Immediately after the death of the noble Prophet of Islam, the Muslim community due to the issue of leadership was distinctively divided into two groups. A group that accepted the leadership of Abu-Bakr immediately after the Prophet is referred to as Ahl al-Sunnah or Sunni. On the contrary, a group that accepted the leadership of Ali ibn Abi-Talib as the immediate successor of the Prophet is called Shiat al-Ali or Shia.
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to state that the distinction between Shia and Sunni Islam started immediately after the death of the Prophet of Islam; Hazrat Muhammad (PBUHH).
The Sunni Muslims believed that the Prophet (PBUHH) made no arrangement on the issue of succession and the responsibility was left to the Muslim community but the Shia believed that the Prophet (PBUHH) has introduced Ali ibn Abi-Talib on different occasions as his immediate successor. In Ghadir Khumm, where the Prophet raised Imam Ali’s hand then introduced him as the Imam for all Muslims, and commanded Muslims (more than one hundred thousand Muslims) there to give Imam Ali allegiance.
As a result, Sunnis believe that people after the Prophet’s death elected a new leader. The first four caliphs, began the Sunni tradition, though no global Sunni leader has been in place since the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
In contrast, Shia Muslims followed Imam Ali ibn Abi-Talib (PBUH), the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUHH), as the rightful successor of Islam. While the Sunni movement has developed into many sub-groups, Shia Muslims emphasize the special spiritual and political leadership of Imams (Muslim religious leaders) in Muslim nations.
Similarly, in terms of size, Sunni Muslims are the largest group of adherents within Islam, with close to seventy percent of Muslims coming from Sunni heritage. However, in certain countries, including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Yemen, Iran, and Iraq, Shia Islam is considered the majority group, and in many other Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and many others countries are the minority.
Spiritually, both groups practice the five pillars of Islam. All Muslims have to pray five obligatory prayers daily, the Sunni Muslims pray these five prayers in five times each day (separately), while Shia Muslims pray them in three official times (together).
Furthermore, all Shia and a majority of Sunni Muslims believe in the Twelfth Imam who has already been born (according to Shia belief) but is hidden and will play a major role in his return in the last days.
Each group also has other unique traditions as part of its religious customs. For example, Shia Muslims observe the Day of Ashura, a day to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn ibn Ali (PBUH), grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUHH).
Sunni Muslims follow many Hadiths that are considered authenticated sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUHH) to help interpret the Glorious Qur’an. Shia Muslims do not accept the authority of the six major Hadith collections of Sunni Islam but instead follow the Hadiths that are narrated from infallible twelve Imams.
