| Population | most of sufis are in asia and in turkey zone |
1.2 billion |
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| Birth of Jesus | Virgin birth |
Virgin Birth |
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| Second coming of Jesus | Affirmed |
Affirmed |
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| Clergy | Only saints |
Caliph, Imaam (Saint), Mujtahid, Allamah, Maulana |
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| Place of worship | Mosque .Tombs of saints |
Mosque, Eidgah, Masjid |
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| Use of statues and pictures | Permitted |
Not permitted |
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| Angels | God created angels from light. They do not have their own free will and always obey the commandments of od and they identify some saints like angels |
God created angels from light. They do not have their own free will and always obey the commandments of God. |
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| View of other Abrahamic religions | Not engaged in Spiritualism |
Christianity and Judaism are "People of the Book." |
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| Resurrection of Jesus | Denied |
Denied. |
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| Death of Jesus | Denied |
Denied. Jesus did not die on the cross, but his body went up to heaven. |
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| Marriage | Man may marry up to 4 women. |
Man may marry up to more women. |
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| Holy days | Fifty Days |
Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha, Eid-e-Milaad-un-Nabi |
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| Offshoot religions | hurufis |
Ahmadiyya (Ahmedi) - a separeted religion |
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| Imams identified as | Saints. Rumi and the12 imamah |
Saints. Considered as persons with strong faith in Quran and Sunnah. |
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| Origin | From techings of muahmmad Rumi and spiritualism |
From teachings of Prophet Muhammad, a 7th century Arab-Iran religious and political figure. |
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| Required lineage for ruler | Can be a saint , chossen by god. |
Can be any practicing Muslim chosen by agreement of the authorities of the muslim populace (ummah). |
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| Places most closely associated with independent history of the faith | makkah madinah sufi saints tombs kufa karbalah etc |
Madinah (Medina), Makkah (Mecca) |
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| Successors after the Prophet | While there may be a difference of opinion amongst some Sunni scholars of the exact identity of the 'Twelve Successors', one cannot deny that some of the greatest Sufi scholars, the vast majority of whom were Sunni, are unanimous on the elect status |
The Four Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar bin Al Khattab, Uthman bin Afan, Ali bin Abi Talib, |
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| Geographic Presence | India Pakistan Turkey Albania |
Majority in most Muslim countries. Minority spread across the world. |
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| Articles of Belief | One god Revealed books Sufi poems and sayings Quran Messengers Day of judgment Prophethood imamah doctrine |
One God, Angels, Revealed Books of God including the Quran, Messengers, Day of Judgement, Divine Decree (both good and bad) |
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| Pillars of faith | 1. Testament of Faith 2. Prayer 3. Mandatory alms, 2.5% for needy (zakaat) 4. Fasting 5. Pilgrimage 6. Struggle in the way of God to promote good and stop bad To believe in saints |
1. Testament of Faith (Shahadah) 2. Prayer (Salah) 3. Mandatory alms, 2.5% for needy (Zakat) 4. Fasting (Sawm) 5. Pilgrimage (Hajj) |
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| Continuation of authoritative revelation | No, authoritative revelation ended with Prophet Muhammad. |
No, authoritative revelation ended with Prophet Muhammad. |
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| View on the personality of Imaam Ali | Saint |
Considered as a 'Lion of God', the first male convert to Islam, and a warrior champion of the faith. |
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| Original Language(s) | Arabic Persian |
Arabic |
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| Name of the practice means | People of tradition |
"Well-trodden path" or "tradition"; "People of tradition and the community" |
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| Beliefs regarding revealed scriptures | Belief in quran |
Belief in the Quran & Hadit |
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| Collection of religious narrations from Imaams and Mujtahids | Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi, |
Muatta Maalik, Musnad Ahmad, Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood, Jami al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Nasae. |
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| Self Flagellation (Lattum) | Yes Ziqr they put some swords on mouth |
No, termed as major sin |
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| Branches and their status | CHISTI naqshbandi etc |
Four contributing schools of Law: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi and Hanbali. Two Schools of Creed: Ashari and Maturidi. These branches count each other on right path with different way of thinking. |
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| Special Day of worship | Friday |
Friday |
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| Temporary unannounced Marriage | No, termed as adultery |
No, termed as adultery. |
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| Current leaders | Saints |
Imaams (not in the same sense as Shi'a, where Imaams are divinely guided), Sheikhs and Murshids |
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| Intercession permitted | Yes to toms of saints |
Major groups of Sunnis do not accept intercession. However, the method of prayer at dargahs or ziyarat-gahs (tombs of saints) may be considered close to intercession. |
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Comments: Sufism vs Sunni