Shia Islam

Arabic text Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf , Iraq , where Ali is buried. Shia Islam ( Shī‘ah , sometimes spelled Shi'a ), is the second largest denomination of Islam , after Sunni Islam . The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'as but the terms Shiites or Shi'ites are common Anglicisations . "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shī‘atu ‘Alī ( شيعة علي ), meaning "the followers of Ali " or "the faction of Ali ". Similar to other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is based on the teachings of the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an and the message of the final prophet of Islam , Muhammad . In contrast to other schools of thought, Shia Islam holds that Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt ("the People of the House"), and certain individuals among his descendants, who are known as Imams , have special spiritual and political authority over the community. Shia Muslims further believe that Ali , Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and was the rightful successor to Muhammad and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three caliphs . Shias regard Ali as the most important figure after Muhammad. According to them, Muhammad suggested on various occasions during his lifetime that Ali should be the leader of Muslims after his demise. According to this view, Ali as the successor of Muhammad not only ruled over the community in justice, but also interpreted the Sharia Law and its esoteric meaning . Hence he was regarded as being free from error and sin ( infallible ), and appointed by God by divine decree ( nass ) to be the first Imam . Ali is known as "perfect man" ( al-insan al-kamil ) similar to Muhammad according to Shia viewpoint.

"Shia" and "Shias" redirect here. Arabic text The Shia ( / ˈ ʃ iː ə / ; Shīʿah ), or the Shiites ( / ˈ ʃ iː aɪ t s / ), represent the second largest denomination of Islam . Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shias or the Shi'a as a collective or Shi'i individually. Shi'a is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī ( شيعة علي ) meaning "followers", "faction" or "party" of Muhammad 's son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib , whom the Shia believe to be Muhammad's successor in the Caliphate . Twelver Shia ( Ithnā'ashariyyah ) is the largest branch of Shia Islam, and the term Shia Muslim is often taken to refer to Twelvers by default. As of 2009 Shia Muslims constituted 10-13% of the world's Muslim population, Shias comprised 11-14% of the Muslim population in the Middle East-North Africa region, and between 68% and 80% of Shias lived in four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq. Shia Islam is based on the Quran and the message of the Islamic prophet Muhammad attested in hadith recorded by the Shia, and certain books deemed sacred to the Shia ( Nahj al-Balagha ). Shia consider Ali to have been divinely appointed as the successor to Muhammad, and as the first Imam . The Shia also extend this "Imami" doctrine to Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt ("the People of the House"), and certain individuals among his descendants, known as Imams , who they believe possess special spiritual and political authority over the community, infallibility, and other divinely-ordained traits. Although there are myriad Shia subsects, modern Shia Islam has been divided into three main groupings: Twelvers , Ismailis and Zaidis with Twelver Shia being the largest and most influential group among Shia. Shi'a is an alternative spelling of Shia , and Shi'ite of Shiite . In subsequent sections, the spellings Shia and Shiite are adopted for consistency, except where the alternative spelling is in the title of a reference.

"Shia" and "Shias" redirect here. One of the two main branches of Islam Shia Islam or Shi'ism is one of the two main branches of Islam . It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam (leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm , but was prevented from the caliphate as a result of the incident of Saqifah . This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunni Islam , whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor and consider Abu Bakr , who was appointed caliph by a group of Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful caliph after Muhammad. A person observing Shia Islam is called a Shi'ite . Shia Islam is based on Muhammad's hadith (Ghadir Khumm). Shia consider Ali to have been divinely appointed as the successor to Muhammad, and as the first Imam. The Shia also extend this Imammah to Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt ("the people/family of the House"), and some individuals among his descendants, known as Imams , who they believe possess special spiritual and political authority over the community, infallibility and other divinely ordained traits. Although there are many Shia subsects , modern Shia Islam has been divided into two main groupings: Twelvers and Ismailis , with Twelver Shia being the largest and most influential group among Shia. Shia Islam is the second largest branch of Islam: as of the late 2000s, Shia Muslims constituted 10–15% of all Muslims. Twelver Shia is the largest branch of Shia Islam, with 2012 estimates saying that 85% of Shias were Twelvers. Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). The Pew Forum's estimate of the Shia population (10–13%) is in keeping with previous estimates, which generally have been in the range of 10–15%. Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalism .

Major Islamic denomination "Shia" and "Shias" redirect here. Shīʿa Islam ( / ˈ ʃ iː ə / ), otherwise known as Shīʿism ( / ˈ ʃ iː ɪ z ( ə ) m / ) or as Shīʿite or Shīʿī Islam ( / ˈ ʃ iː aɪ t / , / ˈ ʃ iː i / ), is the second-largest branch of Islam . It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor ( khalīfa ) and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm , but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a result of the choice made by some of Muhammad's other companions ( ṣaḥāba ) at Saqifah . This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunnī Islam , whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abū Bakr , who was appointed caliph by a group of senior Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful ( rāshidūn ) caliph after Muhammad. Adherents of Shīʿa Islam are called Shīʿa Muslims , Shīʿites , or simply Shīʿa , Shia , or Shīʿīs . Shīʿa Islam is based on a ḥadīth report concerning Muhammad's pronouncement at Ghadir Khumm. Shīʿa Muslims believe that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib , Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, should have been the designated successor to Muhammad as Islam's spiritual and political leader. This belief later developed into the concept of Imamah , the idea that certain descendants of Muhammad, the Ahl al-Bayt , are rightful rulers or Imams, whom Shīʿa Muslims believe possess special spiritual and political authority over the Muslim community . Shīʿa Islam is the second largest branch of Islam , followed by 10–15% of all Muslims. Although there are many Shīʿa subsects , Twelver Shīʿīsm is by far the largest and most influential, comprising about 85% of all Shīʿa Muslims. Others include the Ismāʿīlīs and Zaydis .

Second-largest branch of Islam "Shia" and "Shias" redirect here. Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam . It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib ( r. 656–661 ) as both his political successor ( caliph ) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam ). However, his right is understood to have been usurped by a number of Muhammad's companions at the meeting of Saqifa , during which they appointed Abu Bakr ( r. 632–634 ) as caliph instead. As such, Sunni Muslims believe Abu Bakr, Umar ( r. 634–644 ), Uthman ( r. 644–656 ) and Ali to be ' rightly-guided caliphs ', whereas Shia Muslims regard only Ali as the legitimate successor. Shia Muslims believe that the imamate continued through Ali's sons, Hasan and Husayn , after which various Shia branches developed and recognized different imams. They revere the ahl al-bayt , the family of Muhammad, maintaining that they possess divine knowledge. Shia holy sites include the shrine of Ali in Najaf , the shrine of Husayn in Karbala , and other mausoleums of the ahl al-bayt . Later events, such as Husayn's martyrdom in the Battle of Karbala (680 CE), further influenced the development of Shia Islam, contributing to the formation of a distinct religious sect with its own rituals and shared collective memory. Shia Islam is followed by 10–13% of all Muslims with a population of an estimated 150–200 million followers worldwide. The three main Shia branches are Twelverism , Isma'ilism , and Zaydism . Shia Muslims form a majority of the population in three countries across the Muslim world : Iran , Iraq , and Azerbaijan . Significant Shia communities are also found in Bahrain , Lebanon , Kuwait , Turkey , Yemen , Saudi Arabia , Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent . Iran stands as the world's only country where Shia Islam forms the foundation of both its laws and governance system . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).