Islamic schools and branches

Islamic schools and branches are traditions within Islam distinguished by differences in religious authority, jurisprudence, theology, and spiritual practice. They include major branches such as Sunni and Shia Islam and diverse legal and theological schools.

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Sunni Islam: The largest branch of Islam, recognizing the early caliphs and drawing on the Quran, prophetic tradition, and scholarly consensus. Its legal and theological schools form a major family within Islam.
Madhhab: A school of Islamic jurisprudence organized around a tradition of legal interpretation. A madhhab provides a framework for deriving rulings from Islamic sources.
Succession to Muhammad: The dispute over leadership of the Muslim community after Muhammad’s death in 632. Different positions on succession became foundational to Sunni and Shia identities.
Sunni–Shia relations: The historical and contemporary interactions between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Relations range from shared institutions and coexistence to political rivalry and conflict.
Hanafi school: A Sunni school of Islamic jurisprudence known for its extensive use of legal reasoning and analogy. Its rulings and methods influence Muslim communities across a wide geographic area.
Shia Islam: A branch of Islam that holds that leadership of the Muslim community belongs to Ali and the Prophet Muhammad’s family. Its understanding of the imamate distinguishes it from Sunni traditions.
Ijtihad: Independent legal reasoning used to derive Islamic rulings from authoritative sources. Debates about who may exercise ijtihad shape legal authority across schools.
First Fitna: The first Muslim civil war, fought from 656 to 661 over political leadership. Its conflicts intensified disagreements about legitimate leadership and communal unity.
Twelver Shiism: The largest branch of Shia Islam, recognizing twelve divinely guided imams descended from Muhammad. It is the most widespread Shia tradition and a distinct model of religious authority.
Maliki school: A Sunni school of Islamic jurisprudence that gives weight to the practice of the early community of Medina. Its distinctive use of Medinan practice informs law in many North and West African communities.