Major divisions of Islam Sunnis 85 90 Shi a Shiites 9 5 14 5 group o Imami Twelver Iran Iraq Pakistan Lebanon biggest o Isma ili India educational projects small but organized o Zaydi Yemen o Druze and Alawites Syria Lebanon Kharijites 0 5 from Ali s camp dissatisfied with Ali s Mu tazila Mu tazilites sets the stage in which many decision to negotiate with Mu awiya Oman and Libya theological issues discuss o Most become Imami or Zaydi Shi a Dimensions of Sunni Islam Legal Schools o Maliki Hanafi Shafi i Hanbali each of these schools is legitimate and recognize that the others may be right but believe in their school Sunni legal tradition has pluralism Theological Schools o Ash ari Maturidi Hadith scholars Mu tazila was by and large rejected but some of the Mu tazila are Sunni more friction between each other main creed is Ash ari Hadith scholars refrained from speculation reduced rational inquiry tried to just use the Hadith and Qur an Sufi Orders Generally was an extra optional community of Islam more than just the legal and theological practices Dynamic tradition Either Sunni or Shi a but mostly Sunnis because most Muslims are Sunnis Become more controversial in modern times some modernists call themselves Sufis but NOT Muslims Hadith Canon Bukhari and Muslim books of Hadith for Sunnis plus four other books for the six books total Ideal of the Caliphate despite the lack of a Caliph the ideal has remained want to have a single ruler for the whole Muslim world Ideal of a caliphate is exclusively Sunni ideal is not found in Shi a anymore A Sunni Creed Adud al Dun al Iji d 1355 Iran was still Sunni until 1500 s of Shiraz in Iran Shafi i jurist Ash ari theologian Opens with a hadith My community will be divided into seventy three sects all of them in Hell except one o The only salvation giving sect is the Ash aris his Note useful book W Montgomery Watt Islamic Creeds community 1994 Four Major Theological Topics G d s Attributes is o what is G d s knowledge hearing seeing etc o Some say that G d knows without having knowledge o Is G d separate from G d s knowledge o If the Qur an is G d s speech and it is not eternal how G d s speech eternal o G d s hands o What is a transcendental G d Anthropomorphizing giving human characteristics to G d makes it easier to understand some things about G d Human beings must have free will to preserve the o Free will can be perceived as taking power from G d pure justice of G d because G d doesn t wrong someone Qadar Free will vs Determinism Faith and deeds o Determinism Heaven and Hell make no sense without free will life and the afterlife would be a big puppet show o Intra Sunni Debate does ones faith increase or decrease Theologians generally agree that faith increases when followers do the five pillars of faith and practice and decreases when one sins but some believe faith constant throughout life Qur an refers to faith increasing due to G d s intervention but never refers to faith decreasing o Shi ites believe that Ali was the best person to lead after Muhammad o All Sunnis believe that Abu Bakr was the best person to lead after Muhammad sequence of first four Caliphs respects their rewards in the hereafter Abu Bakr gets best rewards and Ali gets rewards but the least of the first four Caliphs o First four were the rightly guided caliphs but only until later everyone came to respect Ali s leadership Leadership of community G d s Attributes 1 Seven Eternal Attributes Ash ari school o Knowledge power will speech life hearing sight 4 attributes are neither identical to G d but neither Some could say the hearing and sight are just While there are references to G d s speech G d is distinct from G d knowledge not a speaker Is G d s speech identical to the Qur an but G d is eternal and the Qur an is not G d s speech could be speech without words G d is not a substance nor an accident nor a body 7 o Comes from Greek Theology Composed of atoms accident property that adheres in a substance that doesn t exist outside of a body G d doesn t have a body Will G d be seen on resurrection day 10 o Sunni and Shi i Islam agree that G d can t be seen in this world but that gazing at their lord in the hereafter will be the greatest joy generally G d is seen on the day of Judgement without being in any direction We will see G d but we don t know how G d s Attributes 2 G d is independent and self sufficient 12 o Only thing in the universe that exists necessarily in the universe is G d everything else exists because G d bestowed upon it existence His attributes are one by essence but infinite in respect of what is connected with them 14 The Qur an is the Speech of G d created 16 becomes an attribute of G d There is no judge over G d and nothing is obligatory for Him 13 we can t know if G d is oppressing or helping Direct attack on the Mu tazila Sunni by the Ash ari Sunni they say that despite having reason we can t judge G d s actions The good is what revelation declares good the bad is what revelation declares bad We can t know what is good or bad without having something from the Qur an or Hadith Relationships between G d and G d s attributes Qadar Do Humans create their own actions o Mu tazila Yes There is no Creator other than He 3 What G d willed came to be and what He did not will did not come to be Unbelief and sins in human beings are by G d s creating and by His willing but not with His approval 11 o If we create our own actions then that takes power o Most Sunnis believe that G d has created all of our Something with a beginning and end actions Ash aris insist that G d creates everything away from G d actions must have been created by G d including evil disbelief sins actions but G d doesn t approve of evil responsibility for it Human beings don t create actions but acquire In sum Sunnis basically believe in some sort of predeterminism Faith and Deeds What does one call a Muslim who commits grave sins Muslims anymore o Kharijites call them disbelievers kafir they aren t o Sunnis they are still a Believer mu min o Mu tazila Sinner fasiq intermediary status not a believer nor a disbeliever Leadership of the Community Kharijites The most pious person should lead Shi a Ali and his descendents Sunnis Abu Bakr then Umar …