How many denomination in islam

Change website design Menu Top of the page Little Angels. Islam : Denominations of Islam There are a number of Islamic religious denominations, each of which has significant theological and legal differences from each other. The major branches are Sunni, Shi'a and Sufi. It is broken into four schools of thought madhhabs which interpret specific pieces of Islam , such as which foods are halal permissible differently.

Shia Shia Islam comprises most of the Muslims that are not counted among the Sunni. The Shia consist of one major school of thought known as the Jafaryia referring to the founder or the "Twelvers", and a few minor schools of thought, as the "Seveners" or the "Fivers" referring to the number of infallible leaders they recognise after the death of Muhammad. Sufism While some consider the Islamic mysticism called Sufism to constitute a separate branch, most Sufis can easily be considered Sunni or Shia.

Sufism is the hardest to understand by non-practitioners because on first sight it seems that sufis are either of Shiah or Sunni denomination, but it is true that some sects of Sufism can be categorised as both Sunni and Shiah whilst others are not from either denomination. The distinction here is because the schools of thought madhhabs are regarding "legal" aspects of Islam , the "dos" and "don'ts", whereas Sufism deals more with perfecting the aspect of sincerity of faith, and fighting one's own ego.

Other people may call themselves Sufis who may be perceived as having left Islam or never followed Islam. Sunni followers believe that Muhammad had not appointed a specific successor and many years after his death and significant debate, followers chose Abu Bakr Siddique.

One of the positions within the religion is that of Imam, who under Sunni belief is the formal prayer leader. Since they are a minority sect, calculating their numbers is difficult. The majority, however, seem to reside in Iran, Iraq , Bahrain , and Azerbaijan.

Another lesser known branch of Islam is Ibadi. Seventy-five percent of the population of Oman is Ibadi. This denomination is newer than the previous.

Followers of Ahmadiyya do not recognize Muhammad as the last prophet. They believe that Muhammad intended that the Muslim community choose a successor, or caliph, by consensus. Sunnis base their religion on the Quran and the Sunnah as understood by the majority of the community under the structure of the four schools of thought madhhabs.

The four Sunni madhhabs - Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and the Hanbali - are sometimes mistakenly understood as different sects, but they are not. These four schools of law only differ in minor issues of application. These madhhabs continue to seek to find Islamic solutions to the answers posed by evolving societies, regardless of time or place.

Shi'ites believe that after the Prophet Muhammad's pbuh death, Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law and cousin, should have been elected as caliph. Another important distinction is the Shiat belief in the doctrine of Imamate "the divinely inspired, religious and political leader of the community;" [1] one who is without sin, and who bestows true knowledge on humanity.

Today Shi'a Islam is the second largest sect in Islam.