Both sides agreed that Allah is the one true God and that Muhammad was his messenger, but one group (which eventually became the Shiites) felt Muhammad’s successor should be someone in his bloodline, while the other (which became the Sunnis) felt a pious individual who would follow the Prophet’s customs was acceptable.

Similarities between the Sunnis and Shias They both believe that there is only one all-powerful God who created the world and all life in it. They also believe in a devil, angels, and demons. Shia and Sunni believe that Islam began in 610 CE when Muhammad, the last prophet, began receiving messages from God.

Social justice is also believed to be a fundamental right. Sunnis and Shiites share the belief that there are five pillars of Islam: (1) the unity of Allah and the prophethood of Muhammad, (2) the five obligatory prayers, (3) fasting, (4) charity, and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Wahhabism. Many of the strict and unique practices in Saudi Arabia mentioned above come from Wahhabism, the official and dominant form of Sunni Islam in Saudi Arabia, named after the preacher and scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab.

Islam is the state religion of Pakistan, and about 95-98% of Pakistanis are Muslim. Pakistan has the second largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. The majority are Sunni (estimated at 80-90%), with an estimated 10-20% Shia. A PEW survey in 2012 found that 6% of Pakistani Muslims were Shia.

The estimated figures for the Hindu population in 2020, among some Arab countries was as follows: United Arab Emirates 660,000. Saudi Arabia 440,000.

Wahhabism is named after an 18th century Arabian theologian of the Hanbali school and is the strictest of the four Sunni Islamic juridical schools. It was originally the cornerstone of Saudi statehood.

Saudi Arabia’s Twelver Shia community, the Baharna, is primarily concentrated in the country’s Eastern province, chiefly Qatif and Al-Ahsa. A Twelver Shia community also exists in Medina known as the Nakhawila.

Wahhabism (Arabic: الوهابية‎, al-Wahhābiyah) is a religious movement and doctrine attributed to Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It has been variously described as “ultraconservative”, “orthodox”, “austere”, “puritan(ical)”; and as an Islamic “reform movement” to restore “pure monotheistic worship” by devotees.

Sayyid Ahmad

18th century

In the current discourse on Islam, the term “Salafi” and “Wahhabi” are often used interchangeably. Wahhabi is a label given to those who follow the teachings of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The Wahhabis are always referred to as Salafis, and in fact they prefer to be called as such.

The Deobandis are referred to as ‘Wahhabis’ by their opponents – the Barelvis and the Shias. In reality, they are not Wahhabis, even though they share many of their beliefs.

The Hanafi School is one of the four major schools of Sunni Islamic legal reasoning and repositories of positive law. It was built upon the teachings of Abu Hanifa (d. 767), a merchant who studied and taught in Kufa, Iraq, and who is reported to have left behind one major work, Al-Fiqh al-Akbar.

The Sunni Muslims of South Asia are divided into two major sub-sects, i.e. Deobandi and Barelvi, named after their places of origin in India in the 19th century. Because of abiding differences between them, these two sub-sects have built up walls of hatred and mistrust between them over time.

Practitioners are often referred to as “Salafi jihadis” or “Salafi jihadists”. Journalist Bruce Livesey estimates Salafi jihadists constitute less than 1.0 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims (i.e., less than 10 million).

In the City of Mecca, only Muslims are allowed. Non-Muslims may not enter or travel through Mecca; attempting to enter Mecca as a non-Muslim can result in penalties such as a fine; being in Mecca as a non-Muslim can result in deportation.

You might question whether a mosque is even open to you, if it would intrusive and disrespectful to go into a place of worship where you believe differently. However, like most churches and other places of worship, most mosques welcome visitors of other faiths.

Legend has it that the stone was originally white but has become black by absorbing the sins of the countless thousands of pilgrims who have kissed and touched it. Every Muslim who makes the pilgrimage is required to walk around the Kaaba seven times, during which he or she kisses and touches the Black Stone.

The Kaaba will taken by God it will not be destroyed after Yajuj and Majuj perish from the Earth and Isa has died while Muslims still perform Hajj and Umrah. As quoted by a hadith narrated by Abu Sa`id al-Khudri, Muslims will still be performing the Hajj & Umrah after the event of Yajuj and Majuj.

The Quba Mosque