1. • Angels Angels obey God's commandments. They have
limited free will, though no drive to sin.
• Population 200 million
• Place of worship Mosque, Imambarah or Ashurkhana,
Eidgah
• Use of statues and picture :Not permitted
• Clergy :Imaam (divinely guided), Ayatollah, Mujtahid, Allamah,
Maulana
• Man may marry up to 4 women.
• One God

2. • Language:Arabic, Farsi
• Death of Jesus Denied. Jesus did not die on the cross, but
his body went up to heaven.
• View of other Abrahamic religions Christianity and Judaism
are "People of the Book."
• Resurrection of Jesus Denied. Jesus did not die on the
cross. Jesus will come back down from heaven in the future
• Holy days Ashura, Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha, Eid al ghadeer
• Origin From teachings of Prophet Muhammad, a 7th
century Arab religious and political figure.

3. • Places most closely associated with independent history of
the faith Kufa, Karbala
• Adherents called Shiites, Shia, Shii, Ehl-e-Tash'e
• Geographic Presence Majority in Iran, Iraq, Yemen,
Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Lebanon. Minority spread across the
world.
• Articles of Belief One God, Angels, Revealed Books of God
including the Quran, Messengers, Day of Judgement,
Prophethood, Imaamah

4. • Pillars of faith 1. Prayer 2. Fasting 3. Pilgrimage 4.
Mandatory alms, 20% for Imaam and the needy (khums)
5.Jihad 6. Promotion of good 7. Dissuasion from bad 8. Re-
affirmation 9. Disassociation from the enemies of Islam
starting from first Caliph.
• Imams identified as Divinely guided. Considered as the
only legitimate interpreters of the Quran.
• Required lineage for ruler Must be male child from lineage of
Ali from Fatimah.
• Muhammad nominated a successor ? Yes, his cousin and
son in law Ali ibn Abu Talib

5. • Successors after the Prophet 12 Infallible Imams; Ali bin
Abi Talib, Hassan, Hussain, Ali ZainulAbideen, Muhammad
AlBaqir, Jaafar AlSaadiq, Musa AlKaazim, Ali AlRaza,
Muhammad AlTaqi, Ali AlNaqi, Hasan AlAskari, Muhammad
AlMahdi (hidden).
• Beliefs regarding revealed scriptures Belief in the Quran
• Continuation of authoritative revelation Partially true.
Imaams are considered divinely guided. The purpose is to
explain and safeguard the current faith and its esoteric
meaning.

6. • Collection of religious narrations from Imaams and Mujtahids
Nahajul Balagha, Kitab al-Kafi, Man la yahduruhu al-
Faqih, Tahdhib al-Ahkam, Al-Istibsaar
• Branches and their status Ithna Ashariyya ('Twelvers'),
Ismailis ('Seveners') and Zaidis ('Fivers'). The latter do not
agree to infallibility of Imaams or to the occultation of the 12th
Imaam Mahdi.
• Special Day of worship Friday
• Temporary unannounced Marriage Yes
• Name of the practice means "party" or "partisans" of Ali

7. • Current leaders MujtahidsIntercession permitted
• Yes (14 Infallibles only - From Prophet until the Mahdi,
including Fatima, daughter of the Prophet and wife of Ali)
• Public affirmation of faith and propagation of teachings The
Shia allow 'Taqiyya': which is to be able to deny faith when
under grave danger. This extends to the belief that true
meaning of faith is hidden until the coming of twelfth Imaam.
• Did Islam achieve ultimate glory? No, it was hijacked by
hypocrites, especially the first three Caliphs.

8. • Self Flagellation (Lattum) To commemorate the martyrdom of
Hussein, Shiite groups march in massive parades on the 10th
day of the Muharram month. There is self-flagellation i.e.
flogging own back, chest with hands, knives, blades or chains.
Permitted by some scholars.
• Building and visiting shrines permitted Yes
• Building and visiting mosques permitted Yes

9. • Shia Muslims believe that the Imam is sinless by nature, and that his
authority is infallible as it comes directly from God. Therefore, Shia
Muslims often venerate the Imams as saints and perform
pilgrimages to their tombs and shrines in the hopes of divine
intercession. Sunni Muslims counter that there is no basis in Islam
for a hereditary privileged class of spiritual leaders, and certainly no
basis for the veneration or intercession of saints.
• Shia Muslims also feel animosity towards some of the companions
of the Prophet Muhammad, based on their positions and actions
during the early years of discord about leadership in the community.
Many of these companions (Abu Bakr, Umar, Aisha, etc.) have
narrated traditions about the Prophet's life and spiritual practice.