Imam

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(Redirected from
Imams
)
For other uses, see Imam (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with
Imamah
.
Mughal Imams in discourse
Part of a series on Islam
Usul al-Fiqh
Fiqh
Ahkam
Legal vocations and titles
Prayer in Cairo, painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1865

Imam (

Arabic: إمام, imām; pl.: أئمة, a'immah) is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic prayers
, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. Thus for Sunnis, anyone can study the basic Islamic sciences and become an Imam.

For most

Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen
(1918–1970).

Sunni imams

Friday sermon is most often given by an appointed imam. All mosques have an imam to lead the (congregational) prayers, even though it may sometimes just be a member from the gathered congregation rather than an officially appointed salaried person. Women cannot be an imam in the presence of men, but allowed to be an imam to other women in the case if no man is available. The person that should be chosen, according to Hadith, is one who has most knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah
(prophetic tradition) and is of good character.

Title of scholarly authority

Another well-known use of the term is as an honorary title for a recognized religious scholarly authority in Islam. It is especially used for a jurist (faqīh) and often for the founders of the four Sunni madhhabs or schools of jurisprudence (fiqh), as well as an authority on Quranic exegesis (tafsīr), such as Al-Tabari or Ibn Kathir.

It may also refer to the

Muhaddithūn or scholars who created the analytical sciences related to Hadith and sometimes refer to the heads of Muhammad's family in their generational times due to their scholarly authority.[2]

Imam Ibrahim Hawlery
Occupation
Occupation type
vocation
Activity sectors
religion
Description
CompetenciesKnowledge of Quran and Sunnah, religious devotion
Education required
Madrassa, İmam Hatip school or university education
Fields of
employment
Mosque
Related jobs
Mufti

The position of imams in Turkey

Imams are appointed by the state to work at mosques and they are required to be graduates of an

Presidency of Religious Affairs[3] in Turkey and only males are appointed to this position, while female officials under the same state organisation work as preachers and Qur'an course tutors, religious services experts, etc. These officials are supposed to belong to the Hanafi school
of the Sunni sect.

A central figure in an Islamic movement is also called an imam, like Imam Nawawi in Syria.

Shia imams

Main articles:
The Twelve Imams

In the Shi'a context, an imam is not only presented as the man of God par excellence, but as participating fully in the names, attributes, and acts that theology usually reserves for God alone.

Ismaili Shi'a believe that these imams are chosen by God to be perfect examples for the faithful and to lead all humanity in all aspects of life. They also believe that all the imams chosen are free from committing any sin, impeccability which is called ismah
. These leaders must be followed since they are appointed by God.

Twelver

Here follows a list of the

Twelvers
Shia imams:

Number Name
(Full/Kunya)		 Title
(
Arabic/Turkish)[5]
 Birth–Death
(CE/AH)[a]		 Importance Birthplace (present day country) Place of death and burial
1 Ali ibn Abi Talib
علي بن أبي طالب
Abu al-Hassan or Abu al-Husayn
أبو الحسین or أبو الحسن 		Amir al-Mu'minin
(Commander of the Faithful)[6]
Birinci Ali[7] 		600–661[6]
23 BH–40[8] 		The first
Muslim orders (Turuq); the members of these orders trace their lineage to Muhammad through him.[6]
 Mecca, Saudi Arabia[6] Assassinated by
Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq
.
2 Hassan ibn Ali
الحسن بن علي
Abu Muhammad
أبو محمد 		al-Mujtaba
İkinci Ali[7] 		624–670[10]
3–50[11] 		He was the eldest surviving grandson of
Muawiya I, he relinquished control of Iraq following a reign of seven months.[12]
 Medina, Saudi Arabia[10] Poisoned by his wife in
Jannat al-Baqi
.
3 Husayn ibn Ali
الحسین بن علي
Abu Abdillah
أبو عبدالله 		Sayed al-Shuhada
Üçüncü Ali[7] 		626–680[14]
4–61[15] 		He was a grandson of
commemoration of Husayn ibn Ali has become a central ritual in Shia identity.[14][16]
 Medina, Saudi Arabia[14] Killed on
Day of Ashura (10 Muharram) and beheaded at the Battle of Karbala.[14] Buried at the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala, Iraq
.
4
Ali ibn al-Hussein

علي بن الحسین
Abu Muhammad
أبو محمد 		al-Sajjad, Zain al-Abedin[17]
Dördüncü Ali[7] 		658–9[17] – 712[18]
38[17]–95[18] 		Author of prayers in
Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, which is known as "The Psalm of the Household of the Prophet."[18]
 Medina, Saudi Arabia[17] According to most Shia scholars, he was poisoned on the order of Caliph
Jannat al-Baqi
.
5 Muhammad ibn Ali
محمد بن علي
Abu Ja'far
أبو جعفر 		al-Baqir al-Ulum

(splitting open knowledge)[19]

Beşinci Ali[7] 		677–732[19]
57–114[19] 		Sunni and Shia sources both describe him as one of the early and most eminent
legal scholars, teaching many students during his tenure.[19][20]
 Medina, Saudi Arabia[19] According to some Shia scholars, he was poisoned by Ibrahim ibn Walid ibn 'Abdallah in
Jannat al-Baqi
.
6
Ja'far ibn Muhammad

جعفر بن محمد
Abu Abdillah
أبو عبدالله 		al-Sadiq[21]


(the Trustworthy)

Altıncı Ali[7] 		702–765[21]
83–148[21] 		Established the
Jābir ibn Hayyān in science and alchemy.[22]
 Medina, Saudi Arabia[21] According to Shia sources, he was poisoned in
Jannat al-Baqi
.
7 Musa ibn Ja'far
موسی بن جعفر
Abu al-Hassan I
أبو الحسن الأول[23] 		al-Kazim[24]
Yedinci Ali[7] 		744–799[24]
128–183[24] 		Leader of the Shia community during the schism of
Jafar al-Sadiq.[25] He established the network of agents who collected khums in the Shia community of the Middle East and the Greater Khorasan.[26]
 Medina, Saudi Arabia[24] Imprisoned and poisoned in
Kazimayn shrine in Baghdad.[24]
8 Ali ibn Musa
علي بن موسی
[23] 		al-Rida, Reza[27]
Sekizinci Ali[7] 		765–817[27]
148–203[27] 		Made crown-prince by Caliph Al-Ma'mun, and famous for his discussions with both Muslim and non-Muslim religious scholars.[27] Medina, Saudi Arabia[27] According to Shia sources, he was poisoned in
Mashad.[27]
9 Muhammad ibn Ali
محمد بن علي
Abu Ja'far
أبو جعفر 		al-Taqi, al-Jawad[28]
Dokuzuncu Ali[7] 		810–835[28]
195–220[28] 		Famous for his generosity and piety in the face of persecution by the
Abbasid caliphate
. 		Medina, Saudi Arabia[28] Poisoned by his wife, Al-Ma'mun's daughter, in
Kazmain shrine in Baghdad.[28]
10 Ali ibn Muhammad
علي بن محمد
Abu al-Hassan III
أبو الحسن الثالث[29] 		al-Hadi, al-Naqi[29]
Onuncu Ali[7] 		827–868[29]
212–254[29] 		Strengthened the network of
deputies in the Shia community. He sent them instructions, and received in turn financial contributions of the faithful from the khums and religious vows.[29]
 Surayya, a village near Medina, Saudi Arabia[29] According to Shia sources, he was poisoned in
Al Askari Mosque
in Samarra.
11 Hassan ibn Ali
الحسن بن علي
Abu Muhammad
أبو محمد 		al-Askari[31]
Onbirinci Ali[7] 		846–874[31]
232–260[31] 		For most of his life, the Abbasid Caliph, Al-Mu'tamid, placed restrictions on him after the death of his father. Repression of the Shi'ite population was particularly high at the time due to their large size and growing power.[32] Medina, Saudi Arabia[31] According to Shia, he was poisoned on the order of Caliph
Al Askari Mosque in Samarra.[33]
12 Muhammad ibn al-Hassan
محمد بن الحسن
Abu al-Qasim
أبو القاسم 		al-Mahdi, Hidden Imam, al-Hujjah[34]
Onikinci Ali[7] 		868–unknown[35]
255–unknown[35] 		According to Twelver doctrine, he is the current imam and the promised Mahdi, a messianic figure who will return with Isa (Jesus). He will reestablish the rightful governance of Islam and replete the earth with justice and peace.[36] Samarra, Iraq[35] According to Shia doctrine, he has been living in the Occultation since 872, and will continue as long as God wills it.[35]

Day of Resurrection
(Qiyamah).

Ismaili

See
List of Ismaili imams
for Ismaili imams.

Zaidi

See details under
Zaidiyyah, Islamic history of Yemen and Imams of Yemen
.

Imams as secular rulers

At times, imams have held both secular and religious authority. This was the case in

Zaidiyyah, History of Yemen, Imams of Yemen
.)

international airport, a hospital, and a university
.

Gallery

Imams

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The abbreviation CE refers to the Common Era solar calendar, while AH refers to the Islamic Hijri lunar calendar.

Citations

  1. ^ Corbin 1993, p. 30
  2. PMID 11069879
    .
  3. ^ "Presidency of Religious Affairs". www.diyanet.gov.tr.
  4. ISBN 9781845117382
    .
  5. ISBN 9780028657691
    .
  6. ^ a b c d e Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. "Ali". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  7. ^
    ISBN 9780028657691
    .
  8. ^ Tabatabae (1979), pp.190-192
  9. ^ Tabatabae (1979), p.192
  10. ^ a b "Hasan". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  11. ^ Tabatabae (1979), pp.194–195
  12. ^ Madelung, Wilferd. "Hasan ibn Ali". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
  13. ^ Tabatabae (1979), p.195
  14. ^ a b c d "al-Husayn". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  15. ^ Tabatabae (1979), pp.196–199
  16. ^ Calmard, Jean. "Husayn ibn Ali". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
  17. ^ a b c d Madelung, Wilferd. "'ALĪ B. AL-ḤOSAYN". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  18. ^ a b c d e Tabatabae (1979), p.202
  19. ^ a b c d e Madelung, Wilferd. "AL-BAQER, ABU JAFAR MOHAMMAD". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  20. ^ Tabatabae (1979), p.203
  21. ^ a b c d e Tabatabae (1979), p.203-204
  22. ^ "Wāṣil ibn ʿAṭāʾ". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 1 January 2019.
  23. ^ a b Madelung, Wilferd. "'ALĪ AL-HĀDĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  24. ^ a b c d e Tabatabae (1979), p.205
  25. ^ Tabatabae (1979) p. 78
  26. ^ Sachedina (1988), pp.53–54
  27. ^ a b c d e f Tabatabae (1979), pp.205–207
  28. ^ a b c d e Tabatabae (1979), p. 207
  29. ^ a b c d e f Madelung, Wilferd. "'ALĪ AL-HĀDĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  30. ^ Tabatabae (1979), pp.208–209
  31. ^ a b c d Halm, H. "'ASKARĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  32. ^ Tabatabae (1979) pp. 209–210
  33. ^ Tabatabae (1979), pp.209–210
  34. ^ "Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Hujjah". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  35. ^ a b c d Tabatabae (1979), pp.210–211
  36. ^ Tabatabae (1979), pp. 211–214
  37. ISBN 978-1-873938-56-0
    . Retrieved 2013-11-15.
  38. ISBN 978-0-521-29137-8
    .

Works cited

General references

External links

  • The dictionary definition of imam at Wiktionary
  • Media related to Imams at Wikimedia Commons
  • New International Encyclopedia
     (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
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