Rashidun, (Arabic: “Rightly Guided,” or “Perfect”), the first four caliphs of the Islamic community, known in Muslim history as the orthodox or patriarchal caliphs: Abū Bakr (reigned 632–634), ʿUmar (reigned 634–644), ʿUthmān (reigned 644–656), and ʿAlī (reigned 656–661).

The Koran describes three types of jihad (struggles), and zero of them mean or permit terrorism. These are: the jihad against yourself, the jihad against Satan — which are called the greater jihads — and the jihad against an open enemy — known as the lesser jihad.

The leader of a caliphate is called the caliph, meaning deputy or representative. All caliphs are believed to be the successor to Prophet Muhammad. Abu Bakr’s supporters would come to be known as Sunni Muslims, who believe that Muhammad did not leave instructions regarding his successor.

ʿabd Al-malik Ibn Marwān

Abdülmecid

Muhammad is the final prophet in Islam, known as the ‘Seal of the Prophets’. This means that Muslims regard Muhammad as Allah’s final messenger.

The Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph was a selected or elected position. Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an Imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt (the “Family of the House”, Muhammad’s direct descendants).

The great majority of the world’s more than 1.5 billion Muslims are Sunnis – estimates suggest the figure is somewhere between 85% and 90%. In the Middle East, Sunnis make up 90% or more of the populations of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Sunnis regard themselves as the orthodox branch of Islam.

The Shia view of the Qur’an differs from the Sunni view, but the majority of both groups believe that the text is identical. While some Shia disputed the canonical validity of the Uthmanic codex, the Shia Imams always rejected the idea of alteration of Qur’an’s text.

Shia Muslims number 200 million and are the second largest denomination in the faith. Many perform the hajj, and they also travel to Iran, Iraq and beyond to visit holy sites. In Mina, Saudi Arabia, hundreds of Shias have travelled from Britain to perform the hajj.

Mut’ah is a sensitive area of disagreement between those who follow Sunni Islam (for whom nikah mut’ah is forbidden) and those who follow Shia Islam (for whom nikah mut’ah is allowed). Shias and Sunnis do agree that, initially, or near the beginning of Islam, Nikah mut’ah was a legal contract.

Both Sunni and Shia Muslims share the same five pillars of Islam, the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, Ramadan, the prayer, Chahada, and Zakat. However, Saudia Arabia has forbidden Shia Muslims to perform the sacred Hajj pilgrimage. If individuals refused to identify, they were not allowed in Mecca.

Worshipers face the Kaaba in Mecca when praying. Like Maliki Sunnis and Shias, pray with hands open to their sides.

Shia Muslims believe that just as a prophet is appointed by God alone, only God has the prerogative to appoint the successor to his prophet. They believe God chose Ali to be Muhammad’s successor, infallible, the first caliph (khalifah, head of state) of Islam.

Nikah mut’ah was practiced at the time of Muhammad and Abu Bakr, but was outlawed by the second Caliph, Umar ibn Khattab. Therefore, it is forbidden among Sunnis, but Shia consider Umar’s account as legally and religiously invalid, as they argue it’s legitimated by Quran 4:24.

Both Sunnis and Shiites read the Quran, the sayings of the Prophet.

Shi’a Islam, also known as Shi’ite Islam or Shi’ism, is the second largest branch of Islam after Sunni Islam. Shias adhere to the teachings of Muhammad and the religious guidance of his family (who are referred to as the Ahl al-Bayt) or his descendants known as Shia Imams.

For Sunnis, the “Twelve Imams” and the present-day Shiite Imams (e.g., “Ayatollahs,” or the “shadows of Allah”) are humans without any divine powers. They are considered righteous Muslims, and the Twelve Imams are particularly respected because of their relationship to Ali and his wife Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad.

The Nikkah Then the couple and the two male witnesses sign the contract, which the imam can provide or the couple can get their own, making the marriage legal according to civil and religious law.

As many as 4,000 people are estimated to have been killed by Shia-Sunni sectarian attacks in Pakistan between 1987–2007. And since 2008, thousands of Shia have been killed by Sunni extremists according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

For more than two centuries, Wahhabism has been Saudi Arabia’s dominant faith. It is an austere form of Islam that insists on a literal interpretation of the Koran. Strict Wahhabis believe that all those who don’t practice their form of Islam are heathens and enemies.

: a member of a puritanical Muslim sect founded in Arabia in the 18th century by Muhammad ibn-Abdul Wahhab and revived by ibn-Saud in the 20th century.

The ancient schools of fiqh or sharia in Islam are known as “madhhabs.” In the beginning Islam was classically divided into three major sects. These political divisions are well known as Sunni Islam, Shia Islam and Khariji Islam.

The country is officially a Muslim nation and most Saudi Muslims are Sunni. However, a Shia minority accounts for an estimated 10% to 15% of the population.