Water

Shia

Sunni

Angels

Angels obey God's commandments. They have limited free will, though no drive to sin.

God created angels from light. They do not have their own free will and always obey the commandments of God.

Population

200 million

1.2 billion

Place of worship

Mosque, Imambarah or Ashurkhana, Eidgah

Mosque, Eidgah

Use of statues and pictures

Not permitted

Not permitted

Clergy

Imaam (divinely guided), Ayatollah, Mujtahid, Allamah, Maulana

Caliph, Imaam (Saint), Mujtahid, Allamah, Maulana

Marriage

Man may marry up to 4 women.

Man may marry up to 4 women.

Offshoot religions

Baha'i - a separate religion

Ahmadiyya (Ahmedi) - a sect of Islam

Belief of God

One God

One God

Original Language(s)

Arabic, Farsi

Arabic

Birth of Jesus

Virgin Birth

Virgin Birth

Second coming of Jesus

Affirmed

Affirmed

Death of Jesus

Denied. Jesus did not die on the cross, but his body went up to heaven.

Denied. Jesus did not die on the cross, but his body went up to heaven.

View of other Abrahamic religions

Christianity and Judaism are "People of the Book."

Christianity and Judaism are "People of the Book."

Resurrection of Jesus

Denied. Jesus did not die on the cross. Jesus will come back down from heaven in the future.

Denied. Jesus did not die on the cross. Jesus will come back down from heaven in the future.

Holy days

Ashura, Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha, Eid al ghadeer

Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha, Eid-e-Milaad-un-Nabi

Origin

From teachings of Prophet Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure.

From teachings of Prophet Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure.

Places most closely associated with independent history of the faith

Kufa, Karbala

Madinah (Medina), Makkah (Mecca)

Adherents called

Shiites, Shia, Shii, Ehl-e-Tash'e

Sunni, Ehl-e-Sunnah

Geographic Presence

Majority in Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain,