Namaz inside, attack outside… Who are the Ahmadiyya Muslims, who were shot at in Pakistan?

He is in the news after the attack on Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan.

Amid the ongoing hatred against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan, a gunman opened fire outside the Betul Mehdi place of worship in Chenab Nagar. Six people including security guards were injured in this. However, the attacker was killed in retaliatory firing by two policemen posted nearby. All the people injured in this incident are said to be from Ahmadiyya Muslim community, who are always the target of fundamentalists in Pakistan. Even the government does not support them. With this in mind, let us know how many types of Muslims are there and who are Ahmadiyya Muslims?

In fact, all the people who believe in Islam call themselves Muslims, but according to their understanding of Islamic laws and Islamic history, these Muslims are divided into many different sects. Generally there are two types of Muslims, Sunni and Shia. These Sunni and Shia are further divided into many sects. Actually, both Sunni and Shia believe that Allah is one. Mohammad Saheb is the messenger of Allah and Quran is the book sent by Allah. However, there is difference of opinion between them regarding the issue of succession of Prophet Mohammad Sahib after his death. Besides, the laws of both Sunni and Shia are also different.

sunni muslim

It is Sunnah or Sunni to adopt the methods which Prophet Mohammad himself followed. Those who adopt these methods call themselves Sunni. An estimate is that about 80 percent of the world is Sunni Muslims. Sunnis believe that after Prophet Mohammad, his father-in-law Hazrat Abu Bakr became the leader of Muslims, who was called Caliph. Then after Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Usman and Hazrat Ali became their leaders. The people who came after them were called leaders of Muslims politically but they had no special importance religiously.

divided into five groups

On the basis of interpretation of Islamic laws, Sunnis are mainly divided into four groups. There is also a fifth group, which considers itself different from these four. There is not much difference in the beliefs of these five groups, but the belief is that their Imam has interpreted Islam correctly. They had four different Imams: Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafai, Imam Hanbal and Imam Malik. Those who follow Imam Abu Hanifa are called Hanafi. However, Hanafi Muslims are further divided into two groups. One of them is Deobandi and the other Barelvi.

Deobandi and Barelvi

Deobandi and Barelvi were named after two places of Uttar Pradesh, Deoband and Bareilly. In the early 20th century, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi and Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi interpreted Islamic law differently. Ashraf Ali Thanvi belonged to Darul Uloom Deoband Madrasa, while Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi belonged to Bareilly. Hanafi Sunni Muslims who follow their interpretation consider themselves Deobandi and Barelvi respectively.

Maliki, Shafai and Hanbali

Followers of another Sunni Imam, Imam Malik, are rarely found in Asia. The name of his important book is Imam Motta. Those who follow Imam Malik follow the rules given by him and are mostly found in Middle-East Asia and North Africa. The disciple of Imam Malik is another prominent Imam of Shafai Sunnis. A large number of Muslims follow the rules given by him. These are also found mostly in Middle-East Asia and African countries. Similarly, those who follow the rules of Imam Hanbal call themselves Hanbali and they are also found in Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Middle East and many African countries.

Salafi, Wahhabi and Ahl Hadith

A group of Sunnis do not exclusively follow any one Imam. They believe that to understand and follow Shariat properly, one should read Quran and Hadith directly. People with this belief are called Salafi, Wahabi and Ahl Hadith etc. These sects value the knowledge, research, study and literature of the Imams but they believe that it is not necessary to be a follower of any one of these Imams. The Salafi group wants to propagate Islam as it was during the time of Prophet Mohammad. This thinking was taken forward by Sehra Ibne Taymiyya and Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahhabi.

At the same time, in Gujarat and Maharashtra in India and Sindh in Pakistan, a group of Muslim businessmen are called Bohra. Bohras are Shias as well as Sunnis. While Sunni Bohras follow Hanafi Islamic law, Dawoodi Bohras are closer to the Shia community.

Ahmadiyya Muslim

They follow Hanafi Islamic laws. This community was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed in Qadian, Punjab, India. That is why they are called Ahmadiyya after their name. People of this sect believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmed was the incarnation of the Prophet. Although almost all groups of Muslims believe that after Mohammad Sahib, the series of messengers sent by Allah to the world ended, but Ahmadis believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmed was such a religious reformer who gets the status of a prophet. Due to this difference of opinion, a large group of Muslims do not consider Ahmadiyya as Muslims.

Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan have been officially rejected from Islam. However, apart from India and Pakistan, there are a good number of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Britain also.

Shia Muslim

Shia Muslims are supporters of the appointment of Imam and not Caliph after Prophet Mohammad. They believe that after the Prophet, his real successor was his son-in-law Hazrat Ali. The Prophet had also declared Ali as his heir but Hazrat Abu Bakr was fraudulently chosen as the leader of the Muslims. Shia Muslims not only do not consider the first three Caliphs after Mohammed Sahib as their leaders, but also call them Ghasib i.e. the ones who steal.

Isna Ashari, Zaidiyya, Ismaili

Shia Muslims also have many sects like Sunnis. The largest group among them is Isna Ashari, which believes in 12 Imams. About 75 percent of the world’s Shias belong to this community. Their first Imam is Hazrat Ali and the 12th Imam is Jamana i.e. Imam Mahdi. Zaidis are another large group of Shias, who believe in only five Imams. The first four Imams belong to Isna Ashari Shia but the last i.e. the fifth Imam is Zaid bin Ali, the grandson of Hussain. Because of these the people of this group were called Jaidiya. At the same time, Ismaili Shias believe in only seven Imams and their last Imam is Mohammad bin Ismail. For this reason they are called Ismaili.

Dawoodi Bohra, Khoja and Nusayri

Muslim businessmen who follow Ismaili Shia laws of Bohra are called Dawoodi Bohra. However, they believe in 21 Imams, that is why Ismaili is considered different from Shia. Their last Imam is considered to be Tayyab Abul Qasim. After these comes the tradition of spiritual gurus, who are called Dai. Similarly, a group of traders from Gujarat, who are called Khojas, accepted Islam a few centuries ago. Like Bohra, Khoja also believes in both Sunni and Shia. Although most Khojas follow Ismaili Shia law, there are also a large number of Khojas who follow Isna Ashari Shia religious law.

Nusayris, a group of Shia Muslims, are also found in Syria and the Middle East. They are also called Alawi. This community believes that Ali was actually the incarnation of God. They follow Isna Ashari law but their beliefs are different. In fact Nusayri Muslims believe in reincarnation. Some rituals of Christians are also a part of their religion. Apart from all this, many small sects are found in Islam.

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