MA Shia Theology is a master level course with a duration of 2 years. Shia Islam is one of the two principle parts of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad assigned Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam (pioneer) after him, most prominently at the occasion of Ghadir Khumm, yet was kept from the caliphate because of the occurrence of Saqifah. This view basically stands out from that of Sunni Islam, whose followers accept that Muhammad didn't delegate a successor and consi