Wait a min, I seem to recall having read that there was no such thing as a sunni until the shi'a of Imam Ali (KAW) started calling them selves the shi'a of the Ahl-al-Bait. Also, our beloved Rasool (S) has used the term Shi'at-e-Ali for Suleman al-Farsi, Abudharr Ghaffari and one Abdullah bin Abbas. So by that token, ... but all this is irrelevant anyway.. what does it matter who came first? What is important to determine is what is being said by whom. and if you know what your side is saying, then learning what the othe side is saying. I shunned a shi'a upbringing to marry a sunni muslimah and raise my children in the sunni community because I wanted to know what the other side holds. and the change in perspective has only made me stronger and more knowledgeable..