Shia–Sunni relations

The succession to Muhammad in 632 led the Muslims to be split into two camps, the Sunnis, who believed that the caliphs of the Islamic community should be chosen by a council, as in Saqifa, while a second group, the Shia, who believed that Muhammad had named his successor to be Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law.

Today there are differences in religious practice and jurisprudence, traditions, and customs between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Although all Muslim groups consider the Quran to be divine, Sunni and Shia have different opinions on hadith.

In recent years, the relations between the Shias and the Sunnis have been increasingly marked by conflict. The aftermath of the 1979 Iranian revolution, which reconfigured Iran into a theocratic Islamic republic governed by high-ranking Shia clerics, had far-reaching consequences across the Muslim world. The Iraq War further influenced regional power dynamics, solidifying Shias as the predominant force in Iraq. Iran's ascent as a regional power in the Middle East, along with shifts in politics and demographics in Lebanon favouring Shia, has heightened Sunni concerns about their Sunni–Arab hegemony. Recent years have witnessed the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, as well as sectarian violence from Pakistan to Yemen, which became a major element of friction throughout the Middle East and South Asia. Tensions between communities have intensified during power struggles, such as the Shia led Bahraini uprising, the Iraqi Civil War, the 2013–2017 War in Iraq against ISIS, as well as the Sunni led Syrian Civil War. The self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched a persecution of Shias.

While the exact numbers are subject to debate, the Shia comprise around 10% of the world's Muslims, and Sunnis 90%. Sunnis are a majority in most Muslim communities around the world. Shia make up the majority of the citizen population in Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan, as well as being a minority in Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Chad, Turkey, and Kuwait.

Demographics

Sunni Muslims are the vast majority of Muslims in most Muslim communities in Central Asia (including China), Europe (including Russia and the Balkans), South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Arab World, Turkey and among Muslims in the United States.

Shia Muslims make up approximately 10% of the world Muslim population. Within Shia Islam about 85% are Twelver, and within Twelver Shia, the overwhelming majority follow the Usuli school of jurisprudence. In Iran, an officially Shia country since 1501, around 90–95% of Muslims are Shia. 65–85% of Muslims in Azerbaijan are Shia. Shia, mostly of the Zaydi sect, form a large minority (35–45%) of the population in Yemen. About 3-15% of Turkey's population belong to the Alevi sect of Shi'i Islam. The Shia constitute around 25-30% of Kuwaiti citizens, 45-70% of the Muslim population in Bahrain, Al Jazeera: [], 1973, retrieved 14 February 2021 and 31-32% in Lebanon, 10-15% of Saudi Arabia, 15-20% of Syria, and 10-20% of Pakistan. Around 7-20% of Afghanistan, less than 5% of the Muslims in Nigeria, and around 5% of population of Tajikistan are Shia. India has as many Shia ("potentially") as there are in Iraq.

Scholar Vali Nasr has said that numbers and percentages of Sunni and Shia populations are not exact because "in much of the Middle East it is not convenient" to have exact numbers, "for ruling regimes in particular".

Differences in beliefs and practices

Successors of Muhammad

Mahdi

The Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam. While Shia and Sunnis differ on the nature of the Mahdi, many members of both groups believe that the Mahdi will appear at the end of the world to bring about a perfect and just Islamic society.

In Shia Islam, "the Mahdi symbol has developed into a powerful and central religious idea."Martin, Richard C., ed. (2004), "Mahdi", Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world, Thomson Gale, p. 421 Twelvers believe the Mahdi will be Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Imam returned from the occultation, where he has been hidden by Allah since 874. Mainstream Sunnis' beliefs are somewhat different: The Mahdi forms an important component of Sunni eschatology, his appearance being considered the last of the minor signs of the Day of Judgment before its major signs. They believe the Mahdi will be a descendant of Muhammad named Muhammad and will revive the faith.

Hadith

The Shia accept some of the same ''hadiths'' of Muhammad used by Sunnis as part of the ''sunnah'' and the basis of divine law and religious practice. In addition, they consider the sayings of Ahl al-Bayt that are not attributed directly to Muhammad as hadiths. Shia do not accept many Sunni hadiths unless they are also recorded in Shia sources or the methodology of how they were recorded can be proven.

Some Sunni-accepted hadiths—for example by Aisha or Abu Hurairah—are less favored by Shia (Aisha's opposed Ali and Abu Hurairah is considered an enemy of Ali and according to Shia, only a Muslim for four years of his life before Muhammad's death. Although he accompanied Muhammad for only four years, he managed to record ten times as many hadiths as Abu Bakr and Ali each).

Sufism

Shiism and Sufism are said to share a number of hallmarks: Belief in an inner meaning to the Quran, special status for some mortals (saints for Sufi, Imams for Shia), as well as veneration of Ali and Muhammad's family.

Pillars of faith

The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic: أركان الإسلام) is the term given to the five duties incumbent on every Muslim and are held by both Sunni and Shia. These duties are ''Shahada'' (profession of faith), ''Salat'' (prayers), ''Zakāt'' (giving of alms), ''Sawm'' (fasting, specifically during Ramadan) and ''Hajj'' (pilgrimage to Mecca). In addition, Shia theology has two concepts that define religion as a whole. These are Roots of Religion (''Usūl al-Dīn'') and Branches of Religion ('' Furu al Din'').

Practices

Many distinctions can be made between Sunnis and Shiaīs through observation alone:

Salat

When prostrating during ''Salah,'' Shia place their forehead onto a piece of naturally-occurring material—most often a clay tablet (''mohr'') or soil (''turbah'')—instead of directly onto a prayer rug.

There are five salat prayers at different times of the day, but unlike Sunni, some Shia combine two sets of the prayers, (1+2+2, i.e. '' fajr'' on its own, '' Dhuhr'' with '' Asr'' and '' Maghrib'' with '' Isha''') praying five times per day but with a very small break in between the prayer, instead of five prayers with some gap between them as required by Sunni schools of law.

Shia and the followers of the Sunni Maliki school hold their hands at their sides during prayer while Sunnis of other schools cross their arms (right over left) and clasp their hands;Nasr, Vali, ''The Shia Revival'', Norton, 2006, p. 43 it is commonly held by Sunni scholars (especially of the Maliki school) that either is acceptable.

Mut'ah and Misyar

The Twelver branch of Shia Islam permits ''Nikah mut'ah

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