Shi'ism: Difference between revisions

The '''Shia''' ( ''Shīʿah''), or the '''Shiites''', represent the second largest [[Islamic schools and branches|denomination]] of [[Islam]]. with an estimated 50% of the total Muslim population.

Adherents of Shia Islam are called '''Shias''' or the '''Shi'a''' as a collective or '''Shi'i''' individually.<ref>''Shi'a'' is an alternative spelling of ''Shia'', and ''Shi'ite'' of ''Shiite''. In subsequent sections, the spellings ''Shia'' and ''Shiite'' are adopted for consistency, except where the alternative spelling is in the title of a reference.</ref> ''Shi'a'' is the short form of the historic phrase ''Shīʻatu ʻAlī'' meaning "followers", "faction" or "party" of [[Muhammad]]'s son-in-law and cousin [[Ali]], whom the Shia believe to be Muhammad's successor in the [[Caliphate]]. [[Twelver Shia]] (''Ithnā'ashariyyah'') is the largest branch of Shia Islam, and the term Shia Muslim is often taken to refer to Twelvers by default. {{as of|2009}} Shia Muslims constituted 10-13% of the world's Muslim population, Shias comprised 11-14% of the Muslim population in the Middle East-North Africa region, and between 68% and 80% of Shias lived in four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq.<ref name=PEW2009>{{cite web|title=Mapping the Global Muslim Population|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2009/10/07/mapping-the-global-muslim-population/|accessdate=10 December 2014}}</ref>

Shia Islam is based on the [[Quran]] and the message of the [[Prophets in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] attested in [[hadith]] recorded by the Shia, and certain books deemed sacred to the Shia ([[Nahj al-Balagha]]).<ref name="Esposito, John 2002. p. 40">Esposito, John. "What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam." Oxford University Press, 2002 | ISBN 978-0-19-515713-0. p. 40</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2189?_hi=26&_pos=238 |title=From the article on Shii Islam in Oxford Islamic Studies Online |publisher=Oxfordislamicstudies.com |accessdate=2011-05-04}}</ref> Shia consider Ali to have been divinely appointed as the successor to Muhammad, and as the first [[Imamah (Shia doctrine)|Imam]]. The Shia also extend this "Imami" doctrine to Muhammad's family, the ''[[Ahl al-Bayt]]'' ("the People of the House"), and certain individuals among his descendants, known as ''Imams'', who they believe possess special spiritual and political authority over the community, infallibility, and other divinely-ordained traits.<ref name=franc46>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-islam.org/principles-shiite-creed-ayatullah-ibrahim-amini/lesson-13-imams-traits|title=Lesson 13: Imam’s Traits|work=Al-Islam.org}}</ref> Although there are myriad Shia subsects, modern Shia Islam has been divided into three main groupings: [[Twelver]]s, [[Ismailism|Ismaili]]s and [[Zaidiyyah|Zaidi]]s with  [[Twelver Shia]] being the largest and most influential group among Shia.<ref>Tabataba'i (1979), p. 76</ref><ref>God's rule: the politics of world religions - Page 146, Jacob Neusner - 2003</ref><ref name="Britannica">{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540503/Shiite |title=Shīʿite |work= |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online |year=2010 |accessdate=2010-08-25}}</ref><ref>Esposito, John. "What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam," Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-19-515713-0. p.40</ref>