Islamic schools and branches
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Islamic schools and branches have different understandings of
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. There are many different sects or denominations, schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and
schools of Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding creed. The main schools of Islamic theology include the extant Mu'tazili, Ash'ari, Maturidi, and Athari schools; the extinct ones ...
, or ''
ʿaqīdah ''Aqidah'' (, , pl. , ) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that means "creed". It is also called Islamic creed or Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' goes beyond concise statements of faith and may not be part of an ordinary Muslim's religious ins ...
'' (creed). Within Sunnī Islam, there may be differences, such as different orders (''
tariqa A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the ...
'') within
Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
, different schools of theology ( Atharī, Ashʿarī, Māturīdī) and jurisprudence ( Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī). Groups in Islam may be numerous ( Sunnīs make up 87-90% of all Muslims), or relatively small in size ( Ibadis, Ismāʿīlīs, Zaydīs). Differences between the groups may not be well known to Muslims outside of scholarly circles, or may have induced enough passion to have resulted in
political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
and
religious violence Religious violence covers phenomena in which religion is either the target or perpetrator of violent behavior. All the religions of the world contain narratives, symbols, and metaphors of violence and war and also nonviolence and peacemaking. ...
( Barelvism,
Deobandism The Deobandi movement or Deobandism is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that adheres to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. It was formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name ...
,
Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a Islamic fundamentalism, fundamentalist Islamic revival, revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" ...
,
Wahhabism Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to oth ...
). There are informal movements driven by ideas (such as
Islamic modernism Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge", attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with values perceived as modern such as democracy, civil rights, rati ...
and
Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
), as well as organized groups with governing bodies (such as
Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...
). Some of the Islamic sects and groups regard certain others as deviant or not being truly Muslim (for example, Sunnīs frequently discriminate against
Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...
,
Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...
,
Quranists Quranism () is an Islamic movement that holds the belief that the Quran is the only valid source of religious belief, guidance, and law in Islam. Quranists believe that the Quran is clear, complete, and that it can be fully understood without ...
, and sometimes Shīʿas). Some Islamic sects and groups date back to the
early history of Islam The history of Islam is believed, by most historians, to have originated with Muhammad's mission in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE, although Muslims regard this time as a return to the original faith passed down by the Abra ...
between the 7th and 9th centuries CE (
Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...
,
Mu'tazila Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...
, Sunnīs, Shīʿas), whereas others have arisen much more recently ( Islamic neo-traditionalism, liberalism and progressivism,
Islamic modernism Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge", attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with values perceived as modern such as democracy, civil rights, rati ...
, Salafism and Wahhabism), or even in the 20th century (
Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...
). Still others were influential historically, but are no longer in existence (non-Ibadi
Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...
and
Murji'ah Murji'ah (, English: "Those Who Postpone"), also known as Murji'as or Murji'ites (singular Murji'), were an early Islamic sect. The Murji'ah school of theology prioritized the importance of one's professed faith over the acts, deeds, or rituals th ...
). Muslims who do not belong to, do not self-identify with, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches are known as
non-denominational Muslim Non-denominational Muslims (Arabic: مسلمون بلا طائفة) are Muslims who do not belong to, do not self-identify with, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches. Such Muslims do not think ...
s.


Overview

The original schism between
Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...
, Sunnīs, and Shīʿas among
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
was disputed over the political and religious succession to the guidance of the Muslim community (''Ummah'') after the death of the
Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
. From their essentially political position, the Kharijites developed extreme doctrines that set them apart from both mainstream Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims. Shīʿas believe ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib is the true successor to Muhammad, while Sunnīs consider
Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...
to hold that position. The Kharijites broke away from both the Shīʿas and the Sunnīs during the
First Fitna The First Fitna () was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. The civil war involved three main battles between the fourth Rashidun caliph, Ali, an ...
(the first Islamic Civil War); they were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach to '' takfīr'' (excommunication), whereby they declared both Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims to be either
infidels An infidel (literally "unfaithful") is a person who is accused of disbelief in the central tenets of one's own religion, such as members of another religion, or irreligion, irreligious people. Infidel is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical term in Ch ...
() or false Muslims (), and therefore deemed them worthy of death for their perceived
apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...
(). In addition, there are several differences within Sunnī and Shīʿa Islam: Sunnī Islam is separated into four main schools of jurisprudence, namely Mālikī, Ḥanafī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanbalī; these schools are named after their founders Mālik ibn Anas, Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān, Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, respectively. Shīʿa Islam, on the other hand, is separated into three major sects:
Twelvers Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the largest branch of Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as t ...
, Ismāʿīlīs, and Zaydīs. The vast majority of Shīʿa Muslims are Twelvers (a 2012 estimate puts the figure as 85%), to the extent that the term "Shīʿa" frequently refers to Twelvers by default. All mainstream Twelver and Ismāʿīlī Shīʿa Muslims follow the same school of thought, the
Jaʽfari jurisprudence The Jaʿfarī school, also known as the Jafarite school, Jaʿfarī fiqh () or Ja'fari jurisprudence, is a prominent school of fiqh, jurisprudence (''fiqh'') within Twelver and Ismaili (including Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari) Shia Islam, named afte ...
, named after Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, the sixth Shīʿīte Imam. Zaydīs, also known as Fivers, follow the Zaydī school of thought (named after Zayd ibn ʿAlī). Ismāʿīlīsm is another offshoot of Shīʿa Islam that later split into Nizārī and Musta'lī, and the Musta'lī further divided into Ḥāfiẓi and Ṭayyibi. Ṭayyibi Ismāʿīlīs, also known as "Bohras", are split between Dawudi Bohras, Sulaymani Bohras, and
Alavi Bohras The Alavi Bohras are a Tayyibi Musta'lavi Isma'ili Shi'i Muslim community from Gujarat, India. In India, during the time of the 18th Fatimid Imam Al-Mustansir Billah around 1093 AD in Egypt, the designated learned people (''wulaat'') who wer ...
. Similarly,
Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...
were initially divided into five major branches:
Sufri The Sufris ( ''aṣ-Ṣufriyya'') were Khariji Muslims in the seventh and eighth centuries. They established the Midrarid state at Sijilmassa, now in Morocco. In Tlemcen, Algeria, the Banu Ifran were Sufri Berbers who opposed rule by the Uma ...
s,
Azariqa The Azariqa () were an extremist branch of the Kharijites who followed the leadership of Nafi ibn al-Azraq. Adherents of Azraqism participated in an armed struggle against the rulers of the Umayyad Caliphate, and they declared those who avoided ...
,
Najdat The Najdat were the sub-sect of the Kharijite movement that followed Najda ibn 'Amir al-Hanafi, and in 682 launched a revolt against the Umayyad Caliphate in the historical provinces of Al-Yamama, Yamama and Province of Bahrain, Bahrain, in cent ...
, Adjarites, and Ibadis. Of these, Ibadi Muslims are the only surviving branch of Kharijites. In addition to the aforementioned groups, new schools of thought and movements like Ahmadi Muslims, Quranist Muslims, and
African-American Muslims African-American Muslims, also known as Black Muslims, are an African-American religious minority. African-American Muslims account for over 20% of American Muslims. They represent one of the larger Islam in the United States, Muslim populati ...
later emerged independently. Muslims who do not belong to, do not self-identify with, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches are known as non-denominational Muslims.


Main branches or denominations


Sunnī Islam

Sunnī Islam, also known as ''Ahl as-Sunnah waʾl Jamāʾah'' or simply ''Ahl as-Sunnah'', is by far the largest denomination of Islam, comprising around 87-90% of the Muslim population in the world. The term ''Sunnī'' comes from the word ''
sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...
'', which means the teachings, actions, and examples of the
Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
and his companions (''ṣaḥāba''). Sunnīs believe that Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to lead the Muslim community ''(Ummah)'' before his death in 632 CE, however they approve of the private election of the first companion, Abū Bakr. Sunnī Muslims regard the first four caliphs— Abū Bakr (632–634), ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (Umar І, 634–644), ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (644–656), and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—as '' al-Khulafāʾ ur-Rāshidūn'' ("the Rightly-Guided Caliphs"). Sunnīs also believe that the position of caliph may be attained democratically, on gaining a majority of the votes, but after the Rashidun, the position turned into a hereditary dynastic rule because of the divisions started by the Umayyads and others. After the fall of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in 1923, there has never been another caliph as widely recognized in the
Muslim world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
. Followers of the classical Sunnī schools of jurisprudence and ''
kalām ''Ilm al-kalam'' or ''ilm al-lahut'', often shortened to ''kalam'', is the scholastic, speculative, or rational study of Islamic theology ('' aqida''). It can also be defined as the science that studies the fundamental doctrines of Islamic fai ...
'' (rationalistic theology) on one hand, and Islamists and Salafists such as Wahhabis and Ahle Hadith, who follow a literalist reading of early Islamic sources, on the other, have laid competing claims to represent the "orthodox" Sunnī Islam. Anglophone Islamic currents of the former type are sometimes referred to as "traditional Islam".
Islamic modernism Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge", attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with values perceived as modern such as democracy, civil rights, rati ...
is an offshoot of the
Salafi movement The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retu ...
that tried to integrate modernism into Islam by being partially influenced by modern-day attempts to revive the ideas of the
Muʿtazila Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...
school by Islamic scholars such as
Muhammad Abduh Muḥammad ʿAbduh (also spelled Mohammed Abduh; ; 1849 – 11 July 1905) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar, judge, and Grand Mufti of Egypt. He was a central figure of the Arab Nahḍa and Islamic Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th ce ...
.


Shīʿa Islam

Shīʿa Islam is the second-largest denomination of Islam, comprising around 10–13%See: * * * of the total Muslim population. Although a minority in the Muslim world, Shīʿa Muslims constitute the majority of the Muslim populations in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
, as well as significant minorities in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
,
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
,
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
,
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, as well as in other parts of the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
. In addition to believing in the supreme authority of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and teachings of Muhammad, Shīʿa Muslims believe that Muhammad's family, the ''
Ahl al-Bayt () refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, the term has also been extended to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. In Shia Islam, the term is limited to Muhammad, his daugh ...
'' ("People of the Household"), including his descendants known as
Imams Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide relig ...
, have distinguished spiritual and political authority over the community, and believe that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and the rightful successor to Muhammad, and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three ''Rāshidūn'' caliphs.


Major sub-denominations

* The
Twelvers Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the largest branch of Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as t ...
believe in the Twelve Shīʿīte Imams and are the only school to comply with the
Hadith of the Twelve Successors The hadith of the twelve successors () is a widely-reported prophecy, attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, predicting that there would be twelve successors after him. As there were many more rulers after Muhammad, Sunni authors have variou ...
, where Muhammad stated that he would have twelve successors. This sometimes includes the
Alevi Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...
and
Bektashi Bektashism (, ) is a tariqa, Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the wali, ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The ...
schools. * Ismāʿīlism, including the Nizārī, Sevener, Musta‘lī, Dawudi Bohra, Hebtiahs Bohra, Sulaymani Bohra, and Alavi Bohra sub-denominations. * The Zaydīs historically derive from the followers of Zayd ibn ʿAlī. In the
modern era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...
, they "survive only in northern
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
". Although they are a Shīʿa sect, "in modern times" they have "shown a strong tendency to move towards the Sunni mainstream". * The
Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...
are a distinct
monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...
Abrahamic religion The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...
and ethno-religious group that developed between the 9th and 10th centuries CE. Historically, Twelver Shīʿīte scholars such as Shaykh Tusi didn't consider Alawites as Shīʿa Muslims while condemning their beliefs, perceived as heretical. The medieval Sunnī Muslim scholar
Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyya (; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-959 was a Sunni Muslim ulama, ...
also pointed out that the Alawites were not Shīʿītes. * The
Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
are a distinct
monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...
Abrahamic religion The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...
and ethno-religious group that developed in the 11th century CE, originally as an offshoot of Ismāʿīlīsm. The Druze faith further split from Ismāʿīlīsm as it developed its own unique doctrines, and finally separated from both Ismāʿīlīsm and Islam altogether; these include the belief that the Imam Al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh was God incarnate. Thus, the Druze don't identify themselves as Muslims, and aren't considered as such by Muslims either (''See'': Islam and Druze). According to the medieval Sunnī Muslim scholar
Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyya (; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-959 was a Sunni Muslim ulama, ...
, the Druze were not Muslims, neither ′Ahl al-Kitāb (
People of the Book People of the Book, or ''Ahl al-Kitāb'' (), is a classification in Islam for the adherents of those religions that are regarded by Muslims as having received a divine revelation from Allah, generally in the form of a holy scripture. The clas ...
), nor '' mushrikin'' (polytheists); rather, he labeled them as '' kuffār'' (infidels). * The
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
is a distinct
monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...
universal
Abrahamic religion The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...
that developed in 19th-century Persia, originally derived as a splinter group from
Bábism Bábism () is a Messianism, messianic movement founded in 1844 by Báb, the Báb ( 'Ali Muhammad). The Báb, an Iranian merchant-turned-prophet, professed that there is one incorporeal, unknown, and incomprehensible GodEdward Granville Browne ...
, another distinct monotheistic Abrahamic religion, itself derived from Twelver Shīʿīsm. Baháʼís believe in an utterly transcendent and inaccessible Supreme Creator of the universe, nevertheless seen as conscious of the creation, with a will and purpose that is expressed through messengers recognized in the Baháʼí Faith as the Manifestations of God (all the Jewish prophets,
Zoroaster Zarathushtra Spitama, more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism ...
,
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
,
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
, Jesus,
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, the
Báb The Báb (born ʻAlí-Muḥammad; ; ; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850) was an Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbai ...
, and ultimately
Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (, born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Iran and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Báb ...
). Baháʼís believe that God communicates his will and purpose to humanity through his intermediaries, the prophets and messengers who have founded various world religions from the beginning of humankind up to the present day, and will continue to do so in the future. Baháʼís and Bábis don't consider themselves as Muslims, since both of their religions have superseded Islam, and aren't considered as such by Muslims either; rather, they are seen as apostates from Islam. Since both Baháʼís and Bábis reject the Islamic dogma that Muhammad is the
last prophet The last prophet, or final prophet, is a term used in religious contexts, especially in the Abrahamic religions, to refer to the last person through whom God or several gods speak, after which there is to be no other. The appellation also refers t ...
, they have suffered
religious discrimination Religious discrimination is treating a person or group differently because of the particular religion they align with or were born into. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, denominations or non-religions are treate ...
and
persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
both in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
and elsewhere in the
Muslim world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
due to their beliefs. (''See'':
Persecution of Baháʼís Baháʼís are persecuted in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Baháʼí Faith originated and where one of the largest Baháʼí populations in the world is located. The origins of the persecution stem from a variety of Baháʼ ...
).


Ghulat movements

Shīʿīte groups and movements who either ascribe divine characteristics to some important figures in the
history of Islam The history of Islam is believed, by most historians, to have originated with Muhammad's mission in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE, although Muslims regard this time as a return to the original faith passed down by the Abr ...
(usually members of Muhammad's family, the ''
Ahl al-Bayt () refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, the term has also been extended to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. In Shia Islam, the term is limited to Muhammad, his daugh ...
'') or hold beliefs deemed deviant by mainstream Shīʿa Muslims were designated as ''Ghulat''.


Kharijites

Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...
(literally, "those who seceded") are an extinct sect who originated during the
First Fitna The First Fitna () was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. The civil war involved three main battles between the fourth Rashidun caliph, Ali, an ...
, the struggle for political leadership over the Muslim community, following the assassination in 656 of the third caliph
Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...
. Kharijites originally supported the caliphate of Ali, but then later on fought against him and eventually succeeded in his martyrdom while he was praying in the mosque of Kufa. While there are few remaining Kharijite or Kharijite-related groups, the term is sometimes used to denote Muslims who refuse to compromise with those with whom they disagree.
Sufri The Sufris ( ''aṣ-Ṣufriyya'') were Khariji Muslims in the seventh and eighth centuries. They established the Midrarid state at Sijilmassa, now in Morocco. In Tlemcen, Algeria, the Banu Ifran were Sufri Berbers who opposed rule by the Uma ...
s were a major sub-sect of Kharijite in the 7th and 8th centuries, and a part of the Kharijites. Nukkari was a sub-sect of Sufris. Harūrīs were an early Muslim sect from the period of the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs (632–661 CE), named for their first leader, Habīb ibn-Yazīd al-Harūrī.
Azariqa The Azariqa () were an extremist branch of the Kharijites who followed the leadership of Nafi ibn al-Azraq. Adherents of Azraqism participated in an armed struggle against the rulers of the Umayyad Caliphate, and they declared those who avoided ...
,
Najdat The Najdat were the sub-sect of the Kharijite movement that followed Najda ibn 'Amir al-Hanafi, and in 682 launched a revolt against the Umayyad Caliphate in the historical provinces of Al-Yamama, Yamama and Province of Bahrain, Bahrain, in cent ...
, and Adjarites were minor sub-sects.


Ibadism

The only Kharijite sub-sect extant today is
Ibadism Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 6 ...
, which developed out of the 7th century CE. There are currently two geographically separated Ibadi groups—in
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
, where they constitute the majority of the Muslim population in the country, and in North Africa where they constitute significant minorities in
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
,
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
, and
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
. Similarly to another Muslim minority, the Zaydīs, "in modern times" they have "shown a strong tendency" to move towards the Sunnī branch of Islam.


Schools of Islamic jurisprudence

Islamic schools of jurisprudence, known as ''
madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...
'', differ in the
methodology In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...
they use to derive their rulings from the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
, ''ḥadīth'' literature, the ''
sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...
'' (accounts of the sayings and living habits attributed to the
Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
during his lifetime), and the ''tafsīr'' literature (exegetical commentaries on the Quran).


Sunnī

Sunnī Islam contains numerous schools of Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') and
schools of Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding creed. The main schools of Islamic theology include the extant Mu'tazili, Ash'ari, Maturidi, and Athari schools; the extinct ones ...
(''ʿaqīdah''). In terms of religious jurisprudence (''
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica
''Fiqh'' is of ...
''), Sunnism contains several schools of thought (''
madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...
''): * the Ḥanafī school, named after Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān (8th century CE); * the Mālikī school, named after Mālik ibn Anas (8th century CE); * the Shāfiʿī school, named after Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī (8th century CE); * the Ḥanbalī school, named after Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (8th century CE); * the
Ẓāhirī The Zahiri school or Zahirism is a Madhhab#Sunni, school of Fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence within Madhhab#Sunni, Sunni Islam. It was named after Dawud al-Zahiri and flourished in Spain during the Caliphate of Córdoba under the leadership of Ibn Haz ...
school, founded by Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī (9th century CE). In terms of religious creed (''
ʿaqīdah ''Aqidah'' (, , pl. , ) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that means "creed". It is also called Islamic creed or Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' goes beyond concise statements of faith and may not be part of an ordinary Muslim's religious ins ...
''), Sunnism contains several schools of theology: * the Atharī school, a scholarly movement that emerged in the late 8th century CE; * the Ashʿarī school, founded by Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (10th century CE); * the Māturīdī school, founded by Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (10th century CE). The
Salafi movement The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retu ...
is a conservative reform branch and/or revivalist movement within Sunnī Islam whose followers do not believe in strictly following one particular ''
madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...
''. They include the Wahhabi movement, an Islamic doctrine and religious movement founded by Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab, and the modern Ahle Hadith movement, whose followers call themselves '' Ahl al-Ḥadīth''.


Shīʿa

In Shīʿa Islam, the major Shīʿīte school of jurisprudence is the Jaʿfari or Imāmī school, named after Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, the sixth Shīʿīte Imam. The Jaʿfari jurisprudence is further divided into two branches: the
Usuli Usulism () is the majority school of Twelver Shia Islam in opposition to the minority Akhbarism. The Usulis favor the use of (reasoning) in the creation of new rules of jurisprudence; in assessing hadith to exclude traditions they believe u ...
school, which favors the exercise of ''
ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' ( ...
'', and the
Akhbari Akhbarism () is a branch of Twelver Shia Islam, whose adherents do not perform imitation ( ''taqlid'') of an islamic jurist ( ''marja''). Akhbaris rejects the use of intercessory reasoning via trained Islamic jurists to derive verdicts in ...
school, which holds the traditions (''aḵbār'') of the Shīʿīte Imams to be the main source of religious knowledge. Minor Shīʿa schools of jurisprudence include the Ismāʿīlī school ( Mustaʿlī-
Fāṭimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, it ...
Ṭayyibi Ismāʿīlīs) and the Zaydī school, both of which have closer affinity to Sunnī jurisprudence. Shīʿīte clergymen and
jurists A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a legal practition ...
usually carry the title of ''
mujtahid ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' (i ...
'' (i.e., someone authorized to issue legal opinions in Shīʿa Islam).


Ibadism

The ''
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica
''Fiqh'' is of ...
'' or jurisprudence of
Ibadi Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 6 ...
s is relatively simple. Absolute authority is given to the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and ''ḥadīth'' literature; new innovations accepted on the basis of ''
qiyas Qiyas (, , ) is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Quran in Islamic jurisprudence, in order to apply a known injunction ('' nass'') to a new circumstance and cre ...
'' (analogical reasoning) were rejected as ''
bid'ah In Islam and sharia (Islamic law), ( , ) refers to innovation in religious matters. Linguistically, as an Arabic word, the term can be defined more broadly, as "innovation, novelty, heretical doctrine, heresy". It is the subject of many hadith ...
'' (heresy) by the Ibadis. That differs from the majority of Sunnīs, but agrees with most Shīʿa schools and with the
Ẓāhirī The Zahiri school or Zahirism is a Madhhab#Sunni, school of Fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence within Madhhab#Sunni, Sunni Islam. It was named after Dawud al-Zahiri and flourished in Spain during the Caliphate of Córdoba under the leadership of Ibn Haz ...
and early Ḥanbalī schools of Sunnism.


Schools of Islamic theology

''
Aqidah ''Aqidah'' (, , pl. , ) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that means "creed". It is also called Islamic creed or Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' goes beyond concise statements of faith and may not be part of an ordinary Muslim's religious ins ...
'' is an Islamic term meaning "
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) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...
", doctrine, or article of faith. There have existed many schools of Islamic theology, not all of which survive to the present day. Major themes of theological controversies in Islam have included
predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...
and free will, the nature of the Quran, the nature of the divine attributes, apparent and
esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...
meaning of scripture, and the role of dialectical reasoning in the Islamic doctrine.


Sunnism


Classical

''
Kalām ''Ilm al-kalam'' or ''ilm al-lahut'', often shortened to ''kalam'', is the scholastic, speculative, or rational study of Islamic theology ('' aqida''). It can also be defined as the science that studies the fundamental doctrines of Islamic fai ...
'' is the
Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—''falsafa'' (), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, and p ...
of seeking theological principles through
dialectic Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the ...
. In Arabic, the word literally means "speech/words". A scholar of ''kalām'' is referred to as a ''mutakallim'' (Muslim theologian; plural ''mutakallimūn''). There are many schools of Kalam, the main ones being the Ashʿarī and Māturīdī schools in Sunni Islam.


= Ashʿarī

= Ashʿarīsm is a school of theology founded by Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in the 10th century. The Ashʿarīte view was that comprehension of the unique nature and characteristics of God were beyond human capability. Ashʿarī theology is considered one of the orthodox creeds of Sunni Islam alongside the Māturīdī theology. Historically, the Ashʿarī theology prevails in
Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
.


= Māturīdīsm

= Māturīdism is a school of theology founded by Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī in the 10th century, which is a close variant of the Ashʿarī school. Māturīdī theology is considered one of the orthodox creeds of Sunni Islam alongside the Ashʿarī theology, and prevails in the Ḥanafī school of Islamic jurisprudence. Points which differ are the nature of belief and the place of human reason. The Māturīdites state that '' imān'' (faith) does not increase nor decrease but remains static; rather it's '' taqwā'' (piety) which increases and decreases. The Ashʿarītes affirm that belief does in fact increase and decrease. The Māturīdites affirm that the unaided human mind is able to find out that some of the more major sins such as alcohol or murder are evil without the help of revelation. The Ashʿarītes affirm that the unaided human mind is unable to know if something is good or evil, lawful or unlawful, without divine revelation.


Atharism

The Atharī school derives its name from the word "tradition" as a translation of the Arabic word ''
hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
'' or from the Arabic word ''athar'', meaning "narrations". The traditionalist creed is to avoid delving into extensive theological speculation. They rely on the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and sayings of the Sahaba, seeing this as the middle path where the attributes of Allah are accepted without questioning their nature ('' bi-la kayf'').
Ahmad ibn Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. T ...
is regarded as the leader of the traditionalist school of creed. Western scholars of Islamic studies remark that it would be incorrect to consider Atharism and Hanbalism as synonymous, since there have been Hanbali scholars who have explicitly rejected and opposed the Athari theology. The modern
Salafi movement The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retu ...
associates itself with the Atharī creed.


Muʿtazilism

Muʿtazilite theology originated in the 8th century in
Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
when
Wasil ibn Ata Wāṣil ibn ʿAtāʾ (699–748) (), also known as al-Ghazzal, was a Muslim theologian and jurist. He is considered to be the founder of the Mu'tazilism, Mu'tazilite school of Kalam. Born in 699 in the Arabian Peninsula, he initially studied un ...
left the teaching lessons of
Hasan al-Basri Abi Sa'id al-Hasan ibn Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as al-Hasan al-Basri, was an ancient Muslim preacher, ascetic, theologian, exegete, scholar, and judge. Born in Medina in 642,Mourad, Suleiman A., “al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī”, in: ''Encyc ...
after a theological dispute. He and his followers expanded on the logic and rationalism of
Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysic ...
, seeking to combine them with Islamic doctrines and show that the two were inherently compatible. The Mu'tazilite resolved many theological and philosophical discourse issues such as whether the Qur'an was created or eternal with God, whether evil was created by God or existed by itself, the problem of
destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...
versus
free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...
, whether the Qur'an should be interpreted allegorically or literally. In this regard, Mu'tazila places more emphasis on rationality in answering Islamic theological and philosophical questions.


Murji'ah

Murji'ah was a name for an early politico-religious movement which came to refer to all those who identified faith (''iman'') with belief to the exclusion of acts. Originating during the caliphates of Uthman and Ali, Murijites opposed the Kharijites, holding that only God has the authority to judge who is a true Muslim and who is not, and that Muslims should consider all other Muslims as part of the community.Isutzu, Concept of Belief, p. 55-56. Two major Murijite sub-sects were the Karamiya and Sawbaniyya.


Qadariyyah

Qadariyya is an originally derogatory term designating early Islamic theologians who asserted that humans possess free will, whose exercise makes them responsible for their actions, justifying divine punishment and absolving God of responsibility for evil in the world. Some of their doctrines were later adopted by the
Mu'tazili Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...
s and rejected by the
Ash'ari Ash'arism (; ) is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, a Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer (''mujaddid''), and scholastic theologian, in the 9th–10th century. It established an orthodox guideline, based on ...
s.


Jabriyah

In direct contrast to the Qadariyyah, Jabriyah was an early Islamic philosophical school based on the belief that humans are controlled by
predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...
, without having choice or free will. The Jabriya school originated during the Umayyad dynasty in
Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
. The first representative of this school was Al-Ja'd ibn Dirham who was executed in 724.Ибрагим, Т. К. и Сагадеев А. В. ал-Джабрийа // Ислам: энциклопедический словарь / отв. ред. С. М. Прозоров. — М. : Наука, ГРВЛ, 1991. — С. 57–58. The term is derived from the Arabic root j-b-r, in the sense which gives the meaning of someone who is forced or coerced by destiny. The term Jabriyah was also a derogatory term used by different Islamic groups that they considered wrong, The Ash'ariyah used the term Jabriyah in the first place to describe the followers of,
Jahm ibn Safwan Jahm bin Safwan () was an Islamic theologian of the Umayyad period and whose name has given rise to the Jahmiyya moniker. During his lifetime, he attached himself to the rebel leader Al-Harith ibn Surayj, a dissident in Khurasan. He was execut ...
who died in 746, in that they regarded their faith as a middle position between Qadariyah and Jabriya. On the other hand, the Mu'tazilah considered the Ash'ariyah as Jabriyah because, in their opinion, they rejected the orthodox doctrine of free will. The Shiites used the term Jabriyah to describe the Ash'ariyah and Hanbalis.


Jahmiyya

Jahmis were the alleged followers of the early Islamic theologian Jahm bin Safwan who associated himself with Al-Harith ibn Surayj. He was an exponent of extreme determinism according to which a man acts only metaphorically in the same way in which the sun acts or does something when it sets.


Batiniyyah

Bāṭiniyyah is a name given to an allegoristic type of scriptural interpretation developed among some Shia groups, stressing the ''Batin (Islam), bāṭin'' (inward, esoteric) meaning of texts. It has been retained by all branches of Isma'ilism and its
Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
offshoot. Alevism, Bektashism and folk religion, Hurufis and
Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...
practice a similar system of interpretation.


Sufism

Sufism is Islam's Mysticism, mystical-Asceticism, ascetic dimension and is represented by schools or orders known as ''Tasawwufī-Ṭarīqah.'' It is seen as that aspect of Islamic teaching that deals with the purification of inner self. By focusing on the more spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive to obtain direct experience of God by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use. The following list contains some notable Sufi orders: * The Azeemiyya order was founded in 1960 by Qalandar Baba Auliya, also known as Syed Muhammad Azeem Barkhia. * The Bektashi order was founded in the 13th century by the Islamic saint Haji Bektash Veli, and greatly influenced during its formulative period by the Hurufism, Hurufi Ali al-'Ala in the 15th century and reorganized by Balım Sultan in the 16th century. Because of its adherence to the Twelve Imams it is classified under Twelver Shia Islam. * The Chishti order () was founded by (Khawaja) Abu Ishaq Shami ("the Syrian"; died 941) who brought Sufism to the town of Chisht, some 95 miles east of Herat in present-day Afghanistan. Before returning to the Levant, Shami initiated, trained and deputized the son of the local Emir ''(Khwaja)'' Abu Ahmad Abdal (died 966). Under the leadership of Abu Ahmad's descendants, the ''Chishtiyya'' as they are also known, flourished as a regional mystical order. The founder of the Chishti Order in South Asia was Moinuddin Chishti. * The Kubrawiya order was founded in the 13th century by Najmuddin Kubra in Bukhara in modern-day Uzbekistan. * The Mevlevi order is better known in the West as the "whirling dervishes". * Mouride is most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia, with headquarters in the holy city of Touba, Senegal. * The Naqshbandi order was founded in 1380 by Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. It is considered by some to be a "sober" order known for its silent dhikr (remembrance of God) rather than the vocalized forms of dhikr common in other orders. The Süleymancılar, Süleymani and Khalidiyya orders are offshoots of the Naqshbandi order. * The Ni'matullahi order is the most widespread Sufi order of Persia today. It was founded by Shah Ni'matullah Wali (d. 1367), established and transformed from his inheritance of the Marufi, Ma'rufiyyah circle. There are several suborders in existence today, the most known and influential in the West following the lineage of Javad Nurbakhsh, who brought the order to the West following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. * The Noorbakshia Islam, Noorbakshia order, also called Nurbakshia, claims to trace its direct spiritual lineage and chain (silsilah) to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, through Ali, by way of Ali Al-Ridha. This order became known as Nurbakshi after Shah Syed Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani, who was aligned to the Kubrawiya order. * The Oveysi (or Uwaiysi) order claims to have been founded 1,400 years ago by Uwais al-Qarni from Yemen. * The Qadiri order is one of the oldest Sufi Orders. It derives its name from Abdul-Qadir Gilani (1077–1166), a native of the Iranian province of Gīlān Province, Gīlān. The order is one of the most widespread of the Sufi orders in the Islamic world, and can be found in Central Asia, Turkey, Balkans and much of East and West Africa. The Qadiriyyah have not developed any distinctive doctrines or teachings outside of mainstream Islam. They believe in the fundamental principles of Islam, but interpreted through mystical experience. The Ba 'Alawiyya, Ba'Alawi order is an offshoot of Qadiriyyah. * Senussi is a religious-political Sufi order established by Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. As-Senussi founded this movement due to his criticism of the Egyptian ulema. * The Shadhili order was founded by Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili. Followers (''murids'' Arabic: seekers) of the Shadhiliyya are often known as Shadhilis. * The Suhrawardiyya order () is a Sufi order founded by Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi (1097–1168). * The Tijaniyyah order attach a large importance to culture and education, and emphasize the individual adhesion of the disciple (''murid'').


Later movements


African-American movements

Many Atlantic slave trade, slaves brought from Africa to the Western Hemisphere were Muslim slaves in the United States, Muslims, and the early 20th century saw the rise of distinct Islamic religious and political movements within the African-Americans, African-American community in the United States, such as Darul Islam, the Islamic Party of North America, the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood (MIB), the Muslim Alliance in North America, the Moorish Science Temple of America, the
Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...
(NOI), and the Ansaaru Allah Community. They sought to ascribe Islamic heritage to African-Americans, thereby giving much emphasis on racial and ethnic aspects (see black nationalism and black separatism). These Black Muslims (disambiguation), black Muslim movements often differ greatly in matters of doctrine from mainstream Islam. They include: *Moorish Science Temple of America, founded in 1913 by Noble Drew Ali (born Timothy Drew). The Moorish Science Temple of America is characterized by a strong African-American ethnic and religious identity. **Moorish Orthodox Church of America *
Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...
, founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad in Detroit in 1930,Milton C. Sernett (1999). ''African American religious history: a documentary witness''. Duke University Press. pp. 499–501. with a declared aim of "resurrecting" the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of the African American, black man and woman of America and the world. The Nation of Islam believes that Wallace Fard Muhammad was Allah, God on earth. The Nation of Islam doesn't consider the Arabian Muhammad as the final prophet and instead regards Elijah Muhammad, successor of Wallace Fard Muhammad, as the true Messenger of Allah. **American Society of Muslims: Warith Deen Mohammed established the American Society of Muslims in 1975. This offshoot of the Nation of Islam wanted to bring its teachings more in line with mainstream Sunni Islam, establishing mosques instead of temples, and promoting the Five pillars of Islam.''Evolution of a Community'', WDM Publications, 1995. **Five-Percent Nation **United Nation of Islam


Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam

The Ahmadiyya, Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam was founded in British India in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, who claimed to be the promised Messiah ("Second Coming of Jesus in Islam, Christ"), the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims as well as a Prophethood (Ahmadiyya), "subordinate" prophet to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Ahmadis claim to practice the pristine form of Islam as followed by Muhammad and his Companions of the Prophet, earliest followers. They believe that it was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's task to restore the original ''sharia'' given to Muhammad by guiding the ''Ummah'' back to the "true"
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and defeat the attacks on Islam by other religions. There are a wide variety of distinct beliefs and teachings of Ahmadis compared to those of ''most other'' Muslims, which include the interpretation of the Quranic title ''Khatam an-Nabiyyin'', interpretation of the Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam, Messiah's Second Coming, complete rejection of the Naskh (tafsir), abrogation/cancellation of Quranic verses, belief that Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam, Jesus survived the crucifixion and died of old age in India, Ahmadiyya view on Jihad, conditions of the "''Jihad'' of the Sword" are no longer met, belief that Revelation in Islam, divine revelation (as long as no new ''sharia'' is given) will never end, belief in Social cycle theory, cyclical nature of history until Muhammad, and belief in the implausibility of a contradiction between Islamic attitudes towards science, Islam and science. These perceived deviations from normative Islamic thought have resulted in severe persecution of Ahmadis in various Muslim-majority countries, particularly Ahmadiyya in Pakistan, Pakistan, where they have been branded as Non-Muslims and their Islamic religious practices are punishable by the Ahmadi-Specific laws in the Ordinance XX, penal code. The followers of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam are divided into two groups: the first being the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, currently the dominant group, and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam. The larger group takes a literalist view believing that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the promised Mahdi and a ''Ummati Nabi'' subservient to Muhammad, while the latter believing that he was only a Mujaddid, religious reformer and a prophet only in an allegorical sense. Both Ahmadi groups are active in ''dawah'' or Islamic missionary work, and have produced vasts amounts of Islamic literature, including Ahmadiyya translations of the Quran, numerous translations of the Quran, translations of the Hadith, Tafsir, Quranic ''tafsirs'', a multitude of List of biographies of Muhammad, ''sirahs'' of Muhammad, and works on the subject of comparative religion among others. As such, their international influence far exceeds their number of adherents. Muslims from more Orthodox sects of Islam have adopted many Ahmadi polemics and understandings of other religions, along with the Ahmadi approach to reconcile Islamic and Western education as well as to establish Islamic school systems, particularly in Africa.


Barelvi / Deobandi split

Sunni Muslims of the Indian subcontinent comprising present day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh who are overwhelmingly Hanafi by
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica
''Fiqh'' is of ...
have split into two schools or movements, the Barelvi and the Deobandi. While the Deobandi is revivalist in nature, the Barelvi are more traditional and inclined towards
Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
.


Gülen / Hizmet movement

The Gülen movement, usually referred to as the Hizmet movement, established in the 1970s as an offshoot of the Nur Movement and led by the Turkish Islamic scholar and preacher Fethullah Gülen in Turkey, Central Asia, and in other parts of the world, is active in education, with private schools and universities in over 180 countries as well as with many American charter schools operated by followers. It has initiated forums for interfaith dialogue. The Gülen movement, Cemaat movement's structure has been described as a flexible organizational network. Movement schools and businesses organize locally and link themselves into informal networks. Estimates of the number of schools and educational institutions vary widely; it appears there are about 300 Gülen movement schools in Turkey and over 1,000 schools worldwide.


Islamic modernism

Islamic modernism Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge", attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with values perceived as modern such as democracy, civil rights, rati ...
, also sometimes referred to as "modernist Salafism", is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response" attempting to reconcile Islamic faith with modern Western values such as nationalism, Islamic democracy, democracy, and Islamic attitudes towards science, science.''Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World'', Thomson Gale (2004)


Islamism

Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
is a set of political Ideology, ideologies, derived from various Islamic fundamentalism, fundamentalist views, which hold that Islam is not only a religion but a political system that should govern the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. Many Islamists do not refer to themselves as such and it is not a single particular movement. Religious views and ideologies of its adherents vary, and they may be Sunni Islamists or Shia Islamists depending upon their beliefs. Islamist groups include groups such as Al-Qaeda, the organizer of the September 11, 2001 attacks and perhaps the most prominent; and the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest and perhaps the oldest. Although violence is often employed by some organizations, most Islamist movements are nonviolent.


Muslim Brotherhood

The ''Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun'' (with Ikhwan brethren) or Muslim Brotherhood, is an organisation that was founded by Egyptian scholar Hassan al-Banna, a graduate of Dar al-Ulum. With its various branches, it is the largest Sunni movement in the Arab world, and an affiliate is often the largest opposition party in many Arab nations. The Muslim Brotherhood is not concerned with theological differences, accepting both, Muslims of any of the four Sunni schools of thought, and Shi'a Muslims. It is the world's oldest and largest Islamist group. Its aims are to re-establish the Caliphate and in the meantime, push for more Islamisation of society. The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an and ''sunnah'' as the "sole reference point for... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community... and state".


Jamaat-e-Islami

The ''Jamaat-e-Islami'' (or JI) is an Islamist political party in the Indian subcontinent. It was founded in Lahore, British India, by Abul A'la Maududi, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi (with alternative spellings of last name Maudoodi) in 1941 and is Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, the oldest religious party in Pakistan. Today, sister organizations with similar objectives and ideological approaches exist in India (Jamaat-e-Islami Hind), Bangladesh (Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh), Kashmir (Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir), and Sri Lanka, and there are "close brotherly relations" with the Islamist movements and missions "working in different continents and countries", particularly those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood (Akhwan-al-Muslimeen). The JI envisions an Islamic government in Pakistan and Bangladesh governing by Islamic law. It opposes Westernization—including secularization, capitalism, socialism, or such practices as interest based banking, and favours an Islamic economic order and Caliphate.


Hizb ut-Tahrir

''Hizb ut-Tahrir'' () (Translation: Party of Liberation) is an international, Pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist political organization which describes its ideology as Islam, and its aim the re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) to resume Islamic ways of life in the Muslim world. The caliphate would unite the Muslim community (''Ummah'') upon their Islamic creed and implement the Shariah, so as to then carry the Da'wah, proselytizing of Islam to the rest of the world.


Quranism

Quranist Islam, QuranismQuranism#DWBRTMIT1996, Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.38-42 or Quraniyya (; ''al-Qur'āniyya'') is a quran only branch of
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. It holds the belief that
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic guidance and law should only be based on the Qur'an, Quran, thus Criticism of Hadith, opposing the religious authority and authenticity of the
hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
literature. Quranists believe that God's message is already clear and complete in the Quran and it can therefore be fully understood without referencing outside texts. Quranists claim that the vast majority of hadith literature are forged lies and believe that the Quran itself criticizes the hadith both in the technical sense and the general sense.''al-Manar'' 12(1911): 693-99; cited in Juynboll, ''Authenticity'', 30; cited in Quranist Islam#DWBRTMIT1996, D.W. Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.120


Liberal and progressive Islam

Liberalism and progressivism within Islam, Liberal Islam originally emerged from the Islamic revival, Islamic revivalist movement of the 18th–19th centuries. Liberal and Progressivism, progressive Islamic organizations and movements are primarily based in the Western world, and have in common a religious outlook which depends mainly on ''
ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' ( ...
'' or re-interpretation of the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures of Islam. Liberal and progressive Muslims are characterized by a Rationalism, rationalistic, critical examination and re-interpretation of the sacred scriptures of Islam; affirmation and promotion of democracy, gender equality, human rights, LGBT rights, women's rights, religious pluralism, Interfaith marriage in Islam, interfaith marriage, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, and freedom of religion; opposition to theocracy and total rejection of
Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
and Islamic fundamentalism; and a modern view of Islamic theology, Islamic ethics, ethics, ''sharia'', Islamic culture, culture, tradition, and other ritualistic practices in Islam.


Mahdavia

Mahdavia, or Mahdavism, is a Mahdiist sect founded in late 15th century India by Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri, who declared himself to be the Muhammad al-Mahdi, Hidden Twelfth Imam of the Twelver Shia tradition. They follow many aspects of the Sunni doctrine. Zikri Mahdavis, or Zikris, are an offshoot of the Mahdavi movement."Zikris (pronounced 'Zigris' in Baluchi) are estimated to number over 750,000 people. They live mostly in Makran and Las Bela in southern Pakistan, and are followers of a 15th-century mahdi, an Islamic messiah, called Nur Pak ('Pure Light'). Zikri practices and rituals differ from those of orthodox Islam... " Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 – Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998); p. 85 cited after .


Non-denominational Muslims

"Non-denominational Muslims" () is an umbrella term that has been used for and by Muslims who do not belong to a specific Islamic denomination, do not self-identify with any specific Islamic denomination, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches. A quarter of the Islam by country, world's Muslim population see themselves as "just a Muslim". Non-denominational Muslims constitute the majority of the Muslim population in seven countries, and a plurality in three others: Albania (65%), Kyrgyzstan (64%), Kosovo (58%), Indonesia (56%), Mali (55%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (54%), Uzbekistan (54%),
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
(45%), Russia (45%), and Nigeria (42%). They are found primarily in Central Asia. Kazakhstan has the largest number of non-denominational Muslims, who constitute about 74% of the population. While the majority of the population in the Middle East identify as either Sunni or Shi'a, a significant number of Muslims identify as non-denominational. Southeastern Europe also has a large number of non-denominational Muslims. In 1947, the non-sectarian movement was founded in Cairo, Egypt. Several of its supporters were high-ranking scholars of Al-Ahzar University. The movement sought to bridge the gap between Sunnis and Shi'is. At the end of the 1950s, the movement reached a wider public, as the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser discovered the usefulness of pan-Islamism for his foreign policy.


Salafism and Wahhabism


''Ahle Hadith''

Ahl-i Hadith (, : ) is a movement which emerged in the Indian subcontinent in the mid-19th century. Its followers call themselves ''Ahl al-Hadith'' and are considered to be a branch of the ''Salafi movement, Salafiyya'' school. Ahl-i Hadith is antithetical to various beliefs and mystical practices associated with folk
Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
. Ahl-i Hadith shares many doctrinal similarities with the Wahhabi movement and hence often classified as being synonymous with the "Wahhabism#Definitions and etymology, Wahhabis" by its adversaries. However, its followers reject this designation, preferring to identify themselves as "Salafis".


''Salafiyya'' movement

The Salafi movement, ''Salafiyya'' movement is a conservative, ''Islahi'' (reform) movement within Sunni Islam that emerged in the second half of the 19th century and advocate a return to the traditions of the "devout ancestors" (''Salaf, Salaf al-Salih''). It has been described as the "fastest-growing Islamic movement"; with each scholar expressing diverse views across social, theological, and political spectrum. Salafis follow a doctrine that can be summed up as taking "a Islamic fundamentalism, fundamentalist approach to Islam, emulating the Prophet
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
and his earliest followers—''al-salaf al-salih'', the 'pious forefathers'....They reject religious innovation, or ''bidʻah'', and support the implementation of ''Sharia'' (Islamic law)." The Salafi movement is often divided into three categories: the largest group are the purists (or Political quietism in Islam, quietists), who avoid politics; the second largest group are the Islamism, militant activists, who get involved in politics; the third and last group are the Salafi jihadism, jihadists, who constitute a minority. Most of the violent Islamist groups come from the Salafi jihadism, Salafi-Jihadist movement and their subgroups. In recent years, Jihadi-Salafist doctrines have often been associated with the armed insurgencies of Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist movements and Islamic terrorism, terrorist organizations targeting innocent civilians, both Muslims and Non-Muslims, such as al-Qaeda, Islamic State, ISIL/ISIS/IS/Daesh, Boko Haram, etc. The second largest group are the Salafi activists who have a long tradition of political activism, such as those that operate in organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood, the Arab world's major Islamism, Islamist movement. In the aftermath of widescale repressions after the Arab Spring, accompanied by their political failures, the activist-Salafi movements have undergone a decline. The most numerous are the Political quietism in Islam, quietists, who believe in disengagement from politics and accept allegiance to Muslim governments, no matter how tyrannical, to avoid ''Fitna (word), fitna'' (chaos).


Wahhabism

The Wahhabi movement was founded and spearheaded by the Ḥanbalī scholar and theologian Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab, a religious preacher from the Najd region in Arabian Peninsula, central Arabia, and was instrumental in the rise of the House of Saud to power in the Arabian peninsula. Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab sought to Islamic revival, revive and purify
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
from what he perceived as non-Islamic popular religious beliefs and practices by returning to what, he believed, were the Islamic fundamentalism, fundamental principles of the Islamic religion. His works were generally short, full of quotations from the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and Hadith, ''Hadith'' literature, such as his main and foremost theological treatise, ''Kitāb at-Tawḥīd'' (; "The Book of Oneness"). He taught that the primary doctrine of Islam was the Tawhid, uniqueness and oneness of God (''tawḥīd''), and denounced what he held to be popular religious beliefs and practices among Muslims that he considered to be akin to Bidʻah, heretical innovation (''bidʿah'') and Shirk (Islam), polytheism (''shirk''). Wahhabism has been described as a conservative, strict, and Islamic fundamentalism, fundamentalist branch of Sunnī Islam, with Puritanical, puritan views, believing in a literal interpretation of the Quran. The terms "
Wahhabism Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to oth ...
" and "
Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a Islamic fundamentalism, fundamentalist Islamic revival, revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" ...
" are sometimes evoked interchangeably, although the designation "Wahhabism#Definitions and etymology, Wahhabi" is specifically applied to the followers of Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab and his Islah, reformist doctrines. The label "Wahhabi" was not claimed by his followers, who usually refer themselves as ''al-Muwaḥḥidūn'' ("affirmers of the singularity of God"), but is rather employed by Western scholars as well as his critics. Starting in the mid-1970s and 1980s, the international propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism within Sunnī Islam favored by the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Arab states of the Persian Gulf has achieved what the French political scientist Gilles Kepel defined as a "preeminent position of strength in the global expression of Islam." 22 months after the September 11 attacks, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI considered al-Qaeda as "the number one terrorist threat to the United States", journalist Stephen Suleyman Schwartz, Stephen Schwartz and U.S. Senator Jon Kyl have explicitly stated during a hearing that occurred in June 2003 before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security of the United States Senate, U.S. Senate that "Wahhabism is the source of the List of terrorist incidents, overwhelming majority of terrorist atrocities in today's world". As part of the global "War on terror", Wahhabism has been accused by the European Parliament, various Western security analysts, and think tanks like the RAND Corporation, as being "a source of global terrorism". Furthermore, Wahhabism has been accused of causing disunity in the Muslim community (''Ummah'') and criticized for its followers' Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia, destruction of many Islamic, cultural, and historical sites associated with the
early history of Islam The history of Islam is believed, by most historians, to have originated with Muhammad's mission in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE, although Muslims regard this time as a return to the original faith passed down by the Abra ...
and the first generation of Muslims (Ahl al-Bayt, Muhammad's family and his Companions of the Prophet, companions) in Saudi Arabia.


Population of the branches


See also

* Amman Message *
Aqidah ''Aqidah'' (, , pl. , ) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that means "creed". It is also called Islamic creed or Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' goes beyond concise statements of faith and may not be part of an ordinary Muslim's religious ins ...
* Glossary of Islam * Index of Islam-related articles * International Islamic Unity Conference (Iran) * Islamic eschatology * Islamic studies * Madhhab * Outline of Islam * Schools of Islamic theology * Shia crescent * Shia–Sunni relations * Succession to Muhammad


References


External links


The Four Sunni Schools of Thought
{{Authority control Islamic branches, Religious denominations