How many types of Shia are there?

There are three main branches of Shia Islam today - the Zaidis, Ismailis and Ithna Asharis (Twelvers or Imamis).

How are Shias different?

The primary difference in practice comes in that Sunni Muslims mainly rely on the Sunnah, a record of the teachings and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad to guide their actions while the Shiites more heavily on their ayatollahs, whom they see as a sign of God on earth.

How many types of Sunni are there?

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the 1920s, the caliphate formally ended. Sunni Islam is divided into four schools of law or fiqh (religious jurisprudence): Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki and Hanbali.

What are Shias called?

Shi'a Islam, also known as Shi'ite Islam or Shi'ism, is the second largest branch of Islam after Sunni Islam. Shias adhere to the teachings of Muhammad and the religious guidance of his family (who are referred to as the Ahl al-Bayt) or his descendants known as Shia Imams.

What are the 3 main sects of Islam?

Muslim Schism: How Islam Split into the Sunni and Shia Branches

Is Turkey Shia or Sunni?

Turkey is a secular state. Even though over 85 percent of its population is Sunni Muslim and its Religious Affairs Directorate represents Sunni Islam, Turkey's secular tradition and legal structure help it refrain from pursuing a sectarian policy. The institutional structure is different in Iran.

Do Shias have a different Quran?

The Shia view of the Qur'an differs from the Sunni view, but the majority of both groups believe that the text is identical. While some Shia disputed the canonical validity of the Uthmanic codex, the Shia Imams always rejected the idea of alteration of Qur'an's text.

Who started Shia?

Shia Islam began when Abu Bakr, Umar and Abu Ubaydah al Jarrah offered each other the helpers (ansar) despite the announcement of Ghadir Khumm where Ali was declared master of the believers.

Can Shia convert to Sunni?

Regardless of what the Iranian government does, though, Shia Muslims in Sunni countries have every right to practise their faith and, if they wish, to try to convert others. It may worry the Sunni regimes but it also worries the Wahhabi/Salafi elements whose ideology has often gone unchallenged in the public discourse.

How many times Shia pray a day?

The Shia believe only a living scholar must be followed. Sunni Muslims pray five times a day, whereas Shia Muslims can combine prayers to pray three times a day. Shia prayers can often be identified by a small tablet of clay, from a holy place (often Karbala), on which they place their forehead while bowing in prayer.

Is Hanafi Shia?

Hanafi (light green) is the Sunni school predominant in Turkey, the Western Middle East, Western and Nile river region of Egypt, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Southeast Europe, India, China and Russia.

Is Shafi Sunni or Shia?

The Shafiʽi (Arabic: شَافِعِي, romanized: Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) madhhab is one of the four major traditional schools of Islamic law in the branch of Sunni Islam.

Who is Shia prophet?

Shia Islam holds that the Islamic Prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam (leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from the caliphate as a result of the incident of Saqifah.

Can Shia pray in Sunni mosque?

Conversation. Shias can't enter Sunni mosques. Sunnis can't enter Shia mosques.

Do Shias believe in Muhammad?

Sunni and Shia Muslims both share the same fundamental views of Islam, for instance, both groups worship Allah as God, accept Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as the Prophet, and follow the teachings of the Quran.

Do Sunnis believe in the 12 imams?

The Sunni Muslims do not place any human being, including the Twelve Shiite Imams, on a level equal to or even close to the prophets. The Sunni view is that nowhere in the Koran is it mentioned that the twelve Shiite Imams are divinely ordained to lead Muslims after the death of Muhammad.

Can Shia go Hajj?

Shia Muslims number 200 million and are the second largest denomination in the faith. Many perform the hajj, and they also travel to Iran, Iraq and beyond to visit holy sites.

How many types of Muslims are there?

A disagreement over succession after Mohammed's death in 632 split Muslims into Islam's two main sects, Sunni and Shia.

Is Afghanistan Shia or Sunni?

Islam is the official state religion of Afghanistan, with approximately 99.7% of the Afghan population being Muslim. Roughly 90% practice Sunni Islam, while around 10% are Shias. Most Shias belong to the Twelver branch and only a smaller number follow Ismailism.

How old is Shia Islam?

The split between the two main sects within Islam goes back some 1,400 years. The split between the two main sects within Islam goes back some 1,400 years.

Why is Shia important?

Specifically, Shia doctrine holds that not only Ali, but all of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad through the line of Ali and Fatima, were most qualified to hold supreme political and religious authority over the Islamic community. Each descendant named the person within the family lineage who should succeed him.

Who is the leader of Shia Islam?

The current officeholder is eighty-nine-year-old Ali al-Sistani, who is based in Najaf, Iraq. Sistani has played an important role in Iraq's post-Saddam era, supporting political reconciliation and a constitution-based society.

What is Kalma of Shia?

The Shahada, also spelled Šehadet (Arabic: الشهادة aš-šahādah audio (help·info)) (from the verb شهد šahida, "he witnessed"), means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. This is also called as "Kalema-tut-Shahadat" or "Kalema".

Do Shias reject hadith?

Although Sunnis attribute thousands of hadith to Aisha, Shias do not consider her a reputable source of hadith. She is deemed an untrustworthy and unreliable source because of her partisanship.

Where do Shias go for Hajj?

Both Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims agree on the three holiest sites in Islam being, respectively, the Masjid al-Haram (including the Kaaba), in Mecca; the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, in Medina; and the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem.