266,074 views
25 votes
25 votes
Explain the significance of Sunni and Shia

User Debran
by
3.0k points

1 Answer

7 votes
7 votes

Answer:

The sunni - The Sunnis recognize the first four caliphs as the Prophet Muhammad's rightful successors, whereas the Shiʿah believe that Muslim leadership belonged to Muhammad's son-in-law, ʿAlī, and his descendants alone.

Shia - In early Islamic history, the Shia were a movement - literally "Shiat Ali" or the "Party of Ali". They claimed that Ali was the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad as leader (imam) of the Muslim community following his death in 632.

User Rick Roberts
by
2.9k points