Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. Followers of the Sunni tradition are known as Sunnis or Sunnites, and sometimes refer to themselves as the Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamaa'h. It is widely believed among Sunnis that the name Sunni derives from the word Sunnah which represents the prophet Muhammad's manner of conduct. Some have argued that "Sunni" actually means or is derived from a word that means "a middle path" referring to the idea that Sunnism is a more neutral position than the perceivedly more extreme viewpoints of the Shia and the Kharijites.

History

In Islam, political disagreements have usually manifested themselves as religious disagreements; the earliest example of this is that 30 years after Muhammed's death, the Islamic community plunged into a civil war that gave rise to three sects. One proximal cause of this first civil war was that some rebels in Iraq and Egypt resented the power of the third Caliph and his governors. After the Caliph was murdered, war broke out in full force between different groups, each fighting for power. The war ended with a new dynasty of Caliphs who ruled from Damascus. Two groups of believers branched off from the main fold of Muslims at this time, and the core group of Muslims were later to be known as Sunnis. They hold themselves as the followers of the sunna (practice) of the prophet Muhammad as related by his companions (the sahaba). Sunnis also maintain that the Islamic community (''ummah) as a whole will always be guided. They were willing to recognize the authority of the Caliphs, who maintained rule by law and persuasion, and by force if necessary. The Sunnis became the largest division of Islam.

Sunnis around the world

Algeria has nearly 99% (state religion) Sunni muslims, Kuwait has (70%) and Afghanistan has a clear majority of Sunni muslims (around 80%). Sunni muslims outnumber Shi'ite muslims in Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Sudan (70%), Syria (74%), Tajikistan (85%), Libya (97%), Jordan (92%) and certain islands like the Maldives, Comoros (98%) and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (80%). Sunni muslims also constitute a significant minority in many countries, including Iraq (which has 22% Sunni Muslims living mostly in the central parts of the country), Iran (10%), and Bahrain (25%). This enumeration is incomplete (so far) since it lacks data on Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Brunei, Chad, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Mayotte, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, which all are countries where a majority of the population is Muslim.

Theology

Basis for theology

Sunnis base their religion on the Quran and the Sunnah. Many other groups also claim to follow the Quran and the Sunnah, but the difference between Sunnis and others is that Sunnis follow the Quran and Sunnah as they were understood by the companions of the Prophet Muhammad. The four Sunni schools of law (madhahib), the Hanafi, the Maliki, the Shafi'i and the Hanbali are mistakenly understood by some to be different sects. This is quite contrary to the truth. These four schools of law attribute themselves to four great scholars of early Islam, Abu Haneefah, Malik, Shafi'i, and Ahmad bin Hanbal. These scholars amongst others were known for their knowledge and piety, and therefore became wellknown throughout the Muslim lands. They differed only in minor issues of application of certain principles in the religion and were in no way in opposition to each other. As a matter of fact, three of the four were students of each other. Ahmad bin Hanbal was a student of Shafi'i, who was a student of Malik. There were other many other scholars who were also held in regard for their knowledge, but their opinions did not become "schools" as the four previous mentioned. There are many groups who claim to be followers of Sunni Islam, but traditional sunni scholars do not deem them to be so. Some of them contradicted traditional Sunni belief, such as the Ashari's and the Maturidi's. From these groups are the well known "Sufi's". Although they claim to follow traditional Islam, their beliefs and forms of worship is a collection of innovations dictated to them by their specific spiritual guides, ranging from whirling dervishes who dance and spin in circles, to others who put themselves through exhausting bouts repeating specific prayers, both claiming to reach special stations of piety and knowledge unreached by other "laymen". Some of the most famous of them are the Qadiri, Naqshbandi, Shadhili, Chishti, and Rifa‘i paths or "tariqas".

View on other groups

Sunnis view the Shi'ites to be in total contradiction to the principles of Islam. They view them to contradict the strict monotheism which Sunni Islam adheres to, due to them supplicating to and beseeching help from the family of the Prophet Muhammad at their graves, which is considered to be an act which takes person out of the fold of Islam. The Shi'ites also have extreme views in regards to the cousin of the Prophet, Ali, which caused them to declare the majority of the companions of the Prophet as disbelievers, who on the other hand were highly praised in the Quran. There are many other opinions held by the Shi'ites unacceptable by Sunnis, such as the belief in the Imamate, and different views on the Caliphate, and many others. Other groups considered to be outside the of Islam by Sunnis are Nation of Islam, Ahmadiyya, and Ismailis.

External links

Sunni Islam articles (Leading site for scholarly articles on Islam)
The Islamic Network (Online Center for Islamic Learning)
Sunni Books and Tapes(Download many Sunni books and Tapes)
The Islam Page (A comprehensive page discussing many issues of Sunni Islam)

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