| Characteristic/Belief | Sunni (Su) or Shia (Sh) |
|---|
| About 80% - 85% of world Muslims | |
| Accept Abu Bakr, friend of the Prophet & father of his wife Aisha, as successor to the Prophet | |
| Accept Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, as successor to the Prophet | |
| Primary source of authority: their ayatollahs, experts in Islamic studies | |
| Primary source of authority: the hadith (traditions) of the Prophet | |
| Most hold the twelfth & final imam is hidden ('in occultation') & will reappear one day | |
| Gave rise to the extremist puritanical sect Wahhabis | |
| Sense of oppression has led to mourning ceremonies such as ashura, when followers flagellate themselves to commemorate Hussein’s death at Karbala | |
| Name is Arabic for: 'a group or supportive party of people' | |
| Also called 'People of the Household' (of the Prophet) | |
| Name is Arabic for: 'one who follows the traditions of the Prophet' | |
| The majority in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan | |
| Majority in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Pakistan, Indonesia, Türkiye, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia | |
| The Imams (not the local imam, but the eleven historic figures) are sinless by nature, and their authority is infallible as it comes directly from God | |
| No basis in Islam for a hereditary privileged class of spiritual leaders | |
| No basis for the veneration or intercession of saints | |
| Venerate saints, make pilgrimages to their tombs & shrines in the hopes of divine intercession | |
| Reject the traditions (hadith) from some of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad | |
| Traditionally, since the state exists with the blessing of Allah (God), it has authority (political and religious, since the two are not distinguished) | |
| Traditionally, denies that the state has any religious authority, but an imam with a following has authority (political and religious, since the two are not distinguished) | |
| About 80% - 85% of world Muslims | |
| Accept Abu Bakr, friend of the Prophet & father of his wife Aisha, as successor to the Prophet | |
| Accept Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, as successor to the Prophet | |
| Primary source of authority: their ayatollahs, experts in Islamic studies | |
| Primary source of authority: the hadith (traditions) of the Prophet | |
| Most hold the twelfth & final imam is hidden ('in occultation') & will reappear one day | |
| Gave rise to the extremist puritanical sect Wahhabis | |
| Sense of oppression has led to mourning ceremonies such as ashura, when followers flagellate themselves to commemorate Hussein’s death at Karbala | |
| Name is Arabic for: 'a group or supportive party of people' | |
| Also called 'People of the Household' (of the Prophet) | |
| Name is Arabic for: 'one who follows the traditions of the Prophet' | |
| The majority in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan | |
| Majority in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Pakistan, Indonesia, Türkiye, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia | |
| The Imams (not the local imam, but the eleven historic figures) are sinless by nature, and their authority is infallible as it comes directly from God | |
| No basis in Islam for a hereditary privileged class of spiritual leaders | |
| No basis for the veneration or intercession of saints | |
| Venerate saints, make pilgrimages to their tombs & shrines in the hopes of divine intercession | |
| Reject the traditions (hadith) from some of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad | |
| Traditionally, since the state exists with the blessing of Allah (God), it has authority (political and religious, since the two are not distinguished) | |
| Traditionally, denies that the state has any religious authority, but an imam with a following has authority (political and religious, since the two are not distinguished) | |
