WORLD RELIGIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -Ali ‘s supporters, who believed that direct descendants of Muhammad were the only rightful leaders of the faith, would become known as the Shia (from “Shi’at Ali, ‘’ or “the party of Ali”).

Detailed explanation-2: -One faction, the Shi’a, believed that only individuals with direct lineage to the Prophet could guide the Muslim community righteously. They thought that ‘Ali, Muhammad’s closest surviving blood male relative, should be their next leader (caliph).

Detailed explanation-3: -The followers of all four Rāshidun Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali) became the majority Sunni sect. Under the Rāshidun each region (Sultanate, Wilayah, or Emirate) of the caliphate had its own governor (Sultan, Wāli or Emir).

Detailed explanation-4: -Shia Islam and Sunnism split in the aftermath of the death of Muhammad based on the politics of the early caliphs. Due to the Shi’a belief that Ali should have been the first caliph, the three caliphs that preceded him, Abu Bakr, Umar, and Usman, were considered illegitimate usurpers.

Detailed explanation-5: -Shias, a term that stems from shi’atu Ali, Arabic for “partisans of Ali, ‘’ believe that Ali and his descendants are part of a divine order. Sunnis, meaning followers of the sunna, or “way” in Arabic, of Mohammed, are opposed to political succession based on Mohammed’s bloodline.