4. Succession to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his
family) (imama)
All of the prophets and messengers of God had successors, and just as
Allah appointed His prophets and messengers for the guidance of mankind, He
also appointed successors to the prophets and messengers as a matter of
necessity. Abraham (peace be upon him) was succeeded by two of his sons,
Isaac and Ishmael (peace be upon them), while Moses (peace be upon him) was
succeeded by his brother Aaron (peace be upon him) and Jesus (peace be upon
him) by two prophets whom the Qur'an mentions in the chapter called "Ya
Sin". (36:13-14) Likewise, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him
and his family) was succeeded by twelve distinguished successors, one after
another. These successors were called imams and were
appointed by Allah, not by humankind. The right to ordainimams belongs
only to Almighty Allah, and the Qur'an speaks about this in many verses:
"And remember when your Lord said to the angels, 'Verily I
am going to place a successor (khalifa)." (2:30)
Allah addressed Prophet David (peace be upon him) as such: "O
David! Verily We have placed you as a successor on earth."
(38:26) "And remember when the Lord of Abraham tried him with
certain commands which he fulfilled; Allah said to him, 'Verily I am going to
make you a leader (imam) of mankind.'" (2:124)
Allah also attributes the right of appointing leaders to Himself:
"We made from among them leaders, giving guidance under Our
command." (32:24)
During his lifetime, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)
specifically mentioned the names of the leaders that would come after him, that
there would be twelve of them, and that all of them would be descended from a
particular Arab tribe called Quraysh.
The twelve successors to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his
family) are as follows:
Imam 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (600-661) Imam 'Ali (peace
be upon him) was the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law and the one about whom he
said: "I am the city of knowledge and 'Ali is its gate."
He also said, "Whoever considers me his leader, 'Ali is also his
leader." 110,000 people heard the Prophet (peace be upon him and his
family) say this at a place called Ghadir Khum. Muslims and non-Muslims
alike recognized Imam 'Ali (peace be upon him) for his wisdom, bravery, and
justice. Many of his sayings and speeches have been preserved in a book
called The Peak of Eloquence (Nahj al-Balagha). He was
assassinated by members of a fringe movement while he was praying.
Fatima az-Zahra (562-580) Although not one of the
successors, Fatima al-Zahra (peace be upon her) is included in this list
because of her high status and importance. Fatima al-Zahra (peace be upon
her) was the daughter of the beloved Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and
his family) from his respected wife Khadija. She was born in Makkah on
the twentieth day of Jumaada al-Thaani (the sixth month of the
Islamic calendar). Although he had several children, Fatima was his
favorite, for she was carrying the light of the message of the Prophet (peace
be upon him and his family) to the generations to come through her offspring.
A chapter of the Qur'an was revealed about her:
Therefore, turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice for Him.
And he who makes you angry - he will be cut off from offspring.
She and her father had a mutual attachment; 'Aisha, one of the wives of
the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), has said: "I never
saw a person who so resembled her father in speech, movements, and gestures
more than Fatima, and once she goes to visit her father, he stands, takes her
hand, kisses it, and places her in his own seat." Fatima was so emotionally and
spiritually close to her father that he declared: "Fatima is part of
me. Whoever angers her angers me, and she is the mother of her
father." Fatima proved to be the best daughter to
her father, mother for her four children (Hasan, Husain, Zaynab, and Um
Kalthoum), and the ideal wife for her husband Imam 'Ali (peace be upon
him). She was the perfect example of a virtuous, righteous lady in Islam.
She set many examples in her social and political life. As a result of
the conflict over power after the demise of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him
and his family), Fatima al-Zahra (peace be upon her) died at the age of 18
years.
Imam Hasan ibn 'Ali (625-670)
Imam Husain ibn 'Ali (626-680) : Imam Husain (peace be
upon him) revolted against the tyrant of his time, Yazid the son of
Mu'awiyah. He left his hometown of Madina to go to the city of Makkah and
then with 72 of his followers and close family members to Iraq where he was
brutally massacred on the day of Ashura[ in the city of Karbala, 60 miles to the
south of Baghdad. Imam Husain (peace be upon him) stood for truth, sacrificed
himself for truth and justice, and fought corruption and aggression. The
battle of Karbala represents the battle between truth and falsehood, good
versus evil, and justice versus aggression, oppression, and tyranny.
Therefore, he became the beacon of light for all free people in this universe,
shook the foundations of the Muslim nation with his martyrdom, and steered the
consciousness of the Muslim people at that time. Hundreds of revolutions
and revolts followed his martyrdom until the corrupt empire of Bani Umayyah
collapsed. Imam Husain (peace be upon him) still plays a very significant
role in the life of the Muslims in their endeavor to fight injustice and
deviation in all societies.
Imam 'Ali ibn al-Husain (659-713)
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (676-733)
Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (702-765) :
Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was the son of Muhammad al-Baqir
(peace be upon him) and was the sixth imam of the school of
the ahl al-bayt. He was born on the seventeenth day of Rabi'
al-Awwal (the third month of the Islamic calendar) in the city of
Madina. He learned from his father the sciences of religion and the
teachings of Islam and became the authority of jurisprudents, scholars, and
preachers after the martyrdom of his father. He made the mosque of Madina
a university from which to spread Islamic ideology and graduated hundreds of
scholars versed in Islamic sciences and prophetic traditions. Scholars
and preachers gave their testimonies acknowledging his great standing and abundant
knowledge. One of them, Sibt al-Jawzi has said, "Never have I seen
scholars less knowledgeable in the presence of a man like al-Sadiq."
The men of knowledge and piety saw in Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him)
a leader, a scholar, and an unmatched educator. He was also a great
social personality and an effective political force in the leading political
circles.
Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) taught two of the leaders of the other
Islamic schools of jurisprudence: Abu Hanifa (Nu'man ibn Thabit) and
Malik ibn Anas. Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) uttered thousands
of hadith (Prophetic traditions) regarding every facet of
life. He extensively discussed Islamic ethics, mannerisms, integrity,
goodness of character, and acts of worship in addition to jurisprudence and
debated with leaders of other schools of thought.
Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was poisoned by the caliph of his time
and was buried in the cemetery of al-Baqi' in Madina.
Imam Musa al-Kazim (746-799)
Imam 'Ali ar-Rida (765-818)
Imam Muhammad al-Jawad (811-835)
Imam 'Ali al-Hadi (827-868)
Imam Hasan al-Askari (846-874)
Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (869-present) : Imam al-Mahdi is
the last of the imams of the people on earth, and with him the
line of succession to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)
ends. Because of the necessity of having a representative from Allah
present on the earth, he still - by the will of Allah - lives in this world,
but he does not live in public view. He will, however, reappear towards
the end of human civilization at a time when the world has been filled with
evil and injustice to restore order and make justice prevail.
These imams were the authorities of Allah among
mankind. Like the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), they
were all special personalities in matters of knowledge, forbearance, morality,
and justice.
The Family of the Prophet (Ahl al-bayt)
The ahl al-bayt are the immediately family of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), namely: his daughter
Fatima al-Zahra; his cousin, son-in-law, and first successor Imam 'Ali; and his
grandchildren Hasan and Husain (peace be upon them). The purity of these
five is spoken of in the Qur'an: "Allah only wishes to remove all
uncleanliness from you, O People of the House (ahl al-bayt), and to make
you as pure as possible." (33:33) Like the
prophets and the prophets' successors, these five were infallible, free from
all sin or error.
Near the end of his life, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
said: "It is probable that I will be called soon, and I will
respond. So I leave behind me among you two weighty things: the
Book of Allah [the Qur'an], and my Ahl al-Bayt. Verily,
Allah, the Merciful, the Aware, has informed me that these two will never be
separated from each other until they meet me at the fountain in Heaven
called Kawthar." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his
family) has also said: "The parable of my ahl al-bayt is
similar to that of Noah's ark. Whoever embarks on it will certainly be
rescued, but whoever opposes the boarding of it will surely be drowned." The
necessity of taking hold of both things that the Prophet (peace be upon him and
his family) left behind cannot be overemphasized; those who choose to follow
the Qur'an but not the guidance of the ahl al-bayt will
invariably go astray.
As a rule, the prophets of Allah did not ask any reward for the pain and
suffering they endured while attempting to guide mankind. In fact, this
refusal to accept compensation can be seen as the mark of a prophet:
"Obey those who ask no reward from you and who have themselves received
guidance." (36:21) However, by the command of Allah,
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) made one slight exception;
although he refused to accept anything for himself, he was commanded to
say: "I do not ask you for any reward except love for my relatives
[the ahl al-bayt]." (42:23) Love for the
Prophet's ahl al-bayt does not benefit the Prophet himself
(peace be upon him and his family) so much as it does the one who approaches
them with kindness and loyalty and in return derives knowledge, guidance, and
blessings from Allah.
Imam 'Ali (peace be upon him) has spoken about the ahl al-bayt:
We, the ahl al-bayt, possess the doors of wisdom and light
of governance. Beware that the paths of religion are one and its highways
are straight. He who follows them achieves and secures the aim and
objective. And he who stands away from them goes astray and incurs
repentance.
The example of the descendants of Muhammad - peace and blessing of Allah
be upon him and his descendants - is like that of stars in the sky. When
one star sets another one rises.
We are lights of the heavens and the earth and the ships of
salvation. We are the repository of knowledge, and towards us is the
homecoming of all matters. Through our Mahdi (the final successor to the
Prophet) all arguments shall be refuted, and he is the seal of the imams,
the deliverer of the ummah (the Muslim nation), and the
extremity of the light. Happy are those who hold onto our handle and are
brought together upon our love.
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