Shia Islam's Founder To the Shia,
Shiism developed out of a dispute between the Prophet Muhammad's followers over who would succeed him as the leader of the Muslim community. After the Prophet's death in 632 C.E., some believed that the new leader should come from the Prophet's family.
The first part was the emergence of the Shia, which starts after Muhammad's death in 632 and lasts until Battle of Karbala in 680. This part coincides with the Imamah of Ali, Hasan ibn Ali and Hussain.
Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani (Arabic: علي الحسيني السيستاني; Persian: على حسينى سيستانى, romanized: Ali-ye Hoseyni-ye Sistāni; born 4 August 1930), also commonly known as The Grand Ayatollah Sistani, is an Iranian–Iraqi Twelver Shia Ayatollah and marja'.
Shia Islam holds that the Islamic Prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam (leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from the caliphate as a result of the incident of Saqifah.
Sunni and Shia Muslims share many central beliefs, including a belief in the Oneness of Allah (tawhid), and that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was the final Messenger of Allah, who received Divine revelations recorded in the Holy Qur'an.
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (Arabic: عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; c. 600 – 661 CE) was the last Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, the successor state to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's political dominions. He is considered by Shia Muslims to be the first Imam, the rightful religious and political successor to Muhammad.
Sunnis dominated the first nine centuries of Islamic rule (excluding the Shia Fatimid dynasty) until the Safavid dynasty was established in Persia in 1501. The Safavids made Shia Islam the state religion, and over the following two centuries they fought with the Ottomans, the seat of the Sunni caliphate.
Individual clerics are referred to as mullā or ākhūnd, but since those terms have developed "a somewhat pejorative connotation" since at least the 1980s, the term rūḥānī has been "promoted" as an alternative, "especially by the clerical class itself".
A Khan can be Shia or Sunni. A Khan can be a nawab, like Saif Ali Khan, or he can be a poor illiterate from a village, like the director of Mother India, Mehboob Khan. Not all trace their lineage to the Pathans of Afghanistan.
Like most Sunni, Shia Islam hold that all Muslims will eventually go to Jannah, and like the Ash'ari school, believe heedless and stubborn unbelievers will go to hell, while those ignorant of the truth of Islam but "truthful to their own religion", will not.
Sunni Muslims only combine the five daily prayers if they have a good reason to, for example if they are travelling. 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.
Changes in the religious make-up of nowadays both nations changed drastically from that time and on. In 1500 the Safavid Shah Ismail I undertook the conquering of Iran and Azerbaijan and commenced a policy of forced conversion of Sunni Muslims to Shia Islam. Many Sunnis were murdered.
The divide originated with a dispute over who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the Islamic faith he introduced. Today, about 85 percent of the approximately 1.6 billion Muslims around the world are Sunni, while 15 percent are Shia, according to an estimate by the Council on Foreign Relations.
Subsequently, those Muslims who put their faith in Abu Bakr came to be called Sunni (“those who follow the Sunna,” the sayings, deeds and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) and those who trusted in Ali came to be known as Shia (a contraction of “Shiat Ali,” meaning “partisans of Ali”).
For Shiites, historically, their clergy discouraged Shiites from attending Friday prayers. According to them, communal Friday prayers with a sermon were wrong and had lapsed (along with several other religious practices) until the return of their 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi.
There are three main branches of Shia Islam today - the Zaidis, Ismailis and Ithna Asharis (Twelvers or Imamis).
The marriage ceremony of Shias is known as the 'Nikah Al Mutah' which means 'pleasure marriage'. This is simply a verbal & private contract for marriage. It is practiced within Twelver Shia Islam (this is the largest branch of Shia Islam).
Today, Shia Muslims make up the majority of the Iraqi population. Iraq is the location of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, pilgrimage sites for millions of Shia Muslims. Najaf is the site of Ali's tomb, and Karbala is the site of the tomb of Muhammad's grandson, third Shia imam Husayn ibn Ali.
Shīʿa Islam is the second largest branch of Islam, followed by 10–15% of all Muslims. Although there are many Shīʿa subsects, Twelver Shīʿīsm is by far the largest and most influential, comprising about 85% of all Shīʿa Muslim.
The Saudi government does not conduct a census on religion or ethnicity, but some sources estimate the Shiite population in Saudi Arabia to make up around 10–15% of the approximately 23 million natives of Saudi Arabia.
The Twelvers is a branch of Shi'a Islam whose followers believe that there were twelve imams after the death of Muhammad. The twelfth imam, however, has been kept alive by God and is hidden somewhere on Earth. Shi'a Muslims believe the twelfth imam will one day make himself known and bring equality to all.
Shiites venerate Imams and believe that they are sinless, and their authority comes from Allah. Sunnis believe that the Imam provides religious guidance, lead prayer and worship services, and are community leaders. Sunnis do not believe in a birthright or privileged class of leaders.