Imamate in Shia doctrine
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.
That is, Allah must assign someone similar to the prophet in his attributes and Ismah as his successor to guide the people without any deviation in religion.
[a] This is why Muhammad did not nominate a successor, as he wanted to leave the succession to be resolved "by the Muslim Community on the basis of the Qur’anic principle of consultation (shura)".
Since the Sunni concept of the "true caliphate" itself defines it as a "succession of the Prophet in every respect except his prophethood", Madelung further asks, "If God really wanted to indicate that he should not be succeeded by any of his family, why did He not let his grandsons and other kin die like his sons?
[b][citation needed] Jesus was also from a pious family, as it is mentioned in the Quran that after his birth, people said to Mary: "O sister of Aaron, your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste.
They followed Isma'il ibn Jafar, elder brother of Musa al-Kadhim, as the rightful Imam after his father, Ja'far al-Sadiq.
According to Isma'ilism, God has sent seven great prophets known as Nātiqs "Speaker" in order to disseminate and improve his dīn of Islam.
Zaidiyyah or Zaidi is a Shia madhhab (sect, school) named after the imam Zayd ibn Ali.
In the context of the Shi'a Muslim belief in spiritual leadership or Imamate, Zaydis believe that the leader of the Ummah or Muslim community must be Fatimids: descendants of Muhammad through his only surviving daughter Fatimah, whose sons were Hasan ibn ʻAlī and Husayn ibn ʻAlī.
These Shi'a called themselves Zaydi so they could differentiate themselves from other Shi'is who refused to take up arms with Zayd ibn Ali.
Muhammad al-Baqir did not engage in political action and the followers of Zayd believed that a true Imām must fight against corrupt rulers.
[20][21] The renowned Muslim jurist Abu Hanifa, who is credited for the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, delivered a fatwā or legal statement in favour of Zayd in his rebellion against the Umayyad ruler.
[22] Unlike Twelver Shi'ites, Zaydis do not believe in the infallibility of Imāms[23][24] The Imamate can be passed down to anyone of the household of Muhammad.
The fourth deputy died six days later and the Shia Muslims continue to await the reappearance of the Mahdi.
They followed Isma'il ibn Jafar, elder brother of Musa al-Kadhim, as the rightful Imam[26] after his father Ja'far al-Sadiq.
The eighth to tenth Imams (Abadullah, Ahmed and Husain), remained hidden and worked for the movement against the period's time's rulers.
The 11th Imam Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, under the guise of being a merchant, and his son had made their way to Sijilmasa,[28] fleeing persecution by the Abbasids.
As Tayyeb was not in a position to run the dawah, Queen Arwa al-Sulayhi, the Da'i al-Mutlaq, acted as his regent.
These Da'i al-Mutlaq continued acting on behalf of the hidden Tayyibi Ismāʿīlī Imams until date.
[clarification needed] Dawoodi Bohra is the biggest sub-sect amongst the Tayyibi Ismāʿīlī with a population spread over many countries.
According to the majority of Shī'a, namely the Twelvers (Ithnā'ashariyya), the following is a listing of the rightful successors to Muḥammad.
According to Twelvers, there is always an Imam of the era, who is the divinely appointed authority on all matters of faith and law in the Muslim community.
The twelfth and final Imam is Muhammad al-Mahdi, who is believed by the Twelvers to be currently alive, and hidden in the Major Occultation until he returns to bring justice to the world.
After his death, they believe their 21st Imam, at-Tayyib Abu'l-Qasim went into a Dawr-e Satr (period of concealment) that continues to this day.
They are the only Shia Muslim community today led by a present and living (Hazir wa Mawjud) imam.
Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH/1328 AD) composed a long refutation of the notion of the Imamate in his Minhaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah.
