![]() ![]() ![]() Having no surviving male heir, Muhammad loved Ali’s sons, Hasan and Husayn. Ali was both Muhammad’s cousin and his son-in-law-he was married to Muhammad’s daughter Fatima. Muhammad’s affection and support for Ali were evident from the beginning. ”įor the Shia, Muhammad’s statements at Ghadir Khumm confirm his-and God’s-trust in Ali. O Allah, befriend every friend of Ali and be the enemy of all his enemies help those that aid him and abandon all who desert him.” On the same occasion, the Shia believe, Muhammad underlined his trust in Ali in uttering these words: “I leave behind you two things which, if you cleave them, you will never go astray-that is, the Book of Allah and my offspring from my family. According to Shia tradition, a few weeks before his death, at a place called Ghadir Khumm, Muhammad took Ali by the hand, raised it, and proclaimed before the Muslims who were assembled there, “Everyone whose patron I am, also has Ali as patron. In contrast to the Sunnis, the Shia believe that Muhammad did in fact name a successor: Ali ibn Abi Talib. ![]() Following the Rashidun, the Ummayad and Abbasid caliphs provided the Sunni Muslims with leadership. Therefore, the Muslims at Medina took the initiative and chose from their ranks the Rashidun caliphs. The Sunnis believe that the Prophet Muhammad died without saying anything about who should take his place as leader of the Muslims. Where the two branches differ is over the question of who should hold the political leadership ( Imamate) of the Islamic community. Both communities believe in God (Allah) and his prophet Muhammad each regards the Qur’an as the exact word of God and each upholds the obligations to pray, fast, dispense charity, and perform the hajj at Mecca. In terms of beliefs and religious practices, Sunnis and Shia have much in common. Subgroups within the Shia include the Zaydis, who exist mostly in Yemen and the Ismailis, who live mainly in India, in East Africa and in scattered communities in North America and Western Europe. Numerically significant Twelver Shia communities also exist in the Arab Gulf (Bahrain, Kuwait, and northeastern Saudi Arabia), Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. The largest concentrations of Shia Muslims are found in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where they make up 89 percent of the country’s total population Iraq, where they comprise 63 percent of the country’s total and Lebanon, where they are 41 percent of the total population. The most important group within the Shia is the “Twelvers,” so called for the 12 Imams, or leaders, they venerate. Today, the Shia comprise about 10 percent of the total population of Muslims in the world. Shiism is the second-largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam. ![]()
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