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Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam (/ˈsuːni, ˈsʊni/) is the largest denomination of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the exemplary behaviour of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[1] The differences between Sunni
Sunni and Shia
Shia Muslims arose from a disagreement over the choice of Muhammad's successor and subsequently acquired broader political significance, as well as theological and juridical dimensions.[2] According to Sunni
Sunni traditions, Muhammad
Muhammad did not clearly designate a successor and the Muslim
Muslim community acted according to his sunnah in electing his father-in-law Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr as the first caliph.[3][2] This contrasts with the Shi'a view, which holds that Muhammad
Muhammad announced at the event of Ghadir Khumm his son-in-law and cousin Ali
Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor.[4][5][6][7][8] Unlike the first three caliphs, Ali was from the same clan as Muhammad, Banu Hashim, and Shia
Shia Muslims consider him legitimate, inter alia, by favour of his blood ties to Muhammad, too.[9][10] Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts and the rise of Wahhabism.[2] As of 2009[update], Sunni
Sunni Muslims constituted 87–90% of the world's Muslim
Muslim population.[11] Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam is the world's largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism.[12] Its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah ("the people of the sunnah and the community") or ahl as-sunnah for short.[13][14] In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called Sunnism,[15] while adherents are known as Sunni
Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites and Ahlus Sunnah. Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam is sometimes referred to as "orthodox Islam".[16][17][18] However, other scholars of Islam, such as John Burton believe that there's no such thing as "orthodox Islam".[19] The Quran, together with hadith (especially those collected in Kutub al-Sittah) and binding juristic consensus form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni
Sunni Islam. Sharia
Sharia rulings are derived from these basic sources, in conjunction with analogical reasoning, consideration of public welfare and juristic discretion, using the principles of jurisprudence developed by the traditional legal schools. In matters of creed, the Sunni
Sunni tradition upholds the six pillars of iman (faith) and comprises the Ash'ari
Ash'ari and Maturidi
Maturidi schools of rationalistic theology as well as the textualist school known as traditionalist theology.

Contents

1 Terminology 2 History

2.1 The post Rashidun
Rashidun period till the fall of the Ottoman empire

2.1.1 Transition of caliphate into dynastic monarchy of Banu Umayya 2.1.2 Caliphate
Caliphate and the dynastic monarchy of Banu Abbas 2.1.3 Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam in the contemporary era

3 Adherents 4 Organizational structure 5 Jurisprudence

5.1 Schools of law 5.2 Differences in the schools

6 Pillars of iman 7 Theological traditions

7.1 Ash'ari 7.2 Maturidi 7.3 Traditionalist

8 Sunni
Sunni mysticism 9 Sunni
Sunni view of hadith

9.1 Kutub al-Sittah

10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links

Terminology[edit]

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque
Mosque in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Sunnī (Classical Arabic: سُنِّي /ˈsunniː/), also commonly referred to as Sunnīism, is a term derived from sunnah (سُنَّة /ˈsunna/, plural سُنَن sunan /ˈsunan/) meaning "habit", "usual practice",[20] "custom", "tradition". The Muslim
Muslim use of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad. In Arabic, this branch of Islam
Islam is referred to as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah (Arabic: أهل السنة والجماعة‎), "the people of the sunnah and the community", which is commonly shortened to ahl as-sunnah (Arabic أهل السنة).[13][14] History[edit] One common mistake is to assume that Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam represents a normative Islam
Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammad's death, and that Sufism
Sufism and Shi'ism
Shi'ism developed out of Sunni
Sunni Islam.[21] 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.[22] The first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rashidun
Rashidun or "Rightly-Guided Ones". Sunni
Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr as the first, Umar
Umar as the second, Uthman
Uthman as the third, and Ali
Ali as the fourth.[23] The post Rashidun
Rashidun period till the fall of the Ottoman empire[edit] Sunnis recognised different rulers as the caliph, though they did not include anyone in the list of the rightly guided ones or Rashidun after the murder of Ali, until the caliphate was constitutionally abolished in Turkey
Turkey on 3 March 1924. Transition of caliphate into dynastic monarchy of Banu Umayya[edit] The seeds of metamorphosis of caliphate into kingship were sown, as the second caliph Umar
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 Marwan 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 Muawiya, 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
Ali from Fatima, was killed at the battle of karbala. The rise to power of Banu Umayya, the Meccan tribe of elites who had vehemently opposed Muhammad
Muhammad under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, Muawiya's father, right up to the conquest of Mecca
Mecca by Muhammad, as his successors with the accession of Uthman
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, and in the words of El-Hibri through "the use of religious charity revenues (zakat) to subsidise family interests, which Uthman justified as "al-sila" (pious filial support)."[24][25][26] Ali, during his rather brief regime after Uthman
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-Zubair, by Muawiya and finally by the Kharjites. After he was murdered his followers immediately elected Hasan ibn Ali
Ali his elder son from Fatima to succeed him. Hasan, however, shortly afterwards signed a treaty with Muawiaya 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. Not honouring his treaty with Hasan he however nominated his son Yazid to succeed him. Upon Muawiya'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 Karbala and he was killed with all his male companions – total 72 people, in a day long battle after which Yazid established himself as a sovereign, though strong public uprising erupted after his death against his dynasty to avenge the massacre of Karbala, but Banu Umayya were able to quickly suppress them all and ruled the Muslim
Muslim world, till they were finally overthrown by Banu Abbas.[27][28][29][30] Caliphate
Caliphate and the dynastic monarchy of Banu Abbas[edit] The rule of and "caliphate" of Banu Umayya came to an end at the hands of Banu Abbas
Banu Abbas a branch of Banu Hashim, the tribe of Muhammad, only to usher another dynastic monarchy styled as caliphate from 750 CE. This period is seen formative in Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam as the founders of the four schools viz, Abu Hanifa, Malik bin Anas, Shafi'i
Shafi'i and Ahmad bin Hambal all practised during this time, so also did Jafar al Sadiq
Jafar al Sadiq who elaborated the doctrine of imamate, 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
Caliph al-Ma’mun in 833 CE, when the period of Turkish domination began.[31] Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam in the contemporary era[edit] The fall of the Ottoman, the biggest Sunni
Sunni empire in the world for six centuries, the mightiest power in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean world and one of the important participants in World War I
World War I which joined the war on the side of the Central Powers, bringing caliphate to an end was an epochal event. This resulted in Sunni
Sunni protests in far off places including the Khilafat Movement
Khilafat Movement in India, which was later on upon gaining independence from Britain divided into Sunni
Sunni dominated Pakistan
Pakistan and secular India. Pakistan, the most populous Sunni
Sunni state at its birth, however later got partitioned into Pakistan
Pakistan and Bangladesh. The demise of Ottoman caliphate also resulted in the emergence of Saudi Arabia, a dynastic absolute monarchy with the support of the British and Muhammad
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of Wahhabism.[32][33][34][35] This was followed by a considerable rise in Wahhabism, Salafism
Salafism and Jihadism
Jihadism under the influence of the preaching of Ibn Taymiyyah
Ibn Taymiyyah a follower of Ahmad bin Hanbal.The expediencies of cold war resulted in encouragement of Afghan refugees in Pakistan
Pakistan to be radicalised, trained and armed to fight the communist regime backed by USSR
USSR forces in Afghanistan
Afghanistan giving birth to Taliban. The Taliban wrestled power from the communists in Afghanistan
Afghanistan and formed a government under the leadership of Mohammed Omar, who was addressed as the Emir
Emir of the faithful, an honorific way of addressing the caliph. The Taliban
Taliban regime was recognised by Pakistan
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia till after 9/11
9/11 perpetrated by Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden a Saudi national by birth harboured by the Taliban
Taliban took place, resulting in a war on terror launched against the Taliban.[36][37][38] The sequence of events of the 20th century has led to resentment in some quarters of the Sunni
Sunni community due to the loss of pre-eminence in several previously Sunni-dominated regions such as the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Balkans, the Caucasus
Caucasus and the Indian sub continent.[39] The latest attempt by a section of Salafis to re establish a Sunni
Sunni caliphate can be seen in the appearance of ISIS whose leader Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr al Baghdadi is known among his followers as caliph and Amir-al-maumineen "The Commander of the Faithful".[40] Jihadism
Jihadism is however being strongly opposed from within the Muslim community, Ummah as it is called in Arabic in all quarters of the world.[41][42] Adherents[edit]

Countries with more than 5% Muslim
Muslim population.[43] Sunni Shia Ibadi

Sunnis believe that the companions of Muhammad
Muhammad were the best of Muslims. This belief is based upon prophetic traditions such as one narrated by Abdullah, son of Masud, in which Muhammad
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 Quran, according to Sunnis.[44] Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran. Furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions (ahadith) are considered by Sunnis to be a second source of knowledge of the Muslim
Muslim faith. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011[45] found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, and it is estimated over 85–90% are Sunni.[46] Organizational structure[edit] Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam does not have a formal hierarchy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law, called sharia. According to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque
Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a well-educated person to lead the service, known as a Khateeb (one who speaks).[47] Jurisprudence[edit] Schools of law[edit] There are many intellectual traditions within the field of Islamic law, often referred to as 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
Sunni Islam
Islam in two groups: Ahl al-Ra'i, 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.[48] Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun defined the Sunni
Sunni schools as three: the Hanafi
Hanafi school representing reason, the Ẓāhirīte school representing tradition, and a broader, middle school encompassing the Shafi'ite, Malikite and Hanbalite
Hanbalite schools.[49][50] During the Middle Ages, the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt delineated the acceptable Sunni
Sunni schools as only Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i
Shafi'i and Hanbali, excluding the Ẓāhirī
Ẓāhirī school.[51] The Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire later reaffirmed the official status of four schools as a reaction to the Shiite character of their ideological and political archrival, the Persian Safavids,[52] though former Prime Minister of Sudan Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, as well as the Amman Message
Amman Message issued by King Abdullah II of Jordan, recognize the Ẓāhirī
Ẓāhirī and keep the number of Sunni
Sunni schools at five.[53][54] Differences in the schools[edit]

The Great Mosque of Kairouan
Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Mosque
Mosque of Uqba) was, in particular during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, an important center of Islamic learning with an emphasis on the Maliki Madh'hab.[55] It is located in the city of Kairouan
Kairouan in Tunisia

Interpreting Islamic law by deriving specific rulings – such as how to pray – is commonly known as Islamic jurisprudence. The schools of law all have their own particular tradition of interpreting this jurisprudence. As these schools represent clearly spelled out methodologies for interpreting Islamic law, there has been little change in the methodology with regard to each school. While conflict between the schools was often violent in the past,[52] today the schools recognize one another as viable legal methods rather than sources of error or heresy in contrast to one another. Each school has its evidences, and differences of opinion are generally respected.[citation needed] Conflict between the schools was often violent in the past.[52] Pillars of iman[edit] Main articles: Iman (concept)
Iman (concept) and Islamic theology All the branches of Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam testify to six principal articles of faith known as the six pillars of iman (Arabic for "faith"),[56] which are believed to be essential. These are [57]

Belief in the Oneness of God Belief in the Angels of God Belief in the Divine Revelations (Books) Belief in the Prophets of God Belief in Resurrection after Death and the Day of Judgment and Belief in Preordainment (Qadar)

These six articles are what all present-day Sunnis agree on, from those who adhere to traditional Sunnism to those who adhere to latter-day movements. Additionally, classical Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam also outlined numerous other cardinal doctrines from the eighth-century onwards in the form of organized creeds such as the Creed
Creed of Tahawi, in order to codify what constituted " Sunni
Sunni orthodoxy."[citation needed] While none of these creeds gained the importance attributed to the Nicene Creed
Creed in Christianity, primarily because ecumenical councils never happened in Islam, the beliefs outlined in these creeds became the "orthodox" doctrine by ijma, or binding consensus.[citation needed] But while most of the tenets outlined in the classical creeds are accepted by all Sunnis, some of these doctrines have been rejected by the aforementioned movements as lacking strictly scriptural precedent. Traditionally, these other important Sunni
Sunni articles of faith have included the following (those that are controversial today because of their rejection by such groups shall be denoted by an asterisk):[citation needed]

Belief in the six principal articles of faith being essential for salvation for Muslims[58] Belief in God
God having created creation with His wisdom[59] Belief in Muhammad
Muhammad having been the Seal of the Prophets
Seal of the Prophets or the last prophet sent to mankind[60] Belief in the Quran
Quran being the eternal, uncreated Word of God[61] Belief in the beatific vision being a reality in the afterlife, even if it will not be all-encompassing and the "manner" of it remains unknown[62] Belief in the Night Journey of Muhammad
Muhammad having happened in a bodily form, while he was "awake"[63] Belief in the intercession of Muhammad
Muhammad being a reality on the Last Day[64] Belief in God's covenant with Adam
Adam and his offspring having been "true"[65] Belief in Abraham
Abraham having been God's "intimate friend"[66] Belief in Moses
Moses having conversed directly with God
God without a mediator[66] Belief in the idea that wrong works in themselves does not make a Muslim
Muslim an "unbeliever" and that it is forbidden to declare takfir on those who know that what they are doing is wrong[67] Belief in it being wrong to "make a distinction" between the various prophets of God[68] Belief in believing in that which "all the prophets" brought from God[68] Belief in avoiding "deviations, divisions, and differences" in the fold of Islam[69] Belief in venerating all the Companions of Muhammad[70] Belief in the existence of saints, and in venerating them and accepting the traditional narratives of their lives and miracles[71] (*) Belief that saints, while exalted in their own right, occupy an infinitely lesser rank than the prophets and that "one of the prophets is greater than all the saints put together"[71] (*) Belief in the Signs of the Apocalypse[72] Belief that Jesus
Jesus is the Promised Messiah
Messiah of God
God and that all Muslims await his Second Coming[72]

Theological traditions[edit]

Part of a series on Islam Aqidah

Five Pillars of Islam

Shahada Salah Sawm Zakat Hajj

Sunni Six articles of belief

God Prophets Holy books Angels The Last Judgement Predestination

Sunni
Sunni theological traditions

Ilm al-Kalam

Ash'ari1 Maturidi

Sunni
Sunni Murji'ah Traditionalist2

Shi'a Twelver3

Principles

Tawhid Adalah Prophecy Imamah Qiyamah

Practices

Salah Sawm Zakat Hajj Khums Jihad Commanding what is just Forbidding what is evil Tawalla Tabarra

Seven pillars of Ismailism4

Walayah Tawhid Salah Zakat Sawm Hajj Jihad

Other Shia
Shia concepts of Aqidah

Imamate Batin Sixth Pillar of Islam

Other schools of theology

Khawarij5 Ibadi6 Murji'ah

Qadariyah Muʿtazila7 Sufism8

Including: 1Jahmi; 2Karramiyya; 3 Alawites
Alawites & Qizilbash 4Sevener-Qarmatians, Assassins
Assassins & Druzes 5Ajardi, Azariqa, Bayhasiyya, Najdat
Najdat & Sūfrī 6Nūkkārī; 7 Bahshamiyya
Bahshamiyya & Ikhshîdiyya 8Alevism, Bektashi Order
Bektashi Order & Qalandariyya Islam
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Beliefs

Oneness of God

Prophets Revealed books

Angels Predestination

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Practices

Profession of faith Prayer

Fasting Alms-giving Pilgrimage

Texts and laws

Quran Tafsir Sunnah
Sunnah (Hadith, Sirah) Sharia
Sharia (law) Fiqh
Fiqh (jurisprudence)

Kalam
Kalam (dialectic)

History

Timeline Muhammad

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Imamate Caliphate Spread of Islam

Culture and society

Calendar Festivals Academics Art Moral teachings Children Denominations Feminism Women Madrasa Mosque Philosophy Poetry Politics Proselytizing Animals LGBT Science Demographics Economics Finance Social welfare

See also[edit]

Islamic schools and branches Suni (other)

References[edit]

^ John L. Esposito, ed. (2014). " Sunni
Sunni Islam". The Oxford
Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford: Oxford
Oxford University Press. ^ a b c Tayeb El-Hibri, Maysam J. al Faruqi (2004). " Sunni
Sunni Islam". In Philip Mattar. The Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (Second ed.). MacMillan Reference USA. ^ " Caliphate
Caliphate and Monarchistic (Urdu) Khilafat o Malookiat of Modoodi". Urdu Movies – via Google Books. ^ Jafri, Syed Husain Mohammad (27 August 1976). The Origins and Early Development of Shi'a Islam
Islam (Millennium (Series)) (The Millennium (Series).). Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford
Oxford University Press (First Published By Longman Group Ltd and Librairie du Liban 1979). pp. 19–21. ASIN 0195793870. ISBN 9780195793871. The Shi'a unequivocally take the word in the meaning of leader, master, and patron, and therefore the explicitly nominated successor of the Prophet. The Sunnis, on the other hand, interpret the word mawla in the meaning of a friend, or the nearest kin and confidant. CS1 maint: ASIN uses ISBN (link) ^ "CHAPTER IV IMAMHOOD". Imam Ali
Ali (a.s.) Foundation. Imam Ali
Ali (a.s.) Foundation, an affiliate website of the Grand Ayatullah al-Sayyid Ali al-Hussani al-Sistani. Retrieved 24 December 2017. Appointing the heir was done when the Prophet [P] returned from the (Departure Pilgrimage); he [p] gathered all the pilgrims in a place called (Ghadeer khum) addressing them with a lengthy speech through which he asked:(Do not I own thy souls more that thou do, they said: aye). Then he [p] took Imam Ali
Ali [p] by the shoulder, holding him in front of the people and said:(He whom I am his guardian, Ali
Ali be his guardian).Thus he [p] certified Imam Ali's [p] heavenly guardianship; so everybody who was present then paid tribute to him, including the second Caliph ( i. e Omar Ben Al-Khattab), who congratulated Ali
Ali [p] saying: (Blassed be thee O! Ali, thou became my guardian and the guardian of every Mo'men.) ^ "Beliefs: Did the Prophet (s) Appoint a Successor". Al-Islam.org. Retrieved 25 December 2017. The Shi’ah believe that the proclamation mentioned by the Qur’anic verse was fulfilled by the Prophet (s) when he appointed Imam ‘ Ali
Ali bin Abi Talib (a) as his successor on the day of Ghadir Khumm. ^ Mawlana Hazar Imam. "Imam Ali
Ali declared the Successor of Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad in Sunni
Sunni Hadith
Hadith Literature". Ismaili Gnosis. Ismaili Gnosis. Retrieved 25 December 2017. As you know, the Shi’a divided from the Sunni
Sunni after the death of Prophet Muhammad. Hazrat Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, was in Shia
Shia belief, named by the Prophet to be the Legitimate Authority for the interpretation of the faith. For Shi’a today all over the world, he is regarded as the first imam. ^ Harney, John (January 3, 2016). "How Do Sunni
Sunni and Shia
Shia Islam Differ?". New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2016. Shiites believe that he chose Ali, his cousin and son-in-law ^ Triana, María (2017-03-31). Managing Diversity in Organizations: A Global Perspective. Taylor & Francis. p. 159. ISBN 9781317423683. ^ Ja'fari, Sayyid Husayn Muhammad
Muhammad (22 September 2014). "The Origins and Early Development of Shia
Shia Islam
Islam p.14-24". OUP Pakistan
Pakistan – via Google Books. ^ "Mapping the Global Muslim
Muslim Population". Retrieved 10 December 2014. ^ Connie R. Green, Sandra Brenneman Oldendorf, Religious Diversity and Children's Literature: Strategies and Resources, Information Age Publishing, 2011, p. 156. Quote: "Catholicism is the second largest religious body after Sunni
Sunni Muslims" ^ a b Michael E. Marmura (2009). "Sunnī Islam. Historical Overview". In John L. Esposito. The Oxford
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford
Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-0764 (inactive 2018-03-23). (Subscription required (help)). Sunnī Muslims have thus referred to themselves as ahl al-sunnah wa al-jamāʿah (people of the sunnah and the community). ^ a b Lucas, Scott C. (2011). "Sunnism, Sunni". Encyclopedia of Christianity
Christianity Online. Brill. doi:10.1163/2211-2685_eco_SI.100. (Subscription required (help)). The terms “Sunnism” and “Sunni” are anglicizations of Arab. ahl al-sunnah (the people of the Sunna [lit. “custom, way”]) or ahl al-sunnah wa-l-jamāʿa (the people of the Sunna and community). ^ "Sunnism". -Ologies & -Isms. The Gale Group. Retrieved Oct 5, 2016. ^ John Richard Thackrah (5 Sep 2013). Dictionary of Terrorism (2, revised ed.). Routledge. p. 252. ISBN 978-1-135-16595-6. ^ Nasir, Jamal J., ed. (2009). The Status of Women Under Islamic Law and Modern Islamic Legislation (revised ed.). BRILL. p. 11. ISBN 9789004172739. ^ George W. Braswell (2000). What You Need to Know about Islam
Islam & Muslims (illustrated ed.). B&H Publishing Group. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-8054-1829-3. ^ An Introduction to the Hadith. John Burton. Published by Edinburgh University Press. 1996. p. 201. Cite: "Sunni: Of or pertaining sunna, especially the Sunna of the Prophet. Used in conscious opposition to Shi'a, Shi'í. There being no ecclesia or centralized magisterium, the translation 'orthodox' is inappropriate. To the Muslim
Muslim 'unorthodox' implies heretical, mubtadi, from bid'a, the contrary of sunna, and so 'innovation'." ^ Sunnah
Sunnah Archived 2010-12-05 at the Wayback Machine., Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement ^ Hughes, Aaron (2013). Muslim
Muslim Identities: An Introduction to Islam. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-231-53192-4. It is a mistake to assume, as is frequently done, that Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam emerged as normative from the chaotic period following Muhammad's death and that the other two movements simply developed out of it. This assumption is based in... the taking of later and often highly ideological sources as accurate historical portrayals – and in part on the fact that the overwhelming majority of Muslims throughout the world follows now what emerged as Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam in the early period. ^ Hughes, Aaron (2013). Muslim
Muslim Identities: An Introduction to Islam. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-231-53192-4. Each of these sectarian movements... used the other to define itself more clearly and in the process to articulate its doctrinal contents and rituals. ^ Tore Kjeilen. "Lexic Orient.com". Lexic Orient.com. Retrieved 2011-06-05. ^ El-Hibri, Tayeb (October 22, 2010). Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History:The Rashidun
Rashidun Caliphs. New York Chichester West Sussex: A Columbia University Press. p. 526 (kindle). ISBN 978-0-231-52165-9. ^ Maududi, Abul A'la (July 2000). Khilafat o Malookiat [ Caliphate
Caliphate and Monarchistic] (in Urdu). Lahore, Pakistan: Adara Tarjuman-ul-Quran (Private) Ltd, Urdu Bazar, Lahore, Pakistan. pp. 105–153. ^ Hazleton, Lesley (4 September 2009). After the Prophet:The Epic Story of Shia- Sunni
Sunni Split in Islam. New York, London, Toranto, Sydney, Auckland: Anchor (Doubleday). p. 193 (kindle). ISBN 978-0385523936. ^ Irving, Washington (1859). Lives of the Successors of Mahomet. Sunnyside: W. Clowes. pp. 163–218. ISBN 978-1273126963. ^ Nadvi, Syed Abul Hasan Ali. Al-Murtaza [The Murtaza] (in Urdu). Karachi Pakistan: Majlis-e-Nashriyat-e-Islam. pp. 218–382. ^ Maududi, Abul A'la (July 2000). Khilafat o Malookiat [ Caliphate
Caliphate and Monarchistic] (in Urdu). Lahore, Pakistan: Adara Tarjuman-ul-Quran (Private) Ltd, Urdu Bazar, Lahore, Pakistan. p. 90. ^ Jafri, Syed Husain Mohammad (27 August 1976). The Origins and Early Development of Shi'a Islam
Islam (Millennium (Series)) (The Millennium (Series).). Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford
Oxford University Press (First Published By Longman Group Ltd and Librairie du Liban 1979). pp. 108–109. ASIN 0195793870. ISBN 9780195793871. CS1 maint: ASIN uses ISBN (link) ^ Kennedy, Hugh (2016). The Early Abbasid Caliphate: A Political History (Routledge Revivals) 1st Edition. Oxon: Routledge. pp. 15–16. ASIN 1138953210. ISBN 978-1138953215. CS1 maint: ASIN uses ISBN (link) ^ Gail Minault, The Khilafat Movement: Religious Symbolism and Political Mobilization in India
India (1982). ^ Rogan, Eugene (26 February 2015). The Fall of the Ottomans. UK: Penguin UK. ISBN 9780141968704. ^ Ian Harris; Stuart Mews; Paul Morris; John Shepherd (1992). Contemporary Religions: A World Guide. p. 369. ISBN 978-0-582-08695-1. ^ Bowen, Wayne H. (2007). The History of Saudi Arabia. ISBN 978-0-313-34012-3. ^ Hitti, Philip K. History of The Arabs (Tenth Edition). Macmillan Education Ltd. pp. 689–741. ISBN 0333098714. ASIN 0333993497. ^ Kepel, Gilles (2003). Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. ISBN 978-1-84511-257-8. ^ Wiktorowicz, Quintan (2005). "A Genealogy of Radical Islam" (PDF). Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 28: 83. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-14 – via Taylor & Francis Inc. ^ Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations. p. 547. ^ "Profile: Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi". BBC. 15 May 2015. access-date= requires url= (help) ^ Adam, Smith (2 October 2017). "Thousands of Muslims protest against isis and terrorism in London". Metro News. London. Retrieved 5 January 2018. ^ Da Silva, Chantel (16 Jun 2017). "Cologne rally: As many as 10,000 Muslims to protest Islamic extremism". Independent. Cologne. Retrieved 5 January 2018. ^ Source for distribution is the CIA World Factbook, Shiite/Sunnite distribution collected from other sources. Shiites may be underrepresented in some countries where they do not appear in official statistics. ^ Quran, 9:100 ^ "Region: Middle East-North Africa". The Future of the Global Muslim Population – Executive Summary. Pew Research Center. Retrieved 3 April 2013. ^ See:

Eastern Europe Russia and Central Asia
Central Asia "some 80% of the worlds Muslims are Sunni" "Religions". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Retrieved 8 December 2011. Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam accounts for over 75% of the world's Muslim
Muslim population Sue Hellett;U.S. should focus on sanctions against Iran "Sunnis make up over 75 percent of the world's Muslim
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" "Mapping the Global Muslim
Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim
Muslim Population". Pew Research Center. October 7, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-24. Of the total Muslim
Muslim population, 10–13% are Shia
Shia Muslims and 87–90% are Sunni
Sunni Muslims. "Quick guide: Sunnis and Shias". BBC News. 2011-12-06. Retrieved December 18, 2011. The great majority of Muslims are Sunnis – estimates suggest the figure is somewhere between 85% and 90%. "Tension between Sunnis, Shiites emerging in USA". USA Today. 2007-09-24. Retrieved December 18, 2011. Among the world's estimated 1.4 billion Muslims, about 85% are Sunni
Sunni and about 15% are Shiite. Sunni
Sunni Islam: Oxford
Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide " Sunni
Sunni Islam is the dominant division of the global Muslim
Muslim community, and throughout history it has made up a substantial majority (85 to 90 percent) of that community."

^ Masjid al-Muslimiin. "Organizational Structure Of Islam," The Islamic Center of Columbia (South Carolina). Accessed 07 December 2013. ^ Murtada Mutahhari, The Role of Ijtihad in Legislation, Al-Tawhid volume IV, No.2, Publisher: Islamic Thought Foundation ^ Meinhaj Hussain, A New Medina, The Legal System, Grande Strategy, January 5th, 2012 ^ Ignác Goldziher, The Zahiris, pg. 5. Trns. Wolfgang Behn, intro. Camilla Adang.Volume three of Brill Classics in Islam. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2008. ISBN 9789004162419 ^ "Law, Islamic". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 13 March 2012. ^ a b c Chibli Mallat, Introduction to Middle Eastern Law, pg. 116. Oxford: Oxford
Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-19-923049-5 ^ Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim, "An Overview of al-Sadiq al-Madhi's Islamic Discourse." Taken from The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought, pg. 172. Ed. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi'. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008. ISBN 978-1-4051-7848-8 ^ "AmmanMessage.com – The Official Site". ^ Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Riad Nourallah, The future of Islam, Routledge, 2002, page 199 ^ " Sunni
Sunni Islam
Islam Afterlife and Salvation". ^ "Dr Al-Ifta Al-Missriyyah". ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya LXVI ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya XVIII ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya XXIX ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya XXXIII ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya XXXV ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya XXXIX ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya XLI ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya XLII ^ a b Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya LII ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya LVII ^ a b Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya LXVII ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya LXXIII ^ Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya XCIII ^ a b Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya XCVIII-IX ^ a b Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya C ^ J. B. Schlubach. "Fethullah Gülen and Al-Ghazzali on Tolerance". Retrieved 2010-01-07. ^ "Maturidiyyah". Philtar. Archived from the original on 2006-02-23. Retrieved 2006-04-01. ^ Halverson, Jeffry R. (2010). Theology
Theology and Creed
Creed in Sunni
Sunni Islam: The Muslim
Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 36. ISBN 9781137473578. The Atharis can thus be described as a school or movement led by a contingent of scholars (ulama), typically Hanbalite
Hanbalite or even Shafi'ite, which retained influence, or at the very least a shared sentiment and conception of piety, well beyond the limited range of Hanbalite
Hanbalite communities. This body of scholars continued to reject theology in favor of strict textualism well after Ash'arism
Ash'arism had infiltrated the Sunni
Sunni schools of law. It is for these reasons that we must delineate the existence of a distinctly traditionalist, anti-theological movement, which defies strict identtification with any particular madhhab, and therefore cannot be described as Hanbalite. ^ Halverson, Jeffry R. (2010). Theology
Theology and Creed
Creed in Sunni
Sunni Islam: The Muslim
Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 36. ISBN 9781137473578. ^ Halverson, Jeffry R. (2010). Theology
Theology and Creed
Creed in Sunni
Sunni Islam: The Muslim
Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 36–37. ISBN 9781137473578. ^ a b Lapidus, Ira M. (2014). A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press (Kindle edition). p. 130. ISBN 978-0-521-51430-9. ^ Lapidus, Ira M. (2014). A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press (Kindle edition). pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-0-521-51430-9. ^ Blankinship, Khalid (2008). Tim Winter, ed. The early creed. The Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology. Cambridge University Press (Kindle edition). p. 53. ^ Halverson, Jeffry R. (2010). Theology
Theology and Creed
Creed in Sunni
Sunni Islam: The Muslim
Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 35. ISBN 9781137473578. ^ Brown, Jonathan A.C. (2009). Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World. Oneworld Publications (Kindle edition). p. 180. The Ash‘ari school of theology is often called the Sunni
Sunni 'orthodoxy.' But the original ahl al-hadith, early Sunni
Sunni creed from which Ash‘arism evolved has continued to thrive alongside it as a rival Sunni
Sunni 'orthodoxy' as well. ^ Hoover, Jon (2014). "Ḥanbalī Theology". In Sabine Schmidtke. The Oxford
Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology. Oxford: Oxford
Oxford University Press. p. 625. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199696703.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199696703-e-014 (inactive 2018-03-23). (Subscription required (help)). ^ a b c d "Is orthodox Islam
Islam possible without Sufism? – Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad (Dr. Timothy Winter)". youtube.com. 13 May 2015. ^ "Dr. Jonathan AC Brown – What is Sufism?". youtube.com. 27 December 2015. ^ a b "Dr. Jonathan AC Brown – What is Sufism?". youtube.com. 13 May 2015. ^ Jonathan A.C. Brown, Misquoting Muhammad
Muhammad (London: Oneworld Publications, 2015), p. 254 ^ a b "Profile of Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad
Muhammad Al-Tayyeb onThe Muslim
Muslim 500". The Muslim
Muslim 500: The World's Most Influential Muslims. ^ a b c Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Essential Seyyed Hossein Nasr, ed. William C. Chittick (Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2007), p. 76 ^ a b Martin Lings, What is Sufism? (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 2005; first imp. 1983, second imp. 1999), p.16 ^ Massington, L., Radtke, B., Chittick, W.C., Jong, F. de., Lewisohn, L., Zarcone, Th., Ernst, C, Aubin, Françoise and J.O. Hunwick, “Taṣawwuf”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs; q.v. "Hanafi," "Hanbali," and "Maliki," and under "mysticism in..." for each. ^ Titus Burckhardt, Introduction to Sufi Doctrine (Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2008, p. 4, note 2 ^ Jeffrey Halverson, Theology
Theology and Creed
Creed in Sunni
Sunni Islam, 2010, p. 48