Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni beliefs are based on the Qu’ran and the Kutub al-Sittah (six books of sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad).

Followers of Sunni Islam are called Sunnis or Sunnites. They make up around 90% of the world’s Muslim population.

Shi’a and Sunni Islam divided many years ago after the death of Prophet Muhammad. A key point of division revolves around leadership after Muhammad’s death. Sunnis regard Abu Bakr as the next leader after the Prophet Muhammad. Shia Muslims, by contrast, regard Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali as his successor. This disagreement has led to differing beliefs and interpretations of Islamic law.

For over 1,000 years, groups of Sunni and Shi’a Muslims have lived together, debated, disagreed, and fought with each other. There is a long and complex history between them that also involves politics and power. Sunni Islam, like Shi’a Islam, has at times been divided into many branches.

With approximately 1.8 billion followers, Sunni Islam is the largest religious denomination of any religion in the world.