Further information: The first centuries of Islam gave rise to three major:, and. Each sect developed distinct ( ) reflecting different methodologies of jurisprudence ( ). For instance, are separated into five sub-sects, namely,,,, and., on the other hand, is divided into three major sects known as, and.,,, of and all emerged from the. Later split into and, and then was divided into and.

Moreover, - later brought into existence.,,, and were all developed from. Similarly, were initially divided into five major branches:,,, Adjarites and. Among these numerous branches, only,,,, --,,,,,,, and communities have survived.

In addition, new schools of thought and movements like, and later emerged independently. Main article: are the largest of Islam and are known as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h or simply as Ahl as-Sunnah. The word Sunni comes from the word, which means the teachings and actions or examples of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Therefore, 'Sunni' refers to those who follow or maintain the sunnah of Muhammad. In many countries, overwhelming majorities of Muslims are Sunnis, so that they simply refer to themselves as 'Muslims' and do not use the Sunni label.

The Sunnis believe that Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to lead the Muslim (community) before his death, and after an initial period of confusion, a group of his most prominent gathered and elected, Muhammad's close friend and a father-in-law, as the first of Islam. Sunni Muslims regard the first four caliphs (,, and ) as ' or 'The Rightly Guided Caliphs.' Sunnis also believe that the position of caliph may be attained, on gaining a majority of the votes, but after the Rashidun, the position turned into a hereditary rule because of the divisions started by the and others. After the fall of the in 1923, there has never been another caliph as widely recognized in the. Shia Islam [ ]. Main articles: and ( شيعة Shia, sometimes Shi'a; adjective 'Shia'/ Shi'ite) is the second-largest denomination of Islam, comprising 10–13% of the total Muslim population in the world. Torrent Password Recovery Bundle 2012 Advanced Disposal. Shia Muslims, though a minority in the Muslim world, constitute the majority of the muslim populations in,, and as well as a in, and.

In addition to believing in the authority of the and teachings of Muhammad, Shia believe that Muhammad's family, the (the 'People of the House'), including his descendants known as, have special spiritual and political authority over the community and believe that, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and was the to Muhammad, and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three Rashidun caliphs. The of this section is. Relevant discussion may be found on the.