Origin of Shia Islam

Shia Islam originated as a response to questions of Islamic religious leadership which became manifest as early as the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. The issues involved not only whom to appoint as the successor to Muhammad, but also what attributes a true successor should have. Sunnis regarded Caliphs as a temporal leaders, (originally elected by general agreement, though later the hereditary principle became the norm). To the Shiite, however, the question of succession is a matter of designation of an individual (Ali) through divine command. In the same way, Shias believed that each Imam designated the next Imam by the leave of God. So within Shia Islam it makes no difference to the Imam's position whether he is chosen as a Caliph or not.

Historians dispute the origin of Shia Islam, with many Western scholars positing that Shiism began as a political faction rather than as a religious movement. However, Jafri disagrees, considering this concept or religious-political separation as an anachronistic application of a Western concept. Sunnis, on the other hand, often claim that Shiite beliefs only first formed under the scheming of Abdullah ibn Saba'; Sunnis reject the idea that Ali followed any beliefs that were contrary to the rest of the Sahaba.