What is Shiism in Islam?
Shiism is the second-largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam. Today, the Shia comprise about 10 percent of the total population of Muslims in the world. The most important group within the Shia is the “Twelvers,” so called for the 12 Imams, or leaders, they venerate.
When was Twelver Shiism created?
There, except for a brief hiatus in the mid-18th century, Twelver Shiʿism has been the established faith since 1501, when Ismāʿīl I, the first Ṣafavid shah, captured Tabrīz and declared Twelver Shiʿism to be the official religion of his new realm.
What is a twelver in Islam?
The term Twelver refers to its adherents’ belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, and their belief that the last Imam, Imam al-Mahdi, lives in occultation and will reappear as The promised Mahdi (Arabic: المهدي المنتظر).
What is a Muslim caliph?
The term “caliph” (khalifah in Arabic) is generally regarded to mean “successor of the prophet Muhammad,” while “caliphate” (khilafah in Arabic) denotes the office of the political leader of the Muslim community (ummah) or state, particularly during the period from 632 to 1258.
How was a successor to Muhammad chosen?
The Sunni Muslims believe that Muhammad had not appointed a successor and had instead intended for the Muslim community to choose a leader from among themselves. They accept the rule of Abu Bakr, who was elected at Saqifah, and that of his successors, who are together referred to as the Rashidun Caliphs.
When did Shias start?
632 CE
Shia Islam originated as a response to questions of Islamic religious leadership which became manifest as early as the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. The issues involved not only whom to appoint as the successor to Muhammad, but also what attributes a true successor should have.
What did the Twelvers believe?
The Twelvers believe that the spiritual-politico leadership of the community (the Imamate) was transferred down through ʿAli’s male descendants until the twelfth Imam, understood to have been born in 869. He is believed to be the Mahdi, and understood to be alive but in hiding from a few years after his birth.
Who was caliph after ʿAlī?
After the assassination of Ali in January 661, his eldest son, Hasan, was elected caliph in Kufa.
Who was the caliph?
The leader of a caliphate is called the caliph, meaning deputy or representative. All caliphs are believed to be the successor to Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad was not a caliph; according to the Quran he was the last and greatest of the prophets.