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| City &
Highlight Sightseeing ::
Religions ::
Suni |
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Where to Eat & Drink
in Shiraz
Restaurants & Teahouses
Always try a new local cuisines , you never
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Vital Information
Money , Getting
around, internet, Health, Post, Visa,
Safety...etc
A few things to know before getting there |
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IRAN
SUNI RELIGIONS SPECIALS: |
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Sunni Muslims constitute
approximately 8 percent of
the Iranian population. A
majority of Kurds, virtually
all Baluchis and Turkomans,
and a minority of Arabs are
Sunnis, as are small
communities of Persians in
southern Iran and Khorasan.
The main difference between
Sunnis and Shias is that the
former do not accept the
doctrine of the Imamate.
Generally speaking, Iranian
Shias are inclined to
recognize Sunnis as fellow
Muslims, but as those whose
religion is incomplete. Shia
clergy tend to view
missionary work among Sunnis
to convert them to true
Islam as a worthwhile
religious endeavor. Since
the Sunnis generally live in
the border regions of the
country, there has been no
occasion for Shia-Sunni
conflict in most of Iran. In
those towns with mixed
populations in West
Azarbaijan, the Persian Gulf
region, and Baluchestan va
Sistan, tensions between
Shias and Sunnis existed
both before and after the
Revolution. Religious
tensions have been highest
during major Shia
observances, especially
Moharram.The Sunni t
Thisfaith is one of the two
main sectarian divisions in
Islam (the other being Shi'a).
A number of important
principles govern the Sunni
tradition.
- The Prophet and his
revelation are of
foremost authority.
- In order for the
Qur'an to be used as a
basis for sound
judgement for subjects
under dispute it is
necessary to take sound
hadiths into account.
- Qur'anic verses
should be interpreted in
the context of the whole
of the Qur'an.
- In understanding the
Qur'an rational thinking
is subordinate to
revelation. If the
Qur'an or the Sunnah of
the Prophet offers a
clear judgement on
anything, the Muslim is
obliged to follow this
judgement. If there is
no clear judgement about
anything in the Qur'an,
then it is necessary to
make a rational opinion
(known as Ijtihad) which
is consistent with
Qur'anic teaching.
- The first four
caliphs were the
legitimate rulers of the
early community.
- Faith and deeds are
inseparable.
- Everything occurs
according to the divine
plan.
- Allah will be seen
in the life after death.
The Sunni tradition also
emphasises the importance of
religion in the formation of
public policy. This emphasis
has, according to
Sunni-Muslim scholars, given
rise to two interrelated
processes: the supremacy of
the Shari'a and the
sovereignty of the Islamic
community. According to the
Sunni tradition, if Islam is
a legalistically oriented
religion, concerned with the
organization of human
society, it follows that
religious teaching must
concern itself with matters
of marriage and divorce,
inheritance and ownership,
commercial transactions and
contractual dealings,
government, banking,
investment, credits, debts
and so on. The proper
execution of these
contractual matters
according to the principles
of the shari'a based on the
Qur'an and the Sunnah of the
Prophet constitutes an
important part of the way to
salvation.
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Islam is divided between
the minority Shia tradition
and the majority Sunni
tradition. The minority
group regard the Prophet's
Son in law, Ali, and his
descendants as divinely
authorised to rule the
Muslim community. The
majority group believed that
the caliph should be
appointed through the
consensus of the community.
The Muslim community's
encounter with other
cultures, coupled with
further divisions in the
community itself, brought
home the need to formulate
the principles of faith
within a rational framework.
In the 10th century much of
the contents of the Muslim
community's theology was put
into a set of propositions
known as Sunni (orthodox)
theology. The word Sunni
derives from the sunnah, or
example, of the Prophet, and
indicates the orthodoxy of
the majority community as
opposed to the peripheral
positions of schismatics who
by definition must be in
error.
A further response to
schisms involved developing
a trend of accommodation and
synthesis. The principle of
accommodation made it
possible for diverse schools
of thought to coexist and
recognize each other. Thus,
the two principal
theological schools of al-Ashari
and al-Maturidi accepted
each other as orthodox while
opposing minority traditions
such as Mu'tazilah,
Kharijites and Shi'a. The
legal framework of the Sunni
tradition was provided by
the Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki
and Hanbali schools.
The political leadership of
the Sunni community, and
therefore the symbol of
orthodoxy has been the
caliphate. After the first
four caliphs the community
came under the authority of
the Ummayads, who set up
their capital in Damascus.
The period of the Ummayad
caliphs (661-750) saw the
conquest of North Africa and
Spain. In 732 Muslim armies
reached as far as Toulouse
in the south-west of France.
In the East, Muslim armies
arrived in Afghanistan and
the region that is
present-Day Pakistan. In 750
the Ummayad caliph was
overthrown in rebellion led
by the 'Abbasids, who were
to form the next caliphate.
Remnants of the Ummayad
family, however, were able
to establish themselves in
Muslim Spain, where they
ruled until 1031.
The 'Abbasids established
their capital in Baghdad in
750. From then until the
10th century both the Muslim
empire and the power of the
'Abbasids continued to grow.
However, from the 10th
century the empire began to
fragment. A rival caliphate,
the Fatimids, was
established in North Africa.
The Mongol invasions and the
capture of Baghdad in 1258
brought to an end the
caliphate in Iraq. An
'Abbasid caliphate was
established in Cairo, but
this was without any real
political power.
The caliphate was taken over
when the Ottomans invaded
Egypt in 1517. The defeat of
the Ottoman empire after the
first world war, and the
creation of a secular state
in Turkey (which had been at
the heart of the Ottoman
empire) brought the
caliphate to an end. For the
first half of the twentieth
century many regions of the
Islamic world have sought to
free themselves from
European colonial rule. In
the absence of the caliphate
a pan-Islamic identity has
been sought through
organisations such as the
Muslim World League and the
Islamic Conference. Internal
divisions have, however,
impeded any real scope for
Islamic unity.
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See Islam.
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ToDay Ahl-i Sunna/Sunnism
is the madhhab of 90% of all
Muslims.
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Malikiyyah is the second
of the Islamic schools of
jurisprudence. The sources
of Maliki doctrine are the
Qur'an, the Prophet's
traditions (hadith),
consensus (ijma'), and
analogy (qiyas). The Malikis'
concept of ijma' differed
from that of the Hanafis in
that they understood it to
mean the consensus of the
community represented by the
people of Medina. (Overtime,
however, the school came to
understand consensus to be
that of the doctors of law,
known as 'ulama.)
Imam Malik's major
contribution to Islamic law
is his book al-Muwatta (The
Beaten Path). The Muwatta is
a code of law based on the
legal practices that were
operating in Medina. It
covers various areas ranging
from prescribed rituals of
prayer and fasting to the
correct conduct of business
relations. The legal code is
supported by some 2,000
traditions attributed to the
Prophet.
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Malikiyyah was founded
by Malik ibn Anas
(c.713-c.795), a legal
expert in the city of
Medina. Such was his stature
that it is said three
'Abbasid caliphs visited him
while they were on
Pilgrimage to Medina. The
second 'Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur
(d.775), approached the
Medinan jurist with the
proposal to establish a
judicial system that would
unite the different judicial
methods that were operating
at that time throughout the
Islamic world.
The school spread westwards
through Malik's disciples,
becoming dominant in North
Africa and Spain. In North
Africa Malikiyyah gave rise
to an important Sufi order,
Shadhiliyyah, which was
founded by Abu al-Hasan, a
jurist in the Malikite
school, in Tunisia in the
thirteenth century.
During the Ottoman period
Hanafite Turks were given
the most important judicial
in the Ottoman empire. North
Africa, however, remained
faithful to its Malikite
heritage. Such was the
strength of the local
tradition that qadis
(judges) from both the
Hanafite and Malikite
traditions worked with the
local ruler. Following the
fall of the Ottoman empire,
Malikiyyah regained its
position of ascendancy in
the region. ToDay Malikite
doctrine and practice
remains widespread
throughout North Africa, the
Sudan and regions of West
and Central Africa.
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As a school of law
Malikiyyah has no symbols.
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There are no figures
indicating the size of the
school.
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The school has no
headquarters or main centre.
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Shafi'iyyah was the
third school of Islamic
jurisprudence. According
to the Shafi'i school
the paramount sources of
legal authority are the
Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Of less authority are
the Ijma' of the
community and thought of
scholars (Ijitihad)
exercised through qiyas.
The scholar must
interpret the ambiguous
passages of the Qur'an
according to the
consensus of the
Muslims, and if there is
no consensus, according
to qiyas.
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The Shafi'iyyah
school of Islamic law
was named after Muhammad
ibn Idris al-Shafi'i
(767-819). He belonged
originally to the school
of Medina and was also a
pupil of Malik ibn Anas
(d.795), the founder of
Malikiyyah. However, he
came to believe in the
overriding authority of
the traditions from the
Prophet and identified
them with the Sunnah.
Baghdad and Cairo were
the chief centres of the
Shafi'iyyah. From these
two cities Shafi'i
teaching spread into
various parts of the
Islamic world. In the
tenth century Mecca and
Medina came to be
regarded as the school's
chief centres outside of
Egypt. In the centuries
preceding the emergence
of the Ottoman empire
the Shafi'is had
acquired supremacy in
the central lands of
Islam. It was only under
the Ottoman sultans at
the beginning of the
sixteenth century that
the Shafi'i were
replaced by the
Hanafites, who were
given judicial authority
in Constantinople, while
Central Asia passed to
the Shi'a as a result of
the rise of the Safawids
in 1501. In spite of
these developments, the
people in Egypt, Syria
and the Hidjaz continued
to follow the Shafi'i
madhhab. ToDay it
remains predominant in
Southern Arabia,
Bahrain, the Malay
Archipelago, East Africa
and several parts of
Central Asia.
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The school has no
symbol system.
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There are no figures
for the number of
followers of the school.
It has some adherents in
the following countries:
Jordan, Palestine,
Syria, the Lebanon and
Yemen. It has a large
following in the
following countries:
Egypt, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Brunei,
Singapore, Thailand, Sri
Lanka, the Maldives, and
among the Kurdish
people.
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The school does not
have a headquarters or
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Kharijite belief is
distinguished from that of
mainstream Islam through its
particular emphasis on good
actions as well as belief.
For the Kharijites the mere
profession of the faith -
"There is no God but Allah;
Muhammad is the prophet of
God" - was not sufficient in
itself to make a person a
Muslim; the profession had
to be accompanied by
righteousness and good
works. Contrary to the Sunni
view and practice, the
Kharijites interpreted the
Qur'anic command concerning
"enjoining good and
forbidding evil" to mean the
vindication of their beliefs
through the sword. With
regard to the question of
who should lead the
community of Muslims, the
Kharijites claimed that the
community could only be led
by those who were pious and
righteous. It was deemed
acceptable to overthrow a
ruler whose conduct fell
short of these ideals.
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Kharijiyyah emerged in
the first century of Islam
as a result of disputes
within the community over
the question of who should
lead it. During the reign of
the third caliph, 'Uthman,
certain groups accused the
caliph of nepotism and
misrule, and this discontent
led to his assassination in
656. After 'Uthman's death
Ali, the cousin of the
Prophet, was invited by the
Muslims at Madina to accept
the caliphate, which he did,
and thus became the fourth
caliph (656-661). Ali's rule
was opposed by Uthman's
nephew, Mu'awiyah, who
rebelled against Ali, but
subsequently agreed to
settle the issue of who
should lead the community
through human arbitration.
The principle of the use of
human arbitration for this
purpose was opposed by
certain groups within the
community, who became known
to history as the Kharijites
(a term which means "those
who go out, go off").
Because of their belief that
the pursuit of truth was
done through the use of the
sword, they embarked upon
endless campaigns against
the community. Gradually
they were subdued, and
within two centuries of the
birth of Islam were wiped
out.
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The Kharijites had no
distinctive symbol system.
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The group has no
contemporary adherents.
However, a moderate group
called Ibadites, who refer
themselves back to the
Kharijites but reject their
aggressive methods, are to
be found in the sultanate of
Oman and North Africa.
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The Kharijites were
centred around the marshes
around Basra and on the left
bank of the Tigris, a
location which afforded them
the opportunity to escape to
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The Mu'tazilite
school of theology
emerged out of the
question raised by the
Kharijites whether works
are integral to faith or
independent of faith. On
the question of the
relationship between
faith and works, the
Mu'tazilites adopted the
position that someone
who commits a grave sin
without repenting
occupies a middle state
between being a Muslim
and not being a Muslim.
A second doctrine
concerned the nature of
God. God is pure Essence
and, therefore, without
eternal attributes such
as hands. Passages in
the Qur'an that ascribe
human or physical
properties to God are to
be regarded as
metaphorical rather than
literal.
The Mu'tazilites also
argued that the Qur'an
was created and not
eternal. The basis of
this doctrine was the
claim that the eternal
coexistence of the
Qur'an beside Allah gave
the impression of
another god beside
Allah.
Human acts are free and,
therefore, people are
entirely responsible for
their decisions and
actions. Divine
predestination is
incompatible with God's
justice and human
responsibility. God,
however, must of
necessity act justly; it
follows from this that
the promises of reward
that God has made in the
Qur'an to righteous
people and the
punishments he had
issued to evildoers must
be carried out by him on
the Day of judgement.
Mu'tazilites are
generally seen as
responsible for the
incorporation of Greek
philosophical thought
into Islamic theology.
This is particularly
apparent in their belief
that knowledge of God
can be acquired through
reason as well as
revelation.
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The term Mu'tazilah
derives from the Arabic
al-mu'tazilah, which
means the one who
separated. It was
applied to the school
established in Iraq by
Wasil b. 'Ata (699-749),
a student of the
distinguished scholar
Hasn al-Basri (642-728).
At the time of the rise
of the 'Abbasids in 750
the Mu'tazilites began
to become prominent in
the Islamic world. In
the 9th century the
'Abbasid caliph, al-Ma'mun,
raised Mu'tazilah
doctrine to the status
of the state creed.
Openly supported by the
caliphate, the
Mu'tazilites became
increasingly intolerant
and began to persecute
their opponents. On one
occasion the eminent
Sunni scholar and
founder of one of the
four orthodox
jurisprudential schools,
Ahmad b. Hanbal (d.855),
was subjected to
flogging and
imprisonment for his
refusal to subscribe to
the Mu'tazilite doctrine
that the Qur'an was
created in time.
Always unpopular with
the ordinary people, the
Mu'tazilites' power
gradually began to wane.
They lost the support of
the caliphs and by the
10th century the
Traditionist (Sunni
majority) opposition to
Mu'tazilah found a
spokesman in Abu al-Hasan
al-Ash'ari (d.935), who
himself had previously
been a Mu'tazilite. Al-Ash'ari's
new school of theology
and the school of Abu
Mansur al-Maturidi
(d.945) provided the new
basis of orthodox
Islamic theology,
leading to the complete
disappearance of the
Mu'tazile movement.
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Mu'tazilah does not
identify itself through
the use of any symbol
system.
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The school has no
contemporary adherents.
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Headquarters/
Main Centre
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When the school was
in existence its main
centres were in Basra
and Baghdad.
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The Hanafiyyah
school is the first of
the four orthodox Sunni
schools of law. It is
distinguished from the
other schools through
its placing less
reliance on mass oral
traditions as a source
of legal knowledge. It
developed the exegesis
of the Qur'an through a
method of analogical
reasoning known as Qiyas
(see Sunni Islam). It
also established the
principle that the
universal concurrence of
the Ummah (community) of
Islam on a point of law,
as represented by legal
and religious scholars,
constituted evidence of
the will of God. This
process is called ijma',
which means the
consensus of the
scholars. Thus, the
school definitively
established the Qur'an,
the Traditions of the
Prophet, ijma' and qiyas
as the basis of Islamic
law. In addition to
these, Hanafi accepted
local customs as a
secondary source of the
law.
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The Hanafi school of
law was founded by
Nu'man Abu Hanifah
(d.767) in Kufa in Iraq.
It derived from the bulk
of the ancient school of
Kufa and absorbed the
ancient school of Basra.
Abu Hanifah belonged to
the period of the
successors (tabiin)of
the Sahabah (the
companions of the
Prophet). He was a
Tabi'i since he had the
good fortune to have
lived during the period
when some of the Sahabah
were still alive. Having
originated in Iraq, the
Hanafi school was
favoured by the first
'Abbasid caliphs in
spite of the school's
opposition to the power
of the caliphs.
The privileged position
which the school enjoyed
under the 'Abbasid
caliphate was lost with
the decline of the
'Abbasid caliphate.
However, the rise of the
Ottoman empire led to
the revival of Hanafi
fortunes. Under the
Ottomans the judgement-seats
were occupied by
Hanafites sent from
Istanbul, even in
countries where the
population followed
another madhhab.
Consequently, the Hanafi
madhhab became the only
authoritative code of
law in the public life
and official
administration of
justice in all the
provinces of the Ottoman
empire. Even toDay the
Hanafi code prevails in
the former Ottoman
countries. It is also
dominant in Central Asia
and India.
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The Hanafi school of
jurisprudence has no
distinctive symbol
system.
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There are no
official figures for the
number of followers of
the Hanafi school of
law. It is followed by
the vast majority of
people in the Muslim
world.
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Headquarters/
Main Centre
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The school has no
headquarters as such. It
is followed by the
majority of the Muslim
population Of Turkey,
Albania, the Balkans,
Central Asia,
Afghanistan, Pakistan,
China, India and Iraq.
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The Hanbali school
is the fourth orthodox
school of law within
Sunni Islam. It derives
its decrees from the
Qur'an and the Sunnah,
which it places above
all forms of consensus,
opinion or inference.
The school accepts as
authoritative an opi
nion given by a
Companion of the
Prophet, providing there
is no disagreement with
anther Companion. In the
case of such
disagreement, the
opinion of the Companion
nearest to that of the
Qur'an or the Sunnah
will prevail.
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The Hanbali school
of law was established
by Ahmad b. Hanbal
(d.855). He studied law
under different masters,
including Imam Shafi'i
(the founder of his own
school). He is regarded
as more learned in the
traditions than in
jurisprudence. His
status also derives from
his collection and
exposition of the
hadiths. His major
contribution to Islamic
scholarship is a
collection of
fifty-thousand
traditions known as 'Musnadul-Imam
Hanbal'.
In spite of the
importance of Hanbal's
work his school did not
enjoy the popularity of
the three preceding
Sunni schools of law.
Hanbal's followers were
regarded as reactionary
and troublesome on
account of their
reluctance to give
personal opinion on
matters of law, their
rejection of analogy,
their fanatic
intolerance of views
other than their own,
and their exclusion of
opponents from power and
judicial office. Their
unpopularity led to
periodic bouts of
persecution against
them.
The later history of the
school has been
characterised by
fluctuations in their
fortunes. Hanbali
scholars such as Ibn
Taymiyya (d.1328) and
Ibn Qayyim al-Jouzia
(d.1350), did display
more tolerance to other
views than their
predecessors and were
instrumental in making
the teachings of Hanbali
more generally
accessible.
From time to time
Hanbaliyyah became an
active and numerically
strong school in certain
areas under the
jurisdiction of the 'Abbassid
Caliphate. But its
importance gradually
declined under the
Ottoman Turks. The
emergence of the Wahabi
in the nineteenth
century and its
challenge to Ottoman
authority enabled
Hanbaliyyah to enjoy a
period of revival. ToDay
the school is officially
recognised as
authoritative in Saudi
Arabia and areas within
the Persian Gulf.
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Hanbaliyyah does not
possess a distinctive
symbol system.
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There are no
official figures
identifying the number
of people associated
with the school.
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Headquarters/
Main Centre
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The school has no
headquarters or main
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Ash'ariyyah theology
represents a reaction
against the extreme
rationalism of the
Mu'tazilah. It holds
that human reason should
fall under the authority
of divine revelation.
Human reason is
incapable of discerning
good and evil; the
goodne ss or evil of a
particular action
depends upon God's
declaring it to be so.
Humanity can only
acquire religious truths
through revelation.
A second aspect of
Ash'ariyyah theology
concerned the nature of
the divine attributes.
Contrary to the
Mu'tazilites, who
understood Qur'anic
references to God's
physical attributes
metaphorically, Ash'ari
theology argued for the
veracity of these
attributes while
rejecting all crudely
anthropomorphic
conceptions of God.
Thirdly, contrary to
Mu'tazilah theology,
Ash'ariyyah taught that
the Qur'an was eternal
and, therefore,
uncreated. Human
actions, however, are
entirely dependent upon
God's providing the
means and power to act.
This teaching had the
purpose of preserving
the doctrine of divine
omnipotence, but
gradually led to the
formation of a
deterministic outlook.
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| History
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The systematization
of Sunni theology in the
tenth century was done
in reaction to the
emergence of heterodox
schismatic groups in
previous centuries,
particularly Mu'tazilah.
The founder of
Ash'ariyyah, Abu al-Hasan
(873-935), was formerly
a Mu'tazilite. He wrote
a number of important
books which became the
foundation of Ash'arite
theology such as the
Kitab al-Ibanah (The
Book of Elucidations)
and also an extensive
work on the views of
various Islamic schools
and sects called Maqalat
al-Islamiyyin (Doctrines
of the Muslims).
Another major figure in
the development of
Ash'arite theology was
the Sufi theologian and
jurist al-Ghazzali
(1058-1111). Through al-Ghazzali
and other prominent
theologians - such as
Al-Baqillani (d.1013),
al-Baghdadi (d.1038),
al-Djuwayni (d.1085) and
al-Shahrastani (d.1153)
- Ashariyyah spread
throughout the Sunni
Islamic world. It is now
dominant in Iraq, Syria,
Egypt and Northwest
Africa, and has a strong
presence in Central Asia
and Anatolia and to a
lesser extent in India
and Pakistan.
Along with the
Maturidiyyah school of
theology, Ashariyyah
remains the dominant
source of theology in
the Sunni world.
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As a school of
theology, Ash'ariyyah
does not identify itself
through the use of
symbols.
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The majority of
those who follow the
Malikite jurisprudential
madhhab, which is
comprised of 13% of
worldwide Sunni Muslims,
and some 75% of those
who follow the Shafi'ite
jurisprudential madhhab,
which constitutes some
33% of worldwide Sunni M
uslims, and a very small
proportion of those who
follow the Hanafite and
Hanbalite
jurisprudential madhhabs
follow the Ash'arite
school of theology.
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Headquarters/
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The school has no
headquarters or main
centre. |
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Maturidiyyah, along
with Ash'ariyyah, forms
the basis of orthodox
Sunni theology. Maturidi
theology can best be
understood in comparison
with that of Mu'tazilah
and Ash'ariyyah.
One of the principal
theological questions
with which each of these
schools engaged
concerned the role of
human reason in the
development of religious
faith. Unlike the school
of al-Ash 'ari which
claimed that knowledge
of God derives from
revelation through the
prophets, Maturidiyyah
argues that knowledge of
God's existence can be
derived through reason
alone.
Another major issue that
concerned all three
schools was the
relationship between
human freedom and divine
omnipotence.
Maturidiyyah claims that
although humanity has a
free will God is still
all-powerful and in
control of history. It
is humanity's ability to
distinguish between good
and evil that means that
humanity is responsible
for whatever good or
evil actions are
performed.
The third major issue
concerned God's
attributes. Ash'ariyyah
teaches that what the
Qur'an says about God's
attributes must be
accepted as correct even
though we do not
properly understand the
meaning of many of the
statements about God.
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Maturidiyyah is a
Sunni theological school
named after its founder
Abu Mansur al-Maturidi
(d.944). In the Mamluk
age the school came to
be widely recognised as
the second orthodox
Sunni theological school
beside Ash'ariyyah.
Resident in Samarqand in
Central Asia, al-Maturidi
had little impact on
mainstream Islamic
intellectual life during
his lifetime.
Maturidiyyah only came
to be important as a
result of its acceptance
by the Turkish tribes of
Central Asia. The
Maturidi school of
theology gradually came
to prevail among the
Hanafite communities
everywhere. Because the
Turks were mostly
Hanafite the Turkish
expansion through the
Ottoman empire enabled
the Hanafite and
Maturidite schools to
spread throughout
western Persia, Iraq,
Anatolia, and Syria.
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As a school of law
Malikiyyah has no
symbols.
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ToDay nearly 53% of
Sunni Muslims are
Hanafites, and the
majority of Hanafites
are Maturidites.
Maturidiyyah is now
present in Turkey, the
Balkans, Central Asia,
China, India, Pakistan
and Eritrea.
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Headquarters/
Main Centre
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The school has no
headquarters or main
centre. |
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Wahabbiyyah is not a
new sect within Islam
but a movement whose
purpose is to purify
Islam of perceived
heretical accretions.
The Wahhabis claim to
base their doctrines on
the teachings of the
fourteenth century
scholar Ibn Taymiyya and
the rulings of the
Hanbali school of law,
the strictest of the
four recognised in the
Sunni consensus. They
believe that all objects
of worship other than
Allah are false, and
anyone who worships in
this way deserves to be
put to death. To
introduce the name of a
prophet, saint or angel
into a prayer, or to
seek intercession from
anyone but Allah
constitutes a form of
polytheism. Attendance
at public prayer is
compulsory, and the
shaving of the beard and
smoking are forbidden.
Mosques should be
architecturally simple,
not luxurious or ornate.
Prohibited are the
celebration of the
Prophet's birthDay,
making offerings at the
tomb of saints, and
playing music. The
injunctions of the
Qur'an are to be taken
literally.
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| History
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Wahhabiyyah emerged
in the middle of the
18th century in Arabia
as both a religious and
political movement
responding to the
decline of the Ottoman
empire and the
increasing strength of
Shi'a in Iran. Its
founder, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab
(1703-92), had witnessed
many examples of laxity,
superstition, and blind
allegiance to Walis
(Sufi saints) during his
travels through Iraq and
Arabia.
The political character
of the movement took the
form of opposition to
the ruling Ottoman
empire. In 1744 Ibn 'Abd
al-Wahhab formed an
alliance with a local
chieftain, Muhammad Ibn
Sa'ud (1765), who
accepted his doctrine
and undertook its
defense and propagation.
The demolition of
shrines, tombstones and
the capture of Mecca
caused alarm in the
Ottoman government which
despatched an army to
crush the movement. The
decisive defeat of the
bedouin troops in 1818
brought to an end the
first Sa'udi-Wahhabi
venture.
A remnant of the Wahhabi
movement survived in a
pocket of Central
Arabia. In 1902 Abd al-Aziz
Ibn Sa'ud, who was from
the Sa'udi family and a
follower of the bedouin
faith of the Wahhabiyyah,
took Riyadh, an event
which led to his gradual
conquest of the interior
of the Arabian
peninsula. In 1927 Sa'ud
signed a treaty with the
British (who at that
time were controlling
parts of the Arabian
peninsula) which gave
him full independence in
exchange for his
recognition of British
suzerainty over the Gulf
sheikdoms. Finally in
1932 he named his state
the kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Wahhabiyyah then
became the official
doctrine of the state.
ToDay the Saudi state
remains firmly rooted in
the Wahhabi creed.
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The movement has no
distinctive symbol
system.
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Wahhabiyyah is the
official ideology of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
There are no official
statistics for the
number of Muslims who
follow the doctrines of
Wahhabiyyah.
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Headquarters/
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The movement has no
headquarters. |
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Ahmadiyyah is a
missionary-oriented sect
of Indian origin,
founded in Qadiyan by
Miraz Ghulam Ahmad
(1839-1908). The sect
believes its founder to
be the madhi, the
Christian Messiah, an
avatar of the Hindu god
Krishna, and a
reappearance of M
uhammad. The sect
believes that Jesus did
not die in Jerusalem but
feigned death and
resurrection, and
escaped to India where
he died at the age of
120.
Although Ahmadiyyah
departs from mainstream
Sunni Islamic doctrines
in terms of its belief
in the special status of
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, they
follow most of the main
duties of Islam such as
prayer, fasting,
pilgrimage and
almsgiving, as well as
the basic Sunni
interpretations of
Islamic theology. Of the
two branches of
Ahmadiyyah in existence
toDay, the minority
Lahore branch, is
considered to be within
mainstream Sunni
theology. The majority
Qadiyanis are, however,
not considered to be
part of Islam by
orthodox Muslims.
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| History
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The founder of the
Ahmadiyyah sect, Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad, was born
into the leading family
of the small town of
Qadiyan in the Punjab,
India in about 1839. He
received a good
traditional education,
learning how to meditate
and acquired a deep kno
wledge of religion. On 4
March 1889 he announced
that he received a
special revelation from
God and gathered a small
group of disciples
around him. Opposition
from the Muslim
community began two
years later when he
announced that he was
the Messiah an d the
Mahdi (a figure whose
arrival is believed by
some Muslims to herald
the end of the world).
In 1896 he gave a sermon
called al-Hutbat al-Ilhamiyyah
which he claimed to be
unique because it was
divinely inspired in
pure Arabic. After this
sermon h e came to be
referred to by his
followers as a prophet,
a title which he
regarded as honorary
since he did not claim
to bring a new
revelation or new law.
However, in spite of his
denial of doctrinal
innovation in 1900 he
claimed that he was the
Second Advent of Jesus
and an avatar of
Krishna.
On the death of the
founder in 1908, a
successor called Mawlawi
Nur ad-Din was elected
by the community. In
1914 a schism occurred
over whether or not
Ghulam Ahmad had claimed
to be a prophet (nabi)
and if so how he saw his
prophetic role. The sece
ssionists, led by one of
Ghulam Ahmad's sons,
rejected the prophetic
claims of Ghulam Ahmad,
regarding him only as a
reformer (mujaddid), and
established their centre
in Lahore (in modern Day
Pakistan). The majority,
however, remained at
Qadiyan and cont inued
to recognise Ghulam
Ahmad as a prophet.
Following the partition
of India and Pakistan,
the Qadiyanis, as the
majority group came to
be known, moved their
headquarters to Rabwah
in what was then West
Pakistan. They remain
both highly organised
and very wealthy, due
largely to the monthly
dues received from their
members.
The Lahore group, which
is known as the Ahmadis
and is considerably
smaller than the
Qadiyanis, has sought to
win converts to Islam
rather than its own
particular sect. The
Lahore group was also
much more involved with
the Indian Muslim
struggle ag ainst the
British presence in
India.
Both groups are noted
for their missionary
work, particularly in
the West and in Africa.
Within Muslim countries,
however, strong
opposition remains to
the Qadiyani group
because of its
separatist identity and
its claim that Ghulam
Ahmad was a prophet.
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The sects' members
are identified through
their wearing a red cowl
and a red veil. The
Qadiyanis also employ a
red banner.
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| Adherents
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The Qadiyanis
currently have a
presence in many
countries, including
most western countries.
Their world wide numbers
are estimated as high as
10 million (Harris et al
1994, 79).
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Headquarters/
Main Centre
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The Qadiyanis have
their headquarters in
Rabwah in Pakistan; the
Ahmadis have their
headquarters in Lahore
in Pakistan.
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