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Shi
Shi'a Islam, also Shi'ite Islam, or Shi'ism (Arabic:شيعة, Persian:شیعه translit: Shī‘ah) is a denomination of the Islamic faith. more...
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It is short for Shī'at 'Ali (Arabic: شيعةعلي , or "the party of 'Ali"). Shi'a Muslims adhere to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the religious guidance of his family whom they refer to as the Ahl al-Bayt. Thus, Shi'as consider the first three ruling Sunni caliphs a historic occurrence and not something attached to faith. The singular/adjective form is Shī'ī (شيعي.) and refers to a follower of the Household of Muhammad and of Ali ibn Abi Talib (Imam Ali) in particular.
Shi'a Islam, like Sunni Islam, has at times been divided into many branches, however only three of these currently have a significant number of followers. The best known and the one with most adherents is Twelvers (اثنا عشرية Ithnāˤashariyya), while the others are Ismaili and Zaidiyyah. Alawites and Druzes consider themselves Shi'as, although this is sometimes disputed by mainstream Shi'as. The Sufi orders among the Shi'as are Alevis, Bektashis, Qizilbashis, Noorbakshis, Kubrawiyas, Hamadanis, Tijānīs, Fatimids etc. Turkey's 20% population is Alevi while Lebanon and Syria have huge presence of Druze and Alawites.
Etymology
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"Shi'a" is the short form of the historic phrase Shi'at ‘Ali شيعة علي, meaning "the followers of Ali" or "the faction of Ali". Both Shi'a and Sunni sources trace the term to the years preceding the death of Muhammad, see Shi'a etymology.
Overview
Shi'a Muslims believe that specific persons from Muhammad's family (the Imams) were the best source of knowledge about the Qur'an and Islam, the most trusted carriers and protectors of Muhammad's Sunnah (traditions), and the most worthy of emulation.
In particular, Shi'a Muslims recognize the succession of Ali (Muhammad's cousin, son-in-law, the first young man to accept Islam — second only to Muhammad's wife Khadija —and the male head of the Ahl al-Bayt or "people of the house") as opposed to that of the caliphate recognized by Sunni Muslims. Shi'a Muslims believe that Ali was appointed successor by Muhammad's direct order on many occasions, and that he is therefore the rightful leader of the Muslim faith.
This difference between following either the Ahl al-Bayt (Muhammad's family) or the Caliph Abu Bakr has shaped Shi'a and non-Shi'a views on some of the Qur'an, the Hadith (narrations from the prophet) and other areas of Islam. For instance, the collection of Hadith venerated by Shi'a Muslims is centered around narrations by members of the Ahl al-Bayt, while some Hadith by narrators not belonging to the Ahl al-Bayt are not included (those of Abu Huraira, for example).
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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