wow i can't believe the mods decided to make this thread.

well waqas i don't know much but i can give it a try.... one of the differences btw shias and sunnis is that they have different views on who should've taken on the leadership role after the death of prophet muhammad (pbuh). The shias believe that the prophet muhammad(pbuh) declared in the event of ghadeer e khum that imam ali (a.s) will take on the spiritual leadership role after his death. Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) declared "He of whom I am the master (mawla), of him 'Ali is also the master (mawla). O God, be the friend of him who is his friend, and be the enemy of him who is his enemy."Everything prophet muhammad(pbuh) did was according to gods will. Thus, the shias believe that it is unacceptable for the people of qurash to choose anyone else sinces the prophets(pbuh) nomination was only the conveyance of allah(swt) instruction. However, after the prophets(pbuh) death the 33 clans of quraysh selected Abu Bakr.

Well hopefully Ali Imran can go in all the details and other issues.

And they never let me make my Muawiyah thread , at least that would have had a decent historical discussion you know . What's gonna' come out of this thread .



Me and some other MPians have told him the 'differences' a hundred times, sometimes spending all night till Fajar talking to him. I don't know why he stills feels the need to make a thread there's like nothing else left to tell him.

Waqas I've told you this before as well I'm just going to tell you now. If you really are serious in this research you have to help yourself a bit and take some initiative yourself. I suggest you start READING, not people's posts, but ACTUAL BOOKS from every point of view that you feel the need to know about. And don't learn about one sect from someone who is not even from that sect. If you want to learn about Sunnis go to Sunnis, if you want to learn about Shias go to Shias, if you want to go to Wahabis. . .well just be a bit becareful there

stop spreading fitna and fear allah

Religions are like politics, these differences would never get solved till the Last day. We will find thousand of stories behind everything. I feel pity for people who still fight over the Khilafah issue. I feel pity for people who can't give enough respect equally to all the Khalifah based on their virtuos deeds and what they have done for the Muslim Ummah that time. Waqas bro I'd highly suggest that you come out of such sort of confusions and start living a normal life. Just do what your heart believes in. Dont stress yourself too much into the unseen histories.

I've just quickly typed out some general historical differences from the Shia point of view. I'm not looking for a debate - on this thread atleast.

The Prophet (pbuh) was a masoom (sinless) person; the word that is commonly used in English is infallible. I don’t like using this word because the dictionary meaning suggests that it is someone who can not make a mistake, but this is not the case. The Prophets could make sins but they chose not to. Regardless, it is the closest word you can get to imply perfection through free-will.

He was married to Bibi Khadija (sa), and Abu Talib (ra) was the one who recited their nikah. We don’t believe Abu Talib was a kafir. The first public invitation, first ever Dawah that the Prophet (pbuh) made about Islam, famously known as “Dawat-e-Zulasheera”, where he had propagated about the religion among his close relatives, was in the house of Abu Talib (ra). In that gathering he had asked thrice I believe as to who will be assisting me in my divine job and every time Ali (as) had stood up. He was very young at that time so the Prophet (P) kept telling him to sit down, until finally the Prophet (P) acknowledged Ali and even at that time stated that he will be my vicegerent.

Anyways, Fatima Binte Asad (sa), the mother of Imam Ali (as) and the wife of Abu Talib (ra) had been near the Kaaba when she was near to the time to give birth to Imam Ali (as). By miracle the corner of the Kaba split open and she had went inside to give him birth and stayed in there for 3 days. So we say Imam Ali (as) was born inside the Kabaa. I believe some Sunnis agree with that but most believe it was 'beside' the Kaaba. Till today the crack is visible on the Holy Kaba, the name of the corner is Rukn-e-Yamani and you will see many people trying to touch and kiss the corner. He had his eyes closed the whole time and later on the first person he saw was the face of the Prophet (P).

When Imam Ali was 7 years old, Abu Talib (ra) had given him under the guardianship of the Prophet (P) and he had always been under him since that age. During Shaib-e-Abi Talib, Abu Talib was also present and so was Khadija. It doesn’t make sense for us that Abu Talib (ra) was spending 3 years in such conditions for the sake of the Prophet (P) to propagate his religion and then also give his son under his guardianship and then at the end of the day still be a kafir. The first dawah ever was given from the house of Abu Talib, his house is the starting point of Islam. It’s not fair to suggest to non-Muslims that our religion started from a house of Kafir. Second of all, Fatima Binte Asad had become Muslim and it is well known fact that she had remained married to Abu Talib – which also proves that he was a Muslim alongside the fact he read the nikah of the Prophet, a nikah that all Muslims still read till today. Now I can get into all the details and sources and what not but I don’t think that’s the purpose of this thread and I am simply stating what the general Shia view is. When Abu Talib and Khadija (sa) both died the Prophet (P) had declared the year of sorrow, but it is also well recorded that even during the later part of the Prophet’s life, he always remembered and mentioned Khadija. She was in fact his favourite wife to the extent that some used to get jealous of her - as mentioned in the Bukhari.

Now coming towards the moot point differences; Surah Kawther was revealed, because the enemies of the Prophet (P) used to make fun of the Prophet as he had no son and were saying that no one will carry his lineage or his message forward. Even they knew, as history speaks for itself that when ever there was a Prophet (P) there had always been either their son or someone else who had executed the will of the previous Prophet (P). Someone who was a vicegerent and successor of the previous Prophet, whether it be Adam (as) or Muhammad (pbuh), every Prophet has someone after them as a successor or they appointed someone by the will of Allah (swt). Now Shias believe that Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) is no exception to this rule and in fact we very clearly believe that the Prophet (P) did in fact clearly state and imply that Ali (as) will be successor after me. Even in the Qur'an the ayah says Your wali is that who gives Zakat while in Ruku (5:55). This is a well known ayah about Imam Ali (as) when he gave his ring to the beggar in ruku. The final crunch point of this declaration came at the point of Ghadeer. The event and ahadeeth is perhaps one of the most authentic ahadeeth in both Shia and Sunni collections and it is mutawatir, meaning that it has come through many chains of narration.

It doesn’t make sense to us that a Prophet (P) who had given us the details for every minute thing on how to deal with our lives, from praying, fasting, marriage, divorce, inheritance would not tell the people as to what to do after he passes away and just leave the whole Muslim ummah empty like that? When the Prophet (P) passed away Islam was not only a religion but it was a political power of the region.

At Ghadeer, in the crowd of thousands the Prophet gave a long sermon and in the sermon he took Ali with him on top of a pulpit made of up of saddles and raised his hand with his hand and said Mun Qunto Mawla Fa Haza Aliyun Mawla. Sunnis translate this event to the fact that the Prophet (P) was pointing out to the people that Ali is his friend. But if you read the part of that narration before it says the Prophet says to the crowd of thousands that do I not have more right over the believers than what they have over themselves? Everyone replies Yes and then after that he stated the part which we translate as for whomever I am the leader/master of, Ali is his leader/master. It doesn’t make sense for us that the Prophet (P) just took Ali in front of so many people just to tell them that he is my friend. I think over the span of 23 odd years of Prophet Hood people already knew that by now. Khair, this is where the major differences start to erupt. They say so how can so many people who were present there and heard this sermon then not go to Ali for his leadership. It is very easy to explain, first of all let’s make it clear that after the Prophet’s death there clearly were some companions who were on the side of Ali and this was obviously for a reason. However for the rest, I have to say that when Musa (as) went to the mountain he had told his tens of thousands of companions that while I am absent Haroon will be your leader, but in a while or so, tens of thousands of companions of Musa had rejected Haroon’s authority and started to fall for the person named Samiri and started worshipping the cow. Even after the Prophet passed away the event of Ridda wars is in front of us, how can so many people turn apostates just within a year of the demise of the Prophet?

Anyways, this authority issue is the only major difference and everything else pretty much revolves around it. Like everything. Because later on when history and hadeeth books are compiled both sides have their bias in their books from whom they take narrations and whom they deem weak or strong. Sunnis whether they like to admit it or not, unfortunately do not narrate much from the Ahlul Bayt (Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussain, or even Imam Jafar Sadiq). We don't believe this is a coincidence. However I won’t hesitate to say this as well that Shia books on the contrary also do the complete opposite and we take narrations from the Ahlul Bayt which includes all the way till the 12th Imam (as) so both books are biased in their own ways – it’s another thing that we don’t necessarily see a problem in doing that.

Some other differences regarding what had happened after the Prophet (P). The general consensus amongst the Shias is that Bibi Fatima (sa) had died at the age of 18 due to rib injuries that she had received when Umar had pushed the door of her house and she was crushed between the knob and the wall – at the same time having a miscarriage of her unborn baby Mohsin. Sunnis don’t believe in this part – they only accept till the part that Umar had just threatened to burn the door if Ali did not come out (to give allegiance to Abu Bakar). This is a whole event that is recorded in both Shia and Sunni books. Shias further believe that Imam Ali (as) was asked to be patient by the Prophet during this time and to not pull out his sword otherwise the religion of Islam would be at stake and he did this to the best of his ability. Regardless according to Sunnis, Imam Ali (as) did not give his allegiance for 6 months and Shias believe that this was a political move to finish the discrepancies (just like when Imam Hassan made treaty with Muawiyah) – by no means does it mean that he agreed to his leadership – it is also well known that Imam Ali (as) did not even fight battles under the caliphate of the first three caliphs. He was not taking part in the Ridda Wars during Abu Bakar’s time either. Even during the election of Uthman, Ali clearly rejected following the Sunnah of the first 2 caliphs, a question that was asked to him for a reason knowing very well that Uthman will agree to it (it’s another thing that he didn’t really follow their sunnah either) which is why Ali was not chosen as the third caliph.

Another issue is the issue of Fadaq. The property of Bibi Fatima (sa) that she came to claim from Abu Bakar soon after the demise of the Prophet (P). Abu Bakar narrated a hadeeth where he said that the Prophet told him that they don’t leave behind inheritance. This was a hadeeth that no one had heard and Bibi Fatima (sa) had openly debated him on this issue and proved him wrong from the Qur’an. She then gave a sermon, it is known as Khutba Fadakiya, and you can read it here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jRPznQ5nY28 It is funny to notice that apparently the daughter of the Prophet (P) did not even know about the inheritance ruling regarding herself from her own father who was the Prophet. We Shias can not imply falsehood on part of the daughter of the Prophet who is the mistress of the all the women of paradise and is also mentioned as the purified one in verse 33:33. We can not imply that she was ignorant of this simple ruling and that she was using Qur’an to prove something that was false. Anyways, Abu Bakar never gave it back and it is recorded that Fatima left angry with Abu Bakar and when she died she instructed Ali that don’t let these people come to her burial. That’s why till today her exact burial place is a secret – but commonly accepted as the one at Jannatul Baqi. The garden of Fadak was played around with back and forth even during the Bani Ummayah time, until when Umar ibn Abdul Aziz came into power and he returned Fadak to Imam Mohammad Baqir (as) who is the grandson of Bibi Fatima (sa).

Leaving alone the caliphate rule of Umar and Uthman and coming to the rule of Ali: the first thing we see is the Battle of Jamal with the wife of the Prophet Ayesha. Sunnis at least agree here that Ayehsa had made a mistake in this case. But unfortunately one day on a camel and then again on a mule to prevent the burial of Imam Hassan (as) beside the Prophet (Pbuh) and where Marwan had come with his soldiers to fire arrows at the dead body of Imam Hassan (as). His burial was then diverted to where he is buried today Janatul Baqi. Just quick reasons why we don’t see her in good light and we very explicitly believe that she was going against who the Prophet had said is on haq and haq is with him (Ali). Before even going against Ali in war, she clearly went against the Qur’an by coming out all the way to Basra with an army of thousands. Some Sunnis say we don’t like Ayesha because she was the daughter of Abu Bakar, but this is false because on the contrary we respect and keep Muhammad ibn Abu Bakar in high regards who at the battle of Jamal was in fact fighting against his own sister. Qur'an also condemend her in Surah Tehreem after the maghafir incident.

The other war was battle of Sifeen between Ali and Muawiyah – who we hate with passion. I can keep going on and on about Muawiyah and how corrupt he was and it is the one person that I don’t understand why Sunnis respect – surely being a mere Sahaba can not justify the crimes of this man. It was during his time the cursing of Imam Ali was initiated from the pulpits and anyone who loved or praised Ali was usually killed – like many of the Sahabas were. The cursing of Ali from the pulpits was stopped years later by Umar ibn Abdul Aziz. Then once again he broke the treaty with Imam Hassan (as) and put his son Yazeed into power. Notice how everyone was smart enough to put a successor after them but the Prophet didn’t – makes us think too. Khair, then I don’t think I need to tell what Yazeed did and the event of Karbala is apparent. Some Wahabis think that Yazeed had no role or involvement in Karbala but that is the biggest joke ever. Many don’t even know what happened after Karbala, the ladies were taken to the court of Yazeed in Syria and they were kept prisoners in his jails for 1 year. The event was the climax so to say. After that, most average people aren’t aware of the Ummayad caliphs and Abbasid caliphs and what they were up to and don’t think they matter that much in this thread for the most part. Basically the love of Ahlul Bayt is wajib as mentioned in the Qur'an and obviously in ahadeeth as well and anyone who hurts the chosen family of the Prophet is going against the teachings of Islam and therefore we can not view them in good light and it is an unfortunate fact that the family of the Prophet had had to see such unfortunate times and days after the death of the Prophet by the people who were supposed to be Muslims and the Sahaba of the Prophet.

That was a very brief, quick and general over view on our take of historical events. In terms of fiqh, we differ on issues like divorce – we don’t do the Talaq Talaq Talaq and say Umar started it during his rule. We don’t say Salato Khairum Minan Naum and say Umar started that as well. Same goes for Tarawih, it was never done in Jamaat by Prophet – Umar started it as well during his time. We also have 5 Takbirs in Namaz-e-Janaza, we also recite Talqin when burying the dead body in a grave and we recite Bismillah out loudly in every Namaz. Also do Wudhu a bit differently, and all Shias pray with their hands on their sides and do Sajda on anything that is earth and natural and not something that is man made material like something you can wear (cloth, carpets etc).

Now everything I mentioned above, one can debate on and on over each point but I am really not looking for a debate, kinda’ not bothered and I’ll be leaving the country in a while as well. I shared how my view point differs and anyone else can please feel free to share their view instead of trying to start debates with what I’ve said above. If you want to have a debate on anything feel free to open a new thread and I’ll be more than happy to take part in it.


Edit - Oh ya I forgot to mention. After the demise of the Prophet (P), many of these companions of the Prophet were not even at his burial and were at Saqifa choosing who would be the caliph where on the other hand many of the other Sahaba didn't even know what was going on at Saqifa.

Anywyas, all I can say again is you need to read books and take some initiative yourself. Otherwise anything anyone will say will go over your head because you won't understand it - like it has been for the past year or two.

Very well said... Even in same sect people cant resolve issues like how to pray or how to do wuzu etc

I strongly believe now that religion is in your heart, and is between yourself and Allah SWT only...
these differences, similarities should not be a problem and one should not let them bother... First we all should think if Allah is happy with us just as his believer even?

For many of us the answer will be either no or in between a confusion.. We all are sinful...

as tharilist786 said, its like asking for fitna.. one should avoid it.

Khuda ko toh razi kar lein pehle... who are we to tell the differences , similarities or rights and wrongs in religion?

it will never end, two people from sect will even tell you two different opinions and believes.

Fear Allah... rest will follow.

There are always differences in fiqh as times change Ulema have to try to derive new fiqh rulings depending on the situations. However there is always usually a consistent consensus among scholars of a specific sect or school of thought on the matters of aqaid which is what really matters at the end of the day.

I think we start following the new fiqh so much so that we forget the basis of our religion even..
With due respect I rather believe in one Allah, his beloved prophet SAW and Quran and then my heart than following the Ullama of current time... no matter from which sect they are.. =]

LoL who are the Ulema following? How are you going to follow what Prophet and Qur'an preach unless you yourself become a scholar and try to study every aspect of the religion. That's why we have notion of Ijtihad and Taqleed.

I dont know baita... the Ulama should know really who they are following...



that sounds much better.. =]

Well I agree what people have said previously. If you sincerely seek the guidance of Allah(swt), you will find it, inshallah.


Well I used to think that way.

In Sermon 146 of Naj ul balagha Imam Ali(as) states:
O' people, he who seeks counsel from Allah secures guidance and he who adopts His word as guide is led towards what is more straight, because Allah's lover feels secure and His opponent feels afraid. It does not behove one who knows His greatness to assume greatness, but the greatness of those who know His greatness is that they should know before Him, and the safety for those who know what His power is lies in submitting to Him. Do not be scared away from the truth like the scaring of the healthy from the scabbed person, or the sound person from the sick.

You should know that you will never know guidance unless you know who has abandoned it, you will never abide by the pledges of the Qur'an unless you know who has broken them, and will never cling to it unless you know who has forsaken it. Seek these things from those(the ahlul bayt) who own them because they are the life spring of knowledge and death of ignorance. They are the people whose commands will disclose to you their (extent of) knowledge, their silence will disclose their (capacity of) speaking and their outer appearance will disclose their inner self. They do not go against religion, and do not differ from one other about it, while it is among them a truthful witness and a silent speaker.

You should respect those who love the prophet muhammad(pbuh) and his ahlul bayt. Not those who went against them. Lets just pray that may allah(swt) guide everyone towards the right path, ameen.

Does anyone have the main differences in a table format?

HEY LIST IS RIGHT HERE.. LETS GET MORE!!

-Events at Ghadeer
-Leadership Role after Rasulullah (pbuh)

-Dispute on who are included in ahl-e-bait

We tried to discuss and understand the differences in this thread but replies was deleted and topic was locked in result
http://www.muziqpakistan.com/board/index.p...77674&st=30

just to make a small input. wahabi is not a different sect beside shia and sunni, rather a group/movement inside the sunni sect. they are known as salafi but a early movement on neo-salafism were started by the wahabi ilkwan, thereby labeling the whole group as wahabi by its opponents. the key difference between those of traditionalist sunnis and purists sunnis (salafis) is the focus on allah swt and the early salaaf by the latter, while the first one adds spiritualism and gnostism in to the theology. it can be compared to the akbari and usooli fiqhs within shia sect.

Abu Talib was Hazoor's uncle but he never recited kalima which is the first and foremost requirement to be a muslim so by no means he can be a muslim
Hazrat Ali was son of abu talib, Hazoor(PBUH) was raised by abu talib, thus lived quite a lot of years with the family of abut alib; its natural to develop more affinity with them than with other relatives thus he always put him quite close with him e.g at the time to hijrut he left him to take carer of his affairs.
All of the wives of hazoor(PBUH) are called as ummul momineens not just as favourite wife.

@ Ali Imran - you presented the Shia view on Abu Talib and abracadabra presented the Sunni view (sunni view right?)
we shall leave it at that... and if someone's views dont match your views.. it is certainly not a "big joke"

----

can someone clarify this about wahabis.. as someone mentioned above that they are named such by the opponents.. but i have seen ppl call themself wahabis.. why is that then?

here is a diff between sunnis and wahabis that i kinda wanna know about.. i kinda know but am not sure
where does the soul go in between death and day of judgment?
sunnis: stays in qabar and is either content there or getting azab e qabr
wahabis: goes in the core of the earth where the souls of all the animals are as well ..there was a name for that place that i forgot.. and is neither in pain nor pleasure till the day of judgment

I'd agree with Morg up there about Muwahhidun/Wahhabism. It isnt a Sect itself but a movement started within Sunnis in 18th century . Some true efforts were done by Muhammad Bin Abdul-Wahhab as he stood against a lot of innovations and additions to Islam. Arabs started worshipping stones and graves in the name of Islam and this what we have also seen in our sub-continent, totally Jahiliyyat. Now there are some other extremist elements related to it too, I'm not sure when they got added into it but I dont agree with those. Many of their representatives started compelling other religious teachings which I believe isnt the right way.

okay sorry for wahhabi thing. lets just do LIST of SUNNI/SHIA differences, not DISCUSSION on why one is right/wrong!!

Wow, why did you delete the whole post. All you had to edit was the "is a big joke" part and leave the rest of the post which was perfectly fine and I posted a video of Shaykh Tahir ul Qadri who is a Sunni scholar talking on Abu Talib. I let abracadabra know that there is a difference of opinion among the Sunnis themselves on this issue and also let him know that narrations about Abu Talib reciting the Shahada do exist in Sunni books. I would appreciate it that if you have just put the post to invisible to put it to visible again otherwise I will re-post what I wrote as there was absolutely nothing wrong in the post after that and I only further elaborated on the reasons why Shias believe he was a Muslim.

Sunnis = Do Taqleed of one of the 4 Imams
Wahabis = Don't do Taqleed

And in that sense I guess Morg is right because:

Usooli Shias = Do taqleed of a Mujtahid
Akhbari = Don't do Taqleed

I never understood this whole Arabs worshipping stones and graves. Why were the mainstream Ahlul Sunnah scholars of the time against Abdul Wahab then!!!! Not to mention, even against Ibn Taymiyah. We had a discussion about it over here: http://www.muziqpakistan.com/board/index.p...t&p=1838585 and http://www.muziqpakistan.com/board/index.p...p;#entry1855916

u guys and ur hate mongering.....!

sharia does not equal islamic law...it means a path, or a way

sunni- Quran, Hadith, Ijma, Qiyas, Needs of the people, Cultural norms
...maliki is Quran, practice of people of the prophet's city...then so forth...Hanafi madhab uses more reasoning, Hanbali madhab uses more hadith, shafi' madhab also uses direct interpretation of hadith over reasoning...hence in the traditional form of the words, these 2 madhahib were considered as "ahle hadith"...not to be confused with tdoday's 'ahle hadith'


shia- Quran, sayings of the Imams then i dont know from there on.

at the beginning it was a political split, as seen in a lot of the world's religions...and thus a political split gives rise to a doctrinal split

these are differences in Sharia... the differences in Doctrine is what we need to look at for sects...and this doesn't vary nearly as much as any other community on earth

we have a drastic imbalance in our deen today...only 500 some verses of the 6,666 ayat are regarding law, out of which 50 some can be used for direct law...all other laws come from different valid areas...the rest of the ayat are regarding remembrance of various aspects of deen...of Allah, of judgment day...spiritual insights...stories of the past...etc...all of which we derive Islam from and then we act on fiqh...fiqh without this will definitely lead to transgressions against the prophet (saw)...

the word insaan is connected to a word which means to forget...i.e. we are forgetful beings...and when we talk of such things we forget what we are here for and the reasons for life, which in turns makes us forget Allah and forget judgment day...and thus we turn harsh....this is nothing but form of idle talk, we should guard against this...especially me, its something ive been tryin to change, and will change inshaAllah

About leadership:

Shias: leaders are appointed by God or are related to the previous imaams or Prophet (pbuh) (right?)
Sunnis: leaders not based on heredity.. so leadership is not a birthright .. but the leader is appointed by the community based on trust and it can be taken away as well


Temprory Marriage (Mutah):

Shias: practiced
Sunnis: not practiced

^ I also want to know about Mutah and conditions associated with it from Ali_Imran or A_Follower and also shia view of Taqiyea

As far Aqida concern The six Sunni and Shia articles of belief are:

Belief in God (Allah), the one and only one worthy of all worship (tawhid).
Belief in all the Prophets (nabi) and Messengers (rusul) sent by God
Belief in the Angels (mala'ika).
Belief in the Books (kutub) sent by God (including the Qur'an).
Belief in the Day of Judgment (qiyama) and in the Resurrection (life after death).
Belief in Destiny (Fate) (qadar).
In Sunni and Shia view, having "Iman" literally means to have belief in Six articles. However the importance of Iman relies heavily upon reasons. Islam explicitly asserts that belief should be maintained in that which can be proven using faculties of perception and conception.


Shi'a beliefs and practices

Roots of Religion (Usūl al-Dīn)
Tawhīd (Oneness): The Oneness of Allah.
Adalah (Justice): The Justice of Allah.
Nubuwwah (Prophethood): Allah has appointed perfect and infallible prophets and messengers to teach mankind the religion (i.e. a perfect system on how to live in "peace".)
Imamah (Leadership): God has appointed specific leaders to lead and guide mankind — a prophet appoints a custodian of the religion before his demise.
Qiyamah (The Day of Judgment): Allah will raise mankind for Judgment

Branches of Religion (Furū al-Dīn)
Salat- The 5 daily prayers.
Sawm (Fast) - Fasting during the month of Ramadan.
Hajj (Pilgrimage) - Undertaking the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Zakaat (Poor-rate) - Paying the poor-due.
Khums (One-fifth) - Paying a tax of 20%, which is levied on un-taxed, annual profit.
Jihad (Struggle) - Struggling to earn the favor of God. The greater jihad, "al-Jihad al-Akbar", is the struggle against the evil within one's own soul. The lesser jihad, "al-Jihad al-Asghar", is where one fights on the battlefield in defence of his religion when attacked.
Amr-Bil-Ma'rūf - Encouraging people to perform good deeds.
Nahi-Anil-Munkar - Dis-couraging people from performing sin.
Tawalla - To love Ahl al-Bayt.
Tabarra - To disassociate oneself from the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqidah

The text on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqiya is the correct Shia view of Taqaiyah. Sunnis can also practice Taqaiyah, it is not only for Shias.

Same goes for Mutah, it was allowed by the Prophet and we say he never forbid it but Umar did:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikah_Mut%27ah#Shi.27a_view
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith_of_Uma...ah#Shi.27a_view

We also say Umar banned Mutah of Hajj during his time (Hajj-e-Tamatu): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mut%27ah_of_Hajj#Controversy

Narrated Marwan bin Al-Hakam:
I saw 'Uthman and 'Ali. 'Uthman used to forbid people to perform Hajj-at-Tamattu' and Hajj-al-Qiran (Hajj and 'Umra together), and when 'Ali saw (this act of 'Uthman), he assumed Ihram for Hajj and 'Umra together saying, "Lubbaik for 'Umra and Hajj," and said, "I will not leave the tradition of the Prophet on the saying of somebody."
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/h...tml#002.026.634

Also Shias don't do Tarawih in Jamaat as Umar is the one that started it during his time and I have yet to see any Sunni source suggesting that Ali did Tarawih during his caliphate, so we don't do it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarawih#Shi.27a_view

We also don't have the triple Talaq divorce as Umar added it during his time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_talaq#Shi.27a

We also need two witnesses for a divorce to take place. There is a whole Surah in Qur'an about divorce, [65:2] Thus when they fulfil their term appointed, either take them back on equitable terms or part with them on equitable terms; and take for witness two persons from among you, endued with justice, and establish the evidence (as) before Allah. Such is the admonition given to him who believes in Allah and the Last Day. And for those who fear Allah, He (ever) prepares a way out,

Our adhan, we don't say prayer is better than sleep in Fajar adhan - also say Umar added it. We say Haiya Ala Khairil Amal in our adhan after Haiya Alal Falah. Also majority of the Shias today say Ashhaddu Ana Aliyun Waliullah, but if you say it with the intention that it is part of the original adhan, then your adhan itself is baatil. All Shias also pray with their hands on their sides.

We also say Bismillah out loudly in every Namaz and do a mustahab qunoot in the 2nd rakat of the namaz.

The Mahdi; we believe Imam Mahdi (as) is alive and was born around 255 Hijri. Also it is well know that he is from the progeny of the Prophet (P) so we once again use that as a proof that the Imamat has been given to chosen ones from Aal-e-Muhammad (his family) and just like the Qur'an says the family of Ibrahim is special (and that Ibrahim was also given Imamat) - they are all in that line.

Sunnis believe he is not born yet.

We believe Imam Mahdi (as), Hazrat Isa (as), Hazrat Khizr and Hazrat Ilyas (as) - all 4 of them will come.

Those were just some more differences I highlighted.

my 2 cents.

When religion of Islam came there was no diffrences, after the death of the Holy Prophet (saw) muslims created the differences as the time went on. SO in reality Islam is still the same religion as it was preached by the Holy Prophet (saw) the differences are created by the later on muslims. They took the part of teachings that suite them the best and just followed it.
Imam mehdi and Messaih was suppose to come and gather everyone one and remove all the misunderstanding. According to Jamaat Ahmadiyya Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) is that person. And Being an Ahmadi i believe it so.

^ if you don't mind.. doesn't your sentence contradict itself?
"...gather everyone one and remove all the misunderstanding..." end result of what Mirza preached (imho) only caused further chaos among muslims.. more differences than between Shai/Sunnis

ya, well said...

but no use saying it here, I can see the storm of hate coming again... =]

^ ??? i am sorry i asked a question

we shall keep this topic about islamic sects only

Yeah very true because we are talking abt Sections in Islam. We are not talking about Non-Muslims.


Coming back to TOPIC:-

When someone ask me, from which section you are. I simply say "I am Muslim" has nothing to do with sections and strongly condemened it.

Because anyone who devide muslims into sections cannot be a true Muslim. I respect all Sahaba Karams as they desreved to be respected, whatever happened after the wisal of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is bound to happen because it usually happened after every Prophet.

As I stated above I avoid to relate myself to any of Sect because I really against it so whatever I will ask or say here will entirely based upon how I concieve things as a lay man.

My questions for Shia Sect are :-

Why Do Shia Say "Ya Ali Madad"?
What is the Logic Behind "Mutah"?
Why Do Shia hurt theirselves (Matam), what is the logic behind it?
Why do they put (as) rather than (ra) after the name of Hazrat Ali (RA)?
If Hazrat Ali (ra) was choosen one by Allah (SWT) to be First Caliph, how come anyone else could became first Caliph other than Hazrat Ali (ra).
There are daughters of Muhammad (PBUH) other than Hazrat Fatima (ra), why Shia avoid talking about them?

I will ask Questions to other sections people as well, right now we are more into discussion abt Shias therefore I had to start from them.

oh yes... if some of us cant even leave Hadhrat Abu Talib R.A, from the doubt of being a Muslim or not... then ofcourse Ahmadis have no chance at all =]

Reasoning is never really enough for a prejudice.

I would have answered your question NMG, but when I can talk with respect about your Ullama etc... I expect the same in return... if not then there is no use of discussion rather it will end up as a furious , angry debate.. =]

As always, we shall not take the authority of calling someone Muslim or Non Muslim in our hands... I am very sorry to see that let alone our sect... some of us are even debating about historic people from the age of Ahazoor SAW, that were they Muslim? its very silly really...

anyways before my post gets deleted etc and I end up having a warning that too on Ocean's account I just want to say this, that Allah SWT is just and merciful... and I expect latter from him a lot...

to ask yourself about differences between your own religion doesnt feel a very sound idea to me above all.... and we talk about unity of Muslim Ummah...

~blossom

Reason for editing: spelling mistakes

As to the question NMG:

one simple answer to is that its your thought and and judgement, the reality is very different to that... and we all know about it well...

I think insha ji will and can answer you in detail if he will like... =]

Cuz' there is nothing wrong in saying it as a forms of Tawassul. It would be thick minded to believe that Shias put Ali on top of Allah (naudhubillah) because no Muslim does it. If you want to discuss tawheed then I am all up for it and can show you the difference between the concepts of Tawheed between Sunnis and Shias, you can also read one of my posts on this forum in another thread where I already pointed out some views of Ibn Taymiyah when it comes to Allah (swt). Also these slogans can be seen many times in Pakistan Sunnis saying Nara-e-Tehreek and reply comes Haq Char Yaar, and Shaan-e-Siddiq-e-Abu Bakar and reply comes Zindabad. In fact in many Sunni Sufi gatherings they will say Naray-e-Haideri - Ya Ali as well. All Sunnis allow tawasul, only Deobandis and Salafi Wahabi are against it.



Same logic that was present during the Prophet's time.



Wrote a whole essay here: Post 50 go down to "To answer your question"



LoL you are sending your salam to Ali and the rest of Prophet's family each time you say Prophet's name and you say it in every namaz of yours. Sallalahu Alayaihi Wa Aal-e-Hi Wasaslam or in Namaz Allahumma Salay Alaa Muhammadain Wa Ala Aal-e-Hi Muhammad

(And send blessings on the family of Muhammad). So this is the reason why we say (as) after the names of Ahlul Bayt as they are the household and family of the Prophet and we put (as), rather than (ra) - as we already know Allah is pleased with them. They don't become leaders of paradise for no reason. Ali leader of the men, Fatima mistress for women, and Hassan and Hussain are leaders of the youth of paradise.

So the question should be actually to you: why do you put (ra) after the name of Ali rather then (as).



Read the Khilafa thread, me and Follower have explained the concept very well.



There is difference of opinion in history as to if they were the birth daughters of the Prophet or daughters of Khadija (sa) from previous marriage or they were the adopted nieces of Bibi Khadija (sa). Regardless of that, how many ahadeeth are narrated by them in Sunni books?



Why is it more about Shias ? I think there are way too many questions asked to Shias all over the internet forums, how about we try to change things a little this time and ask some questions about the historic views of Sunnis for once. Lets ask you a few questions too you if you don't mind:

Why did Asma bint Abu Bakar do Mutah with Zubayr and have two kids Urwa and Abdullah?
Why did Muhammad ibn Abu Bakar (ra) fight against his own sister Ayesha in Jamal?
In the Qur'an it says who ever spills the blood of a believer his abode his hell. How do you apply this verse in Jamal and Sifeen where tens of thousands of Muslims were killed including many well known Sahaba like Ammar-e-Yasir, Uwais Qarani, Qays bin Makhush etc
Was it transgression on part of Talha and Zubair to side against the caliph of the time during Jamal after giving their allegiance?
What is the logic behind Misyar?
What is the logic behind triple talaq?
Who is the formal teacher of Imam Jafar Sadiq (as)?
What is your stance on Khalid bin Waleed - the sword of Allah - raping the Sahabi (female companion) Laila after killing her husband Malik? Is this seen as another one of a trivial mistakes?
How can the daughter of the Prophet (Pbuh), Fatima Zahra (sa) - mistress of all the women of paradise, not know a simple ruling about Fadak that would be something directly related to her? Not to mention the fact she had the backing of her husband Ali for whom the Prophet said Ali is the gate of knowledge and I am the city.
If Abu Bakar was right about Fadak then why did Umar ibn Abdul Aziz return back Fadak to grandson of Fatima (sa)?
If Prophets don't leave behind inheritance then why did Ayesha not let Hassan (as) get buried beside Prophet claiming that it is her house and she won't give permission? Why did Marwan send forces to fire arrows at the burial of Imam Hassan (as)?
I also have a lot more questions, just like I'm sure you do too, but just so I can get an answer for my next series of questions; what is your stance on Yazeed and what is the stance on Imam Hussain (as) going against Yazeed?
~~~~~~

As for Mohsin-e-Deen Hazrat Abu Talib (ra) I would like to share some poetry verses:

Kul-e-Imaan kai baap ka tazkira, Ain Islam Hai Ain Imaan Hai
Kuch Musalmaan Kehtai hain Kafir hai woh, Kaafiron' nai kaha woh Musalmaan Hai

Lets see if these questions remain up .

I like your quesitons bro but this is a LIST. Where's the LIST we're supposed to start.
LIST LIST LIST

like this:

1. What Rasulullah said at Ghadeer
2. Mutah (temporary marriage)
3. Fadaq
4. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq
5. Umar ibn al-Khattab
6. Uthman ibn Affan
7. Ali ibn Abi Talib
8. Hasan
9. Hussain
10. Fatima
11. Muawiyah (peace be to him )
12. Wudhu
13. Hands on side / hands folded
14. Tawassul?
15. Sahih Bukhari
16. Sahih Muslim
17. Other Sunni texts
18. Al-Kafi
19. Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqas
20. Authority of Ahlal Bayt
21. 1st Caliph
22. Reaction to Rasulullah's death
23. Mubahela
24. Hadith of Pen and Paper
25. Abdullah ibn Umar
26. 12 Imams
27. Major Holiday Events
28. Type of Ruling (Imamat / Caliphate, etc.)
29. Meaning of Sunni (Ahlus Sunnah wal Jammah or something) and Shia (Party of Ali or something)
30. Majority argument & hadith pertaining
31. Primary locations of both sides
32. Subsects of both sects
33. Abu Hurairah (thanks to Ali Imran a lot starting here lol)
34. Hudhayfah
35. Tarawih
36. Aisha's opinion on Uthman / Aisha
37. Hadith Thaqalain
38. Origins
39. Ghadeer
40. Did Rasulullah designate a successor?
41. Hadith pertaining to body parts / Allah
42. Hujr ibn Addi
43. Which people hadith are from
44. Saqifa
45. Authenticity of hadith texts (Ilm ar-Rijal)
46. Itjihad
47. Sahaba as a whole
48. Nikah of Umm-e-Kulthum
49. Current leaders
50. Masoom people
51. Umar ibn Abdul Aziz
52. Al Mahdi
53. Religious authority other than Quran
54. Concealing faith for self-protection (taqqiyah)
55. Holy cities
56. Holy months
57. Malik-e-Ashtar
58. Hujr ibn Adi
59. Muhammad bin Abu Bakar
60. Khalid bin Waleed
61. Laila bint al Minhal
62. Malik ibn Nuwayra
63. Bilal ibn Rabah
64. Abu Talib (although sunnis have differences among themselves as well)
65. Abu Dharr al Ghiffari
66. Rasulullah's wives
67. Salman al-Farisi
68. Abdullah ibn Umar
69. Miqdad ibn Aswad
70. Malik al Asthar
71. Mesam-e-Tammar
72. Umm-e-Salma specifically (wife of the prophet)
73. Hujr ibn Adi
74. Jodah bint Asas
75. Marwan bin Hakam
76. Ashoora
77. Battle of Karbala
78. Battle of Jamal
79. Ubaidullah Ibn Ziyad
80. Yazeed
81. Muawiyah ibn Yazeed (son of Yazeed)
82. THINK OF SOMETHING
83. THINK OF SOMETHING
84. If husband is unable to pay the mahr the wife is not entitled to divorce
85. Lanah (cursing)
86. Hajaj ibn Yusuf
87. Ibn Saba
88. Khula
89. Jalsat al-Istirahah
90. Who first Muslims was
91. Mursal hadith
92. Mafhum al-Mukhalafah
93. Source of Shariah
94. Chain of narrations for hadith
95. Articles of Faith
96. Pillars/Practices of Faith
97. Salawat/Dawood
98. Prayers in a day
99. Matam
100. Abu Lulu
101. House of Fatima attack
102. Umm-e-Salma

this thread was suppose to be about a list of differences.. not Qs and As
so don't you all jump on me if you see this thread closed very soon

oh and i wanted to say it isn't only Shia's who say "ya Ali madad" I have heard Sunnis say it too including myself.. though I tend to avoid it now

thats one diff between Sunnis and Wahabis i think.. Wahabis don't say "ya" before Rasool or Ali..

"Usama ibn Zayd killed an [enemy] idolater in battle after the latter had said: "There is no god but Allah" (La ilaha illallah). When news of this reached Allah's Messenger he condemned Usama in the strongest terms and he said to him: "How can you kill him after he said La ilaha illallah?" He replied: "But he said it with the sword hanging over his head-" The Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- said again: "How can you kill him after he said La ilaha illallah?" He replied: "O Messenger of Allah, he said it in dissimulation (taqiyyatan)." The Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- said: "Did you split his heart open (to see)?" and he did not cease to reprove him until Usama wished that he had not entered Islam until after he had killed that man so that he might have been forgiven all his past sins through belief."

This hadith is found not only in Bukhari, but Abu Daud and Ahmad. So unless you two are master surgeons who can revive the dead...well you know the rest

^^What it has to do with Ahmedis... Anyhow I dont want to get into detail in this thread and i think we have discussed about them so many times. So better leave it.


As far as Ali reply is concern, I will add my opinion later.

^yaar...

You just called someone non muslim and the whole purpose of that hadith is that the luxury of doing so is not in your hands.

hey how come i cant edit my own post for the list?

and i don't understand the hadith yo
wat u tryin 2 prove
lol

An Article i found online

SHIA SUNNI UNITY: SHIA SUNNI DIFFERENCES, SHIA SUNNI CONFLICT

QUOTE

The centuries old Shia Sunni differences are the major obstacle to Muslim unity (Shia Sunni unity). The enemies of Islam to their benefit have always fanned these differences. Unfortunately, some so-called Muslim scholars on their payroll have also played a key role in keeping these differences alive.

Although I was born into a Sayyid Sunni family, I did not know of many differences while growing up as a child. Our families always respected Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) and his parents and participated in ceremonies marking the anniversary of his martyrdom (the 10th day of the month of Muharram which is called Ashura) by reciting the first chapter of the Holy Qur'an (al-Fatihah) and other chapters and verses of the Holy Quran and fasted on the ninth and tenth days of that month.

Now when I give lectures on Islam to non-Muslims, one of the questions they always ask me is if I am Shia or Sunni. I ask them if they know the difference. They have no knowledge, other than what has been given to them by the media. So they say Shias are the ones who are the bad guys, the militant version of Islam, and cause all the trouble in the Middle East these days.

These non-Muslim American audiences of mine are surprised to learn that some of the known tyrants like Saddam Hussain and troublemakers like the PLO and Hamas are all Sunni's, just as they are surprised to learn that Tariq Aziz (Former Iraq's Foreign Minister) was Christian and not a Muslim.

This is what I say to them about Shiite. "If Ali ibn Abu Talib (cousin of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)) was a Shia, then I am a Shia. If he was a Sunni, then I am a Sunni [i.e., a follower of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)]." In Islam there are five recognized schools of Divine Law: 1) Hanafi; 2) Shafi; 3) Maliki; 4) Hambali and 5) Jafari.

The first four are called Sunni, and the fifth one, who in addition to following sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), also follows those of Ali ibn Abu Talib and consider him as the rightful successor of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), are called Shia. The first four have many major theological differences among themselves and according to a Christian friend of mine, "The only time Sunni's are united is when they are fighting Shias." Shiism started as a political movement (Shia means follower or partisan) to help Ali ibn Abu Talib become successor of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Around every successful popular figure, there are some admirers whose own future interests rest with the rise of their leader. Thus in Indiana, we have "Friends of Lugar Club", who are hoping that some day Senator Richard Lugar will become a US President. Nationally, we now have a "Hillary Rodham Clinton Fan Club" with 4,000 members! Thus, there were the Followers of Ali ibn Abu Talib Club, which later on became a political movement. During the initial battles with unbelievers, Ali ibn Abu Talib, the Sword of Islam, was in the forefront and defeated and killed many of their leaders whose children and grandchildren, even when they became Muslims, always remembered who killed their father (animosity).

Ali ibn Abu Talib was raised by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a child so he knew Islam very well. Thus, when Ali ibn Abu Talib became a judge, his judgments were based on strict Islamic principles, much to the disappointment of many who expected him to be lenient to the rich and powerful. Ali ibn Abu Talib was so well respected and trusted by both Caliph Abu Bakr and Umar, that in difficult cases they asked his opinion.

Nevertheless, I tell my non-Muslim audience that both Shia and Sunni have many things in common. They both believe in One God (Allah), follow the same Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the last Prophet, offer five daily prescribed prayers, perform the prescribed fast in the month of Ramadan, go to Makkah for the Hajj pilgrimage, read the same book of Allah, Holy Qur'an, and pay the poor-due (Zakat).

However, my answers can only satisfy my uninformed non-Muslim audience. The Sunni brothers, misguided by western propaganda, who are ready to embrace non-Muslims (especially the white ones), in the pretext of invitation to Islam, will not do so for Shia. They are ignorant Sunni's. Our job as a missionary should be to invite both groups to the true Islam and not chase them out. There is a movement in the Sunni world to have Shias labeled as disbelievers. I have been told that Shaykh Bin Baz of Saudi Arabia has declared an edict that the meat of the People of Book (Jews and Christians) is permissible for Sunni Muslims to eat but not the meat slaughtered by Shias.

There are scholars on both sides, like Imam Khomeini and Shaykh Shaltut of al-Azhar who have done their best to minimize these differences and bring unity, but it is not working due to the misinformation prevailing in the common masses of Sunnis about Shiism. Thus I am listing their misconceptions of Shia belief and practices. For answers, I have consulted two Shia scholars in America. Dr. A. S. Hashim of Washington and Imam Muhammad Ali Elahi of Detroit.

Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr wrote to me "to ignore and not waste time in responding to such wrong allegations." He also mentioned that "a great deal of money and effort is being spent in the last few years to fan the fire of hatred between Shia and Sunni in the Persian Gulf region with obvious political and economical fruits for powers to-be." However, in the interest of Islamic unity, I must deal with the questions rather than shun them. Please note that Imam Jafar as Sadiq (peace be upon him), founder of the Shia school of law, was the teacher of Imam Abu-Hanifa (peace be upon him).

Misconception #1: Shias have a different Holy Qur'an. They add another 10 chapters to the original Holy Qur'an.
Response: Not true. I have checked many times Holy Qur'an kept in Shia homes and mosques. I still find it the same as the original Holy Qur'an. More recently, I took care of an Iranian lady patient hospitalized here. I saw a copy of the Holy Qur'an by her side. I borrowed it from her and browsed through cover-to-cover. In Arabic it was the same as our Holy Qur'an. Of course, since I did not know the Persian language, I can't say much about the translation. It is a sin to even say that the Holy Qur'an can be changed or added to by Shia when Almighty God protects it.
Misconception #2: Some Shia considers Ali ibn Abu Talib as God.
Response: Not true. It is disbelief to even think of such a thing. During the time of Ali ibn Abu Talib, some pagan groups called Gholat did consider Ali ibn Abu Talib as Lord. When he found out, they were burned to death.
Misconception #3: Shias have different declarations of faith and they add to the call to prescribed prayer.
Response: The declaration to become a Muslim, as administered to non-Muslims, is the same. Some Shia add to themselves, "Ali ibn Abu Talib is a friend of God or Ali ibn Abu Talib is a spiritual leader of God," after the call to prescribed prayer, but not as part of the call to prescribed prayer.
Misconception #4: Shias do not perform Sunnah prayers. Sunnah prayers are non-obligatory prayers performed by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Response: Shias do perform non-obligatory prayers, 36 cycles per day in total, but call it Nawafil and not Sunnah.
Misconception #5: Some Shia believes the Angel Gabriel made a mistake and prophet hood was meant for Ali ibn Abu Talib and not Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Response: Not true. No Shia thinks of such false claims. "Only demented minds think of such questions."
Misconception #6: Shias slander and ridicule the first three caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman) and Prophet Muhammad's wife, Ayesha.
Response: Shia considers the first three caliphs as companions and administrators, but not spiritual leaders (Imams). Imam Jafar as Sadiq (peace be upon him), whose mother and grandmother came from the line of Abu Bakr, said of Abu Bakr, "He gave me birth twice." Ayesha is respected by Shias as the "Mother of Believers," as Ali ibn Abu Talib respected her when he sent her back from Basra to Madinah after the Battle of the Camel. If some Shia do slander the three caliphs and Ayesha, they do it out of ignorance and should ask God's forgiveness. (As we have witnessed how Imam Khomeini, The Shia bravely declared death of Salman Rushdie - The author of Satanic Verses who abused the wife of Prophet Ayesha and Shia Leader declared blasphemy, just for his Fatwa the whole western countries became against Iran. See how much price did Shia pay to defend Ayesha - while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE etc. etc. as the Sunni government were silent they did not defend Ayesha. Now who loves Ayesha?)
Misconception # 7: Shias combine all five prayers into one prayer in the evening.
Response: Not true. In Shia mosques, whether in Iran or the USA, all five daily prayers are performed. Shia do combine noon and afternoon and evening and night, but Shia scholars recommend performing them separately. Such combinations may not be ideal, but better than not praying at all. How can a Sunni who does not pray at all be better than a Shia who combines prayers?
Misconception # 8: Shias do not pay zakat (poor-due).
Response: Not true. They not only pay 2.5% left over from savings as zakat, but also an additional 20% as Khums or general charity. However, they prefer to pay directly to the needy rather than corrupt Sunni government.
Misconception #9: Shias practice temporary marriages (Mutah).
Response: Temporary marriages (Mutah) was allowed during the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and he himself practiced it. Ibn Zubayr was born out of the temporary marriage. Later on Caliph Umar prohibited it due to social reasons as the Islamic world was rapidly expanding. Shias discourage Mutah but do not consider it prohibited. Some do abuse this. As a temporary privilege during travel, it is better than adultery.
Misconception #10: They consider Imams infallible and above the Prophets.
Response: Not true. All prophets are born Prophet but as mentioned in the Holy Qur'an about Abraham that after passing the test, a prophet becomes a leader (Imam). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the Prophet (Nabi), Messenger (Rasul) and leader (Imam). Imams are carriers of the message of Islam. Shias consider Ali ibn Abu Talib only as an Imam and not prophet.
With the little knowledge I have, I tried to do my best as a Sunni in defending my Shia brothers in Islam with the hope and prayer to God Almighty that He will "instill love in the heart of the believers" and bring us closer to each other so that we jointly can fight our common enemy, Satan and his followers.

May God forgive my mistakes in this article and this book (Amin).

"Knowledge is better than wealth because it protects you while you have to guard wealth. It decreases if you keep on spending it but the more you make use of knowledge, the more it increases. What you get through wealth disappears as soon as wealth disappears but what you achieve through knowledge will remain even after you."

I am Shia but i am not a verrrryyyyyy religious person so i dont really know the differences myself.. i just know somewhat.. even though there are few things i disagree with.. i just usually follow my heart with whatever seems right to me or wrong..

^Problem with that reply or article (who is it by, I think I have skimmed through it before on some random site, it's not very convincing to say the least ) is that it can not be taken as the solid final answer - seems like some Shia wrote it. If someone writes something and trying to be unbiased then I guess it would be appropriate to also state that there is 'difference of opinion' on this issue among our scholars. Like for example the last question if Imams are infallible or higher than the Prophets. There is different opinions on the extent of infallibility of the Prophets and Imams and what their status is in regards to each other. And misconception 6, there is no doubt that Shias don't see the first 3 caliphs, Ayesha, Muawaiyah and Yazeed in good light after what they had done so I don't see a reason for any Shia to deny this. Tawala and Tabarrah are part of Firo-e-Deen.

Anyways as far as the view of Sunnis towards Shias, the famous fatwa from Al-Azhar University is there for anyone to see and they deem it legal for Muslims to follow the Shia school of thought in terms of fiqh just like any other school of thought (Shafi, Maliki, Hanbali and Hanafi - Shia = Jafari)

If anyone is interested they can read the fatwa I have posted the picture:

Well of course they want unity and all. And I mean you can come up with these similarities but we just listed 100 differences lol. There's no way you can simply say Sunni and Shia are the same. I mean yeah 5 times namaz, but we still do it differently.

I know i am going off topic here.. forgive me for that.

I want to appologize to the Ahmedis for calling them non-muslims.. I do say it because that is what a whole lot of scholors have agreed upon.. (I do not call them Kafirs cuz they are definatly not). .. Allah knows best.. I do feel that scholors have left the job half done and there are 'sects' of islam that are way off or as much off as Ahmadis are but they call themselves muslims while an Ahmedi will be pointed at as non-muslim just cuz they have been declared so and other hasn't... now i am not sure how many 'others' are like this.. but this thought occur to me when I found out about Agha khanis aka Islmalies.. the differences among them and rest of us are huge.. e.g. we all agree on 5 times prayer.. though everyone has a slight diff way of praying.. but according to them even that is not farz and you can just read a tasbi and it'll make up for it.... another differnce is that we all agree upon covering ourselves though we might disagree on covering hair or no while i saw their leader's daughter in law's pics in knee length skirt.

anyway i think i made my point earlier.. and i am truely sorry if i have offended anyone.. which i know i have... i hope you all can forgive me with all your heart ... i pray for Allah to show us the right path and keep us at it... for all of us.. me included

it all comes down to differences.. be that difference of believing who should have been the Khalifa to who is the last prophet.. to who is God himself

but there are similarities too.. we should never forget that.. but we tend to from time to time

lol its all good yo. just dont lock the thread

and guys no more DISCUSSING this isn't your scapegoat to go bash any sunnis or shias. we just want list of differences yo. ali imran and i compiled 100 of them and we want to keep on adding. Inshallah we can get to 300

sorry forgot to add the source for the article... here you go...

http://www.ezsoftech.com/akram/shiasunniunity.asp

lol what a thing to say
inshallah there will be less differences

truthfuly waqas ask urself if making a list of all the differences is really going to help you.. like ali said, if you really want to learn then go read islamic books....search for the truth with a good niyat and you will find it, inshallah...

and i agree you shouldn't call someone a non-muslim...let allah(swt) be a judge of that

There is no contridiction, if you see one of the main reason the Mehdi and massiah was to come , it was to remove all the biddats and differences that muslims had among them selves. Mirza sahib didnt create any chaos it was the muslims who did. The reason i say that is because they (muslims) were following there long tradition and when it was told to them that your ways are not the ways of the prophet that is when chaos started. You see when you have diviated your self from Islam and created your sect and following your own rules than it is hard to look back to the orginality since its been molded in such a way. That is why there are many differences if everyone would be following the same islam than there would be no differences.

So I don't understand, are you guys presently waiting for anyone else to come^ - like people believe Imam Mahdi (ajtf) and Prophet Isa (a) are going to come? Or just waiting for Qiyamat now?

waiting for Imam Mahdi (A.S) And Hazrat Isa (A.S)...


and both will come during the last days. According to Hadeeth, Imam Mahdi will appear first, and Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will appear during Imam Mahdi's lifetime. Furthermore, only Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will be able to kill Dajjal (the "anti-Christ").

The term "MAHDI" is a title meaning "The Guided one".

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Imam Mahdi's Features

Hadhrat Abu Saeed Khudri (R.A.) relates that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, "Al Mahdi will be from my progeny. His forehead will be broad and his nose will be high. He will fill the world with justice and fairness at a time when the world will be filled with oppression. He will rule for seven years."

Other ahadeeth inform us that:

* He will be tall
* He will be fair complexioned
* His facial features will be similar to those of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)
* His character will be exactly like that of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)
* His father's name will be Abdullah
* His mother's name will be Aamina
* He will speak with a slight stutter and occasionally this stutter will frustrate him causing him to hit his hand upon his thigh.
* His age at the time of his emergence will be forty years
* He will receive Knowledge from Allah.

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Dajjal:: Dajjal will be a Jew. His distinguishing feature is that he will be one-eyed and the word "Kafir" and "unbeliever"� will be written on his forehead.

Narrated Anas (radiAllahu anhu), The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said,
"No prophet was sent but that he warned his followers against the one-eyed liar (Ad-Dajjal). Beware! He is blind in one eye, and your Lord is not so, and there will be written between his (Ad-Dajjal's) eyes (the word) Kafir (i.e. disbeliever)."
[Sahih Al-Bukhari, 9.245 - This Hadith is also quoted by Abu Hurairah and Ibn 'Abbas]

That he is a Jew is confirmed from another hadis, which says that his followers will be mainly of Jewish religion.

Narrated by Anas ibn Malik (radiAllahu anhu) Allah's Apostle (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said,
The Dajjal would be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls.
[Sahih Muslim #7034]



Resources:

http://www.islam.tc/prophecies/imam.html

http://www.shariahprogram.ca/articles/dajj...m-messiah.shtml