Ali was assassinated in after a five-year caliphate that was marred by civil war. His sons, Hassan and Hussein, were denied what they thought was their legitimate right of accession to the caliphate. Hassan is believed to have been poisoned in by Muawiyah, the first caliph of the Sunni Umayyad dynasty, while Hussein was killed on the battlefield by the Umayyads in These events gave rise to the Shia concept of martyrdom and the rituals of grieving.
The Ithna Asharis are the largest group and believe that Muhammad's religious leadership, spiritual authority and divine guidance were passed on to 12 of his descendants, beginning with Ali, Hassan and Hussein.
The 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, is said to have disappeared from a cave below a mosque in Ithna Asharis believe the so-called "awaited imam" did not die and will return at the end of time to restore justice on earth. In countries which have been governed by Sunnis, Shia tend to make up the poorest sections of society.
They often see themselves as victims of discrimination and oppression. Sunni extremists frequently denounce Shia as heretics who should be killed.
The sources of Muslim law in Shiism are somewhat similar to those in Sunni Islam, namely the Koran, Muhammad's practices, consensus, and analogy.
However, the determination of consensus is related to the views of the Imams, and more freedom is given to analogy than in Sunni Islam Nasr , Sunni Muslims strongly believe that the redemption of human beings is dependent on faith in Allah, His prophets, acceptance of Muhammad as the final prophet, and belief in righteous deeds as explained in the Koran.
The mercy of Allah will determine the redemption of all human beings. Even the prophet Muhammad is at the mercy of Allah. There are many other verses in the Koran which enumerate that the basis of paradise is the mercy of Allah and the righteous deeds of human beings according to the Koran and Hadith.
Shiite Muslims are guaranteed paradise if they obey and follow Muhammad and the Twelve Imams. They are considered righteous Muslims, and the Twelve Imams are particularly respected because of their relationship to Ali and his wife Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad.
Sunnis believe that Ali and his two sons, Hassan and Hussain, were highly respected by the first three Caliphs and the companions of Muhammad.
Any righteous and knowledgeable Sunni Muslim can serve as an Imam with the prime function of leading the prayers and interpreting the Koran and Hadith provided he is well versed in these subjects. Sunnis also consider it heretical to impute to human beings attributes of Divine nature such as infallibility and the knowledge of all temporal and cosmic matters.
The highest ranking present-day Imams Ayatollahs are believed to receive their guidance and spiritual enlightenment directly from the "Twelve Imams," who stay in continuous contact with their followers on earth every day through contemporary spiritual leaders. The Ayatollahs thus play a vital mediatory role.
Because of their spiritual role, Ayatollahs cannot be appointed by governments, but only by consensus of other Ayatollahs. Differences in Religious Organization The differences between Sunni and Shiite Islam are more than theological and historical.
They are embedded in the social and political structure of the Middle East. Sunnis and Shiites form distinct communities.
Conversions from Shiism to Sunnism and vice versa are rare, and Sunnis and Shiites are expected to marry members of their own community. The vital moments of life-marriage, birth, and death-are commemorated within the framework of the rituals of the community.
Members of each community learn about Islam within the traditions of their own faith, and under the guidance of their faith's religious teachers. Despite these traditions, the political loyalties of Sunnis and Shiites are affected by their country of citizenship and nationality. In , Iran, a Shiite country whose language and culture are Farsi Persian , was invaded by Iraq, an Arab country with a Sunni leadership but a Shiite majority in the population. Despite Iranian appeals, most Iraqi Shiites remained loyal to Iraq, performing military service when required during the Iran-Iraq war.
Both Sunni and Shiite Islam are organized in ways that reflect their beliefs. In view of the emphasis of mainstream Shiism on the role of the Imamate, it is not surprising that the Shiites have a more elaborate religious hierarchy than Sunni Muslims. With the exception of post-revolutionary Iran, the Shiite clergy has been more independent of the government than religious officials have been in Sunni Muslim countries.
Shiite religious officials have had less need to rely on secular governments for money to finance their activities, since they control substantial religious endowments. In the Shiite communities, the most important appointments to senior religious positions are made by Shiite religious officials, not by the state. In Sunni countries, in contrast, it is typical for governments to exercise control over the appointment of senior religious officials.
These governments have also assumed the right to allocate large religious endowments through government ministries created for that purpose. This makes high-ranking Sunni clergy more dependent on the government than their Shiite counterparts.
Sunnis are also more open than Shiites to the idea that the leading of prayers and preaching can be done by lay persons without formal clerical training. In view of the power of the Shiite clergy, it is not surprising that they play an important political role. Led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the clergy organized the revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran in and turned the country into an Islamic Republic.
Shiite clergy have also been prominent in opposition movements in Iraq and Lebanon. Islamic Political Movements Both Shiite and Sunni Muslim political movements have as a primary objective the establishment of Islamic law as the sole basis of government. They reject secularism as an imported western idea, and are opposed to several kinds of social change that use the west as a model, such as changes in the status of women. Political movements with a religious message have a popular appeal in many Muslim countries.
This is partly because of the religious outlook of the people. Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran that date back decades have heated up this week after the Saudis executed a prominent Shiite opposition cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
Much of the regional rivalry is about who wields the most political muscle in the Middle East, but it has its roots in a rift between the Sunni and Shia disciplines of Islam that opened 1, years ago. Saudi Arabia is the most powerful purveyor of Sunni Islam, far and away the larger sect. Iran is the heart of Shia Islam. The divide is traced to A. Both sides agreed that Allah is the one true God and that Muhammad was his messenger, but one group which eventually became the Shiites felt Muhammad's successor should be someone in his bloodline, while the other which became the Sunnis felt a pious individual who would follow the Prophet's customs was acceptable.
List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Islam Expert. Huda is an educator, school administrator, and author who has more than two decades of experience researching and writing about Islam online. Updated April 23, The Five Pillars of Islam The Five Pillars of Islam refer to religious duties to God, to personal spiritual growth, to caring for the less fortunate, self-discipline, and sacrifice.
Cite this Article Format. Shahaadah: Declaration of Faith: Pillar of Islam. The Importance of the "Hadith" for Muslims.
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