Group+4-2+Sunnism

= = = = = = =**Sunnism** =

=toc= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =What is Sunnah ? =

Sunnah is everything that the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, did, or agree on. Sunnah can be considered as the story of the prophet Mohammad’s life. And that where the statement Sunnsim came from. It was written down by the cohorts of the prophet who lived with him. And it was transferred from a muslim generation to another through the statements that called Hadiths. And the next figure can show how the Hadiths delivered to today’s Muslims generation.

Although Qur’an is the source of all of the Islamic Law, Sunnah is as important as the Qur’an, because it also gives additional rules and guidance. The Sunnah explains to Muslims the Qur’an. Plus that the Qur’an mentioned more than once that Muslims have to follow the Prophet and obey him. And the best way to follow the Prophet is to knowledge the Sunnah.

 In Islam, Sunnah comes after Fard (Farth). Fard is required, it is something that if the Muslim doesn’t do will be blamed on, and it’s a sin neglecting a Fard without an excuse. While Sunnah is divided into two types of Sunnas. One that is required and important just like the Fard, and it’s also shouldn’t be neglected and it’s called (Sunnah Mu’akkadah) means confirmed Sunnah. And the second one called (Sunnah //ghair mu’akkadah//) and that means optional Sunnah, there is no sin if the muslim doesn’t do it, it’s just suggested, and can be neglected.

 Muslims love doing the Sunnahs because they will be rewarded for it, and because they belive that doing Sunnahs will compensate for any sin they did. For example, Muslims prays five times a day, in addition, there are Sunnahs prayers that Muslims can performe before and or after the obligatory ones. And all of the Sunnah prayers will compensate any prayers that were missed or not accepted.

 Next table shows the Sunnah prayers when it is due, and how many Rak’ahs required on it:

 And that is a video explain more about one of the Sunnahs, the Sunnah prayers and the benefit of it:

media type="youtube" key="HpM31dJZO1k" width="425" height="350" align="center"

And here in this Table we can see that there are some differences between the rules of few topics in Hajj depending on which school a Muslim follow. It differentiates between Hanafi, Shafa’I, Maliki, and hanbali.

And finally a very interesting thing I found, is a Fab page on Facebook and it called " What is Sunnah" and here it is for anyone interested to join: rss url="http://www.facebook.com/pages/What-is-Sunnah/89515671430" link="true" number="1" date="true" author="true" enclosure="true"

**Sunnis in the World **
"The term Sunni is derived from the word sunnah, meaning tradition or custom, and is used in this context to refer to those Muslims who followed the custom of the community"(Cleveland 31). Sunnism is a very popular and therefore important form of Islam religion, making up ninety percent of Muslims while only ten percent follow Shiism. As you can see from the map below, the majority of Middle Eastern countries follow Sunnism (light green).



Some important points in order to distinguish Sunnism from shiism include everything from the history of Sunnism to understanding the four schools of Sunnism. Conflicts between Sunnites and Shiites are also very important as well as understanding the ways that Sunnism is being used as a political tool.

History of Sunnis
Islam began as the faith of a small community of believers in Saudi Arabia in the year 610 (Wuthnow). It all began when a businessman named Muhammad received revelations from God, which he recorded in the Qur’an. The sunnis and shi’ites did not begin to emerge until after Muhammad’s death in 632. In fact Cleveland goes on to say “the core of the Sunni-Shi’a split originated in the years immediately following the death of the prophet Muhammad” (Cleveland 31) Following Muhammad’s death, Muslims were facing the challenge of preventing the community from falling apart. Their solution was to elect leaders to guide the community. “The leaders after Muhammad were described only as khalifahs (caliphs), or successors to the Prophet, and not as prophets themselves” (Wuthnow). The caliphs main purpose was to uphold the shari’ah as well as secure that opportunities for the fulfillment of an Islamic way of life prevailed (Cleveland 31). The first two caliphs were Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab and they were considered great leaders. They did a supreme job at keeping the community united (Wuthnow). During the period of the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, is when conflicts withing the community began. The first civil war started in 656 when Uthman was murdered by troops who disagreed over pay and privileges (Wuthnow). The people of Medina chose Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of Muhammad, to be the new caliph(Cleveland 31). Ali was challenged militarily by a group which included the prophets most prominent wife, Aisha, as well as Abu Bakr, the daughter of the first caliph. “Although Ali defeated this group militarily, it represented the tradition that became part of the mainstream majority, or Sunni, tradition in Islam, recognizing that all four of the first four caliphs were rightly guided and legitimate." (Wuthnow)

Sunnis rely on the Shariah to understand the way in which they should live their life. The Quran is used for this purpose, along with hadith, or the sayings of the Prophet. After the Prophet’s death, the number of these sayings multiplied to extremely large numbers, almost half a million. Muslim scholars had to determine which were legitimate and should be considered part of the Shariah. Since hadith cannot answer every question, the Sunni Muslims created qiyas, ijma, and ra’y. These help to solve confusing situations that may come up in everyday life. Giyas are based on what Sunnis believe the Prophet may have done. Ijmas rely on the Islamic community to decide on an answer to a problem, and ra’ys are based on an individual’s opinion of the matter at hand (Friedman 129).
 * __Basic Knowledge__ **

= =

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> Islam is divided into two separate divisions, Sunnism and Shiism. The majority of Muslims identify with the Sunni branch. They make up approximately 87 percent of Muslims, while Shiites comprise 13 percent (Nasr 65). The division of Islam began when the Prophet, Muhammad, passed away. The Muslim people chose Abu Bakr to run the Islamic community after Muhammad’s death. Some believed that Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law, had been chosen to lead the community by the Prophet before his death. This is the main distinction between Sunnism and Shiism, the question of who should succeed the Prophet and what the qualifications for this position should consist of (Nasr 66).

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> There are differences in beliefs, customs and some laws between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. For example, Sunnism and Shiism have different beliefs about the duties and qualifications of the caliph. Sunnis believe the caliph needs to “protect the borders of Islam, keep security and peace, appoint judges, and so forth” (Nasr 66). The Shiites possess additional qualifications for the caliph including deep knowledge of Islamic law, the Quran, and Prophetic teachings. The also must “be chosen by the Prophet through Divine command” (Nasr 66). Sunnis and Shiites possess separate meanings of the term imam. The Imam is usually a leader of the Islamic community, typically in a mosque. Sunni Islam does not use this term in a mystical sense, but Shiites consider the Imam to be like a Prophet (Nasr 67). A third difference between Sunnism and Shiism revolves around Madhiism. Madhiism is the belief that the Twelfth Imam will appear before the end of the world, restore peace, and prepare for the second coming of Christ. Shiites believe they already know who the Madhi is, and Sunnis believe the Madhi will arrive in the future (Nasr 72). Another significant difference between the two divisions of Islam revolves around a law about marriage. The Shiites “allow mut’a, a contract of marriage for a specificed period automatically dissolved at the end of that period; the Sunnis do not” (Lewis and Churchill 62).

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Some of the major differences between Sunnism and Shiism arise because Sunnism is the dominant form of Islam, and therefore, these two divisions of Islam have endured different experiences with their faith. Shiism contains the doctrine of taqiyya, and Sunnism does not. This doctrine allows Shiites to hide their beliefs in certain situations since they have been persecuted at times (Lewis and Churchill 62). Although there are differences in doctrine between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam, the main difference resides in their separate experiences of supremacy and subordination.

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> · There are four main Sunni Imams and the four famous sects of Sunnism are named after them. In Arabic they called Madhhab, school of jurisprudence. · Islamic school of law, “ fiqh “. Chronologically, those Imams are: 1- Abu Hanifa 2- Malik bin Anas 3- Imam Shafi 4- Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal

<span style="color: #040080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">1)Abu Hanifa
<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 15.4pt; line-height: 115%;">Abu Hanifa, 699-767, Muslim jurist. He founded the Hanafite system of Islamic jurisprudence, which gives the judge considerable discretion when the Qur'an and the Sunna (traditions) are inapplicable.(1) He is the first of the four mujtahid imams and the only Successor (tâbi`i) among them, having seen the Companions Anas ibn Malik, `Abd Allah ibn Abi Awfa, Sahl ibn Sa`d al-Sa`idi, Abu al-Tufayl, and `Amir ibn Wathila. (1) Two of Abu Hanifa's disciples are the main founder of this school. Abu Yusuf (d 798) and Muhammed ibn al-Hassan al-Shybani ( d 805). They laid down the systematic foundations for the work of later Hanafis in the eighth and ninth century. (1) Imam Abu Hanifa's school associated with the rationalists ( ahl al-ra'y), who adovocated free legar reasoning not strictly bound by the revealed texts.(1) In the medieval times, the Hanafi school were largely followed in Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, India, island of Sicily, and to lesser extent in North Africa. Interestingly, The Ottman Empire declared Hanafism the official doctrien of the state, in this clearly appear in the areas where they used to have a strong control over. Now a days, Hanafism still prevails in these regions as well as in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Pakistan, Turkistan, The Caucasus, India, and China.(2)

His Death:

He died in Baghdad in 150 A.H. at the age of seventy.(1) <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%; font-weight: normal;">Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn `Amr, al-Imam, Abu `Abd Allah al-Humyari al-Asbahi al-Madani (93-179 A.H.), the Shaykh of Islam, Proof of the Community, Imam of the Abode of Emigration. (3)The second of the four major //mujtahid// imams, whose school filled North Africa, al-Andalus, much of Egypt, and some of al-Sham, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, and Khurasan. He is the author of //al-Muwatta’// ("The Approved"), formed of the sound narrations of the <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%; font-weight: normal;">Prophet <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%; font-weight: normal;">from the people of the Hijaz together with the sayings of the Companions, the Followers, and those after them. The story of the name of his book //al-Muwatta'// was <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> **Malik said: "I showed my book to seventy jurists of Madina, and every single one of them approved me for it //(kulluhum wâta’ani `alayh)//, so I named it ‘The Approved'.** (3) <span style="color: #800000; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">Imam Malik in his book, narrated from: Ja'far ibn Muhammad ( al-Sadiq), the Imam of shia',`Ata’ al-Khurasani, al-Zuhri, Ibn al-Munkadir, `Alqama, Nafi` the freedman of Ibn `Umar, and others. Among those who narrated from Malik: al-Zuhri, Ibn Jurayj, Abu Hanifa, al-Awza`i, Sufyan al-Thawri .. etc. (3) An interesting story about Imam Malik and the authorities at his time tells a lot about his personality. The story I found in a website called Sunnah is as follow. "The caliph Abu Ja`far al-Mansur had forbidden Malik to narrate the hadith: "The divorce of the coerced does not take effect" (laysa `ala mustakrahin / li mukrahin talâq). Then a spy came to Malik and asked him about the issue, whereupon Malik narrated the hadith in front of everyone. He was seized and lashed until his shoulder was dislocated and he passed out. When he came to, he said: "He [al-Mansur] is absolved of my lashing." When asked why he had absolved him, Malik replied: "I feared to meet the Prophet after being the cause for the perdition of one of his relatives." Ibrahim ibn Hammad said he saw Malik being carried up and walking away, carrying one of his hands with the other. Then they shaved his face and he was mounted on a camel and paraded. He was ordered to deprecate himself aloud, whereupon he said: "Whoever knows me, knows me; whoever does not know me, my name is Malik ibn Anas, and I say: The divorce of the coerced is null and void!" When news of this reached Ja`far ibn Sulayman (d. 175) the governor of Madina and cousin of al-Mansur, he said: "Bring him down, let him go."(3) <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190.4%; line-height: 115%;">Imam Malik school of thought " Malikiya" : <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;"> School of Shari'a, the law system of Sunni Islam, today used in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, southern Egypt, Sudan and regions of West and Central Africa <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190.4%; line-height: 115%;">. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">(3) His famous book, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 180.18%; line-height: 115%;">al-Muwatta <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 200.2%; line-height: 115%;">', <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;"> is the oldest survival Islamic book. In that book Malik mentioned the law and justice, ritual and practice of relegion according to " Ijma' " as that was practiced in Madina. Thus, Malik's school was the compilation of the law systm of Madina at his time. The Maliki branch of law uses community practice (sunna), prefer traditional opinions (ra'y) and analogical reasoning (qiyas) instead of a strict reliance on the hadith as a basis for legal judgment. But in some cases the hadith is used to slove certain legal questions.(3)

<span style="color: #040080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">3)Imam Shafi :
<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; font-style: normal;"> Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-`Abbas, al-Imam al-Shafi`i, Abu `Abd Allah al-Shafi`i al-Hijazi al-Qurashi al-Hashimi al-Muttalibi (d. 204/820AD), the offspring of the House of the Prophet, the peerless one of the great mujtahid imams and jurisprudent.(4) Imam Shafi’ee (RAH) was born in Ghazza, Syria in 150 A.H. (765 A.C.) He lost his father during infancy and was raised by his mother under very poor circumstances.(4) Since he was a little kid, Imam Shafi was a skillful archer, then he took to learning language and peotry until he gave himself to <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: 115%;">//<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 126%; font-style: normal;">figh <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 126%; line-height: 115%;">, // <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;"> started with Hadith. (4)He memorized the Qur’an at age seven, then Malik’s <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: 115%;">//<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 108.8%; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;">Muwatta <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">’ // <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;"> at age ten, at which time his teacher would deputize him to teach in his absence. At age thirteen he went to see Malik, who was impressed by his memory and intelligence.(4) Imam Malik and Muhammad ibn al-Hassan al-Shaybani were among his most prominent teachers. An interesting story that describe how knowledgeable and respected among the fuqaha' he was is the story of ahmed bin hanbal who was criticized for attending the fiqh sessions of al-Shafi'i and leaving the hadith sessions of Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna. Ahmad replied: " keep quiet! if you miss a hadith with a shorter chain you can find it elsewhere with longer chain and it will not harm you, but if you don't have the reasoning of this man, al-Shafi'i, I fear you will never be able to find it elsewhere."(5)

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 166%;">His books: <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;"> 1) Ash-Shafi`i wrote the principles upon which he based his fiqh and the rules that governed his ijtihad in his well-known juristic message entitled Ar-Resalah.(6) <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190.4%; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;"> 2) His book <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">//<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">Al-Umm // <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;"> in which he mentioned the legal ruling he gave along with the proof upon which it was based. He then demonstrated his viewpoint in deducing this ruling from the proof he presented and the rules of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">//<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">ijtihad // <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;"> and principles of deduction that he adhered to. (6)

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 156%; line-height: 115%;">Shafiya:
<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">According to the Shafi'i school the paramount sources of legal authority are the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Of less authority are the Ijma' of the community and thought of scholars (Ijitihad) exercised through qiyas. The scholar must interpret the ambiguous passages of the Qur'an according to the consensus of the Muslims, and if there is no consensus, according to qiyas.(4) this legal school (madhhab) stabilized the bases of Islāmic legal theory, admitting the validity of both divine will and human speculation. Rejecting provincial dependence on the living sunnah (traditional community practice) as the source of precedent, the Shafiites argued for the unquestioning acceptanceof Ḥadīth (traditions concerning the life and utterances of the Prophet) as the major basis for legal and religious judgments and the use of qiyas (analogical reasoning) when no clear directives. (4)

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">Baghdad and Cairo were the chief centres of the Shafi'iyyah. From these two cities Shafi'i teaching spread into various parts of the Islamic world. In the tenth century Mecca and Medina came to be regarded as the school's chief centres outside of Egypt. In the centuries preceding the emergence of the Ottoman empire the Shafi'is had acquired supremacy in the central lands of Islam. It was only under the Ottoman sultans at the beginning of the sixteenth century that the Shafi'i were replaced by the Hanafites, who were given judicial authority in Constantinople, while Central Asia passed to the Shi'a as a result of the rise of the Safawids in 1501. (6)

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190.4%; line-height: 115%;"> His Death: <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">

Imam Ash-Shafi`i remained in Egypt teaching in his blessed circle with his students around him until he passed away on (Rajab 30, 204 AH/Jan 20, 820 AC). (6)

<span style="color: #040080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">**4) Imam Ahmad bin-Hanbal:** <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;"> Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal Abu 'Abd Allah al-Dhuhli al-Shaybani al-Marwazi al-Baghdadi. (7) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 196%; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">**Born in Rabi` Awwal AH 164 (November 780 CE), Imam Ahmad belongs to During his teens, he joined the circle of Abu Yusuf, a disciple of Imam Abu Hanifah and the first person to hold the post of Chief Judge. His circle was unspeakably splendid. It attracted seekers of knowledge, scholars, as well as judges of different classes and ranks.** <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 18.59px; line-height: 14px;">Imam Ahmad commenced his blessed journey in the pursuit of Hadith in AH 186 (802 CE) at the age of 22. He went to Basra, Koufa, Ar-Riqqa, Yemen, and Al-Hijaz (i.e., Makkah and Madinah) where he met a number of prominent and great scholars and jurists of the Ummah, such as Yahya ibn Sa`id Al-Qattan, Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi, Waki` ibn Al-Jarraah, Abu Mu`awiyah Ad-Darir, Sufyan ibn `Uyainah, and Ash-Shafe'i. It took nothing that the Imam set and issuing <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">fatwa <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: 115%;">in Baghdad in AH 204 (819 CE), which was the same year Imam Ash-Shafe`i died. Imam Ahmad was thus a great successor to an eminent predecessor.(7) He used to have two knowledge-imparting circles: a special one at his home for his keen students and a general one in the mosque following the `Asr Prayer for ordinary people and knowledge-seekers in general <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 24.752px; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190.4%; line-height: 115%;"> Imam Ahmad's school of thought <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">:

Imam Ahmad didn't record his fatawas, nor asked any of his students to do so. It was his student's student, Al-Khallal how traveled to many different places in search of Imam Ahmad's fatwas. He called the book " Al-Jami' Al-Kabir." Hanbali school was the most flexible school of thought with regard to freedom of transaction and the conditions thereby the contracting parties shall be required to abide. Imam Ahmad held the opinion that the basic rule is that transactions among people are, in principle, permissible unless proved otherwise by a legal proof. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190.4%; line-height: 115%;"> His books: <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">

Al-Musnad, Az-Zuhd, As-Sunnah, Al-Wara` wa Al-Iman, Al-Masa'I, Fada'il As-Sahabah, (8) <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190.4%; line-height: 115%;"> His Death: <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 136%; line-height: 115%;">

After a life full of great achievements, Imam Ahmad passed away in Rabi` Thani 12, AH 241 (August 30, 855 CE) at the age of 77. He was buried in Baghdad (7)

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Wahhabism is a religious sect of the Sunni branch of Islam. It is most commonly found in the Arabian peninsula, and is especially found in Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism is the form of Islam that is most commonly thought of, and often vilified, by those in the West. It includes strict codes for the conduct and dress of its adherents, as well as a fairly rigid view of the Qur'an and its laws. It also has strict views of how people who were not followers of Wahhabi should be viewed – as infidels. Wahhabism was originally founded by Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab in the mid 18th century. It was located in the Najd region in what is now Saudi Arabia. Disgusted by what he viewed as idolatry in his fellow Muslims, Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab preached for a return to a strict and literal view of the Qur'an. He believed that many of the practices of his contemporaries, including celebrating the Prophet's birthday and praying to saints were forms of idolatry, and as such were forbidden to Muslims. He also believed that many of his fellow Muslims were not following many of the other tenants of Islam, such as not praying in the proper manner, not giving women their proper inheritances, and being indifferent to widows and orphans. He referred to these actions as jahiliya, which is the same term as is used to refer to the actions and ignorance of pre-Islamic Arabs. Originally, he faced some opposition to his beliefs. However, he eventually gained the attention, and the support and protection, of a local chieftain named Muhammad ibn Saud. Muhammad ibn Saud later became the ruler of Saudi Arabia, and is the ancestor of today's ruling family. Because of his alliance with Muhammad ibn Saud, Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab added something else to his teachings – one must pledge an oath of allegiance, called a bayah, to a Muslim ruler before one dies to insure redemption. Under the support of Muhammad ibn Saud, Wahhabism was spread throughout the Arab peninsula (including today's United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Kuwait) by sending missionaries. Along with the missionaries came the spread of Muhammad ibn Saud's rule, due to the bayah. As this rule was spread, teachers and schools were established in the outlying provinces, allowing for the spread of Wahhabism to continue. Wahhabism took a strong enough root that, even after the capital was destroyed by the Ottoman Turks in 1818, it flourished and continued to grow in Saudi Arabia. It remained firmly in place through the years, including seeing the descendants of Muhammad ibn Saud regain control of Saudi Arabia. It was adopted as the official religion of the Saudi Arabian government, and still remains the primary religion in Saudi Arabia today. Wahhabism has been the topic of a lot of controversy in recent years. Many Muslims who are not followers of Wahhabi see it as extremist and intolerant. It is also commonly associated Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, although some pro-Wahhabi groups argue that Osama bin Laden and his followers are actually part of a different sect. Because of this association with violence and hatred, many countries, including the United States, changed how they saw Saudi Arabia and Islam in general. Viewed with suspicion in the past due to the extremist views shared by many followers of Wahhabi, including the emphasis on jihad, this viewpoint became relaxed in the late 1900s, especially in the United States. This is due in part to a misunderstanding of how followers of Wahhabi refer to themselves – ahl at tawhid, or The People of Unity. This is in reference to one of Wahhabism's central messages that there is an essential oneness of God, but it was misunderstood in the United States to mean that the followers of Wahhabi were tolerant and inclusive of the people around them. For many years, the United States and Saudi Arabia remained close allies, with few problems between the two countries. However, after the attack of 9/11 and links were found between the terrorists and the Wahhabis, the viewpoint of the United States and the West in general shifted abruptly to one that is far more negative. Now commonly associated with terrorism and hatred by a large number of people in the western world, Wahhabism faces a great deal of prejudice against it. This is in no small part because of the differences between the cultures of the Western and the Arab worlds. Confusion, misinterpretation, and preconceived ideas based on fear and distrust are causing new rifts to appear between Wahhabis and the rest of the world. While some call for the end of Wahhabism, it is still remaining strong, especially in Saudi Arabia.
 * __History__**
 * __Wahhabism Today__**

<span style="background-color: #d2a7a7; color: #800000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 200%; text-align: center;">Conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites
<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Unfortunately, because of the few differences between the two groups, Sunnis and Shiites, there are many big conflicts happening in the Muslim world now a day. Although it is clear in Islam that wars and fights between people are forbidden and that Islam is a religion of peace not violence. Most of Sunni-Shiite conflicts are happening because of the political desires. In many Muslim countries political power is related somehow to the Doctrine  wither Sunni or Shiite. Each group wants to control the other and apply their rules and regulations. Following are some examples of Sunni-Shiite Conflicts: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 196%; line-height: 115%;"> Civil wars in Iraq <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> A lot of bloody wars are happening between Sunni minorities, who ruled Iraq when Saddam was the president, and the Shiite majority. And here is a video showing the bad results of the Sunnis ans Shiites in Iraq: [] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 196%; line-height: 115%;">

Civil wars in Lebanon <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;"> The tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon are happening because of the increasing competitions in the political filed specially after the Iraq war with Iran. And here is a video showing Sunna-Shei'a relation in Lebanon : []

<span style="background-color: #d2a7a7; color: #800000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 200%; text-align: center;">References
__** References for Al Sunnah (Abrar Alhusain) **__
 * 1) "What is the Sunnah? (part 2 of 2): The Sunnah in Islamic Law -." //The Religion of Islam//. Ed. The Editorial Team of Dr. Abdurrahman al-Muala. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. <http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/655/>.
 * 2) "Authority of the Sunnah: Importance of the Sunnah in Islam." //Al-Islami.Com - Islamic Directory and Search for Muslim and Islam Related Websites.// Web. 26 Feb. 2010. <http://www.al-islami.com/islam/authority_of_sunnah.php>.
 * 3) Musa, Aisha Y. //Hadith as Scripture: Discussions on the Authority of Prophetic Traditions in Islam//, New York: Palgrave, 2008.

__** References for conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites (Abrar Alhusain) **__


 * 1) Yasmina Hatem. "Lebanon Power Struggle: Sunni and Shia tensions blow up in Beirut -." //Arabisto//. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. <http://www.arabisto.com/article.cfm?articleID=1074>.
 * 2) Martin Walker. "The Sunni Shiite Wars." //Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense//. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. <http://www.spacewar.com/reports/The_Sunni_Shiite_Wars.html>.


 * __References for Sunnis Vs. Shiites and Basic Knowledge (Rachel Englert)__**
 * 1) Friedman, Saul S. __A History of the Middle East__. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2006.
 * 2) Lewis, Bernard and Buntzie Ellis Churchill. Islam: The Religion And The People. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Wharton School Publishing, 2009.
 * 3) Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. __The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity__. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.

__** References (Josh Navin) for Intro and History **__ __**References for Wahhabism (Jeanine Ecker)**__
 * 1) Cleveland, William L.. A History of the Modern Middle East. Boulder, Co: Westview Press, 2004.
 * 2) Wuthnow, Robert. Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion, 2 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1998), 383-393
 * 3) Map: http://www.tedmontgomery.com/bblovrvw/Endtimes/MuslimDistribution.jpg. 2/20/2010
 * 1) Gold, Dore. Hatred's Kingdom How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism. Grand Rapids: Regnery,, 2004. Google books. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Ui27nwe86uYC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Wahhabism+in+Saudi+Arabia&ots=yfebLYmjh7&sig=rKQRZtACutjXmJsQZiLjk7cWDk4#v=onepage&q=Wahhabism%20in%20Saudi%20Arabia&f=false>.
 * 2) "Saudi Arabia - Wahhabi Theology." Saudi Arabia - Wahhabi Theology. Dec. 1992. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/loc/sa/wahhabi.htm>.
 * 3) "Frontline: saudi time bomb?: analyses: wahhabism." PBS. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html>.
 * 4) The Wahhabi Myth - Salafism, Wahhabism, Qutbism. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.thewahhabimyth.com/>.
 * 5) "Steven Stalinsky on Wahhabism and Saudi Arabia on." National Review Online. 28 June 2004. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/stalinsky200406280902.asp>.
 * __References of the Four Sunni Imams.( Mogdad Alhajji)__**

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;"> 1) Haddad, D. G. (n.d.). Al-Nu`man ibn Thabit al-Taymi, al-Imam Abu Hanifa. //Untitled Document//. Retrieved February 26, 2010, from http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/hanifa.htm  2) Kjeilen, T. (n.d.). Maliki - LookLex Encyclopaedia. //LookLex [Travel guides / Encyclopaedia / Language course]//. Retrieved February 26, 2010, from http://i-cias.com/e.o/maliki.htm 3) Haddad, D. G. (n.d.). Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn `Amr, al-Imam, Abu `Abd Allah al-Humyari al-Asbahi al-Madani. //Untitled Document//. Retrieved February 26, 2010, from http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/malik.htm 4) Haddad, D. G. (n.d.). Shafii. //Scholars//. Retrieved February 26, 2010, from http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/shafii.htm 5) Tammam, A. (n.d.). Imam Ash-Shafi`i. //Islam On Line//. Retrieved February 26, 2010, from [] 6) Brief Biography of Imam Shaf'ee (rah). (n.d.). //Kitaabun Classical and Contemporary Muslim and Islamic Books in English://. Retrieved February 26, 2010, from http://www.bysiness.co.uk/ulemah/bioshafi.htm 7) G.F.Haddad, D. (n.d.). Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal, Abu `Abd Allah al-Dhuhli al-Shaybani al-Marwazi al-Baghdadi . //Imam Ahmad//. Retrieved February 26, 2010, from http://www.sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/hanbal.htm 8) Tammam, A. (n.d.). Ahmad Ibn Hanbal Imam of Ahl As-Sunnah. //Islam On Line//. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&pagename=Zone-English-Living_Shariah%2FLSELayout&cid=1193049344847