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Twelver Shi'ism

Twelver Shīʿism (Arabic: ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; ʾIthnā ʿAshariyya), also known as Imāmiyya (Arabic: إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa, comprising about 85% of all Shīas. The term Twelver refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, and their belief that the last Imam, Imam al-Mahdi, lives in Occultation and will reappear as the promised Mahdi (Arabic: المهدي المنتظر).

This article is about the predominant sect of Shia Islam. For other denominations which believe in the Twelve Imams, see Alevism and Alawites.

Twelvers believe that the Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to the theology of Twelvers, the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who not only rule over the Muslim community (Ummah) with justice, but are also able to preserve and interpret the Islamic law (sharīʿa) and the esoteric meaning of the Quran. The words and deeds (sunnah) of Muhammad and the Imams are a guide and model for the Muslim community to follow; as a result, Muhammad and the Imams must be free from error and sin, a doctrine known as Ismah or infallibility, and must be chosen by divine decree, or nass, through Muhammad.[1][2][3]


Globally, there are about 200 to 300 million Twelvers:[4][5][6] most of Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and Azerbaijan;[7] half the Muslims in Lebanon; a sizeable minority in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Nigeria, Chad, and Tanzania.[8][9][10][11][12][13] Iran is the only country where Twelver Shi'ism is the state religion.[14]


Twelvers share many tenets with other Shīʿīte sects, such as the belief in the Imamate, but the Ismāʿīlī and Nizārī branches believe in a different number of Imams and, for the most part, a different path of succession regarding the Imamate. They also differ in the role and overall definition of an Imam. Twelvers are also distinguished from Ismāʿīlīs by their belief in Muhammad's status as the "Seal of the Prophets" (Khatam an-Nabiyyin), in rejecting the possibility of abrogation of sharīʿa laws, and in considering both esoteric and exoteric aspects of the Quran.[15] Alevis in Turkey and Albania, and Alawites in Syria and Lebanon, share belief in the Twelve Imams with Twelvers, but their theological doctrines are markedly different.

Shi'a refers to a group of Muslims who believe that the succession to Muhammad must remain in his family for specific members who are designated by a divine appointment. Tabatabai states that the word referred to the partisans of Ali at the time of Muhammad himself.[18]

[17]

Ja'fari refers exclusively to the which is followed by Twelvers and Nizaris. The term is derived from the name of Ja'far al-Sadiq who is considered by the Twelvers and Nizaris to be their sixth Imam who presented "a legal treatise".[19] Ja'far al-Sadiq is also respected and referenced by the founders of the Sunni Hanafi and Maliki schools of jurisprudence.[20]

Juridical school

Imami or Imamiyyah or Imamite is a reference to the Twelver belief in the of the Imāms. Although the Ismā'īlīs also share the concept of Imamate, this term is mostly used for the Twelvers who believe that the leadership of the community after Muhammad belongs to twelve subsequent successors including Ali that together comprise the Fourteen Infallibles.[21]

infallibility

The term Twelver is based on the belief that twelve male descendants from the family of Muhammad, starting with ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and ending with Muhammad al-Mahdi, are Imams who have religious and political authority.[16]


The Twelvers are also known by other names:

(Prayer) – meaning "connection", establish the five daily prayers, called namāz in Persian and Urdu.

Salat

(Fasting) – fasting during the holy month of Ramadhan, called rūzeh in Persian.

Sawm

(Poor-rate) – charity. Zakat means "to purify".

Zakat

("Fifth" of one's savings) – tax.

Khums

(Pilgrimage) – performing the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Hajj

(Struggle) – struggling to please God. The greater, internal Jihad is the struggle against the evil within one's soul in every aspect of life, called jihād akbār. The lesser, or external, jihad is the struggle against the evil of one's environment in every aspect of life, called jihād asghār. This is not to be mistaken with the common modern misconception that this means "Holy War". Writing the truth (jihād bil qalam "struggle of the pen") and speaking truth in front of an oppressor are also forms of jihād.

Jihād

.

Commanding what is just

.

Forbidding what is evil

– loving the Ahl al-Bayt and their followers.

Tawalla

– dissociating oneself from the enemies of the Ahlu l-Bayt.[146]

Tabarra

(عيد الفطر), which marks the end of fasting during the month of Ramadan and falls on the first day of Shawwal.

Eid ul-Fitr

which marks the end of the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca, starts on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah.

Eid al-Adha

Twelvers celebrate the following annual holidays:[208][209][210][211]


The following holidays are observed by Twelvers unless otherwise noted:

A brief introduction of Twelve Imams

a chapter of Shi'a Islam (book) by Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei

A Brief History Of The Lives Of The Twelve Imams

A Short History of the Lives of The Twelve Imams

An article by Encyclopædia Britannica online

Ithna 'Ashariyah

Twelver Media Source