Now let’s read about a very sensitive issue: major differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Insider Monkey has recently published an interesting article about this topic. I really haven’t known too much about Shia and Sunni muslims, so this article was vewry imformative for me. As we can read in Insider Moneky’s article, ‘This rivalry and the major differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims have come into play in numerous locations: for instance, in Yemen, Iran supports the Houthi Shiite rebels working to overthrow the government, whereas Saudi Arabia is providing military assistance to the Sunni government to retain its power. In Syria, Saudi Arabia staunchly backs the rebel groups on the ground, whereas Iran stands by the controversial Bashar al-Assad government.’
Now without a further ado let’s see what Insider Monkey has investigated for us. We have picked two major differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
The first difference is in rituals. Shia and Sunni Muslims have slight variations in their timings and method of prayer, and the former believe that it is allowed to combine the two main Dhuhr and Asr prayers as well as the two Maghrib and Isha prayers, which the latter rejects. In the month of Ramadan, Shiite Muslims keep their fast ten minutes earlier and break it ten minutes later. Shias also believe in al-Mutah (temporary marriage), whereas Sunnis do not accept it at all, as they believe the practice was abolished when the framework of Islam was being solidified. The second difference we are mentioning to you now is Belief in Mohammad Mahdi. The fifth major difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims is regarding Mohammad Mahdi who is believed to be the descendent of the Prophet Muhammad and is the twelfth Imam according to Shias. They believe that Mahdi has already been born and is in occultation, and will remain so until the time comes for him to emerge and take charge in establishing a righteous rule on the planet. Sunnis, on the other hand, believe that Mahdi is yet to be born, although they concur that he will be of the Prophet’s lineage. Sunnis also believe that the Mahdi will be a pious and righteous man, but Shias hold him in much greater reverence.
For any further useful information, read Insider Monkey’s article about 7 major differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
