بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam, followed by a large majority of the world’s Muslim population. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behaviour of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagreement over the succession to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and subsequently acquired broader political significance and theological and juridical dimensions. According to Sunni traditions, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. left no successor, and the participants of the Saqifah event appointed Abu Bakr r.a. as the next-in-line (the first caliph). In contrast, the Shia view holds that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. appointed his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib r.a. as his successor.
The adherents of Sunni Islam are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah (‘the people of the Sunnah and the community’) or ahl as-Sunnah for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are referred to as Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims.
The Al-Quran, together with hadith and binding juristic consensus, form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. Sharia rulings are derived from these primary sources, in conjunction with analogical reasoning, consideration of public welfare and juristic discretion, using the principles of jurisprudence developed by the traditional legal schools. In matters of creed, the Sunni tradition upholds the six pillars of imān (faith).