What they share
- One God, the Quran as His word, Muhammad ﷺ as the final prophet.
- Prayer, zakat, fasting, Hajj and most core rulings.
- One qibla, Ramadan and the two Eids.
Main differences
- Leadership: caliphate by community choice for Sunnis; for Twelver Shia, the imamate by designation within the Prophet’s family.
- Hadith sources: Sunnis rely on their six books; Shia rely on other collections and the narrations of the imams.
- Some practices: such as mourning commemorations on Ashura among Shia, and joining certain prayers.
Brotherhood
The Quran calls Muslims to unity and not to split:
وَٱعۡتَصِمُواْ بِحَبۡلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعٗا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُواْۚ وَٱذۡكُرُواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِذۡ كُنتُمۡ أَعۡدَآءٗ فَأَلَّفَ بَيۡنَ قُلُوبِكُمۡ فَأَصۡبَحۡتُم بِنِعۡمَتِهِۦٓ إِخۡوَٰنٗا وَكُنتُمۡ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفۡرَةٖ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنۡهَاۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَهۡتَدُونَUnd haltet alle fest am Seil Allahs und geht nicht auseinander! Und gedenkt Allahs Gunst an euch, als ihr Feinde wart und Er dann eure Herzen zusammenführte, worauf ihr durch Seine Gunst Brüder wurdet. Und (als) ihr am Rand einer Feuergrube wart und Er euch dann davor errettete. So macht Allah euch Seine Zeichen klar, auf daß ihr rechtgeleitet werden möget!
Scholars in each tradition hold views that converge and diverge, and Sunnis and Shia live together in many countries. This page is a calm, descriptive summary and attacks no one.
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Where do Shia live?
Mostly in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain, with large communities in Pakistan, India, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere.
Texte und Übersetzungen werden von Gelehrten geprüft.