Before the invasion of Iraq, there were so many news reports that mentioned the Sunnis and the Shias. There were reports that Saddam was a Sunni, but not a religious man. There were reports that the Shias were the majority, but they had been oppressed ever since the British gave control of Iraq to the Sunnis in 1921. There was speculation that – upon liberation – the Shias might seek their revenge against the Sunnis, who had kept them down for so long. What the news reports didn’t bother to tell us is what is a Sunni? What is a Shia? Sure, they’re both Muslims, but what’s the difference between them?
Like Christians, Muslims are divided into various sects. Among Christians, there are Catholics and Protestants; there are Methodists, Lutherans, and Presbyterians. Similarly, among Muslims, there are Sunnis and Shias; there are Ismailis, Yazidis, and Zaydis.
Like Christians, Muslims are united by their common beliefs, but divided by certain details. The major division among Muslims is between the Shias (the followers of Ali) and the Sunnis (the traditionalists). The division began right after the death of Muhammad ibn Abdillah, the founder of Islam. Right away, the question had to be addressed: who would be Muhammad’s successor: the caliph? Who would lead the Muslim community: the ummah? Muhammad had managed to unite disparate tribes under the banner of Islam, and a caliph would be needed to rule over them and maintain the faith. Who should it be? How should the caliph be selected?
A leading candidate was Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first convert to Islam. Ali was related to Muhammad in two ways. He was Muhammad’s cousin, as well as his son in law, husband of Muhammad’s daughter Fatima.
According to the Shias, Muhammad wanted Ali to be caliph. He was a close associate of Muhammad’s, and the two battled the Infidels (whoever wouldn’t convert to this new religion) together on many occasions. According to the Shias, Muhammad made it perfectly clear that Ali should succeed him. He made it clear when he said, “I am the City of Knowledge and Ali is its Gate.” He made it clear when he said, “Whoever I have authority over, Ali also has authority over.”
Right after Muhammad died, a meeting was hastily called, and Abu Bakr was elected caliph by a small group of his associates. Missing from the group were any of Muhammad’s immediate family. Also missing were most of Muhammad’s closest followers. Quite obviously, the election of Abu was illegitimate, according to the Shias.
According to the Sunnis, the Shias are mistaken about what happened and why. To them, Abu was rightfully elected caliph. He was Muhammad’s closest friend. He fought alongside Muhammad in many battles and protected him from his enemies. Like Ali, Abu was related to Muhammad by marriage. His daughter, Aisha, was one of Muhammad’s nine wives.
As the Sunnis see it, Muhammad made it clear that Abu should succeed him, and they have their evidence. Muhammad used to lead the daily prayers at the mosque in Medina. When he was old and became ill, he gave Abu the high honor of leading the prayers. One day, Abu was absent, and another of Muhammad’s faithful companions was leading the prayer. Muhammad objected: “No one but he [Abu] should lead prayers. He is the fittest person for this high office.” As the Sunnis see it, Muhammad clearly wanted Abu to succeed him.
Another difference between the Shias and Sunnis is this: the Sunnis figure the caliph to be a temporal leader, not a divine ruler. How could Muhammad, the last of all the prophets, have a divine successor? This made no sense to Sunnis. But it made good sense to the Shias. To them, there always was, and there always will be, the Imam: the divinely appointed leader of the faithful. The first man – Adam – was the first Imam; Abraham was Imam; Moses was Imam. The Imam is chosen by god and has secret knowledge of god (only he knows the “Greatest Name of God”). To the Shias, the caliph should be the Imam, and the first caliph should have been Imam Ali.
Yet, Abu became first caliph, not Ali. The split between the Shias and the Sunnis had begun, and so had the strife and the hatred. Almost 50 years later came the signal event that made the split complete. That event was the Battle of Karbala.
Feuding over who would be or should be caliph continued for many years. When the third caliph was assassinated by the son of the first caliph, Imam Ali finally became caliph. But he was assassinated just five years later, and Ali’s rival for the caliphate – Muawiyah – became caliph. Muawiyah made this arrangement with Ali’s sons: if they didn’t challenge him, then either one of them could succeed him as caliph. The Shias hold that Ali’s sons honored the arrangement but Muawiyah reneged: he declared his son, Yazid, to be his successor.
The Shias’ memory of history is that Yazid was a corrupt ruler, a drunkard, and a womanizer. No way could he lead the ummah, the community of the faithful. He was no relation to Muhammad, and was a Muslim in name only, not in thought or action. Ali’s son – Hussein – would have to fight for the position that was rightfully his. There would be yet another battle for the caliphate.
Hussein led a small army towards Kufa, the city between Karbala and Najaf that his father, Imam Ali, had made his headquarters. There, he would be joined by thousands of Shias who had pledged their allegiance to Hussein. Yazid learned of Hussein’s plan. As caliph, he ordered his governor in Kufa to dissuade the Shias from joining Hussein. The governor told the Kufans that anyone who supported Hussein would die. He announced that, “By way of punishment, such people will be hanged, their families put to the sword, and their property confiscated. If anyone has helped him [Hussein] up to now, no harm will come to him as long as the support is withdrawn immediately.”
Word reached Hussein that the Kufans would not support him. He advised his small army that, “Our supporters have withdrawn their support. Whoever wishes to leave and go his own way should do so.” After that, his group dwindled. When they reached Karbala, a village along the Euphrates river, only 72 faithful fighters remained.
Legend holds that Hussein foretold what would happen. He said, “Surely this is where my Holy Grandfather [Muhammad] has prophesied that I, with my faithful companions, shall lay slain after suffering three days of hunger and thirst. We will not move from here; we have reached our destination.” He took his brother, Abbas, around the place, pointing out the very spots where each of them would soon die. Then he addressed the men of the town: “On the tenth of this month you will see our dead bodies lying on this plain with our heads severed and taken away. Please bury us, and when our devotees come to visit our graves, treat them with honor and point out to them the places of our burial.”
Next, he addressed the women of the town: “If your husbands, fearing Yazid, do not bury us, then please encourage them to do so or do it yourselves.” Finally, he addressed the children of the town: “If your parents, fearing Yazid, do not bury us then, by way of playing, bring some earth and throw it on our bodies to hide them.”
Then Yazid’s army appeared: a contingent of 5,000, including many of the Kufans who had sworn their allegiance to Hussein. They blocked the much smaller group’s access to the river, cutting them off from water. Their commander demanded that Hussein surrender and swear his allegiance to Yazid. Hussein refused.
Three days later, the battle began right after morning prayers. It went on all day, the combatants pausing only at prayer time. By the afternoon, all the fighting men in his group, all except Hussein, had been killed. Hussein continued to fight. At some point, his wife brought him their six-month-old child who was dying of thirst under the hot desert sun. He held the suffering child for all to see, and he begged for water for the baby. As he was begging on behalf of the infant, one of Yazid’s men fired an arrow, and the baby’s thirst ended abruptly.
The lop-sided battle continued until Hussein was killed. All that were left of his group were some old men, the women, and the children. Yazid’s army beheaded all the men who had fought against them. They trampled the bodies of the dead; they rounded up the women and children and marched them through the desert to Kufa for a parade, and then onto to Damascus for viewing by Yazid. Mounted on their spears were the heads of Hussein and his loyal fighters.
It is the Battle of Karbala that the Shias commemorated in such a big way after the liberation of Iraq. It is the pivotal event in their history. But the Sunnis believe a much different story. They believe that the women and children were treated well after the battle, and that Yazid’s army simply put down a rebellion by an envious rival.
It is not just the significance of that battle and the role of the Imam that separate the Shias and the Sunnis. It is also their belief in what is to come. One might ask, if there always was, and will always be, an Imam, then who is he now? That would be the hidden Imam: Muhammad al Mahdi. The largest sect of the Shias, called The Twelvers, believe there were twelve Imams after Muhammad and that the last, Imam Mahdi, still lives, but he cannot be seen, not until Allah determines it is time to prepare the faithful for Judgement Day.
The Twelvers believe that Imam Mahdi will return to lead the forces of righteousness against the forces of evil in a final, apocalyptic battle. Imam Mahdi will rule the world for several years, and all the people of the world will live in harmony. Then, Jesus will return, along with all the other Imams, and all the believers will be able to enter Paradise.
When Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran in 1979, many Shias believed that he was Imam Mahdi. Rather than dissuade them from their belief, he assumed the title of Imam. Events since then would suggest that Imam Mahdi he was not.
About the Author: Mister Thorne is a mathematics editor living in San Francisco. To contact him, send e-mail to lyricalreckoner@yahoo.com.
Click here for other essays by Mister Thorne.
Click here for his series Religion in the News.