Shi'a Imam
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The Imam (Arabic:إمام) is a Islamic term meaning Leader. Shi'a give the word a different meaning to it than the Sunnis.
Within Shi'ism, there are various sects that differ over the number of Imams, or path of succession. The issue of who is the rightful Imam has led to the growth of numerous sects within Shi'ism including: Twelvers (with Shaykhís), Ismailis (Seveners), Zaidis (Fivers), Alawites, Alevites, Druze, Ahl-e Haqq and others.
Contents |
Twelver view
Definition
The Shi'a Twelver denomination of Islam consider it to be the highest level of responsibility given by God to a human.
Ranks
Shi'a believe there are different ranks that people have achieved:
- Ordinary people
- Shi'a believe that people are able to receive revelations/inspiration/guidance (Arabic: Wahy) from God. In support of this, they quote verse 16: 68 of the Qur'an where even bees are said to receive Wahy.
- Communicating with angels
- Some people raise to the rank of communicating with angels. Shi'a honour Fatima Zahra with a nickname implying this.
- Prophets
- Prophets (Arabic: Nabi) are considered people having the responsibility of sharing the Divine Law (Arabic Shari'a) that was revealed to the latest Messenger. However, they may also privately receive new laws which they are not responsible for sharing. There are considered to have been over 124 000 prophets.
- Messenger
- "Messenger" (Arabic Rasul) are considered people receiving a new set of laws from God, in addition of being a prophet.
Shi'as and Sunnis believe there are different status among nabis and rasuls, supported by this Qur'anic verse:
- We have made some of these Messenger (Rasul) to excel the others among them are they to whom Allah spoke, and some of them He exalted by (many degrees of) rank... [2.253]
- Leader
- "Leader" (Arabic: Imam) are considered people having the responsibility of implementing the Divinte Law (Arabic Shari'a), by leading a group of people, besides being a Messenger and Prophet.
Shi'a Twelver believe that five Messengers achieved the rank of Leadership:
Shi'as and Sunnis also believe there are different status among these five, Muhammad having the highest.
Non-prophets
Shi'a believe that Muhammad perfected the Divine Law (Qur'an 5:3), hence making it impossible to improve it further. This belief results in the role of the prophets and messengers becoming obsolete, since there are no further sets of laws to be received. However, Shi'a believe that the need for guidance that Leaders give is still present. Hence, they believe that after Muhammad, there have been non-prophet leaders.
Shi'a believe that those are the rightful successors to Muhammad. They are regarded similar to the Caliph in Sunni Islam only with regards to the aspect of political leadership. In fact, the Shia Imam has many more characteristics and responsibilities than the Sunni concept of Caliph beyond mere political leadership. Unlike the Sunni Caliph, the Imam must be appointed by no one other than God. For details of the position held by a Shia Imam, see Imamah. The majority Shia belief is that the Imams are God appointed. After the prophet Muhammad, were Ali, and eleven of his descendants from his wife, Fatima Zahra. This belief is what led to the split between the Shi'a and Sunni, as the Shi'a felt that the descendants of Ali are the rightful successors to Muhammad, while the Sunni felt that it was any who could take the role of Caliph by the will of God and protect Islam. For details, see Succession to Muhammad.
Shi'a believe that non-prophet Leaders can have the same or even greater status than Leaders that also are prophet. For example, they believe that Ali held a higher status than Jesus, but lower than Muhammad. They base their conclusion on the Hadith of Jesus praying behind Mahdi.
Shi'as also believe that imams can perform miracles, intercede, and guide the faithful, including speaking in any language and in any accent, and present narrations as proof.
Qur'an
Abraham
In verse 2.124 of the Qur'an, it describes how Abraham was "promoted" from being a Messenger to an Leader. Shi'a Muslims believe this is a clear proof of the distinct status and responsibility of an Leadership (Arabic imamate).
Day of Judgement
In verse 17.71, the Qur'an describes that on the Day of Judgement, every person will be asked whom their imam is, to be judged as nations. Shi'a Muslims conclude therefore that the status of imamate is very important. They conclude that this proves that everyone does have an imam, whether he recognizes it or not.
Hadith
Some of the Hadith Shi'a base their arguments on include:
- Hadith of the Twelve Successors
- Hadith of the Current Imam
- Hadith of the pond of Khumm
- Hadith of position
- Hadith of Mubahela
Imams
According to the majority of Shi'a, namely the Ithna Ashariya, or Twelvers, the following is a listing of the rightful successors to Muhammad. Each Imam was the son of the previous Imam, except for Husayn ibn Ali who was the brother of Hasan ibn Ali.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (600 CE-661 CE)
- Hasan ibn Ali (625-669)
- Husayn ibn Ali (626-680)
- Ali ibn Husayn (658-713), also known as Zayn al-Abidin
- Muhammad al-Baqir (676-743)
- Jafar al-Sadiq (703-765)
- Musa al-Kazim (745-799)
- Ali al-Rida (765-818) also known as Ali al-Reza
- Muhammad al-Taqi (810-835)
- Ali al-Hadi (827-868) also known as Ali al-Naqi
- Hasan al-Askari (846-874)
- Muhammad al-Mahdi (b. 868)
Ismaili view
The Ismailis believe that the first six Imams listed above are the rightful successors of Muhammad, but differ as to the seventh, believing that Ismail bin Jafar was the rightful successor, and not his brother Musa al-Kazim. From Ismail bin Jafar, the Ismaili line of Imams diverges to the descendants of Ismail, from whom the Aga Khans claim descent and their continuity. See [1].
- Ali ibn Abi Talib (600 CE-661 CE)
- Hasan ibn Ali (625-669)
- Husayn ibn Ali (626-680)
- Ali ibn Husayn (658-713), also known as Zayn al-Abidin
- Muhammad al-Baqir (676-743)
- Jafar al-Sadiq (703-765)
- Ismail bin Jafar
Zaidi view
The Zaidis believe that the first four Imams listed above are the rightful successors of Muhammad, but differ as to the fifth. The Zaidis believe that Zayd bin Ali, and not his brother Muhammad al-Baqir was the rightful successor to the Imamah. The Imamah, for Zaidis, is thus transferred from Zayd bin Ali to the other Imams who followed him; they often took the title of caliph. Unusually, the Zaidi caliphate was not hereditary, although the caliph has to be descended from Ali.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (600 CE-661 CE)
- Hasan ibn Ali (625-669)
- Husayn ibn Ali (626-680)
- Ali ibn Husayn (658-713), also known as Zayn al-Abidin
- Zayd ibn Ali (d. 740)
Important: Not All Zaidis believe that Zaid was the true Imam. Zaidis known as Wastis believe in the Twelwe Imams. They are part of Shi'a Ithna Ashari. Most of them settled in India and Pakistan. The biggest group of Zaidis having their belief in the Twelve Shi'a Imams is known as Saadat-e-Bahra. Saadat means descendants of Husayn ibn Ali and Bahra means "twelve" in the Hindi and Urdu Languages.
Saadat-e-Bahra's biggest gathering is in Karachi, Pakistan and Muzaffarnagar, India.
