Sunni

How it is used

Used as an adjective (Sunni Islam, Sunni scholars) and as a noun (a Sunni, Sunnis). The full Arabic name is ahl al-sunna wa'l-jama'a. Sunni law has four main schools, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali, and its main theological schools are the Ash'ari and Maturidi.

Example sentences

1. Sunni Muslims make up the large majority of the world's Muslim population.

2. Most Sunni Muslims in Turkey follow the Hanafi school of law and Maturidi theology.

Common collocations

• Sunni Islam
• Sunni Muslims
• Sunni schools of law
• Sunni and Shia

Related terms

• ShiaBelonging to the second-largest branch of Islam, whose followers believe that leadership after the Prophet Muhammad belonged to Ali and his descendants, the Imams.
• IslamA monotheistic religion that began in seventh-century Arabia with the Prophet Muhammad; Muslims regard the Qur'an as God's word and follow practices such as the Five Pillars.
• hadithA report of the words, actions or approval of the Prophet Muhammad, passed down through a chain of narrators; hadith are a major source of Islamic law and practice.
• shariaIn Islam, the divine law and guidance for all areas of life, which Muslim jurists interpret through the Qur'an, the sunna and methods of legal reasoning.
• denominationA recognized branch of a religion, especially of Christianity, with its own name, organization and traditions, such as the Lutheran, Methodist or Baptist churches.

More terms: World Religions and Traditions

• Christianity
• Judaism
• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Catholicism
• Protestantism
• Eastern Orthodoxy
• Abrahamic religions
• Sikhism
• Daoism