Sunni Islam

The majority branch, following the way (sunna) of the Prophet and the community's consensus.

formalized c. 7th–9th c. CE · Worldwide · Abrahamic

Sunni Islam, the majority of Muslims worldwide, holds that authority rests with the sunna of the Prophet, the consensus of the community, and the scholarly tradition, accepting the early caliphs as rightful successors. Its four schools of jurisprudence (madhhabs) guide practice, and it emphasizes the Qur'an and Hadith as the foundations of a shared communal life.

Key figures

• The Rightly-Guided Caliphs
• The four legal scholars

Texts

• Qur’an & the six Hadith collections

Beliefs

• Consensus of the community (ummah)
• Leadership by the most qualified
• Four schools of sacred law

Rituals

• The Five Pillars
• Following a school of jurisprudence
• Friday congregational prayer

Grew from

• Islam

Connections in the atlas

• Al-Ghazali
• The Tarikh al-Sudan
• Great Mosque of Kairouan
• Qarīn
• The travels of Ibn Battuta
• Rub el Hizb
• The Kurds
• ▶ Islam’s two branches
• Fasting (ritual)
• Prayer beads
• Sufism
• ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr