Major Theological Divisions in the Islamic World - Research Paper Example

Origins and Evolutions of some of the Major Theological Divisions in the Islamic World Islam once led to the formation of Islamic state. Islam spread both as a state and a community. Under the rule of Muhammad in the early days, the Islamic state spread through the Arab polity from North Africa to South East Asia. The Islam as a community and a religion rose at the same time when state institutions such as schools, military and law were established. During the seventh century, Arabia was united by Islam which was used as a means of achieving motivation and organization.1 The entire Arabia was united to support the prophet of Islam. The Quran and other Islamic teachings were spread as a way of social and political life in Arabia. In the spirit of Islam, Islamic soldiers also went into the Middle East and beyond to seek support for Islam in the world. The death of Muhammad in the seventh century destabilized the Islam community, leading to various divisions, especially in the eighth century AD.2 The purpose of this paper is to establish the origins and evolution of the major divisions in Islam, and identify their ideologies and historical significance until the period of the Mongol Conquests. The paper argues that the major divisions of Islam were caused by struggles for power and authority, and evolved over a long period of time starting in the eighth century after the death of Prophet Muhammad. The major Islamic divisions include: Sunni, Shiite, Wahhabis, and Suffis. Prophet Muhammad had predicted in his ruling time that the Islamic religion would divide into seventy-three sects, which would all go to hell except himself and his true followers. The Islam divisions are now up to 150. The first Islamic group which was a successor of Prophet Muhammad was formed immediately after the death of the prophet in the seventh century. This division is known as the Sunni Muslims.3 Sunni Muslims are the majority of Muslims in the world, and they follow the four Khalifs who succeeded Prophet Muhammad – Hanifa, Hannibal, Malik and Shafi. This group has evolved to pursue their religion alongside secular societies. Ansary suggests that “they have followed the three Islamic sources of law namely, Hadith, Quran and Muslim consensus”.4 They consider themselves as those who have been saved by Allah; hence deriving the title of Najiyah. The major belief of the Sunnis is that they believe in the sovereignty and power of Allah over his creation, having the right to do whatever he pleases with his creation. The Caliphate office is considered to be the rightful ruler of the Sunni Muslims, having been a successor of the prophet. The government of Sunni Muslims is also through consensus of an elected head of state, the Khalifa, and basic democratic principles. The Shiite Muslims resulted from the division with the Sunni. The assassination of the fourth Caliph (Ali) in 661 AD led to the formation of the Shiite Islam division. Shiites and the Sunnis disagreed in terms of the succession of Prophet Muhammad. The Sunni wanted the Khalifa to succeed the prophet, but the Shiites wanted the prophet to be succeeded by his son in law, Ali. The Shiite Muslims also believe that the future rulers of the Islam community should have been derived from the lineage of Ali through Fatima, his wife.5 One of the major ideological underpinnings of Shiite Muslims is the doctrine of the five supports, including Divine Unity (tawhid), resurrection (maad), prophesy (nubuwwah), Imamate (imamah), and justice (adl). Divine Unity, prophecy and resurrection are also found in the Sunni, but they emphasize on different issues. The Imamate is a fundamental unique doctrine in the Shiite Islam theology. The historical significance of this theological division in Islam is that it kept the succession and lineage of Ali alive through its beliefs in Ali’s succession. Prior to the Mongol Conquests in the thirteenth century, “the Shiites had believed that the first three Caliphs had denied Ali his rightful inheritance as the rightful heir of the Prophet”.6 The Caliphate was then followed by strong civil wars (fitna) in the seventh century.7 This followed the challenge of Ali’s authority by Aisha, the widow of Muhammad and the daughter of Abu Bakr who was a Caliph before Ali. Ali’s authority was also challenged by Muawiyah, who was a relative of another Caliph before Ali, known as Uthman. Ali was killed by the Kharijites in 662, and frustrated the Alid beliefs. These tensions played a significant role in preparing Asia and Eastern Europe for the Mongol conquests between 1206 and 1337.8 The third theological division of the Islam was the Wahhabi. Its origin can be traced to around 18th century. It was founded by Abd al-Wahhab who developed the idea that Muslims were going against the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Whabbis adopted the Quran and the Traditions, but rejected other beliefs including the Qiyas and Ijma. This sect opposed the worship of dead men at their tombs, and suggested that Muslims should worship God who is ever-present and has no equal.9 The Wahhabis believed that Muslims should kill those who failed to follow the ways of Mohammed. This theological division has evolved, and today the Wahhabi group believes that anyone who dies in battle goes to Paradise directly without being checked by the angels.10 Nowadays, Iranian Muslims captured by the Iraqi soldiers confess that they are encouraged to hang Quran on their necks so that they may not be defeated in battle. One of the historical significance of the Wahhabi Islam is that it has encouraged the Muslim world to become radicalized and engage in battles to protect their religion. The Wahhabis believe that people have departed from the percepts of Muhammad, and war is an effective tool to protect the Islamic religion. Therefore, this belief has encouraged strong convictions for war and battles. Furthermore, the Wahhabi Muslims do not believe in omens, astrology, luck, or worshiping tombs. These beliefs are significant in the History of the Muslims because they encourage strong belief in the traditions and beliefs of Muslims as indicated in the Quran and through Prophet Muhammad.11 Sufi is a division of Islam which departed from the beliefs of Wahhabis and Shiites in terms of perceptions regarding Prophet Muhammad. This group originated from Persia between 8th and 10th century when different groups started to view Prophet Muhammad from a spiritual perspective rather than physical perspective. There are several groups of Sufis who emerged in different periods, including Bektashi, Chisti, Kubrawiya and Mahdaviya. Chisti was one of the first Sufis. It was founded by Abu Shami in Syria in the 9th century. Shami introduced Sufism in Chisht town, and developed a regional sect professing the beliefs of Sufism. Nowadays, Sufis are found in Iran, formally known as Persia.12 The major ideology of Sufism was inner-self purification through spirituality. The Sufi Muslims have put aside the literal meanings of Prophet Muhammad’s teachings and adopted spiritual interpretations. Sufis believe only in the existence of Allah, and everything that can be seen is different from him. In this sect, good and evil are indifferent. Man’s will is fixed by God. Worship of God and meditation brings absolution and attainment of inner-self purification. The historical significance of this group before the Mongol inversion is that they developed the idea of spirituality clearly in the Islam world so that Muslims can worship God and attain self-purification. This is different from the Wahhabi who believed in physical battle as the best way to defend Islamic religion and beliefs.13 From this discussion, it is clear that the different divisions of Islam since the death of Prophet Muhammad have evolved significantly, and maintained different ideologies that have strengthened each group. The Sunnis were the first division who succeeded Prophet Muhammad through the Caliphs. Nowadays, Sunnis form the largest group of Muslims. The Shiites broke away some centuries later from this group after the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, Ali, was assassinated. This group believed in succession of Ali, but retained most of the religious beliefs of Islam. Sufi Muslims came up later, and introduced the spiritual interpretation of Prophet Muhammad’s percepts. Wahhabi was founded late in 18th century, and introduced radicalized beliefs that Muslims should defend their religion in battle. All these beliefs were significant in their own history. Division of Islam was caused by struggles for power and authority, and evolved over a long period of time starting in the eighth century after the death of Prophet Muhammad, leading to different beliefs for every division. Bibliography Ansary, Mir Tamim. Destiny Disrupted A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes. New York: Public Affairs, 2010. Armstrong, Karen. Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time. New York: Atlas Books/HarperCollins, 2006. Cobb, Paul M. The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusades, New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Read More