Week 10 muslim Sects

Divisons on the world  Seven climes  

based on  Into the four regions/corners of the world
(north,south,east,west)
 Acording to nations
 According to religious beliefs and doctrine
-Islam is a mjaor religions and it also has different
sects
 
Political origins of sects
 After the death of utman at medina
 Muawiya the syrian govener did not want to accpet the rule of Ali.Led to battle of Siffin
 Inconclusive end led to leaders agreeing to arbitration ,which led to a new grp
Kharijis(rebelled against both leaders )
 
The concept of leadership
In this conterversial environment the politcal concept of leadership in islam emerged
The types where
Supported the rule of The family of Leader must be from the prophets family
the prophet

kharijis Opp effect,any righteous muslim could become the

caliph of the umma

Sunnis (Majority of muslims ) Anyone who is a desendant of the Qyaryesh tribe

 
 
Shi’ism
Followers or party of Ali,believe that the Prophet's religious leadership, spiritual authority, and
divine guidance were passed on to his descendants
 The Shi’a reject the authority of the first three Rightly-Guided Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar,
Uthman)
The defining event of Shiism was the martyrdom of Husayn,this grated the element of passion
and tragedy
 
There are three main branches of Shiis today:
1. Zaydis,
2. Ismailis (Seveners)
3. Ithna Asharis (Twelvers or Imamis)
 
1. Zaydis

mostly in Yemen, and partly in Iraq, and Africa.
The Zaydis are
located

They represent activist groups who believe that the imam ought to fight for his
 rights and be a ruler of state.
 The Zaydi madhhab (sect) emerged in reverence of Zayd’s failed uprising against the
Ummayad Caliph, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (ruling through 724-743 AD)(don’t have learn
names or dates )
 
Zaydis believe zayd ibn ali was betrayed by the people in the battle of kufa
Abu Hanifa (sunni) stated a legal statement in favour of zayd against the rebellion

Zaydi position on the Rightly-Guided Caliphs

 the term Rafida (those who reject) was a term used by Zayd on those who rejected him in
his last hours for his refusal to condemn the first two Caliphs of the Muslim world, Abu Bakr
and Umar.
Size of the Sect historically
 Zaydis were the oldest branch of the Shia and the largest group amongst the Shia before the
Safavid Dynasty in the sixteenth century (and its conversion of Iran to Shi’ism) and currently
the second largest group.
Infallibility of Imams
 Zaidis do not believe in the infallibility of Imams, but promote their leadership and divine
inspiration
 
 

2.The ismailis(seveners)
They were named after the seventh imam, Ismail . They founded the Fatimid Empire
And represent esoteric shiism
in whose progeny they have recognized a continuous line of Alid imams
Another sucession crisis
Ismalis followed Ismail as succesor after Ja'far al-Sadiq

Twelver shia Followed samosa musa after Ja'far al-Sadiq

Ismaili Belief

 Elaborated specific literary and intellectual traditions based on a fundamental distinction

between the exoteric (zahir) and esoteric (batin) aspects of religious scriptures and
prescriptions
 Ismailis believe that the Imam has the authority to interpret the Qur'an in relation to the
present time


Located present Muslim minorities in some twenty- five countries of Asia, the Middle
day East, Africa, Europe, and North America.

Subdivisions Nizaris,daudis

3.The Ithna Asharis (Twelvers or Imamis)

  
They are the largest group

 Twelvers believe in twelve imams, beginning with Ali and ending with Muhammad al-
Mahdi ,
Al-Mahdi went into occultation (hiding) and is expected to return at the end of time as the
messianic imam who will restore justice and equity on earth.
 He is therefore referred to as the imam al-muntazar, the expected or awaited imam
 
The Historical Development
Historically, the Shiis enjoyed the most favorable conditions under Buyid rule in Baghdad and
Iran
During this period major collections of Shii hadith were compiled and Shii legal
thought was formulated

This period  public mourning ceremonies

  for Husayn
 shrines were built for the imams
 the custom of pilgrimage to these shrines was
established at the popular level
 

Later developments Scholars of the Mongol, Safavid, and Qajar periods also made
major contributions to Shii literature, philosophy, theology, and
law
Religious ceremonies
Two popular Shii 1. the the festival of Ghadir al-
commemorations held in remembrance of the Khumm(commemorating the
baghdad martyrdom of Prophet's nomination of Ali as his
Husayn successor)
 
 
Differnces between shiia and sunnis

Succession to the  Sunna = the four Rightly Guided Caliphs
Prophet  Shia = Ali and his descendants

Religious authority  Shia = Tafsir (exegesis) of the Qur’an and

hadith are known through Imams, not through majority of the
Prophet’s Companions
 Sunna = through the Prophet’s Companions
including Ali
 
Religious Hierarchy
 Ayatollah (Sign of God)
 Emulation (taqlid)
 
The most effective ideologue of modern Shiism was Ali Shariati
-He identified Western imperialism, cultural colonialism, social injustice, and political
repression as the greatest contemporary challenges
 In contrast to the passive, suffering role typically assumed by Shiis, Shariati cast Shiism as
activist, radical, revolutionary, classless, and opposed to tyranny and repression.
Vilayat-i faqih: A new concept of government
 Khomeini was the most rhetorically successful
revolutionary Shi’i.
Due to external and internal pressure Khomeini introduced the principle of vilayat-i faqih as
the foundation for Islamic government
 
What is Vilayat-i faqih
 in the absence of an imam, the leadership of Muslim nations is to be entrusted to Shii
jurists, who are to rule by virtue of their knowledge of sacred law and their ability to regulate
the daily affairs of Muslims.
 The resultant the ideological institutionalization of modern Shii political ideas
 
 Self-Flagellation
 Some Shia communities worldwide march in massive parades every year on the Day of
Ashura to commemorate the Battle of Karbala and the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, while
hitting themselves on the chest.
 communities hit themselves on the back with chains and sharp objects such as knives(Self-
Flagellation)

Christian context an episode in the Passion of Christ prior to Jesus' crucifixion.

Some imp points x

Abd =-al-Karim- historian of religions
Madhab in arabic means :school of law-pracctical
:sect-belief/faith
Imamate:leader
Imiam Jafar al-Sadiq -father of ismail
Al-Mahdi went into occultation (hiding) and is expected to return at the end of time as the
messianic imam who will restore justice and equity on earth.
 Great Sign of God“ = Grand Ayatollah
 Emulation (taqlid) Every person who identifies as Shia has to follow a single, absolute
religious leader whose word is Law
 
Shariati inspired the Iranian clerics Ayatollah Khomeini who emerged at the head of the
Iranian Islamic revolution