The issue of succession following the death of Muhammad divided Muslims into two branches. One group held that the prophet designated Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, as successor, citing the events of Ghadir Khumm and regarding the leadership as belonging to the Prophet's family. Another group held that Muhammad did not appoint a successor, leaving the choice of leadership to the community. This group asserts that Abu Bakr, Muhammad's closest friend and father-in-law, succeeded him through a legitimate process of election at the Saqifa. The two Muslim groups came to be known as Shia and Sunni, respectively. The killing of Muhammad's grandson Husayn by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid at Karbala, where many other members of the prophet's family were massacred, finalized the schism. Over the centuries, Shia and Sunni Muslims developed distinct theological traditions, schools of jurisprudence, collections of hadith, and religious practices. Nevertheless, they share the fundamental foundations of Islam, including belief in the oneness of God (Tawhid), the Quran, and Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets (Khatam an-Nabiyin). Both branches also share the Five Pillars of Islam, which are profession of faith (Shahada), daily prayer (Salah), almsgiving (Zakat), fasting in the month of Ramadan (Sawm), and pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj).
Relations between Shia and Sunni Muslims have varied considerably across different periods and regions. While there have been periods of political rivalry, sectarian conflict, and persecution, there have also been long periods of coexistence, cooperation, intellectual exchange, and peaceful interaction. In the modern era, political conflicts and struggles for regional influence have sometimes taken on sectarian dimensions, particularly in parts of the Middle East and South Asia. Events such as the Iranian Revolution, the Iraq War, the Syrian Civil War, and Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict have contributed to heightened sectarian tensions. While the exact numbers are subject to debate, the Shia comprise around 15% of the Islamic world, and Sunnis around 85%. Shia Muslims form an overwhelming majority in Iran and Azerbaijan, while constituting a majority in Iraq and making up nearly half of the populations of Lebanon and Bahrain. Substantial Shia population are also present in Turkey, Yemen, Syria, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Nigeria, Chad, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and other countries around the globe. Estimates place the global Shia Muslim population at 285–300 million, while the Sunni Muslim population at 1.7–1.8 billion. Sunni and Shia scholars regularly participate in gatherings and conferences, including at the annual International Islamic Unity Conference, the Al-Azhar University, and the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought. Every three years, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation brings all Muslim leaders together.
Demographics
Sunni Muslims are the vast majority of Muslims in most Muslim communities in Central Asia (including China). Within Shia Islam about 85% are Twelver,Esposito, John. What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, Oxford University Press, 2002. . p. 40 and within Twelver Shia, the overwhelming majority follow the Usuli school of jurisprudence. In Iran, an officially Shia country since 1501, around 90–95% of Muslims are Shia. 65–85% of Muslims in Azerbaijan are Shia. Shia, mostly of the Zaydi sect, form a large minority (45%) of the population in Yemen. About 10–20% of Turkey's population belong to the Alevi sect of Shi'i Islam. The Shia constitute around 25–30% of Kuwaiti citizens, 55% of the Muslim population in Bahrain,Al Jazeera: [], 1973, retrieved 14 February 2021 and 45–55% of Muslims in Lebanon, 10–15% of Saudi Arabia, 10–15% of Syria, and 10–20% of Pakistan. Around 10–20% of Afghanistan, less than 5% of the Muslims in Nigeria, and around 4–5% of population of Tajikistan are Shia. And less than 1% of Indonesia, Bangladesh and Egypt India has as many Shia ("potentially") as there are in Iraq. Scholar Vali Nasr has said that numbers and percentages of Sunni and Shia populations are not exact because "in much of the Middle East it is not convenient" to have exact numbers, "for ruling regimes in particular".
Differences in beliefs and practices
Successors of Muhammad
Mahdi The Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam. While Shia and Sunnis differ on the nature of the Mahdi, many members of both groupsGlasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira Press, 2001, p. 280 believe that the Mahdi will appear at the end of the world to bring about a perfect and just Islamic society.
In Shia Islam, "the Mahdi symbol has developed into a powerful and central religious idea."Martin, Richard C., ed. (2004), "Mahdi", Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world, Thomson Gale, p. 421 Twelvers believe the Mahdi will be Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Imam returned from the occultation, where he has been hidden by Allah since 874. Mainstream Sunnis' beliefs are somewhat different: The Mahdi forms an important component of Sunni eschatology, his appearance being considered the last of the minor signs of the Day of Judgment before its major signs. They believe the Mahdi will be a descendant of Muhammad named Muhammad and will revive the faithful.
Hadith The Shia accept some of the same hadiths of Muhammad used by Sunnis as part of the sunnah and the basis of divine law and religious practice. In addition, they consider the sayings of Ahl al-Bayt that are not attributed directly to Muhammad as hadiths. Shia do not accept many Sunni hadiths unless they are also recorded in Shia sources or the methodology of how they were recorded can be proven.
Some Sunni-accepted hadiths—for example by Aisha or Abu Hurairah—are less favored by Shia (Aisha opposed Ali and Abu Hurairah is considered an enemy of Ali and, according to Shia, was only a Muslim for four years of his life before Muhammad's death. Although he accompanied Muhammad for only four years, he managed to record ten times as many hadiths as Abu Bakr and Ali each).
Sufism Shiism and Sufism are said to share a number of hallmarks: Belief in an inner meaning to the Quran, special status for some mortals (saints for Sufi, Imams for Shia), as well as veneration of Ali and Muhammad's family.Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, 2006, pp. 59–60
Pillars of faith The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic: أركان الإسلام) is the term given to the five duties incumbent on every Muslim and are held by both Sunni and Shia. These duties are Shahada (profession of faith), Salat (prayers), Zakāt (giving of alms), Sawm (fasting, specifically during Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). In addition, Shia theology has two concepts that define religion as a whole. These are Roots of Religion (Usūl al-Dīn) and Branches of Religion (Furu al Din).
Practices
Many distinctions can be made between Sunnis and Shiaīs through observation alone:
Salat When prostrating during Salah, Shia place their forehead onto a piece of naturally occurring material—most often a clay tablet (mohr) or soil (turbah)—instead of directly onto a prayer rug.
There are five salat prayers at different times of the day, but unlike Sunni, some Shia combine two sets of the prayers, (1+2+2, i.e. fajr on its own, Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha') praying five times per day but with a very small break in between the prayer, instead of five prayers with some gap between them as required by Sunni schools of law.
Shia and the followers of the Sunni Maliki school hold their hands at their sides during prayer while Sunnis of other schools cross their arms (right over left) and clasp their hands;Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, 2006, p. 43 it is commonly held by Sunni scholars (especially of the Maliki school) that either is acceptable.
Mut'ah and Misyar
The Twelver branch of Shia Islam permits Nikah mut'ahAllah Calls Mut'ah "A Good Thing" Retrieved 10 December 2017Mutah (Temporary Marriage) Retrieved 10 December 2017—fixed-term temporary marriage. The practice is not allowed within the Sunni community, nor within the Ismaili Shia or the Zaidi Shia, who consider it planned and agreed fornication rather than marriage. These schools believe that mutah was permitted until Umar forbade it during his rule. (Mutah is not the same as misyar marriage or 'arfi marriage, which has no date of expiration and is permitted by some Sunnis. A misyar marriage differs from a conventional Islamic marriage in that the man does not have financial responsibility of the woman by her own free will. The man can divorce the woman whenever he wants to in a misyar marriage.)
Hijab and dress
Both Sunni and Shia women wear the hijab. Devout women of the Shia traditionally wear black as do some Sunni women in the Persian Gulf. Some Shia religious leaders also wear a black robe. Mainstream Shia and Sunni women wear the hijab differently. Some Sunni scholars emphasize covering of all body including the face in public whereas some scholars exclude the face from hijab. Shia believe that the hijab must cover around the perimeter of the face and up to the chin. Like Sunnis, some Shia women, such as those in Iran and Iraq, use their hand to hold the black chador to cover their faces when in public.
Given names Muslims are often named after famous early Muslims, so that given names of Shia are often derived from the names of Ahl al-Bayt. In particular, the names Fatema, Zaynab, Ali, Abbas, Hassan and Hussain are disproportionately common among Shia; while Umar, Uthman, Abu Bakr, Aisha are very common among Sunnis but very rare among Shia.
Pilgrimages The pilgrimage to Mecca, known as hajj, is one of the pillars of Islam for both Sunnis and Shi'ites, but Shia have many other holy sites they make pilgrimages (ziyarat) to. Among them are Al-Baqi Cemetery near Medina, Najaf and Karbala, in Iraq, and Mashhad and Qom, in Iran.Karbala and Najaf: Shia holy cities April 2003
History
Early and pre-modern history
The origin of Shia Islam arose in response to the succession to Muhammad. The concept of Shia Islam further crystallized around events at the Battle of Karbala where Husayn, the son of Ali and grandson of Muhammad, was brutally killed and beheaded alongside most of his family members and companions. Thus a political split became a far more deeper and a cause for further divergence. It gave the Alids their own religious identity and played a significant role in the development and consolidation of what became Shia Islam. Even so, by the 13th to 14th centuries, Shia and Sunni practices remained highly intertwined, and figures today commonly associated with Shia Islam, such as Ali and Jafar al-Sadiq, played an highly influential role in Islam as a whole.
Abbasid era The Umayyads were overthrown in 750 by a new dynasty, the Abbasids. The first Abbasid caliph, As-Saffah, recruited Shia support in his campaign against the Umayyads by emphasising his blood relationship to Muhammad's household through descent from his uncle, 'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib.The March of Islam: Time Frame, AD 600–800, p. 48. Pub. Robert H. Smith. Alexandria: Time Life, 1988. Shia Muslims also believe that he promised them that the caliphate, or at least religious authority, would be vested in the Shia imam. As-Saffah assumed both the temporal and religious mantle of caliph. He continued the Umayyad dynastic practice of succession, and his brother al-Mansur succeeded him in 754. Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia imam, died during al-Mansur's reign, and there were claims that he was murdered on the orders of the caliph.Ya'qubi; vol. III, pp. 91–96, and Tarikh Abul Fida, vol. I, p. 212. (However, Abbasid persecution of Islamic scholars was not restricted to Shia Muslims. Abū Ḥanīfa, for example, was imprisoned by al-Mansur and tortured.)