Imamah
Imamah (Arabic: إمامة) is the Shia Islam doctrine of religious,
spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. The Shīa believe that the
A'immah ("Imams") are the true Caliphs or rightful successors of
Muhammad, and further that Imams are possessed of divine knowledge and
authority (‘Iṣmah) as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt, the family of
Muhammad. These Imams have the role of providing commentary and
interpretation of the Quran as well as guidance to their tariqa followers
as is the case of the living Imams of the Nizari Ismaili tariqah.
Etymology
The word Imam 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 or "school of
thought". However, from the Shi'i 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 the
Prophet designated as the infallible by the preceding Imam.
Introduction
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.
All Muslims believe that Prophet 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
greatest collector of hadiths, al-Tirmidhi himself, 3713; as well as Ibn
Maajah, 121; etc. There is no doubt about its authenticity because of the many
different sources of its narration. 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 'Lord and Master' and has the same elevated significance as when
the term had been used to address the Prophet himself during his lifetime.
Thus, when the Prophet 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 Lord and
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 Prophet Muhammad's immediate successor even
before the Prophet's death came to be known as the Shia. However, for the
Sunnis the word simply means the 'beloved' or the 'revered' and has no other
significance at all.
Sects
Within Shia Islam (Shiism), the various sects came into being
because they differed over their Imams' successions, just as the Shia - Sunni
separation within Islam itself had come into being from the dispute that had
arisen over the succession to Prophet Mohammad. Each succession dispute brought
forth a different tariqah (literal meaning 'path'; extended meaning 'sect')
within Shia Islam. Each Shia tariqah followed its own particular Imam's
dynasty, thus resulting in different numbers of Imams for each particular Shia
tariqah. When the dynastic line of the separating successor Imam ended with no
heir to succeed him, then either he (the last Imam) or his unborn successor was
believed to have gone into concealment, that is, The Occultation.
The Shia tariqah with a majority of adherents are the Twelvers who
are commonly known as the "Shia". After that come the Nizari Ismailis
commonly known as the Ismailis; and then come the Mustalian Ismailis commonly
known as the "Bohras" with further schisms within their Bohri
tariqah. The Druze tariqah (very small in number today) initially were of the
Fatimid Ismailis and separated from them (the Fatimid Ismailis) after the death
of the Fatimid Imam and Caliph Hakim Bi Amrillah. The Shia Sevener tariqah no
longer exists. Another small tariqah is the Zaidi Shias, also known as the
Fivers and who do not believe in The Occultation of their last Imam.
Although all these different Shia tariqahs belong to the Shia
group (as opposed to the Sunni group) in Islam, there are major doctrinal
differences between the main Shia tariqahs. After that there is the complete doctrinal
break between all the different Shia tariqahs whose last Imams have gone into
Occultation and the Shia Nizari Ismailis who deny the very concept of
Occultation. The Shia Nizari Ismailis by definition have to have a present and
living Imam until the end of time. Thus if any living Nizari Ismaili Imam fails
to leave behind a successor after him then the Nizari Ismailism’s cardinal
principle would be broken and it’s very raison d'être would come to an end.
Ismailli view
The Ismailis differ from the Twelvers because of having a living
imam for centuries after the last Twelver imam went into concealment. They
followed Ismail bin Jafar, elder brother of Musa al-Kazim, as the rightful Imam
after his father Jafar al-Sadiq. The Ismailis believe that whether Imam Ismail
did or did not die before Imam Jafar al-Sadiq, he had passed on the mantle of
the imamat to his son Muḥammad bin Ismail as the next imam. Thus, their line of
imams is as follows (the years of their individual imamats during the Common
Era are given in brackets):
Ali ibn Abi Talib (632–661) - the Mustali sect of Ismailis
consider the first Imam Ali to be at a higher designation than their other
Imams i.e. he was the Asas (the 'Foundation').
Hasan ibn Ali (661–669) - the Nizari sect of Ismailis do not
consider Imam Hasan as a true imam but a pir (meaning a saint, the
'enlightened' teacher, guide, master, lord, etc.).
Husayn ibn Ali (669–680) - (661 - 680) for the Nizari sect of
Ismailis.
Ali ibn Husayn (Zayn al-Abidin) (680–713)
Muhammad al-Baqir (713–733)
Jafar al-Sadiq (733–765)
Ismail bin Jafar (765 - 775)
Muhammad ibn Ismail (775-813)
The Ismaili line of imams for both sects (the Nizari and the
Mustali) continues undivided until Mustansir Billah (d. 1094). After his death
the line of the imamat separates into the Nizari and Mustali dynasties.
The line of imams of the Mustali Ismaili Shia Muslims (also known
as the Bohras/Dawoodi Bohra) continued up to Aamir ibn Mustali. After his
death, they believe their 21st Imam Taiyab abi al-Qasim went into a Dawr-e-Satr
(period of concealment) that continues to this day. In the absence of an imam
they are led by a Dai-al-Mutlaq (absolute missionary) who manages the affairs
of the Imam-in-Concealment until re-emergence of the Imam from concealment.
Dawoodi Bohra's present 52nd Dai is Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin.
The line of imams of the Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslims (also known
as the Agha-khani Ismailis in South and Central Asia )
continues to their present living 49th hereditary imam, Aga Khan IV (son of
Prince Aly Khan). They are the only Shia Muslim community today led by a
present and living (Hazir wa Mawjud) imam.
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