In books written on Islam the word "hadith" usually refers to the sayings or "traditions" which have been given from the Prophet. Muslims hold these to be the most important source of Islamic teachings after the Qur'an. A lot of books have been written in English about what the hadith means in Islam and a number of important translations have been made. Almost all the studies have been limited to the point of view of Sunni Islam and based on Sunni sources and collections. Practically no one has ever paid any attention to the different nature of the hadith literature in Shiism and the different sources from which the hadiths are recieved.

The main difference to be made between Shiite and Sunni hadiths is that in Shiism the traditions are not limited to those of the Prophet, but include those of the Imams as well. I will explain more of the distinctions later on. The difference between the two religions is still hard to distinguish even with easy to understand b

In 656 'Ali became the caliphate with the support, among many others, of the murderers of the third caliph. 'Ali never quite received the faithfulness of all the Muslims. 'Ali was murdered in 661, and Mu'awiyah, his main enemy, became caliph. 'Ali's son, Husayn, refused to recognize the power of Mu'awiyah's son and successor who was the caliph. The Muslims of the Shi'ite dominated town of Kufah in Iraq, 'Ali's former capital, invited Husayn to become caliph. The Muslims in Iraq generally failed to support Husayn, however, and he and his small group of followers were brought down in 680 by the governor of Iraq's troops near Kufah at the Battle of Karbala', which is now a pilgrimage spot for Shiites.

The largest Shiite group is that of the Ithna 'Ashariyah, or Twelvers, who recognize the legitimacy of a succession of twelve 'Alid claimants (beginning with 'Ali himself) who are known as Imams.

The Sunnites' strongest belief has an emphasis on the views and customs of the majority of the community, as distinguished from the views of other groups. The Sunnites compromised by allowing the other groups to bring their beliefs and customs that had nothing to do with the Qur'an.

ooks like the Encyclopedia of World Faiths. There, the author of the article is aware that there is some difference between Shiism and Sunnism on the question of which hadiths are included, but he thinks that it lies in the fact that the Shiite collections accept "only traditions traced through 'Ali's family." But this is incorrect, since a lot of traditions are also gotten through other sources. What the author fails to mention is that the hadith literature as understood by Shiites is not limited to the sayings of the Prophet, but includes those of the Imams as well.

The Sunnites are the other branch of Islamic religion. Sunnite Muslims think that their group is the normal and traditional branch of Islam, which is different from the minority group, the Shiites.

Over the centuries the Shiite movement has deeply influenced all Sunnite Islam, and its supporters numbered about 60 to 80 million in the late 20th century, or one-tenth of all Islam. Shiism (Arabic: Shi'ah, or Shi'i Islam) is the majority faith in Iran, Iraq, and perhaps Yemen (San'a') and has followers in Syria, Lebanon, East Africa, India, and Pakistan.

After giving you a brief over view of both the Sunnis and Shiites I will now go into more depth on both the Shiites and the Sunnis. First I will start with the Shiites. Shiism is the smaller of the two major branches of Islam. In early Islamic history the Shi'ites were a political faction (shi'at 'Ali, "party of 'Ali") that supported the power of 'Ali, who was a son-in-law of Muhammad and the fourth caliph of the Muslim community. 'Ali was killed while trying to keep his authority as caliph. The Shiites stand against the caliph was not normal with that of the more realistic Sunnite majority of Muslims, who were generally willing to accept the le

Some common words found in the essay are:
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