Shi'a Islam, also Shi'ite Islam, or Shi'ism (Arabic:شيعة,
Persian:شیعه translit: Shī‘ah) is a denomination of the Islamic
faith. It is short for Shī'at 'Ali (Arabic: شيعة علي , or "the
party of 'Ali"). Shi'a Muslims adhere to the teachings of the
Prophet Muhammad and the religious guidance of his family whom
they refer to as the Ahl al-Bayt. Thus, Shi'as consider the
first three ruling Sunni caliphs a historic occurrence and not
something attached to faith. The singular/adjective form is
Shī'ī (شيعي.) and refers to a follower of the Household of
Muhammad and of Imam Ali in particular.
Shi'a Islam, like Sunni Islam, has at times been divided into
many branches, however only three of these currently have a
significant number of followers. The best known and the one with
most adherents is Twelvers (اثنا عشرية Ithnāˤashariyya), while
the others are Ismaili and Zaidiyyah. Alawites and Druzes
consider themselves Shi'as, although this is sometimes disputed
by mainstream Shi'as[1]. The Sufi orders among the Shi'as are
the Alevi, Bektashi, Kubrawiya, Noorbakhshi, Oveyssi, Qizilbashi,
Hamadani, Tijānī, and Fatimid orders and denominations. Twenty
per cent of Turkey's population is Alevi while Lebanon and Syria
have huge presence of Druze and Alawites.
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