How the early struggle for Islamic leadership fractured into Sunni and Shia branches

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The division between Sunni and Shia Islam emerged from a turbulent succession crisis following the death of Muhammad. While both groups revered the Prophet, they diverged over the legitimacy of leadership, transforming a political dispute into a lasting religious schism that redefined the social and theological landscape of the Islamic world.

The schism originated during the Early Muslim Expansion, fueled by the assassinations of the Rashidun caliphs Umar, Uthman, and Ali. This instability culminated in a war of succession and the eventual rise of the Umayyad dynasty under Muawiyah I. The conflict intensified following the death of Ali’s son, Husayn, at Karbala, an event that solidified the identity of those who believed leadership should have remained within the Prophet’s family through Ali.

While both Sunnis and Shias relied on the Sunnah, they emphasized different principles. Sunnis, or Jamāʿī-Sunnis, prioritized communal solidarity. In contrast, Shias argued that Muhammad’s devotion to his family and his desire for Ali to succeed him were central to the faith. Over time, Shias defined themselves as a permanent opposition to the status quo, particularly after the ʿAbbāsids denied the special claims of Ali’s descendants. This identity was further shaped by leaders like Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, who died in 765, and helped formalize the office of the imam as a divinely protected, error-free institution.

The Shia movement eventually fractured into various branches based on loyalty to different imams. The Zaydiyyah, or Fivers, emerged after Zayd’s 740 revolt in Kūfah, while the Imāmīs, or Twelvers, followed the line of imams until the 12th disappeared in 873. Others, known as the Ismāʿīliyyah or Seveners, remained loyal to the line of Ismāʿīl. These divisions reflected the intense competition for legitimacy in the early ʿAbbāsid period, a time when the ʿAbbāsids themselves struggled to maintain authority after alienating the very groups that had helped them rise to power.

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