Sunni and
Shi'a
The words Sunni and Shi'a appear
regularly in stories about the Muslim world but few people know what they
really mean. Religion permeates every aspect of life in Muslim countries and
understanding Sunni and Shi'a beliefs is important in understanding the modern
Muslim world.
Introduction
The division between Sunnis and Shi'as is the largest
and oldest in the history of Islam.They both agree on the fundamentals of Islam and share
the same Holy Book (The Qur'an), but there are differences mostly derived from
their different historical experiences, political and social developments, as
well as ethnic composition. These differences originate from the question of who
would succeed the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the emerging Muslim community
after his death. To understand them, we need to know a bit about the Prophet's
life and political and spiritual legacy.
The Prophet
Muhammad
When the Prophet died in the early 7th century he left
not only the religion of Islam but also a community of about one hundred
thousand Muslims organised as an Islamic state on the Arabian
Peninsula. It was the question of who should succeed the Prophet
and lead the fledgling Islamic state that created the divide.
The larger group of Muslims chose Abu Bakr, a close
Companion of the Prophet, as the Caliph (politico-social leader) and he was
accepted as such by much of the community which saw the succession in political
and not spiritual terms. However another smaller group, which also included
some of the senior Companions, believed that the Prophet's son-in-law and
cousin, Ali, should be Caliph. They understood that the Prophet had appointed
him as the sole interpreter of his legacy, in both political and spiritual
terms. In the end Abu Bakr was appointed First Caliph.
Leadership
claims
Both Shi'as and Sunnis have good evidence to support
their understanding of the succession. Sunnis argue that the Prophet chose Abu
Bakr to lead the congregational prayers as he lay on his deathbed, thus
suggesting that the Prophet was naming Abu Bakr as the next leader. The Shi'as'
evidence is that Muhammad stood up in front of his Companions on the way back
from his last Hajj, and proclaimed Ali the spiritual guide and master of all
believers. Shi'a reports say he took Ali's hand and said that anyone who followed
Muhammad should follow Ali.
Muslims who believe that Abu Bakr should have been the
Prophet's successor have come to be known as Sunni Muslims. Those who believe
Ali should have been the Prophet's successor are now known as Shi'a Muslims. It
was only later that these terms came into use. Sunni means 'one who follows the
Sunnah' (what the Prophet said, did, agreed to or condemned). Shi'a is a
contraction of the phrase 'Shiat Ali', meaning 'partisans of Ali'.
The use of the word "successor" should not
be confused to mean that those leaders that came after the Prophet Muhammad
were also prophets - both Shi'a and Sunni agree that
Seeds of
division
Ali did not initially pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr. A
few months later, and according to both Sunni and Shi'a belief, Ali changed his
mind and accepted Abu Bakr, in order to safeguard the cohesion of the new
Islamic State.
The Second Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, was appointed
by Abu Bakr on his death, followed by the third Caliph, Uthman ibn 'Affan, who
was chosen from six candidates nominated by Umar.
Ali was eventually chosen as the fourth Caliph
following the murder of Uthman. He moved the capital of the Islamic state from Medina to Kufa in Iraq. However, his Caliphate was
opposed by Aisha, the favoured wife of the Prophet and daughter of Abu Bakr,
who accused Ali of being lax in bringing Uthman's killers to justice. In 656 CE
this dispute led to the Battle of the Camel in Basra in Southern Iraq,
where Aisha was defeated. Aisha later apologised to Ali but the clash had
already created a divide in the community.
Widening of
the divide
Islam's dominion had already spread to Syria by the
time of Ali's caliphate. The governor of Damascus,
Mu'awiya, angry with Ali for not bringing the killers of his kinsman Uthman to
justice, challenged Ali for the caliphate. The famous Battle of Siffin in 657
demonstrates the religious fervour of the time when Mu'awiya's soldiers flagged
the ends of their spears with verses from the Qur'an.
Ali and his supporters felt morally unable to fight
their Muslim brothers and the Battle of Siffin proved indecisive. Ali and
Mu'awiya agreed to settle the dispute with outside arbitrators. However this
solution of human arbitration was unacceptable to a group of Ali's followers
who used the slogan "Rule belongs only to Allah", justified by the
Qur'anic verse:
The decision is for Allah only. He telleth
the truth and He is the Best of Deciders Qur'an
This group, known as the Kharijites, formed their own
sect that opposed all contenders for the caliphate. In 661 the Kharijites
killed Ali while he was praying in the mosque of Kufa, Iraq.
In the years that followed, the Kharijites were defeated in a series of
uprisings. Around 500,000 descendents of the Kharijites survive to this day in North Africa, Oman
and Zanzibar as
a sub-sect of Islam known as the Ibadiyah.
Shortly after the death of Ali, Mu'awiya, assumed the
Caliphate of the Islamic state, moving the capital from Kufa to Damascus. Unlike his
predecessors who maintained a high level of egalitarianism in the Islamic
state, Mu'awiya's Caliphate was monarchical. This set the tone for the
fledgling Ummayad dynasty (c.670-750 CE) and in 680 on the death of Mu'awiya,
the Caliphate succeeded to his son Yazid.
About the same time, Hussein, Ali's youngest son from
his marriage to Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, and the third
Shi'a Imam, was invited by the people of Kufa in Iraq to become their leader.
Hussein set off for Kufa from his home in Medina
with his followers and family, but was met by Yazid's forces in Karbala before reaching
his destination.
Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, Hussein and his
small number of companions refused to pay allegiance to Yazid and were killed
in the ensuing battle. Hussein is said to have fought heroically and to have
sacrificed his life for the survival of Shi'a Islam.
The Battle of Karbala is one of the most significant
events in Shi'a history, from which Shi'a Islam draws its strong theme of
martyrdom. It is central to Shi'a identity even today and is commemorated every
year on the Day of Ashura. Millions of pilgrims visit the Imam Hussein mosque
and shrine in Karbala
and many Shi'a communities participate in symbolic acts of self- flagellation.
Sunni and
Shi'a expansion
As Islam expanded from the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula into the complex and urban societies of
the once Roman and Persian empires, Muslims encountered new ethical dilemmas
that demanded the authority of religious answers.
Sunni
expansion and leadership
Sunni Islam responded with the emergence of four
popular schools of thought on religious jurisprudence (fiqh). These
were set down in the 7th and 8th centuries CE by the scholars of the Hanbali,
Hanafi, Maliki and Shaafii schools. Their teachings were formulated to find
Islamic solutions to all sorts of moral and religious questions in any society,
regardless of time or place and are still used to this day.
The Ummayad dynasty was followed by the Abbasid
dynasty (c. 758-1258 CE). In these times the Caliphs, in contrast to the first
four, were temporal leaders only, deferring to religious scholars (or uleama)
for religious issues.
Sunni Islam continued through the Umayyad and Abbasid
dynasties to the powerful Mughal and Ottoman empires of the 15th to 20th
centuries. It spread east through central Asia and the Indian sub-continent as
far as the Indonesian archipelago, and west towards Africa and the periphery of
Europe. The Sunnis emerged as the most
populous group and today they make up around 85% of the one billion Muslims
worldwide.
Shi'a
expansion and leadership
Meanwhile, the leadership of the Shi'a community
continued with 'Imams' believed to be divinely appointed from the Prophet's
Family. Unlike the Sunni Caliphs, the Shi'a Imams generally lived in the shadow
of the state and were independent of it. The largest sect of Shi'a Islam is
known as The Twelvers, because of their belief that twelve divinely appointed
Imams descended from the Prophet in the line of Ali and Hussein, led the
community until the 9th century CE.
Muhammad al-Muntazar al-Mahdi was the Twelfth Imam.
The Shi'a believe that as a young boy, he was hidden in a cave under his
father's house in Samarra
to avoid persecution. He disappeared from view, and according to Shi'a belief,
has been hidden by God until he returns at the end of time. This is what Shi'as
call the Major Occultation. The Shi'a believe this Twelfth Imam, or Mahdi or
Messiah, is not dead and will return to revive the true message of Islam. His
disappearance marked the end of the leadership of the direct descendants of the
Prophet.
(Note: While the information provided is the position
of the largest Shi'a subdivision, that of The Twelvers, other Shi'a groups,
such as the Ismailis, hold differing views.)
In the absence of the Mahdi, the rightful successor to
the Prophet, the Shi'a community was led, as it is today, by living scholars
usually known by the honourable title Ayatollah, who act as the representatives
of the Hidden Imam on earth. Shi'a Muslims have always maintained that the
Prophet's family are the rightful leaders of the Islamic world.
There are significant differences between scholars of
Shi'a Islam on the role and power of these representatives. A minority believe
the role of the representative is absolute, generally known as Wilayat Faqih.
The majority of Shi'a scholars, however, believe their power is relative and
confined to religious and spiritual matters.
Although the Shi'a have never ruled the majority of
Muslims, they have had their moments of glory. The 9th century Fatimid Ismaili
dynasty in Egypt and North
Africa, when Cairo's prestigious Al-Azhar University
was founded and the 16th century CE Safavid Dynasty which engulfed the former Persian Empire and made Shi'a Islam the official
religion.
Significant numbers of Shi'as are now found in many
countries including Iraq, Pakistan, Albania
and Yemen.
They make up 90% of the population of Iran which is the political face of
Shi'a Islam today.
How do
Sunnis and Shi'as differ theologically?
Hadith and
Sunnah
Initially the difference between Sunni and Shi'a was
merely a question of who should lead the Muslim community. As time went on,
however, the Shi'a began to show a preference for particular Hadith and Sunnah
literature.
Interpretation of the Hadith and Sunnah is an Islamic
academic science. The Shi'a gave preference to those credited to the Prophet's
family and close associates. The Sunnis consider all Hadith and Sunnah narrated
by any of twelve thousand companions to be equally valid. Shi'as recognise
these as useful texts relating to Islamic jurisprudence, but subject them to
close scrutiny. Ultimately this difference of emphasis led to different
understandings of the laws and practices of Islam.
The Mahdi
The concept of the Mahdi is a central tenet of Shi'a
theology, but many Sunni Muslims also believe in the coming of a Mahdi, or
rightly guided one, at the end of time to spread justice and peace. He will
also be called Muhammad and be a descendant of the Prophet in the line of his
daughter Fatima (Ali's wife). The idea has been popular with grassroots Muslims
due to the preaching of several Sufi or mystical trends in Islam.
Over the centuries a number of individuals have
declared themselves the Mahdi come to regenerate the Muslim world, but none has
been accepted by the majority of the Sunni community. However, some more
Orthodox Sunni Muslims dispute the concept of the Mahdi because there is no
mention of it in the Qur'an or Sunnah.
Shrines
The Wahabi movement within Sunni Islam views the Shi'a
practice of visiting and venerating shrines to the Imams of the Prophet's
Family and other saints and scholars as heretical. Most mainstream Sunni
Muslims have no objections. Some Sufi movements, which often provide a bridge
between Shi'a and Sunni theologies, help to unite Muslims of both traditions
and encourage visiting and venerating these shrines.
Practical
differences
Prayer
All Muslims are required to pray five times a day.
However, Shi'a practice permits combining some prayers into three daily prayer
times. A Shi'a at prayer can often be identified by a small tablet of clay from
a holy place (often Karbala),
on which they place their forehead whilst prostrating.
Leadership
Today there are significant differences in the
structures and organisation of religious leadership in the Sunni and the Shi'a
communities. There is a hierarchy to the Shi'a clergy and political and
religious authority is vested in the most learned who emerge as spiritual
leaders. These leaders are transnational and religious institutions are funded
by religious taxes called Khums (20% of annual excess income) and Zakat (2.5%).
Shi'a institutions abroad are also funded this way.
There is no such hierarchy of the clergy in Sunni
Islam. Most religious and social institutions in Sunni Muslim states are funded
by the state. Only Zakat is applicable. In the West most Sunni Muslim
institutions are funded by charitable donations from the community at home and
abroad.
How do Sunni
and Shi'a view each other?
The persecution of the Prophet's family and the early
Shi'as provide a paradigm of martyrdom which is repeated throughout Shi'a
history. The relationship between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims through the ages has
been shaped by the political landscape of that period.
As the Sunni Ottoman Empire expanded into the Balkans
and central Asia and the Shi'a Safavid dynasty spread through the Persian Empire from the 16th century CE, tensions arose
in Sunni-Shi'a relations.
The majority of Sunni and Shi'a Muslims do not allow
their theological differences to divide them or cause hostility between them.
For example, Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot of the Al-Azhar
University in Cairo, the oldest institution of Islamic
learning in the world, considers Shi'a Islam to be of equal status to the four
Sunni schools of jurisprudence.
However, current global political conditions mean
there has been a degree of polarisation and hostility in many Muslim societies.
The term Rafidi (meaning "Rejecter") has been applied by radical
Sunnis to disparage Shi'as. In turn the Shi'as will often use the label Wahabi,
which refers to a particular sectarian movement within Sunni Islam, as a term
of abuse for all those who disagree with Shi'a beliefs and practice.
And it was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "You will not
enter Paradise until you (truly) believe, and you will not (truly) believe
until you love one another. Shall I not tell you something which, if you do it,
you will love one another? Spread the greeting of salaam amongst
yourselves." Narrated by Muslim, 54. 
