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Posts published in “Comparitive Theology”

The Roots of Sunni-Shia Differences in Fiqh

By Abu Muhammad al-Afriqi (Mawlana Taha Karaan) It is often alleged by the protagonists of Sunni-Shia unity that differences between the two schools are not more grave or serious than the differences that exist within the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence. Sunni-Shia differences should, therefore, be treated with the same tolerance and acceptance as Hanafi – Shafi‘i differences, and it is in the spirit of this proposed “mutual tolerance” that the advocates of unity speak of the Shia Jafari school of jurisprudence as nothing more than a “fifth madh-hab“. It is therefore only normal for the average Sunni layperson who…