Page 9 - World Religions I - Islam

 The Zaydis, also called "Five-Imam Shi'ites," or "Fivers." Predominantly found in Yemen, where
they make up about 40% of the population.
 Isma'ilis, also called "Seven-Imam Shi'ites," or "Seveners."
o Although Shi'ites share many of the core practices with the Sunni, they disagree over the proper
importance and validity of specific collections of Hadith.24 The doctrines of Shi'ism are not the same for
all Shi'ite groups, and not even within the groups themselves.
 Shi'ites systematically combine the two afternoon prayers together and two evening prayers
together, something which the Sunni only do occasionally.
 Shi'ites add a few lines to the call to prayer (adhan), notably "Aliyyu waliyyu-Llah" ("Ali is the friend
of God").
 Shi'ites add extra utterances of "Allahu Akbar" to the funeral prayer.
 Shi'ites have different dietary restrictions, including the permission to consume of meat not
slaughtered by Muslims, and the prohibition of eating shellfish.
 Shi'ites accept temporary marriage, known as mut'ah. Mut'ah, also called by the Persians
sigheh, is sometimes called a "marriage of pleasure," and is automatically terminated at the
end of the agreed period. The agreed upon period can be as short as a day. Mut'ah is
associated with Shi'ite places of pilgrimage, where pilgrims would remain for several weeks
or months, contracting a temporary marriage for the duration of their stay. Mut'ah is chiefly
practiced in Iran, although modernized Iranians have abjured this practice.34
 Shi'ites embrace the doctrine of bada, the idea that God changes his decisions. Bada (literally
"priority") is a doctrine of changes in Divine Will to explain why certain expected prophecies
did not come true. Bada is different from the principle of naskh, or abrogation of certain
verses of the Qur'an. 35
 Shi'ites deny the efficacy of prayers led by a morally unworthy prayer leader.
 Shi'ites deny the un-createdness of the Qur'an.
o Shi'ites believe that at the end of times, the Mahdi (a prophesied redeemer of Islam) will be realized in
the return of the Twelfth Imam that disappeared in AD 873, and is believed to be hidden by Allah (or
"alive in the unseen").25
• Sufiism is a mystical-ascetic approach to Islam.
o Sufis seek to find divine love and knowledge through the direct, personal experience of Allah.
 This is achieved by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to
use.
 Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba defines Sufism as "a science through which one can know how to
travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one's inner self from filth, and beautify it with a
variety of praiseworthy traits."26
o Sufis' spiritual method involves the practice of ihsan ("virtue," "excellence," perfection of worship, or
surpassing of self) as revealed by the angel Gabriel to Muhammad. Ihsan is the third element in the
canonical definition of Islam as: belief (iman), practice (islam), and virtue (ihsan). Ihsan is explained
by the Hadith: "worship God as if you saw Him, because if you do not see Him, nevertheless He sees
you." Ihsan also refers to excellence in living. Muhammad said, "Allah has prescribed ihsan for
everything; hence if you kill, do it well; and if you slaughter, do it well; and let each one of you
sharpen his knife and let his victim die at once."36
o Sufis consider themselves as the true proponents of the pure, original form of Islam.
o The relationship between traditional Islam and Sufism is complex, which some scholars helping its
propagation and others opposing it. Sufism is opposed by Wahhabi and Salafist Muslims (both
ultra- orthodox or fundamentalist sects of Sunni Islam).

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