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Major Modern Schools of Thought in Islam

It was predicted by Prophet Mohamed (The last prophet of Islam) that followers of Islam would split up into different sects just as the Jews and Christians have. It is said that Prophet Mohamed had claimed that the number of sects in Islam would account to seventy three. New schools of thought in Islam have constantly been created since the dawn of Islam.  Today there are over two million Muslims that are mainly divided into 5 major schools of thought in Islam across the globe. With Islam being such a popular religion , it is inevitable that Islam will be interpreted differently across the world. These 5 major Islamic schools of thought consist of: Sunni Muslims, Shi'a Muslims, Ibadi Muslims, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and Sufi Muslims.

• Sunni
  • Sunni Muslims make up quite a majority of the Muslim population with approximately 1.4 billion followers. The school of thought of Sunni Islam is quite prevalent in the middle east. Sunni Muslims believe that prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him (pbuh), was the final prophet of Islam sent down by Allah (swt) and that Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) had not chosen his successor but many years after his death other followers of Islam appointed Abu Bakr Saddique as the successor of Islam. Sunni Muslims have a quite unique belief compared to other Islamic schools of thought that on the day of judgement humans will appear before Allah (swt). Sunni Muslims believe in Caliph as a leadership position of the Ummah (Muslim community).
• Shi'a
  • Shi'a Muslims make up the second largest school of thought in Islam with approximately 200 million followers. Shi'a Muslims mainly come from Iran, Iraq, and Bahrain. Unlike Sunni Muslims, Shi'a Muslims believe that Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) had chosen his successor to be Ali Ibn Abu Talib. They revere Ali Ibn Abu Talib as the last messenger of Islam and to this day mourn over his death and hold mourning rituals for him. Shi'a Muslims also don't believe that humans will meet Allah (swt) on the day of judgement. Shi'a Muslims highly revere Imams in Islam and claim that Imams are appointed by Allah (swt), Shi'a Muslims regard Ali Ibn Talib as the first Imam of Islam. In Shi'a majority nations, Imams have the final say in the interpretation of any revelation and are seen as at the top of society's hierarchy order.
• Ahmadiyya
  • Ahmadiyya Muslims make up the third largest school of thought in Islam with approximately 15 million followers. The majority of Ahmadiyya Muslims come from South Asia, West Africa and East Africa. Ahmadiyya Islam is a fairly new sector of Islam and is the youngest of the 5 largest schools of thought being founded in 1889. Ahmadiyya Muslims follow the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed who they see as the final prophet of Islam and the one sent down by Allah (swt) to renew the teachings of Islam. Ahmadiyya Muslims have similar core values that Sunni Muslims have. Ahmadiyya Muslims have also viewed non-Abrahamic prophets such as Buddha and Confucius as prophets of Islam. Due to their beliefs in unorthodox prophets they are viewed as heretics by many Muslim majority nations.
• Sufi
  • Sufi Muslims make up the fourth largest school of thought in Islam with an unknown approximation of followers. There is an unknown approximation because some Islamic nations don't consider it to be a sect but more of a way to practice Islam. The majority of Sufi Muslims reside in Turkey and Egypt. Sufi Muslims focus on purifying one's inner self. Sufi Muslims detach themselves from materialism and focus on developing a deep relationship with Allah (swt). This is deemed by many as a mystical form of Islam. Sufism has seemed to be derived from early Islamic asceticism where there was a main focus of detaching oneself from the materialistic world and deepening one's spiritual connection to Allah (swt). Many important Islamic literature has been dated to come from the Sufi Islamic school of thought.
• Ibadi
  • Ibadi Muslims make up the Fifth largest school of thought in Islam with approximately 3 million followers. The majority of Ibadi Muslims are located in Oman. Ibadi Muslims are known to precede both Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. Unlike the other major Islamic denominations Ibadi Muslims don't believe that there must be a leader of the Ummah and that the Ummah can run itself. Ibadi Muslims also share a similar belief with Shi'a Muslims that humans will not come before Allah (swt) on the day of judgement. Ibadi Muslims also believe that non Ibadi's and non-believers are fated to hell-fire while Ibadi Muslims are only able to enter paradise. Ibadi Muslims firmly believe in the power of predestination and that believing one has the power of a situation or fate disrespects the power of Allah (swt).

References

1. "Schools of Islamic law and their differences". Untold Islam. Maslaha. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
2. Al-Qazwini, S. (2013, January 9). The Five Schools of Islamic Thought. Al-Islam. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.al-islam.org/inquiries-about-shia-islam-sayyid-moustafa-al-qazwini/five-schools-islamic-thought.
3. Lodhi, A., & Westerlund, D. (1997, July 26). Muslims in Eastern Africa – Their Past and Present. SEASONSALI. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://seasonsali.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/african-islam-in-tanzania/.
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