Origins+of+the+Split

//The Successor To Muhammad -//

The original reason that determined the Sunni and Shiite sects was who would be the successor to prophet Muhammad.    Sunnis believed that when Muhammad died in 632, one of his very close companions should take over. They thought that the new leader should be elected from this select group. This is what happened, and Muhammad’s friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph in Islam.  The Shi’ites firmly believed that Ali - Muhammads son-in-law, and cousin - should be the successor. They thought that the power should stay within Muhammad’s own bloodline. Even now, the Shi’ites think that the Islamic people went wrong, that they alone were right, and the Caliph should have been Ali. Shi’ites also think that the true, and rightful successor is now hidden. They trust that that person will appear when the world is ending as the one correctly guided by Allah.