CHAPTER ONE: LOOKING INTO IMĀMAH IN SHIAISM

During the time I was discussing with Shias before I began the present research, whenever the word “Imāms” was mentioned, it would usually mean the “Divine Leaders” after the Prophet’s (Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam) demise. According to the majority of Shias, the “12 Imāms” after the death of Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam) are¹:

Ali bin Abu Talib
Hassan bin Ali
Hussain bin Ali
Zainul Ābideen, Ali ibn Hussain
Muhammad Al-Bāqir
Jafar As-Sādiq
Musa Al-Kādhim
Ali Al-Ridha
Muhammad Al-Jawād
Ali Al-Hādi
Hassan Al-Askari
Al-Mahdi, Muhammad ibn Hassan

The Shia writings often concentrate on “proving” the Imāmah of these personalities. However, I resolved to look beyond this level and see what the belief of Imāmah was in general as far as Shiaism was concerned. This is so because the general concepts should be put to the test first. Only if the overall notion is correct can the research move on to see who occupies these posts. Of course, there will be “universal principles” of Imāmah that can be deduced by looking at the supposed Imāmah of these 12 personalities, but the main ideas should be clear with respect to what direction the individual’s research is to take.

As an analogy with other faiths, Christian propaganda concentrates on the belief that Jesus Christ died on the cross in order to redeem the sins of humanity. As I had noted previously, this is based on the doctrine of “substitutionary sacrifice”, the notion that a heroic figure must suffer in order for humankind to be rescued from its wretched condition. Now, if this underlying ideology can be shown to be faulty, there will be no need to discuss whether Jesus was the specific “superhero” who came to rescue humanity. There are saintly figures in the beliefs of other nations and religions that fit the description of the Christian Jesus very closely in terms of their absolute sacrifice and heroic selflessness. Thus, it is more apt to look into the essential mindset that gave rise to such beliefs rather than to split hairs over the persons themselves.

In the case of Islam, all Muslims know that Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam), Isa (Alayhi Salām), Musa (Alayhi Salām), etc. were Prophets sent by Allah to declare His Message, and no Muslim can reject this. However, the principle and belief in Prophethood is distinct and separate from these personalities. A Muslim is required to believe in Prophethood as a pillar of faith in addition to his faith in the specific persons who were sent by Allah as Prophets and Messengers. The Sunnis require this from their adherents when the belief in the Rasools of Allah is placed as a part of the “Arkan ul Iman” (Pillars of the Faith) in addition to the belief in Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam) as the Prophet of Allah. Similarly, Shias list Nubuwwah as a Usul-e-Din, and the belief in Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam) as a Messenger of Allah is also a necessity of the Shia faith.

The same is to be expected in the case for Imāmah. That is, the specific Imāms whom the Shias claim were appointed and sent by Allah are the rational product of the Imāmah doctrine. This is a little difficult for some people to understand. The reason for this is that Ali, Hasan, Husayn, (Radhia Allahu Anhum) etc. are immediately presented in Shia propaganda as “Imāms” and the discussion on the specifics of the Imāmah doctrine (or the fact that it is a doctrine in Shiaism) are discussed much later, once the mind of the reader is ready to accept that the “12 Imāms” are holy figures. In many works, the doctrinal nature of Imāmah in Shiaism is not even presented as such.

In spite of these obstacles, the researcher should do his/her utmost to separate the two and give due attention to each section. Realizing this crucial difference, I resolved to organize all the information I knew about Imāmah and look at the vital aspects driving this belief. What follows is an exposition of the crucial precepts of Imāmah as seen by Shia scholars and writers.

Continued ⇨