Sunni Shiite Islam

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 Asalam Aalaikum

 Dear Brothers

It is difficult to trace the exact date when Shias and Sunnis seperated from each other but it is an established fact that the history of Shias and Sunnis is full of civil conflicts.

Their are several differences between Shias and Sunnis ,some of those differences are as follows:

1) Shias unlike Sunnis donot accept the Caliphate of the 1st three rightly guided Caliphes (Leaders or Successors),those rightly guided Caliphes are :

a)Abu Bakr(Ra) who became the 1st Caliph of Islam after the demise of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh).

b)Umar(Ra) who became the next Caliph of Islam after the death of Abu Bakr(Ra).

c)Usman(Ra) who became the next Caliph of Islam after the death of Umar(Ra).

The 4th Caliph of Islam was Ali(Ra) on whose Caliphate both Shias and Sunnis agreed.

Shias claim that after the demise of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh), Ali(Ra) should have become the 1st Caliph of Islam not Abu Bakr(Ra) since according to their concept, Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) before his demise appointed Ali(Ra) as his successor and they support their claim from Sunni Sources of Traditions when required. But Sunnis unlike Shias donot believe in such concepts, they believe that Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) before his demise didnot declare and appoint any one as his successor and the matter of successorship(Leadership) should be settled by mutual consultation(Shurah).

Shias believe that Ali(Ra) was appointed as a spiritual Imam(Leader) of the Muslims by Prophet(pbuh) on the wish of Allah(swt) and donot believe in the Concept of mutual consultation (Shura) only on this matter.

According to their understanding and viewpoint a chain of Imamate started right after the demise of Prophet(pbuh) which will continue till the day of judgment.

Their Imams are 12 in number ,starting from Imam Ali(Ra) and continuing till Imam Mehdi who is the last (12th)Imam of Shias and all these 12 Imams came from the family of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh).Please note that not all Shias believe in these 12 Imams, only Imami(Jaffri)Shias believe in these 12 Imams, other Shias have differences of opinion on the number of Imams.

According to their doctrine Imam Mehdi went into occultation(Ghayba) 1000s of years ago and will return before the day of judgment to wipe out evil and injustice from this world.

Sunnis on contrary donot believe in this doctrine ,they believe that after the death of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh),the matter of leadership went into the hands of the Muslim Ummah which should be decided by the Muslims through mutual consultation(Shura), in other words we can say that this matter of leadership is political one for Sunnis.

Shias practice Matam(Self beating and mourning). Shias have been practicing Matam for Centuries on the death of Imam Hussain(Ra) the 3rd Imam of Shias and the members of his family.

They perform Matam to show their love for Imam Hussain(Ra) and his family.

Sunnis on contrary donot practice Matam and hold it haram because such acts of self beating and mourning are not supported by any authentic sources of Islam and these acts were performed during the days of ignorance.

Shias practice Mutah(Temperory Marriage Contract). This kind of contract marriage is only practiced in Shia sect, no other sect in Islam allows such practice.

Mutah(Temperory Marriage Contract) means that a man marries a women for a specific period ,eg for 2 ,3 or 4 years upon which both partners agree.

Sunnis donot practice Mutah (Temperory Marriage Contract) and consider it against Shariah, they only believe in Permanent Marriage Contract that takes place between man and women which is generally practiced everywhere.

I hope some of these points that I have mentioned clearly show the picture of the difference between Shias and Sunnis.

If you are interested about the details of this history.

then study the link :

www.fordham.edu

Regards,