What is the difference between Sunnis and Shiites?

In this material, we will consider the characterization of Shiites and Sunnis.

Content

It is believed that in the world there are three ancient religions - Islam, Judaism and Christianity. For centuries, all of them have changed, developed, and sometimes split into several currents. Such fate also did not go around Islam, which once broke into two unequal directions - Sunnism and Shiism.

Why unequal - you ask. The most obvious difference between these two currents today lies in the number of their followers: Sunnism is now on the crest of popularity (almost 90 percent of Muslims profess it, which is more than one and a half billion), but there are only ten percent of Shiites.

How do Sunnis and Shiites communicate with each other?

In everyday life, Shiites with Sunnis are quite peaceful neighbors and can even participate in Namaz and Haja. In mosques, joint events for Sunnis and Shiites are practiced. Moreover, they have a lot in common: They believe in a single god-Allah and read the Qur'an, celebrate the holidays of Uraza-Bayram and Kurban Bayram and can take advantage of the right to hide their faith (Sunnis-for personal security, Shiites-also for the benefit of their fellow tribesmen).

Political and legal contradictions to the murmur of Sunnis and Shiites

Shiism Translated means “Ali’s power” - it arose in the middle of the seventh century AD, when the question of the ruler of the Arab Caliphate after the death of the Prophet Muhammad Ali was resolved. The adherents of Shiism believed that only the descendants of the deceased have the right to rule the people - as direct heirs of the great prophet.

In the same time sunnis (From the name of the ancient treatise on Islamic law entitled “Sunna”), this opinion was in every possible way, quoting some excerpts from the Sunnah and advising to find the successor from other descendants of Muhammad.

Sunnis - Adherents of four schools who recognize each other's legitimacy (Malikit, Shafiite, Hanafite, Hanbalite). Shiites are divided into two camps - moderate and extreme and practice Jafarit Mazhab.

An interesting fact: it is permissible for Shiites to make temporary marriages - and their number is not regulated by anything, and the Sunnis categorically deny such a phenomenon.

Religious features of Sunnis and Shiites

Of course, the matter did not end with a political confrontation alone - in the interpretation of Islam, supporters of both branches found certain disagreements.

In Sunnism, the main postulates are faith, prayer, posts, charity, pilgrimage, and in shism - monotheism, divine justice, prophets, infallibility of imam and judgment.
Shiites are sure that someday in the form of an imam (their spiritual leader and descendant of the Great Prophet) they will be sent down by the Messiah, for them the imams are absolutely infallible and right in all spheres of life by default. They equally recognize both Muhammad and his cousin Ali.
Of course, a person from the clan of the Great Prophet can be dominated by Shiites. They read only those sections of the Sunnah, which speaks of Muhammad and his relatives.

For Sunnis, the imam is the head of the mosque, a clergyman, which theoretically can be mistaken or sin. They read only Muhammad and do not need intermediaries between Allah and Man. Sunnites elect or appoint the clergy as the highest power. They disassemble the entire Sunnah in detail.

Geographical distribution of Sunnis and Shiites

Historically, the most Shiites still live within Iraq with Iran, Azerbaijan and Lebanon with Yemen.
The Sunnis occupied Kazakhstan, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Syria.