September 8, 2025 • 11 mins
This is Episode 139 of Christian Research Journal Reads. This is an audio version of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL article, “Sunni-Shi’a Split” by Hank Hanegraaff. This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 40, number 03 (2017). https://www.equip.org/articles/sunni-shia-split/
This podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. As the flagship publication of the Christian Research Institute, the Journal seeks to equip followers of Christ to think and to live Christianly—to exercise truth and experience life. Truth, especially essential Christian doctrine, forms the basis for how we live our lives in Christ. As the apostle Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:16, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”The Christian Research Journal enjoyed a print incarnation of almost 45 years. Now exclusively an online publication, the Journal consists of thousands of free articles. We hope that through these audio articles you are not only equipped to proclaim and defend your faith but that as a disciple you also draw closer to Christ in your walk with Him. You can find the written version of each article that is an episode of Christian Research Journal Reads at the website of the Christian Research Institute, equip.org. All Christian Research Journal articles at equip.org are completely free and do not require a subscription and are not under a paywall.All episodes will be available at the following podcast platforms with more being added daily! You can help spread the word about this new podcast by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on and telling others!You can view off our Website at the at this link and off our Journal main page.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/christian-research-journal-reads--6022978/support.
This podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. As the flagship publication of the Christian Research Institute, the Journal seeks to equip followers of Christ to think and to live Christianly—to exercise truth and experience life. Truth, especially essential Christian doctrine, forms the basis for how we live our lives in Christ. As the apostle Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:16, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”The Christian Research Journal enjoyed a print incarnation of almost 45 years. Now exclusively an online publication, the Journal consists of thousands of free articles. We hope that through these audio articles you are not only equipped to proclaim and defend your faith but that as a disciple you also draw closer to Christ in your walk with Him. You can find the written version of each article that is an episode of Christian Research Journal Reads at the website of the Christian Research Institute, equip.org. All Christian Research Journal articles at equip.org are completely free and do not require a subscription and are not under a paywall.All episodes will be available at the following podcast platforms with more being added daily! You can help spread the word about this new podcast by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on and telling others!You can view off our Website at the at this link and off our Journal main page.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/christian-research-journal-reads--6022978/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
This is episode one hundred and thirty nine of the
Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast. Sunni Shia Split by hay Canigraph.
This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal Print Edition,
Volume forty, number three in twenty seventeen. The Christian Research
(00:27):
Journal Reads Podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles.
To read the full text of this article, along with
its documentation, please go to equip dot org. That's e
qu ip dot org.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Sunni Shia Split by Hank Hanagraph read by Christina Winterstellar.
The split between the two major branches of Islam, Sunni
and Shia, had its genesis in the homicide of Mohammed.
The Sunni believe Mohammed was poisoned by the Jewis Zenab,
(01:04):
while Shiahs are convinced he was poisoned by two of
his wives, Aisha, daughter of Abu Baker, the first rightly
guided Caliph, and Hafsah daughter of Umar, the second rightly
guided Caliph. The Sunni scenario is rife with intrigue. Mohammed
had just massacred the Jews of Kaibar, divided female booty
(01:26):
among his men, and selected the most beautiful of the
women for himself. Thereafter, the Jewis Zeenab allegedly served lamb
laced with poison to him and his murderous accomplish, Bisher.
Bisher died that day. Mohammed was not as fortunate. It
allegedly took three to four years of horrific headaches and
(01:47):
fever before the malicious mutton finally got the better of him.
He died June eighth, six thirty two. In the Shia scenario,
it was two of Mohammed's harem who conspired with their
fathers to bring about the death of the prophet. Shiites
think it utterly absurd to imagine that Mohammed would eat
lamb offered up by a woman who had just witnessed
(02:10):
the murder of her husband, father, uncle, and children. Moreover,
it is hard for Shia intellectuals to swallow the notion
that it took three or four years for the poisonous
mutton to do him. In Shia, Sheikh Yaser al Hbib
cogently argues that it may have taken months, but could
not have taken years. Myriad theories surround Ayisha's murderous motives.
(02:34):
She may have been embittered by her father's decision to
marry her off to a man as old as he was,
or perhaps she could no longer endure the sexual oppression
of a sexagenarian. She may have been intensely jealous of
Mohammed's passion for the exquisitely beautiful Egyptian Coptic slave Maria,
or upset that Mohammed had accused her of adultery. Then again,
(02:57):
the motive may have been financial, Abu Baker and Aisha
lusting after an inheritance that Mohammed had given to his
daughter Fadimah and her husband Ali, who was also Mohammed's cousin.
Whatever the motive, the Shia are convinced Aisha murdered Mohammed,
while the Sunni are persuaded that the Jewis Zenab was
(03:17):
ultimately responsible. This is hugely significant in that immediately following
the murder of Mohammed, a great controversy arose over who
should succeed him. Those loyal to Aisha and Abu Baker
believed it should be the best representative of the Muslim community.
Those loyal to Mohammad's daughter Fadimah and her husband Ali
(03:39):
were hell bent on the notion that it should be
a blood relative. In the end, much to the chagrin
of Ali, the blood relative of Mohammed, Abu Baker succeeded
Mohammed as the first rightly guided Caliph of Islam. Abu
Baker would be dead two years later six thirty four,
and Umar, father of Hafsa Aisha alleged co conspirator, would
(04:02):
succeed him as second rightly guided Caliph. Umar reigned a
mere decade six thirty four to six forty four, and Uthman,
who succeeded him a meager dozen years six forty four
to six fifty six. Following Uthman's murder by a group
of Muslim malcontents, Ali, son in law of Mohammed, finally
(04:22):
got his turn as the fourth rightly guided Caliph of Islam.
Ali would reign a scant five years six fifty six
to six sixty one before being assassinated on the way
to the mosque. Thus concluded the era of the four
rightly guided Caliphs in what is fondly commemorated as Islam's
greatest Golden Age six thirty two to six sixty one.
(04:46):
In essence, then, each of the first three rightly guided
Caliphs was considered to be the best representative of the
way Sunna of Mohammed, while Ali, the fourth rightly guided Caliph,
was finally supported Shiah as the blood relative of Mohammed.
The split between Sunni and Shia morphed into an unbridgable
(05:07):
chasm with the martyrdom of Houssain six eighty, son of
Ali and grandson of Mohammed, having had the temerity to
oppose what he believed to be the oppressive and religiously
misguided caliphate of the Umayads, and asserting his pre eminence
as the blood relative of the prophet, Hussain and seventy
two family and friends were martyred by an overwhelming show
(05:30):
of Sunni military might. From then till now, the beheading
of Hussain and company continues to be a passion motif
in flaming Shia fury toward the Sunni, as well as
paving their path toward paradise. Each year, on the tenth
day of Muharam, the first month of the Islamic calendar,
Shia the world over commemorate the beheading of Houssain through
(05:53):
plays and processions and by pounding their bare backs in
mournful tribute to the severed head. Of their beloved Imam.
For every tear shed, it is said that a hundred
sins are forgiven, Yet with every self flagellation, the divide
between Shia and Sunni deepens due to reverential awe for
Ali and Houssain. Shia Islam regards the imams that followed
(06:17):
these iconic men to be infallible interpreters of hidden meanings
embedded in the text of the Qur'an. By contrast, in
Sunni Islam, the imam is less like a pope and
more akin to a parish priest. The majority faction within
the Shia sect are called Twelvers in that they acknowledged
twelve historical Imams, the last of whom they believe went
(06:40):
into a state of hiddenness in the year eight seventy three,
while another faction, dubbed Seveners, await the return of a
seventh Imam, variously believed to be either Musa or his
brother Ismael. Shia believed that when the Mahdi, either the
twelfth or seventh Imam, emerges from his hiddenness occultation, he
(07:01):
will uproot the religions of the world. He will destroy
the Antichrist and establish Sharia as the undisputed universal law
of humanity. Sunnis have a very different perspective on the matter.
In their view, there is an end time Messianic Mahdi, who,
unlike the Shia Mahdi, is not presently in occultation. While
(07:22):
this Mahdi figures prominently into Sunni eschatology, it is Jesus
who will return an usher in the long awaited Messianic age. Quote.
Allah's apostle said, the hour will not be established until
the son of Mary. For example, Jesus descends amongst you
as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill
(07:44):
the pigs, and abolish the Jija. Tax money will be
in abundance, so that nobody will accept it as charitable
gifts unquote. We should also note that while Sunni Islam
has four schools of Sharia, Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi,
Shia has only one Jafari. Other differences include the Sunnis
(08:07):
belief that the Koran is eternal and uncreated, in contrast
to the Shia belief that the Koran is temporal and created.
Sunnis are more geared toward predestinarianism, while the Shia hold
more closely to a freedom of the will perspective, and
while Sunnis forbid pictures and mosques, Shia mosques are replete
(08:28):
with pictures of holy places and holy people, most notably Ali,
Houssain and Mohammad. In terms of numbers of the one billion,
six hundred million Muslims in the world, Sunnis constitute the
clear majority in the vicinity of eighty to ninety percent.
The ten countries with the largest Muslim populations are by number, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Turkey,
(08:57):
Algeria and Morocco. Shia have a majority in only four countries, Iran,
Azerbaijan formerly Soviet Republic, Bahrain and Iraq. If there is
a kernel of hope for reunification amongst Sunni and Shia,
it is found in the longing for the return of
either Jesus or the Mahdi as a catalyst for bringing
(09:19):
the whole of humanity into Dhar al Islam House of Islam.
Despite the perpetual hatred between Sunni and Shia, they have
remarkable unanimity when it comes to the main and the
plain things of Islam. Both believe in Mohammad as God's
final revelator, the Qur'an is God's final revelation and Islam
(09:40):
as God's final religion. Moreover, Sunnis and Shiites cling in
unison to the five Pillars of Islam Shahada quote there
is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is the messenger
of Allah unquote. Salat prayer five times a day for Sunnis,
th for Shia, zakatt giving alms for the benefit of
(10:05):
needy Muslims PM fasting during the month of Ramadan Hodge
Meccan pilgrimage as able.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Thank you for listening to another episode from the Christian
Research Journal Reads podcast, which provides audio articles of Christian
Research Journal articles.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
If you go to equip dot.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Org, you will find a brand new article for the
Christian Research Journal published weekly.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
In addition, please.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Subscribe to our other podcasts. Wherever you find your favorite podcast,
you will find the Christian Research Journal Reads podcast, the
Postmodern Realities podcast, which features interviews with Christian Research Journal authors,
our flagship podcast, The Bible answer Man Broadcast, and the
(10:55):
Hank Unplugged podcast where c r I Presscident. Hank Canagraph
takes you out of the studio and into his study
to engage in in depth free flowing essential Christian conversations
on critical issues with some of the most interesting and
informative people on the planet. At equipp dot org, you
(11:16):
will also find a lot of resources to equip you,
including many thousands of Christian research journal articles. That's e
qu ip dot org.
This is episode one hundred and thirty nine of the
Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast. Sunni Shia Split by hay Canigraph.
This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal Print Edition,
Volume forty, number three in twenty seventeen. The Christian Research
(00:27):
Journal Reads Podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles.
To read the full text of this article, along with
its documentation, please go to equip dot org. That's e
qu ip dot org.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Sunni Shia Split by Hank Hanagraph read by Christina Winterstellar.
The split between the two major branches of Islam, Sunni
and Shia, had its genesis in the homicide of Mohammed.
The Sunni believe Mohammed was poisoned by the Jewis Zenab,
(01:04):
while Shiahs are convinced he was poisoned by two of
his wives, Aisha, daughter of Abu Baker, the first rightly
guided Caliph, and Hafsah daughter of Umar, the second rightly
guided Caliph. The Sunni scenario is rife with intrigue. Mohammed
had just massacred the Jews of Kaibar, divided female booty
(01:26):
among his men, and selected the most beautiful of the
women for himself. Thereafter, the Jewis Zeenab allegedly served lamb
laced with poison to him and his murderous accomplish, Bisher.
Bisher died that day. Mohammed was not as fortunate. It
allegedly took three to four years of horrific headaches and
(01:47):
fever before the malicious mutton finally got the better of him.
He died June eighth, six thirty two. In the Shia scenario,
it was two of Mohammed's harem who conspired with their
fathers to bring about the death of the prophet. Shiites
think it utterly absurd to imagine that Mohammed would eat
lamb offered up by a woman who had just witnessed
(02:10):
the murder of her husband, father, uncle, and children. Moreover,
it is hard for Shia intellectuals to swallow the notion
that it took three or four years for the poisonous
mutton to do him. In Shia, Sheikh Yaser al Hbib
cogently argues that it may have taken months, but could
not have taken years. Myriad theories surround Ayisha's murderous motives.
(02:34):
She may have been embittered by her father's decision to
marry her off to a man as old as he was,
or perhaps she could no longer endure the sexual oppression
of a sexagenarian. She may have been intensely jealous of
Mohammed's passion for the exquisitely beautiful Egyptian Coptic slave Maria,
or upset that Mohammed had accused her of adultery. Then again,
(02:57):
the motive may have been financial, Abu Baker and Aisha
lusting after an inheritance that Mohammed had given to his
daughter Fadimah and her husband Ali, who was also Mohammed's cousin.
Whatever the motive, the Shia are convinced Aisha murdered Mohammed,
while the Sunni are persuaded that the Jewis Zenab was
(03:17):
ultimately responsible. This is hugely significant in that immediately following
the murder of Mohammed, a great controversy arose over who
should succeed him. Those loyal to Aisha and Abu Baker
believed it should be the best representative of the Muslim community.
Those loyal to Mohammad's daughter Fadimah and her husband Ali
(03:39):
were hell bent on the notion that it should be
a blood relative. In the end, much to the chagrin
of Ali, the blood relative of Mohammed, Abu Baker succeeded
Mohammed as the first rightly guided Caliph of Islam. Abu
Baker would be dead two years later six thirty four,
and Umar, father of Hafsa Aisha alleged co conspirator, would
(04:02):
succeed him as second rightly guided Caliph. Umar reigned a
mere decade six thirty four to six forty four, and Uthman,
who succeeded him a meager dozen years six forty four
to six fifty six. Following Uthman's murder by a group
of Muslim malcontents, Ali, son in law of Mohammed, finally
(04:22):
got his turn as the fourth rightly guided Caliph of Islam.
Ali would reign a scant five years six fifty six
to six sixty one before being assassinated on the way
to the mosque. Thus concluded the era of the four
rightly guided Caliphs in what is fondly commemorated as Islam's
greatest Golden Age six thirty two to six sixty one.
(04:46):
In essence, then, each of the first three rightly guided
Caliphs was considered to be the best representative of the
way Sunna of Mohammed, while Ali, the fourth rightly guided Caliph,
was finally supported Shiah as the blood relative of Mohammed.
The split between Sunni and Shia morphed into an unbridgable
(05:07):
chasm with the martyrdom of Houssain six eighty, son of
Ali and grandson of Mohammed, having had the temerity to
oppose what he believed to be the oppressive and religiously
misguided caliphate of the Umayads, and asserting his pre eminence
as the blood relative of the prophet, Hussain and seventy
two family and friends were martyred by an overwhelming show
(05:30):
of Sunni military might. From then till now, the beheading
of Hussain and company continues to be a passion motif
in flaming Shia fury toward the Sunni, as well as
paving their path toward paradise. Each year, on the tenth
day of Muharam, the first month of the Islamic calendar,
Shia the world over commemorate the beheading of Houssain through
(05:53):
plays and processions and by pounding their bare backs in
mournful tribute to the severed head. Of their beloved Imam.
For every tear shed, it is said that a hundred
sins are forgiven, Yet with every self flagellation, the divide
between Shia and Sunni deepens due to reverential awe for
Ali and Houssain. Shia Islam regards the imams that followed
(06:17):
these iconic men to be infallible interpreters of hidden meanings
embedded in the text of the Qur'an. By contrast, in
Sunni Islam, the imam is less like a pope and
more akin to a parish priest. The majority faction within
the Shia sect are called Twelvers in that they acknowledged
twelve historical Imams, the last of whom they believe went
(06:40):
into a state of hiddenness in the year eight seventy three,
while another faction, dubbed Seveners, await the return of a
seventh Imam, variously believed to be either Musa or his
brother Ismael. Shia believed that when the Mahdi, either the
twelfth or seventh Imam, emerges from his hiddenness occultation, he
(07:01):
will uproot the religions of the world. He will destroy
the Antichrist and establish Sharia as the undisputed universal law
of humanity. Sunnis have a very different perspective on the matter.
In their view, there is an end time Messianic Mahdi, who,
unlike the Shia Mahdi, is not presently in occultation. While
(07:22):
this Mahdi figures prominently into Sunni eschatology, it is Jesus
who will return an usher in the long awaited Messianic age. Quote.
Allah's apostle said, the hour will not be established until
the son of Mary. For example, Jesus descends amongst you
as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill
(07:44):
the pigs, and abolish the Jija. Tax money will be
in abundance, so that nobody will accept it as charitable
gifts unquote. We should also note that while Sunni Islam
has four schools of Sharia, Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi,
Shia has only one Jafari. Other differences include the Sunnis
(08:07):
belief that the Koran is eternal and uncreated, in contrast
to the Shia belief that the Koran is temporal and created.
Sunnis are more geared toward predestinarianism, while the Shia hold
more closely to a freedom of the will perspective, and
while Sunnis forbid pictures and mosques, Shia mosques are replete
(08:28):
with pictures of holy places and holy people, most notably Ali,
Houssain and Mohammad. In terms of numbers of the one billion,
six hundred million Muslims in the world, Sunnis constitute the
clear majority in the vicinity of eighty to ninety percent.
The ten countries with the largest Muslim populations are by number, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Turkey,
(08:57):
Algeria and Morocco. Shia have a majority in only four countries, Iran,
Azerbaijan formerly Soviet Republic, Bahrain and Iraq. If there is
a kernel of hope for reunification amongst Sunni and Shia,
it is found in the longing for the return of
either Jesus or the Mahdi as a catalyst for bringing
(09:19):
the whole of humanity into Dhar al Islam House of Islam.
Despite the perpetual hatred between Sunni and Shia, they have
remarkable unanimity when it comes to the main and the
plain things of Islam. Both believe in Mohammad as God's
final revelator, the Qur'an is God's final revelation and Islam
(09:40):
as God's final religion. Moreover, Sunnis and Shiites cling in
unison to the five Pillars of Islam Shahada quote there
is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is the messenger
of Allah unquote. Salat prayer five times a day for Sunnis,
th for Shia, zakatt giving alms for the benefit of
(10:05):
needy Muslims PM fasting during the month of Ramadan Hodge
Meccan pilgrimage as able.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Thank you for listening to another episode from the Christian
Research Journal Reads podcast, which provides audio articles of Christian
Research Journal articles.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
If you go to equip dot.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Org, you will find a brand new article for the
Christian Research Journal published weekly.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
In addition, please.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Subscribe to our other podcasts. Wherever you find your favorite podcast,
you will find the Christian Research Journal Reads podcast, the
Postmodern Realities podcast, which features interviews with Christian Research Journal authors,
our flagship podcast, The Bible answer Man Broadcast, and the
(10:55):
Hank Unplugged podcast where c r I Presscident. Hank Canagraph
takes you out of the studio and into his study
to engage in in depth free flowing essential Christian conversations
on critical issues with some of the most interesting and
informative people on the planet. At equipp dot org, you
(11:16):
will also find a lot of resources to equip you,
including many thousands of Christian research journal articles. That's e
qu ip dot org.
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