Sunni and Shia Muslims
The Sunni and the Shia Muslims are the two main branches of the Islam religion. Originally these two groups were together as one. They split after the death of their leader, Prophet Muhammad. The Sunni and Shia did not agree on the successor of Muhammad. Now as two separate groups, the Sunni and the Shia Muslims have many similarities as well as differences in their religious beliefs and practices. As two separate branches of Muslims, the Sunni and the Shia still share very similar Islamic religious, beliefs. They both believe in the five pillars of Islam. The five pillars are the basic duties expected of every Muslim. This is essential to the commitment of their faith, and the pillars represent belief, worship, fasting, pilgrimage, and almsgiving. Sunni and Shia both follow the holy book, the Quran. Both groups go to Mecca for pilgrimage, and during their daily prayers, they directly face Mecca. The belief in one god, Allah, is also a similarity between the two groups. The Sunni and the Shia Muslims have many differences. The one major difference, which started the conflict between the two groups, was who would follow as the successor of Muhammad. The Shia’s chose Ali the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad. They believed that close relatives or descendants should succeed him. The Sunni’s chose…show more content… They prayed five times a day and did not believe in mu’tah, temporary marriages. The Shia leaders fell under more state control. They prayed three times a day and practiced mut’ah. The Sunni believed that Mahdi had not been born and they were waiting for his arrival, but the Shi believed that Mahdi had left and would return under Allah’s order. The Sunni’s, under Islamic law, followed the four schools of jurisprudence or methods of interpreting the law. The Shia’s followed the twelvers, which were the twelve founding imams and were the designated interpreters of the law. Today, about 90% of Muslims are Sunni and 10%