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Sunni Islam () is the largest
branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' twig'' usuall ...
of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
, followed by 85–90% of the world's
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
. The differences between Sunni and
Shia Muslims Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
arose from a disagreement over the succession to Muhammad and subsequently acquired broader political significance, as well as
theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
and juridical dimensions. According to Sunni traditions, Muhammad left no successor and the participants of the Saqifah event appointed
Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
as the next-in-line (the first
caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
). This contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad appointed his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. The adherents of Sunni Islam are referred to in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
as ("the people of the Sunnah and the community") or for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called ''Sunnism'', while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites and Ahlus Sunnah. Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as "orthodox Islam", though some scholars view this translation as inappropriate. The
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
, together with
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
(especially those collected in Kutub al-Sittah) and binding juristic consensus, form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam.
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
rulings are derived from these basic sources, in conjunction with analogical reasoning,
consideration Consideration is a concept of English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. The court in '' Currie v Misa'' declar ...
of public welfare and juristic discretion, using the principles of jurisprudence developed by the traditional legal schools. In matters of
creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...
, the Sunni tradition upholds the six pillars of '' imān'' (faith) and comprises the
Ash'ari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in th ...
and
Maturidi Māturīdī theology or Māturīdism ( ar, الماتريدية: ''al-Māturīdiyyah'') is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Persian Muslim scholar, Ḥanafī jurist, reformer (''Mujaddid''), and scholastic ...
schools of
Kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...
(theology) as well as the textualist school known as traditionalist theology.


Terminology


Sunna

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
Sunni Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān. It is said Mālik al-Aschtar, a famous follower of ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, encouraged during the battle of Siffin with the expression, Ali's enemy Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān 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 the
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...
" (''sunnat an-nabī'') is still unknown. During the
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
, several political movements, amongst them the
Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
and the Kharijites who rebelled against the formation of the state; led their battles in the name of "the book of God (''
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
'') 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 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 Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honori ...
and
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...
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 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-sunna wa-l-ǧamāʿa'' as a group-name for Sunnis is a relatively young phenomenon. It was probably Ibn Taymiyyah, who used the short-term for the first time. It was later popularized by
pan-Islamic Pan-Islamism ( ar, الوحدة الإسلامية) is a political movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Pan-Islamism was ...
scholars such as
Muhammad Rashid Rida Muḥammad Rashīd ibn ʿAlī Riḍā ibn Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn ibn Muḥammad Bahāʾ al-Dīn ibn Munlā ʿAlī Khalīfa (23 September 1865 or 18 October 1865 – 22 August 1935 CE/ 1282 - 1354 AH), widely known as Sayyid Rashid Rida ( ar, � ...
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 reformoriented facts“) published in 1928–29. The term "''sunna''" 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" is also used on Western research literature to denote the Sunni-Shia contrast.


Ahl as-Sunna

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 aksed 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 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 sunna'' designated in this situation whose, who stayed away from heretic teachings of the different warring parties. The term ''ahl as-sunna'' was always a laudatory designation.
Abu Hanifa Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ( ar, نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان; –767), commonly known by his '' kunya'' Abū Ḥanīfa ( ar, أبو حنيفة), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Musl ...
(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 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 The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Kh ...
, used sometimes one expression and sometimes another for his own group.Ulrich Rudolph: ''Al-Māturīdī und die sunnitische Theologie in Samarkand.'' Brill, Leiden 1997. S. 66. Singular to ''ahl as-sunna'' was ''ṣāḥib sunna'' (adherent to the sunnah). This expression was used for example by ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Mubārak (d. 797) for a person, who distances himself from the teachings of shia, kharijites, qadarites and murdajites. In addition, the Nisba adjective ''sunnī'' was also used for the individual person. Thus it has been recorded, the Kufic scholar of the Quran Abu Bakr ibn'auyash (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 andalisian scholar ibn Hazm (d. 1064) taught later, that whose who confess to Islam can be divided into four groups: ''ahl as-sunna'',
Mutazilites Mu'tazilism ( ar, المعتزلة ') was a theological movement that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad (8th–10th century). Its adherents, the Mutazila or Mutazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dis ...
, Murdschiiten, Schiiten und Charidschiten. The Muʿtazilites replaced the Qadarites here. In the 9th Century, one started to extent the term ''ahl as-sunna'' with further positive additions. Abu l-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''So al-Ašʿarī: ''Kitāb al-Ibāna ʿan uṣūl ad-diyāna''. S. 8. – Engl. Übers. S. 49. („people of truth and of the Sunnah“).


Ahl as-Sunna wa-l-jama

When the expression 'ahl as-sunna wal-jama' appeared for the first time, is not entirely clear. The Abbasite Caliph Al-Ma'mūn (reigned 813–33) criticized in his Miha-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-ǧamāʿa''). ''Sunna'' and ''jama'' are already connected here. As a pair, these terms already appear in 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-ǧamāʿa'', to which the Mutazilite
Abu l-Qasim al-Balchi Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...
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 jama'' („Jammatic Sunnite“). This indicates that the Hanbalis were the first to use the phrase ''ahl as-sunna wal-ǧamāʿa'' as a self-designation.Ess: ''Der Eine und das Andere''. 2011, Bd. II, S. 1276. But also the Karramiyya founded by Muhammad ibn Karram (d. 859) referred to the sunnah and community. They passed down for praise of their schoolfounder a hadith, according to which the prophet 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 wal-ǧamāʿa'') and take Hidraj from Chorasan to Jerusalem, just how Muhammad himself took a Hidraj from Mecca to Medina. According to the testimony of the transoxanian scholar Abu l-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 wal-jama'' too.al-Bazdawī: ''Kitāb Uṣūl ad-Dīn.'' 2003, S. 250. Abu l-Hasan al-Ashari used the expression ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama'' rarely, and preferred another combination. Later Asharites like al-Isfaranini (d. 1027) nad Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (d. 1078) used the expression ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama'' 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 wal-jama''. 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 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-sunna wal-jama with ''ahl-al-ḥadīṯ'', "because they would adhere to teachings contrary to the Quran". According to Schams ad-Dīn al-Maqdisī (end of the 10the Century) was the expression ''ahl as-sunna wal-jama'' a laudatory term during his time, similar to ''ahl al-ʿadl wa-t-tauḥīd'' („people of righteousness and Divine Unity“), which 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-jama'' 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 wal-jama'' actually means, among Muslim scholars. In the Sunni Creed by
at-Tahawi Abu Ja'far Ahmad al-Tahawi ( ar, أبو جعفر الطحاوي, translit=Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī) (843 – 5 November 933), or simply aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī (Arabic: ), was an Egyptian Arab Hanafi jurist and Athari theologian. He studi ...
(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 the principle of
Ijma ''Ijmāʿ'' ( ar, إجماع , " consensus") is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Islamic community on a point of Islamic law. Sunni Muslims regard ''ijmā as one of the secondary sources of Sharia law, after the Qur' ...
, 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 Nurcholish Madjid (March 17, 1939 – August 29, 2005), in Indonesia affectionately known as Cak Nur, was a prominent Indonesian Muslim intellectual. Early in his academic career, Nurcholish was a leader in various student organizations. He soon b ...
(d. 2005) interpreted ''jama'' as an inclusivistic concept: It means a society open for pluralism and dialogue but does not emphasize that much.


History

One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammad's death, and that
Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...
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 the Rāshidun or "Rightly-Guided Ones". Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned
Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
as the first,
Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...
as the second, Uthman as the third, and Ali as the fourth. Sunnis recognised different rulers as the
caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
, 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 Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
on 3 March 1924.


Transition of caliphate into dynastic monarchy of Banu Umayya

The seeds of metamorphosis of caliphate into kingship were sown, as 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 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 The Conquest of Mecca ( ar, فتح مكة , translit=Fatḥ Makkah) was the capture of the town of Mecca by Muslims led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in December 629 or January 630 AD ( Julian), 10–20 Ramadan, 8 AH. The conquest marked ...
by Muhammad, as his successors with the accession of Uthman to caliphate, replaced 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 Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
, 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 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 Ṭalḥa ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Taymī ( ar, طَلْحَة بن عُبَيْد اللّه التَّيمي, ) was a Companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, he is mostly known for being among ('the ten to whom Paradise w ...
-Zubair, by Muāwiya and finally by the Khārjites. After he was murdered his followers immediately elected
Hasan ibn Ali Hasan ibn Ali ( ar, الحسن بن علي, translit=Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; ) was a prominent early Islamic figure. He was the eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ...
his elder son from Fātima to succeed him. Hasan shortly afterward signed a treaty with Muāwiya relinquishing power in favour of 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, 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 A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...
after which Yazid established himself as a sovereign, though strong public uprising erupted after his death against his dynasty to avenge 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.


Caliphate and the dynastic monarchy of 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 the founders of the four schools viz,
Abu Hanifa Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ( ar, نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان; –767), commonly known by his '' kunya'' Abū Ḥanīfa ( ar, أبو حنيفة), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Musl ...
, Malik ibn Anas, Shāfi'i and
Ahmad bin Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Dhuhli ( ar, أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل الذهلي, translit=Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal al-Dhuhlī; November 780 – 2 August 855 CE/164–241 AH), was a Muslim jurist, theologian, ascetic, hadith traditionist, and f ...
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 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.


Sunni Islam in the contemporary era

The fall, at the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
, the biggest Sunni empire for six centuries, brought 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 Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and secular
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. Pakistan, the most populous Sunni state at its dawn, was later partitioned into Pakistan and
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
. The demise of Ottoman caliphate also resulted in the emergence of
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
, 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 Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
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 the traditions of the Sunni Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. The expediencies of
cold war The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
resulted in the radicalisation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan who fought the
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
regime backed by
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
forces in Afghanistan giving birth to the Taliban movement. After the fall of communist regime in Afghanistan and the ensuing
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
, Taliban wrestled power from the various Mujahidin factions in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
and formed a government under the leadership of Mohammed Omar, who was addressed as the
Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
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 The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
launched against the Taliban. The sequence of events of 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 The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
,
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
, the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, the
North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
and the
Indian sub continent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...
. 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 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 Muḥammad Rashīd ibn ʿAlī Riḍā ibn Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn ibn Muḥammad Bahāʾ al-Dīn ibn Munlā ʿAlī Khalīfa (23 September 1865 or 18 October 1865 – 22 August 1935 CE/ 1282 - 1354 AH), widely known as Sayyid Rashid Rida ( ar, � ...
, etc. many contemporary ''
Tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
'' (exegetic treatises) downplay 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.Johanna Pink (2010). ''Sunnitischer Tafsīr in der modernen islamischen Welt: Akademische Traditionen, Popularisierung und nationalstaatliche Interessen''. Brill, , pp. 114–116. A direct reference to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict could not be found. It remains unclear whether the refusal of ''Isrā'iliyyāt'' 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 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.Johanna Pink (2010). ''Sunnitischer Tafsīr in der modernen islamischen Welt: Akademische Traditionen, Popularisierung und nationalstaatliche Interessen''. Brill, , pp. 120–121. 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.


Adherents

Sunnis believe 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 Abdullah ibn Masūd, or Abdullah ibn Masood, or Abdullah Ben Messaoud ( ar, عبد الله بن مسعود, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʽūd; c.594-c.653), was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who he is regarded the greatest mufassir of ...
, 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 is also found in the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
, 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 a scholar of Islamic law (''
sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
'') or Islamic theology ('' Kalām''). Both religious and political leadership are in principle open to all Muslims. According to the Islamic Center of
Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
,
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
, 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 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.See:
Eastern Europe Russia and Central Asia
"some 80% of the worlds Muslims are Sunni" *
Sue Hellett;U.S. should focus on sanctions against Iran
"Sunnis make up over 75 percent of the world's Muslim population"
Iran, Israel and the United States
"Sunni, accounts for over 75% of the Islamic population"
A dictionary of modern politics
"probably 80% of the worlds Muslims are Sunni" * * *
Sunni Islam: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide
"Sunni Islam is the dominant division of the global Muslim community, and throughout history it has made up a substantial majority (85 to 90 percent) of that community."


Three group doctrines

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 the Sunnis: 1. those named after Abu l-Hasan al-Aschʿari (d. 935) Ashʿarites, 2. those named after
Abu Mansur al-Maturidi Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. Maḥmūd al-Ḥanafī al-Māturīdī al-Samarḳandī ( fa, أبو منصور محمد بن محمد بن محمود الماتریدي السمرقندي الحنفي; 853–944 CE), often referred t ...
(d. 941) named
Maturidi Māturīdī theology or Māturīdism ( ar, الماتريدية: ''al-Māturīdiyyah'') is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Persian Muslim scholar, Ḥanafī jurist, reformer (''Mujaddid''), and scholastic ...
tes 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 the Hanbalites. The late Ottoman thinker İsmail Hakkı İzmirli (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 ''Nasafīya'' as a possible alternative name.İsmail Hakkı İzmirli: ''Muḥaṣṣalü l-kelâm ve-l-ḥikme''. Istanbul 1336h (= 1917/18 n.Chr.). S. 75
Digitalisat
/ref> Another used for the traditionalist-oriented group is "people of
Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
" (''ahl al-ḥadīṯ''). It 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.Abschlussdokument der Grosny-Konferenz von 2016
arabisches Original
un
deutsche Übersetzung


Ash'ari

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 Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian poly ...
wrote on 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 Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
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 Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
), are the sole source of all morality and ethics. Regarding the nature of God and the divine attributes, the Ash'ari rejected the
Mu'tazili Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early ...
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 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.


Maturidi

Founded by
Abu Mansur al-Maturidi Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. Maḥmūd al-Ḥanafī al-Māturīdī al-Samarḳandī ( fa, أبو منصور محمد بن محمد بن محمود الماتریدي السمرقندي الحنفي; 853–944 CE), often referred t ...
(d. 944), the Maturidiyyah was the major tradition in
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...
based on
Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
-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
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
s based on reason alone. Nevertheless, revelation remains important to inform humans about that is beyond their intellectual limits, such as the concept of an afterlife.
Ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
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 Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
, where later the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
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 the
Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
school while followers of the Shafi and
Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as prima ...
schools within the empire followed the Ash'ari and Athari schools of thought. Thus, wherever can be found
Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
followers, there can be found the
Maturidi Māturīdī theology or Māturīdism ( ar, الماتريدية: ''al-Māturīdiyyah'') is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Persian Muslim scholar, Ḥanafī jurist, reformer (''Mujaddid''), and scholastic ...
creed.


Traditionalist

Traditionalist or Athari theology is a movement of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
ic scholars who reject rationalistic Islamic theology (''
kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...
'') in favor of strict textualism in interpreting the ''
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
'' and '' sunnah''. The name derives from "tradition" in its technical sense as translation of the Arabic word ''
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
''. 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 Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
have sole authority in matters of belief and law; and that the use of rational disputation 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 Esoteric interpretation of the Quran ( ar, تأويل, taʾwīl) is the allegorical interpretation of the Quran or the quest for its hidden, inner meanings. The Arabic word ''taʾwīl'' was synonymous with conventional interpretation in its ear ...
'' (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 The Arabic phrase ''Bila Kayf'', also pronounced as ''Bila Kayfa'', ( ar, بلا كيف) is roughly translated as "without asking how", "without knowing how or what", or "without modality" which means without considering how and without comparis ...
". Traditionalist theology emerged among scholars of hadith who eventually coalesced into 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 tenth century al-Ash'ari and al-Maturidi found a middle ground between Mu'tazilite rationalism and Hanbalite literalism, using 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 The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
. While Ash'arism and
Maturidism Māturīdī theology or Māturīdism ( ar, الماتريدية: ''al-Māturīdiyyah'') is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Persian Muslim scholar, Ḥanafī jurist, reformer (''Mujaddid''), and scholastic th ...
are often called the Sunni "orthodoxy", traditionalist theology has thrived alongside it, laying rival claims to be 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 The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools ('' madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanba ...
school of law.


Narrow definition

There were also Muslim scholars who wanted to limit the Sunni term to the ''
Ash'ari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in th ...
tes'' and '' Māturīdites'' alone. For example, Murtadā az-Zabīdī (d. 1790) wrote in his commentary on
al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian poly ...
s "Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn": "When (sc. The term)" ''ahl as-sunna wal jamaʿa'' is used, the Ashʿarites and Māturīdites are meant.Murtaḍā az-Zabīdī: ''Itḥāf as-sāda al-muttaqīn bi-šarḥ Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn''. Muʾassasat at-taʾrīḫ al-ʿArabī, Beirut, 1994. Bd. II, S.
Digitalisat
/ref> This position was also taken over by the Egyptian Fatwa Office in July 2013.''al-Murād bi-ahl as-sunna wa-l-ǧamāʿa''
Fatwa Nr. 2366 des ägyptischen Fatwa-Amtes vom 24. Juli 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 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 Murji'ah ( ar, المرجئة, English: "Those Who Postpone"), also known as Murji'as or Murji'ites, were an early Islamic sect. Murji'ah held the opinion that God alone has the right to judge whether or not a Muslim has become an apostate. Conseq ...
, namely those who were particularly far removed from the Sunnis in terms of faith.Ibn Ḥazm: ''al-Faṣl fi-l-milal wa-l-ahwāʾ wa-n-niḥal.'' Ed. Muḥammad Ibrāhīm Naṣr; ʿAbd-ar-Raḥmān ʿUmaira. 5 Bde. Dār al-Jīl, Beirut 1985. Bd. II, pp. 265ff. Syrian- Albanian Athari theologian Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani rejected extremism in excluding
Ash'ari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in th ...
s from Sunni Islam. He believed that despite that their fundamental differences from Atharis, not every Ash'ari 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
he view of He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
some of the noble scholars of the past and present that we say about a group from the anyIslamic groups that it is not from ''Ahlus-Sunnah'' due to its deviation in one issue or another... as for whether the Ash’aris or 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 ''Aqidah'' ( (), plural ''ʿaqāʾid'', also rendered ''ʿaqīda'', ''aqeeda'', etc.) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that literally means " creed". It is also called Islamic creed and Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' go beyond concise sta ...
'' 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"


Sunnism in general and in a specific sense

The
Hanbali The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools ('' madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanba ...
scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328) distinguished in his work ''Minhāj as-sunna'' between Sunnis in 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 Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honori ...
,
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...
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 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 ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
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 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.Muḥammad ibn ʿUṯaimīn: ''Aš-Šarḥ al-mumtiʿ ʿalā Zād al-mustaqniʿ''. Dār Ibn al-Ǧauzī, Dammam, 2006. Bd. XI, S. 30
Digitalized
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Classification of the Muʿtazila

The
Muʿtazilites Mu'tazilism ( ar, المعتزلة ') was a theological movement that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad (8th–10th century). Its adherents, the Mutazila or Mutazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dis ...
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 the Islamic East, the ''Ahl as-Sunna'' are also differentiated to the Muʿtazilites. In 2010 the Jordanian ''
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
'' office ruled out in a
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
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.


Mysticism

There is broad agreement that 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 ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...
Scholars, 2. the
Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
scholars, 3. the traditional and
Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
scholars, 4. the Adab and language scholars, 5. the
Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
– Scholars, 6. the
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
ascetics ('' az-zuhhād aṣ-ṣūfīya ''), 7. those who perform the '' ribat'' and ''
jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...
'' 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
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
n scholar Muhammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Bakkī (d. 1510) also included the Sufis in Sunnism. He divided the Sunnis into the following three groups according to their knowledge ('' istiqrāʾ ''): # the people of
Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
('' ahl al-ḥadīṯh ''): Their principles are based on the hearing-based evidence, namely the Book (''Qur'an''), the '' Sunnah'' and the '' Ijmāʿ'' (consensus). # The people of theory and the intellectual trade ('' ahl an-naẓar wa-ṣ-ṣināʿa al-fikrīya ''): They include the Ashʿarites and the
Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
s, the latter of whom consider Abū Mansūr al-Māturīdī as their master. They agree in the rational principles on all questions where there is no hearing-based evidence, in the hearing-based principles in everything that reason conceives as possible, and in the rational as well as the hearing-based principles in all other questions. They also agree on all dogmatic questions, except for the question of creation ('' takwīn '') and the question of '' Taqlīd''. # the people of feeling and revelation ('' ahl al-wiǧdān wa-l-kašf ''): These are the Sufis. Its principles correspond in the initial stage to the principles of the other two groups, but in the final stage they rely on revelation (''kašf'') and inspiration (''ilhām''). 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 In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
'' wanted to exclude 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 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 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 eleventh-century, Sufism, which had previously been a less "codified" trend in Islamic piety, began to be "ordered and crystallized"Seyyed Hossein Nasr, ''The Essential Seyyed Hossein Nasr'', ed. William C. Chittick (Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2007), p. 76 into ''
Tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking '' haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...
hs'' (orders) which have continued until the present day. All these orders were founded by a major Sunni Islamic
saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...
, and some of the largest and most widespread included the
Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ...
(after
Abdul-Qadir Gilani ʿAbdul Qādir Gīlānī, ( ar, عبدالقادر الجيلاني, ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī; fa, ) known by admirers as Muḥyī l-Dīn Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Sāliḥ ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī al-Baḡdādī al-Ḥasanī al-Ḥusayn ...
. 1166, the Rifa'iyya (after
Ahmed al-Rifa'i Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
. 1182, the Chishtiyya (after Moinuddin Chishti . 1236, the
Shadiliyya The Shadhili Order ( ar, الطريقة الشاذلية) is a tariqah or Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic ''murids'', "seekers") ...
(after Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili . 1258, and the
Naqshbandi The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نه‌قشه‌به‌ندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...
yya (after Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari . 1389. Contrary to popular Orientalist depictions,Martin Lings, ''What is Sufism?'' (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 2005; first imp. 1983, second imp. 1999), p. 16 neither the founders of these orders nor their followers considered themselves to be anything other than orthodox Sunni Muslims, Many of the most eminent defenders of Islamic orthodoxy, such as 'Abd al-Qadir Jilani,
Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian poly ...
, Sultan Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Al-Ayyubi (
Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt an ...
) were connected with Sufism." The Salafi and Wahhabi strands of Sunnism do not accept many mystical practices associated with the contemporary Sufi orders.


Jurisprudence

Interpreting Islamic law by deriving specific rulings – such as how to pray – is commonly known as
Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ex ...
. 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 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.


Schools

There are many intellectual traditions within the field of ''
Shari'ah Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and th ...
'' (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 a certain act as a religious obligation, another may see the same act as optional. These schools aren't 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 is found in scripture.
Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, of ...
defined the Sunni schools as three: the
Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
school representing reason, the Ẓāhirīte school representing tradition, and a broader, middle school encompassing the
Shafi'i The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
te,
Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as prima ...
te and
Hanbali The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools ('' madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanba ...
te schools. During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt delineated the acceptable Sunni schools as only Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali, excluding the Ẓāhirī school. The
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
later reaffirmed the official status of four schools as a reaction to the Shiite character of their ideological and political archrival, the Persian Safavids.Chibli Mallat, ''Introduction to Middle Eastern Law'', p. 116. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. In the contemporary era, former
Prime Minister of Sudan This article lists the heads of government of Sudan, from the establishment of the office of Chief Minister in 1952 until the present day. The office of Prime Minister was abolished after the 1989 coup d'état, and reestablished in 2017 when ...
Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi Sadiq al-Mahdi ( ar, الصادق المهدي, aṣ-Ṣādiq al-Mahdī; 25 December 193526 November 2020), also known as Sadiq as-Siddiq, was a Sudanese political and religious figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966 to 1967 and again f ...
, 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.


Pillars of ''iman''

The doctrines of the Sunnis are recorded in various creeds, which summarize the most important points in the form of a list in the manner of a
Catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adul ...
. The individual teaching points differ depending on the author's affiliation to a certain teaching tradition. The most important creeds that explicitly claim to represent the teachings of the Sunnis (''ahl as-sunna wal-jama'' or similar) include: * The text traced back to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, in which he defined "the characteristics of the believer of the Sunnis" (''sifat al-Mu'min min ahl as-Sunna wa-l-jama''). The text is handed down in two works in the work ''Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābila'' of the Hanbali Qadi Ibn Abi Yaʿla (d. 1131). The first version comes from a treatise on the Sunnah by Ahmad ibn Hanbal's disciple Muhammad ibn Habib al-Andarani, the second is based on Ahmad's disciple Muhammad ibn Yunus al-Sarachhi. * The two creeds of Abu l-Hasan al-Ashʿarī in his works ''Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn'' and ''Kitāb al-Ibāna ʿan uṣūl ad-diyāna''. The former is called the teaching of ''ahl al-ḥadīṯ wa-s-sunna'', the latter as the teachings of the ''ahl al-ḥaqq wa-s-sunna''. * The confession of the Egyptian Hanafi at-Tahāwī (d. 933), also known under the title '' Bayān as-sunna wa-l-ǧamāʿa '' ("Presentation of Sunna and Community"). It has received frequent comments from the 13th century onward. * The "Qadiritic Creed" (''al-iʿtiqād al-Qādirī'') mentioned in the world chronicle ''al-Muntaẓam '' by Ibn al-Jschauzī and referring to the Abbasid caliph al-Qādir (d. 1031) is returned. The caliph al-Qā'im is supposed to have read this text, which is shown at the end as the "Doctrine of the Sunnis" (''qaul ahl as-sunna wal-jama''), in the year 433 Hijra (= 1041/42 AD) which was read in front of a meeting of ascetics and scholars in the caliph's palace. * The creed of
al-Ghazālī Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
(d. 1111) in his second book of his religious encyclopedia ''Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn''. It is headed "The Sunni Creed in the Two Phrases of the
Shahāda The ''Shahada'' (Arabic: ٱلشَّهَادَةُ , "the testimony"), also transliterated as ''Shahadah'', is an Islamic oath and creed, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam and part of the Adhan. It reads: "I bear witness that there is ...
" (''ʿAqīdat ahl as-sunna fī kalimatai aš-šahāda'') and deals first with the doctrine of God and then the other doctrinal points. * The confession ''al-ʿAqīda al-Wāsiṭīya'' by Ibn Taimīya (1263–1328), which later received importance especially among the Wahhabis and the Ahl-i Hadīth. It was translated into French by Henri Laoust, by Merlin Swartz into English and by Clemens Wein into German. Most of the mentioned branches testify to six principal articles of faith known as the six pillars of ''imān'' (Arabic for "faith"), which are believed to be essential. These six articles are common that present-day Sunnis agree on, from those who adhere to traditional Sunnism to those who adhere to latter-day movements. Additionally, classical Sunni Islam also outlined numerous other cardinal doctrines since the 8th century, such as the Creed of Tahāwi. Traditionally, these Sunni articles of faith have included the following: # Belief in the Oneness of God # Belief in the Angels of God # Belief in Holy Books # Belief in the Prophets of God # Belief in Resurrection after Death and the Day of Judgment # Belief in Preordainment (''Qadar'')


God


Unity

At the center of the Sunni creed is
Tawhid Tawhid ( ar, , ', meaning "unification of God in Islam (Allāh)"; also romanized as ''Tawheed'', ''Tawhid'', ''Tauheed'' or ''Tevhid'') is the indivisible oneness concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single m ...
, the belief in the oneness of God. God is a single (''fard'') God, besides whom there is no other deity.al-Ašʿarī: ''Kitāb Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn''. 1963, S. 290. – Dt. Übers. Schacht, S. 56. He is single (''munfarid''), has no partner (''šarīk''), no opposite (''nidd''), no counterpart (''maṯīl'') and no adversary (''ḍidd''). He has neither taken a companion nor children, neither conceived nor is he conceived.Ibn al-Ǧauzī: ''Al-Muntaẓam fī sulūk al-mulūk wa-l-umam''. 1992, Bd. XV, S. 280. – Dt. Übers. Mez 198. God created everything, the years and times, day and night, light and darkness, the heavens and the earth, all kinds of creatures that are on it, the land and the sea, and everything living, dead and solid. Before he created all of this, he was completely alone, with nothing with him. In contrast to his creation, God has a timeless nature. He is beginningless (''azalī'') because he has existed for all eternity and nothing precedes him, and he is endless (''abadī'') because he continues to exist without interruption for all eternity. He is the first and the last, as it says in the Quran (Sura 57: 3). God brought forth creation not because he needed it, but to demonstrate his power and as the implement his previous will and his primordial speech. God is creator, but has no needs. He does not need food, does not feel lonely and does not keep company with anyone.


Transcendence

To absolve God of all anthropomorphism, the Qur'anic statements that "God sat on the throne" (istawā ʿalā l-ʿarš; Surah 7:54; 20: 5) receive a lot of the Sunni creeds attention. The creed of al-Qādir emphasizes that God did not set himself up on the throne (ʿarš) "in the manner of the rest of the creatures" and that he created this throne, although he did not need it. Al-Ghazali's knowledge of the faith states that the "sitting down" is free from contact (''mumāssa'') with the throne. It is not the throne that carries God, but the throne and its bearers are carried through the grace of his power. According to al-Ashʿari, the Sunnis confess that God is on his throne, but without asking how. Even if God does not need the throne and what is below, because he spatially occupies everything, including what is above him, the throne and stool ('' kursī '') are a reality.


Names and attributes

The Sunnis confess that the names of God cannot be said to be anything other than God, as Muʿtazilites and Kharijites claim. Rather, they teach that there are correlating attributes ('' ṣifāt '') which exist in each of the names of God mentioned in the Quran: God is alive through life ('' ḥayāh ''), knowing through knowledge (''ʿilm''), mighty through power (''ʿqudra''), wanting through will (''irāda''), hearing through hearing (''samʿ''), seeing through sight (''baṣar'') and speaking through Speech (''kalām'').al-Ġazālī: ''Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn''. 2005, S. 107. – Engl. Übers. Watt. 1994. p. 76. The attributes are not identical to God, nor are they anything different from him. Only those attributes are ascribed to God which he ascribed to himself (in the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
) or which his prophet ascribed to him. And every attribute that he or his prophet has ascribed to him is a real attribute, not an attribute figuratively.


Angels and other spirits

Sunnis believe in angels. God hid the angels from the vision of humans, thus they can usually not see them. Just in some special occusations God unveils them for individual humans. Like when the archangel Gabrel appeared to the prophet Muhammad one time in his true form with 600 wings, filling the entire horizon and another time when he was among the circles of the Sahaba, in the form of a white clothed traveller. Angels fulfil duties assigned by God. The angel Gabriel has the mission to transmit God's revelations to chosen Prophets. The angel Michael is assigned over rain and plants. The angel Israfil must blow into the trumpet during thunder and the day of resurrection. Furthermore to the angels belong the recording angels, who supervise humans and the angel of death, who takes the souls (lit. spirits) of the inhabitants of the world.aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī: ''al-ʿAqīda''. 1995, S. 25. – Engl. Übers. Watt 54. Unlike the Mutazilites and the Jahmites, the Sunnis believe that
Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...
whispers doubts to humans and hits them, as the Quran states.al-Ašʿarī: ''Kitāb Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn''. S. 296. – Dt. Übersetzung 1931, S. 60. But humans,
jinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic ...
, angels and
devils A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions. Devil or Devils may also refer to: * Satan * Devil in Christianity * Demon * Folk devil Art, entertainment, and media Film and ...
are all created by the power of God and bound to his will. Even if humans, jinn, angels and devils aligned to move or stop one atom, they could not succeed without God's will.al-Ġazālī: ''Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn''. 2005, S. 107 – Engl. Übers. Watt. 1994. S. 75.


Books of God

The Sunnis further believe in the books of God, sent to the envoys of God.aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī: ''al-ʿAqīda''. 1995, S. 20. – Engl. Übers. Watt 52. To them belong the Quran, the Torah, the Gospel and the Psalms The Quran is according to Sunni views the speech of God. Who listens to it and regards it as human speech is according to Sunni Creed by at-Tahāwī an infidel.aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī: ''al-ʿAqīda''. 1995, pp. 12–15 – Engl. Übers. Watt 49. The Quran as the speech of God is sent down by the „trustworthy Spirit“ (''ar-rūḥ al-amīn''; surah 26:193) and taught by Muhammad. God sent him down as inspiration (''wahy'') on his Messenger. The path of God's speech to the community of Muslims is a multi-stage process: God pronounced it, the angel Gabriel heard it and Mohammed repeated it, Mohammed repeated it to his companions, and the Ummah repeated them.Ibn al-Ǧauzī: ''Al-Muntaẓam fī sulūk al-mulūk wa-l-umam''. 1992, Bd. XV, S. 280. – Dt. Übers. Mez 199. As the speech of God, the Quran is according to Sunnism uncreated. The teachings of the creation of the Quran is rejected by Sunnis. Anyone who takes this teaching is regarded as an unbeliever. The Quran is recited with the tongue, written into books and memorized by the heart, but remains the uncreated speech of God, because it is individable and can not be split by the transmition from heart to paper. At-Tahāwī specifies that the Quran is not created like human speech. Rather, it came from God in an unexplained way as a word ('' qaul ''). Ibn Taimīya explains that the Quran originated from God and will return (sc. At the end of times) too.


Prophets


Messages

Confessing to the Prophets of God is also part of the Sunni faith. The first of the prophets is
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
. The original contract ('' mīṯāq '') that God concluded with him and his descendants according to sura 7:172–173 is a reality according to Sunni belief. God has taken
Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...
as a friend ('' ḫalīl '') and talked to Moses directly. The last of the prophets is
Mohammed Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...
from the tribe of the Quraish.al-Ġazālī: `` Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn ''. 2005, p. 108. – Engl. Übers. Watt. 1994. p. 77. The Sunnis do not differentiate between the messengers of God, (By rejecting some of them), but consider everything they have brought to be true.aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī: ''al-ʿAqīda''. 1995, S. 22. – Engl. Übers. Watt 53. God called the prophets and presented their truthfulness through obvious miracles. The prophets conveyed God's command and prohibition, his promise and threat, and it is incumbent on people to believe what they have brought to be true. God has given people the act of obedience ('' ṭāʿa '') and opposition ('' maʿṣiya '') forbidden. God's right to the acts of obedience is not only an obligation for people through the intellect ('' bi-muǧarrad al-ʿaql ''), but also through it for making it a duty through the oral transmission of his prophets.


Muhammad

Muhammad from the tribe of the Quraish is not only the seal of the prophets (''ḫātam al-anbiyāʾ''), rather, God placed him above all other prophets and made him Lord of men (''saiyid al-bašar''). He is God's chosen servant (''ʿabd''), Messenger, the Imam of the godly ('' imām al-atqiyāʾ '') and the beloved of the Lord of the Worlds (''ḥabīb rabb al-ʿālamīn''). He is sent with truth (''ḥaqq''), guidance (''hudā'') and light (''nūr''). God has him with his message to
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and Non-Arabs as well as sent to the general public of the
jinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic ...
and humans and with his
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
, the earlier religious laws abrogated, except that which he has confirmed. Part of the Sunnis path is to follow the traditions (''āṯār'') of Muhammad internally and externally. They prefer his guidance to the guidance of anyone else. Muhammad's prophethood is proven by miracles (''muʿǧizāt'') such as the splitting of the moon. The most obvious miracle is the Quran's inimitability. Every claim to prophethood after him is an error or imagination, since Muhammad is the last prophet. Another important point of teaching is the belief in Muhammad's Ascension (''miʿrāǧ''). Accordingly the Prophet went on a nocturnal journey during which his person was transported to heaven while awake and from there to heights, "which God has chosen". God gave him what he had chosen for him and gave him his revelation. God has also blessed him in his life beyond and in this world.


Eschatology


In the grave

According to Sunni doctrine, people are questioned in their graves by
Munkar and Nakir Munkar and Nakir ( ar, منكر ونكير) (English translation: "The Denied and The Denier") in Islamic eschatology, are angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves. Description These angels are described as having solid black eyes ...
after death. Munkar and Nakīr are two terrifying, huge figures who let the person sit upright in his grave with mind and body and then tell him about the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad. They ask him: "Who is your master? What is your religion? Who is your prophet?". They are the two inspectors of the grave and their questioning is the first test ('' fitna '') of humans after death. The believer will answer to this test: "God is my Lord, Islam is my religion and Mohammed is my prophet." The doubter, on the other hand, will answer: "Oh dear, I don't know. I heard people say something, and that's how I said it.” He is then hit with an iron club so that he utters a loud scream that can be heard by everyone except people and jinn. If people heard him, they would lose consciousness. Children are also interviewed by Munkar and Nakīr as well as people who have disappeared, drowned or were eaten by predatory animals. Deceased Muslims receive the supplication said for them, and the
Sadaqa or Sadqah ( ar, صدقة , "charity", "benevolence", plural ' ) in the modern context has come to signify "voluntary charity". According to the Quran, the word means voluntary offering, whose amount is at the will of the "benefactor". Etymolo ...
spoken in their name are a favor for them.


Sign of the hour

Another point of belief are the "signs of the hour" (''ašrāṭ as-sāʿa'') that precede the day of resurrection. This includes the emergence of the Dajjal, the rising of the sun in the west, the emergence of the Dabba from the earth and the excerpt from Gog and Magog. Jesus, the son of Mary, will descend from heaven and kill the Dajjal.


Day of resurrection

On Day of the Resurrection the resurrection ('' baʿṯ '') and the retribution of the deeds take place. First the bodies of all people, animals and jinn are put back together and revived. The souls are brought back into the body, the people rise from their graves, barefoot, naked and uncircumcised. The sun is approaching them and they are sweating. A scales are set up to weigh people's deeds. The scales have two
scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...
and one tongue and are as big as several layers of heaven and earth. The weights will have the weight of atoms and mustard seeds in order to realize the accuracy of God's righteousness. The leaves with good deeds (''ḥasanāt'') are thrown in a beautiful shape into the scales of light and weigh down the scales by the grace (''faḍl'') of God, the leaves with bad deeds ('' saiyiʾāt '') are thrown into the scales of darkness in an ugly form and reduce the weight of the scales through the justice (''ʿadl'') of God.


The vision of God in the hereafter

The teachings of the Sunnis also include the vision of God (''ruʾyat Allāh'') in the hereafter, which has similarities with the ''visio beatifica'' in the
Christian tradition Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. These ecclesiastical traditions have more or less authority based on the nature of the practices or beliefs and on the group in que ...
. With this teaching the Sunnis set themselves apart from the Muʿtazilites, the Zaidiyyah and the philosophers who consider the vision of God intellectually impossible. There are differing views among Sunni scholars about the timing and type of the divine vision. Al-Ashari states that God is seen on the day of resurrection, whereby only the believers see him, the unbelievers not because they are kept away from God.al-Ašʿarī: ''Kitāb Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn''. S. 292. – Dt. Übersetzung 1931, S. 58. At-Tahāwī, on the other hand, was of the opinion that the vision of God was a reality for the inmates of Paradise. Ibn Taimīya doubles the vision of God: people see God while they are still in the places of the resurrection, and then after entering paradise.Ibn Taimīya: ''al-ʿAqīda al-Wāsiṭīya''. 1999, S. 91. – Dt. Übers. Wein S. 86. As for the way of seeing God, al-Ash Aari and Ibn Taimiyah emphasized its visual characteristics. Al-Ashari meant that God can be seen with the eyes, just as one sees the moon on the night of the full moon. Ibn Taimīya adds that the vision of God is as one sees the sun on a cloudless day. In the ʿAqīda at-Tahāwīs, the transcendence of God is emphasized: the vision can neither be understood nor described, because none of the creatures are like God. According to al-Ghazālī's creed the pious in the hereafter see the essence of God without substance and
accidents An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...
. According to the creed of an-Nasafī, God is seen neither in one place nor in any direction or distance. There is also no connection to rays.


Release of the monotheists from hell and intercession

According to the Ibn Taimīya's creed, the Umma of Muhammad is the first religious community to enter Paradise, Other religious communities also have the opportunity to get to paradise, because God leads whole peoples through the grace of his mercy (''aqwām'') out of hellfire. Ahmad ibn Hanbal and
al-Ghazālī Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
declare in their creeds that the monotheist en (''al-muwaḥḥidūn'') after being punished. Al-Ghazālī adds that through the grace (''faḍl'') of God no monotheist remains in hell for all eternity.al-Ġazālī: ''Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm ad-dīn''. 2005, S. 110. – Engl. Übers. Watt. 1994. p. 78. According to at-Tahāwī's creed, this only applies to the serious sinners from Muhammad's ummah: They are in hell, but not forever if they were monotheists at the time of death. What happens to them lies within God: if he wants, he forgives them through his grace (''faḍl''), and if he wants, he punishes them in his justice (''ʿadl'') and then brings them through His mercy (''raḥma'') and through the intercession of those who obey him out of hell and make them enter the Paradise Garden. The intercession (''šafāʿa'') of the Messenger of God and its effect on those of his ummah who have committed serious sins is a fixed teaching point of the Sunni faith. The Prophet reserved the intercession especially for them. According to al-Ghazālī, the Sunni believer has a total of the intercession of the prophets, then the scholars, then the martyrs, then to believe the other believers in accordance with their dignity and their rank in God. Those of the believers who have no advocate will be brought out of hell by the grace of God.


The predestination


Extent of the predestination

According to Sunni doctrine, everything that happens happens through God's decision (''qadāʾ'') and predestination ( Qadar) or his determination (''taqdīr''). Predestination includes the predestination of good and bad, sweet and bitter. God has that The measured (''qadar'') of creatures and determined their time of time. He makes his creatures sick and heals them, lets them die and makes them alive, while the creatures themselves have no power over it. God lets die without fear and brings to life without exertion. The one who dies dies on the appointed date, even if he is killed. God has written the things predestined for the creatures on the well-kept tablet (''al-lauḥ al-maḥfūẓ''). The pen she wrote is the first thing God created. God commanded him to write down what will be until the day of resurrection. The pen has already dried out and the scrolls are rolled up. Everything that was written on it in ancient times is immutable. God is righteous in his judgments (''aqḍiya''), but his righteousness cannot be decided by analogy with the righteousness of people, because unjust actions for people are only conceivable with regard to someone else's property, but God does not encounter someone else's property anywhere so that he could behave unfairly to him. The principle of predestination is God's mystery with regard to his creatures. No
Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...
and no prophet is informed of this. Reflecting on predestination leads to destruction and is a step toward rebellion against God because He has hidden the knowledge about it from people.


The Blessed and the Damned

It is made easy for everyone for what they were created for. Blessed are whose who are saved by God's judgment (''qaḍāʾ Allāh''), condemned are whose who are condemned by the judgment of God.aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī: ''al-ʿAqīda''. 1995, S. 16. – Engl. Übers. Watt 51. God created paradise and hell above all else; then he created the people who are worthy of them. He has designated some out of generosity (''faḍlan'') for paradise, the others out of justice (''ʿadlan'') for hell. God has always known the number of those who go to paradise and the number of those who go to hell. This number is neither increased nor decreased. When God creates the body of the embryo, he sends an angel to him who writes down his livelihood (''rizq''), the hour he dies, his deeds and whether he is a damned (''šaqī'') or a blessed (''saʿīd''). The Sunni believer does not doubt his belief. Humans neither know how they are registered by God (whether as believers or unbelievers), nor how it ends with them.Ibn al-Ǧauzī: ''Al-Muntaẓam fī sulūk al-mulūk wa-l-umam''. 1992, Bd. XV, S. 281. – Dt. Übers. Mez 200. God is also the converter of hearts (''muqallib al-qulūb''). Therefore it is recommended to say: ”A believer, if God is willing” or ”I hope that I am a Believer“. Such a way of expression does not make people into doubters, because by that, they only mean that their otherworldly fate and their end are hidden from them. The Sunnis do not speak to any of the people who pray to the Kaaba, to paradise or hell, because of a good deed or a sin he has committed.


Sunni view of ''hadith''

The Quran as it exists today in book form was compiled by Muhammad's companions ('' Sahabah'') within a handful of months of his death, and is accepted by all sects of Islam. Many matters of belief and daily life were not directly prescribed in the Quran, but were actions observed by Muhammad and the early Muslim community. Later generations sought out
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and Culture, cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Traditio ...
s regarding the early history of Islam, and the practices of Muhammad and his first followers, and wrote them down so that they might be preserved. These recorded oral traditions are called hadith. Muslim scholars have through the ages sifted through the hadith and evaluated the chain of narrations of each tradition, scrutinizing the trustworthiness of the narrators and judging the strength of each hadith accordingly.


''Kutub al-Sittah''

''Kutub al-Sittah'' are six books containing collections of hadiths. Sunni Muslims accept the hadith collections of
Bukhari Bukhari or Bokhari () means "from Bukhara (Uzbekistan)" in Persian, Arabic, Urdu and Hebrew, and may refer to: People * al-Bukhari (810–870), Islamic hadith scholar and author of the *Bukhari Daud (1959–2021), Indonesian academician and reg ...
and
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
as the most authentic (''
sahih Hadith terminology ( ar, مصطلح الحديث, muṣṭalaḥu l-ḥadīth) is the body of terminology in Islam which specifies the acceptability of the sayings ('' hadith'') attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by other early Islamic ...
''), and while accepting all hadiths verified as authentic, grant a slightly lesser status to the collections of other recorders. Four other hadith collections are also held in particular reverence by Sunni Muslims, making a total of six: * Sahih al-Bukhari of Muhammad al-Bukhari *
Sahih Muslim Sahih Muslim ( ar, صحيح مسلم, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim), group=note is a 9th-century '' hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (815–875). It is one of the most valued b ...
of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj *
Sunan al-Sughra ''Al-Sunan al-Sughra'' ( ar, السنن الصغرى), also known as ''Sunan al-Nasa'i'' ( ar, سنن النسائي), is one of the Kutub al-Sittah (six major hadiths), and was collected by al-Nasa'i (214 – 303 AH; c. 829 – 915 CE). Desc ...
of
Al-Nasa'i Al-Nasāʾī (214 – 303 AH; 829 – 915 CE), full name Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Aḥmad ibn Shuʿayb ibn ʿAlī ibn Sīnān al-Nasāʾī, (variant: Abu Abdel-rahman Ahmed ibn Shua'ib ibn Ali ibn Sinan ibn Bahr ibn Dinar Al-Khurasani ...
* Sunan Abu Dawud of
Abu Dawood Abū Dāwūd (Dā’ūd) Sulaymān ibn al-Ash‘ath ibn Isḥāq al-Azdī al-Sijistānī ( ar, أبو داود سليمان بن الأشعث الأزدي السجستاني), commonly known simply as Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī, was a scholar o ...
* Jami' at-Tirmidhi of Al-Tirmidhi * Sunan Ibn Majah of Ibn Majah There are also other collections of hadith which also contain many authentic hadith and are frequently used by scholars and specialists. Examples of these collections include: * Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq of
'Abd ar-Razzaq as-San'ani Abd al-Razzaq ibn Hammam ibn Nafi' al-San'ani (, 744-827 CE, 126–211 AH), was an eighth-century Yemeni hadith scholar purportedly of Persian descent who compiled a hadith collection known as the ''Musannaf'' of Abd al-Razzaq. Biography Abd ...
* Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal * Mustadrak of Al Haakim * Muwatta of Imam Malik * Sahih Ibn Hibbaan *
Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah ''Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah'' ( ar, صحيح ابن خزيمة, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah) is a hadith collection compiled by the ninth-century scholar Ibn Khuzaymah (837 CE/223 AH – 923 CE/311 AH). Description The book contains almost three ...
of Ibn Khuzaymah * Sunan al-Darimi of Al-Darimi


Sunni State institutions

One of the most important teaching institutions of Sunni Islam worldwide is the Azhar in Egypt. Article 32b, paragraph 7 of the Egyptian Azhar Law of 1961 stipulates that the Azhar "follows the path of the Sunnis" (''manhaǧ ahl as-sunna wa-l-jamāʿa''), Umma has agreed to the foundations of the religion and applications of fiqh, with its four disciplines. Only those who stick to the paths of their science and behavior can become a ”Member of the Council of Great Scholars” (''haiʾat kibār al-ʿulamāʾ''), among whom the Grand Imam of al-Azhar is elected. Zitouna University in Tunisia and University of al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco are recognized. They are also mentioned, along with the Azhar, in the final document of the Sunni Conference in Grozny.Final Document of Grozn von 2016
arabisches Original
an
German translation
Another body that claims to speak on behalf of Sunnism is the Council of Senior Religious Scholars founded in Saudi Arabia in 1971. In the past, the committee has expressed several times on fatwas about the Sunni-membership of certain Islamic groups within. In 1986 it published a fatwa excluding the Ahbāsh community from Sunnism. The Islamic World League in Mecca, also funded by Saudi Arabia, made a resolution from 1987 that it regards Sunnism as the pure teachings at the time of the Messenger and the rightful existence of the Caliphate. The Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs (''Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı''), follows the religious policy of the Ottoman Empire, providing a Sunni interpretation of Islam.Lord: ''Religious Politics in Turkey: From the Birth of the Republic to the AKP''. 2018, p. 138. Plans by the
Committee of National Unity A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them mor ...
in the 1960s to convert the Diyanet authority into a non-denominational institution that also integrated the
Alevis Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, ...
, failed because of resistance from conservative Sunni clergy inside and outside the Diyanet authority. Since the 1990s, the Diyanet authority has presented itself as an institution that stands above the denominations (''mezhepler üstü'') The religious education organized by the authority at the Turkish schools is based exclusively on the Sunni understanding of Islam.


Self-image of the Sunnis


As the "saved sect"

A well-known
Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
, which is to be interpreted as Vaticinium ex eventu, says that the Muslim Umma will split into 73 sects, only one of which will be saved. The Sunnis have the idea that they are this “saved sect” (“firqa nā niya”). For example, Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (d. 1037) explains at the beginning of his heresiographical work '' al-Farq baina l-firaq '' ("The difference between the sects" ) that there are 20 Rafiditic, 20 Kharijite, 20 Qadaritic, 3 Murjiite, 3 Nadjāritic, 3 karramitic and furthermore Bakriyya, Dirariyyya and Jahmīya. These are the 72 erring sects. The 73rd sect that is the “saved sect” are the Sunnis (''ahl as-sunna wa-l-jamaʿa''). According to al-Baghdadi, they are composed of two groups, namely the followers of the Ra'y and the followers of the hadith. They agreed on the fundamentals of religion (''uṣūl ad-dīn''). There were only differences in the derivations (''furūʿ'') from the norms regarding the question of what permitted and what forbidden is. These differences are not so great that they considered each other to have strayed from the right path.


As center of Muslims

Later Sunni scholars also present the Sunnis as the center of Muslim community. The idea already appears to some extent in the Ashʿarite ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī, who emphasizes on several dogmatic questions that the Sunnis hold a position that lies in the middle between the positions of the other Islamic groups. An example is the question of predestination ( Qadar), in which, according to the Kasb theory, you hold exactly the middle between the two extreme positions of the Jabriyya and the
Qadariyya Qadariyyah ( ar, قدرية, Qadariyya), also Qadarites or Kadarites, from (), meaning "power"); was originally a derogatory term designating early Islamic theologians who rejected the concept of predestination in Islam, ''qadr'', and asserted ...
. The Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328), who was otherwise known for his uncompromising attitude, also adhered to this view. He said that the Sunnis represented "the middle among the sects of the Umma" ('' al-wasaṭ fī firaq al-umma ''), just as the Islamic Umma is the middle between the other religious communities. He illustrates this with the following examples: * When it comes to the attributes of God, the Sunnis stand in the middle between the Jahmiyya, who completely drains God of attributes, and the Muschabbiha, who make God similar to creation, * in the works of God they stand in the middle between the Qadariyya and the Jabriyya, * on the question of the threat from God (''waʿid Allah'') they stand in the middle between the Murdschi'a and the Waʿīdiyya, a subgroup of the Qadariyya, * When it comes to the question of faith and religion, they stand in the middle between Haruiyya (= Kharijites) and Muʿtazila on the one hand and Murji'a and Jahmiyya on the other, * and with regard to the Companions of the Prophets they are in the middle between Rafidites and Kharijites. The Hanafi scholar ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1606) continued this idea later. In his anti-Shiite pamphlet ''Šamm al-alawāriḍ fī ḏamm ar-rawāfiḍ'' he quotes a tradition according to which ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib said: "Two kinds of people perish on me: the exaggerated lover and the exaggerated hater." He notes that the exaggerated lover is the Rafidites and the exaggerated hater is the Kharijit. The Sunni, on the other hand, loves ʿAlī in high esteem and is thus in the balanced middle ('' al-wasaṭ allaḏī huwa al-qisṭ ''). This relates al-Qari to the Qur'anic sura 2: 143, in which it is said that God made the Muslims a community standing in the middle ('' umma wasaṭ ''). Since the Sunnis stay away from the exaggeration described in the traditional ʿAlī saying, al-Qārī believes that they are also the actual " Party of ʿAlīs" ('' šīʿat ʿAlī '').


As the essential bearers of Islamic science and culture

ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī portrays the Sunnis in his work ''al-Farq baina l-firaq'' as the actual bearers of Islamic science and culture. Of all the sciences, knowledge and efforts of which Muslims are proud, al-Baghdādī explains that the Sunnis have a major share. In the last chapter of his book, al-Baghdadi also relates this to building activity in Islamic countries. He believes that the Sunnis with their mosques,
madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
s, palaces, factories and hospitals have achieved an unattainable position because none of the non-Sunnis have performed such services.


Rivalry between Ashʿarīya and Salafīya and the 2016 Sunni conferences

Since the second half of the 20th century, there have been fierce clashes within the Sunni camps between '' Ashʿarites'' on the one hand and '' Salafiyya'' on the other, who exclude each other from Sunnism. In
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
, the Ashʿarite scholar Sirajuddin Abbas (d. 1980) wrote several books in the 1960s in which he explicitly excluded the ''Ahl as-salaf'' from Sunnism. Among other things, he argued that there was no Salafi madhhab in the first 300 years of Islam. From this he deduced that those who called other Muslims to obey the Salafi ''madhhab'', were promoting a ''madhhab'' which did not even exist. In his view, only the Ashʿarites were real Sunnis. Abbas' books served as the theological basis for anti-Salafist campaigns in
Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a ...
in 2014. During these campaigns, various Salafist schools in Aceh were closed by the provincial government. Apparently because of doubts about the ''Salafīya'' affiliation with Sunniism, the "Standing Committee on Scientific Investigation and Fatwa Issuing" in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
issued a fatwa stating that they consider the Salafis as Sunnis. Like many Ashʿarites, the Salafis believe their teachings are the only true form of Sunnism, and hence reject the Asharites and
Maturidi Māturīdī theology or Māturīdism ( ar, الماتريدية: ''al-Māturīdiyyah'') is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Persian Muslim scholar, Ḥanafī jurist, reformer (''Mujaddid''), and scholastic ...
tes as part of Sunnism. An example is the Saudi scholar Muhammad Ibn al-ʿUthaimīn, who in his 2001 published commentary on ''Aqīda Wāsiṭīya'' by Ibn Taimiyya expressed the opinion that Ash'arites and Māturīdites would not count among the Sunnis, because their doctrine of attributes would be in contrast to the doctrine of the Prophet and his companions. For this reason, the view that three groups belong to Sunnism should also be rejected. Sunnis are only those who are ''salaf'' in terms of belief. The accusation by some Wahhabis that the Ashʿarites were not Sunnis was subject of a
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
by the "Egyptian Fatwa Office" in July 2013. In its fatwa, the office rejected this accusation, affirming that the Ashʿarites still represented the "multitude of
scholars A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
" (''jumhūr al-ʿulamāʾ''), and stressed out that they were the ones who in the past rejected the arguments of the atheists (''šubuhāt al-malāḥida''). Anyone who declares them to be unbelieving or who doubts their orthodoxy should fear for their religion. On the same day, the fatwa office made clear in a fatwa that, according to their understanding, the ''Ahl as-Sunna wa-l-jama'' only refer to those Muslims who are Ashʿarites or Maturidites. The rivalry between ''Ashʿarīyya'' and ''Salafiyya'' became visible again at the two Sunni conferences in 2016, which were directed against the terror of the IS organization. The first conference with the title "Who are the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-jama?" took place in the Chechen capital
Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a po ...
in August 2016 under the patronage of Ramzan Kadyrov. Numerous religious figures from
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
and the
Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
took part, including
Ahmed el-Tayeb Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb ( ar, أحمد محمد أحمد الطيب) (born 6 January 1946) is an Egyptian Islamic scholar and the current Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Al-Azhar Al Sharif and former president of al-Azhar University. He was appo ...
, the Grand Imam the Azhar, and
Sheikh Aboobacker Ahmed Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad (Born as ''A. P. Aboobacker'' at ''Kanthapuram'' on 22 March 1931) is the Grand Mufti of India and also the Social Worker. He is also the Chancellor of the Jamia ...
, the Grand Mufti of India who is a member of the Barelvi movement. According to its organizers, the conference should "mark a blessed turning point in efforts to correct the serious and dangerous distortion of religion by those extremists trying to usurp the venerable name of ''Ahl al-Sunna wa-al-Jama'a'', him to coin exclusively on itself and to exclude its true representatives from it." In the final declaration the Salafis and Islamist groups like Muslim Brotherhood,
Hizb ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabicحزب التحرير (Translation: Party of Liberation) is an international, political organization which describes its ideology as Islam, and its aim the re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) to resume Isl ...
, etc. and the ''
Takfiri ''Takfiri'' ( ar, تَكْفِيرِيّ, ' lit. "excommunicational") is an Arabic and Islamic term denoting a Muslim who excommunicates one of his/her coreligionists, i.e. who accuses another Muslim of being an apostate. Since according to the ...
'' organisations like ISIL were excluded from Sunni Islam. In response to this, various prominent ''Salafiyya'' figures held a counter-conference in
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...
in November 2016 under the title "The Correct Meaning of Sunnism" (''al-Mafhūm aṣ-ṣaḥīḥ li-ahl as-sunna wa-l-jama''), in which they also distanced themselves from extremist groups, but at the same time insisted that ''Salafiyya'' was not only part of Sunnism, but represented Sunnism itself. The conference was chaired by Ahmad ibn Murabit, Grand Mufti of Mauritania. A few days later, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar
Ahmed el-Tayeb Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb ( ar, أحمد محمد أحمد الطيب) (born 6 January 1946) is an Egyptian Islamic scholar and the current Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Al-Azhar Al Sharif and former president of al-Azhar University. He was appo ...
publicly distanced himself from the final declaration of the Grozny conference, reiterating that he had not participated in it and stressed that he naturally viewed the Salafists as Sunnis.Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭaiyib: al-Azhar barīʾ min muʾtamar aš-Šīšān.. wa-s-Salafīyūn min ahl as-sunna wa-l-ǧamāʿa
Arabic CNN 19. November 2016.


See also


References


Further reading

* Ahmed, Khaled. ''Sectarian war: Pakistan's Sunni-Shia violence and its links to the Middle East'' (Oxford University Press, 2011). * Charles River Editors. ''The History of the Sunni and Shia Split: Understanding the Divisions within Islam'' (2010) 44p
excerpt
brief introduction. * Farooqi, Mudassir, Sarwar Mehmood Azhar, and Rubeena Tashfeen. "Jihadist Organizations History and Analysis." ''Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies'' 43.1/2 (2018): 142–151
online
* Gesink, Indira Falk. ''Islamic reform and conservatism: Al-Azhar and the evolution of modern Sunni Islam'' (Tauris Academic Studies, 2010) * Haddad, Fanar. ''Understanding 'Sectarianism': Sunni-Shi'a Relations in the Modern Arab World'' (Oxford UP, 2020). * Haddad, Fanar. "Anti-Sunnism and anti-Shiism: Minorities, majorities and the question of equivalence." ''Mediterranean Politics'' (2020): 1–
online
* Halverson, Jeffry. ''Theology and creed in Sunni Islam: the Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and political Sunnism'' (Springer, 2010). * Hazleton, Lesley. ''After the prophet: the epic story of the Shia-Sunni split in Islam'' (Anchor, 2010). * Kamolnick, Paul. ''The Al-Qaeda Organization and the Islamic State Organization: History, Doctrine, Modus, Operandi, and US Policy to Degrade and Defeat Terrorism Conducted in the Name of Sunni Islam'' (Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War College, 2017
online
* Khaddour, Kheder. ''Localism, War, and the Fragmentation of Sunni Islam in Syria'' (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace., 2019
online
* McHugo, John. ''A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is'' (2018
excerpt
* Nuruzzaman, Mohammed. "Conflicts in Sunni Political Islam and Their Implications." ''Strategic Analysis'' 41.3 (2017): 285–29
online
* Nydell, Margaret K. ''Understanding Arabs: A guide for modern times'' (3rd ed. Hachette UK, 2018). * * Tezcan, Baki. "The Disenchantment of Sufism, the Rationalization of Sunni Islam, and Early Modernity." ''Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association'' 7.1 (2020): 67–6
online
* Wheeler, Branon
Applying the Canon in Islam: The Authorization and Maintenance of Interpretive Reasoning in Ḥanafī Scholarship
SUNY Press, 1996. *


Online


Sunni: Islam
in ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online'', by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Asma Afsaruddin, Yamini Chauhan, Aakanksha Gaur, Gloria Lotha, Matt Stefon, Noah Tesch and Adam Zeidan {{Authority control