Early Islam · 632-680

Sunni and Shia: how the split began

A disagreement about who should lead the Muslim community grew into the division between Sunni and Shia Islam. Students trace the events from 632 to Karbala in 680, with care and respect for both traditions.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 661 to AD 680
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

A disagreement about who should lead the Muslim community grew into the division between Sunni and Shia Islam. Students trace the events from 632 to Karbala in 680, with care and respect for both traditions.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain the disagreement about leadership after the Prophet's death in 632.
  • Describe what happened to Husayn ibn Ali at Karbala in 680 and why it is remembered.
  • Name the main difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims today.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 661

Two rival capitals

Open the map in 661 and turn on the Cities layer. Find Damascus, the base of Muawiya. Then look south-east to Iraq, where Ali ruled from Kufa. How far apart were the two rivals?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 680

The road to Kufa

Move to 680. Find Mecca, where Husayn set out, and follow the desert north-east towards Kufa in Iraq. What would a journey of more than 1,200 km across the desert require?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 680

Karbala today

The map opens at Karbala in Iraq. Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine of Husayn here every year. Why do people travel to places of memory?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. After the Prophet's death, what were the two main ideas about who should lead the Muslim community?
  2. Muawiya made his son Yazid the next caliph. Why did many people see that as a big change?
  3. Why do you think the death of Husayn, the Prophet's grandson, moved so many people, then and now?
  4. Sunni and Shia Muslims share the Quran and the core beliefs of Islam. Why can a disagreement about leadership last for centuries?
  5. How can remembering an event every year, as Shia Muslims do on Ashura, hold a community together?
4

Game round

10 min

Rule History has no ruler from this conflict. Play one round as Wu Zetian, who held power in China in the same decades and also lived through fierce quarrels over who should inherit the throne. Discuss how disputes about succession shaped both states.

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.