Rel134 Sunni vs Shiite

Sunni and Islam

Within the religion of Islam there are several branches or sects and one of the largest divisions are the Sunni (Sunnah), which the name is taken from the word Sunna (“tradition”, “example”). After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, according to the Sunni Muslims the debate or confusion that followed from not having appointed someone as head of the community. This led to the appointing of Muhammad’s father-in-law and close friend Abu Bakr as the first Caliph (literally means successor). It was at this point within the religion that the two main factions (Sunni and Shia) divided due to the decision of leadership.

Religion in Public and Political Life

“Although Sunnis and Shias agree on many theological and practical matters, the Sunni are typically seen as putting more emphasis on the power of God and his determination of human fate, and are often understood to be more inclusive in their definition of what it means to be a Muslim. The Sunni tradition has placed great emphasis on the role of religion in public and political life, with great weight placed on the Shariah (Islamic law) as the standard for a broad range of social issues—marriage, divorce, inheritance, commerce, and so on” (Author Unknown, 2008-2013, Sunni Islam, para. 1).

Sunni Interpretation of the Qur’an

Similar to all Muslims, the Sunnis believe that the only “scripture” to be revealed by God to Mohammad was the Qur’an and the text is considered to be a unique and pure record of what God communicated during his life span. What separates the Sunnis from all others is its dependence in use of the hadith when referring to their written and important traditions. A hadith is known as a theory or common philosophy for understanding and interpreting the Qur’an and in most matters of legislation. A hadith may clear up, correct, or even edit legal writings and terminologies that are written in the Qur’an, Sunni legal representatives have created methods for adding a hadith as an auxiliary...