Search results
Shia Islam is the second largest branch of Islam. It is estimated that either 10–20% or 10–13% of the global Muslim population are Shias. They may number up to 200 million as of 2009. As of 1985, Shia Muslims are estimated to be 21% of the Muslim population in South Asia, although the total number is difficult to estimate.
Sunni and Shia Muslims share core Islamic beliefs, but their division stems largely from political disagreements over leadership after Prophet Muhammad's death and led to differing practices and spiritual positions.
Shi’i, member of the smaller of the two major branches of Islam, the Shi’ah, distinguished from the majority Sunnis and characterized especially by the belief that the spiritual and political leadership of the Muslim community was designated to pass through the lineage of Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law.
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 ( / ˈʃiːə /) is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali (656–661 CE) as his successor ( khalifa) and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a ...
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 ...
Shiʿism is the only important surviving non-Sunni sect in Islam in terms of numbers of adherents. As noted above, it owes its origin to the hostility between ʿAlī (the fourth caliph, son-in-law of the Prophet) and the Umayyad dynasty (661–750).
