Another difference comes in the sanctity of religious texts. Shia Muslims have some resentment to some of the contemporaries of the Prophet Muhammad. This sprouts from their stands and deeds in the historical years of discord about leadership among the Muslim nations. It is said that Abu Bakr, Umar, Aisha, etc. (Sunnis) narrated much about the Prophet Muhammad's life and spiritual encounters, practice and journey. The Shia Muslims reject these Hadith do not take them as a basis for their religious practices. This accordingly informs divergence in religious practice between the Sunnis and Shias. The differences concern aspects of religious life: prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, and so on and so forth. For instance Shi'ites can condense the five daily prayers into 3 or 4 yet Sunnis don't, Shiites might pay their alms (Zakat) directly to the poor, yet Sunnis pay to the state. Shiites also promotes a provisional marriage (muttah) for men travelling far from home while Sunnis don't ascribe to this (Sunnis vs. Shiites).
The Shias place their forehead onto apiece of natural material while praying (clay tablet, soil or sand from Karbala (where Imam Hussain was martyred), rather than onto a prayer mat. The Sunnis however recommend that one should not prostrate on a natural surface.
Shias hold their hands at their sides while praying while Sunnis on the other side their arms-right over left- and clasp their hands, though either is acceptable.
Religious Shia women black like the male religious leaders. Conventional Sunni women cover around the perimeter of the face with the hijab but only to below their chin such that the chin can show in part while the Shia women will cover the perimeter of the face and the chin completely.
Shias more often than not derive their name from the name or titles...
They often draw their lineage from to Ali and Fatimah.
The three Sects of Shiites
Although, through history there were several branches of Shia Muslims, currently only three are predominant. The Ashariyyah, profoundly called the Twelvers, the Ismaili and the Zaidi.
Ashariyyah or Twelvers as the adherents are called believe in the twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams. These were the successors of Prophet Muhammad and were spiritual and political leaders. On average 85% of Shi'a are Twelvers.
Ismaili is the second largest sect of the Shia Islam after the Twelvers. They derive their name from their acceptance of Ismail ibn Jafar as the divinely-appointed spiritual successor to Jafar as-sadiq, they differ from the Twelvers, who accept Musa al-Kizim, the younger brother of Ismail, as the proper Imam.
Zaidi are followers of the Zaidi fiqh and they identify with the first four of the Twelve Imams but they accept Zayd ibn Ali as their Fifth Imam, in place of his brother Muhammad al-Baqir. After Zayd ibn Ali, the Zaidi recognize other descendants of Hasan ibn Ali or Husayn ibn Ali to be Imams. Among the well-known Zaidi Imams are Yahya ibn Zayd, Muhammad al Nafs az-Zakiyah and Ibrahim ibn Abdullah.
References
Austine Cline. 'Sunni Islam vs. Shia Islam: Islam Cannot be Criticized as a Monolithic Faith.'
Web. 3 May 2010. http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/blfaq_islam_sunni.htm
Huda. 'Introduction to Islam' About.Com. Web. 3 May 2010.
Huda. 'What's the Difference Between Shia and Sunni Muslims?' About.Com. Web 3 May 2010.
"Sunnis vs. Shi'ites. An Outline of the differences between the Sunnis and the Shi'ite in Matters
of Faith and Doctrine." Web. 3 May 2010. .
