150-459: Others In terms of Ihsan : Sunni Islam ( / ˈ s uː n i / ; Arabic : أهل السنة , romanized : Ahl as-Sunnah , lit. 'The People of the Sunnah';) is the largest branch of Islam , followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims , and simultaneously the largest religious denomination in the world. Its name comes from the word Sunnah , referring to
300-620: A shura to elect a new caliph. At first, Yazid tried placating him by sending gifts and delegations in an attempt to reach a settlement. After Ibn al-Zubayr's refusal to recognize him, Yazid sent a force led by Ibn al-Zubayr's estranged brother Amr to arrest him. The force was defeated and Amr was executed. In addition to the growing influence of Ibn al-Zubayr in Medina, the city's inhabitants were disillusioned with Umayyad rule and Mu'awiya's agricultural projects, which included confiscation of their lands to increase government revenue. Yazid invited
450-587: A Hidraj from Mecca to Medina. According to the testimony of the transoxanian scholar Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi (d. 1099) the Kullabites (followers of the Basrian scholar Ibn Kullab (d. 855)) dayed about themselves, that they are among the ahl as-sunna wa l-jama too. Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari used the expression ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah rarely, and preferred another combination. Later Asharites like al-Isfaranini (d. 1027) nad Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (d. 1078) used
600-594: A Kharijite faction, the Azariqa , had captured Fars and Kirman from the Zubayrids in 685, and continued raiding his domains. The people of Kufa and Basra had also turned against him because of his massacres and repression of Mukhtar and Abd al-Malik's sympathizers. As a result, Abd al-Malik was able to secure the defections of many Zubayrid loyalists. With a significant number of his forces and his most experienced commander Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra away to guard Basra from
750-498: A Khateeb (one who speaks). A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, and it is estimated over 85–90% are Sunni. Regarding the question which dogmatic tendencies are to be assigned to Sunnism, there is no agreement among Muslim scholars. Since the early modern period, is the idea that a total of three groups belong to
900-587: A Mudarite, as governor of Khurasan. Ibn Khazim recognized Ibn al-Zubayr but was overwhelmed by the Rabi'a–Mudar feuds. The Rabi'a opposed Zubayrid rule due to their hatred of the Mudarite Ibn Khazim, who ultimately suppressed them, but soon after faced rebellion from his erstwhile allies from the Banu Tamim . The inter-tribal warfare over control of Khurasan continued for several years and Ibn Khazim
1050-626: A certain act as a religious obligation, another may see the same act as optional. These schools are not regarded as sects; rather, they represent differing viewpoints on issues that are not considered the core of Islamic belief . Historians have differed regarding the exact delineation of the schools based on the underlying principles they follow. Many traditional scholars saw Sunni Islam in two groups: Ahl al-Ra'y , or "people of reason", due to their emphasis on scholarly judgment and discourse; and Ahl al-Hadith , or "people of traditions", due to their emphasis on restricting juristic thought to only what
1200-571: A dynastic absolute monarchy that championed the reformist doctrines of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab ; the eponym of the Wahhabi movement . This was followed by a considerable rise in the influence of the Wahhabi , Salafiyya , Islamist and Jihadist movements that revived the doctrines of the Hanbali theologian Taqi Al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah (1263–1328 C.E/ 661–728 A.H), a fervent advocate of
1350-470: A famous follower of Ali , encouraged during the Battle of Siffin with the expression, Ali's political rival Mu'awiya kills the sunna . After the battle, it was agreed that "the righteous Sunnah , the unifying, not the divisive" (" as-Sunna al-ʿādila al-ǧāmiʿa ġair al-mufarriqa ") should be consulted to resolve the conflict. The time when the term sunna became the short form for " Sunnah of
1500-577: A government under the leadership of Mohammed Omar , who was addressed as the Emir of the faithful, an honorific way of addressing the caliph. The Taliban regime was recognised by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia till after 9/11 , perpetrated by Osama bin Laden – a Saudi national by birth and harboured by the Taliban – took place, resulting in a war on terror launched against the Taliban. The sequence of events of
1650-631: A large Umayyad army at the Battle of Khazir in August 686, Mukhtar and his supporters were slain by the Zubayrids in April 687 following a series of battles. Under the leadership of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan , the Umayyads reasserted control over the caliphate after defeating the Zubayrids at the Battle of Maskin in Iraq and killing Ibn al-Zubayr in the siege of Mecca in 692. Abd al-Malik made key reforms in
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#17327662150471800-421: A movement called ahl al-hadith under the leadership of Ahmad ibn Hanbal . In matters of faith, they were pitted against Mu'tazilites and other theological currents, condemning many points of their doctrine as well as the rationalistic methods they used in defending them. In the 10th century AD al-Ash'ari and al-Maturidi found a middle ground between Mu'tazilite rationalism and Hanbalite literalism, using
1950-456: A political program, their chief objective being to punish the Umayyads or sacrifice themselves in the process. When Mukhtar returned to Kufa, he attempted to dissuade the Tawwabin from their endeavor in favor of an organized movement to gain control of the city. Ibn Surad's stature prevented his followers from accepting Mukhtar's proposal. Out of the 16,000 men who enlisted, 4,000 mobilized for
2100-548: A righteous person, a doer of good ( muhsin ), but a truly good and righteous person is both a Muslim and a true person of faith. Some Islamic scholars explain ihsan as being the inner dimension of Islam whereas shariah is often described as the outer dimension. Ihsan "constitutes the highest form of worship" ( ibadah ). It is excellence in work and in social interactions. For example, ihsan includes sincerity during Muslim prayers and being grateful to parents, family, and God. Second Fitna The Second Fitna
2250-474: A scholar of Islamic law ( sharia ) or Islamic theology ( Kalām ). Both religious and political leadership are in principle open to all Muslims. According to the Islamic Center of Columbia , South Carolina , anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a well-educated person to lead the service, known as
2400-473: A sin, launched a movement under Sulayman ibn Surad , a companion of Muhammad and an ally of Ali, to fight the Umayyads. Calling themselves the "Tawwabin" (Penitents), they remained underground while the Umayyads controlled Iraq. After caliph Yazid's death and the subsequent ouster of Ibn Ziyad, the Tawwabin openly called for avenging Husayn's slaying. Although they attracted large-scale support in Kufa, they lacked
2550-572: A small army of 3,000 cavalrymen to retake the city. Despite its victory in the battle (July 686), the force retreated due to the Syrians' numerical superiority. A month later, Ibn Ziyad was killed by Mukhtar's reinforced army at the Battle of Khazir. With Ibn Ziyad dead, Abd al-Malik abandoned his plans to reconquer Iraq for several years and focused on consolidating Syria, where his rule was threatened by internal disturbances and renewed hostilities with
2700-568: Is also found in the Qur'an , according to Sunnis. Therefore, narratives of companions are also reliably taken into account for knowledge of the Islamic faith. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Qur'an . Sunni Islam does not have a formal hierarchy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become
2850-710: Is also used on Western research literature to denote the Sunni-Shia contrast. One of the earliest supporting documents for ahl as-sunna derives from the Basric scholar Muhammad Ibn Siri (d. 728). His is mentioned in the Sahih of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj quoted with: "Formerly one did not ask about the Isnad . But when the fitna started, one said: 'Name us your informants'. One would then respond to them: If they were Sunnah people, you accept their hadith. But if they are people of
3000-599: Is an Arabic term meaning "to do beautiful things", "beautification", "perfection", or "excellence" (Arabic: husn , lit. ' beauty ' ). Ihsan is a matter of taking one's inner faith ( iman ) and showing it in both deed and action, a sense of social responsibility borne from religious convictions. In Islam , Ihsan is the Muslim responsibility to obtain perfection, or excellence, in worship, such that Muslims try to worship God as if they see Him, and although they cannot see Him, they undoubtedly believe that He
3150-476: Is constantly watching over them. That definition comes from the Hadith of Gabriel in which Muhammad states, "[Ihsan is] to worship God as though you see Him, and if you cannot see Him, then indeed He sees you". ( Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim ). According to Muhammad's hadith "God has written ihsan on everything". Ihsan is one of the three dimensions of the Islamic religion ( ad-din ): In contrast to
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#17327662150473300-510: Is forbidden even if it verifies the truth. They engage in a literal reading of the Qur'an , as opposed to one engaged in ta'wil (metaphorical interpretation). They do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the Qur'an rationally, and believe that their realities should be consigned to God alone ( tafwid ). In essence, the text of the Qur'an and Hadith is accepted without asking "how" or " Bi-la kaifa ". Traditionalist theology emerged among scholars of hadith who eventually coalesced into
3450-749: Is found in scripture. Ibn Khaldun defined the Sunni schools as three: the Hanafi school representing reason, the Ẓāhirīte school representing tradition, and a broader, middle school encompassing the Shafi'ite , Malikite and Hanbalite schools. During the Middle Ages , the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt delineated the acceptable Sunni schools as only Hanafi , Maliki , Shafi'i and Hanbali , excluding
3600-610: Is known among his followers as caliph and Amir-al-mu'mineen , "The Commander of the Faithful". Jihadism is opposed from within the Muslim community (known as the ummah in Arabic) in all quarters of the world as evidenced by turnout of almost 2% of the Muslim population in London protesting against ISIL. Following the puritan approach of Ibn Kathir , Muhammad Rashid Rida , etc. many contemporary Tafsir (exegetic treatises) downplay
3750-437: Is motivated by political discourse or by traditionalist thought alone. The usage of tafsir'ilmi is another notable characteristic of modern Sunni tafsir. Tafsir'ilmi stands for alleged scientific miracles found in the Qur'an. In short, the idea is that the Qur'an contains knowledge about subjects an author of the 7th century could not possibly have. Such interpretations are popular among many commentators. Some scholars, such as
3900-520: Is not contradicted by the Quran. Therefore, when God states in the Quran, "He who does not resemble any of His creation", this clearly means that God cannot be attributed with body parts because He created body parts. Ash'aris tend to stress divine omnipotence over human free will and they believe that the Quran is eternal and uncreated. Founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 944), the Maturidiyyah
4050-500: Is recorded by Masrūq ibn al-Adschdaʿ (d. 683), who was a Mufti in Kufa , a need to love the first two caliphs Abū Bakr and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and acknowledge their priority ( Fadā'il ). A disciple of Masrūq, the scholar ash-Shaʿbī (d. between 721 und 729), who first sided with the Shia in Kufa during Civil War, but turned away in disgust by their fanaticism and finally decided to join
4200-602: Is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammad's death, and that Sufism and Shi'ism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is partly due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works, and also because the vast majority of the population is Sunni. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of several centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines. The first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as
4350-512: Is to be excluded from Ahl al-Sunna wal Jama'ah , unless they openly disapprove of the doctrines of the Salaf ( mad'hab as-Salaf ). According to Albani: "I do not share [the view of] some of the noble scholars of the past and present that we say about a group from the [many] Islamic groups that it is not from Ahlus-Sunnah due to its deviation in one issue or another... as for whether the Ash’aris or
4500-560: Is used, for example, in the final document of the Grozny Conference . Only those "people of the Hadith" are assigned to Sunnism who practice tafwīḍ , i.e. who refrain from interpreting the ambiguous statements of the Quran. Founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (873–935). This theological school of Aqeedah was embraced by many Muslim scholars and developed in parts of the Islamic world throughout history; al-Ghazali wrote on
4650-799: Is used, the Ashʿarites and Māturīdites are meant. This position was also taken over by the Egyptian Fatwa Office in July 2013. In Ottoman times, many efforts were made to establish a good harmony between the teachings of the Ashʿarīya and the Māturīdīya. Finally, there were also scholars who regarded the Ashʿarites alone as Sunnis. For example, the Moroccan Sufi Ahmad ibn ʿAdschiba (d. 1809) stated in his commentary on Fatiha : "As far as
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4800-628: Is what distinguishes the Sufis from Sunnis according to as-Saksakī their orientation to the hidden inner meaning of the Qur'an and the Sunnah . In this, he said, they resemble the Bātinites . According to the final document of the Grozny Conference, only those Sufis are to be regarded as Sunnis who are "people of pure Sufism" ( ahl at-taṣauwuf aṣ-ṣāfī ) in the knowledge, ethics and purification of
4950-415: The sahaba , tabi'in , and tabi al-tabi'in as the salaf (predecessors). The Arabic term sunna , according to which Sunnis are named, is old and roots in pre-Islamic language. It was used for traditions which a majority of people followed. The term got greater political significance after the murder of the third caliph Uthman ( r. 644–656 ). It is said Malik al-Ashtar ,
5100-525: The Qur'an and sunnah . The name derives from "tradition" in its technical sense as translation of the Arabic word hadith . It is also sometimes referred to as athari as by several other names . Adherents of traditionalist theology believe that the zahir (literal, apparent) meaning of the Qur'an and the hadith have sole authority in matters of belief and law; and that the use of rational disputation
5250-612: The Abbasid Revolution in 750. After winning the war, Abd al-Malik enacted significant administrative changes in the caliphate. Mu'awiya had ruled through personal connections with individuals loyal to him and did not rely on his relatives. Although he had developed a highly trained army of Syrians, it was only deployed in raids against the Byzantines. Domestically he relied upon his diplomatic skills to enforce his will. The ashraf , rather than government officials, were
5400-593: The Byzantines . Nonetheless, he led two abortive campaigns in Iraq (689 and 690), and instigated a failed anti-Zubayrid revolt in Basra through his agents. Abd al-Malik's Basran supporters were severely repressed by Mus'ab in retaliation. After entering a truce with the Byzantines and overcoming internal dissent, Abd al-Malik returned his attention to Iraq. In 691, he besieged the Qaysite stronghold of Qarqisiya in
5550-506: The Hanafi school while followers of the Shafi and Maliki schools within the empire followed the Ash'ari and Athari schools of thought. Thus, wherever can be found Hanafi followers, there can be found the Maturidi creed. Traditionalist or Athari theology is a movement of Islamic scholars who reject rationalistic Islamic theology ( kalam ) in favor of strict textualism in interpreting
5700-667: The Innovations , the hadith was rejected." G.H.A. Juynboll assumed, the term fitna in this statement is not related to the first Civil War (665–661) after murder of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān , but the second Civil War (680–692) in which the Islamic community was split into four parties ( Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr , the Umayyads , the Shia under al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbaid and the Kharijites). The term ahl as-sunna designated in this situation whose, who stayed away from heretic teachings of
5850-579: The Islamicist G. R. Hawting , "... tensions and pressures which had been suppressed by Mu'awiya came to the surface during Yazid's caliphate and erupted after his death, when Umayyad authority was temporarily eclipsed." Husayn had considerable support in Kufa. The inhabitants of the town had fought the Umayyads and their Syrian allies during the First Fitna. They were dissatisfied with Hasan's abdication and strongly resented Umayyad rule. After
6000-556: The Koran – Scholars, 6. the Sufi ascetics ( az-zuhhād aṣ-ṣūfīya ), 7. those who perform the ribat and jihad against the enemies of Islam, 8. the general crowd. According to this classification, the Sufis are one of a total of eight groups within Sunnism, defined according to their religious specialization. The Tunisian scholar Muhammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Bakkī (d. 1510) also included
6150-713: The Prophet " (S unnat an-Nabī ) is still unknown. During the Umayyad Caliphate , several political movements, including the Shia and the Kharijites rebelled against the formation of the state. They led their battles in the name of "the book of God ( Qur'an ) and the Sunnah of his Prophet". During the second Civil War (680–92) the Sunna-term received connotations critical of Shi'i doctrines ( Tashayyu' ). It
Sunni Islam - Misplaced Pages Continue
6300-598: The Rāshidun or "Rightly-Guided Ones". Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar as the second, Uthman as the third, and Ali as the fourth. Sunnis recognised different rulers as the caliph , though they did not include anyone in the list of the rightly guided ones or Rāshidun after the murder of Ali, until the caliphate was constitutionally abolished in Turkey on 3 March 1924. The seeds of metamorphosis of caliphate into kingship were sown, as
6450-618: The Shia view , which holds that Muhammad appointed his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. The Quran , together with hadith (especially the Six Books ) and ijma (juristic consensus), form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. Sharia rulings are derived from these basic sources, in conjunction with analogical reasoning , consideration of public welfare and juristic discretion , using
6600-614: The Sufis are also part of Sunnism. This view can already be found in the Shafi'ite scholar Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (d. 1037). In his heresiographical work al-Farq baina l-firaq he divided the Sunnis into eight different categories ( aṣnāf ) of people: 1. the theologians and Kalam Scholars, 2. the Fiqh scholars, 3. the traditional and Hadith scholars, 4. the Adab and language scholars, 5.
6750-416: The Sufis have focused their attention on ihsan . Those who are muhsin are a subset of those who are mu'min , and those who are mu'min are a subset of muslims : From the preceding discussion it should be clear that not every Muslim is a man or woman of faith ( mu'min ), but every person of faith is a Muslim . Furthermore, a Muslim who believes in all the principles of Islam may not necessarily be
6900-426: The companions of Muhammad to be reliable transmitters of Islam, since God and Muhammad accepted their integrity. Medieval sources even prohibit cursing or vilifying them. This belief is based upon prophetic traditions such as one narrated by Abdullah, son of Masud , in which Muhammad said: "The best of the people are my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them." Support for this view
7050-596: The mawali , whom he awarded equal status with the Arabs, resulted in rebellion of the Arab tribal nobility. After crushing the rebellion, Mukhtar executed Kufans involved in the killing of Husayn, including Umar ibn Sa'ad , the commander of the army that had killed Husayn. As a result of these measures, thousands of Kufan ashraf fled to Basra. He then sent his general Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar to confront an approaching Umayyad army, led by Ibn Ziyad, which had been sent to reconquer
7200-461: The nature of God and the divine attributes, the Ash'ari rejected the Mu'tazili position that all Quranic references to God as having real attributes were metaphorical. The Ash'aris insisted that these attributes were as they "best befit His Majesty". The Arabic language is a wide language in which one word can have 15 different meanings, so the Ash'aris endeavor to find the meaning that best befits God and
7350-557: The principles of jurisprudence developed by the traditional legal schools . In matters of creed , the Sunni tradition upholds the six pillars of iman (faith) and comprises the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools of kalam (theology) as well as the textualist Athari school. Sunnis regard the first four caliphs Abu Bakr ( r. 632–634 ), Umar ( r. 634–644 ), Uthman ( r. 644–656 ) and Ali ( r. 656–661 ) as rashidun (rightly-guided) and revere
7500-666: The 20th century has led to resentment in some quarters of the Sunni community due to the loss of pre-eminence in several previously Sunni-dominated regions such as the Levant , Mesopotamia , the Balkans , the North Caucasus and the Indian sub continent . The latest attempt by a radical wing of Salafi-Jihadists to re-establish a Sunni caliphate was seen in the emergence of the militant group ISIL , whose leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
7650-417: The 9th century. It is recorded that the disciple of Ahmad ibn Hanbal Harb ibn Ismail as-Sirjdshani (d. 893) created a writing with the title as-Sunna wa l-Jamāʿah , to which the Mutazilite Abu al-Qasim al-Balchi wrote a refutation later. Al-Jubba'i (d. 916) tells in his Kitāb al-Maqālāt , that Ahmad ibn Hanbal attributed to his students the predicate sunnī jamāʿah ("Jammatic Sunnite"). This indicates that
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#17327662150477800-418: The Asharites from the circle of Sunnis in the special sense and took the view that only the pious ancestors ( as-salaf aṣ-ṣāliḥ ) who have agreed on the Sunnah belonged to this circle. The Muʿtazilites are usually not regarded as Sunnis. Ibn Hazm , for example, contrasted them with the Sunnis as a separate group in his heresiographic work al-Faṣl fi-l-milal wa-l-ahwāʾ wa-n-niḥal . In many medieval texts from
7950-531: The Commentators of Al-Azhar University , reject this approach, arguing the Qur'an is a text for religious guidance, not for science and scientific theories that may be disproved later; thus tafsir'ilmi might lead to interpreting Qur'anic passages as falsehoods. Modern trends of Islamic interpretation are usually seen as adjusting to a modern audience and purifying Islam from alleged alterings, some of which are believed to be intentional corruptions brought into Islam to undermine and corrupt its message. Sunnis believe
8100-508: The Hanbalis were the first to use the phrase ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah as a self-designation. The Karramiyya founded by Muhammad ibn Karram (d. 859) referred to the sunnah and community. They passed down in praise of their school founder a hadith, according to which Muhammad predicted that at the end of times a man named Muhammad ibn Karram will appear, who will restore the sunna and the community ( as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah ) and take Hidraj from Chorasan to Jerusalem, just how Muhammad himself took
8250-415: The Hanbalites. The late Ottoman thinker İsmail Hakkı İzmirli [ tr ] (d. 1946), who agreed to dividing Sunnis into these three groups, called the traditionalist group Salafiyya , but also used Athariyya as an alternative term. For the Maturidiyya he gives Nasafīyya as a possible alternative name. Another used for the traditionalist-oriented group is "people of Hadith " ( ahl al-ḥadīṯ ). It
8400-418: The Islamic East, the Ahl as-Sunna are also differentiated to the Muʿtazilites. In 2010 the Jordanian fatwa office ruled out in a fatwa that the Muʿtazilites, like the Kharijites, represent a doctrine that is contrary to Sunnism. Ibn Taymiyya argued that the Muʿtazilites belong to the Sunnis in the general sense because they recognize the caliphate of the first three caliphs. There is broad agreement that
8550-458: The Jazira developed. It was paralleled in the division and rivalry between the Mudar, led by the Banu Tamim, and the Azd –Rabi'a alliance in Iraq and the eastern provinces. Together, these rivalries caused a realignment of tribal loyalties into two tribal confederations or "super-groups" across the caliphate: the "North Arab" or Qays/Mudar bloc, opposed by the "South Arabs" or Yemenis. These terms were political rather than strictly geographical, since
8700-430: The Jazira. After failing to overpower them, he won over the Qays with concessions and promises of amnesty. Reinforcing his troops with these formerly Zubayrid allies, he moved to defeat Mus'ab, whose position in Iraq had been weakened by a number of factors. The Kharijites had resumed their raids in Arabia, Iraq and Persia following the collapse of central authority as a result of the civil war. In eastern Iraq and Persia,
8850-603: The Kharijites, Mus'ab was unable to effectively counter Abd al-Malik. He was defeated and killed at the Battle of Maskin in October 691. Having secured Iraq, and consequently most of its dependencies, Abd al-Malik sent his general Hajjaj ibn Yusuf against Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who had been cornered in the Hejaz by another Kharijite faction led by Najda . Najda had established an independent state in Najd and Yamamah in 685, captured Yemen and Hadhramawt in 688 and occupied Ta'if in 689. Instead of heading directly to Mecca, Hajjaj established himself in Ta'if and bested
9000-436: The Maaturidis are from Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah , I say that they are from Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah in many things related to aqidah but in other aqidah issues they have deviated away from Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah.. I don't hold that we should say that they are not from Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah whatsoever" The Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328) distinguished in his work Minhāj as-sunna between Sunnis in
9150-444: The Qadarites here. In the 9th century, one started to extent the term ahl as-sunna with further positive additions. Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari used for his own group expressions like ahl as-sunna wa-l-istiqāma ("people of Sunna and Straightness"), ahl as-sunna wa-l-ḥadīṯ ("people of Sunnah and of the Hadith") or ahl al-ḥaqq wa-s-sunna ("people of Truth and of the Sunnah"). When the expression 'ahl as-sunna wa l-jama'ah appeared for
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#17327662150479300-412: The Sufis from Sunnism. The Yemeni scholar ʿAbbās ibn Mansūr as-Saksakī (d. 1284) explained in his doxographic work al-Burhān fī maʿrifat ʿaqāʾid ahl al-adyān ("The evidence of knowledge of the beliefs of followers of different religions") about the Sufis: "They associate themselves with the Sunnis, but they do not belong to them, because they contradict them in their beliefs, actions and teachings." That
9450-406: The Sufis in Sunnism. He divided the Sunnis into the following three groups according to their knowledge ( istiqrāʾ ): Similarly, Murtadā az-Zabīdī stated elsewhere in his commentary on Ghazzali's Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn that the Sunnis consisted of four groups (firaq ), namely the hadith scholars ( muḥaddiṯhūn), the Sufis, the Ashʿarites and the Māturīdites. Some ulema wanted to exclude
9600-455: The Sunni Creed by at-Tahawi (d. 933), the term jama contrasts several times the Arabic term furqa ("division, sectarianism"). Thus at-Tahāwī explains that jama is considered as true or right ( ḥaqq wa-ṣawāb ) and furqa as aberration and punishment ( zaiġ wa-ʿaḏāb ). Ibn Taymiyyah argues, that jama as opposite term to furqa inherents the meaning of iǧtimāʿ ("Coming together, being together, agreement"). Furthermore, he connects it with
9750-613: The Sunnis are concerned, it is the Ashʿarites and those who follow in their correct belief." Conversely, there were also scholars who excluded the Ashʿarites from Sunnism. The Andalusian scholar Ibn Hazm (d. 1064) said that Abu l-Hasan al-Ashʿarī belonged to the Murji'a , namely those who were particularly far removed from the Sunnis in terms of faith. Twentieth-century Syrian - Albanian Athari Salafi theologian Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani rejected extremism in excluding Ash'aris from Sunni Islam. He believed that despite that their fundamental differences from Atharis, not every Ash'ari
9900-418: The Sunnis: 1. those named after Abu l-Hasan al-Aschʿari (d. 935) Ashʿarites , 2. those named after Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 941) named Maturidites and 3. a differently named third group, which is traditionalistic-oriented and rejects the rational discourse of Kalām advocated by the Maturidites and Ashʿarites. The Syrian scholar ʿAbd al-Baqi Ibn Faqih Fussa (d. 1661) calls this third traditionalist group
10050-425: The Umayyad Caliph ʿAbd al-Malik , popularized the concept of Sunnah . It is also passed down by asch-Shaʿbī, that he took offensive at the hatred on ʿĀʾiša bint Abī Bakr and considered it a violation of the Sunnah . The term Sunna instead of the longer expression ahl as-sunna or ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah as a group-name for Sunnis is a relatively young phenomenon. It was probably Ibn Taymiyyah , who used
10200-427: The Umayyad administration an increasingly Muslim character. He terminated the permanent pensions of the participants in the early conquests and established a fixed salary for active servicemen. Abd al-Malik's model was adopted by many Muslim governments that followed. It was during this period, especially following the Battle of Marj Rahit, that the longstanding Qays–Kalb split between the Arab tribes of Syria and
10350-539: The Umayyads and the Zubayrids as the remaining belligerents in the war. Following Marwan's accession in June 684, Ibn Ziyad had been sent to reconquer Iraq. It was then he defeated the Tawwabin at Ayn al-Warda. After their disastrous defeat at Marj Rahit, the Qays had regrouped in the Jazira and had hampered Ibn Ziyad's efforts to reconquer the province for a year. They continued supporting the Zubayrids. Unable to defeat them in their fortified positions, Ibn Ziyad moved on to capture Mosul from Mukhtar's governor. Mukhtar sent
10500-411: The Zubayrids in several skirmishes. In the meantime, Syrian forces captured Medina from its Zubayrid governor, later marching to aid Hajjaj, who besieged Mecca in March 692. The siege lasted for six to seven months; the bulk of Ibn al-Zubayr's forces surrendered and he was killed fighting alongside his remaining partisans in October/November. With his death, the Hejaz came under Umayyad control, marking
10650-413: The administrative structure of the caliphate, including increasing caliphal power, restructuring the army, and Arabizing and Islamizing the bureaucracy. The events of the Second Fitna intensified sectarian tendencies in Islam, and various doctrines were developed within what would later become the Sunni and Shi'a denominations of Islam. After the third caliph Uthman 's assassination by rebels in 656,
10800-501: The anti-caliph shaped the later development of the concept of the Mahdi. Some aspects of his career were already formulated into hadiths ascribed to Muhammad during Ibn al-Zubayr's lifetime—quarrels over the caliphate after the death of a caliph (Mu'awiya I), escape of the Mahdi from Medina to Mecca, taking refuge in the Ka'aba, defeat of an army sent against him by a person whose maternal tribe
10950-565: The arrival of the Zubayrid governor Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Amir at the end of 685. He put an end to the inter-tribal fighting and defeated the Zunbil rebellion. In Khurasan, Salm kept the news of caliph Yazid's death secret for some time. When it became known, he obtained from his troops temporary allegiance to himself, but was soon after expelled by them. On his departure in the summer of 684, he appointed Abd Allah ibn Khazim al-Sulami ,
11100-520: The caliphal office, opposed the nomination. Mu'awiya's threats and the general recognition of Yazid throughout the caliphate forced them into silence. Historian Fred Donner writes that contentions over the leadership of the Muslim community had not been settled in the First Fitna and resurfaced with the death of Mu'awiya in April 680. Before his death, Mu'awiya cautioned Yazid that Husayn and Ibn al-Zubayr might challenge his rule and instructed him to defeat them if they did. Ibn al-Zubayr, in particular,
11250-549: The caliphate to an end. This resulted in Sunni protests in far off places including the Khilafat Movement in India, which was later on upon gaining independence from Britain divided into Sunni dominated Pakistan and secular India . Pakistan, the most populous Sunni state at its dawn, was later partitioned into Pakistan and Bangladesh . The demise of Ottoman caliphate also resulted in the emergence of Saudi Arabia ,
11400-523: The concept of an afterlife. Ethics on the other hand, do not need prophecy or revelation, but can be understood by reason alone. One of the tribes, the Seljuk Turks , migrated to Turkey , where later the Ottoman Empire was established. Their preferred school of law achieved a new prominence throughout their whole empire although it continued to be followed almost exclusively by followers of
11550-541: The creed discussing it and agreeing upon some of its principles. Ash'ari theology stresses divine revelation over human reason. Contrary to the Mu'tazilites, they say that ethics cannot be derived from human reason, but that God's commands, as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah (the practices of Muhammad and his companions as recorded in the traditions, or hadith ), are the sole source of all morality and ethics. Regarding
11700-734: The death of Hasan in 669, they had attempted unsuccessfully to interest Husayn in revolting against Mu'awiya. After the latter died, the pro- Alids of Kufa once again invited Husayn to lead them in revolt against Yazid. To assess the situation, the Mecca-based Husayn sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil , who gained widespread support in Kufa and suggested Husayn join his sympathizers there. Yazid removed Nu'man ibn Bashir al-Ansari as governor due to his inaction over Ibn Aqil's activities and replaced him with Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad , then governor of Basra. On Yazid's instructions, Ibn Ziyad suppressed
11850-506: The definitive break between what later became the Shi'a and Sunni denominations of Islam. This event catalyzed the transformation of Shi'ism, which hitherto had been a political stance, into a religious phenomenon. To this day it is commemorated each year by Shi'a Muslims on the Day of Ashura . This period also saw the end of purely Arab Shi'ism in the revolt of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, who mobilized
12000-484: The different warring parties. The term ahl as-sunna was always a laudatory designation. Abu Hanifa (d. 769), who sympathized with Murdshia , insisted that this were "righteous people and people of the Sunnah" ( ahl al-ʿadl wa-ahl as-sunna ). According to Josef van Ess this term did not mean more than "honorable and righteous believing people". Among Hanafits the designation ahl as-sunna and ahl al-ʿadl (people of
12150-843: The distinction between a broader and narrower circle of Sunnis from Ibn Taimiya, said that Kullabiyya and the Ashʿarīyya are Sunnis in the general sense, while the Salafiyya represent Sunnis in the specific sense. About the Maturidiyya he only says that they are closer to the Salafiyya than the Ashʿariyya because they excel more in Fiqh than in Kalām . The Saudi scholar Muhammad Ibn al-ʿUthaimin (d. 2001), who like Ibn Taimiya differentiated between Sunnis in general and special senses, also excluded
12300-482: The earlier significance of Biblical material ( Isrā'iliyyāt ). Half of the Arab commentaries reject Isrā'iliyyāt in general, while Turkish tafsir usually partly allow referring to Biblical material. Nevertheless, most non-Arabic commentators regard them as useless or not applicable. A direct reference to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict could not be found. It remains unclear whether the refusal of Isrā'iliyyāt
12450-436: The egalitarian society formed as a result of Muhammad's revolution to a society stratified between haves and have-nots as a result of nepotism , and in the words of El-Hibri through "the use of religious charity revenues ( zakāt ) to subsidise family interests, which Uthman justified as ' al-sila ' (pious filial support)". Ali, during his rather brief regime after Uthman maintained austere life style and tried hard to bring back
12600-533: The egalitarian system and supremacy of law over the ruler idealised in Muhammad's message, but faced continued opposition, and wars one after another by Aisha - Talhah - Zubair , by Muāwiya and finally by the Khārjites . After he was murdered, his followers immediately elected Hasan ibn Ali his elder son from Fātima to succeed him. Hasan shortly afterward signed a treaty with Muāwiya relinquishing power in favour of
12750-705: The election of a new caliph through shura (consultation). These events precipitated the First Fitna . Ali emerged victorious against these early opponents at the Battle of the Camel near Basra in November 656, thereupon moving his capital to the Iraqi garrison town of Kufa . Mu'awiya , the governor of Syria , and a member of the Umayyad clan to which Uthman belonged, also denounced Ali's legitimacy as caliph, and
12900-416: The emphases of islam (what one should do) and iman (why one should do), the concept of ihsan is primarily associated with intention. One who "does what is beautiful" is called a muhsin . It is generally held that a person can only achieve true Ihsan with the help and guidance of God , who governs all things. While traditionally Islamic jurists have concentrated on islam and theologians on iman ,
13050-502: The end of the civil war. Soon afterwards, the Najda Kharijites were defeated by Hajjaj. The Azariqa and other Kharijite factions remained active in Iraq until their suppression in 696–699. With the victory of Abd al-Malik, Umayyad authority was restored and hereditary rule in the caliphate was solidified. Abd al-Malik and his descendants, in two cases his nephews, ruled for another fifty-eight years, before being overthrown by
13200-552: The establishment of an Alid caliphate in the name of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya , while declaring himself his representative. The defeat of the Tawwabin left him as the leader of the Kufan pro-Alids. In October 685, Mukhtar and his supporters, a significant number of whom consisted of local, non-Arab converts ( mawali ), overthrew Ibn al-Zubayr's governor and seized control of Kufa. His control extended to most of Iraq and parts of north-western Iran. His preferential treatment of
13350-476: The establishment of firm dynastic rule of Banu Umayya after Husain , the younger son of Ali from Fātima , was killed at the Battle of Karbalā . The rise to power of Banu Umayya, the Meccan tribe of elites who had vehemently opposed Muhammad under the leadership of Abu Sufyān , Muāwiya's father, right up to the conquest of Mecca by Muhammad, as his successors with the accession of Uthman to caliphate, replaced
13500-519: The expression ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah too and used them in their works to designate the teachings of their own school. According to al-Bazdawi all Asharites in his time said they belong to the ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah . During this time, the term has been used as a self-designation by the hanafite Maturidites in Transoxiania, used frequently by Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi (d. 983), Abu Schakur as-Salimi (d. 1086) and al-Bazdawi himself. They used
13650-617: The fight. In November 684, the Tawwabin left to confront the Umayyads, after mourning for a day at Husayn's grave in Karbala. The two armies met in January 685 at the Battle of Ayn al-Warda in the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia). The battle lasted for three days during which most of the Tawwabin, including Ibn Surad, were killed, while a few escaped to Kufa. Since his return to Kufa, Mukhtar had been calling for revenge against Husayn's killers and
13800-405: The first time, is not entirely clear. The Abbasite Caliph Al-Ma'mūn (reigned 813–33) criticized in his Mihna edict a group of people, who related themselves to the sunnah ( nasabū anfusa-hum ilā s-sunna ) and claimed, they are the "people of truth, religion and community" ( ahl al-ḥaqq wa-d-dīn wa-l-jamāʿah ). Sunna and jamāʿah are already connected here. As a pair, these terms already appear in
13950-578: The founders of the four schools viz, Abu Hanifa , Malik ibn Anas , Shāfi'i and Ahmad bin Hanbal all practised during this time, so also did Jafar al Sādiq who elaborated the doctrine of imāmate , the basis for the Shi'a religious thought. There was no clearly accepted formula for determining succession in the Abbasid caliphate. Two or three sons or other relatives of the dying caliph emerged as candidates to
14100-524: The general sense ( ahl as-unna al-ʿāmma ) and Sunnis in the special sense ( ahl as-sunna al-ḫāṣṣa ). Sunnis in the general sense are all Muslims who recognize the caliphate of the three caliphs ( Abū Bakr , ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān ). In his opinion, this includes all Islamic groups except the Shiite Rafidites . Sunnis in the special sense are only the "people of the hadith" ( ahl al-ḥadīṯ ). İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, who took over
14250-638: The governor, Yazid's cousin Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Sufyan , and the Umayyads residing in the city. Yazid dispatched a 12,000-strong army under the command of Muslim ibn Uqba to reconquer the Hejaz (western Arabia). After failed negotiations, the Medinese were defeated in the Battle of al-Harra , and the city was plundered for three days. Having forced the rebels to renew their allegiance, Yazid's army headed for Mecca to subdue Ibn al-Zubayr. Ibn Uqba died on
14400-431: The interior, according to Method as practiced by al-Junaid Al- Baghdadi and the "Imams of Guidance" ( aʾimma al-hudā ) who followed his path. In the 11th century, Sufism, which had previously been a less "codified" trend in Islamic piety, began to be "ordered and crystallized" into Tariqahs (orders) which have continued until the present day. All these orders were founded by a major Sunni Islamic saint , and some of
14550-530: The intermediaries between the provincial governors and the public. The military units in the provinces were derived from local tribes whose command also fell to the ashraf . Provinces retained much of the tax revenue and forwarded a small portion to the caliph. The former administrative system of the conquered lands was left intact. Officials who had served under the Sasanian Persians or the Byzantines retained their positions. The native languages of
14700-932: The largest and most widespread included the Qadiriyya (after Abdul-Qadir Gilani [d. 1166]), the Rifa'iyya (after Ahmed al-Rifa'i [d. 1182]), the Chishtiyya (after Moinuddin Chishti [d. 1236]), the Shadiliyya (after Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili [d. 1258]), and the Naqshbandiyya (after Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari [d. 1389]). Contrary to popular Orientalist depictions, neither the founders of these orders nor their followers considered themselves to be anything other than orthodox Sunni Muslims, Many of
14850-432: The latter, with a condition inter alia, that one of the two who will outlive the other will be the caliph, and that this caliph will not appoint a successor but will leave the matter of selection of the caliph to the public. Subsequently, Hasan was poisoned to death and Muawiya enjoyed unchallenged power. Dishonouring his treaty with Hasan, he nominated his son Yazid to succeed him. Upon Muāwiya's death, Yazid asked Husain,
15000-480: The marginalized and socioeconomically exploited mawali by redressing their grievances. Before then, non-Arab Muslims had not played any significant political role. Despite its immediate political failure, Mukhtar's movement was survived by the Kaysanites , a radical Shi'a sect, who introduced novel theological and eschatological concepts that influenced the later development of Shi'ism. The Abbasids exploited
15150-416: The massacre of Karbalā, but Banu Umayya were able to quickly suppress them all and ruled the Muslim world, till they were finally overthrown by Banu Abbās . The rule of and "caliphate" of Banu Umayya came to an end at the hands of Banu Abbās a branch of Banu Hāshim, the tribe of Muhammad, only to usher another dynastic monarchy styled as caliphate from 750 CE. This period is seen formative in Sunni Islam as
15300-495: The methodology with regard to each school. While conflict between the schools was often violent in the past, the four Sunni schools recognize each other's validity and they have interacted in legal debate over the centuries. There are many intellectual traditions within the field of Shari'ah ( Islamic law ), often referred to as Madh'habs (legal schools). These varied traditions reflect differing viewpoints on some laws and obligations within Islamic law. While one school may see
15450-639: The most eminent defenders of Islamic orthodoxy, such as 'Abd al-Qadir Jilani , Al-Ghazali , Sultan Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Al-Ayyubi ( Saladin ) were connected with Sufism." The Salafi and Wahhabi strands of Sunnism do not accept many mystical practices associated with the contemporary Sufi orders. Interpreting Islamic law by deriving specific rulings – such as how to pray – is commonly known as Islamic jurisprudence . The schools of law all have their own particular tradition of interpreting this jurisprudence. As these schools represent clearly spelled out methodologies for interpreting Islamic law, there has been little change in
15600-584: The most senior among them at the time, were willing to recognize him. Pro-Umayyad tribes, particularly the Banu Kalb , dominated the district of Jordan and had support in Damascus. They were determined to install an Umayyad. The Kalbite chief Ibn Bahdal was related in marriage to the Sufyanid caliphs, and his tribe had held a privileged position under them. He wanted to see Yazid's younger son Khalid on
15750-511: The new governor of Sijistan. Talha ransomed Abu Ubayda but died shortly afterwards. The weakening of central authority resulted in the outbreak of tribal factionalism and rivalries that the Arab emigrants of the Muslim armies had brought with them in the conquered lands. Talha's successor, who was from Rabi'a tribe, was soon driven out by the Rabi'a's tribal opponents from the Mudar . Tribal feuds consequently ensued, which continued at least until
15900-426: The nomination was considered the corruption of the caliphate into a monarchy. Mu'awiya summoned a shura in Damascus and persuaded representatives from various provinces by diplomacy and bribes. The sons of a few of Muhammad's prominent companions including Husayn ibn Ali , Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr , Abd Allah ibn Umar and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr , all of whom, by virtue of their descent, could also lay claim to
16050-407: The notables of Medina to Damascus and tried to win them over with gifts. They were unpersuaded, however, and on their return to Medina narrated tales of Yazid's lavish lifestyle and practices considered by many to be impious, including drinking wine, hunting with hounds and his love for music. The Medinese, under the leadership of Abd Allah ibn Hanzala , renounced their allegiance to Yazid and expelled
16200-626: The orthodox Sunni faith. In the modern era, it has had a disproportionate impact on Islamic theology, having been appropriated by Wahhabi and other traditionalist Salafi currents and have spread well beyond the confines of the Hanbali school of law. There were also Muslim scholars who wanted to limit the Sunni term to the Ash'arites and Māturīdites alone. For example, Murtadā az-Zabīdī (d. 1790) wrote in his commentary on al-Ghazalis "Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn": "When (sc. The term)" ahl as-sunna wal jamaʿa
16350-554: The principle of Ijma , a third juridical source after the Book (Quran), and the Sunnah. The Ottoman scholar Muslih ad-Din al-Qastallani (d. 1495) held the opinnion that jama means "Path of the Sahaba " ( ṭarīqat aṣ-ṣaḥāba ). The modern Indonesian theologican Nurcholish Madjid (d. 2005) interpreted jama as an inclusivistic concept: It means a society open for pluralism and dialogue but does not emphasize that much. One common mistake
16500-498: The properly "northern" Rabi'a adhered to the "southern" Yemenis. The Umayyad caliphs tried to maintain a balance between the two groups, but their implacable rivalry became a fixture of the Arab world over the following decades. Even originally unaligned tribes were drawn to affiliate with one of the two super-groups. Their constant struggle for power and influence dominated the politics of the Umayyad caliphate, creating instability in
16650-423: The province. The Umayyad army was routed at the Battle of Khazir in August 686 and Ibn Ziyad was killed. In Basra, Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath , Shabath ibn Rib'i and other Kufan refugees, who were anxious to return to their city and regain their lost privileges, persuaded its governor Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, the younger brother of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, to attack Kufa. Mukhtar sent his army to confront Mus'ab, but it
16800-416: The provinces continued to be used officially, and Byzantine and Sasanian coinage was used in the formerly Byzantine and Sasanian territories. The defection of the ashraf , like Dahhak and Ibn Khazim and various Iraqi nobles, to Ibn al-Zubayr during the civil war convinced Abd al-Malik that Mu'awiya's decentralized system was difficult to maintain. He thus set out to centralize his power. A professional army
16950-710: The provinces, helping to foment the Third Fitna and contributing to the Umayyads' final fall at the hands of the Abbasids . The division persisted long after the Umayyads' fall; the historian Hugh Kennedy writes: "As late as the nineteenth century, battles were still being fought in Palestine between groups calling themselves Qays and Yaman". The death of Husayn produced widespread outcry and helped crystallize opposition to Yazid into an anti-Umayyad movement based on Alid aspirations. The Battle of Karbala contributed to
17100-555: The rationalistic methods championed by Mu'tazilites to defend most tenets of the traditionalist doctrine. Although the mainly Hanbali scholars who rejected this synthesis were in the minority, their emotive, narrative-based approach to faith remained influential among the urban masses in some areas, particularly in Abbasid Baghdad . While Ash'arism and Maturidism are often called the Sunni "orthodoxy", traditionalist theology has thrived alongside it, laying rival claims to be
17250-404: The rebellion and executed Ibn Aqil. Encouraged by his cousin's letter, and unaware of his execution, Husayn left for Kufa. To track him down, Ibn Ziyad stationed troops along the routes leading to the city. He was intercepted at Karbala , a desert plain north of Kufa. Some 4,000 troops arrived later to force his submission to Yazid. After a few days of negotiations and his refusal to submit, Husayn
17400-490: The rebels and the townspeople of Medina declared Ali , a cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , caliph. Most of the Quraysh (the grouping of Meccan clans to which Muhammad and all the early caliphs belonged), led by Muhammad's prominent companions Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam , and Muhammad's widow A'isha , refused to recognize Ali. They called for revenge against Uthman's killers and
17550-472: The rest to central Arabia, and began destabilizing his rule. Until then he had been supported by the pro-Alid Kufan nobleman Mukhtar al-Thaqafi in his opposition to Yazid. Ibn al-Zubayr denied him a prominent official position, which they had agreed upon earlier. In April 684, Mukhtar deserted him and went on to incite pro-Alid sentiment in Kufa. A few prominent Alid supporters in Kufa seeking to atone for their failure to assist Husayn, which they considered
17700-534: The righteous) remained interchangeable for a long time. Thus the Hanafite Abū l-Qāsim as-Samarqandī (d. 953), who composed a catechism for the Samanides , used sometimes one expression and sometimes another for his own group. Singular to ahl as-sunna was ṣāḥib sunna (adherent to the sunnah). This expression was used for example by ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak (d. 797) for a person, who distances himself from
17850-413: The second by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr . The roots of the civil war go back to the First Fitna . After the assassination of the third caliph , Uthman , the Islamic community experienced its first civil war over the question of leadership, with the main contenders being Ali and Mu'awiya. Following the assassination of Ali in 661 and the abdication of his successor Hasan the same year, Mu'awiya became
18000-463: The second caliph Umar had feared, as early as the regime of the third caliph Uthman, who appointed many of his kinsmen from his clan Banu Umayya , including Marwān and Walid bin Uqba on important government positions, becoming the main cause of turmoil resulting in his murder and the ensuing infighting during Ali's time and rebellion by Muāwiya , another of Uthman's kinsman. This ultimately resulted in
18150-534: The short-term for the first time. It was later popularized by pan-Islamic scholars such as Muhammad Rashid Rida in his treatise as-Sunna wa-š-šiʿa au al-Wahhābīya wa-r-Rāfiḍa: Ḥaqāʾiq dīnīya taʾrīḫīya iǧtimaʿīya iṣlaḥīya ("The Sunna and the Shia, Or Wahhabism and Rāfidism : Religious history, sociological und reform oriented facts") published in 1928–29. The term "Sunnah" is usually used in Arabic discourse as designation for Sunni Muslims, when they are intended to be contrasted with Shias. The word pair "Sunnah-Shia"
18300-446: The siege was abandoned, and Umayyad authority collapsed throughout the caliphate except in certain parts of Syria ; most provinces recognized Ibn al-Zubayr as caliph. A series of pro-Alid movements demanding revenge for Husayn's death emerged in Kufa, beginning with Ibn Surad's Penitents movement , which was crushed by the Umayyads at the Battle of Ayn al-Warda in January 685. Kufa was then taken over by Mukhtar. Though his forces routed
18450-610: The sole ruler of the caliphate. Mu'awiya's unprecedented decision to nominate his son Yazid as his heir sparked opposition, and tensions soared after Mu'awiya's death. Husayn ibn Ali was invited by the pro- Alids of Kufa to overthrow the Umayyads but was killed with his small company en route to Kufa at the Battle of Karbala in October 680. Yazid's army assaulted anti-government rebels in Medina in August 683 and subsequently besieged Mecca , where Ibn al-Zubayr had established himself in opposition to Yazid. After Yazid died in November
18600-755: The teachings of Shia, Kharijites , Qadarites and Murjites . In addition, the Nisba adjective sunnī was also used for the individual person. Thus it has been recorded, the Kufic scholar of the Quran Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh (d. 809) was asked, how he was a "sunni". He responded the following: "The one who, when the heresies are mentioned, doesn't get excited about any of them." The Andalusiaian scholar Ibn Hazm (d. 1064) taught later, that whose who confess to Islam can be divided into four groups: ahl as-sunna , Mutazilites , Murjites, Shites, Kharijites. The Muʿtazilites replaced
18750-662: The term as a contrast from their enemies among them Hanafites in the West, who have been followers of the Mutazilites. Al-Bazdawī also contrasted the Ahl as-Sunnah wa l-Jamāʻah with Ahl al-Ḥadīth , "because they would adhere to teachings contrary to the Quran". According to Schams ad-Dīn al-Maqdisī (end of the 10th century) was the expression ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah a laudatory term during his time, similar to ahl al-ʿadl wa-t-tawḥīd ("people of Righteousness and Divine Unity"), which
18900-453: The term in a messianic sense: a divinely guided ruler, who would redeem Islam. Ibn al-Zubayr's rebellion was seen by many as an attempt to return to the pristine values of the early Islamic community. His revolt was welcomed by a number of parties that were unhappy with Umayyad rule. To them, the defeat of Ibn al-Zubayr meant that all hope of restoring the old ideals of Islamic governance was lost. In this atmosphere, Ibn al-Zubayr's role as
19050-497: The throne, each supported by his own party of supporters. A trial of strength ensued and the most powerful party won and expected favours of the caliph they supported once he ascended the throne. The caliphate of this dynasty ended with the death of the Caliph al-Ma'mun in 833 CE, when the period of Turkish domination began. The fall, at the end of World War I of the Ottoman Empire , the biggest Sunni empire for six centuries, brought
19200-654: The throne. Ibn Ziyad convinced Marwan to put forward his own candidacy as Khalid was considered too young for the post by the non-Kalbites in the pro-Umayyad coalition. Marwan was acknowledged as caliph in a shura of pro-Umayyad tribes summoned to the Kalbite stronghold of Jabiya in June 684. Pro-Zubayrid tribes refused to recognize Marwan and the two sides clashed at the Battle of Marj Rahit in August. The pro-Zubayrid Qays under Dahhak's leadership were slaughtered and many of their senior leaders were slain. Marwan's accession
19350-487: The tradition of Muhammad . The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagreement over the succession to Muhammad and subsequently acquired broader political significance, as well as theological and juridical dimensions. According to Sunni traditions, Muhammad left no successor and the participants of the Saqifah event appointed Abu Bakr as the next-in-line (the first caliph ). This contrasts with
19500-722: The traditions of the Sunni Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal . The expediencies of Cold War resulted in the radicalisation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan who fought the communist regime backed by USSR forces in Afghanistan giving birth to the Taliban movement . After the fall of communist regime in Afghanistan and the ensuing civil war , Taliban wrestled power from the various Mujahidin factions in Afghanistan and formed
19650-436: The two confronted each other at the Battle of Siffin . The battle ended in a stalemate in July 657 when Ali's forces refused to fight in response to Mu'awiya's calls for arbitration. Ali reluctantly agreed to talks, but a faction of his forces, later called the Kharijites , broke away in protest, condemning his acceptance of arbitration as blasphemous. Arbitration could not settle the dispute between Mu'awiya and Ali. The latter
19800-402: The two, but Ibn al-Zubayr escaped to Mecca. Husayn answered the summons but declined to give allegiance in the secretive environment of the meeting, suggesting it should be done in public. Marwan threatened to imprison him, but due to Husayn's kinship with Muhammad, Walid was unwilling to take any action against him. A few days later, Husayn left for Mecca without giving allegiance. In the view of
19950-541: The underground network of Kaysanite propagandists during their revolution and the most numerous among their supporters were Shi'a and non-Arabs. The Second Fitna also gave rise to the idea of the Islamic Messiah, the Mahdi . Mukhtar applied the title of Mahdi to Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya. Although the title had previously been applied to Muhammad, Ali, Husayn, and others as an honorific, Mukhtar employed
20100-543: The way and command passed to Husayn ibn Numayr , who besieged Mecca in September 683. The siege lasted for several weeks, during which the Ka'aba caught fire. Yazid's sudden death in November ended the campaign. After trying unsuccessfully to persuade Ibn al-Zubayr to accompany him to Syria and be declared caliph there, Ibn Numayr left with his troops. With the demise of Yazid and the withdrawal of Syrian troops, Ibn al-Zubayr
20250-402: The younger brother of Hasan, Ali's son and Muhammad's grandson, to give his allegiance to Yazid, which he plainly refused. His caravan was cordoned by Yazid's army at Karbalā and he was killed with all his male companions – total 72 people, in a day long battle after which Yazid established himself as a sovereign, though strong public uprising erupted after his death against his dynasty to avenge
20400-683: The Ẓāhirī school. The Ottoman Empire later reaffirmed the official status of four schools as a reaction to the Shiite character of their ideological and political archrival, the Persian Safavids . In the contemporary era, former Prime Minister of Sudan Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi , as well as the Amman Message issued by King Abdullah II of Jordan , recognize the Ẓāhirīs and keep the number of Sunni schools at five. Ihsan Ihsan ( Arabic : إحسان ʾiḥsān , also romanized ehsan ),
20550-580: Was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate . It followed the death of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I in 680, and lasted for about twelve years. The war involved the suppression of two challenges to the Umayyad dynasty , the first by Husayn ibn Ali , as well as his supporters including Sulayman ibn Surad and Mukhtar al-Thaqafi who rallied for his revenge in Iraq , and
20700-517: Was a turning point as Syria was reunited under the Umayyads and the Umayyads' focus was turned to regaining lost territories. Marwan and his son Abd al-Aziz expelled the Zubayrid governor of Egypt with the help of local tribes. The Zubayrid attack on Palestine led by Mus'ab was repulsed, but an Umayyad campaign to retake the Hejaz was defeated near Medina. Marwan dispatched Ibn Ziyad to restore Umayyad control in Iraq. After Marwan died in April 685, he
20850-503: Was assassinated by a Kharijite in January 661, after Ali's forces had killed most of the Kharijites at the Battle of Nahrawan . Ali's eldest son Hasan became caliph, but Mu'awiya challenged his authority and invaded Iraq. In August, Hasan abdicated the caliphate to Mu'awiya in a peace treaty , thus ending the First Fitna. The capital was transferred to Damascus . The treaty brought a temporary peace, but no framework of succession
21000-566: Was considered dangerous and was to be treated harshly, unless he came to terms. Upon his succession, Yazid charged the governor of Medina, his cousin Walid ibn Utba ibn Abi Sufyan , to secure allegiance from Husayn, Ibn al-Zubayr and Ibn Umar, with force if necessary. Walid sought the advice of his kinsman Marwan ibn al-Hakam . He counseled that Ibn al-Zubayr and Husayn should be forced to give allegiance as they were dangerous, while Ibn Umar should be left alone since he posed no threat. Walid summoned
21150-609: Was defeated in the first battle at Madhar located on the Tigris between Basra and Kufa. Mukhtar's army retreated to Harura, a village near Kufa but was annihilated by Mus'ab's forces in the second battle there. Mukhtar and his remaining supporters took refuge in Kufa's palace, where they were besieged by Mus'ab. Four months later in April 687, Mukhtar was killed while attempting a sortie. Some 6,000 of his supporters surrendered, whom Mus'ab executed under pressure from Ibn al-Ash'ath's son Abd al-Rahman and other ashraf . Mukhtar's fall left
21300-455: Was developed in Syria and was used to impose government authority in the provinces. Moreover, key government positions were awarded to close relatives of the caliph. Abd al-Malik required the governors to forward the provincial surplus to the capital. In addition, Arabic was made the official language of the bureaucracy and a single Islamic currency replaced Byzantine and Sasanian coinage, giving
21450-569: Was established. As it had in the past, the issue of succession could potentially lead to problems in the future. The orientalist Bernard Lewis writes: "The only precedents available to Mu'āwiya from Islamic history were election and civil war. The former was unworkable; the latter had obvious drawbacks." Mu'awiya wanted to settle the issue in his lifetime by designating his son Yazid as his successor. In 676, he announced his nomination of Yazid. With no precedence in Islamic history, hereditary succession aroused opposition from different quarters and
21600-469: Was killed along with some 70 of his male companions in the Battle of Karbala on 10 October 680. Following Husayn's death, Yazid faced increased opposition to his rule from Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, a son of Muhammad's companion Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and a grandson of the first caliph Abu Bakr ( r. 632–634 ). Ibn al-Zubayr secretly began taking allegiance in Mecca , though publicly he only called for
21750-456: Was killed in 691. Ibn al-Zubayr's authority in these areas had been nominal, particularly in Khurasan where Ibn Khazim ruled with virtual independence. During his revolt, Ibn al-Zubayr had allied with the Kharijites, who opposed the Umayyads and the Alids. After claiming the caliphate, he denounced their religious views and refused to accept their form of governance, which led to the breakup of their alliance. A group of Kharijites went to Basra,
21900-479: Was limited to certain parts of Syria. Mu'awiya II died after a few months with no suitable Sufyanid (Umayyads of the line of Mu'awiya; descendants of Abu Sufyan ) candidate to succeed him. The northern Syrian Qays tribes supported Ibn al-Zubayr, as did the governors of the Syrian districts of Hims , Qinnasrin and Palestine , while the Damascus governor Dahhak ibn Qays was also leaning toward Ibn al-Zubayr. Moreover, many Umayyads, including Marwan ibn al-Hakam,
22050-458: Was now de facto ruler of the Hejaz and the rest of Arabia, and he openly declared himself caliph. Soon afterwards, he was recognized in Egypt, as well as in Iraq where the Umayyad governor Ibn Ziyad had been expelled by the tribal nobility ( ashraf ). Coins bearing Ibn al-Zubayr's name were minted in parts of southern Persia ( Fars and Kirman ). After Yazid's death, his son and nominated successor Mu'awiya II became caliph, but his authority
22200-553: Was succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik . About the time of caliph Yazid's death, the Umayyad governor of Sijistan (present-day eastern Iran), Yazid ibn Ziyad , faced a rebellion of the Zunbil in the eastern dependency of Zabulistan , who captured Ibn Ziyad's brother Abu Ubayda. Yazid ibn Ziyad attacked the Zunbil but was defeated and killed. His brother Salm , the Umayyad governor of Khurasan , which comprised present-day northern Iran as well as parts of Central Asia and present-day Afghanistan, sent Talha ibn Abd Allah al-Khuza'i as
22350-408: Was the major tradition in Central Asia based on Hanafi -law. It is more influenced by Persian interpretations of Islam and less on the traditions established within Arabian culture. In contrast to the traditionalistic approach, Maturidism allows to reject hadiths based on reason alone. Nevertheless, revelation remains important to inform humans about that is beyond their intellectual limits, such as
22500-473: Was used for Mutazilites or generally designations like Mu'minūn ("Believer") or aṣḥāb al-hudā ("people of guidance") for Muslims, who has been seen as rightoues believers. Since the expression ahl as-sunna wa l-jamāʿah was used with a demand on rightoues belief, it was used in academic researches translated as "orthodox". There are different opinions regarding what the term jama in the phrase ahl as-sunna wa l-jama actually means, among Muslim scholars. In
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