jinn are real is a matter of faith. To the pagans, jinn were real, as they are to Muslims. However, to Christians and Jews they are not real.

Answer 1Damascus was at border of western countries and many worldly enjoys and sins like wine and sex,... were easy and ready for Kings. but in an Islamic society it was difficult. there was the place of living Christian people and wine was not restricted. Yazid the Umayyad King has a poem: if the wine is prohibited so drink it in Christianity religion. he has pool of wine.

Answer 2

The Umayyads had previously been the governors of Damascus and could expect a strong power base if they remained there. Medina was isolated and would have reacted with contempt that the man who overthrew a Rightly-Guided Caliph ('Ali) would have the gall to rule from Mohammed's city. It was primarily a political decision.
muawiya, the governor of Syria wanted to move the capital to Damascus where he was from. This gave him more power

Its been revealed in Quran that God has sent his message to every nation and tribe throughout history through a chosen person who we call PROPHETS [Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus etc and the last Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon them all)]. It is believed that God has sent around one lakh and 24 thousand prophets. And it was sent in the language spoken at that time in that nation/tribe. Those revelations were only for that period of time.

The Quran was revealed in the land of Arabia and hence is in arabic. God has revealed Muhammed (PBUH) to be his last and final messenger and has commanded humanity to consider Quran as the reference until the Day of Judgement.

Below is the first chapter from the Holy Quran -

1. In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. 2. All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists). 3. The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. 4. The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) 5. You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything). 6. Guide us to the Straight Way 7. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger , nor of those who went astray .

the importance of prayer is HUGE. on the day of judgement humans will be asked about salah(prayer). if it is good everything else will be good, if it is bad everything else will be bad. also if a person does correct wudu(cleaning of oneself before praying) and then performs correct salah all his sins will be forgiven and this is with each salah, allah has made it eayse for his servents. In the Quran it says many times about being steadfast in prayer. the importance of Salah in islam is HUGE and very very important, some muslims underestimate the power of salah.

a good muslim should at the very least:

Pray five times a day at the correct times

Fast Ramadan(all 30 days) unless excused(like sickness, being elderly ect.)

Pay Zakat(chairity you MUST pay)

make Hajj once in a lifetime(if your healthy and have enough money to make the trip)

and of course all of this must be done for the sake of Allah and only Allah. all worship in islam must be pure and for the intention of pleasing Allah. there is no good deed to small so we must try and do as much good as we can for the sake of Allah even if it means smiling at a sad person or giving your brother a kind word. nothing is too small if it is for the sake of Allah the one true and only god.

My Allah be pleased with us muslims and may Allah guide the Christains, jews and others to the right path as he is able to do all things. Salaam wa'alikum

Answer B

according to shia Islam although prayer is important but it is not in five pilllars of Islam.

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

3-4. 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 schools 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.