Islam is a relatively young religion; in any case, it arose later than Christianity and, especially, Buddhism. However, it was Islam that was subjected to serious tests over the centuries in the process of spread and development.
First of all, we are talking about a fundamental split in the teaching itself, as a result of which many separate directions arose. Today, thanks to the Internet and the media, everyone knows that there are Sunnis and Shiites. But who are the Sunnis, what is their difference from the Shiites, and why is this branch of Islam considered dominant - due to its prevalence or something else?
Split
Sunnis are Muslims who practice Islam. Who are Shiites? They are adherents of the same religion, but, according to Sunnis, their belief is not true. The split between Muslims occurred a very long time ago - approximately 13 centuries ago. The reason for the emergence of the two camps was not a fundamental divergence of views on religion, but a banal distribution of political influence and the struggle for power. When the reign of the last of the four caliphs, Ali, came to an end, the question arose: who would take his place of honor? And then it started...
Some believed that only a direct descendant of the Prophet should become the head of the caliphate. He will not only be a worthy leader, but also a leader who has high moral and spiritual qualities, honors the traditions of Islam and is a follower of his respected ancestors. They were called Shiites - from Arabic this translates as “the power of Ali.” Others denied the ruler’s blood relationship with the Prophet and believed that any worthy Muslim from the community could lead the caliphate. Their position was based on theses from the book - the sunnah. That is why they were called Sunnis.
A Brief History of the Origin of Sunnism
Sunnis call themselves “ahl al-sunnah wal-jamaa,” which translated means “inheriting the path of the prophet and the mission of his followers.” Such a complex name can be explained, but there is no way to briefly talk about this current. The dominant word in this definition is “sunna”, which is what gave the name to the religious movement. Translated from Arabic, “sunnah” is a road, a way.
The path of the Sunnis was truly missionary and not easy. Islam arose in the 7th century and began to spread quite quickly in Arab countries. Under the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Islamic community looked whole, but a split occurred in it in 656, after the Righteous Caliph Abu Amr Uthman ibn Affan al-Umawi al-Qurashi, the third Righteous Caliph, was killed.
After the Caliphate began to expand, the division became even more pronounced as certain groups tried to return Islam to its roots. As a result, sects and radical movements began to emerge everywhere. People who adhere to a certain liberal view of Islam tried to resist all this.
Supporters of moderation were the Islamic theologian Abu Hanifa an-Numan ibn Sabit al-Kufi, theologian Abu Imran Ibrahim ibn Yazid an-Nahai and other equally respected followers of Islamic traditions. Thus began the history of the Sunnis, which divided the entire Islamic world into two main camps and many side movements.
One of the first convinced followers of Sunniism was the theologian Hassan al-Basri, born and raised in Saudi Arabia, who was able to build all Sunni views into a coherent system of religious positions. He proposed banning support for those authorities who act contrary to the teachings of the Koran.
He made his proposal based on the hadith of the Prophet, where he called not to obey people who incline to sin that is contrary to Allah himself. The fact is that Sunnis initially considered the Sunnah and the Koran to be the fundamental principles of the Muslim faith. Al-Basri called for humility, opposed radicalism and believed that resistance should be passive.
The same theologian outlined for his followers a path that is based on boundless faith without resistance and independence. This is exactly what Islam was originally, in his view. The call turned out to be very attractive, after which Sunnism began to spread everywhere.
Some time later, another theologian AbuBakr Muhammad ibn Sirin al-Basri introduced the term “ahl al-sunnah”. This concept became common to the overwhelming majority of Muslim society, which rejected any manifestations of sectarianism. In Islam, Sunnis abandoned various religious innovations, maintaining the unity of the community. Even today they are of the opinion that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) predicted the emergence of various sects and warned against schisms. According to legend, the Prophet said that among the many Muslims there will be only one true group of those saved in Allah, who will follow the path of the Koran.
The Sunnis were ideologically opposed not only by the Shiites, but also by representatives of other theological schools. Polemics have been carried out throughout all centuries of the existence of Islam. However, on the basis of these disputes, Sunni beliefs only clearly formed and strengthened. Several schools of thought have emerged, each supporting the ideas of Sunni Islam.
Spreading
Sunnism and Shiism are the most numerous branches of Islam. There are more than a billion of the former in the world, about a hundred million of the latter, and this is only a tenth of the representatives of world Islamism. Among the Sunnis you can find believers from almost all Muslim countries: Arabs, Cathars, Turks, Tatars. Shiites mainly live in Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq. Of course, this is just a conditional distribution, since representatives of two faiths can coexist in one country, despite numerous conflicts.
Be that as it may, there have never been serious confrontations between them. And this is their positive difference from Christians, who, having split, managed to start a war in the 17th century that lasted for 30 years. And this trend is easy to explain. Including representatives from different countries in the community, including not only residents of the Middle East, but also Crimean Tatars, Sunnis are a large branch of Islam. The Shiites, aware of the enemy's numerical advantage, try to avoid conflicts.
Salafis
They are the ones most often associated with Islamic fundamentalists.
What does the name mean?
As-salaf - “ancestors”, “predecessors”. As-salaf as-salihun is a call to follow the lifestyle of the righteous ancestors.
When did it arise
Developed in the 9th-14th centuries.
How many followers
According to American Islamic experts, the number of Salafis around the world could reach 50 million.
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Main areas of residence
They are distributed in small groups throughout the Islamic world. They are found in India, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan and even Western Europe.
Ideas
Belief in an unconditionally one God, non-acceptance of innovations and alien cultural admixtures in Islam. Salafis are the main critics of Sufis. It is considered a Sunni movement.
Famous representatives
Pilgrimage
Hajj is the difference between Sunnis and Shiites. They make a sacred move to completely different places. Shiites come to pray in Iraq - in Najaf and Karbala, where, according to their legend, Ali and his son Hussein found eternal peace. In the first city there is a luxurious mausoleum of the caliph. The building is decorated with quotes from the Koran, and there is a huge library with a collection of religious texts and scriptures. Tens of thousands of pilgrims come to Najaf every year. All the spiritual leaders of the Shiites live here, and their university and religious schools are also located here. As for Karbala, it is located 80 km from An-Najaf: Imam Hussein, the son of Ali and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is buried in this city.
Sunnis consider Mecca and Medina places of pilgrimage. The great prophet Muhammad was born in the first city, and he was buried in the second. All conditions have been created for pilgrims: mosques are regularly equipped and can be reconstructed. For example, in the Grand Mosque you can see escalators and modern air conditioning units, and in the Mosque of Muhammad there is an automatic system of umbrellas that create shade for people praying.
Relationship to the Sunnah
Representatives of the two movements profess the Koran, which is their holy book. They fast during Ramadan and follow other basic tenets of the religion. Therefore, we can conclude: Sunnis and Shiites have a lot in common. The only difference is in their attitude to some details, including the texts of the sunnah. Sunnis pay special attention to this book, sacredly honoring the teachings described in it. They recognize not only the texts of Muhammad's family members, but also those written by his companions. At the same time, Shiites agree only with the writings of the blood relatives of the Prophet. They completely ignore other postulates.
There are other preferences in which Sunnis and Shiites differ significantly: the difference, for example, in their religious titles. Shiites consider their ayatollahs to be messengers of Allah on earth. Because of this, Sunnis call them apostates and accuse them of heresy. Shiites, on the contrary, condemn the excessive dogmatism of the Sunnah, saying that this leads to the emergence of extremist movements - Wahhabism and other terrorist groups.
Cult of the Imam
How do Sunnis differ from Shiites? It is with their convictions that relate to the salvation of the world. The Shiites have gone very far in this matter. According to them, the imam is not only a spiritual leader, but also a direct descendant of Muhammad. They believe in the legend according to which the twelfth caliph went missing at a young age. His body was never found, and no one saw the boy alive again. Shiites believe that he is still among the people and is simply waiting for the right hour to appear before the believers. When his time comes, he will become the leader - the Muslim Messiah - who will save the world and humanity by establishing the Kingdom of God on this sinful earth. At the same time, he will lead not only representatives of Islam, but also Christians, Buddhists, etc.
Sunnis are convinced that any person can become a Savior, not just a direct descendant of the Prophet. The main thing is that the future leader has the necessary qualities - a strong spirit, an iron will, the ability to organize a crowd, and convince them to act. He is obliged to sacredly honor the dogmas of religion and teach the masses the basic tenets of holy Islam.
Shiites
The main points on how Shiites differ from Sunnis:
- The belief is that the Muslim community should be led by imams from among the descendants of the prophet, and not elected caliphs.
- They recognize only one Righteous Caliph - Ali ibn Abu Talib. He lived from 599 to 661, and was a Shiite imam from 632 to 661.
- There are 12 imams recognized from the clan of Ali.
- There is also a difference in studying the Sunnah. Shiites study only the part of the Sunnah that deals with the Prophet Muhammad.
- Five pillars of faith.
- Shiites believe in the coming of the Messiah - the “hidden imam”.
There are several schools of Shiism: Ismailis, Twelvers, Waqifites, Shukkarites, Zaydis, Alawites. They perform the Hajj to Mecca in the same way as the Sunnis.
There are about 150 million Shiites on the planet. The largest community lives in Iran. This direction is also popular in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan (among the Hazara people), Pakistan (1/5 of the inhabitants), India, Jordan, Yemen and in Saudi Arabia itself, where Islam originated. In Russia, one of the centers of Shiism is the village of Miskindzha in Dagestan.
More details: https://obrazovaka.ru/istoriya/sunnity-i-shiity-v-chem-raznica-kratko.html
Rituals
They are carried out by Sunnis and Shiites. The difference manifests itself in many aspects - in total there are seventeen main differences. One of the main ones is the ritual while reading the prayer. Shiites, turning to Allah and saying words of repentance, place a small piece of clay slab on a special mat. He is a symbol of their admiration for everything that God, and not man, created. Clay is a part of the earth that is a product of Allah's activity. It is the planet and all living things that are most important for Shiites. It’s interesting, but sometimes the faith of representatives of this trend can be fanatical. For example, during the mourning ceremony on the day of the death of Ali's son, Hussein, they inflict cuts and other wounds on themselves, thus honoring his blessed memory.
Another main difference is contained in the text of the adhan, which calls believers to obligatory prayer. The Sunnis proclaim it in its original form, while the Shiites add the words: the essence of these phrases is the recognition of the caliphs as the successors of Allah, with which their opponents categorically disagree. Despite the existing characteristics, both of them are Muslims. Sunnis and Shiites should unite and not look for differences between themselves, many representatives of the Islamic religion believe.
Sunnis and Shiites in Russia
You might be interested in reading: Are Tatars Shiites or Sunnis?
In the Russian Muslim community, the majority are Sunnis, who are adherents of the Shafi'i and Hanafi madhhabs, of which 65% are Hanafis, and 30% of Russian Muslims are Shafi'is.
The Hanafis are Muslim Ossetians, partly Ingush, Shapsugs and Abazas, Adygeis and Circassians, Karachais and Balkars, Kabardians and Nogais, Kazakhs and Bashkirs, as well as Tatars, approximately a third of all Azerbaijanis and Central Asian peoples.
The Shafiites are mostly Chechens, Ingush and all Dagestan peoples, except for the Nogais and Tats. The majority of Azerbaijanis in Russia are Shiite Jafaris, representing three percent of all Russian Muslims.
conclusions
And finally, let's summarize the main aspects in which Sunnis and Shiites differ significantly - the difference is presented in the following points:
- Sunnis are the larger community. There are several times fewer Shiites.
- Sunnis grant spiritual power to any worthy representative of the human race. Shiites are exclusively blood descendants of Muhammad.
- Sunnis do not believe in the coming of the Messiah. Shiites are religiously waiting for the Savior.
- Sunnis revere the tradition of the Prophet - the sunnah. Shiites are Abhar, which is the message of Muhammad.
These fundamentally different views significantly influence the government laws of Muslim countries, especially those provisions that regulate the life of the family and society. Relations between communities are often tense. The confrontation began back in 680, when the Sunnis killed Hussein, the son of Ali. Since then, conflicts have flared up regularly. But, fortunately, they do not lead to a bloody war. Both are Muslims, brothers by blood and religion. Therefore, we simply must live in peace and harmony.
