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Islam
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The branches and schools of Islam. The principal division dates from the dispute over leadership after the death of Muhammad, and further distinctions follow the schools of jurisprudence and the mystical traditions that cut across the whole. All hold the Quran to be revelation and the five pillars to be binding.
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Overview
What Defines This GroupingThe branches, legal schools and mystical traditions of Islam. The principal division follows the dispute over leadership after the death of the Prophet; the madhhabs are schools of legal interpretation rather than separate bodies; and Sufism cuts across the whole. 2 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategoryContested: denomination and sect fit Islam badly. A madhhab is a school of legal reasoning whose difference from the others is recognised as legitimate within Sunni Islam, not a church standing apart from another. 3 Learn More
The branches of Islam
This group gathers the main branches and movements of Islam. The principal division, dating to disputes over leadership after the Prophet Muhammad's death, is between Sunni Islam, the majority tradition, and Shia Islam, which holds that authority passed through the Prophet's family.
The browser will find the Sunni schools of law and the Shia branches (Twelver, Ismaili and others), along with Sufism, the mystical dimension found across both, and reform and revival movements of the modern period. The atlas describes each in its own terms, noting the theological and historical questions that separate them.
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