what is the difference between a sunni and a shi'a?

Answer 1

The difference is about the leader after the prophet Mohammad. Shia says it was Ali his first follower and son in law and his cousin as well, as it was commanded by prophet in the day of Ghadir.

Sunnies say it was Abu Bakr and Umar who decided to be the leader just after the death of prophet.

http://al-shia.com/

Answer 2

Sunni is following the Qur'an and what Prophet Mohammad did and said, Shi'a are also muslims but have few different ideas, they respect Ali( cousin of the prophet) as the Prophet him self.
there's alot to say here , so it's better to read abook about the subject for further details.

Answer 3

Hi there. Well it differs in the way they interpret minor issues in Islam.

Although they both agree on all major rituals and beleifs. They practice islam, you can say, around 80% similarly. But most of the differences are in smaller details.

Some differences in practice include the placements of hands while praying, the time of breaking the fasting during ramadan(around 10 mins different), shi'i women are not supposed to touch the flesh of any male except her husband, uncle, brother, dad.

a major difference in belief is that some islamic icons are more sacred to each of the sects.

usually they pray in different mosques, but it's normal to see both a sunni and a shi'i guys in the same mosque.

hope i was able to give a general overview :)

Answer 4

Shia are d ppl who believed dat only a man of mohammad(pbuh) can be an imam or a religious leader,but Sunnis dont believe in dis.The first 3 imams are not considered as imams by shia.They have lost d basic essence of islam i.e 2 worship n bow 2 only 1 god.They even bow down 2 saints grave and ask 4 wishes.



Sunni is what allah says n shia is a what religious leaders after muhammad's death taught

Answer 5

Sunnis and Shiits are all muslims, they differed between them after the death of prophet Mohammed. Sunni have great respect and valu for ALi bin Abu Talib (may allah bless him) and Shiite have great repsect to prophet Mohammed. Sunni & Shiit ar people of one book "Quran"
You people in the west are tying to seperate Muslims based on two casts, but you have seen what happended in Lebanon. The Hizboullah's are Shiite but major part of Sunnis & Sunni scholars who understand the Quran & prophet Mohammed's teahings supported them. If you ask any Shite or Sunni Imam they will tell you the same, only people who are weak in faith will make propblems based on small issues or ignorance

Answer 6

if u wanted to know the difference between Sunna and Shi'a then u have to know some basic information about Islam....Sunna r muslim people who believe in God( Allah in their religion), his Prophet Muhammed and their Holy book is Quran...they respect all the followers of their prophet followers( including Ali: his cousin and his son in law) and believe in other prophets nad religions b4 Islam( Since our father Adam)...
Shi'a r also muslims but they have some corrupted ideas and they believe in Ali more than their belief in Muhammed....they have so many different things from Sunna,including the way they pray....
Sunna is the plural for Sunni
and Shi'a is the plural for Shi'e

I'll be happy to answer any of ur questions concerning this subject...

regards

Answer 7

Sunni is what Muhammad said but shi'a is qur'an.

Answer 8

Sunni are the majority more than 90% of Muslims and they keep the original teachings of the Quran and Prophet Mohammad PBUH. Shia came later and had strange practices not know to early Muslims, most don't know Arabic and live in Iran.

Answer 9

there is no difference ; Back in History the ones who followed Mahomet's's ,,,called Sunnite ( mean = adopted the low of Mahomet ) after Mahomet dead, a rivality start between the same groupe Abou Baker versus Ali , and teh division start Abou Baker lead teh Sunniste and Ali lead the Shi'aa ,,, one he tooke over the area of Arabia,,,,and teh other the Area of Irak and persia ....

Answer 10

WEL THERE ARE SECTS IN MUSLIMS, SUCH AS SUNNI AND SHI'AS ......But all of them believe in Quran and the saying of Prophet....theres not a big different.....Just Few difference among them is that in "shariah"....and athentics and non athentic hadiths...nothing else....the Differences is coz shariah is somthing whichs Man made.....And some sunni don't believe few laws which shia follows, they thing its not accroding To Quran and Sunnah...and on the other hand some of them don't believe the laws whichs made by sunnis........As a whole Both believe in Quran and Sunnah of Prophet........

Muslims today, are divided amongst themselves. Such divisions are not endorsed by Islam. Islam believes in fostering unity amongst its followers.

The Glorious Qur’an says:

“And hold fast, altogether, by the rope Which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves.” [Al-Qur’an 3:103]

Which is the rope of Allah that is being referred to in this verse? It is the Glorious Qur’an. The Glorious Qur’an is the rope of Allah which all Muslims should hold fast together. There is double emphasis in this verse. Beside saying ‘hold fast all together’ it also says, ‘be not divided’.

The Qur’an further says,

“Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger” [Al-Qur’an 4:59]

All the Muslims should follow the Qur’an and authentic Ahadith and ensure that they are not divided among themselves.

It is prohibited to make divisions in Islam.

The Glorious Qur’an says:

“As for those who divide Their religion and break up Into sects, you have no part in them in the least: Their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did.” [Al-Qur’an 6:159]

In this verse Allah (swt) says that one should disassociate oneself from those who divide their religion and break it up into sects.

But when one asks a Muslim, “who are you?” the common answer is either ‘I am a Hanafi or Shafi or Maliki or Hanbali. Some call themselves ‘Ahle-Hadith’.

Our Prophet was a Muslim

“Who was our beloved Prophet (pbuh)? Was he a Hanafi or a Shafi, or a Hanbali or a Maliki ?” No! He was a Muslim, like all the other Prophets and Messengers of Allah before him.

It is mentioned in chapter 3 verse 52 of Al-Qur’an that Jesus (pbuh) was a Muslim.

Further , in chapter 3 verse 67, Al-Qur’an says that Ibrahim (pbuh) was not a Jew or a Christian but was a Muslim.

Qur’an says call yourselves Muslims

There is no Qur’anic verse or any authentic Hadith that says you should call yourselves Hanafi, Shafi, Hanbali, Maliki or Ahle Hadith.

If anyone poses a Muslim the question who are you, he should say “I am a Muslim, not a Hanafi or a Shafi or a Ahle-Hadith”.

In Surah Fussilat chapter 41 verse 33 Allah (swt) says: “Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says, ‘I am of those Who bow in Islam (Muslim)?’ “[Al-Qur’an 41:33]

The Qur’an instructs, “Say: I am of those who bow in Islam”. In other words, say, “I am a Muslim”.

The Prophet (pbuh) dictated letters to non-Muslim kings and rulers inviting them to accept Islam. In these letters he mentioned the verse of the Qur’an from Surah Al Imran chapter 3 verse 64:

Say ye: “Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (submitting to Allah’s Will).”[Al-Qur’an 3:64]

Lip Service Muslims

Allah knew that even in the Muslim Ummah there will be many people who claim to be Muslims (i.e. claim to submit their will to Allah) but practically will not follow Allah’s commands.

Allah refers to such people in the Qur’an as lip service Believers (Al Qur’an 5:41). Thus we can conclude that those who claim to be Muslims but do not follow Qur’an and Sunnah are Lip-Service Muslims. Those who follow the Qur’an and authentic Hadith should not change their label, and stick to the best label given by Allah (swt) i.e. Muslim and which the Prophet also called himself.

The Prophet had said that there would be 73 sects.

Some may argue by quoting the Hadith of our beloved Prophet, from Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith No. 4579. In this Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said, “My community will split up into seventy-three sects.”

This hadith reports that the prophet predicted the emergence of seventy-three sects. He did not say that Muslims should be active in dividing themselves into sects. The Glorious Qur’an commands us not to create sects. Those who follow the teachings of the Qur’an and Sahih Hadith, and do not create sects are the people who are on the true path.

According to Tirmidhi Hadith No. 171, the prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said, “My Ummah will be fragmented into seventy three sects, and all of them will be in Hell fire except one sect.” The companions asked Allah’s messenger which group that would be. Where upon he replied, “It is the one to which I and my companions belong”.

The Glorious Qur’an mentions in several verses, “Obey Allah and obey His Messenger”. A true Muslim should only follow the Glorious Qur’an and the Sahih Hadith. He can agree with the views of any scholar as long as they conform to the teachings of the Qur’an and Sahih Hadith. If such views go against the Word of Allah, or the Sunnah of His Prophet, then they carry no weight, regardless of how learned the scholar might be. A true Muslim will not follow any ruling or teaching of any great scholar of Islam if that particular ruling or teaching contradicts the Qur’an and Saheeh Hadith.

Thus, the only school of thought that a Muslim should follow, is that of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The only Madhab that a Muslim should follow, is the Madhab of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). And Allah knows the Best.