Katana VentraIP

Imamate in Shia doctrine

In Shia Islam, the Imamah (Arabic: إمامة) is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further says that Imams possess divine knowledge and authority (Ismah) as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt, the family of Muhammad.[1] These Imams have the role of providing commentary and interpretation of the Quran[2] as well as guidance.

For the turban that Muslim men wear, see Ammama.

Etymology[edit]

The word "Imām" denotes a person who stands or walks "in front". For Sunni Islam, the word is commonly used to mean a person who leads the course of prayer in the mosque. It also means the head of a madhhab ("school of thought"). However, from the Shia point of view this is merely the basic understanding of the word in the Arabic language and, for its proper religious usage, the word "Imam" is applicable only to those members of the house of Muhammad designated as infallible by the preceding Imam.

Introduction[edit]

The Shia further believe only these A'immah have the right to be Caliphs, meaning that all other caliphs, whether elected by consensus (Ijma) or not, are usurpers of the Caliphate as those were political positions not divine positions.


All Muslims believe that Muhammad had said: "To whomsoever I am Mawla, Ali is his Mawla." This hadith has been narrated in different ways by many different sources in no less than 45 hadith books of both Sunni and Shia collections. This hadith has also been narrated by the collector of hadiths, al-Tirmidhi, 3713;[3] as well as Ibn Maajah, 121;[4] etc. The major point of conflict between the Sunni and the Shia is in the interpretation of the word 'Mawla'. For the Shia the word means 'Master' and has the same elevated significance as when the term had been used to address Muhammad himself during his lifetime. Thus, when Muhammad actually (by speech) and physically (by way of having his closest companions including Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman [the three future Caliphs who had preceded Ali as Caliph] publicly accept Ali as their Master by taking Ali's hand in both of theirs as token of their allegiance to Ali) transferred this title and manner of addressing Ali as the Mawla for all Muslims at Ghadiri Khum Oasis just a few months before his death, the people that came to look upon Ali as Muhammad's immediate successor even before Muhammad's death came to be known as the Shia. However, for Sunnis the word simply means the 'beloved' or the 'revered' and has no other significance at all.

Ghaybah al-Sughra or Minor Occultation (874–941), consists of the first few decades after the Imam's disappearance when communication with him was maintained through deputies of the Imam.

Ghaybah al-Kubra or Major Occultation began in 941 and is believed to continue until a time decided by , when the Mahdi will reappear to bring absolute justice to the world.

God

Imams of Yemen

Imamzadeh

Ismah

Mahdi

Succession to Muhammad

(2006). Uyun Akhbar Al-Reza: The Source of Traditions on Imam Reza (a.s.) Vol. 2. Qomindex.htm: Ansariyan Publications. p. 194.

al-Shaykh al-Saduq

Al-Tabataba'i, Muhammad H. (1977). . SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-390-0.

Shi'ite Islam

al-Tijani al-Samawi, Muhammad (30 January 2013). .

To Be with the Truthful

Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (27 September 1994). . SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2122-2.

The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam

Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2005). . Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2014-07-07.

"Shiʿite Doctrine"

Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2007). . Encyclopædia Iranica.

"Islam in Iran vii. The Concept of Mahdi in Twelver Shiʿism"

Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (15 February 2011). . I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-738-2.

The Spirituality of Shi'i Islam: Belief and Practices

(1984). The Qur'an and Its Interpreters, Volume 1. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-727-4.

Ayoub, Mahmoud

Chittick, William C. (1980). . SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-510-2.

A Shi'ite Anthology

(1993). History of Islamic Philosophy. Translated by Liadain Sherrard and Philip Sherrard. London: Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies. ISBN 0-7103-0416-1.

Corbin, Henry

Dungersi, Mohammed Raza. . Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania. GGKEY:NT86H2HXN40.

A Brief Biography of Imam Hasan bin Ali (a.s.): al-Askari

. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Encyclopædia Britannica Online

. Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University. March 1997. ISBN 1-56859-050-4.

Encyclopædia Iranica

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Gale Group. 2004.  978-0-02-865769-1.

ISBN

Halm, H (1987). . Encyclopaedia Iranica.

"ʿAskarī"

Kohlberg, E.; Poonawala, I. K. (1985). . Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2014-07-07.

"ʿAli B. Abi Ṭāleb"

Martin, Richard C. (2004). "Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World: A-L". Encyclopaedia of Islam and the Muslim world; vol. 1. MacMillan.  0-02-865604-0.

ISBN

(1997). The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-64696-3.

Madelung, Wilferd

(1985a). "'Alī Al-Hādī". Encyclopædia Iranica.

Madelung, Wilferd

(1985b). "ʿAlī Al-Reżā". Encyclopædia Iranica.

Madelung, Wilferd

(1985c). "ʿAlī Al-Reżā". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2007-11-09.

Madelung, Wilferd

(1988). "Al-Baqer, Abu Jafar Mohammad". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 2007-11-08.

Madelung, Wilferd

(2003). "Hasan ibn Ali". Encyclopædia Iranica.

Madelung, Wilferd

(2004). "Ḥosayn B. ʿAli i. Life AND Significance IN Shiʿism". Encyclopædia Iranica.

Madelung, Wilferd

Mashita, Hiroyuki (2002). . London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 9780700716708.

Theology, ethics and metaphysics

Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelve. Yale University Press.  0-300-03531-4.

ISBN

. Master and Mastership. Islamic Seminary Publications. ASIN B0006E4J0C.

Motahhari, Morteza

(2007). "Ali". Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein

(2013). Islamic Spirituality: Foundations. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-53895-9.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein

Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza (2006). (1st ed.). New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-06211-2.

The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future

Qurashi, Baqir Sharif (1999). . Ansariyan Publications. ISBN 9644380444.

The Life of Imam Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Baqir

Qurashi, Baqir Shareef (2005). . Qom: Ansariyan Publications.

The Life of Imam Muhammad Al-Jawad

Qurashi, Baqir Sharif (2007). . Ansariyan Publications. ISBN 978-9644381652.

The Life of Imām Zayn al 'Abidin (A.S.)

(1988). Imamate: The Vicegerency of the Holy Prophet. Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania. ISBN 978-9976-956-13-9.

Rizvi, Sayyid Saeed Akhtar

(1988). The Just Ruler (al-sultān Al-ʻādil) in Shīʻite Islam: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-511915-0.

Sachedina, Abdulaziz Abdulhussein

(1975). Shi'ite Islam. Translated by Sayyid Hossein Nasr. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-87395-390-8.

Tabatabai, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn

Tabataba'i, Muhammad Husayn (2008). . Qum: Ansariyan.

Islamic Teachings in Brief

Yeomans, Richard (2006). . Garnet & Ithaca Press. ISBN 978-1-85964-154-5.

The art and architecture of islamic cairo

Archived 2019-10-27 at the Wayback Machine

Al-imamah (emamah) page

A brief introduction of Twelve Imams

Shia Islam: History and Doctrines

Archived 2016-09-24 at the Wayback Machine

Al-Muraja'at

a chapter of Shi'ite Islam (book) by Allameh Tabatabaei

A Brief History Of The Lives Of The Twelve Imams

—Taken from A Shi'ite Anthology by Allameh Tabatabaei

"The Twelve Imams"

A Short History of the Lives of The Twelve Imams

Imamah in the Qur'an

—An article by Encyclopædia Britannica Online

"Imam"

Archived 2008-04-17 at the Wayback Machine by Maria Dakake, an entry in the Encyclopædia Iranica

"Hojjat"

Twelve Successors

(basma.us)

Bay Area Shiite-Muslims Association

Graphical illustration of the Shia sects

Archived 2019-08-25 at the Wayback Machine (shiacode.com)

The Shia Islamic Guide

Imamah in Sunni Islam