Sunni Islam

The roots of Sunni Islam lie in the earliest sectarian divides that affected the Muslim community immediately after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

Sunni Islam emphasizes the prophetic legacy of Muhammad. The evolution of hadith literature during the early years of Islamic society's expansion and development is the major influence on the trajectory of the tradition.

Sunni Islam was not a singular movement or the result of any one person's approach to religion, but rather a broad tradition stemming from diverse and organic developments in the early Muslim community.

Like all Muslims, Sunnis believe that the Quran is the inviolable word of God. What distinguishes Sunni Islam is a tradition of hadith literature that underwent its own processes of elaboration and canonization over the course of the first several centuries of the Islamic era.

Though Sunni Islam has its origins in the conflicts of the 7th-century, it reached its fullest maturation, as a wide-ranging tradition, during Islam's Classical Period, in the late and High Middle Ages.

Sunnism itself is a designation for a sectarian group in Islam, so within Sunnism there are no other sects per se. There are, however, different approaches to the application of Islamic law and an Islamic system of belief and practice, called the shariah.

Theological controversies and legal theory were important parts of the early development of Islamic thought. Different schools found ways to accommodate one another and coexist, but some theological divisions resulted in clashes over basic principles of Islamic interpretation.

The most emblematic institution of Sunni authority was the caliphate, the term for the titular head of the Islamic community. Regional and sectarian divisions often came down, throughout Islamic history, to divergent views of who held this central leadership position.

Islam is a highly adaptive religion, which has absorbed cultural elements from several regions. Hybridization of cultural and religious practices led to varied manifestations of Islam, from medieval Persian court culture in the Abbasid era to Hindu-influenced local religion in Java.

The modern age has seen a series of reform movements in Sunni Islam, from the late 18th century to the present. While historically, some of these have been reactive to the forces of European colonialism or expansion, others have asserted a proactive agenda for Islamic reform.

In addition to a belief in the biblical and creation narratives in the Quran, common to all Muslim sects, biography and "religious merits" literature played a large role in the formation of Sunni identity.

The most common creed of Sunnism, the Ashari creed, includes two essential beliefs: in the Ultimate Reality and Unknowability of God, and in the existence of angels, who perform various roles as emissaries and agents on God's behalf.

Devotion to the example of Muhammad as the guide for how to define and shape one's existence is a primary element of Sunni identity. Sunni Islam places great emphasis on the model of the Prophet for how to live a pious life and how to conduct all affairs, from the most ceremonial to the most mundane.

Controversies over the notions of God's justice, his omnipotence and predestination, and the responsibility each human bears in relation to good and evil were central in early theological circles in the Islamic world. Sunni theologians contended with several early controversies, including one called the Qadariyya.

Sunni beliefs about the afterlife and salvation rest on an individual's relationship with God. Resurrection, reckoning, and an eternal afterlife in paradise or hell are some elements of mainstream Sunni eschatology.

Sunni rituals are characterized by the sense of entering into an alternate state, a time out of time. These rituals both span the hours of each day and also include momentous occasions or festivals distributed throughout the calendar year.

In addition to the Hajj, performed by all denominations of Muslims, other pilgrimages to the shrines of holy men and women have played a prominent role in the cultural history of the Sunni world.

Sunnis do not consider life events such as birth or marriage, sacraments or religious rites. Instead, everyday activities are imbued with a sense of ceremony based on the traditions of Muhammad.

By incorporating supplications and the sunna into both formal and informal activities, Sunnis interweave religious devotion with even the most apparently mundane activities and exchanges.

A general prohibition against figural representation in Islamic art and architecture has led to elaborate systems of symbolic representations in Islamic culture.

Sunni imams are important community leaders who shepherd their congregants through major life transitions and counsel them in everyday civil and social affairs.

The concept of community in Islam has always been important for determining sectarian affiliations, which affect both practical and spiritual aspects of Muslim society. Sunni history manifests different and evolving concepts of how the Muslim community is to be led, organized, and structured.

Islamic law assesses individual actions as they relate to fundamental values that each law tries to preserve. Ranging from individual well-being to property and wealth, these values form the basis of Islamic principles of moral thought and action.

While pluralism has always been a factor in the Sunni vision of society as a whole, globalization and the contemporary political situation have made it easy for particular visions to dominate over the geographically and culturally diverse Sunni world.

Attitudes toward sexuality and issues of gender equity have always been a part of discussions in Sunni law. In the modern period, these issues take on greater significance, and the concept of gender identity has broadened in contemporary thought.