Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Almost 90% of Pakistan's Muslim population is Sunni, with 10% being Shia, but this Shia minority forms the second largest Shia population of any country, [228] larger than the Shia majority in Iraq. Until recently Shia–Sunni relations have been cordial, and a majority of people of both sects participated in the creation the state of Pakistan ...
Shiism began for the first time with a reference made to the partisans of Ali the first leader of the Ahl al-Bayt (Household of the prophet). [8] In the early years of Islamic history there was no "orthodox" Sunni or "heretical" Shiite, but rather of two points of view that were drifting steadily until became manifest as early as the death of Muhammad the prophet of Islam.
The word Sunni refers to those who observe the Sunnah, referring to the traditions and practices of Muhammad. [5] [6] The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagreement over the succession to Muhammad and subsequently acquired broader political significance, as well as theological and juridical dimensions. [7]
Shi‘a Islam, also known as Shi‘ite Islam or Shia, 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 .
Shia Islam [a] is the second-largest branch of Islam.It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib (r. 656–661) as his successor (khalifa) as the imam, that is the spiritual and political leader of the Muslim community.
[9] Mustawfi wrote that Sunni populations were dominant in major cities, while Twelver Shia Islam was concentrated in regions like Gilan, Mazandaran, Ray, Varamin, Qom, Kashan, Khuzestan, and Sabzevar in Khorasan. In the Timurid period and notably under the Sunni Aq Qoyunlu, Shia Islam was prevalent among the peasantry in various regions of ...
One faction of the Zaidiyyah, called the Batriyya, attempted a compromise between Sunni and Shia by accepting the legitimacy of the Sunni caliphs while maintaining that they were inferior to Ali. Imamat al-Mafdul (literally, " imamate of the inferior") is the belief that, while Ali was better suited to succeed Muhammad, the reigns of Abu Bakr ...
Aurangzeb's bigotry had fueled a cold war between Shia and Sunni elite in North India. Bahadur Shah tried to sort out the Shia-Sunni problem but his death in 1712 AD left the question undecided. [84] From there on to Nadir Shah's invasion of 1739 AD, the business of Empire was taken over by conspiracies of king-makers. Religious and racial ...