The general opinion among Sunnis is 5 letters. Sunnism is one of the main branches of Islam. Sunnism: description, features and interesting facts. Shiite-Sunni split

A popular, that is, anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, anti-American revolution took place in Yemen.
The American-Yemeni President has fled! The people are rejoicing, but it’s too early!
the occupation regime fell. People broke into the presidential palace in Yemen.
You can't guess from the Russian press what is there and why? The Jews are thinking about how to defame the people's revolution in Yemen and have already started selling
a people rebelling against the American yoke as, they say, “rebels.” The defamation - "Shiite rebels" - is already beginning.
Is Shiite bad? Are the Sunni rebels better? And ISIS are, by the way, Sunni rebels.
Who is better for the USA? It’s best to analyze events freshly, while the United States and Euronal have not yet developed clear concepts for this event,
they are confused in terms of what to call something. No one can overthrow US-appointed presidents
Such as, for example, the president of Yemen, the Baltic states or Ukraine. Presidents NOT installed by the United States can and should be overthrown, such as Yanukovych.
Only presidents installed by the United States have the right to legal existence. Other presidents not installed by the US are illegitimate,
against which a well-paid “opposition” immediately appears. If the opposition against the United States is an appointed president, then this is no longer called opposition
- but rebels or terrorists. It's easy to remember and there's nothing complicated here.

“The White House condemned the use of force by rebels in Yemen.
You might think that the White House is the conscience of the world and the best Russian buddies. This snake White House has been constantly bombing Yemen with drones for years.
Of course, the population was tired of being constantly bombed and not allowed to live, so they threw out this bastard Pindo president.
Of course, the White House is thinking about what to do next. Because we need to send in troops again, and the White House is running out of resources.
American troops should be brought in, for example: Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, several places in Africa, Afghanistan, and then Yemen.
So sit and think how? Maybe with the help of only the CIA we can get by?

Most often, how the USA deceives people different countries- this is through the instant organization of elections - "democracy and parliament"
which the United States, as specialists, is quickly establishing. The YIDO media are convincing the people that, they say, here is a new awesome candidate, like Yeltsin,
- they say truly folk. But in fact, he is just another American puppet. The KIDO media convince people that now it is certain that this
- this is a truly popular candidate - you can’t find a “popular” one - and they sell him on. And when people realize that this is an American doll again, they sold the doll again
- the train has already left, and meanwhile the CIA has already torn off the heads of all the real leaders of the popular movement and quietly “suicided”.
This is how it's always done.

But who did the United States send to suppress the popular uprising in Yemen - its Saudi Arabian army?
"A massive Wahabi occupation of Yemen is planned - Saudi Arabia has launched a military operation in Yemen
Troops from nine more puppet Middle Eastern countries are taking part in the military operation to protect the official government of Yemen.
which are actually unsinkable US naval bases, and another unnamed country whose flag is Magendavid.
"The purpose of the operation is to protect the legitimate government," the kingdom's ambassador, Adel al-Jubey, told reporters in Washington.
It’s interesting that Nuland and Makeane came to Kyiv precisely to overthrow the legitimate government of Ukraine
So for the USA, the laws of the government are different from legitimate governments!
“Adel al-Jubey noted that the campaign in Yemen will include airstrikes.
he already knows everything while sitting in Washington. "American aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf are ready to intervene

Often we hear about Sunnis, Shiites and other branches of the Islamic religion.

Sunnis and Shiites, the difference between concepts

To the question of who the Sunnis are, the answer is clear - they are the direct followers of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who store and protect all the texts of the messenger’s messages, honor them and follow them. These are people who live according to the precepts of the holy book of Muslims - the Koran - and the traditions of the main messenger and interpreter of the Koran - the Prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims profess undistorted Islam, which carries within it a love of peace and widespread recognition of God's mercy, submission to Allah and dedication of one's entire life to its Creator.

Sunnis and Shiites - the difference in following the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

The Shiites are a branch of Islam recognized by leading Islamic scholars as being astray, having partially distorted the words of the messenger and practicing Islam in their own way.

Shiites and Sunnis, the difference between which is obvious, starting with belief in the prophets (one of the pillars of the Muslim faith), are not friendly movements, since the formation of the Shiite branch brought colossal confusion into the world of Muslims and into the perception of Islam in general.

The difference between Shiites and Sunnis is obvious. The Shiites have contributed a lot of unreliable and unconfirmed sacred texts rituals into worship, and entire volumes of theological books are devoted to how they distorted the covenants of the Prophet Muhammad.

Due to the widespread distortion of theological works, the dissemination of false information about Islam and the practice of centuries-old national rituals that suddenly acquired the title of religious, everything has confused its concepts of real, truly pure Islam. And the Shiites took an active part in this chaos. They distorted even such indisputable issues as the number obligatory prayers per day, their ritual conditions and much more. The enmity of the Shiites with the Sunnis and their disagreement with the course of political events in Islam began 14 centuries ago.

Sunnis and Shiites - difference in behavior

They are full of photographs of bloody people who smear their heads with the blood of sacrificial animals, torture themselves with chains and dance pagan dances. These are the Shiites - a group that performs rituals that have no justification in Islam.

Sunnis conduct all their services based on the verses of the Koran and the words of the Prophet Muhammad.

Some of the internal branches of Shiism are clearly considered even anti-Muslim and hostile by Muslim theologians.

It was only due to the great development of errant sects calling themselves Muslims that the whole world was gripped by turmoil and hostility towards the Muslim world.

Political games fuel this hostility and work diligently to continue the distortion of Islam, making it difficult for people to simply truly believe and calmly worship their creator. Many people are afraid of Islam due to false information from the media.

It is painful to read the news, where it has been reported again and again that militants of the “Islamic State” (IS) are seizing and destroying ancient cultural and historical monuments that have survived thousands of years. Remember the old story about destruction. Then, one of the most significant was the destruction of monuments ancient Mosul. And recently they captured the Syrian city of Palmyra, which contains unique ancient ruins. But this is the most beautiful! And the religious wars are to blame.

The division of Muslims into Shiites and Sunnis dates back to the early history of Islam. Immediately after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, a dispute arose over who should lead the Muslim community in Arab Caliphate. Some believers advocated for elected caliphs, while others advocated for the rights of Muhammad's beloved son-in-law Ali ibn Abu Talib.

This is how Islam was first divided. This is what happened next...

There was also a direct testament of the prophet, according to which Ali was to become his successor, but, as often happens, the authority of Muhammad, unshakable during life, did not play a decisive role after death. Supporters of his will believed that the ummah (community) should be led by imams “appointed by God” - Ali and his descendants from Fatima, and believed that the power of Ali and his heirs was from God. Ali's supporters began to be called Shiites, which literally means “supporters, adherents.”

Their opponents objected that neither the Koran nor the second most important Sunnah (a set of rules and principles supplementing the Koran, based on examples from the life of Muhammad, his actions, statements in the form in which they were transmitted by his companions) says nothing about imams and about the divine rights to power of the Ali clan. The prophet himself did not say anything about this. The Shiites responded that the prophet's instructions were subject to interpretation - but only by those who had a special right to do so. Opponents considered such views to be heresy and said that the Sunnah should be taken in the form in which the companions of the prophet compiled it, without any changes or interpretations. This direction of adherents of strict adherence to the Sunnah is called “Sunnism”.

For Sunnis, the Shiite understanding of the function of the imam as a mediator between God and man is a heresy, since they adhere to the concept of direct worship of Allah, without intermediaries. An imam is, from their point of view, an ordinary religious figure who has earned authority through his theological knowledge, the head of a mosque, and their institution of clergy is devoid of a mystical aura. Sunnis revere the first four " righteous caliphs"and do not recognize the Ali dynasty. Shiites recognize only Ali. Shiites revere the sayings of imams along with the Koran and Sunnah.

Differences persist in Sunni and Shiite interpretations of Sharia (Islamic law). For example, Shiites do not adhere to the Sunni rule of considering a divorce valid from the moment it is declared by the husband. In turn, Sunnis do not accept the Shiite practice of temporary marriage.

IN modern world Sunnis make up the majority of Muslims, Shiites make up just over ten percent. Shiites are common in Iran, Azerbaijan, parts of Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Arab countries (with the exception of North Africa). The main Shiite state and the spiritual center of this direction of Islam is Iran.

Conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis still occur, but nowadays they are more often of a political nature. With rare exceptions (Iran, Azerbaijan, Syria), in countries inhabited by Shiites, all political and economic power belongs to Sunnis. Shiites feel offended, their discontent is taken advantage of by radical Islamic groups, Iran and Western countries, who have long mastered the science of pitting Muslims against each other and supporting radical Islam for the sake of the “victory of democracy.” Shiites have vigorously fought for power in Lebanon and last year rebelled in Bahrain to protest the Sunni minority's usurpation of political power and oil revenues.

In Iraq, after the armed intervention of the United States, the Shiites came to power, a civil war began in the country between them and the former owners - the Sunnis, and the secular regime gave way to obscurantism. In Syria, the situation is the opposite - power there belongs to the Alawites, one of the directions of Shiism. Under the pretext of fighting the dominance of the Shiites in the late 70s, the terrorist group “Muslim Brotherhood” launched a war against the ruling regime; in 1982, the rebels captured the city of Hama. The rebellion was crushed and thousands of people died. Now the war has resumed - but only now, as in Libya, the bandits are called rebels, they are openly supported by all progressive Western humanity, led by the United States.

In the former USSR, Shiites live mainly in Azerbaijan. In Russia they are represented by the same Azerbaijanis, as well as a small number of Tats and Lezgins in Dagestan.

There are no serious conflicts in the post-Soviet space yet. Most Muslims have a very vague idea of ​​the difference between Shiites and Sunnis, and Azerbaijanis living in Russia, in the absence of Shiite mosques, often visit Sunni ones.

In 2010, there was a conflict between the chairman of the presidium Spiritual Administration Muslims of the European part of Russia, the chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Sunni Ravil Gainutdin and the head of the Office of Muslims of the Caucasus, Shiite Allahshukur Pashazade. The latter was accused of being a Shiite, and the majority of Muslims in Russia and the CIS are Sunnis, therefore, a Shiite should not rule the Sunnis. The Council of Muftis of Russia frightened the Sunnis with “Shiite revenge” and accused Pashazade of working against Russia, supporting Chechen militants, and having too close relations with the Russian Orthodox Church and the oppression of Sunnis in Azerbaijan. In response, the Caucasus Muslim Board accused the Mufti Council of attempting to disrupt the Interreligious Summit in Baku and of inciting discord between Sunnis and Shiites.

Islam is divided into two major movements - Sunnism and Shiism. On this moment Sunnis make up about 85–87% of Muslims, and the number of Shiites does not exceed 10%. About how Islam split into these two directions and how they differ.

WHEN AND WHY DID THE FOLLOWERS OF ISLAM SPLIT INTO SUNNIS AND SHIITES?

Muslims split into Sunnis and Shiites for political reasons. In the second half of the 7th century, after the end of the reign of Caliph Ali* in the Arab Caliphate**, disputes arose about who would take his place. The fact is that Ali was the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad***, and some Muslims believed that power should pass to his descendants. This part began to be called “Shiites,” which translated from Arabic means “the power of Ali.” While other followers of Islam questioned the exclusive privilege of this kind and suggested that the majority of the Muslim community choose another candidate from the descendants of Muhammad, explaining their position with excerpts from the Sunnah - the second source of Islamic law after the Koran ****, which is why they began to be called “Sunnis” "

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES IN THE INTERPRETATION OF ISLAM BETWEEN SUNNIS AND SHIITES?

Sunnis recognize exclusively the Prophet Muhammad, while Shiites equally revere both Muhammad and his cousin Ali. Sunnis and Shiites choose the highest authority in different ways. Among the Sunnis, it belongs to elected or appointed clerics, and among the Shiites, the representative of the highest authority must be exclusively from the family of Ali.Imam. For Sunnis it is clergyman, who is in charge of the mosque. For Shiites, this is the spiritual leader and descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Sunnis study the entire text of the Sunnah, and Shiites only that part of it that tells about Muhammad and members of his family. Shiites believe that one day the messiah will come in the person of the “hidden imam”. Can Sunnis and Shiites perform namaz and hajj together? Followers of different sects of Islam can perform namaz (daily five-fold recitation of prayers) together: this is actively practiced in some mosques. In addition, Sunnis and Shiites can perform a joint hajj - a pilgrimage to Mecca (the holy city of Muslims in western Saudi Arabia).

Which countries have large Shia communities?

Most followers of Shiism live in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Yemen.
*Ali ibn Abu Talib - an outstanding political and public figure; cousin, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad; the first imam in the Shiite teachings.
**Arab Caliphate - islamic state, which arose as a result of Muslim conquests in the 7th–9th centuries. It was located on the territory of modern Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, southern Transcaucasia, Central Asia, northern Africa and southern Europe.
***Prophet Muhammad (Muhammad, Magomed, Mohammed) is a preacher of monotheism and prophet of Islam, the central figure in the religion after Allah.
****Koran - holy book Muslims

SETTLEMENT OF SHIITES AND SUNNIS

The vast majority of Muslims on the planet are Sunnis. Antipathy between communities within Islam is more common than between Islam itself and others religious beliefs and their supporters. In some countries, theological and cultural differences between Sunnis and Shiites have led to violence. London-based Jane magazine writes that Shiites are in the majority in Azerbaijan, Iran and Bahrain. In Iraq, Shiites make up more than half the population. In Saudi Arabia, Shiites are already only about 10 percent. The predominance of Sunnis is observed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. In India, with a total population of over one billion, the vast majority of Muslims belong to the Sunni community.

HISTORY OF THE ISSUE

After the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 AD, there was disagreement among his followers over who should succeed him. Those who were inclined to the idea of ​​electing a successor through the consent obtained in the Caliphate began to be called Sunnis. The minority preferred to see the successor of the Prophet Muhammad chosen by family relationship with the prophet. They chose the prophet's cousin Ali as their imam. This minority became known as Shia Ali, that is, a group of supporters of Imam Ali. In 680, in Karbala in Iraq, the son of Imam Ali, Hussein, was killed by Sunnis, and this further exacerbated the contradictions between Sunnis and Shiites. Disagreements between Shia and Sunni Islam are reflected on all aspects of Islamic law. In countries with significant and influential Muslim populations, these differences influence government laws, especially those related to family and society. This not only leads to debate, but in many cases leads to repression by ruling elites who seek

MAIN DIFFERENCES

The Islamic code of laws, regardless of the practice of Sunnis or Shiites, is based on the Koran, sunnah (customs of the Prophet Mohammed), correlating with hadith (statements of the Prophet and his supporters), jiyas (similarities, analogues) and the concept of “ijtihad” (personal conclusions). It is from From them grows Islamic law (Sharia), which is not systematized, but is interpreted by a council of competent individuals (Ulemah). The sources of interpretation of Islamic law (Sharia) do not differentiate between Shia and Sunni Islam. But the differences between the two sects arise as a consequence of the interpretation of the hadiths (the sayings of the Prophet and his companions). In the case of the Shiites, the sayings of the imams are included in the interpretation. In Shiite Islam, imams are not just leaders of prayers, but also bearers of supernatural knowledge and holders of undeniable authority. This is main reason their differences with the Sunnis.

MARRIAGE ISSUES

The differences in Sunni and Shiite interpretations of Islamic law - Sharia - have become even more striking. As British magazine Jane notes, this has often led and continues to lead to violence in South Asia and the Middle East. The site of a car bomb explosion near a Sunni mosque in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. May 12, 2009.
The power of each of the major sects of Islam in the countries of this region has often created problems affecting Islamic law. For example, Shiites do not adhere to the Sunni rule of considering a divorce as valid from the moment the husband declares it. In turn, Sunnis do not accept the Shia practice of temporary marriage. In India in 2005, Shiites refused to follow orders emanating from the All India Muslim Council in matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance. Shiites said the Council, which had a Sunni majority, was biased in its decisions towards Sunni interpretations of marriage issues.

GROWING CONFRONTATION

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 raised alarm about the possible spread of Shia influence in the Persian Gulf and Pakistan. British magazine Jane emphasized that in their harsh interpretations of the Koran, Wahhabis call for action against non-believers and especially Shiites, whom they consider outright heretics. Saudi Arabia vigorously supported Sunni doctrine with generous subsidies from local leaders such as Pakistani President Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, with the goal of countering Shia influence by expanding the network of Islamic schools - madrassas. The Saudis sought to ensure that these schools sympathized with Sunni Islam and supported its Wahhabi interpretation. The actions were an obvious success. The rapid growth of Sunni radicalism contributed to the recruitment of fighters for the resistance movement in Afghanistan against the Soviet occupation. This later galvanized the Taliban and supporters of Osama bin Laden. So state leaders are already faced with the need to find ways in which both communities - both Sunni and Shiite - can function normally and coexist peacefully.

Conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis still occur, but nowadays they are more often of a political nature. With rare exceptions (Iran, Azerbaijan, Syria), in countries inhabited by Shiites, all political and economic power belongs to Sunnis. The Shiites feel offended, their discontent is taken advantage of by radical Islamic groups, Iran and Western countries, which have long mastered the science of pitting Muslims against each other and supporting radical Islam for the sake of the “victory of democracy.” Shiites actively fought for power in Lebanon, and last year they rebelled in Bahrain, protesting against the usurpation of political power and oil revenues by the Sunni minority. In Iraq, after the armed intervention of the United States, the Shiites came to power, and a civil war began in the country between them and their former owners, the Sunnis. , and the secular regime gave way to obscurantism. In Syria, the situation is the opposite - power there belongs to the Alawites, one of the directions of Shiism. Under the pretext of fighting the dominance of the Shiites in the late 70s, the terrorist group “Muslim Brotherhood” launched a war against the ruling regime; in 1982, the rebels captured the city of Hama. The rebellion was crushed and thousands of people died. Now the war has resumed - but only now, as in Libya, the bandits are called rebels, they are openly supported by all progressive Western humanity, led by the United States.

In the former USSR, Shiites live mainly in Azerbaijan. In Russia they are represented by the same Azerbaijanis, as well as a small number of Tats and Lezgins in Dagestan. There are no serious conflicts in the post-Soviet space yet. Most Muslims have a very vague idea of ​​the difference between Shiites and Sunnis, and Azerbaijanis living in Russia, in the absence of Shiite mosques, often visit Sunni ones. In 2010, there was a conflict between the chairman of the presidium of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the European part of Russia, the chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, the Sunni Ravil Gainutdin and the head of the Caucasus Muslims Office, Shiite Allahshukur Pashazade. The latter was accused of being a Shiite, and the majority of Muslims in Russia and the CIS are Sunnis, therefore, a Shiite should not rule the Sunnis. The Council of Muftis of Russia frightened Sunnis with “Shiite revenge” and accused Pashazade of working against Russia, supporting Chechen militants, having too close relations with the Russian Orthodox Church and oppressing Sunnis in Azerbaijan. In response, the Caucasus Muslim Board accused the Mufti Council of attempting to disrupt the Interreligious Summit in Baku and of inciting discord between Sunnis and Shiites.

Experts believe that the roots of the conflict lie in the founding congress of the CIS Muslim Advisory Council in Moscow in 2009, at which Allahshukur Pashazade was elected head of a new alliance of traditional Muslims. The initiative was highly praised by the Russian President, and the Council of Muftis, which demonstratively boycotted it, was a loser. Western intelligence agencies are also suspected of inciting the conflict.

The Muslim Ummah has been divided into many different currents and directions for 1,400 years. And this despite the fact that Holy Quran The Almighty tells us:

“Hold onto the rope of Allah and do not be separated” (3:103)

The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) warned about the division of the Muslim community, saying that the ummah would be divided into 73 movements.

In modern Muslim world we can distinguish two of the largest and most influential directions of Islam that formed after the death of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) - Sunnis and Shiites.

History of the schism

The death of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) raised the question of a possible successor to the Muslim ummah as the ruler of the Muslim state, as well as the spiritual leader of the believers. The majority of Muslims supported the candidacy of the closest companion of the Messenger of Allah (s.g.w.) - (r.a.), who was one of the first to accept Islam and was a companion of the Messenger of Allah (s.g.w.) throughout his entire prophetic mission. In addition, during the life of Muhammad (s.g.w.), Abu Bakr replaced him as an imam at collective prayers when he was not well.

However, a small part of the believers saw his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) as the successor of the Final Prophet (s.a.w.). In their opinion, Ali, who grew up in the house of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and was his relative, has more rights to become their ruler than Abu Bakr.

Subsequently, that part of the believers who came out in support of Abu Bakr began to be called Sunnis, and those who supported Ali - Shiites. As you know, Abu Bakr was chosen as the successor of the Messenger of God (s.g.w.), who became the first righteous caliph in the history of Islam.

Features of Sunnism

Sunnis (full name - Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`a - “People of the Sunnah and Community Harmony”) are the largest and most influential movement in the Islamic world. The term comes from the Arabic "sunnah", which refers to the life of the Prophet Muhammad (s.g.w.), and means following the path of God's Messenger (s.g.w.). That is, the main sources of knowledge for Sunni Muslims are the Koran and the Sunnah.

Currently, Sunnis make up about 90% of Muslims and live in most countries of the world.

In Sunni Islam, there are many different theological and legal schools, the largest of which are 4 madhhabs: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. In general, the Sunni madhhabs do not contradict each other, since the founders of these legal schools lived at approximately the same time and were students and teachers of each other, and therefore the Sunni madhhabs rather complement each other.

There are some minor disagreements between madhhabs on certain issues, which are related to the specifics of each legal school. In particular, these disagreements can be examined using the example of the permissibility of eating the meat of certain animals from the point of view of various Sunni legal schools. For example, eating horse meat, according to the Hanafi madhhab, belongs to the category of undesirable actions (makrooh), according to the Maliki madhhab - forbidden acts (haram), and according to the Shafi'i and Hanbali madhhabs, this meat is permitted (halal).

Features of Shiism

Shiism is an Islamic movement in which, together with their descendants, they are recognized as the only legitimate successors of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (s.a.w.). The term “Shiite” itself comes from the Arabic word “shi`a” (translated as “followers”). This group of Muslims consider themselves followers of Imam Ali (r.a.) and his righteous descendants.

Now the number of Shiites is estimated at approximately 10% of all Muslims in the world. Shiite communities operate in most states, and in some of them they constitute an absolute majority. These countries include: Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain. In addition, quite large Shiite communities live in Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.

Within Shiism today there are many trends, the largest of which are: Jafarism, Ismailism, Alawism and Zaydism. Relations between their representatives cannot always be called close, since on some issues they take opposing positions. The main point of disagreement between Shiite movements is the issue of recognizing certain descendants of Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) as immaculate imams. In particular, the Jafarites (Twelver Shiites) recognize 12 righteous imams, the last of which is Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, according to Jafarite teaching, who went into “hiddenness” as a child. In the future, Imam Mahdi will have to fulfill the role of the Messiah. The Ismailis, in turn, recognize only seven imams, since this part of the Shiites recognizes the imamate of the first six imams, like the Jafarites, and they recognized the seventh imam as the eldest son of the sixth imam Jafar al-Sadiq - Imam Ismail, who died before his father. Ismailis believe that it was the seventh Imam Ismail who went into hiding and that he will become the Messiah in the future. The situation is similar with the Zaydis, who recognize only five righteous imams, the final of which is Zeid ibn Ali.

Main differences between Sunnis and Shiites

1. The principle of power and continuity

Sunnis believe that Muslims who have the necessary level of knowledge and unquestioned authority in the Muslim environment have the right to be the ruler of the faithful and their spiritual mentor. In turn, from the point of view of the Shiites, only the direct descendants of Muhammad (s.g.w.) have such a right. In this regard, the legitimacy of the rise to power of the first three righteous caliphs - Abu Bakr (r.a.), Umar (r.a.) and Uthman (r.a.), recognized along with Ali (r.a.) is not recognized with them .), in the Sunni world. For Shiites, only the authority of immaculate imams, who, in their opinion, are sinless, is authoritative.

2. The special role of Imam Ali (r.a.)

Sunnis revere the Prophet Muhammad (s.g.w.) as the Messenger of the Almighty (s.g.w.), sent by the Lord as a mercy for the worlds. Shiites, along with Muhammad (s.g.w.), equally reverence Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (r.a.). When pronouncing the azan - the call to prayer - Shiites even pronounce his name, indicating that Ali is a ruler from the Almighty. Moreover, some extreme Shiite currents they even recognize this companion as the incarnation of a deity.

3. Approach to considering the Sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.)

Sunnis recognize the authenticity of those hadiths of the Prophet (s.a.w.) contained in 6 collections: Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud, Nasai, Ibn Majah. For Shiites, such an indisputable source is the hadiths from the so-called “Quadrateuch”. That is, those hadiths that were transmitted by representatives of the family of the Prophet (s.g.w.). For Sunnis, the criterion for the reliability of hadiths is the compliance of the chain of transmitters with the requirements of honesty and truthfulness.



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