While it's a common practice in Islamic and Western nations for the two to pray together, the practice is unheard of in the India subcontinent and completely out of the question in Lucknow.
Sunni and Shia Muslims have lived peacefully together for centuries. In many countries it has become common for members of the two sects to intermarry and pray at the same mosques.
Their prayer rituals are nearly identical, with slight variations: For example, Shiites will stand with their hands at their sides, Sunnis will put their hands on their stomachs. They also both believe in Islamic law but have different applications for it.
Differences between Sunni and Shi'a practices
Shi'a Muslims have more freedom to combine certain prayers, such as the midday and afternoon prayers. Therefore they may only pray three times a day. Shi'a Muslims also often use natural elements when praying.
During the Hajj – the pilgrimage to Mecca, held annually and obligatory for all Muslims once in a lifetime – it may seem that these differences are masked, as both Sunnis and Shias gather in the holy city for rituals that reenact the holiest narratives of their faith.
Typically, Sunnis have been described as more traditional in their practices while the Shiites' strict religious hierarchy is seen as more extreme.
Shiites cannot serve as judges in ordinary court, and are banned from gaining admission to military academies, and from high-ranking government or security posts, including becoming pilots in Saudi Airlines.
While Medina is an important, if optional, stop for pilgrims on the hajj, it is a pilgrimage destination for the Shia.
Both Sunni and Shia Muslims fast during Ramadan.
3. Praying with closed hands is a method that didn't exist during the prophet's (s) time, because the prophet himself would pray with open hands, and since the Shia solely believe in following the prophet (s) and the imams (a) in all fields, they also pray with open hands.
The Shī'ah use the same Qur'an as Sunni Muslims, however they do not believe that it was first compiled by Uthman ibn Affan. The Shī'ah believe that the Qur'an was gathered and compiled by Muhammad during his lifetime.
All Muslims are guided by the Sunnah, but Sunnis stress its primacy. Shia are also guided by the wisdom of Muhammad's descendants through his son-in-law and cousin, Ali. Sunni life is guided by four schools of legal thought, each of which strives to develop practical applications of the Sunnah.
Shia Ismailis and Ithna'asharis invoke the names of the Prophet and their Imams in prayers and devotional practices to seek help from God. Sometimes, prayers for help or easing of difficulties (mushkil asan) are addressed directly to the Prophet or Imams.
Shia Islam
Shia Ayatollahs Ali al-Sistani and Ali Khamenei believe there are no authoritative Islamic prohibitions on tattoos. The Quran does not mention tattoos or tattooing at all. Grand Ayatollah Sadiq Hussaini Shirazi ruled: "Tattoos are considered makruh (reprehensible but not forbidden).
Divorce as a concept
Among the Sunnis, talaq may be express, implied, contingent constructive or even delegated. The Shias recognize only the express and the delegated forms of talaq.
The Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam was a process of forced conversion that took place roughly over the 16th through 18th centuries and turned Iran (Persia), which previously had a Sunni majority population, into the spiritual bastion of Shia Islam.
Sunni and Shi'a Islam are the two major Islamic sects practised in Pakistan. Pakistan is a Sunni majority country, with 76% of Pakistanis identifying as Sunni and 10-15% estimated to be Shi'ites. Both variations of Islam have many different religious schools that Pakistanis adhere to.
The office of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the top religious authority for Iraq's Shia Muslims who make up the biggest religious grouping in the country, named 20 June as the first day of the month of Dhul-Hijjah – meaning the country's Shia Muslims will celebrate Eid Al-Adha a day later than their Sunni compatriots ...
The Shia believe only a living scholar must be followed. Sunni Muslims pray five times a day, whereas Shia Muslims can combine prayers to pray three times a day. Shia prayers can often be identified by a small tablet of clay, from a holy place (often Karbala), on which they place their forehead while bowing in prayer.
In Shia jurisprudence, by consensus, it is obligatory for women to cover their hair, and the entire body except her hands and face, while in the presence of people of the opposite sex other than close family members.
While the founder of all Islam is clearly Muhammad, the founder of Shia Islam is unquestionably his nephew and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ali would become the founder, Caliph, and first Imam of the Shia Islamic sect.
Another major religious institution in Iran is the shrine. Pilgrimage to the shrines of imams is a specific Shia custom, undertaken because Shia pilgrims believe that the imams and their relatives have the power to intercede with God on behalf of petitioners.
Shia Muslims are a numerical majority in Iraq and Bahrain. Approximately 35% of the population in Yemen and half of the Muslims in Lebanon are Shia Muslims. There is also a very large population of Shia Muslims living in the Persian Gulf countries especially in Saudi Arabia.
Today's Afghanistan can be considered 99% Muslim. There is a rough 3/4 to 1/4 split in favor of Sunni Muslims to Shia. Though recent history has been defined by growing religious intolerance and sectarian conflict, Afghanistan does have marginal adherents of other religions.
Islam is the main religion of the citizens of Kuwait and the majority of Kuwaiti citizens are Muslim; it is estimated that 70%–75% are Sunni and 25%–30% are Shias. In 2001, there were an estimated 525,000 Sunni Kuwaiti citizens and 300,000 Shia Kuwaiti citizens.