Okay can anyone explain to me the 'difference' between Shia, sunni, and sufi?... escpecially sufi... i never really understand that..
thanks

I'll try to make it as simple as possible for you..
Shia are the group of people who think that the Khilafa (after the death of Prophet Mohammed :PBUH: ) was supposed to go to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's Cousin instead of Abu Bakr & Umar & Uthman, and After Ali it should've passed to Ali's Son & the Prophet's Grandson, Al Hassan, then Hussien, and then it goes to their decendants...
Some Sects from Shia Believe that there are 12 Imams that the Prophet :PBUH: spoke of which were supposed to lead the nations after His death. Starting from Ali and ending with Al Mahdi, the same character who is believed to come back with the coming back of Christ..
Some sections in Shia believe that These 12 Imams were similar to the Prophet :PBUH: in many ways and some could perform miracles and such.. They were Holy men.. and some believe that the have a higher level than the other Prophets which were sent by God..

Sunnis (Also Ibadhis), They don't believe in any special people after the Prophet, they think that Abu Baker was the best person after the Prophet and had the right to take the Khilafa. and Umar was the second best after him and so on.. Because they were picked by Bai`a (something similar to elections)
Sunnis don't believe in Gifts and Miracles performed by people after the Death of Prophet Mohammed :PBUH:

Sufis:
there are many types of Sufis. It started by spiritual people who wear wool (suf is the arabic meaning of wool) there are many mystries and complications in Sufi sections & I personally spoke to 2 Sufis and this is what I got from them.. The first one told me that Sufis believe that you as a human being is holy, because you have the spirit of God blown onto you, the goods and bads that are done by you what counts whether you end in Heaven or Hell.. For Example, if you pray 5 times a day, fast, do hujj, give zakat but you don't treat people good, then all of the Islamic Obligations you've done are useless! they don't focus on prayers, zakat, etc, they focus on how much love you give and good deeds you do for other people, which is similar to Christianity somehow..

The other person told me that they believe that the spirit of Prophet Mohammed :PBUH: still goes around the world and when Sufis have their spiritual gathering, His spirit, :PBUH:, visits them and blesses them.. They also praise the dead people (not in the sense of worshipping though) by sacrificing sheep and other animals on their graves..
The mystries in Sufism is that when a person reaches a high level, they can control demons for their benefit, they can heal people and curse sometimes using them..
In Sufism, there's a high level which is called Darajat al Yaqin, trasnlated as the Level of Knowing. When a person reaches this level, he is claimed to be able to communicate with the Prophet's Spirit and even God himself sometimes, and when a person reaches that level, he doesn't have to pray, fast, or do any of the Islamic Obligations because "God knows him"..

this is almost everything I know about Sufism, you can ask people about it or reach their books.. It is a very interesting section :)

Where did 'ibathi' go ?

Abathis are very similar to Sunnis, they differ in some fiqh rules and some a'qeeda related views..
Some say that Abathis didn't consider Ali ibn Abi Talib as a khalifa until very recently, I am not sure of that however

All this is perfectly true, Braiki, but you know what confuses people? They can't understand why an argument about who was the proper leader more than a thousand years ago makes any real difference today!

But we can all see and feel that there is a difference.

Here are some ON THE SURFACE DIFFERENCES between Shia and Sunni:

1. Shia pay more attention to human authority in religion; Sunni pay more attention to rules and legal scholars. An Imam in Shia Islam is far more important than any scholar in Sunni Islam.

2. Shia pay more attention to holy figures from the past as guides and helpers for today. For example, Shia call out to Mohammed and Ali and Hussein for help. Sunni condemn this practice.

3. For the Shia, history IS more important. God meant the Ummah to have a particular human leadership. When Muslims themselves KILLED that leadership, they destroyed (temporarily) God's plan for Islam. Ever since then, Islam is in a state of suspended animation almost, waiting for God's anointed leadership to re-emerge.

Okay, imagine if the Muslims had killed Mohammed and decided to run things partly their own way. But some Muslims stayed true to Mohammed and his message. How would they feel about Mohammed's death? And about those who killed him? And about what came after? Wouldn't they feel like a huge disaster happened, something as terrible as anything could be?

Well, this is close to how the Shia feel about Najaf and Karbala and it's why you see them marching around weeping and beating themselves bloody.

Sunnis say, we have the Quran and we have the Laws of God and we know how to live. Isn't that enough? That's Islam! And Shia say, No, it's not even close to enough. We have a community that is supposed to be led into God's future by certain human leaders that God Himself chose. And somebody KILLED those leaders and set up other ones. We are like a man who cut off his legs and then tries to walk.

And this is why, if you go to the extremes in Sunni Islam, you find people who say that Shia are not Muslims at all. And if you go to the extremes in Shia Islam, you find people who say that the Sunni are murderers who are fighting for Shaitan and not Allah at all.

Of course, in the middle you have more sensible people. But the differences are not nothing.

And speaking of Sufis, they are giving our beautiful Pope a huge treat soon:

Whirling dervishes to perform for Pope Benedict XVI
Posted on May 18, 2007 07:31am CST.
Print Friendly Version

By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
New York

When Pope Benedict XVI said in the aftermath of his Regensburg lecture that he wanted a “frank and sincere” dialogue with Islam, this may not have been exactly what he had in mind, but here it is anyway: On June 5, a troupe of Whirling Dervishes from Turkey will perform for the pope in the Vatican.

Technically known as the “Mevlevi Sema,” a Sufi form of worship using ecstatic dance, the performance will take place in the Vatican’s Palazzo della Cancelleria, with a seating capacity of 300, as part of a “Dialogue between Religions” organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture.

“Dervish,” which literally means “poor person” or “beggar” in Persian, is one term for a follower of Sufi Islam, which accounts for roughly 20 percent of the global Muslim population of 1.6 billion. The “Whirling Dervishes” take their inspiration from Jelaladdin Rumi, a 13th century Turkish philosopher and mystic born in what is now Afghanistan, known to his adherents as “Mevlana,” or “master.” After Rumi’s death, his followers founded the Mevlevi order, known for their trademark dance as a form of dhikr, or “remembrance” of Allah. The dance symbolically depicts the ascent of the soul.

The inspiration for the dance is said to have come from Rumi himself, who, according to tradition, read his poems aloud while spinning around a column. The Mevlevi brand of Islam is considered moderate and open, premised on Rumi's belief that all created things point to mystical truth.

The Mevlevi order was banned by Atatürk as part of his secularizing program in Turkey, but was resurrected beginning in the 1950s as Turkish officials realized the Whirling Dervishes had value as a tourist attraction. Since that time, their popularity has grown steadily. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has declared 2007, the 800th anniversary of Rumi’s birth, as a “Mevlana Year.”

June 5 will not mark the first time the Whirling Dervishes have performed for a pope. During the 1970s, a group of dervishes danced the sema for Pope Paul VI. When they meet Benedict XVI, the Turkish Sufis intended to present the pope with an Italian-language edition of the Mesnevi, considered Rumi’s masterpiece.

The performance for Pope Benedict XVI is part of a 22-city, 18-nation tour in 2007 for the Whirling Dervishes.


http://ncrcafe.org/node/1118

http://www.waterfront.co.uk/images/Whirling%20Dervishes%202.jpg

in the end we are all muslims ! :)

Some lines of Sufi poetry by Rumi, who founded the Whirling Dervishes...

Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, idolater, worshipper of fire,
Come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times,
Come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.

And...

Love’s nationality is separate from all other religions,
The lover’s religion and nationality is the Beloved (God).

The lover’s cause is separate from all other causes
Love is the astrolabe of God’s mysteries.

And...

A Mountain Nest

Have you seen a fish dissatisfied
with the ocean? Have you seen a lover?

Have you seen an image
that tries to avoid the engraver?
Have you seen a word emptied of meaning?

You need no name.
You are the ocean.
I am held in your sway.

Fire in your presence
turns into a rosebush.

When I am outside you,
life is torment.

Then Solomon walks back into Jerusalem,
and a thousand lanterns illuminate.

The divine glory settles
into a mountain nest.

The emperor and the source of light,
Shams Tabriz, lives here,
with no location in my chest.

http://www.guernicamag.com/poetry/288/four_new_translations_of_rumi/

the first poetry is what I was talking about there, this is what I adore in Sufism :yes:

Braiki you moron. I still need a reason why you keep deleting my valid point. One reason you idiot.

The questions is: kay can anyone explain to me the 'difference' between Shia, sunni, and sufi?... escpecially sufi..

The answer is:

for our young members, plz do not mention this again...

I don't want a PM telling me what's acceptable and what's not. I want you to give reasons you sorry excuse of a moderator. Give me a reason because as far as I am concerned, I've got a valid point and I did not break any of the rules.

One reason instead of mis-practicing your moderation powers.

btw. read fatak's post. How is that acceptable and mine is not?

Braiki you moron. I still need a reason why you keep deleting my valid point. One reason you idiot.


There's absolutely no need to insult. This is an official warning for you.

Off-topics and non-appropriate posts have been deleted, please keep this discussion serious :)

^^ thank you :)