Difference Between Sunni and Shiite Islam

Shiites believe the Prophet Mohammed should have been succeeded by his son-in-law, Imam Ali, and leadership of the Muslim world should pass through the prophet's descendants. Sunnis don't believe the leadership of the Muslim world should necessarily pass through hereditary succession.

1. What is the difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims?
2. What do Sunni and Shia believe?
3. What do Sunni Muslims believe?
4. What do Shia Muslims believe?
5. How many types of Muslims are there?
6. Where do most Shiites live today?
7. Can Shia marry a Sunni?
8. Is Saudi Arabia Sunni or Shia majority?
9. Is Turkey Sunni or Shia?

What is the difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims?

Shia and Sunni Islam are the two major denominations of Islam. They chose sides following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in AD 632. ... Sunnis believed that Muhammad's successor should be Abu Bakr and Omar, and the Shias believed that his successor should be Ali.

What do Sunni and Shia believe?

All Muslims are guided by the Sunnah, but Sunnis stress its primacy. Shia are also guided by the wisdom of Muhammad's descendants through his son-in-law and cousin, Ali. Sunni life is guided by four schools of legal thought, each of which strives to develop practical applications of the Sunnah.

What do Sunni Muslims believe?

Sunni Muslims. Sunni Muslims strongly believe that the redemption of human beings is dependent on faith in Allah, His prophets, acceptance of Muhammad as the final prophet, and belief in righteous deeds as explained in the Koran. The mercy of Allah will determine the redemption of all human beings.

What do Shia Muslims believe?

Shia Muslims believe that just as a prophet is appointed by God alone, only God has the prerogative to appoint the successor to his prophet. They believe God chose Ali to be Muhammad's successor, infallible, the first caliph (khalifah, head of state) of Islam.

How many types of Muslims are there?

Though the two main sects within Islam, Sunni and Shia, agree on most of the fundamental beliefs and practices of Islam, a bitter split between the two goes back some 14 centuries. The divide originated with a dispute over who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the Islamic faith he introduced.

Where do most Shiites live today?

Shia Muslims are a numerical majority in Iraq and Bahrain. Nearly half of the Muslim population in Lebanon and Yemen are Shia. There is also a significant (30-40% Kuwait, 15-20% in Saudi Arabia, 10% in Qatar) presence of Shia Muslims in the Arab States of the Persian Gulf, especially in Saudi Arabia.

Can Shia marry a Sunni?

Mut'ah is a sensitive area of disagreement between those who follow Sunni Islam (for whom nikah mut'ah is forbidden) and those who follow Shia Islam (for whom nikah mut'ah is allowed). Shias and Sunnis do agree that, initially, or near the beginning of Islam, Nikah mut'ah was a legal contract.

Is Saudi Arabia Sunni or Shia majority?

According to official statistics 90% of Saudi Arabian citizens are Sunni Muslims, 10% are Shia. (More than 30% of the population is made up of foreign workers who are predominantly but not entirely Muslim.)

Is Turkey Sunni or Shia?

Religious statistics

Most Muslims in Turkey are Sunnis forming about 80.5%, and Shia-Aleviler (Alevis, Ja'faris, Alawites) denominations in total form about 16.5% of the Muslim population. Among Shia Muslim presence in Turkey there is a small but considerable minority of Muslims with Ismaili heritage and affiliation.