09-27-2006, 12:16 AM
Bismillah:
Quote:wel_mel_2 -
Thank you for the welcome. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can. I have a very high opinion of Islam, I just want to learn as much as I can. There is so much information out there it is hard for me to decipher which information is correct. I figure my best option is to get correct information strait from everyone here. I was afraid I spelled Shi'a incorrectly. There seems to be several variations on the term, and I couldn't decide which one was correct.
Thank you for your reply. I was afraid that this had been discussed on here previously. Please bear with me, I am still learning how to navigate this discussion site :)
Okay, I am going to give this a try to see if I understand correctly.
The Shi'a make up a small portion of Islam, While the Sunni make up the majority?
The Hadith....If memory serves correctly then this is written historical documentations of Islam? And the interpretations of the Hadith lead to differenct sects such as the Shi'a.........
or taken from one of the posts I just read from the link you gave me...."Hanafi, or Shafi or Maliki or Humbali.or a Deobandi".....are these other sects of Islam?
If I understood that correctly, then I admit that I had not heard of these other sects.
The Sunni and the Shi'a .....are they divided by location, or only by faith? I guess what I am asking is .....is there a location where the majority of the Shi'a live? Or is there a blend and there are different mosques in the same city for each of the sects?
I am very interested in the Third Pillar of Islam. Alms Giving. I think somewhere I heard or read that the Shi'a and the Sunni differ in the process of Zakat. Is this true? For some reason I have it in my head that one sect (I can't remember which one) felt that Zakat should be regulated by government and the other thought that as a religious duty it should not be regulated by government. Am I way off base?
Thank you for the warm welcome and the response.
-Laura
am so sorry for not replying quickly. Ramadan always make us busy... could you please give me sometime to answer to your questions?
Insha'Allah will get back to you soon.
Salam
Wael