Today there are more than 1.5 billion Muslims
living across the globe with Muslim majority countries spreading from Morocco to Indonesia. But just like virtually all other religions,
Islam is not united and has branches interpreting Quran and matters related to political events
in the history of Islam in a different way. The two main denominations of Islam are Sunnism
and Shiism with Sunnis making up 85-90% of the Muslim population. But how did the split in the Muslim world
happened? In today’s video we are going to talk about
the schism in Islam, emergence of Sunni and Shia Islam and the effects it had on the Caliphate
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month with a huge discount! We need to start our story with Ali ibn Abi
Talib, one of the most important persons in the history of Islam. Ali was born in Mecca in the powerful Hashimi
clan and was a cousin of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. They had a strong bond, as Ali’s father
had raised Muhammad when he became orphaned and later Ali would live in Muhammad’s household. When in 610 AD Muhammad proclaimed his prophethood,
Ali was one of the first persons to accept Islam and recognize Muhammad as the prophet. But Muhammad’s proselytizing was not initially
popular among the polytheistic Meccans and he and the early Muslims had been oppressed. The rumours of a plot against Muhammad were
spreading, forcing him to leave Mecca for Medina with majority of his followers in 622,
which was called Hijra - the migration - an event so momentous that the new Islamic calendar
starts with that day. Initially Ali stayed behind to return people
the possessions they had entrusted upon the Prophet for safekeeping, but very soon he
joined other Muslims in Medina and in 623 married Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah Zahra,
becoming one of the most trusted companions of Muhammad. Known in the Muslim community for wisdom and
fairness, he earned the nickname Asad Allah - the Lion of God - for his military exploits
and courage on the battlefield. By 631 the Islamic community - the Ummah - had
been able to assert control over Mecca and large swathes of the Arabian Peninsula and
was already a formidable force, but who was going to succeed aging Muhammad? And this is the root of the split in Islam. As one would expect Sunni and Shia sources
offer different interpretations. On the way back from his last pilgrimage Muhammad
made a sermon at the Ghadir Khumm oasis, took Ali by his hand and proclaimed that "Anyone
who has me as his Mawla , has Ali as his Mawla". Shia theology believes that in Ghadir Khumm
the Prophet designated Ali as his successor by calling him Mawla - a polysemous Arabic
word with several meanings, one of which is leader or master. Sunnis believe that the Ghadir Khumm episode
was merely a proclamation of affinity of the Prophet to his loyal companion and son-in-law
and interpret the word Mawla using its second definition - a friend. Another important episode in the succession
dispute between the Sunni and Shia theologies is connected to the so-called Pen and Paper
episode. This is considered a genuine hadith, as both
Sunni and Shia theologians accept it, but interpret differently. In Islam, a hadith is a story on the life
of Muhammad with religious and legal messages for the Muslim community, and according to
this one, a few days before his death, Muhammad asked his companions to bring him pen and
paper so that he could write a statement in order to prevent the Ummah from going astray
after his death. But one of Muhammad’s closest companions
Umar said: “The Prophet is seriously ill, and we have got Allah’s Book with us and
that is sufficient for us”. This led to a loud dispute in the room in
the presence of Muhammad, who got unhappy and called everyone to leave. It is still unclear what the prophet wanted
to write. Shias claim that he intended to designate
Ali as his successor, but there is no way to determine this. According to Sunnis, the Prophet did not explicitly
designate a successor and left it for the Islamic community to decide. There are other events which Sunnis and Shia
base their claims on regarding the succession, but in short following Muhammad’s death
in 632, the Ummah did not have a consensus on a new leader. While Ali took charge of the arrangements
of the funeral, a meeting to decide the successor took place in Medina. Ali and two other prominent companions of
the Prophet Abu Bakr and Umar were not present and deliberations took place without them. In fact majority of those present were the
Muslims residing in Medina, who welcomed Muhammad or were converted later, while very few of
those who went on a Hijra from Mecca to Medina with Muhammad were there. Abu Bakr and Umar rushed to the meeting and
took charge of the process in Ali’s absence. The latter was one of the first converts to
Islam, Muhammad’s father-in-law through his daughter Aisha. Deeply respected by modern Sunnis, he was
very rich and contributed a lot to the cause of Islam, and arguably one of the main contenders
to leadership. Umar was also a close companion of Muhammad,
also his father-in-law through his daughter Hafsa, known for his zealous protection of
the Prophet. He is known as a just, intelligent and wise
person in the Sunni tradition. After a heated debate, Umar was able to persuade
those present to choose Abu Bakr as the successor - the Caliph, a ruler of the Muslim Ummah. Ali was later presented with the fact of succession
and along with a number of other companions initially refused to accept the decision,
as it was taken without him, while he was one of the strongest candidates. Umar embarked on the process of persuading
or forcing the companions to offer fealty to Abu Bakr. He personally came to Ali’s house to persuade
him. The events which followed have been the subject
of much dispute, as the Sunnis believe that Umar was able to peacefully persuade Ali to
recognize Abu Bakr’s Caliphate. According to Shia sources, Umar forced Ali
to concede by breaking into the house, slamming the door, which broke Ali’s wife Fatimah
Zahrah ribs, eventually leading to miscarriage of their child. Ali himself was tied with a rope to force
his allegiance. It is impossible to verify what really happened,
but eventually Ali accepted Abu Bakr and his successor Umar as caliphs and retired from
public life. He was often consulted in matters of state. Ali accepted the selection of Umar as caliph
and even gave one of his daughters, Umm Kulthūm, to him in marriage. After the death of Umar in 644, Ali was considered
for the position, but eventually another companion of Muhammad, Uthman of the Banu Umayyah clan,
became the new caliph. Again, Ali recognized the new caliph, but
very soon discontent in the Caliphate grew. Again the sources do not agree on the reasons,
but many claimed that Uthman’s nepotism and leniency towards tribal rivalries was
the cause of the opposition against him. Rebels offered to support Ali as an alternative
to Uthman, but Ali refused and even sent his sons Hassan and Husain to protect Uthman’s
house, where eventually despite all the protection Uthman was assassinated by rebels from Egypt
in 656. Finally Ali’s turn to become a caliph came
and he became the fourth and the last of the Rashidun Caliphs. But his election was not smooth and he became
a caliph amidst very tumultuous times. The Prophet’s wife Aisha and Uthman’s
relatives from the Banu Umayyah clan, including the governor of Syria Muawiya demanded Ali
to punish the plotters of Uthman’s death, but since some of them were Ali’s supporters,
the new caliph rejected and soon the First Muslim Civil War, called Fitna started. In December 656, Ali’s army defeated the
rebels at the Battle of Camel near Basra, but Muawiya still refused to accept Ali as
a new caliph and the anti-Ali opposition gathered around him. Ali was willing to not repeat Uthman’s mistakes
and carried out measures to centralize the caliphate and decrease the power of governors. The two men assembled their armies and confronted
each other at Siffin, on the Euphrates, in 657. Neither side was keen to commit to a major
battle, but after three months of occasional skirmishes, when serious fighting finally
broke out, Muawiya’s followers called for an arbitration, apparently after riding out
with copies of the Quran on their lances to bring the conflict to a stop. Ali was forced to agree, but some of his followers
objected and abandoned him; they became known as kharijis, from the Arabic verb kharaja
to leave because they left Ali’s army. According to the arbitration, which took place
at Adhruh in 658 or 659, it was ruled that both Ali and Muawiya should relinquish their
claims and the Muslim Ummah should have a chance to choose their own ruler. Ali rejected this ruling and the stalemate
continued as Muawiya’s supporters proclaimed him a caliph in Damascus in 660. The following year Ali was assassinated by
the Kharijis while praying in the mosque at Kufa. Ali’s son Hasan was proclaimed a new caliph
in Kufa, which became the capital during Ali’s short reign. But Muawiya had a far stronger army, thus
Hasan stepped down as a caliph in order to avoid further bloodshed and a treaty between
the sides was signed. According to the treaty:
- Hasan accepted Muawiya as a caliph under the condition that he would act in accordance
with Islam - Muawiya should not appoint a successor and
a new caliph should be elected by the electoral council - Shura
- Muawiya should abandon cursing Ali and persecuting Ali’s family and supporters. But Muawiya would not stay true to his pledges
and towards the end of his reign he designated his son Yazid as a successor. This would be breaking off the tradition of
the Islamic Caliphate as a state, which elected its leader through consultation or election,
to a monarchy. Muawiya summoned the Shura in Damascus, the
new capital of the Caliphate and through persuasion and bribery was able to secure support for
Yazid. This development caused significant opposition
in different quarters and this opposition started gathering around Muhammad’s grandson
and Ali’s son, Husain, who replaced Hasan, who passed away in 670, as the leader. Despite the opposition, Muawiya was able to
secure the support of Mecca and Medina for Yazid. Ali’s capital Kufa was the potential stronghold
of the opposition and the death of Muawiya in 680 put the events, which would further
divide the Islamic World, into action. Following Muawiya’s death Yazid became a
new caliph and immediately demanded allegiance of Husain. Yazid’s envoy could not persuade Husain
to do this and was afraid of killing him, since Husain was the Prophet’s grandson. Around the same time, the people of the city
of Kufa started sending letters to Husain informing him about their opposition to the
Umayyad rule, their support for him and intention to remove Yazid from power and install him
instead. The Kufans sided with Ali during the first
Fitna, continued to support his family by backing Hasan and were unhappy when he abdicated
in favour of Muawiya. Husain accepted this call and sent his cousin
Muslim ibn Aqil to Kufa to assess the situation and gather support. Initially, Muslim ibn Aqil was very successful
and he informed Hussain of the progress. Yazid was forced to change the governor of
Kufa to defeat the opposition in the city and the new governor succeeded in doing just
that. With the support dwindling, Muslim ibn Aqil
decided to carry out a revolt before Husain’s arrival, but it was defeated. Husain did not know about this and in September
680 started his journey towards Kufa with around 50 men and his family members. On the way Husain received information about
the death of Muslim ibn Aqil and the defeat of the revolt in Kufa. He called on those who joined him on the way
to leave, understanding the futility of his attempt to challenge Yazid. Very soon Yazid’s forces confronted Husain
and an envoy of the Kufa’s new governor told Husain to come with him or turn back
and go anywhere, but Medina. Husain refused and continued on his path with
the envoys forces accompanying him. On the 2nd of October Husain reached Karbala
and set camp there. On the following day Yazid sent additional
4k men to confront Husain. The Umayyad army had orders to prevent Husain’s
men from accessing the Euphrates river, in order to force them to concede due to lack
of water. But 3 days later Husain’s group was able
to access water, creating a stalemate. For over a week Yazid’s officials had tried
to persuade Husain to accept his fate and pledge allegiance to Yazid, since they understood
the consequences of attacking the Prophet’s grandson. Ultimately, Husain refused the offers of Yazid
and on the 10th of October the Umayyad army approached Husain’s camp and both sides
took their battle positions. Husain’s companions fought valiantly, but
the forces were extremely uneven - he and his men were massacred. This included 7 sons of Ali, including Husain
himself, two of Husain’s son’s, three sons of his brother Hasan and other grandchildren
of Ali. Many from the prophet’s family were killed. This was a final straw completing the schism
in the Islamic world and dividing into Sunni and Shia. The process, which started with the dispute
over succession to Muhammad and continued with killing of Ali and Husain caused the
split of Islam with Shiat Ali - Ali’s Party - first becoming a political movement within
Islam and later transforming into a branch of Islam offering alternative interpretation
of Quran and Hadiths, its own view on Islamic jurisprudence, on state and some religious
practices, venerating the People of the House (Ahl al-Bayt) Muhammad’s direcet descendants
as his righteous succesors. The Sunni, also known as The People of the
Sunnah and the Community - Ahl as-Sunnah wa l-jamaah) remained the majority in Islam and
although naturally there have been some transformation in the Sunni Islam in comparison with early
Islam coming with new times and different interpretations of holy texts by the Sunni
scholars, the main distinctions between the two largest branches of Islam go back to the
events we have described above. And while the Sunni theology respects the
Ahl al-Bayt as well, it rejects the premise that the Islamic Ummah should be ruled by
Ahl al-Bayt. The Killing of Ali, massacre of Husain, his
family members and companions strengthened the sense of injustice against the Prophet’s
family among the Shia Muslims and turned martyrdom into one of its main pillars. Ali’s martyrdom during the prayer, Husain’s
martyrdom during the struggle against the perceived tyrant and usurper, turned into
a powerful symbol of the Shia Islam. The first month of the Muslim calendar - Muharram
is the annual period of mourning for the Shia Muslims with the 10th of Muharram known as
Ashura, the day of the Battle of Karbala, becoming the peak day of mourning ceremonies. Millions of devoted Shias make the Arbaeen
pilgrimage on foot to the Holy Shrine of Imam Husain in Karbala every year. The Shia defeat in the Battle of Karbala did
not stop the supporters of the Ahl al-Bayt from opposing the existing state of affairs
in the Islamic World. Dissenters to the existing state of affairs
in Islam would take up the flag of the Party of Ali and challenge the rule of the Caliphate. Numerous powerful states and dynasties such
as the Fatimids, Buyids, Nizaris, Safavids and others emerged throughout the Islamic
world armed with the powerful idea of Shia Islam. In our episode on the Hashashins, link to
which is in description and pinned comment, you can learn about some of the events that
followed the Muslim Schism, and we are planning more episodes on the topic, so make sure you
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we will catch you on the next one.
Don't they know that the pieces fit?
How does it compare to Orthodox/Catholic split?
Little Oman just gonna hangout in the corner being Ibadi
That's a really cool word. Schism.
it leans more toward shia perspective
[removed]
I always wondered about this. TIL
This is interesting from a Religious history perspective, but it skims a bit on political alliance playing a big role in the Shia and Sunni split. Wives were given to Prophet Muhammad in exchange for that tribe getting a share of power, and it worked whilst he was alive. After his death, it became a debate about should the leader on the North/South/East tribe should rule over everyone else. The military leaders involved in the Islamic conquest had largest support for succession due to the power they held (Abu Bakr, Umar), but even they couldn't just tell far away weakened former empires to accept them.
Religious texts are going to be written with a lot of actions from important figures being used as symbolism of greater meaning, but a lot of this is the cover story of a battle between tribes over power.
The thing that is odd is the majority of muslim's still venerate the people that murdered the family of Mohammad.
That is a common pain point as shia's do not understand how one can venerate a person like Muaviya and also his adversary Ali.
Likewise Shia's are quite upset at Aisha for her role in causing the civil war at the battle of the camel but Sunni's venerate and respect her as a wife of the prophet.
These competing characters are the forces driving everyone apart.
Logically speaking, you do have to pick a side, although it's quite popular for most muslims to just respect everyone, which is a bit silly, seeing as some had others murdered. Very odd indeed.