There are a number of Islamic religious denominations, each of which has significant theological and legal differences from each other. The major branches are Sunni, Shi'a and Sufi.
Sunni
Sunni Islam comprises the majority of all Muslims (about 90%). It is broken into four schools of thought (madhhabs) which interpret specific pieces of Islam, such as which foods are halal (permissible) differently. They are named after their founders Maliki, Shafi'I, Hanafi, and Hanbali.
Shia
Shia Islam comprises most of the Muslims that are not counted among the Sunni. The Shia consist of one major school of thought known as the Jafaryia (referring to the founder) or the "Twelvers", and a few minor schools of thought, as the "Seveners" or the "Fivers" referring to the number of infallible leaders they recognise after the death of Muhammad. The term Shia is usually taken to be synonymous with the Jafaryia/Twelvers.
Sufism
While some consider the Islamic mysticism called Sufism to constitute a separate branch, most Sufis can easily be considered Sunni or Shia. Sufism is the hardest to understand by non-practitioners because on first sight it seems that sufis are either of Shiah or Sunni denomination, but it is true that some sects of Sufism can be categorised as both Sunni and Shiah whilst others are not from either denomination. The distinction here is because the schools of thought (madhhabs) are regarding "legal" aspects of Islam, the "dos" and "don'ts", whereas Sufism deals more with perfecting the aspect of sincerity of faith, and fighting one's own ego. Other people may call themselves Sufis who may be perceived as having left Islam (or never followed Islam). There are also some very large groups or sects of Sufism that are not easily categorised as either Sunni or Shiah, such as the Bektashi or those that can be categorised as both at the same time, eg the Brelvi.
According to Shaikh al-Akbar Mahmood Shaltoot, Head of the al-Azhar University, the Ja'fari school of thought, which is also known as "al-Shia al- Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" (I.e., The Twelver Imami Shi'ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought.
Another denomination which dates back to the early days of Islam are the Kharijites. Members of this group in the present day are more commonly known as Ibadi Muslims. A large number of Ibadi Muslims today live in Oman.
Another more recent group are the Wahhabis, though some classify them as the ultra-conservative branch of the Hanbali school of Sunni Islam. Wahhabism is a movement founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab in the 18th century in what is present-day Saudi Arabia. One thing which distinguishes Wahhabi teachings from Sunni teachings is that Wahhabis consider several things prohibited which the four schools of Sunni Islam consider permitted.
Religions based on Islam
The following groups call themselves Muslims, but are not considered Islamic by most Muslims:
- The Ahmaddiya
- The Druze
- The Nation of Islam -
- The Zikris
The following religions might be said to have evolved from Islam, but consider themselves independent religions with distinct laws and institution:
- Babism
- Bahá'í Faith
- Sikhism
- Yazidi
1 -[Islam]
2 -[Islam : Islamic Beliefs]
3 -[Islam : The Qur'an]
4 -[Islam : Historical origin of Islam]
5 -[Islam : Denominations of Islam]
Source : Wikipedia, All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
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