Differences between Sunni and Shi'a

Differences between Sunni and Shi'a

We list below some of the differences between Sunni and Shi'a. Within the Shi'a "sect" there are further differences much of what is related to the status of Sayyidina Ali (Allah be pleased with him) and his descendants.

The objective in highlighting these differences is to point out that these differences impact our belief and we therefore have to be informed and be mindful about it.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg00Q-SPn8g


Their - The Shi'i - cursing of Sayyidinaa Abu Bakr and Umar and  Ayesha and Hafsa (the mothers of the Believers) is inexcusable and brings into question the character of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) because the Shi'a imply the he (peace be upon him) surrounded himself with bad people and married them too. - Allah protect us)

	Sunni	Shia
Sahaba	Accept all	Claim vast majority apostacised - From their literature appears only 3 sahaba accepted
Respect of Sahaba	Always says "Allah be pleased with them" when speaking about sahaba	It is a fundamental belief to curse sahaba like Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ayesha
Hadith	Hadith are accepted according to their authenticity	The same view as Sunni's except that sunni hadith rejected because sahaba are deemed to have apostacised, hence these hadith rejected.
Caliphs	Accept all from Abu Bakr onward - although the first 4 are considered the "rightly guided" caliphs	Reject the first 3 caliphs (cursing them) and the accept Sayyidina Ali (RA)  as the first caliph and Imam
Imams (Ahlul Bayt)	Sunni revere and honour the all family of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)	Revere the sayyiduna Ali and Fatima (RA) and their descendents. The first 12 imams, starting with Sayyidina Ali -RA, are considered infallible "The Nasibi (Shia use this term to refer to a Sunni) is worse than the Jew. It was said: And how is that so, O son of the Messenger of Allah? He said: The Jew denied the status of Prophethood (of Prophet Mohammad), while the Nasibi denied the status of Al-Imamah." (Al-Naafi' Yawmal-Hashr: Jamaalud-Din al-Suyuri, p.42)
Taqiyyah	Islam permits Muslims, who are living under imminent and serious danger of persecution, to deny they are Muslims publicly and to practice Islam secretly. This concept is sometimes referred to as Taqiyya. Proper Taqiyya is permissible in Islam, but it is not an obligation and it is not a virtue.	Taqiyya is a an obligation, a praised virtue, and an important doctrine in Shiism. They practise it at any time regardless of peace or danger and whether friend or foe (The act of hiding one's true beliefs)
Najaf (Iraq)	No special significance as in no special reward for visiting Sayyidina Ali's (RA) grave	Consider the pilgrimage to the Shrine even greater than hajj - in fact twice the reward of hajj
Karbala	Acknowledge this to be the place where Sayyidina Hussain (RA) was martyred. The place holds no special significance	Very important site. Many take the stones from Karbala on which to prostrate (forehead) when establishing their prayer
Mut'ah (A Mut’ah is a temporary marriage that ends at a fixed period)	Haraam /not permissible	Permissible - widely practised. The time period can be as little as one hour to as long as sixty years
Mahdi	The Mahdi is just a Muslim leader who will act as a Caliph, ruling the Muslim World. He is not a prophet. For Sunnis, the Mahdi must be a descendant of Prophet Mohammad	Shia's Imam Mahdi is their 12th Imam. Shia claim that Imam Mahdi  is Mohammad bin Hasan Al-Askari who disappeared as a young boy at the age of 5 and went into hiding (or state of occultation) and has been hiding for 10 centuries.