[Music]
today there are more than 1.5 billion
muslims living across the globe with
muslim-majority countries spreading from
morocco to indonesia
but just like virtually all other
religions
islam is not united and has branches
interpreting the quran
and matters related to political events
in the history of islam
in a different way the two main
denominations
of islam are sunnism and shiism with
sunnis making up 85 to 90 percent of the
muslim population
but how did the split in the muslim
world happen
in today's video we're going to talk
about the schism in islam
the emergence of sunni and shia islam
and the effects it had on the caliphate
and beyond
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we need to start our story with ali ibn
abi talib
one of the most important people in the
history of islam
ali was born in mecca in the powerful
hashimi clan
and was a cousin of the muslim prophet
muhammad
they had a strong bond as ali's father
had
raised muhammad when he became orphaned
and later ali would live in muhammad's
household
when in 610 a.d muhammad proclaimed his
prophethood
ali was one of the first people to
accept islam and
recognize muhammad as the prophet but
muhammad's proselytizing was not
initially popular among the polytheistic
meccans and he and the early muslims had
been oppressed
the rumors of a plot against muhammad
were spreading
forcing him to leave mecca for medina
with the majority of his followers
in 622 which was called hijra the
migration
an event so momentous that the new
islamic calendar
starts with that day initially ali
stayed behind to return
people the possessions they had
entrusted upon the prophet for safe
keeping
but very soon he joined other muslims in
medina
and in 623 married muhammad's daughter
fatima zara
becoming one of the most trusted
companions of muhammad
known in the muslim community for wisdom
and fairness he earned the nickname
assad allah the lion of god for his
military exploits
and courage on the battlefield by 631
the islamic community the uma had been
able to assert
control over mecca and large swaths of
the arabian peninsula
and was already a formidable force but
who was going to succeed
ageing muhammad and this is the root of
the split
in islam as one would expect sunni and
shia sources
offer different interpretations on the
way back from his last pilgrimage
muhammad gave a sermon at the gatia kum
oasis
took ali by his hand and proclaimed that
anyone who has me as his mala has ali as
his mala
shia theology believes that in
ghadiyakum the prophet
designated ali as his successor by
calling him muller
a pelysiumous arabic word with several
meanings
one of which is leader or master
sunnis believed that the gediacom
episode was merely a proclamation of
affinity of the prophet to his loyal
companion and son-in-law
and interpret the word maula using its
second definition
a friend another important episode in
the succession dispute between the sunni
and shia theologies
is connected to the so-called pen and
paper episode
this is considered a genuine hadith as
both sunni and shia theologians accept
it
but interpret it differently in islam
a hadith is a story on the life of
muhammad with religious and
legal messages for the muslim community
and according to this one
a few days before his death muhammad
asked his companions to bring him pen
and paper
so that he could write a statement in
order to prevent the ummah from going
astray after his death
but one of muhammad's closest companions
uma
said the prophet is seriously ill and we
have got allah's book with us and that
is sufficient for us
this led to a loud dispute in the room
in the presence of muhammad
who got unhappy and called everyone to
leave
it is still unclear what the prophet
wanted to write
she has claimed that he intended to
designate ali as his successor
but there's no way to determine this
according to sunnis
the prophet did not explicitly designate
a successor
and left it for the islamic community to
decide
there are other events which sunnis and
shia base their claims on regarding the
succession
but in short following muhammad's death
in 632
the umar did not have a consensus on a
new leader
while ali took charge of the
arrangements of the funeral
a meeting to decide the successor took
place in medina
ali and two other prominent companions
of the prophet
abu bakr and umar were not present and
deliberations took place without them in
fact the majority of those present
were the muslims residing in medina who
welcomed muhammad or were converted
later
while very few of those who went on a
hijra from mecca to medina with muhammad
were there
abu bakr and umar rushed to the meeting
and took charge of the process in ali's
absence
the former was one of the first converts
to islam
muhammad's father-in-law threw his
daughter aisha
deeply respected by modern sunnis he was
very rich
and contributed a lot to the cause of
islam
and was arguably one of the main
contenders for leadership
umar was also a close companion of
muhammad also his father-in-law through
his daughter havesa
known for his zealous protection of the
prophet he is known as a just
intelligent and wise person in the sunni
tradition
after a heated debate umar was able to
persuade those
present to choose abu bakr as the
successor the caliph
a ruler of the muslim umar ali was later
presented with the fact of succession
and along with a number of other
companions initially refused to accept
the decision
as it was taken without him while he was
one of the strongest candidates
umar embarked on the process of
persuading
or forcing the companions to offer
fealty to abu bakr
he personally came to ali's house to
persuade him
the events which followed have been the
subject of much dispute
as the sunnis believe that umar was able
to peacefully persuade ali to recognize
abu bakr's caliphate according to shia
sources
umar forced ali to concede by breaking
into the house and
slamming the door which broke ali's wife
fatima zara's ribs
eventually leading to the miscarriage of
their child
ali himself was tied with a rope to
force his allegiance
it is impossible to verify what really
happened
but eventually ali accepted abu bakr and
his successor uma
as caliphs and retired from public life
he was often consulted in matters of
state
ali accepted the selection of umar as
caliph and even gave one of his
daughters
um kothum to him in marriage after the
death of umar in 644
ali was considered for the position but
eventually another companion of muhammad
uthman of the banu umiya clan
became the new caliph again ali
recognized the new caliph
but very soon discontent in the
caliphate grew
again the sources do not agree on the
reasons but many claimed that uthman's
nepotism and
leniency towards tribal rivalries were
the cause of the opposition against him
rebels offered to support ali as an
alternative to uthman
but ali refused and even sent his sons
hassan and his saint
to protect uthman's house where
eventually despite all the protection
uthman was assassinated by rebels from
egypt
in 656. finally ali's turned to become a
caliph came
and he became the fourth and last of the
rashidun caliphs
but his election was not smooth and he
became a caliph amidst very tumultuous
times
the prophet's wife aisha and uthman's
relatives from the banu amaya clan
including the governor of syria muawiyah
demanded that ali punished the plotters
of uthman's death
but since some of them were ali's
supporters the new caliph rejected this
and soon the first muslim civil war
called fitna
started in december 656
ali's army defeated the rebels at the
battle of camel near basra
but muawiyah still refused to accept ali
as a new caliph
and the anti-ali opposition gathered
around him
ali was willing to not repeat uthman's
mistakes
and carried out measures to centralize
the caliphate
and decrease the power of governors the
two men assembled their armies
and confronted each other at siphon on
the euphrates
in 657 neither side was keen to commit
to a major battle
but after three months of occasional
skirmishes
when serious fighting finally broke out
muawiyah's followers called for an
arbitration
apparently riding out with copies of the
quran on their lances to bring the
conflict to a stop
ali was forced to agree but some of his
followers objected and abandoned him
they became known as the kurijis from
the arabic verb
karaja to leave because they left ali's
army
according to the arbitration which took
place at adrua
in 658 or 659 it was ruled that both ali
and muawiyah should relinquish their
claims
and the muslim ummah should have a
chance to choose their own ruler
ali rejected this ruling and the
stalemate continued as muawiyah's
supporters
proclaimed him a caliph in damascus in
660.
the following year ali was assassinated
by the kurijis
while praying in the mosque at kufa
ali's son hassan was proclaimed a new
caliph in kufa which became the capital
during ali's short reign
but muawiyah had a far stronger army
thus hassan stepped down as a caliph
in order to avoid further bloodshed and
a treaty between the sides was signed
according to the treaty hassan accepted
muawiyah as a caliph
under the condition that he would act in
accordance with islam
muawiyah would not appoint a successor
and a new caliph should be elected by
the electoral council
shura muawiyah would abandon cursing ali
and persecuting ali's family and
supporters
but mowiya would not stay true to his
pledges
and towards the end of his reign he
designated his son yazid as a successor
this would be breaking off the tradition
of the islamic caliphate as a state
which elected its leader through
consultation or election
to a monarchy muawiyah summoned the
shura in damascus
the new capital of the caliphate and
through persuasion and bribery
was able to secure support for yazid
this development caused significant
opposition in different
quarters and this opposition started
gathering around muhammad's grandson and
ali's son hussein
who replaced hassan who passed away in
670
as the leader despite the opposition
muawiyah was able to secure the support
of mecca and medina for yazid
ali's capital kufa was the potential
stronghold of the opposition
and the death of muawiyah in 680 put
events which would further divide the
islamic world
into action following murwia's death
yazid became the new caliph and
immediately demanded allegiance of his
same
yazid's envoy could not persuade hussein
to do this
and was afraid of killing him since
hussein was the prophet's grandson
around the same time the people of the
city of kufa
started sending letters to hussein
informing him about their opposition to
the umayyad rule
their support for him and intention to
remove yazid from power and install him
instead
the kufan sided with ali during the
first fitna
continued to support his family by
backing his son
and were unhappy when he abdicated in
favour of muawiyah
hussain accepted this call and sent his
cousin
muslim ibn akhil to kufa to assess the
situation and gather support
initially muslim ibn akhil was very
successful
and he informed hussein of his progress
yazid was forced to change the governor
of kufa to defeat the opposition in the
city
and the new governor succeeded in doing
just that
with support dwindling muslim ibn akil
decided to carry out a revolt before
hussein's arrival
but it was defeated hussein did not know
about this
and in september of 680 started his
journey towards kufa
with around 50 men and his family
members
on the way hussain received information
about the death of muslim ibn aqil
and the defeat of the revolt in kufa he
called on those who joined him on the
way to leave understanding the futility
of his attempt to challenge his
eat very soon yazid's forces confronted
hussein
and an envoy of kufa's new governor told
hussein to come with him or turn
back and go anywhere but medina hussein
refused and continued on his path
with the envoys forces accompanying him
on the 2nd of october
hussein reached karbala and set camp
there
on the following day yazid sent an
additional 4 000
men to confront hussein the umiyad army
had orders to prevent hussein's men from
accessing the euphrates river
in order to force them to concede due to
lack of water
but three days later hussein's group was
able to access water
creating a stalemate for over a week
yazid's officials had tried to persuade
hussein to accept his fate
and pledge allegiance to yazid since
they understood the consequences of
attacking the prophet's grandson
ultimately hussein refused the office of
yazid
and on the 10th of october the umayyad
army approached hussein's camp
and both sides took their battle
positions
hussein's companions fought valiantly
but the forces were extremely uneven
he and his men were massacred this
included
seven sons of ali including hussein
himself
two of hussein's sons three sons of his
brother hassan
and the other grandchildren of ali many
from the prophet's family were killed
this was a final straw completing the
schism in the islamic world
and dividing it into sunni and shia the
process
which started with the dispute over
succession to muhammad
and continued with the killing of ali
and hussain
caused the split of islam with shiat ali
ali's party first becoming a political
movement within islam
and later transforming into a branch of
islam offering alternative
interpretation of the quran and hadiths
its own view on islamic jurisprudence on
state and some religious practices
venerating the people of the house al
bait
muhammad's direct descendants as his
righteous successors
the sunni also known as the people of
the sunnah and the community
allah al-jama remained the majority in
islam
and although naturally there has been
some transformation in sunni islam
in comparison with early islam coming
with new times and different
interpretations of holy texts by sunni
scholars
the main distinctions between the two
largest branches of islam
go back to the events we have described
above and while sunni theology respects
the al-al-bait as well
it rejects the premise that the islamic
umar should be ruled by the arlal bait
the killing of ali the massacre of
hussein his family members and
companions
strengthened the sense of injustice
against the prophet's family
among the shia muslims and turned
martyrdom into one of its main pillars
ali's martyrdom during the prayer
hussain's martyrdom during the struggle
against the perceived tyrant and usurper
turned into a powerful symbol of shia
islam
the first month of the muslim calendar
maharam
is the annual period of mourning for the
shia muslims
with the tenth of maharam known as
ashura the day of the battle of karbala
becoming the peak day of morning
ceremonies
millions of devoted shias make the
aberdeen pilgrimage on foot to
the holy shrine of imam hussain in
kabbalah every year
the shia defeat in the battle of karbala
did not stop the supporters of the
al-al-bate
from opposing the existing state of
affairs in the islamic world
dissenters to the existing state of
affairs in islam
would take up the flag of the party of
ali and
challenge the rule of the caliphate
numerous powerful states and dynasties
such as the fatimids nizaris safavids
and others
emerged throughout the islamic world
armed with the powerful idea of shia
islam
in our episode on the hasheshins link to
which is in the description and pinned
comment
you can learn about some of the events
that followed the muslim schism
and we're planning more episodes on the
topic so make sure you are subscribed
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